Wiranto to recommend early UN force in East Timor
Wiranto to recommend early UN force in East Timor
By Imanuddin
DILI, East Timor (JP): Indonesian Military (TNI) Commander
Gen. Wiranto said on Saturday that he was ready to recommend that
President B.J. Habibie allow the presence of a United Nations
peacekeeping force in East Timor sooner than November.
In a major departure from the official Indonesian position,
Wiranto told journalists: "Bearing in mind the international
pressure for a zero-accident rate in East Timor as soon as
possible, we cannot rule out the possibility of accelerating the
arrival of the peacekeeping force."
"I will raise this with the President," he said.
President Habibie has scheduled an emergency meeting for
Sunday to discuss East Timor with Wiranto and other top generals
and senior ministers.
Wiranto was in town to meet with a delegation of the United
Nations Security Council to assess the situation in East Timor,
which has been under a state of military emergency since Tuesday.
Indonesia has so far rejected international calls to let a
United Nations force into East Timor. The territory descended
into anarchy last week after the UN announced that nearly 80
percent of East Timorese voted for independence and 20 percent
for integration with Indonesia.
Wiranto said he was voicing his personal view of the
situation, and insisted that officially Indonesia could not
accept the possibility of an international force in East Timor.
"They (the peacekeeping force) will come after MPR rules to
separate East Timor from Indonesia in November," he said.
"Until then (the MPR ruling), East Timor remains a part of
Indonesia. There is no need to bring the peacekeeping force in."
Under an agreement signed with the United Nations in May,
Indonesia is responsible for security and order in East Timor
before and after the Aug. 30 UN-sponsored ballot.
The United Nations will only assume that job after the
Indonesian People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) meets in November
to endorse the result of the ballot.
Coordinating Minister for Economic and Finance and Industry
Ginandjar Kartasasmita meanwhile said Indonesia would prefer any
UN peacekeeping force to consist mainly of Asians.
"If there is to be a peacekeeping force, we would welcome more
Asian contingents in it," Ginandjar told Reuters in an interview
on Saturday in Auckland, where he is leading the Indonesian
delegation at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)
meetings.
"This is an Asian problem and it would be best if Asia could
be first given the opportunity to participate in the resolution
of the difficulties," he said.
Maj. Gen. Kiki Syahnakri, the head of the Military Emergency
Command in East Timor, told the Security Council delegation in
Dili that violence and crime had significantly declined since the
territory was put under martial law on Tuesday.
Kiki said the military was clamping down on both the
proindependence and pro-Indonesian camps who committed violence
or violated the curfew.
On Saturday, the military arrested 25 members of pro-Indonesia
militia and seized 27 weapons from them, he said.
Some 9,000 soldiers have been deployed in East Timor to
restore peace and order, he said.
Kiki said 85,121 East Timorese had left the territory, and
another 121,188 have moved to temporary shelters waiting to be
evacuated.
Martin Adjaba, a member of the delegation from Namibia,
however, told The Jakarta Post later that he was not impressed,
saying that he found conditions in East Timor "very shocking".
"We are not convinced that everything is fine here. The rate
of violence declined only after many people had moved out of East
Timor," Adjaba said.
During a tour of the town, the delegation and journalists who
were flown in by the military for the day found all houses in
Dili empty.
The governor's office, military and police stations, and the
office of the local Chamber of Commerce and Industry were
converted into temporary shelters for those remaining in Dili.
"No body sleeps in their homes anymore," said one resident.
All said they supported East Timor's integration with
Indonesia, and were hoping to leave the territory.
"We're just waiting for the government to arrange our
transportation," one Dili resident said.
Maj. Gen. Kiki said the military had also taken charge of the
distribution of food relief.
The military has also had to escort workers in and out of PT
Telkom, the state telecommunications company, to operate the
facility. They only work for a few hours a day, or on request.
All foreign journalists were believed to have left East Timor.
Only reporters representing Antara news agency and Jakarta-
based Terbit daily remained in Dili.
Journalists for Forum and Tempo magazines who arrived on
Wiranto's plane planned to stay for three more days.
Virtually all buildings in Dili have been destroyed or
damaged.
Mahkota Hotel was razed to the ground, while Turismo Hotel has
been left relatively unscathed except for broken windows.
Gen. Wiranto earlier met with pro-Indonesia leaders at Komoro
Airport.
He appealed to them to stop the violence, saying their actions
were harming Indonesia's reputation abroad and was causing more
hatred and casualties.
"I'm extending this appeal also to the proindependence people.
I ask for restraint from all of you, and that you refrain from
acts of violence which would only destroy the East Timorese
people," he said.
Among those present at the meeting were Jakarta-appointed
Governor Jose Abilio Soares and East Timor Council Speaker
Armindo Mariano Soares. The pro-Indonesia militias were
represented by their leaders Eurico Guteres, Cancio Carvalho and
Juanico Cesario.