---------------------------------------------------------- Visit Indonesia Daily News Online HomePage: http://www.indo-news.com/ Please Visit Our Sponsor http://www.indo-news.com/cgi-bin/ads1 ---------------------------------------------------------- The Indonesian Observer, 11th August 1999 US Denies Plan To Send Troops To Timor JAKARTA (IO) - The United States yesterday denied media reports that it was planning to send peacekeeping forces to the troubled province of East Timor. In a press statement issued by the US embassy in Australia, the American government said it has not planned to send any mission whatsoever to East Timor separately from the UN, Antara reported. On the other hand, the US was continuing to cooperate closely with the UN and other parties involved in the East Timor issue, including the Indonesian government, for the implementation of a fair and honest ballot scheduled for August 30, it said. The statement said the US still did not know whether after the ballot a UN presence was still needed in East Timor. But it was the US's view that the despatch of any additional personnel to the former Portuguese colony was the business of the UN Security Council after due consultations with the Indonesian government and other parties involved, it said. The embassy further said Washington never had the wish to act unilaterally in regard to the process of finding a settlement to the East Timor issue and had never invited Australia to take any action in East Timor outside the UN mission's context. It said reports in Australian media suggesting there was a sharp difference of views about the East Timor issue between the US and Australian governments were "quite inaccurate" as Washington and Canberra shared the very same views in the matter. Earlier, The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald daily newspapers had reported that the US was planning to send a peace-keeping force to East Timor, if the security situation in the territory deteriorated. It was also the two papers that had carried articles alleging the US and Australia were divided in their views on the East Timor question. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Didistribusikan tgl. 13 Aug 1999 jam 02:50:56 GMT+1 oleh: Indonesia Daily News Online <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> http://www.Indo-News.com/ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
