UNTAET staff want vacation in Bali

JAKARTA (JP): Go to East Timor and have a vacation in Bali.

That looks to be the arrangement for United Nations Authority for East Timor (UNTAET) staff in the near future.

UNTAET has asked the Indonesian government to accord them facilities to allow their staff some recreation on the famous holiday resort island.

Indonesian Foreign Minister Alwi Shihab revealed on Tuesday that an UNTAET delegation on Monday had directly asked President Abdurrahman Wahid for vacation facilities.

"The possibility for recreation in Bali was also discussed by the UNTAET leader during the meeting," Alwi told reporters on Tuesday.

Alwi said the government would further discuss the matter with relevant government agencies.

The government understood that the staff, who had been working in a risky area for months, certainly needed a vacation, he added.

There was no explanation why Bali was specifically requested and not other resort destinations in the country.

Alwi played down concerns of possible resentment toward several UNTAET staff, particularly those from Australia if they cavorted about the country.

He also reminded everyone that UNTAET was comprised of not just Australians.

"There are also Malaysians, Thais, Filipinos and Jordanian citizens who need a break," he argued while describing them as some of Indonesia's friends, participating in UNTAET.

Relations between Jakarta and Canberra have severely deteriorated following what many here perceive as Australia's insensitive and overzealous attitudes toward East Timor.

According to Alwi, Jakarta had not yet given the green light to the Bali vacation proposition.

"This is still a proposal, not necessarily 100 percent accepted, maybe just 50 percent. We have to think about it later on," he said. (prb/04)