Solidamor recognizes military's role in E. Timor
JAKARTA (JP): The Solidarity for Peace in East Timor (Solidamor) non-governmental organization offered on Monday a compromise that would maintain the Armed Forces' (TNI) role in a direct vote to decide on the territory's future.
In a release signed by chairman Bonar Tigor Naipospos, Solidamor said it proposed meeting halfway due to the forces' resistance to the presence of a United Nations peacekeeping force during balloting, which is scheduled for July or August.
"Because TNI has been in East Timor for 23 years, it is politically and morally responsible for security arrangements there. But during the transitional period and balloting day, TNI presence must be put under UN supervisory officers' coordination," the release said.
Solidamor issued the release in response to a new East Timor autonomy deal between Indonesia and Portugal in their dialog held under the auspices of the UN in New York on Friday. The conflicting parties will not sign the agreement until May 5 because they remain split on direct balloting arrangements and the size of the UN presence.
Solidamor hailed the deal as "a brighter light which leads to a settlement", but demanded some conditions to ensure that the direct vote could run in a fair, just and democratic way.
The requirements include the release of Jose Alexandre "Xanana" Gusmao, president of the National Resistance Council for an Independent East Timor (CNRT), the disarmament of warring groups in the territory and the presence of independent observers during the balloting.
The Timor Socialist Party (PST) also welcomed and supported the agreement reached by Indonesia and Portugal, but said it considered the autonomy package just one of various diplomatic efforts aimed at finding a resolution to East Timor dispute.
"We, PST, have been struggling for the sake of an independent state (RDLT), (but) we appreciate options offered by other political powers in East Timor, including our prointegration brothers," a PST spokesman, Nelson Tomas Correia, told a media conference on Monday.
Correia demanded that the UN and Portugal take PST into account in the peace process, and not just the widely known Xanana-led CNRT.
"The CNRT is not the only political organization which struggles for an independent East Timor. We cannot accept CNRT leadership, either, because it is struggling for a new independent state," Correia said.
Six students on a hunger strike in support of PST ended their strike after seven days on Monday. The six students are now being treated at Carolus hospital in Central Jakarta. Two others are still striking.
Meanwhile, British Deputy Foreign Minister Derek Fatchett arrived here on Monday for a three-day visit that will cover East Timor province. It will be the first visit by a British senior official to East Timor.
Fatchett is scheduled to meet with several top government officials, and leaders of political parties and groups involved in the June 7 general election, the British Embassy said in a press release.
Fatchett is scheduled to visit East Timor on Wednesday to hold talks with local figures on the two conflicting sides -- the prointegration and proindependence camps.
"We have also been prominent in backing the United Nations' actions to secure a stable future for East Timor. My visit to the territory is the clearest possible evidence of the strength of that support," he said.
Fatchett, who visited Jakarta three times last year, said he would urge those he meets both in Jakarta and Dili to find a peaceful way forward. (aan/amd)