RI accepts UN police in E. Timor

RI accepts UN police in E. Timor

By Endy M. Bayuni

NUSA DUA, Bali (JP): Indonesia has agreed to the presence of
United Nations police officers to help oversee security in East
Timor ahead of a crucial vote there in August, President B.J.
Habibie announced on Tuesday.

Habibie told reporters at a joint media briefing with visiting
Australian Prime Minister John Howard he had read and approved a
draft text on security arrangements during the UN-sponsored
ballot.

In the vote, which is tentatively set for Aug. 8, the people
of East Timor will decide whether to remain a part of Indonesia
with wide-ranging autonomy or become an independent state.

The draft text on security arrangements during the vote calls
for the United Nations to send police officers to assist
Indonesia in maintaining security in East Timor before and during
the ballot.

Habibie said it would be up to the United Nations to determine
how many police officers would be needed.

Howard said Australia "would be sympathetic" to any United
Nations' request for support of the UN program.

The text, along with a memorandum of understanding on
Indonesia's autonomy proposal for East Timor, will now be signed
by the Indonesian and Portuguese foreign ministers at the United
Nations on May 5, Habibie said.

The documents were to be signed on Friday, but Indonesian
foreign minister Ali Alatas asked for a postponement to confer
with Habibie first.

"I have accepted the whole draft (on security arrangements)
without any changes," Habibie said.

"On May 5 we will start working with the Commission for Peace
and Stability to make the conditions in East Timor such that the
people will get a fair chance to decide their own future."

The commission, comprising representatives of the warring
proindependence and prointegration groups in East Timor, the
government, the military and the local Roman Catholic church, has
been entrusted with the task of overseeing the truce which was
hastily brokered by the military last week.

The meeting between Habibie and Howard came in the wake of
rising violence in East Timor over the past weeks.

Indonesia has been widely criticized for its failure to
curtail violence and the military has been accused of arming the
pro-Indonesia militia. The rising violence in the province has
prompted calls from Portugal and other countries for a UN
peacekeeping force in East Timor. Indonesia, however, rejected
this idea, saying security remained the responsibility of
Indonesia.

The proposal to send UN police officers to East Timor is seen
as a compromise solution.

Habibie said he just had time to read and discuss the
documents with top members of his Cabinet after Alatas returned
from New York over the weekend. The proposal also was discussed
during the meeting with Howard.

Habibie also said he had asked the United Nations to invite
the United States, Australia, Japan, the Philippines, Germany and
Britain to send delegations to help oversee the implementation of
the UN agreements.

Howard said he relayed to President Habibie, Australia's
concern with the situation in East Timor, but underlined the
Indonesian military's commitment to bring the situation under
control.

Howard lauded Jakarta's decision to support the UN process and
said that Australia would accept the invitation to monitor the
ballot in East Timor.

He also pledged A$20 million (US$13 million) to help cover the
estimated US$30 million cost of organizing the August ballot.
Half of the aid will come in the form of cash and the other half
in logistics support, he said.

Howard informed Habibie of Australia's intention to accelerate
the opening of an Australian consulate in Dili, possibly by the
end of May.

Habibie also agreed to Australia's plan to send a medical team
to East Timor, Howard said.

When an Indonesian reporter accused the Australian government
of leaning toward the proindependence camp in East Timor, Howard
said his government took no sides in the upcoming vote.

However, he said Canberra's attitude on the issue remained
unchanged in that it believed it would be better for Indonesia
and the region if the territory remained a part of Indonesia.

But if the East Timorese opted for separation, Australia would
help ensure an orderly transition, he said.

The meeting between the two leaders lasted for over three
hours instead of the scheduled two hours. Habibie and Howard met
one-on-one for the first two hours, after which they were joined
by their foreign ministers and defense ministers.

Howard flew back to Australia later in the afternoon.

Later in the day, Habibie met with British Junior Foreign
Office Minister Derek Fatchett, saying Indonesia wanted British
help in implementing the UN agreements.

"We're very happy to do that because we've been part of this
diplomatic process over the last few months and we're very
pleased that it's come to fruition," Fatchett was quoted by
Reuters as saying.

"What we now have to do is sit down with the Indonesians, the
people of East Timor and the other countries to work out the
precise details on the ways in which each of us can assist toward
that successful ballot."

A Foreign Office spokeswoman in London said it was too early
to say what form the British aid would take.

Before flying to Bali, Fatchett visited jailed East Timorese
separatist leader Alexandre "Xanana" Gusmao in Jakarta and
touched on the UN agreements.

"We want those proposals to work. That is a ballot that will
allow the people of Indonesia to speak freely. That is the best
way forward for achieving legitimacy in any process," Fatchett
said.