Xanana blames Wiranto for East Timor mayhem

JAKARTA (JP): East Timor independence leader Jose Alexandre Xanana Gusmao on Monday blamed former Indonesian Military (TNI) commander Gen. Wiranto for the destruction and violence that took place in his homeland following the Aug. 30 self-determination ballot.

Xanana, who is widely expected to become East Timor's first president, however, pledged to forge close ties with Indonesia.

He said that Gen. Wiranto, who was the TNI commander and defense minister when the Aug. 30 ballot was held in East Timor, was responsible for the discipline of his troops in the period from the run-up to immediately after the vote.

"If in a small guerrilla army we have discipline as our best strength, in an army as sophisticated that of Indonesia, I believe Gen. Wiranto, as minister of defense was responsible (for what had been happening)," he said.

Xanana led a guerrilla war against Jakarta's rule from 1975 until his arrest in 1992. He was later convicted by an Indonesian court to life imprisonment but was freed in September as part of an international deal to organize a referendum in East Timor.

TNI has been accused of supporting pro-Indonesia militias who went on a rampage of destruction and violence in East Timor following the UN-administered ballot that resulted in an overwhelming vote against greater autonomy while remaining within Indonesia.

Xanana accused the Army's elite Special Force (Kopassus) and its generals of the destruction and for backing pro-Indonesia militias. "I have to say Kopassus generals were very very involved in the destruction," Xanana said.

He said, however, that he wanted to forge good ties with Jakarta. "Although during those 30 years the links between East Timor and Indonesia were undesirable, we want to start with the new government a new future of friendship and cooperation.

"What happened in the past has to be left to the past, and with the democratization process taking place in Indonesia, we want a new future between East Timor and Indonesia in a cooperative and friendly way," he said.

"What happened in the past must not be a reason not to improve our relationship (with Indonesia) in the future," he said.

Xanana said any legal pursuit of those responsible for the violence and the "systematic, planned destruction," should be left to the "right instances."

The United Nations has sent a five-member team to East Timor to probe the violence there. Jakarta has launched its own inquiry which has also pointed to the involvement of the military and its generals in the violence.

Xanana, accompanied by his Falintil guerrilla deputy commander Taur Matan Ruak, has been in Jakarta since Saturday for a series of meetings with government officials and non-governmental activists. He was joined on Sunday by East Timor's joint Nobel Peace Prize winner Jose Ramos-Horta and Mari Alkatiri.

The East Timor delegation is due to meet with President Abdurrahman Wahid on Tuesday.

Xanana said the fate of more than 200,000 refugees in East Nusa Tenggara, border security, the release of East Timorese prisoners, business and investment and the possibility of East Timorese students continuing their studies in Indonesia would the issues that were going to be discussed with Abdurrahman.

"It is the first visit and we will try to open the doors to further negotiations, further contacts with Indonesian officials.

"We are also trying to invite (Indonesian) businessmen to start thinking about going to East Timor to help the reconstruction," Xanana said.

He added he hoped Indonesia would be able to peacefully settle its internal problems, including the rising separatist sentiments in several regions. "What we can wish is that the internal problems of Indonesia can be solved, and hopefully in a peaceful way," Xanana said.

President Abdurrahman on Sunday said he would welcome the opening of a representative office for Xanana's National Resistance Council for Independent East Timor (CNRT) in Jakarta, overruling objection by the military.

Abdurrahman said that the opening of such an office was his decision to make. (byg)