UN chief seeks quick solution on E. Timor

UN chief seeks quick solution on E. Timor

GENEVA (Reuter): United Nations chief Kofi Annan said
yesterday that Portugal and Indonesia were ready to revive UN-
sponsored talks on East Timor and he hoped the two sides could
reach agreement quickly on the troubled territory.

Annan said he would meet Indonesian Foreign Minister Ali
Alatas in the Swiss resort of Davos, where the World Economic
Forum is hosting its annual gathering to Feb. 4.

The new UN secretary-general said he had met Portuguese and
Indonesian envoys in New York to discuss resuming the talks,
which were to have taken place in December but were postponed.

"They are prepared to move the process forward and continue
the talks," Annan said.

"Since both sides are ready and prepared to move forward, I
intend after appropriate consultations to set in motion the
mechanism for the talks," he added, without giving a date.

"We will try to keep it on a sustained basis and try to bring
the parties to some conclusion as quickly as possible."

Alatas told reporters in Jakarta on Tuesday, after meeting
President Soeharto, that he expected to discuss the East Timor
issue with Annan in Davos.

Alatas accused Portugal of trying to drag out the East Timor
issue and seeking to blame Jakarta for the lack of a settlement.

East Timor, a former Portuguese colony, was integrated into
Indonesia in 1976 and has since become Indonesia's 27th province.

The United Nations did not recognize the integration and still
regards Portugal as the territory's administering power.

Tensions in the East Timor capital, Dili, have risen recently
as Indonesian security officers searched for youths suspected of
involvement in the murder of a soldier on Dec. 24.

Meanwhile, a statement from the Malaysian Attorney-General
said yesterday that four members of a pro-Malaysian government
youth group that disrupted a conference on East Timor last
November will be charged today,

The 60 participants of the Asia Pacific Conference on East
Timor II (Apcet II) would not face charges, the statement said.

Members of the youth group broke up the Nov. 9 meeting at a
Kuala Lumpur hotel, overturning furniture and manhandling
participants.

The four, members of Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's United
Malays National Organization (UMNO), would be charged with
illegally disrupting the meeting, the Attorney General said.
The participants welcomed the decision.

"However, we are concerned that the several hundred others who
participated in the disruption and are equally responsible are
getting off scot-free," the November 9 Civil Rights Group said in
a statement yesterday.

The Malaysian government had opposed the conference, fearing
it would harm ties with Indonesia.

Apcet II aimed to focus attention on East Timor.

More than 100 people, including participants and journalists,
were detained after the aborted conference. Malaysia subsequently
deported 46 foreign participants.