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Subject: LUSA: No "special treatment" for Xanana Gusmao
Date: Mon, 31 Aug 1998 11:14:39 -0400 (EDT)
From: "Sharon R.A. Scharfe" <pet@web.net>
27 AGO 98 - 10:20 East Timor: No''special treatment'' for Xanana Gusmão, Indonesian governement says
Jakarta, 27 Aug (Lusa) - Jailed East Timorese armed resistance leader Xanana Gusmão will not be given any ''special treatment'' in spite of international calls for his release, the Indonesian government said on Wednesday. ''There will be no special treatment for Xanana because he was convicted of a crime,'' Justice Minister Muladi said, adding, ''so the government will not provide him a special treatment, like house arrest.'' The justice minister admitted, however, that a solution to Gusmão's case could be part of an overall agreement over East Timor.
The Indonesian government has indicated that Gusmão, who is serving a 20-year sentence at the Cipinang prison on the outskirts of Jakarta, will not be freed until a peace settlement has been reached over East Timor. East Timor's half-island off northern Australia, has been under Indonesian occupation since December 1975. Indonesia's new president, B.J. Habibie, has offered a measure of autonomy for East Timor. However, Habibie has rejected calls for an internationally supervised referendum in East Timor on the question of self-determination.
Indonesia's has steadfastly refused calls for international human rights groups and foreign leaders, among the European politicians and South African President Nelson Mandela, to free Gusmão. Portugal has also demanded Gusmão's ''unconditional'' release from prison.-Lusa nnnn
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For more information on Parliamentarians for East Timor, Please Contact: Sharon Scharfe, International Secretariat Parliamentarians for East Timor Suite 116, 5929-L Jeanne D'Arc Blvd., Orleans, ON K1C 7K2 CANADA Fax: 1-613-834-2021 E-Mail: pet@web.net