Timor's Ramos-Horta Chides Jakarta Over Navy Ships
That transport vessel unloaded Megawati's motorcade on Saturday in front of several hundred people kept under watchful eye by scores of police. East Timor voted to break free from Indonesia's harsh rule in 1999 and many are still haunted by memories of military abuses. "We did not agree for Indonesia to bring in six warships.
We had discussions with Indonesia and said we would allow one medical vessel to dock," Ramos-Horta told Reuters. "We are not angry, just puzzled with this ostentatious display of navy hardware that obviously is not a good public relations exercise for Indonesia in the eyes of the Timorese and major powers such as the U.S." "We have asked Indonesia to move its ships to international waters and we are allowing the medical vessel to stay in our territorial waters as a matter of courtesy," the minister added. Ramos-Horta later told reporters the six ships entered East Timor waters on Friday and that he believed four had since left. The incident casts a shadow over independence celebrations in East Timor, under U. control since the 1999 referendum sparked a murderous rampage by Indonesia-backed militias opposed to it. On Friday, a UN official in East Timor said there had been agreement for Jakarta to send four vessels as part of support for Megawati's attendence at celebrations today night. Amid the controversy, foreign and local workers raced around Dili, erecting tents for official events marking independence and testing sound systems. Hawkers were doing a brisk trade selling baseball caps emblazoned with East Timor's national colors. Delegations from 80 countries will be represented at independence events and some have already arrived. Most of the senior visitors, such as UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, former U.S. president Bill Clinton and Australian Prime Minister John Howard, will arrive today. Paint has been splashed on some buildings although that cannot hide the charred remains of many homes and offices, still lying in ruins following the 1999 militia rampage.
The U.S has said about 1,000 people died during weeks of violence that reduced much of East Timor to ashes at the time. More than 200,000 people -- a quarter of the population -- were killed in fighting and by famine and disease that followed Indonesia's 1975 invasion and during its 24 years of occupation.
Wrong Message to United States Ramos-Horta noted that no Indonesian naval vessels were sent to East Timor when Megawati's predecessor, Abdurrahman Wahid, visited Dili in early 2000. During that trip, Wahid apologized to East Timorese for the abuses they had suffered. Indonesian officials said on Friday the ships, as well as about 2,000 troops in neighboring Indonesian West Timor, were on standby should they be needed. Ramos-Horta said the ships would send the wrong message to the United States, which slapped curbs on Indonesia's military after the 1999 bloodshed. "The U.S. Congress will be furious at a time when we are all making an effort to have Congress lift restrictions on Indonesian defense," said Ramos-Horta, who along with other Timorese leaders has been striving to repair relations with Indonesia. Indeed, despite Indonesia's 24-year iron rule, Timorese are ready to give Megawati a guarded welcome, saying it shows Jakarta has finally accepted their independence. In Jakarta, Annan, after meeting Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda, played down the confusion and controversy. "I don't have details on that...as I said I am pleased about President (Megawati) going to East Timor," he told reporters, adding that he was sure "whatever practical difficulties there are...could be wiped out." A passionate nationalist, Megawati was a leading critic of the decision to allow the territory to split. She will stay in Dili for several hours and also visit a cemetery for Indonesian soldiers who died in the fighting.