RI Embassy slams Wolf's biased view of E. Timor

RI Embassy slams Wolf's biased view of E. Timor

JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Embassy in Washington went on the
counter offensive yesterday against what they called the "biased,
one-sided" remarks made by United States Congressman Frank Wolf
on the issue of East Timor.

A statement from the embassy, received here yesterday,
described the congressman's reflections on his visit to East
Timor as "a perspective doubtless cemented prior to his visit and
completely unaffected by the reality of life today in East
Timor".

The statement said that given the great effort he made to
travel to East Timor, "it is especially disappointing that an
opportunity to reach beyond the prejudice and simplistic
caricatures was so completely and utterly ignored".

The Republican congressman from Virginia, after a brief junket
to Dili on Jan. 12-14, made some very strong criticisms of
conditions in East Timor.

He reportedly described conditions in Indonesia's youngest
province as being "at the bottom of the scale on human rights".

He called on the Clinton administration to take a tougher line
against the alleged human rights abuses committed by Jakarta and
went as far as to suggest Washington send a high level envoy to
discuss the situation with Indonesian officials.

The former Portuguese colony of East Timor was integrated into
Indonesia in 1976. However the United Nations and many other
Western states still recognize Lisbon as the administrative power
there.

The Indonesian Embassy said it was "puzzled" that Wolf's
reflections were completely at odds with those made by his
colleagues on previous visits.

The embassy added that Wolf's very brief visit "could hardly
have yielded any depth of knowledge on East Timor's rapid
transition from poverty and misery under Portuguese rule to
progress and well-being".

"We (the Indonesian government) have been more sensitive to
the rights of the people of East Timor and have done more to
enhance the quality of life of East Timor's people in 20 short
years than over 450 years of Portuguese colonial servitude," said
the embassy.

Charges by the congressman about the large military presence
in East Timor were also countered.

The embassy maintains that of the five 800-troop battalions
there, only one is a combat group while the other four are
entrusted with the civic mission of infrastructure building.

The embassy also brushed aside Wolf's attempts to link
allegations of criminal activity to the military as
"irresponsible" and "libelous".

"If Mr. Wolf has proof of criminal acts he should alert the
authorities, if he doesn't he should refrain from unfounded
allegations," the embassy said.

Yesterday's statement comes a day after Indonesian Minister of
Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas fired a salvo against what he calls
Western double standards.

Alatas revealed Tuesday that he had recently received a letter
from Congressman Patrick Kennedy who professed his concern for
several people detained in a Christmas eve melee, but neglected
to express his anguish about the victims of the incident.

Foreign Ministry sources yesterday divulged that Alatas in his
Jan. 23 reply said he was "disappointed" with Kennedy's "biased
and a priori assessment of Indonesia's policy on the protection
of human rights in East Timor."

Kennedy, son of Senator Edward Kennedy and nephew of the late
President John F. Kennedy, addressed his Dec. 31 letter to
President Soeharto. (mds)