Mark: please get library to check the date of the defacto and de jure recognition of incorporation of East Timor; and the spelling of golkar the Indonesian political party…(marked with ???? below). ta.
I am on: 62 21 5707440 room 1401 leave message.
Indonesian President Soeharto firmly ruled out yesterday any special political status for East Timor.
And he also ruled out for the time being a visit to Australia. He had been invited by the previous government and the invitation was renewed by the Howard Government.
At a meeting with major Australian newspaper editors or their representatives at the presidential palace in Jakarta, President Soeharto said through an interpreter, “”Autonomy for East Timor is already there.”
Indonesia was a unitary state under the 1945 Constitution, he said. It had 27 provinces and East Timor was one of them. It had been approved by members of parliament and the People’s Consultative Council, so it was not a decision of the President.
President Soeharto’s comments come after hopes among human rights groups and others that the Indonesian Government might recognise that East Timor was unique in that it was not part of the Dutch East Indies like the rest of the country and had been under Portuguese rule for 400 years until the Indonesia invasion in 1975 and that its separate history might warrant separate political status.
It seems that fear of other parts of Indonesia also claiming separate status has overcome that possibility.
Last month the Australian Government dispatched its ambassador, Alan Taylor, to East Timor to report.
Diplomatic sources say his report was fairly negative. It recognised that extra money had been spent in the province on health and education, but conditions were still poor. Of more importance, the extra money was not winning hearts and minds because there was a security approach to development from above and that a lighter touch was needed so that local people had a greater say in administration.
Australia recognised the de-facto incorporation of East Timor into Indonesia in 1976 (???) and de-jure recognition came in 1982 (?????).
On a visit to Australia, President Soeharto said the main purpose would be to establish closer ties between the nations’ peoples.
But “”because of misunderstandings some [Australian] people might take actions that are not acceptable to the Indonesian people so it would cause greater misunderstanding”.
“”So for the time being I will not accept the invitation until further notice,” he said.
Last year in Germany, President Soeharto was the subject of intense demonstrations about East Timor and it is likely that has affected him. He said that he understood the Australian system and indicated that demonstrations would not trouble him personally, but if Indonesian people saw demonstrations against the head of state “”that would create misunderstanding and that would be damaging”. The visit would be counter-productive.
President Soeharto is due for election for a seventh term in 1998. There has been much speculation as to whether he will stand again, particularly in light of the death last month of his wife and long-time political confidante, Tien Soeharto. Yesterday, he gave hints both ways. He said the State Assembly should elect the person who could best carry out state policy.
“”Everything is in the hands of the State Assembly,” he said. His ??? Golkar Party and the Armed Forces has a large majority in the Assembly and will inevitably keep it after Assembly elections next year, particularly as the Constitution guarantees between 75 and 100 army seats.
However, President Soeharto said it was his job to create a climate where a number of leaders could emerge from various parts of Indonesian life who could present themselves as candidates before the Assembly.
President Soeharto indicated that there was little chance of further democratisation in Indonesia. Asked whether there could be a greater role in Indonesian affairs for workers, students, business and the middle class, he said Indonesia had already enacted laws for participation of the people.
“”There is freedom in Indonesia, but not the same as in Australia,” he said. It had to be in accordance with principles of national unity and stability to ensure economic growth.