(9 Sep 1999) English/Nat
Indonesia is standing by its refusal to allow U-N peacekeepers into chaos-ridden East Timor, despite a series of meetings with a U-N delegation in Jakarta.
In a surprise announcement, the delegation came out of the meeting to announce plans to visit East Timor this weekend.
Meanwhile Indonesian Foreign Minister Ali Alatas claims that the situation in East Timor is settling down.
The meeting with the five-member U-N delegation came as U-N officials plan to evacuate staff from their besieged compound in East Timor while simultaneously seeking ways to protect civilians seeking refugee inside.
Rumours that Indonesian President Habibie is under pressure from the army to resign over the East Timor crisis have swept through Jakarta, adding to the confusion and sending the stock market into panic, but according to President Habibie's spokesman, he remains fully in control of the country.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"We have decided to go to East Timor. That will be on Saturday. The details of the visit will be worked out with General Wiranto. We also agreed to meet the president after our visit to East Timor."
SUPER CAPTION: Martin Andjaba, the Namibian ambassador to the United Nations
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"How effective can a peace keeping operation be when there is no peace yet to keep, but rather than that it will become a peace enforcing mission where shootings will take place. We have much experience in the U-N about this kind of mission and of the failure of these types of mission."
SUPER CAPTION: Ali Alatas, Indonesian Foreign Minister
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"Dili is gradually getting quiet. There was no shooting over the past 24 hours, there was no burning and there was no such thing as the forced evacuation of people. People want to go to safer places and we are helping them. There is no plan to depopulate East Timor as has been claimed."
SUPER CAPTION: Ali Alatas, Indonesian Foreign Minister
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"There might have been elements in the defence forces and police who might have covertly supported the pro-autonomy group. But now that the ballot has been carried out and the votes have been counted it is quite clear that Indonesia has to honour the result of the ballot."
SUPER CAPTION: Dewi Fortuna Anwar, Presidential Spokesman
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"The President is fully in charge. Every day at five pm, he will have a meeting with his military commanders - he started it yesterday. Every day at five he will have his commanders called to the palace to ensure that there is coordination in East Timor."
SUPER CAPTION: Dewi Fortuna Anwar, Presidential Spokesman
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