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)