President to meet Xanana

JAKARTA (JP): President Abdurrahman Wahid has planned to hold a meeting next month with East Timor independence leader Jose Alexandre "Xanana" Gusmao, possibly in Brunei or another neutral Southeast Asian country, his aide said on Monday.

Muladi, the state secretary in the former government of B.J. Habibie, said the meeting would take place during the President's lengthy working visits to nine Asian capitals.

"It will be an informal meeting which hopefully will bear fruit," Muladi, who is helping President Abdurrahman settle in his new office, said.

Xanana, who spent seven years in a Jakarta jail until his release last month, was chosen because he was known to be a moderate figure who would likely become the new East Timor leader, he said.

Muladi said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was drafting a letter notifying the United Nations of the decision by the People's Consultative Assembly this month to endorse the result of the Aug. 30 ballot in East Timor.

In the UN-supervised ballot, East Timorese overwhelmingly voted against the option for wide-ranging autonomy within Indonesia.

Muladi said once the letter was signed by the President and delivered to the United Nations, Indonesia would effectively hand over East Timor to the world body."There is no need for any ceremony," he said. (prb/emb)