Ramos Horta is losing is propaganda war: Alatas
Ramos Horta is losing is propaganda war: Alatas
JAKARTA (JP): Exiled Fretilin separatist leader Jose Ramos Horta is fast losing his platform for criticizing Indonesia's integration of East Timor as more Timorese abroad are beginning to challenge his allegations, Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas claimed yesterday.
Alatas said that although Ramos Horta, "with the help of certain NGOs", is still active in various places, there were now an increasing number of voices opposing him.
Alatas was referring to a recent discussion on East Timor in London where some Timorese disagreed with Horta's charges and told an often-forgotten story of Portuguese and Fretilin brutality and oppression in East Timor.
The former Portuguese colony was integrated in July 1976, becoming Indonesia's 27th province.
"I think what happened in London shows that Ramos Horta is no longer free to just blab and spread his version of what happened in East Timor," Alatas said after a meeting with the executive members of the Portugal Indonesia Friendship Association (PIFA).
Headed by Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana, daughter of President Soeharto, the PIFA board was briefed by Alatas on the progress of talks between Jakarta and Lisbon along with other developments regarding East Timor.
Last year, PIFA sponsored a trip by Portuguese of Timorese descent to Indonesia which was followed by a similar visit to Lisbon several months later by Timorese Indonesians.
Hardiyanti said that during the meeting with Alatas political issues were not discussed because PIFA is a non-political organization.
Alatas is scheduled to leave today for a week-long trip to Rumania and the Czech Republic in what is being described by the foreign ministry as a "goodwill visit."
Meanwhile Australian film director Frank Palmos has reportedly acquired a number of valuable interviews with leading experts and historical witnesses for his upcoming documentary film on East Timor, which is due to be finished next month.
The film has been commissioned by the Indonesian government for Rp 511,597,000 (US$230,969).
Footage for the film was taken in Geneva during the United Nations-sponsored talks between Indonesia and Portugal last month as well as in other locations, such as Lisbon and London.
In Lisbon the film crew interviewed Reis Thomaz, a past resident of East Timor and nephew of a former Portuguese president, on the early history of the colony.
In a copy of a transcribed dialog obtained by The Jakarta Post, Reis said that the Timorese who individually declared independence in 1975 were "people promised power by Lisbon."
"They were by no means elected or had a mandate from the people. Nor did any of the parties for that matter."
In an apparent attempt to show a pattern of neglect by Portugal towards its former colonies, the film features an interview with Goan historian Tetonio de Dousa dealing with Portugal's policies in its former Indian possession.(mds)