U.S. envoy to visit Indonesia

JAKARTA (JP): The United States Ambassador to the United Nations Richard Holbrooke will arrive here on Saturday morning to conduct talks with top government officials before heading to East Timor.

Holbrooke, who will be accompanied by U.S. Assistant Secretary Stanley Roth, is scheduled to meet separately with President Abdurrahman Wahid, Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri, Foreign Ministry Alwi Shihab and Minister of Defense Juwono Sudarsono.

He will go to Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara, on Sunday before visiting refugee camps in Atambua and then proceeding to Dili.

According to a United States Embassy statement he will depart on Tuesday.

The statement said that Holbrooke would be in Jakarta to discuss issues relating to East Timor, including UN operations on both sides of the island.

In East Timor he will meet with UN transitional administrator Sergio de Mello as well as East Timorese leader Jose Alexandre "Xanana" Gusmao. (mds)