UN special envoy to spend two days in E. Timor

UN special envoy to spend two days in E. Timor

JAKARTA (JP): The United Nations secretary general's envoy for
East Timor, Jamsheed Marker, arrived on Tuesday for a nine-day
visit, including two days in East Timor.

On Wednesday, he met Armed Forces (ABRI) Intelligence Agency
chief Maj. Gen. Zacky Anwar Makarim and ABRI Chief of Territorial
Affairs Lt. Gen. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Meetings with Minister of Defense and Security/Armed Forces
(ABRI) Commander Gen. Wiranto scheduled for Monday and with
President B.J. Habibie the following day are unconfirmed, an
official at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs said Wednesday.

A meeting with Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas is also
on Monday's itinerary. Wiranto and Habibie were scheduled to
return from Hanoi after attending the ASEAN Summit of Leaders on
Wednesday evening. Marker's final meeting will be with Minister
of Justice Muladi on Tuesday.

Antara reported Wednesday that Marker was greeted at the
Soekarno-Hatta International Airport on Tuesday evening by head
of the UN office here Francesco Vendrell, director for
international organizations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Makmur Widodo and director of the United Nations Development
Program, Ravi Rajan.

The agency quoted Marker as saying that his visit continued on
from the senior officials' meeting in New York and earlier
meetings in Lisbon and Austria for the All-Inclusive East Timor
Dialog. Marker said a central issue to be discussed with
authorities would be a proposal for the province's autonomy.

"Hopefully we will be able to advance this process further
during my visit here," he said. The Indonesian government has
proposed wide-ranging autonomy for East Timor but several groups
want an immediate referendum on the province's status.

On Thursday he will visit East Timorese resistance leader Jose
Alexandre "Xanana" Gusmao in Cipinang prison, East Jakarta.
Marker will leave for Denpasar, Bali, on Friday to meet Udayana
Regional Military Commander Maj. Gen. Adam Damiri.

His visit to East Timor begins Saturday where he will meet
Governor Abilio Jose Osorio Soares, military commander Col.Tono
Suratman and East Timor public figures.

On Sunday Marker is scheduled to meet and Dili Bishop Carlos
Ximenes Filipe Belo, a Noble laureate and Bacau Bishop Basilio do
Nascimento.

East Timor was integrated into Indonesia in 1976, a move
unrecognized by the United Nations. The UN recognizes Lisbon as
the administrator of its former colony.

Separately, Antara quoted Xanana as saying on Tuesday that he
expected the East Timor issue would be settled after next June's
general election.

"The present government is more moderate (than the past
administration) because various problems, including the East
Timor issue, are being handled," Xanana told Antara and Lusa, the
Portuguese news agency, at the Cipinang prison.

The agency also reported that on Monday at about 10 p.m. five
members of the Falintil resistant group attacked a police
precinct in Liquisa district, 38 kilometers west of Dili.

No casualties were reported and the attackers reportedly fled.
A police officer said an M-16 magazine and three M-16 ammunitions
were found.

The agency also reported that the chairman of the Indonesian
Ulemas Council (MUI) in the province, Abdullah M. Sagran,
appealed to people to refrain from responding to rumors spread by
"irresponsible parties". He told religious leaders at a forum
that rumors of imminent riots similar to that of Nov. 30 in
Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara, when several mosques were burned and
damaged, were aimed at fomenting unrest.

Meanwhile, in Bobonaro regency, about 120 kilometers northwest
of Dili, hundreds of residents brought the body of Romeo Atouri,
22, to the local council in Maliana town on Monday to demand
accountability. The resident of Cailako district was found on
Monday in Mundole, about 50 kilometers to the west of Maliana,
and was believed to have been tortured.

Relatives said Romeo was on his way to visit a sick relative.
Local military commander Lt.Col. Burhanuddin Siagian, who met the
residents at the council, said the case was under investigation.
(33/byg/anr)