By Anne Penketh
February 9, 1999
Portugal has hailed a "face-saving" policy shift by Indonesia which should enable East Timor to gain independence after a UN-organised vote by the end of August.
"It's face-saving for everybody," the Portuguese Foreign Minister, Mr Jaime Gama, told a small group of reporters yesterday. "Face-saving for Indonesia, for us, and for the Timorese." Mr Gama said that for the first time the Indonesian Foreign Minister, Mr Ali Alatas, had accepted the idea of a UN-organised "popular consultation" of the East Timorese that would be a referendum in all but name.
Mr Alatas told reporters yesterday that Indonesia remained opposed to a "full-fledged referendum", apparently fearing that other separatist regions such as Irian Jaya, Aceh and the Molucca islands in the Indonesian archipelago might try to follow suit. But Indonesia and Portugal "agreed in principle" on a poll under UN auspices, he said. Australia was among countries which would be prepared to contribute to a UN mission in East Timor, Mr Gama said.
The talks, due to wind up today, Sydney-time, were being held in the framework of UN-sponsored autonomy negotiations on East Timor. Until now the talks had set aside the thorny issue of the former Portuguese territory's final status. The Indonesian proposal for UN-organised "ballots" meets Lisbon's demands that the East Timorese vote in a referendum on their future. The East Timorese would be asked whether they want wide-ranging autonomy as a final solution or not.
Mr Gama said Jakarta knew it would lose the autonomy plebiscite by a "wide margin", and that the independence option would be inevitable. He said the proposals spelled out by Mr Alatas yesterday made a special case for East Timor, and outlined a timetable that would lead to independence in the coming months.
The United Nations continues to recognise Portugal as the administering power in East Timor, which was invaded by Jakarta in 1975 and annexed the following year.
Mr Alatas said he hoped Indonesia and Portugal would agree "by April at the latest" on a package for broad-ranging autonomy as a final solution for East Timor that would be put to a vote of the East Timorese people.
Indonesia wants the East Timorese, including 100,000 in exile, to vote on the UN package by the end of August, when the next Parliament, to be elected in June, takes office. If the East Timorese rejected the autonomy package, Parliament would revoke the 1976 annexation, and Indonesia and East Timor would "part ways", Mr Alatas said. If that happened, he said, Portugal, as the administering power, and the United Nations would be in charge of the transition to independence, and Indonesian troops would be withdrawn.
Mr Gama asked the UN chief, Mr Kofi Annan, yesterday to prepare the United Nations for the transition period, following the expected rejection of the autonomy package, saying that a UN mission would need civilian, police and security components.
