---------------------------------------------------------- Visit Indonesia Daily News Online HomePage: http://www.indo-news.com/ Please Visit Our Sponsor http://www.indo-news.com/cgi-bin/ads1 ++ Pemilu Online: http://www.indo-news.com/pemilu/ ++ ---------------------------------------------------------- The Indonesian Observer, July 1, 1999 Military Plays Down Maliana Incident JAKARTA (IO) - Indonesia yesterday denied there was a deliberate attack on United Nations staff in East Timor and urged all parties not to exaggerate Tuesday's incident, which it called a brawl. Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI) Commander General Wiranto said the incident in Maliana should not be blown out of proportion. However, he insisted the Indonesian military could handle threats of violence in tense East Timor. Asked whether the incident meant the military is losing control in the former Portuguese colony, Wiranto said: "How could you supervise people in East Timor one by one? This does not mean we are losing control." The four-star general said the attack was an isolated incident. "If there are one or two incidents, that is normal. Don't blow it out of proportion." He said that an Indonesian team working in liaison with the UN in East Timor yesterday had been to Maliana to inspect the scene of the incident, together with Ian Martin, the UN mission head in the troubled territory. Wiranto repeated an account of the incident given by Indonesian officials, saying the attack had begun as a brawl between groups opposing and favoring independence. Spokesman for the Foreign Affairs Ministry Sulaiman Abdulmanan said Indonesia accepted the condemnations from other countries over the attack, but urged them not to exaggerate it. "We deplore the small incident but it should not be exaggerated," he told Antara. He said the Indonesian government's good intention to hold reconciliation talks between East Timor's warring factions has not received any positive response from the West, which has instead chosen to criticize Jakarta over the Maliana incident. "There has been no acclamation from [the West] for the government's commitment to the May 5 agreement [on the East Timor ballot] and to the ongoing Dare II meeting." ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Didistribusikan tgl. 2 Jul 1999 jam 11:38:46 GMT+1 oleh: Indonesia Daily News Online <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> http://www.Indo-News.com/ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
