RI, Portugal resume talks on E. Timor's future

RI, Portugal resume talks on E. Timor's future

JAKARTA (Agencies): Amid praise for the recent signing of a
peace pact between East Timorese groups for and against
independence, Indonesia and Portugal this week hope to complete
an autonomy package proposal for the troubled territory.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas and his Portuguese
counterpart, Jaime Gama, are to hold a critical round of talks
with United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Thursday and
Friday against the backdrop of escalating violence since Jakarta
in January raised the prospect of independence for East Timor.

The first step is to complete the autonomy package for the
territory, which was integrated into Indonesia in 1976, then
discussions can begin on how this plan will be presented to the
800,000 East Timorese, possibly in July.

Portuguese foreign minister Jaime Gama, however, was more
concerned with the balloting, called "consultation" by the UN,
than the fine print of the 60-point autonomy plan Alatas is
bringing to the table.

"The autonomy plan is something that is more related to
Indonesia," he told Reuters. "From our perspective what is
essential is giving the opportunity to the Timorese, under the
consultation to be conducted by the UN, to choose."

"If they accept the model of autonomy they are also accepting
integration into Indonesia. If they reject, they are saying 'yes'
to paving the way for independence. The question for us is if
that choice is free and fair," Gama said.

Indonesia has offered independence if the autonomy proposal is
turned down by the East Timorese.

UN mediators, led by Pakistani diplomat Jamsheed Marker, are
expected to present plans for a direct vote in East Timor that
include the swift dispatch of a UN presence to oversee the
ballot. But peacekeeping troops are excluded.

Meanwhile, Kofi Annan on Wednesday welcomed the signing of the
peace agreement by representatives of groups for and against East
Timor's independence from Indonesia.

"Annan hailed the agreement, (saying) that its implementation
would be of paramount importance for the negotiations and to the
overall peace process (in East Timor)," UN spokesman Fred Eckhard
said in New York on Thursday.

AFP reported that Washington welcomed the East Timor peace
agreement, saying it should be implemented through specific
measures.

"We applaud the agreement's call to end all forms of
'hostility, intimidation, terror and violence' and activation of
a Peace and Stability Commission with participation by all
signatory parties," State Department spokesman James Rubin said
in a statement.

Amnesty International urged the UN secretary-general to insert
human rights protection in any agreement emerging from the
ongoing talks between Portugal and Indonesia on East Timorese
autonomy.

In a letter to Kofi Annan, the human rights organization said:
"Without measures to protect human rights, the consultation
process on the future of the territory runs the risk of being
undermined."

A UN official said in Sydney on Thursday that a multinational
peacekeeping force was among contingency plans being drawn up for
a UN mission to the troubled territory.

"The contingency planning includes all areas, including
peacekeeping," Reuters quoted Juan Carlos Brandt, director of the
United Nations Information Center in Australia, as saying.

A UN mission is set to travel to the former Portuguese colony
to prepare for the autonomy ballot, set for July.

AFP reported from London that British foreign minister Derek
Fatchett would visit East Timor next Wednesday, in the first
mission by a member of the British government to the province.

The trip will be part of a three-day stay in Indonesia from
Monday to Wednesday, during which the minister will meet with
"senior members of the government", a Foreign Office statement
said.

"We have been prominent in backing UN action to secure a
stable future for East Timor," the minister said.