| Subject: Timorese
agree to set up reconciliation process
The Sydney Morning Herald Friday,
December 17, 1999
WORLD
Timorese agree to set up reconciliation
process
Tokyo: East Timor is likely to emulate
South Africa by setting up a process to ease tensions between rival
groups.
Sources attending this week's
reconciliation talks in Tokyo said there was basic agreement on the need
to establish a structure for "constructive negotiation".
This would be done by studying the
success of countries such as South Africa and Poland in using
reconciliation processes to unite divided communities.
However, delegates on both sides admit
there is a long way to go before East Timor can be assured that the
frantic effort to rebuild the country will be not be undermined by
post-ballot recriminations.
While there are signs that pro-Jakarta
militia groups are giving up the fight, the main problem remains trying to
unify the population.
This is the second round of official
reconciliation talks, following a meeting in Singapore last month.
Progress has been hampered by the absence
of leading representatives from the National Council of Timorese
Resistance and some of the main Jakarta-aligned groups, meaning another
round of talks will need to be scheduled in another neutral country early
next year.
The reconciliation talks have been
overshadowed by financial deliberations on East Timor's future. Yesterday,
the East Timorese delegation and Japanese corporate representatives
discussed business opportunities created by the need to rebuild shattered
infrastructure.
Tokyo announced it would increase its
contribution to East Timor to $US300million ($470million) over three
years, making it by far the biggest financial backer.
The announcement comes ahead of today's
World Bank-sponsored summit of international donors to discuss East
Timor's reconstruction needs.
Michael Millett
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