Subject: ffitz - UN summary of Marker press briefing
From: "John M. Miller" <fbp@igc.apc.org>5 February 1999 Press Briefing
PRESS BRIEFING BY PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE OF SECRETARY-GENERAL FOR EAST TIMOR 19990205
At the outset of the briefing, the Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary- General, Manoel
de Almeida e Silva, said that last Thursday, 28 January, the current round of senior
officials' talks on East Timor had begun at United Nations Headquarters. The talks had
been chaired by the Secretary-General's Personal Representative for East Timor, Ambassador
Jamsheed Marker of Pakistan.
Ambassador Marker said the senior officials' deliberations were still being conducted,
but he hoped they would conclude this afternoon. They covered the wide-ranging autonomy
plan, which had been proposed on the basis of the mandate given by the Secretary-General
and the Foreign Ministers of Indonesia and Portugal, on 5 August 1998, to guide those
talks. At that time, the Ministers had agreed that the senior officials meeting should
hold in-depth discussions on Indonesia's proposals for a special status based on a
wide-ranging autonomy for East Timor, without prejudice to their basic positions of
principle -- namely, that Indonesia wanted autonomy for East Timor as a definitive
solution, while Portugal would only consider autonomy for a transitional period until the
people exercised the right to self- determination.
Both sides had agreed to search for common ground in between those two positions which
would help the process forward, Ambassador Marker added.
He went on to say that, shortly after assuming his current position, Secretary-General
Kofi Annan had placed great emphasis on the problem of East Timor, and had sought to
intensify the negotiations in the search for a solution. Since then, he had been following
the matter closely and guiding the deliberations.
In October 1998, the United Nations had submitted a proposal which could serve as a
blueprint for self-administration in East Timor -- either for a permanent or transitional
autonomy, he said. The proposal had been discussed at the October session of the senior
officials' meeting and the two Governments had formally responded to it during the
November round of discussions. In the course of those and the present talks, the proposal
had been refined and many differences narrowed. The document had been enriched through the
United Nations consultations with East Timorese leaders, including Xanana Gusmao.
The Organization's consultations with the East Timorese would be intensified in the
coming weeks and months, he said. In earlier stages, many East Timorese had felt excluded
from negotiations taking place in distant New York, in which decisions could be taken that
affected their future. The Secretary-General had been clear on that point: the East
Timorese people had to be kept informed and their views solicited and incorporated into
the discussions, to avoid a situation like "Hamlet without the prince". The
Ambassador emphasized that he was very conscious of the importance of keeping the East
Timor political leadership informed about what was going on and taking into account their
views as to what to do.
The Austrian Government had generously placed facilities at their disposal where the
Timorese leaders -- from the diaspora and East Timor itself -- could meet in a pleasant
and informal atmosphere, he said. At these discussions, which lasted several days, a wide
range of issues had been addressed and differences narrowed.
The document, which he hoped would be completed this afternoon, would be submitted to
the Secretary-General and the two Foreign Ministers, he said. Obviously, there were still
areas of disagreement within the text itself, but those "square brackets"
related to the respective positions of the Indonesian side and the Portuguese side. The
document, in many ways, could stand by itself and could form a useful basis for a
constitution for East Timor, whatever form it took. It covered in detail matters including
electoral and judicial processes and citizenship. Having reached an understanding to the
extent possible, it was now as though a curtain had come down on the first phase of
negotiations and was about to go up on act II. The process was ongoing, he stressed.
The document could not now be made public, he said. After being considered by the
Secretary-General and the two Ministers, it would have to be submitted to the East
Timorese leadership for their views.
In the meantime, there had been other developments, he continued. The Indonesian
Government had made an announcement about "a second option" to address the East
Timor situation. The Secretary-General had invited the two Foreign Ministers, Ali Alatas
of Indonesia and Jaime Gama of Portugal, to meet with him over the weekend and on Monday,
8 February. Ambassador Marker would be meeting with the Ministers separately and possibly
together on Sunday. On Monday, discussions would take place with the Secretary-General and
the two Foreign Ministers: they would meet from the morning through the afternoon,
hopefully resulting in a more definitive idea of what steps were next.
He drew special attention to the importance of maintaining peace in East Timor. The
deteriorating law and order situation and disquieting reports about an increase in the
volume of arms in the territory were sources of serious concern. Xanana Gusmao had made an
appeal in that connection, as had the bishops and others, and he hoped the appeals would
be heeded.
A correspondent asked what the Ambassador had meant by "option II". He
explained that he had been quoting the Indonesian Foreign Minister who had said that the
proposal was option II. He would have to wait and find out from
East Timor Briefing - 3 - 5 February 1999
the Indonesian Government exactly what their position was, which had not been formally
conveyed as yet, but would probably be clarified over the weekend.
Except for the question of whether the autonomy would be transitional or final, was
everything else settled? a correspondent asked. The Ambassador said agreement had been
reached on all the elements where it was reasonably possible. However, the process had
been constrained by the basic difference in positions, which now had to be taken into
account before further progress could be made.
Asked for more details on the meeting at the ministerial level this weekend, the
Ambassador said he would be presenting to the Ministers and the Secretary-General the work
that had been done so far, in terms of the wide- ranging autonomy proposals, and get their
direction on points where there were square brackets. Also, he hoped Indonesia's Foreign
Minister would explain what he had meant by "option II" and the offer of
independence by East Timor. Depending on what he said and the Portuguese Foreign
Minister's reaction, the Secretary-General would be able to chart the next phase.
To a question about a possible United Nations presence in East Timor, the Ambassador
said that was an exercise in itself and would involve a whole series of negotiations. A
correspondent asked whether the United Nations would establish a transitional
administration to prepare the Territory for independence, if Indonesia left East Timor as
Portugal had in 1975. The Ambassador said Indonesia's Foreign Minister had specifically
said that Indonesia did not intend to abandon East Timor the way Portugal did in 1975. The
matter would be discussed when the Ministers met with the Secretary- General.
East Timorese activists had indicated that they would like a three-year transition
period prior to independence -- was this being discussed? a correspondent asked. That went
beyond the current mandate, but the matter would probably be discussed when the Foreign
Ministers met with the Secretary- General, Ambassador Marker answered.
A correspondent -- stating that Indonesia was prepared to accept either independence or
autonomy so long as that determination was made at the tripartite negotiations -- asked
whether the United Nations Charter defined what could be accepted as a legitimate
expression of self-determination. The Ambassador said he thought there had to be a
political process of some form there were many ways of ascertaining it with a degree of
certainty. He would have to wait and see what the substance of the Indonesian proposal was
and examine it from that point of view.
Asked whether certain parts of the document could be agreed to, the Ambassador said he
did not think that at the current time it could be selectively applied in East Timor.
However, some of the ideas in it could be used administratively.
East Timor Briefing - 4 - 5 February 1999
A correspondent asked why some East Timorese activists seemed nervous about accepting
an offer of immediate independence. The Ambassador said that, although a large majority of
East Timorese supported independence, such support was not unanimous, for a variety of
reasons. Aware of that fact, some would prefer a transitional period so that the situation
did not deteriorate into some type of civil war.
To questions about East Timorese involvement, the Ambassador said Jose Ramos Horta had
been involved in discussions, and also the Church had a very important role to play. The
two bishops with whom he had met were impressive and had extensive contacts all over the
Territory. Whenever anyone from the United Nations was there, they had always had long
meetings with them, and had been guided by what they had said. They were very much part of
the process, he stressed.
How far did the proposed autonomy extend? a correspondent asked. Ambassador Marker said
the principle was that it did not cover matters of external defence, foreign affairs and
financial matters. The latter was not quite as clear-cut as the other two, and even in the
former, there were certain problems. For example, possibilities for East Timorese to
participate in international organizations, such as the Portuguese-speaking Union, were
being examined.
How would East Timorese be asked whether or not they accepted the autonomy plan? a
correspondent asked. The Ambassador said that, through intensive ongoing consultations,
the East Timorese were already aware of some of the contents and, for the moment, that
process would continue. However, it would depend on decisions to be taken next week.
Had all parties on the East Timorese side agreed that the document would serve as the
basis of a constitution for an independent East Timor? The Ambassador said the main
elements of the proposal had been conveyed to them and feedback from them had been
received.
A correspondent asked about points that could not be settled. Those arose from the
different positions of principle of the two sides, the Ambassador stressed. There were
alternate drafts, depending on which principle was adopted. The negotiating parties were
the United Nations, Indonesia and Portugal, with close contact with the East Timorese
people, he clarified.
To questions regarding the build-up of arms, Ambassador Marker said he had raised with
the Indonesia Government reports that the country was arming pro-integrationist East
Timorese and civilian militias. He had received assurances that Indonesia was not arming
citizens. He was not in a position to say who was arming who. It was a serious concern
that there were arms on both sides, which led to the danger of conflict. The method for
disarming was not the problem -- there were various ways to do that. Rather, there had to
East Timor Briefing - 5 - 5 February 1999
be more fundamental agreement on the issue, which would be discussed over the weekend.
A correspondent asked whether transition was possible before civilians and rebels were
disarmed. The fact that the negotiations were taking place and that the Ministers were
meeting with the Secretary-General over the weekend were already significant steps in the
transition process, the Ambassador said. Disarmament and the non-use of weapons were
important items that stood by itself. He did not want to link it to a process of
transition. He did not want to wait to start disarming people until the agreement was
signed, for example. He would have wanted disarmament to have started yesterday.
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