| Subject: AN: Indonesia rejects Australian MPs as
Observers Date: Fri, 02 Jul 1999 09:16:37 +0000 From: "John M. Miller" <fbp@igc.apc.org> EAST TIMOR : INDONESIAN EXPLAINS REJECTION OF AUSTRALIAN MPs 06/30/1999 Antara - The Indonesian National News Agency Copyright (C) 1999; Source: World Reporter (TM) - Asia Intelligence Wire Canberra, June 30 (ANTARA) - Indonesian Ambassador to Australia Wiryono Sastrohandoyo said the presence of foreign observers in the run-up to the direct vote in East Timor is arranged by the United Nations which has recruited 400 observers. "The number is more than enough to monitor the ballot, and if more of them are sent it would be difficult to take care of them there," Wiryono said in a press statement in Canberra Wednesday. The Indonesian embassy deemed it necessary to explain a number of Australian legislators who had complained they had been refused to come to troubled East Timor . East Timor will be teeming with foreign guests, consisting of bservers, journalists and UNAMET personnel, toward the direct vote scheduled for August 22. And if more of them are sent there, lack of accommodation and facilities may occur in view of the limited number of hotels in the former Portuguese colony. In this context, therefore, the Indonesian government had no intention to reject the applications for a visa that had been filed by Australian MPs. The Indonesian government hoped the Australian MPs would understand the situation, Wiryono said. A six-member New South Wales parliamentary delegation said their application for a visa for East Timor had been turned down. The delegation's chief Paul Lynch told the a Tuesday that he had been trying to find out the reasons for the rejection. "A reply that we have received in writing said that too many people coming to East Timor would create an unfavourable situation there," said Lynch, MP from the Labour Party. Back to July Menu |