Xanana rejects Bali meeting on E. Timor

Xanana rejects Bali meeting on E. Timor

JAKARTA (Agencies): Jailed East Timorese separatist leader
Alexandre "Xanana" Gusmao on Wednesday wrote off emergency talks
between Australia and Indonesia on his troubled homeland, saying
they produced little of significance.

His statement coincided with the United States' welcome of
President B.J. Habibie's acceptance of a United Nations-brokered
autonomy deal for East Timor. A senior U.S. official was quoted
by AFP as saying Washington wanted to play "an active and
positive role".

But the official, who asked not to be named, also regretted
continuing violence against civilians in the province by
unrestrained militia groups opposed to East Timor autonomy.

In Jakarta, Gusmao said through his lawyer he was disappointed
Australian Prime Minister John Howard did not draw attention to
massacres this month by pro-Indonesia militia. Gusmao cited
killings in the East Timor capital of Dili and the town of
Liquica in the statement, issued by lawyer Hendardi.

The talks between Howard and Habibie took place on the resort
island of Bali on Tuesday.

"There is no new significant thing arising from the two
national leaders' talks," the statement said. The only news from
the meeting was the setting of August 8 as the date for an
autonomy ballot and a commitment by Australia on financial and
medical aid.

Gusmao said Indonesia should formally accept the UN-brokered
deal with Portugal as soon as possible. The deal includes the
presence of foreign police in the troubled territory.

Indonesia said on April 24 it had agreed to the plan and
Habibie said on Tuesday he had accepted the draft without any
changes. But it is not due to be ratified by the Cabinet until
May 5.

"The delay from April 24 to May 5 opens up the possibility for
the militia to carry out political mobilization, intimidation,
threats and terror," Xanana said.

Washington, however, said: "We welcome President Habibie's
April 27 announcement that he accepts without change the UN-
brokered autonomy package for East Timor and (that the signing
will take place)... on May 5."

The U.S. official called the decision an "important step
toward clearing the way for the UN direct ballot consultation
process with the East Timorese on August 8", and urged the
"immediate establishment" of a UN presence in the province and
called for unimpeded access for aid groups working in East Timor.

"The United States wishes to play an active and positive role
in support of the UN process. We are discussing the specific ways
in which the U.S. will assist. No final decisions have been
made," the official said.

Washington remains deeply troubled, however, by reports of
continuing violence by militia groups against Timorese civilians,
and urges the Indonesian authorities to restrain and disarm the
militia, he said.

In Dili, the capital of East Timor, an activist from the Hak
Foundation, Joaquim Fonceha, said while he still believed in the
commitment of the Indonesian government in complying with the UN
agreements, "a very strong faction of the military" was designing
a strategy to give the impression that a direct ballot would lead
East Timor to civil war.

Governor Abilio Jose Osorio Soares and East Timor Military
Commander Col. Tono Suratman separately told visiting British
Junior Foreign Office Minister Derek Fatchett they preferred a
direct ballot not be held for fear of further unrest.

Meanwhile, a law expert from the Netherlands said here on
Wednesday the people of East Timor were entitled to three, rather
than two, options under the United Nations-sponsored ballot in
August.

James L. Janssen van Raay told The Jakarta Post that under
international law, the East Timorese could opt to integrate with
Indonesia, becoming an independent state or remain under the
colonial rule of Portugal.

"This means that if the people in East Timor chose to remain
under Portugal's administration, the half-island area could
become part of the European Union through Portugal's
participation in the common market," Raay said.

The people of East Timor should be given and informed of the
three options and not just the two choices -- integration with
Indonesia with wide-ranging autonomy or independence --
stipulated in the UN agreements, he said.

Raay, who was born on Bangka Island in Indonesia in 1932, is
the secretary-general of the Indonesian Friendship Association in
the European Parliament.

He is here for a week-long visit to gather information on the
latest situation in the country. He will report his findings to
the plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg,
France, next week.

The Dutch lawyer cited several Dutch and French colonies,
mostly small islands such as the Antilles in the Bahamas and
Saint Martin Island, which chose to remain under the rule of
their colonial powers.

Now that the UN has been involved in the East Timor process,
Indonesia can no longer claim the matter is purely an internal
affair, he said. If this was simply an internal affair the ballot
should be supervised by the Ministry of Home Affairs, Raay added.

"UN participation practically makes the East Timorese a
colonized people who therefore should be subject to the
decolonization law which is part of international law under the
UN," Raay said.

Raay said experiences from past decolonizations showed most
colonies which were small islands or small areas of land chose to
become part of a bigger state or remain under their colonial
rulers because of the difficulty of economic survival as an
independent state. (vin/anr)