| Subject: Indonesia
recognizes East Timor independence vote Indonesia
recognizes East Timor independence vote
JAKARTA, Oct 20 (AFP) - Indonesia's national assembly early
on Wednesday ratified the results of East Timor's independence vote, clearing the way for
the territory's freedom from the country that invaded it in 1975.
Assembly chairman Amien Rais said the historic decree
recognizing the August 30 vote was cleared by representatives of all factions of the
People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) and were approved by the floor.
No vote was taken.
Passage of the decree, which will pave way for the takeover
by an interim United Nations administration in the former Portuguese colony, had been
delayed from Tuesday because of a vote on President B.J. Habibie's performance in office.
Habibie lost the vote in part because of scathing criticism
from almost all sides of the political spectrum for his allowing the UN-conducted vote,
which resulted in an overwhelming four to one vote to break with Indonesia.
The members of the MPR, who were scheduled to vote for a
new Indonesian president on Wednesday, called his move rash and ill thought out against a
background of rumbling separatist movements in other provinces.
Habibie had earlier urged the assembly not to delay
ratification of the vote, warning that Indonesia faced further international isolation if
it did.
Indonesia invaded East Timor in 1975 and annexed the
territory a year later in a move never recognized by the UN.
For the next 23 years the East Timor issue became Jakarta's
foreign policy albatross, staining its role as a leading developing nation.
Under the terms of an agreement between Indonesia and
Portugal, the territory's old colonial masters, reached at the UN in New York on May 5,
the MPR was due to nullify a decree enacted in 1978 formalizing the integration of East
Timor as Indonesia's 27th province.
The new decree passed Wednesday will recognize the results
of the August 30 referendum. A transitional UN administration will run East Timor prior to
full independence, preparations for which are already under way.
In Dili, the capital of East Timor, an AFP reporter said
the remaining Indonesian troops has been loading their belongings on landing craft at the
port in apparent anticipation of the formal recognition of the territory's independence.
Discussions were also underway in Dili betwween the UN and
a 31-man Indonesian task force, which arrived at the weekend, on details of the handover
of Indonesian state property to the UN adminstration.
A UN Mission in East Timor spokesman told AFP in Dili:
"There's some suggestion that the final element of the TNI (Indonesian armed forces)
may be withdrawn soon after the vote.
"We'll remain in close contact with the TNI commander
in Dili. He will advise us to the time of the withdrawal."
Some 1,500 Indonesian troops remain in the territory.
A wave of post-referendum violence by pro-Indonesia
militiamen prompted a UN-mandated multinational force to be sent to East Timor to restore
order. Its deployment has further fuelled Indonesian anger against Habibie.
Student street protestors have tagged him "the father
of disintegration" and the military has expressed fears the vote will open the door
wider to determined separatist movements in the provinces of Aceh and Irian Jaya, leading
to the "Balkanization" of Indonesia.
One of the seven chapters of the new East Timor draft
decree said it would "not invalidate the actions or all forms of state honor to
fighters and officials given during the period that the East Timor territory was united
with the Republic of Indonesia according to national laws".
It also stated that recognition of the poll results would
not diminish the rights of East Timorese who opted to remain loyal to Indonesia.
The draft also tasked the new president with providing
protection, in cooperation with international agencies, for East Timorese following the
ballot, and assigned him or her to take the necessary legal steps regarding the
citizenship of pro-Indonesia East Timorese.
It also asked the president to work with the lower house to
take further constitutional steps to settle the East Timor question.
Kofi Annan hails move on East Timor by Indonesian assembly
WASHINGTON, Oct 19 (AFP) - UN Secretary General Kofi Annan
on Tuesday hailed a decision of the Indonesian national assembly to ratify the results of
East Timor's independence vote August 30.
"It means we have to move from transition to
independence," Annan told an audience at the World Bank here.
The assembly recognized the results of the UN-organized
poll in which residents of East Timor voted overwhelmingly for independence from Jakarta,
which seized the territory in 1975.
The vote prompted a wave of looting and violence in East
Timor by pro-Indonesia militiamen and led to the deployment of an Australian-led
international force.
Annan on Tuesday said East Timor would be likely be
administered by the United Nations, backed by some 9,000 foreign troops.
"Eventually there will be another election to choose
their own leaders," Annan said of the East Timorese.
He added that UN forces would probably withdraw "in a
time frame of two to three years," although the pullout could go faster.
------ Clinton "welcomes" Indonesian decision on
East Timor
WASHINGTON, Oct 20 (AFP) - US President Bill Clinton
welcomed the decision by Indonesia's National Assembly to ratify the decree giving
independence to East Timor.
"I welcome the historic decision," Clinton said
Tuesday in a statement, adding that the assembly's "unequivocal action shows respect
for the will of the people of East Timor."
"It is also an important step forward in Indonesia's
own democratic transformation, which the United States strongly supports," he added.
Clinton cautioned that "much work remains to make sure
that East Timor's transition succeeds," Clinton said.
Indonesia, East Timor, the United Nations and Portugal are
all expected to be involved in the transition, in which East Timor ceases to be
Indonesia's "27th province."
"And Indonesia must take the necessary steps to ensure
the safe return of all displaced East Timorese, including allowing the international
community full access to displaced persons in West Timor," Clinton added.
"The United States is committed to helping the people
of East Timor not only obtain the legal recognition of independence but also develop the
institutions they need to thrive as an independent state," he said
"We are equally determined to help Indonesia achieve
its goal of lasting democracy and prosperity. Today's action will bring both goals closer
to fruition," Clinton concluded.
In an earlier statement, US State Department spokesman
James Foley also welcomed the vote in Indonesia and promised US cooperation in
facilitating East Timor's transition to independence.
"The challenges ahead include restoring security in
East Timor, investigating the violence and preventing further bloodshed by disarming and
disbanding the militia groups," Foley added.
East Timor's referendum August 30 supported independence
from Indonesia which invaded it in 1975, annexing it the following year in a move the
United Nations never recognized.
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