Pro-RI Timorese to attend Austrian talks

Pro-RI Timorese to attend Austrian talks

JAKARTA (JP): A senior East Timorese politician yesterday
confirmed that 16 pro-integration Timorese are slated to attend
next month's All-Inclusive Intra-East Timor dialog in Austria.

Lopez da Cruz told The Jakarta Post yesterday that the number
of participants from both sides has increased, "so now there are
16 from our side and 14 from their side."

Lopez would not say who would be leading the pro-integration
delegation from Indonesia, saying that it had yet to be
discussed.

He further added that East Timor Governor Abilio Jose Osorio
Soares is also scheduled to attend the discussion.

The United Nations on Tuesday announced that a total of 30 pro
and anti-integration East Timorese would be invited to the talks
set for June 2-5 in Austria.

The discussion is a follow up to the agreements reached during
the fifth trilateral talks on Jan. 9 in Geneva between Indonesian
Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas and his Portuguese
counterpart Jose Manuel Durao Barosso under the aegis of UN
Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali.

The foreign ministers agreed that the UN would facilitate
reconciliatory dialog between East Timorese on both sides of the
integration debate without touching on the political situation of
the former Portuguese colony which was integrated into Indonesia
in 1976.

However the dialog was jeopardized and the originally
scheduled date of April 26 had to be canceled when Indonesia
expressed disappointment at the UN's handling of the
preparations.

Without prior consultation, the United Nations sent
invitations to 14 participants from abroad and 12 from Indonesia
which included such names as Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo,
Fretilin leader Ramos Horta and Abilio Araujo, leader of a
Fretilin splinter group.

Lopez's tone yesterday was more upbeat than in March when he
stated "anguish" at the UN's preparations.

Yesterday he expressed joy at Indonesian's success in lobbying
to have an additional list of names included in the those invited
to Austria.

He did not reveal the additional names.

Apart from announcing the new date of the reconciliatory
dialog, the United Nations on Tuesday also announced that the
sixth trilateral talks would be held on July 8 in Geneva.(mds)