Indonesia to Meet UNTAET on East Timor Independence

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta:A meeting between Indonesia and the UNTAET ( United Nations Transitional Administration for East Timor) will be held on Monday (25/2) to discuss the East Timor independence which is scheduled to be declared on May 20, 2002. The Foreign Ministry’s Director of International Organizations, Marty Natalegawa, made the announcement to the press in Jakarta, on Tuesday (19/2). “This will be the sixth meeting between the two parties. However this particular meeting will be held at the ministerial level and will have more significance, given the approaching independence of East Timor,” Marty said. He said Indonesia will be represented by Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda; and UNTAET by its chief representative Sergio de Melo and two East Timorese independence fighters: Ramos Horta and Mari Alkatiri. Marty said the meeting will discuss similar subjects discussed at previous meetings, such as the state archives, pension for East Timor officials, claims of assets in East Timor belonging to the Indonesian government and Indonesian citizens. He added that when East Timor separated from Indonesia, many archives were lost and the East Timorese now need Indonesia’s assistance to handle this problem. Other subjects to be discussed at the meeting, Marty said, will be the fate of East Timorese currently living in Indonesia, especially students. To manage this matter, Indonesia is to work out a cultural agreement with East Timor, and sign a Memorandum of Understanding that will be inter-changed by mail. “In the past two years, Dili was not able to send the post directly to Indonesia, but through Lisbon or Darwin,” Marty said. The meeting will also discuss problems of refugees, human rights, and cross-border issues. (Faisal-Tempo News Room).