---------------------------------------------------------- Visit Indonesia Daily News Online HomePage: http://www.indo-news.com/ Please Visit Our Sponsor http://www.indo-news.com/cgi-bin/ads1 ---------------------------------------------------------- ANTARA, JULY 12 1999 Delay in registration: Not Only Due To Security Condition-Senior Diplomat Jakarta, July 12 (ANTARA)-The United Nations' decision to postpone voters registration in East Timor was not merely due to security reasons but due to lack of preparations as well, a senior official of the Foreign Affairs Ministry said here Monday. The decision to postpone the registration, originally scheduled to begin on June 22 but was postponed to July 13 then to July 16, was made by the UN secretary general who has authority on the issue, director for political affairs, Nugroho Wisnumurti, said. Wisnumurti, who had just returned from the province, observered that the ballot boxes for instance, have not been readied. He however noted that despite the delay, the direct ballot, which will enable the East Timorese to accept or reject a wide-ranging autonomy under the Indonesian government, will proceed. Asked whether the three-day delay in Voters registration would lead to a second postponement of the ballot it self, he said, "Indonesia wanted (to hold) it in August, and the UN agreed. But now, we see that it has not run according to schedule." The ballot, originally scheduled on August 8, has been postponed till late August. On the impression that the UN Mission in East Timor (UNAMET) is biased toward the proindependence camp, Wisnumurti, who is former Indonesian ambassador to the UN, said the Indonesian government has not made any complaint about it but has noted a number of incidents which have caused the East Timorese to doubt the UNAMET's neutrality. The impression has also stemmed from UNAMET spokesman, David Wimhurst, who had been making one-sided statements long before he joined the UNAMET, Wisnumurti said. "It is untrue that (UNAMET chief) Ian Martin and David Wimhurst are Portuguese. But Wimhurst once studied in Portugal and his wife is a Portuguese," he said. UNAMET should stay neutral as it has promised, otherwise its presence will not be conducive to efforts to achieve lasting peace in the former Portuguese territory, he added. More sensitive On whether or not there is a need for UN peacekeeping forces in East Timor, Wisnumurti said this stemmed from Australia's move to concentrate troops in the northern Australian city of Darwin. "I was worried that its end result would create an inconducive situation in East Timor," he said. He thus called on the Australian government to be more sensitive in handling the impact of the move. "We have expressed our concern not to the troop concentration but toward (its) impact, which would create speculations disturbing to the East Timorese," he said. He said the Indonesian government has no right to regulate Australia in terms of deploying its military force. However, the senior diplomat stressed that although Canberra may have its own reasons for deploying its troops to Darwin, it should nonetheless be aware of speculations that Austalian troops are ready to be deployed to East Timor as UN peacekeeping forces. It is not simple to dispatch UN peacekeeping forces to East Timor because this needs certain conditions, including agreement from the destination country and the UN Security Council, he said. "It also needs agreement from countries participating in the mission," he said. "It is not easy for big countries to send their forces because this would leave victims. Death tolls are political risks to governments," Wisnumurti said. (T.NN-06/13:58/int-cl/14:55/nn-03/15:29/TB06) ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Didistribusikan tgl. 16 Jul 1999 jam 06:56:09 GMT+1 oleh: Indonesia Daily News Online <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> http://www.Indo-News.com/ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
