---------------------------------------------------------- FREE for JOIN Indonesia Daily News Online via EMAIL: go to: http://www.indo-news.com/subscribe.html - FREE - FREE - FREE - FREE - FREE - FREE - Please Visit Our Sponsor http://www.indo-news.com/cgi-bin/ads1 ---------------------------------------------------------- Sydney Morning Herald Friday, August 13, 1999 EAST TIMOR Canberra gave Annan 'a frank assessment' of Jakarta's role By PETER COLE-ADAMS, Foreign Affairs Correspondent The Australian Government presented the United Nations Secretary-General, Mr Kofi Annan, in June with a document containing a "frank assessment" of Indonesia's activities in East Timor. The document was prepared with input from the Defence Department but without the knowledge of the Defence Minister, Mr Moore, who subsequently expressed anger about it. Neither Mr Moore nor the Foreign Affairs Minister, Mr Downer, who gave the paper to Mr Annan, would say yesterday whether a copy had also been passed to the United States Government. But Mr Downer said Washington would already have had access to such high-level Australian information under the intelligence-sharing arrangement between the two countries. He said the Government had "thousands" of talks with American officials. While conceding there were obviously some differences of view at such meetings, he insisted there were no policy disagreements or tensions over East Timor. A spokesman for Mr Moore said he could not comment on intelligence matters. "However, our relationship with the US continues to be strong and mutually beneficial." The existence of the "frank assessment" given to Mr Annan was revealed to the Federal Court last week by the Secretary of the Defence Department, Mr Paul Barratt, who is challenging the Government's attempt to dismiss him. Mr Barratt said in an affidavit that the document was prepared by the Foreign Affairs Department with the help of the Deputy Secretary of Defence for Strategy and Intelligence, Mr Hugh White. Mr Barratt said he had received a telephone call from Mr Moore in late June in which the minister had said words to the effect that he was annoyed that Mr White had participated in the preparation of the paper without his knowledge. He quoted Mr Moore as saying, "I did not get to hear of [the paper's] existence until after Downer had passed it over to the UN. No papers are to be prepared by Defence without the knowledge and concurrence of the Minister." Mr Barratt said he told Mr Moore he would pass the message on and that he thought "a lot of people were taken by surprise" that the paper was handed over, adding: "In Hugh's defence, [the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade] may have been less than frank with him about the purpose for which the assessment was produced." ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Didistribusikan tgl. 12 Aug 1999 jam 20:46:06 GMT+1 oleh: Indonesia Daily News Online <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> http://www.Indo-News.com/ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
