Indonesian President Visits East Timor
In the first trip to East Timor by an
Indonesian leader since the territory voted for independence, President
Abdurrahmann Wahid expressed his sympathies for all the suffering
the East Timorese have endured and reiterated the need for reconciliation
and closer relations between both countries.
In a ceremony in front of the Governor's Office, UNTAET Headquarters, with CNRT President Xanana Gusmão and UN Transitional Administrator Sergio Vieira de Mello standing at his side, President Wahid told an audience of 4,000 East Timorese that he felt at home in East Timor.
"East Timor and Indonesia cannot be separated from each other," he said, "If you are under pressure, we are also under pressure. Thank God the past, full of difficulties and suffering, has now passed."
In his speech, President Wahid urged those East Timor students who were previously studying in his country to return to Indonesia to finish their studies. "Please go back to Indonesia," he declared, "You don't need to be afraid. Even those who have not studied in Indonesia are welcome to come."
But it was at a wreath-laying ceremony at the Santa Cruz cemetery, where in 1991, Indonesian troops fired on a funeral procession and killed as many as 250 East Timorese, that President Wahid offered his strongest gesture of reconciliation.
"I would like to apologize for the things that have happened in the past," he said, "to the victims and the families of Santa Cruz and those friends who are buried in the military cemetery. Both are victims of the circumstances that we didn't want."
During President Wahid's visit, Mr. Vieira de Mello and Indonesian Foreign Minister Alwi Shihab signed a joint communiqué between the Republic of Indonesia and the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET).
The communiqué allows for better passage of people and goods on the Timor island between East Timor and the Republic of Indonesia and will establish mutual assistance arrangements on legal, judicial and human rights concerns. It also introduces new educational and scholarship opportunities for East Timor students who study in Indonesian institutions. (see box in .pdf file)
Mr. Gusmão referred to the Indonesian President as a symbol of democratization, and of justice and peace as well.
"We hope there will be a great future between East Timor and Indonesia," he said. Mr. Vieira de Mello declared that "President Wahid's trip is bound to set a landmark in bilateral relations," adding that President Wahid and CNRT President Gusmão "have set the tone for bilateral relations that are forward-looking and aim simultaneously at reconciliation and justice as well as the promotion of international cooperation."
President Wahid's visit was not without protest. On the road from the airport into Dili demonstrators attempted to block the President's entourage. Their concerns were for former FALINTIL fighters who were tortured, assassinated or disappeared during the Indonesian occupation. Some of the demonstrators came to the Governor's Office plaza later, where Mr. Gusmão rushed forward to greet them and brought two - the widow and son of David Alex, a former FALINTIL commander - to meet and express their concerns personally to President Wahid. The Indonesian President said that he would follow up on the matter.
At the Governor's Office, President Wahid held discussions with Mr. Vieira de Mello and Mr. Gusmão. He also met with the Bishop of Baucau, Dom Basilio do Nascimento, and participated in a special session of the National Consultative Council.(NCC) Later he laid a corner stone at the future home of the Indonesian Representative's Office.
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