World welcomes MPR decree on East Timor

JAKARTA (JP): The International community warmly welcomed the People's Consultative Assembly's (MPR) decision to endorse the result of the Aug. 30 self-determination ballot and relinquish East Timor after 23 years under the Republic of Indonesia.

U.S. State Department spokesman James Foley said in New York on Tuesday that the MPR's approval would pave the way toward the process of independence for East Timor.

"The challenges now are how to restore peace and order in East Timor, investigate violent actions which have occurred in the region and to prevent further bloodshed, including disarming both prointegration and proindependence supporters," he told Antara.

MPR Commission B completed their deliberations of a draft decree repealing the 1978 decree which incorporated East Timor as Indonesia's 27th province. All factions agreed to accept the result of the Aug. 30 ballot in the former Portuguese colony.

More than 78 percent of eligible East Timorese rejected Indonesia's wide-ranging autonomy offer in the United Nations- sponsored ballot.

Similarly, Australian Premier John Howard said in Canberra on Wednesday the MPR's decision to endorse the result of the Aug. 30 ballot would win the support of the international community.

"The endorsement of the decree will be warmly welcomed by the international community and all Australians," he said.

Endorsement of the decree will clear the way for a transitional UN administration prior to full independence for East Timor, for which preparations are already underway.

Positive response was also aired by Portugal, which had occupied East Timor for 450 years from 1512 before it was integrated into Indonesia in 1976.

"The Indonesian legislature's decision is positive," a statement from the Portugal foreign ministry said as reported by Antara in Lisbon on Tuesday afternoon local time.

Meanwhile, Germany called on the international community to not blame Indonesia for all the conflicts in East Timor.

"It's unfair to put the blame only on Indonesia," Germany's foreign minister Ludger Volmer said in a media conference in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday.

"Indonesia did make a mistake. But it's the international community's responsibility to settle the conflicts in East Timor."

He said the East Timor crisis would destabilize ASEAN. "And Germany has an interest in ASEAN's stability to support modernization, democratization and human rights protection in the Southeast Asian region."

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan separately said the U.N. Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAED), would be effective for an estimated two to three-year period, and would need a lot of financial assistance, especially from the World Bank and other international financial institutions.

"This is a hard job because we start from the lower level," Annan said before the World Bank officials in Washington as quoted by Antara.

After peace in East Timor is restored, the U.N. will send a joint force of 9,000, including police, to replace the Australian-led International Force in East Timor (Interfet) in an effort to help accelerate the process toward East Timorese independence. Interfet is scheduled to end its task in February 2000.

Some ASEAN member countries have pledged to contribute troops for UNTAED, however, Annan did not specify which countries are willing to prepare troops nor their number.

Separately, Malaysian Commander for East Timor Brig. Gen. Khalid bin Saad told Antara in Dili on Wednesday that the composition of United Nation's multinational force must be put in balance in a bid to drive the role of ASEAN countries.

Khalid said ASEAN troops would be very helpful in restoring peace and order in East Timor. He also hinted his country's readiness to lead the peacekeeping force, replacing Australia.

Malaysia is planning to deploy some 1,000 troops, while Thailand is set to dispatch some 1,500 personnel.

Separately, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported that many refugees sheltering in several camps were suffering from contagious diseases such as malaria, diarrhea and skin rash, as well as severe breathing problems, malnutrition and a lack of food, clean water and poor sanitation.

Antara reported that Jaques Franquin, the UNHCR spokesman, said some 3,923 East Timor refugees in Jakarta were flown back to their homeland along with 3,039 others from Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara. In the next two days, UNHCR aims to send home some 2,500 refugees. (edt/imn)