By Richard McGregor
INDONESIA'S historic about-turn on East Timor has been greeted with a mixture of praise and suspicion ahead of the resumption today of UN negotiations with Portugal on the troubled province.
The policy reversal has offered the first genuine hope of a permanent settlement 23 years after Indonesia invaded the former Portuguese colony, but also the prospect of renewed civil war. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan yesterday welcomed the move but said talks on UN autonomy proposals would continue.
A spokesman said Mr Annan had underlined the need to avoid "unnecessary violence and bloodshed". "He urges all parties concerned to show maximum restraint and political wisdom in dealing with this important period of transition."
Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said the issue needed to be handled carefully "to enable an orderly and peaceful resolution".
In Dili, the East Timorese capital, pro-independence activists embraced while a group of pro-Indonesian civil servants said they were planning to ask the army for weapons.
In Lisbon, the reaction was tempered, with Portugal calling for further details "especially through the United Nations, on the scope of the declarations". Branding any lengthy comment "premature", the Portuguese Foreign Ministry said it was determined to "find out whether this is a new Indonesian policy (on East Timor) or a new way of formulating the same policy". "The contradictions are numerous in Indonesia, where power is far from being stable," said Portuguese President Jorge Sampaio.
Indonesian Foreign Minister Ali Alatas announced on Wednesday that independence would be offered to East Timor if plans for autonomy proved unacceptable. Among the clarifications likely to be sought are how the East Timorese could reject autonomy without voting in a referendum, not mentioned by Indonesia on Wednesday. East Timorese Nobel Laureate Bishop Carlos Ximenes Belo said he welcomed the offer but still wanted a referendum.
