Subject: AFP: Wiranto: East Timor problem an
international one
Date: Sat, 24 Apr 1999 10:34:39 -0400
From: "John M. Miller" <fbp@igc.apc.org>Received from Joyo:
Wiranto: East Timor problem an international one East Timor problem an international
one: Indonesian military chief
JAKARTA, April 21 (AFP) - Indonesian Military Chief General Wiranto on Wednesday said
the problem of East Timor was no longer merely a local or national problem, but a matter
for the international community.
"The problem of East Timor can no longer be settled in a local way, because it is
not only a national problem but also an international one," Wiranto said after a
peace pact signing in Dili, the capital of East Timor.
It was the first time that Wiranto has publicly conceded that the problem was not
solely an Indonesian concern.
The military chief, along with President B.J. Habibie, has until now ruled out an
international peace keeping force in the former Portuguese colony, saying the problem was
an internal affair of Indonesia.
Wiranto, interviewed by the SCTV private television, was speaking after witnessing the
signing of the agreement between representatives of pro-Indonesia and pro-independence
groups and the local military command in East Timor that followed weeks of bloody violence
between the two camps.
Indonesia invaded the former Portuguese colony of East Timor in 1975 and annexed it the
following year in a move that remains unrecognized by the United Nations.
Indonesia on Wednesday was scheduled to present a final autonomy package in talks with
Portugal and the United Nations secretary general in New York. The package will then be
offered to the people of East Timor and Jakarta has said that should the package be
rejected, it will let East Timor go.
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