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.