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Statement by New York, 31 October 2001 Mr. President, My delegation deems it a distinct pleasure at seeing you, Sir, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ireland presiding over today’s deliberations of the Security Council. At the same time I should also like to express how pleased we are to have the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Mr. Sergio Vieira de Mello and Mr. Mari Alkatiri and his entourage in our midst. The significance of this meeting, today, is not lost on us, as this is the first open debate of the Security Council held after the historic elections for East Timor’s Constituent Assembly on 30 August 2001 and the formation of the second interim Government. Indeed, Mr. President, we are bearing witness to the opening of a new chapter in East Timor’s transition towards independence. On this score, Indonesia - as the country sharing an adjoining border with East Timor - has consistently demonstrated in words and in deeds its strong commitment to work with the international community in a spirit of consensus, amity and cooperation towards creating an atmosphere conducive for the establishment of a free, democratic and prosperous East Timorese society. It is therefore imperative that all concerned parties not engage in negative perceptions and divisive practices which can hamper the attainment of the objectives we all are attempting to achieve for the people of East Timor. Within this context, there can be no greater assistance and support extended to the people of East Timor than to work with them in partnership and to focus towards the future development of the country and indeed the region as a whole. We believe there is much potential in paving the way to such a mutually beneficial bilateral relationship. Reflective of Indonesia’s commitment are the remarks President Megawati Soekarnoputri made during her state address before the Indonesian Parliament, on the eve of the anniversary of Indonesia’s independence day on 16th August, in which the President unequivocally stated, and I quote: “we have disentangled the question of East Timor in /999 and honestly respected the choice of our brothers and sisters in the region to have their own state" , unquote. Mr. President, In realizing the vision of East Timor as a viable, peaceful and democratic country, the strengthening of bilateral relations between our two countries is viewed as a matter of priority. Thus my Government extended an invitation to the East Timbres leaders including, Mr. Xanana Gusmao, Mr. Mari Alkatiri and Mr. Jose Ramos Horta and Mr. de Mello who visited Indonesia on 12 October 2001. The fact that the discussions emanating from the meeting was cordial is a step closer towards this new chapter of bilateral relations for Indonesia and East Timor. And upon the initiative of my Government, we are looking forward to holding a high-level bilateral meeting in the near future to work on ways to resolve the outstanding issues and at the same time establishing a sound and solid basis for future relations. It is in this same spirit that regional partnerships be forged to achieve those noble objectives. Yet another unfolding development in the relationship between Indonesia and the emerging independent state of East Timor was the conclusion of a bilateral agreement between the officials of the two sides, last weekend, in Atambua, concerning the demilitarization of their respective borders and thereby, facilitating free and open visits by the Indonesian and East Timorese peoples. This would entail the withdrawal of foreign troops currently deployed at the borders as part of the United Nations peacekeeping force. We are fully cognizant of the undeniable reality that political independence is closely linked with the promotion of sustainable development. Bearing this in mind, the international community should become truly engaged in this process to ensure that the people of a nascent nation can reap the benefits of development by enjoying a higher and better standard of living. This can only be realized through sustained assistance of the international community by forging various forms of cooperation. Mr. President, The role of the United Nations on the eve of East Timor’s independence must be viewed within the framework of not only the larger picture of assisting the East Timorese towards peace, security and sustainable development but also to resolving the outstanding issues. Notwithstanding the useful endeavors of the Organization, ultimately, it is the East Timorese people themselves who should decide their own future. As far as Indonesia is concerned, it has left no stone unturned to fulfilling its commitments. This has included working with the relevant international humanitarian agencies to repatriate refugees, amending the law to expand the jurisdiction of the ad hoc human rights tribunal as well as other relevant issues such as pensions, education and security at borders. Especially on the issue of pensions, Mr. President, members of the Council would no doubt be aware of the Indonesian Government’s long-standing readiness to disburse payments to pensioners who are former Indonesian civil servants, military and police from East Timor during the transition period. Technical arrangement for the disbursement has been agreed between Indonesia and UNTAET and its implementation awaits follow up from UNTAET. In addition, in a major policy development, my Government has decided to contribute to a Special Fund established to provide payments in lieu of Indonesian Government pensions to eligible former civil servant/military/police and pensioners after the independence. This Special Fund is one of the main components of the Consolidated Joint Government of Indonesia — United Nations Appeal/Global Plan for the Handling of the East Timorese Refugees in Indonesia. Although the security assessment team’s recommendations by UNSECOORD failed to reflect the prevailing realties on the ground, my Government is continuing negotiations with the Office of the Resident Coordinator of the United Nations System’s Operational Activities for Development for Indonesia (in its capacity as the designated official for security in Indonesia for all United Nations agencies) on Technical Arrangements in Jakarta as a basis for the return of United Nations agencies in East Nusa Tenggara. It is hoped that the refugees can return at the earliest possible time, particularly as we owe it to them as a people to uphold their human rights and dignity. We urge the international community to provide encouragement and support to the ongoing process of organized and ad hoc repatriation of refugees to East Timor. Concurrently, no one organization can claim complete credit for a humanitarian undertaking of this magnitude. And if credit is to be rightly accorded, it should be due to the tireless efforts of those individuals on the ground, including the officials of the provincial government of East Nusa Tenggara and the Regional Military Commander for doing the utmost to bringing closure to the refugee issue since this is a priority of my Government. We were therefore pleased at the recent repatriation of 600 refugees on 27 October 2001 which was witnessed by Indonesian government officials, East Timorese leaders and the representatives of UNTAET. The spirit of harmony and amity was evident in the remarks of Mr. Ramos Horta who upon welcoming them, said and I quote: “This is your country, the door is open to all of you who two years ago took refuge from East Timor and are now willing to return”,unquote, while Indonesian Coordinating Minister for People’s Welfare, Mr. Yusuf Kalla, stated and I quote “We wish that all refugees who return home will have better lives and continue to keep good relations as our brothers and sisters”,unquote. In conclusion, Mr. President, as East Timor grows to become a full-fledged sovereign and independent nation, the international community has a solemn responsibility to support endeavors, including on building bridges of understanding towards achieving reconciliation, strengthening the foundations of government based on democratic and transparent practices and promoting capacity-building programmes. No doubt the road that lies ahead abounds with challenges and obstacles. But, we must be vigilant and ensure that our assistance does not overshadow the true efforts of the East Timorese to fulfill their legitimate needs and the goals that they have set for themselves, as they realize their full potential as a people to carrying out this nation-building process. It is to this end that we should extend our unstinted support. Thank you, Mr. President.
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