U.S. prefers international presence in East Timor

U.S. prefers international presence in East Timor

JAKARTA (JP): United States Secretary of State Madeleine
Albright said Friday her government preferred an international
presence and urged disarmament of civilians in order to ensure
peace in East Timor.

Albright warned of the dangers of an abrupt transition in the
province, which "could result in violence comparable to that
which followed Portugal's withdrawal in 1975".

"We favor confidence-building measures, such as a reduction in
the number of troops, and an international presence to reduce the
prospects for future violence," she said, without elaborating.

An official in her entourage was quoted by Reuters as saying
that the presence could be "regional ... a United Nations
presence or a mixture."

Albright was addressing a gathering of more than 100 prominent
figures, including chairwoman of the Indonesian Democratic Party
of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) Megawati Soekarnoputri.

Albright said the U.S. fully supports the formation of a
broad-based "Peace and Stability Council" in East Timor. Jailed
East Timorese leader Jose Alexandre "Xanana" Gusmao has made a
similar proposal.

The goal of such transitional arrangements "must not be simply
to slice East Timor apart or cast it adrift; but rather to ensure
its cohesion and viability," she said.

"We see an urgent need to stabilize the situation through the
disarmament of all paramilitary forces, as both Xanana Gusmao and
General Wiranto have urged," she said.

In the morning she had met President B.J. Habibie, and told
him that President Bill Clinton was very happy with his offer of
either wide-ranging autonomy or independence for East Timor.

Clinton's message, she said after the two-hour meeting,
included the importance of ensuring that no violence was involved
during the process of a settlement in East Timor.

After meeting Habibie, she met Xanana at the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs and Armed Forces Commander (ABRI) Gen. Wiranto.

Xanana's lawyer, Hendardi, quoted him as appealing for
Washington's support in reducing the tension in the province by
deployment of the United Nations police force to disarm the pro-
independence and pro-integration factions.

"Washington will support every effort toward a peaceful
solution to the East Timor problem," Albright was quoted as
saying by Hendardi.

Separately Ana Gomez, head of Portugal's Interest Section in
Indonesia, said she was convinced that the Armed Forces would be
able to maintain security and control the militias in East Timor.

Further, while officials have dismissed demands for a
referendum for the East Timorese to determine their future,
Albright told the gathering, "We believe it is essential that a
credible means is identified for determining the will of East
Timor's people, because a settlement that does not reflect that
cannot last and won't succeed."

Her meeting with Xanana was originally scheduled at his
special detention house in Central Jakarta, but it was moved to
Alatas' office for security reasons.

"I decided 30 minutes before the meeting to move it from
Salemba to the foreign affairs ministry for security reasons,"
Minister of Justice Muladi, who was also present during the
meeting, said.

Hendardi told The Jakarta Post, "Xanana said the military's
intelligence task force (SGI) is still playing a role by arming
pro-integration militia groups and provoking trouble." (byg/prb)