UN envoy here for talks and East Timor visit

UN envoy here for talks and East Timor visit

JAKARTA (JP): A special rapporteur from the United Nations'
Human Rights Commission for Execution Without Trial is now here
on a 10-day visit.

During his stay in this country Waly Bacre Ndiaye, the
rapporteur, will meet with high-ranking officials in Jakarta and
East Timor, a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said
here yesterday.

The ministry also said that Ndiaye's visit is at Jakarta's
invitation which was extended at the 50th Human Rights Commission
Annual Meeting in Geneva last March.

Spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Irawan Abidin,
told The Jakarta Post that Ndiaye, who replaced Amos Wako, met
with Coordinating Minister for Political Affairs and Security
Soesilo Soedarman, Minister of Home Affairs Yogie S. Memet and
Head of the National Police Gen. Banurusman Astrosemitro
yesterday.

Today he will also meet with the Minister of Defense and
Security, Gen. Edi Sudradjat, and the Commander of the Armed
Forces, Gen. Feisal Tanjung, before visiting the Cipinang prison
later in the evening.

At the prison he plans to meet with both its director and
prisoners. East Timor rebel leader Jose Alexandre "Xanana"
Gusmao, who was visited by his wife and children last week, is
among those imprisoned there.

On Wednesday, Ndiaye is scheduled to leave for Bali to hold
talks with the Commander of the Udayana Military Command, Maj.
Gen. Adang Rukhyatna, whose jurisdiction includes East Timor, and
on the following day he will proceed to the former Portuguese
colony.

Irawan said that during his three days in Dili the U.N. envoy
would meet with the city military commander, the head of Dili's
prosecution office and the head of the local district court.

Ndiaye is expected to return to Jakarta on Monday because on
Tuesday he is slated to meet members of the National Commission
for Human Rights, Coordinating Minister Soesilo Soedarman and
members of the House of Representatives.

The envoy will hold talks with Minister of Justice Oetojo
Oesman, Attorney General Singgih and Foreign Minister Ali Alatas
on Wednesday. He will leave Jakarta the following day.

A special rapporteur is assigned to observe violations of the
right to life which take place throughout the world and report
the findings to the U.N. Human Rights Commission.

In Indonesia, Ndiaye will investigate claims of torture and
arbitrary execution, Irawan said as quoted by Reuters.

During the recent commission's 50th assembly, alleged
violations were reported to have taken place in 74 countries,
which include developing countries such as Bangladesh, China,
Egypt and Indonesia and also developed ones such as Sweden,
Britain and the United States, the statement said.

According to Reuters, the trip had been postponed for a month
due to Alatas' health condition.

Irawan said the minister, who underwent a heart operation in
Australia and returned recently is not in a condition that he can
resume his works at the Foreign Office.

The U.N. has not recognized the integration of East Timor into
Indonesia, which took place in 1976. It has since been mediating
dialogs between Jakarta and Lisbon in the hope of ending the
conflict. (pwn)