UN envoy Marker meets with Habibie, Alatas on East Timor

JAKARTA (JP): Visiting UN special envoy Jamsheed Marker said Tuesday he was assured of Indonesia's "firm commitment" to negotiations which have dragged on for years regarding East Timor.

He held separate meetings with President B.J. Habibie and Foreign Minister Ali Alatas Tuesday to discuss the government's proposal to give autonomy to East Timor.

Marker met with Alatas at his office in Pejambon, Central Jakarta, and then accompanied him to meet the president at Merdeka Palace.

Marker said the public had begun to understand what the government meant by its offer to East Timor of "wide-ranging" autonomy regarding self-management of its financial affairs and local administration.

Meanwhile calls for a referendum to let East Timorese determine their own future have been raised in several demonstrations.

Marker said he received much encouragement from minister Alatas as well as assurances of Indonesia's firm commitment to the negotiation process.

He added both parties agreed that the most important thing to do was to maintain a calm and peaceful atmosphere in order to continue fruitful negotiations.

Marker arrived in Jakarta last Sunday from his two-day visit to East Timor.

He arrived in Indonesia last Tuesday for a nine-day visit. Last Wednesday he met with two top generals, Maj. Gen. Zacky Anwar Makarim, chief of the military intelligence agency, and Lt. Gen. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, chief of the Armed Forces' territorial affairs.

Marker met jailed East Timorese resistance leader Jose Alexandre "Xanana" Gusmao at the Cipinang prison last Thursday.

Regarding Xanana's release, Marker said he discussed this topic with Alatas, but refused to comment, saying, "I am not in a position to comment until I report to the secretary-general".

Meanwhile, Antara quoted Director General for Political Affairs of the Foreign Ministry, Nugroho Wisnumurti as saying representative offices called interest section offices of Indonesia and Portugal would be opened at the end of January next year.

Nugroho said Indonesia would send Rezlan Ishar Jenie and Aris Havas Oegrosono from the foreign ministry to be the representative officers.

The Embassy of Thailand in Lisbon would serve as the representative office for the Indonesian government, while Portugal will use the Dutch embassy in Jakarta.

Reports indicate that Portugal's interests section in the Dutch embassy would be opened on January 15.

The move was in line with an agreement during talks under the auspices of the UN secretary-general earlier this year.

The diplomatic ties between the two countries were frozen soon after East Timor was integrated into Indonesia in 1976. (rms)