U.S. pleased by UN talks on East Timor
U.S. pleased by UN talks on East Timor
WASHINGTON (Reuter): The United States said on Friday it was very encouraged by the last round of United Nations-sponsored talks on the disputed island of East Timor.
The foreign ministers of Portugal and Indonesia, after an initial two days of UN-sponsored meetings, agreed last Friday that senior officials of the two sides would hold intensive talks beginning on July 28.
"We are very encouraged by reports of the seriousness with which both Indonesia and Portugal approached the discussions," State Department spokesman John Dinger said in a statement.
The latest discussions between Portuguese Foreign Minister Jaime Gama and his Indonesian counterpart, Ali Alatas, were the ninth in a series that began in 1983 and the first since UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan took office in January.
They are aimed at finding an internationally acceptable solution to the problem of East Timor, which Indonesia occupied in 1975 after civil war erupted following Portugal's withdrawal from its colony.
The next session of talks will take place in New York, chaired by the secretary-general's special representative on East Timor, Ambassador Jamsheed Marker of Pakistan.
"All-inclusive" talks among East Timorese groups and political movements that met in June 1995 and March 1996 in Austria also will continue. The next meeting is targeted for August but the venue has not been set.
"The U.S. strongly supports the talks and believes they offer the best opportunity for reaching an internationally acceptable solution to the long-standing problems in East Timor," Dinger said.
Meanwhile it was reported from Jakarta yesterday that guards at the Bulgarian embassy in the capital have ejected four East Timorese youths who jumped over the embassy wall.
"The four have tried to enter the embassy on Friday morning, but were ejected. The motive of their move is unclear. They were then interrogated by security officers," one source said. The source gave no further details.
A policeman on duty confirmed the four had entered the embassy but were then ejected.
"They were kicked out. The case is now being handled by the military," he said.
Military and embassy officials could not be reached for comment and it was unclear whether the Timorese were in custody.
Since September 1995, 108 East Timorese have entered foreign embassies in Jakarta and asked for political asylum, which has always been granted by Portugal, the former colonial ruler of East Timor.
Last February, guards at the Palestinian embassy ejected four East Timorese who jumped over the embassy seeking political asylum.