Indonesia rejects Security Council mission

UNITED NATIONS, Sept 19 (AFP) - Indonesia on Tuesday rejected a proposed mission which the UN Security Council had planned to send to Jakarta to put pressure on the government to disband militias in West Timor.

"Indonesia believes that sending a UN mission at the present juncture could easily be misunderstood," the country's chief political and security minister, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, said.

Speaking to reporters after a meeting with members of the Security Council, he said "we shall continue to communicate with the United Nations through diplomatic channels."

Diplomats said the council wanted to send a delegation to Jakarta with "a strong message to the government".

It intended that the delegation should also visit West Timor, where three UN relief workers were murdered by a militia-led mob on September 6.

But Yudhoyono said that sending a delegation could indicate "that the United Nations does not trust the Indonesian government."

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