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.