Global Policy Forum

Edith M. Lederer

United Nations - Indonesia's foreign minister said Wednesday that his government is not backing off on an offer of wide-ranging autonomy or independence for East Timor. Indonesian officials wants the question settled by August.

Ali Alatas rejected Portuguese claims that Indonesia is trying to backtrack on its offer in January, which raised hopes for a solution to the quarter-century old problem surrounding the former Portuguese colony which Jakarta annexed.

United Nations-sponsored talks, which started Wednesday and continue Thursday, had been expected to wrap up an accord on wide-ranging autonomy for East Timor.

The agreement would then be presented to the Timorese people. If the 800,000 Timorese reject autonomy - which pro-independence supporters believe will be the result - Alatas said Indonesia would then move to reverse the annexation, putting the territory on the road to independence.

But after a Cabinet meeting Monday, Alatas announced that Jakarta wants changes in the draft agreement's provisions on law, economics, finance and customs and needs until the end of April to present its final offer.

He insisted Wednesday there was "nothing sinister" about his government having "some difficulties" and wanting "improvements," stressing that this is common practice in international negotiations.

But Portuguese Foreign Minister Jaime Gama reiterated his government's concerns that Indonesia is instigating delays and is "oscillating in an unpredictable manner in this negotiation."

Alatas retorted that Indonesia wants to meet its self-imposed April deadline.

"We don't want to miss that date," Alatas said. "Therefore it is in the vital interest of Indonesia that no delays happen."

At Wednesday's talks, attended by U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, U.N. officials made several proposals on ways to assess the views of the Timorese on an autonomy package.

Alatas reiterated Indonesia's opposition to a "full-fledged referendum." Indonesia favors a U.N. assessment of the views of Timorese living inside and outside the country, possibly with a vote.

He said U.N. teams could question people directly on autonomy, organize a postal ballot, or use some other "democratic way of finding out their views." This could begin within a week of agreement on an autonomy package, he said.

In a related development, Australian Prime Minister John Howard on Thursday denied government troops were being prepared for deployment to nearby East Timor.

Australia has said it wants to help with East Timor's transition to autonomy.

Nobel Peace Laureate Jose Ramos Horta and other East Timor independence activists have called for a U.N. peacekeeping force to be sent to East Timor immediately.