| Subject: Free
E Timor wants to forge good neighbourly ties with Indonesia
Free East Timor wants to forge good neighbourly ties with Indonesia JAKARTA, Nov 29 (AFP) - East Timor leader Xanana Gusmao said on Monday that the future free state of East Timor wished to forge good ties with its giant neighbour which for close to 24 years occupied his homeland. "Although during these 30 years the links between East Timor and Indonesia were undesirable, we want to start with the new government a new future of friendship and cooperation," Gusmao told a briefing with foreign journalists here. He said one could one's choose friends but not one's neighbours, and Indonesia was an important neighbour of East Timor. Indonesia invaded the former Portuguese colony on December 7, 1975 and unilaterally annexed it the following year without the recognition of the United Nations. The Indonesian government relinquished authority over East Timor to the United Nations in October after the parliament ratified the results of a pro-independence ballot held by the UN in East Timor on August 30. "What happened in the past has to be left to the past, and with the democratization process taking place in Indonesia we want a new future between East Timor and Indonesia in a cooperative and friendly way," Gusmao said. He said he had accepted an invitation from Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid to come here for talks as a way to start setting up a new relationship between East Timor and Indonesia. Gusmao, who was accompanied by his guerrilla deputy commander Taur Matan Ruak and independence activists Nobel laureate Jose Ramos-Horta and Mari Alkatiri, said they would raise several "important issues" in their talks. The fate of refugees in Indonesian West Timor, border security, the end of tensions, the release of East Timorese prisoners, business and investment, and the possibility of East Timorese students continuing their studies in Indonesian schools would all be on the agenda. "It is the first visit and we will try to open the doors to further negotiations, further contacts with Indonesian government officials," he said. He added he hoped Indonesia would be able to peacefully settle its internal problems, including the secessionist pull in several regions. "What we can wish is that the internal problems of Indonesia can be solved, and hopefully in a peaceful way," Gusmao said. Indonesia has been plagued by separatist movements in several regions, including its provinces at its two extremities, Aceh in the west and Irian Jaya in the east. It has also seen months of communal violence in the island province of Maluku between Muslims and Christians there. East Timor is currently being administered by the UN Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) until the free state of East Timor can be set up. Ramos-Horta said at the same briefing he expected the new nation to come into being in two years' time. Back to November Menu Note: For those who would like to fax "the powers that be" - CallCenter V3.5.8, is a Native 32-bit Voice Telephony software application integrated with fax and data communications... and it's free of charge! Download from http://www.v3inc.com/ |