Asia Times: East Timor autonomy talks lose steam



	March 12, 1999	atimes.com

Southeast Asia

East Timor autonomy talks lose steam
By Farhan Haq

UNITED NATIONS - The UN-brokered peace talks overEast Timor are slowing down and Indonesia is giving mixed signalson its plan to give the territory extensive autonomy, according todiplomatic sources.

Leaked copies of the plan that is being discussed by UN officials andthe Portuguese and Indonesian governments indicate that the EastTimorese would be given significant self-government powers. Butsome officials warn that Jakarta is backing away from an extensiveautonomy deal.

The latest meeting Wednesday between Indonesian ForeignMinister Ali Alatas and Portuguese Foreign Minister Jaime Gamaover the fate of the former Portuguese colony began with a flurryof charges as Jakarta denied reversing its position on autonomy.

''We are not back-pedaling; we are not back-tracking,'' Alatassaid after meeting Gama and UN envoy Jamsheed Marker.

''In every negotiation, you reach certain agreements at a lowerlevel and they [negotiators] will report to their government and theirgovernment has certain suggestions for improvement . . . . There isnothing sinister about it."

Some Portuguese officials, however, believe that the IndonesianCabinet was startled by the extent of the powers which Jakarta's negotiators werewilling to give East Timor during the recent rounds of UN-brokeredtalks here.

As a result, Gama said, Indonesia this week has been bringing uptopics which had been resolved in negotiations last month.

Alatas called Gama's comments ''highlyspeculative and not based on facts.'' But he conceded, ''We can'twrap up talks at this meeting, which we had hoped [to do], becausethere are still a few aspects which need to be furtherdiscussed."

The current round of talks, which was due to end Thursday, focuses onlyon autonomy plans for East Timor, which was invaded by Indonesiaupon Portugal's departure in 1975 and annexed a year later.

Timorese leaders, however - including jailed resistance leaderXanana Gusmao - desire only a limited period of autonomy within Indonesia, which wouldbe followed by the state's independence.

Internal pressure on Jakarta to grant independence is alsogrowing. Amien Rais, leader of the opposition National MandateParty and a major candidate for presidential elections on Jun 7,said on a visit Wednesday to New York that ''it seems to me that amajority of the people of East Timor want independence."

Rais added that, if elected, he would release Gusmao, whom hecalled ''the real leader of the East Timorese people,'' and begindiscussions on which option - autonomy or independence - theTimorese people would favor. ''If it ought to be independence, I willgive it to them as soon as possible,'' he claimed.

Although Rais said that the UN talks have been helpful, hecriticized Jakarta for its slow pace in resolving the East Timorproblem and argued that the government of President BacharuddinJusuf Habibie is ''a bit wishy-washy."

Some diplomatic sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity,said that the Habibie government is worried about the precedentthat a wide-ranging autonomy package for East Timor might give toother Indonesian territories, which one source argued have shown''secessionist tendencies."

If East Timor were allowed to govern most of its affairs, theyargued, provinces like Aceh, Irian Jaya, Bali and the Moluccansmight expect similar deals - leading to a break-up of a country now comprisingmore than 13,000 islands.

Those worries were sparked by the leaking of an earlier draftof the autonomy plan last week by Portugal's Publico daily.

In the leaked draft, East Timor would have an elected governmentthat could sign accords with other governments in commerce,culture, finance, environment, science, tourism and sports. Itcould join international bodies, including the association ofPortuguese-speaking nations.

The leaked draft stated that the Indonesian government ''willhave responsibility for the exercise of East Timor's externaldefense."

It added that ''Indonesian armed forces ought to maintain alevel of military presence in East Timor appropriate to theirfunction to defend and safeguard the external security of EastTimor."

The appropriate level of forces, the draft stated, would bedetermined by the East Timorese authority and Indonesiangovernment. East Timor also would control its natural resources,except those considered ''vital to the national interests'' ofIndonesia.

Many of those points are now being reviewed in Jakarta, andJohn Miller, spokesman for the U.S.-based East Timor Action Network,argued that hardliners in the Habibie government may be pushing toback away from the earlier text.

Alatas, however, repeated an earlier promise to wrap upautonomy talks by April, and promised, ''We are going to continueto negotiate in good faith."

He declined to comment on specific aspects of the plan, notingthat all sides are committed to keep the discussions secret untilthe negotiations are concluded.

(Inter Press Service)

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©1999 Asia Times Online Co., Ltd.

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