Subject: RT: Horta pledges to honor result of free
E.Timor vote
Date: Sat, 07 Aug 1999 10:00:13 -0400
From: "John M. Miller" <fbp@igc.apc.org>Horta pledges to honor result
of free E.Timor vote 05:12 p.m Aug 04, 1999 Eastern
By Mathieu Claise
NEW YORK, Aug 4 (Reuters) - East Timor independence campaigner Jose Ramos-Horta said on
Wednesday he will endorse the results of a fair ballot on the future of the disputed
territory even if a majority favoured remaining part of Indonesia.
``If, after the ballot, the U.N secretary general announces the result and says that
the vote was free and democratic, I will be the first to step forward and endorse the
vote, whatever the result is,'' he told Reuters.
The 1996 Nobel Peace Prize winner was speaking at a New York office where potential
voters living in North America registered for the Aug. 30 ballot, which is to decide
whether East Timor should have wide-ranging autonomy under continued Indonesian rule or
move toward independence.
``Those East Timorese who are on the other side, who are working with the Indonesian
side ... can be assured that after the ballot, I will be with them. We have a solemn
commitment that there will be no persecution, no reprisals. We will pursue a policy of
national reconciliation, of inclusion, of power-sharing,'' he said.
Indonesia's 1976 annexation of East Timor, a former Portuguese colony, was not
recognised by the international community. The decision to hold a vote on the territory's
future was the result of a U.N-sponsored agreement on May 5 between Indonesia and
Portugal.
The government of Indonesian President B.J. Habibie had said in January it would
rescind its annexation of East Timor if voters rejected autonomy.
Nine East Timorese showed up at the New York registration centre over a period of about
two hours on Wednesday morning. Registration is continuing through Sunday.
The registration office, near United Nations headquarters, was the only one in North
America. Similar centres were set up in other countries with a sizable East Timorese
population, including Indonesia, Australia, Macao, Mozambique and Portugal.
Ramos-Horta said he registered in Sydney, Australia, where he would also vote if
Indonesia continued to prevent him from returning to East Timor before the balloting.
Constancio Pinto, a representative of the National Council of Timorese Resistance, told
reporters, ``This a very important moment, this is not a normal election, I have been
waiting for this moment for 24 years.''
The United Nations declared the registration process in East Timor a success.
Ian Martin, head of the U.N. Mission in East Timor (UNAMET), which is organising the
ballot, said 410,556 voters had been registered up to Monday evening, exceeding initial
estimates of 300,000 to 400,000 eligible voters.
Alluding to the security situation in the territory, where pro-Indonesian militia have
been blamed for violence, Ramos-Horta said, ``I hope that the vote actually takes place
Aug. 30. The situation on the ground remains serious. Conditions are not all right for the
vote to take place now, but we still have two or three weeks ahead of us.''
Indonesia's 1976 annexation of East Timor, a former Portuguese colony, was not
recognised by the international community. The decision to hold a vote on the territory's
future was the result of a U.N-sponsored agreement on May 5 between Indonesia and
Portugal.
The government of Indonesian President B.J. Habibie had said in January it would
rescind its annexation of East Timor if voters rejected autonomy.
Nine East Timorese showed up at the New York registration centre over a period of about
two hours on Wednesday morning. Registration is continuing through Sunday.
The registration office, near United Nations headquarters, was the only one in North
America. Similar centres were set up in other countries with a sizable East Timorese
population, including Indonesia, Australia, Macao, Mozambique and Portugal.
Ramos-Horta said he registered in Sydney, Australia, where he would also vote if
Indonesia continued to prevent him from returning to East Timor before the balloting.
Constancio Pinto, a representative of the National Council of Timorese Resistance, told
reporters, ``This a very important moment, this is not a normal election, I have been
waiting for this moment for 24 years.''
The United Nations declared the registration process in East Timor a success.
Ian Martin, head of the U.N. Mission in East Timor (UNAMET), which is organising the
ballot, said 410,556 voters had been registered up to Monday evening, exceeding initial
estimates of 300,000 to 400,000 eligible voters.
Alluding to the security situation in the territory, where pro-Indonesian militia have
been blamed for violence, Ramos-Horta said, ``I hope that the vote actually takes place
Aug. 30. The situation on the ground remains serious. Conditions are not all right for the
vote to take place now, but we still have two or three weeks ahead of us.''
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