Sorry about the gunk here; have primitive system and am too rushed to
clean up; but for those following SA's erratic foreign policy with a
keen eye it may amuse...
31 July
Business Day Online - News
JAKARTA - Indonesia<!-- on Wednesday --> yesterday denied a Portuguese news repo
rt that<!-- SA --> President Nelson Mandela used a recent state
visit to ask for the release of East Timorese rebel leader Xanana Gusmao, who is
serving a 20-year prison sentence.<P>
<!--At --><!-- --><!-- On --><!-- the weekend, --> The newspaper
Expresso said at the weekend Mandela called on Indonesia to free the guerrilla chief
when he<!-- the South African leader --> vi
sited Jakarta earlier this month.<P>
"Xanana is not a political prisoner. He was convicted for a crime.
Therefore it is not possible that Mandela asked for his release," said foreign office
spokesman Ghaffar Fadyl.<P>
<!-- While Mandela's talks with Indonesian President Suharto were
dominated by trade issues, the two also discussed human rights and political problems
in East Timor, a former Portuguese colony inv
aded by Indonesia in 1975. Indonesia annexed the troubled
territory as its 27th province in 1976. --><!-- East Timor is a former Portuguese
colony annexed by Indonesia in 1976. --> <P>
During his visit, Mandela met Gusmao, a guerrilla leader serving a
20-year sentence for plotting against President Mohamed Suharto's government.<!-- led
a guerrilla fight against Indonesian rule b
efore his capture in 1991. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison
in 1994 for plotting against Suharto's government. --> <P>
<!-- Despite his incarceration, small bands of rebels still attack
troops and police in the province. --> <!-- Mandela has offered to help United
Nations (UN) efforts to find a peaceful settleme
nt to the 22-year-old conflict. "We welcome the offer, however,
any role that he plays in the East Timor issue must be informal," Fadyl said.
--><!-- --><!-- Mandela met Jose Ramos-Horta, East
Timor's exiled separatist leader and last year's --><!--
--><!--1996 --><!-- co-Nobel Peace Prize winner, in SA on Friday. --> <P>
<!-- He was to meet visiting Portuguese President Jorge Sampaio
yesterday. --><!-- on Wednesday. --> <P>
<!-- The UN does not recognize Indonesian sovereignty over East
Timor and has sponsored talks between Portugal and Indonesia in a bid to find a
settlement. --><!-- Sapa-AP --> <P>
<P>
<P>
<!--PRETORIA - President Nelson --> After <!--his --> briefing
Portuguese President Jorge Sampaio in Pretoria yesterday on his talks with Gusmao,
Mandela <!--on Wednesday --> called for Gusmao's<!
-- the --> release,<!-- of jailed East Timorese rebel leader Xanana
--><!-- Gusmao --><!-- --><!--, --> who he met in Jakarta two weeks ago, saying this
was essential to resolve conflict in the f
ormer Portuguese colony.<P>
"You will understand that we cannot normalise the situation
in East Timor unless all the political leaders, including<!-- Mr --> Gusmao, are
free," he said. <!--told reporters in Pretoria.
--> <P>
<!-- Mandela briefed Sampio --><!-- --><!-- --> was
addressing reporters after his meeting with Portuguese President Jorge Sampaio to
brief him <!--on his recent talks with Gusmao in Indone
sia. --> <P>
Asked whether he had asked Indonesia to release Gusmao,
Mandela said: "In a letter I had written to President Suharto I had recommended that
Mr Gusmao <!--must --> be freed."<P>
<!--The Indonesian government yesterday denied a report by Protuguese
newspaper Expresso that said Mandela had used his recent state visit to ask for
Gusmao's release. --><!-- Meanwhile Sapa-AP
reports that Indonesia on Wednesday denied a Portuguese news report
that --><!-- --><!--South African President Nelson --><!-- Mandela used his --><!--
--><!--a recent --><!-- state visit to ask
for Gusmao's release. --><!-- --><!--the release of East Timorese
rebel leader Xanana Gusmao, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence. --><!-- At
the weekend, the newspaper Expresso said Mande
la called on Indonesia to free him when he --><!-- --><!--the South
African leader --><!-- visited Jakarta earlier this month. Indones --><P>
<!--Indonesian Foreign Office spokesman Ghaffar Fadyl said: "Xanana
is not a political prisoner. He was convicted for a crime. Therefore it is not
possible that Mandela had asked for his release." --
> <P>
<!-- Mandela said he had also recommended Gusmao's release in
a recent letter to Indonesian President Suharto. --> <!--Indonesia invaded
East Timor in December 1975, and annexed the
country as its 27th province the following year. The move has all
along been resisted by Fretelen rebels under the leadership of Gusmao, who was
captured in 1992 and sentenced to 20 years' imprisonm
ent. --> <P>
<!-- Mandela said it was vital for him to brief Sampaio on
his meeting with Gusmao as Portugal had a pivotal role to play in efforts to resolve
the conflict in East Timor. Sampaio th
anked Mandela for his initiatives in the matter, saying his meeting
Gusmao was an important element in East Timor's struggle for self-determination. -->
<P>
<!-- Mandela's meeting with Gusmao in Jakarta during his
official three-day visit to Indonesia was --><!-- --><!--. The talks were --><!--
arranged with the blessing of Suharto. La
st week, Mandela met fellow Nobel peace prize laureate Jose
Ramos-Horta, a leading spokesman for East Timorean independence. --><!--
--><!-- Mandela on Wednesday emphasised these initiative
s were taken in the framework of resolutions by the United Nations.
It should not be seen as a separate effort. --> <P>
<!-- The UN does not recognise Indonesian sovereignty over
East Timor, and has sponsored talks between Portugal and Indonesia in a bid to find a
settlement. --> <P>
<!--Rebels recently stepped up their attacks on military and
civilian targets in East Timor, leaving at least 37 people dead over the past two
months. --> <P>
<!-- Mandela said Gusmao had impressed him as a man of
principle. "I was struck by his outstanding qualities, (and) his commitment
to principle." --><!-- --><!-- --> Mandel
a said it was vital for him to brief Sampaio on his meeting with
Gusmao as Portugal had a pivotal role to play in efforts to resolve the conflict in
East Timor.<P>
Sampaio thanked Mandela for his initiatives in the matter,
saying his meeting Gusmao was an important element in East Timor's struggle for
self-determination.<P>
<!-- Sampaio said Portugal's interest was to work towards giving
the people of East Timor an opportunity to decide over their own future.
"That is our international obligation," Sampaio
said. --> Mandela said he would try<!-- to --> to meet
all the<!-- important --> leaders of East Timor, including Bishop Carlos Felipe
Ximenes Belo, who was awarded last year's<!-- the
--> Nobel peace prize jointly with Jose Ramos-Horta, Indonesia's
exiled separatist leader. Mandela met Ramos-Horta in SA on Friday. <!-- "What
we do should be consistent with their own ideas
because they are the people who must bring about a solution," he
said. --> Belo last week declined an invitation from Mandela to visit SA.<P>
East Timor<!--, a former Portuguese colony, --> was annexed
by Indonesia in 1976. Rebel attacks have left at least 37 dead in the past two months.
<P>
The United Nations (UN) does not recognise Indonesian sovereignty
over East Timor, and has sponsored talks between Portugal and Indonesia in a bid to
find a settlement.<P>
<!--SA was not seeking any benefit for itself, --><!--
--><!--Mandela said. It was --><!-- but acting as a member of the UN, Mandela said.
--> <!--, which was committed to promoting stability and
peace throughout the world. --> <!-- Mandela said a genuine
settlement in East Timor had to be the result of an agreement between the Indonesian
government and the leadership of East Timor.
This meant that all the political leaders had to be freed. --> <!--
Asked whether he had asked Indonesia to release Gusmao, Mandela said: "In a
letter I had written to President Suharto, I ha
d recommended that Mr Gusmao must be freed." -->
<!--Mandela described his talks with Suharto during his recent Indonesian visit as
very constructive. "(On) those matters which I discussed
with him, I got the impression that he gave me a sympathetic ear,"
Mandela said. --><!-- Sapa --><!-- MANDELA-LD-SAMPAIOPRETORIA July
30 Sapa MANDELA CALLS FOR RELEASE OF EA
ST TIMOR REBEL LEADER President Nelson Mandela on Wednesday
called for the release of jailed East Timorese rebel leader Xanana Gusmao, saying this
was essential to resolve conflict in the fo
rmer Portuguese colony. "You will understand that we cannot
normalise the situation in East Timor unless all the political leaders, including Mr
Gusmao, are free," he told reporters in Preto
ria. Mandela earlier met visiting Portuguese President Jorge
Sampaio to brief him on his recent talks with Gusmao in Indonesia. Mandela
said he had also recommended Gusmao's release
in a recent letter to Indonesian President Suharto. Sapa
--><!-- INDONESIA-MANDELA JAKARTA July 30 Sapa-AP INDONESIA DENIES MANDELA
ASKED FOR TIMORESE REBEL'S RELEASE --> <!-- Me
anwhile Sapa-AP reports that Indonesia on Wednesday denied a
Portuguese news report that --><!-- --><!--South African President Nelson --><!--
Mandela used his --><!-- --><!--a recent --><!-- sta
te visit to ask for Gusmao's release. --><!-- the release of East
Timorese rebel leader Xanana Gusmao, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence. -->
<!-- At the weekend, the newspaper Expresso sa
id Mandela called on Indonesia to free him when he --><!--
--><!--the South African leader --><!-- visited Jakarta earlier this month.
"Xanana is not a political prisoner. He was convicted for a
crime. Therefore it is not possible that Mandela had asked for his
release," said foreign office spokesman Ghaffar Fadyl. --> Representatives of the
two countries<!-- Portugal and Indonesia -->
would<!-- will --> meet in New York on August 4-8 to continue talks
on <!--the future of --> East Timor, UN spokesman Fred Eckhard said yesterday.
<!--Wednesday. --> <!--Last month, foreign min
isters of the two countries met in New York for two days of talks on
the status of the former Portuguese colony. --><!-- --><!--, --> which Indonesia
invaded in 1975 and annexed the next year. <P>
<!--The moderator, --> UN envoy Jamsheed Marker<!-- of Pakistan,
--><!-- --><!-- --> said at the end of that session that talks would resume at a
"working level."<P>
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan decided after taking office in
January to launch a new effort to find a solution to the conflict that began when
Indonesia invaded.<P>
Before next month's talks, Marker would<!-- will --> <!--travel
to --> visit SA<!-- beforehand --><!-- --><!-- --> the talks to discuss<!--
President Nelson --> Mandela's initiatives, Eckha
rd said. Mandela said SA was not seeking any benefit for itself,
<!--Mandela said. It was --> but was acting as a member of the UN. - Sapa-AP.<!--,
Mandela said. --> <P>
<!-- Mandela has recently taken a hand in trying to end the
conflict. --> <P>
<!-- While Mandela's talks with Indonesian President Suharto were
dominated by trade issues, the two also discussed human rights and political problems
in East Timor, a former Portuguese colony inv
aded by Indonesia in 1975. --><!-- Indonesia annexed the troubled
territory as its 27th province in 1976. During his visit, Mandela also held
unprecedented talks with Gusmao, who led a guerril
la fight against Indonesian rule before his capture in 1991. He
was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 1994 for plotting against Suharto's government.
Despite his incarceration, small bands of
rebels still attack troops and police in the province. Mandela has
offered to help United Nations efforts to find a peaceful settlement to the
22-year-old conflict. "We welcome the offer, howev
er, any role that he plays in the East Timor issue must be informal,"
Fadyl said. Mandela met Jose Ramos-Horta, East Timor's exiled separatist leader and
1996 co-Nobel Peace Prize winner, in South
Africa on Friday. He was to meet visiting Portuguese President
Jorge Sampaio on Wednesday. The United Nations does not recognize Indonesian
sovereignty over East Timor and has sponsored talks
between Portugal and Indonesia in a bid to find a settlement.
Sapa-AP /je 07/30/97 09-51 40 -->
> Date: Wed, 30 Jul 1997 21:37:36 -0700 (PDT)
> Reply-to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> From: "Patrick Bond" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> To: Multiple recipients of list <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Subject: [PEN-L:11553] Re: The silence of Mandela
> Sid, yes it seemed like that to us at the time...
>
> But the old man sometimes pull surprises out of the hat. Apparently
> he met with one of the long-term jailed leaders during the visit last
> week, and yesterday he had a session with the president of Portugal
> where they publicly demanded amnesty for political prisoners and a
> peace process.
>
> But it's pretty murky. Talk of arms sales from SA to repressive
> regimes continues apace. And one of the leading SACP strategists (now SA
> ambassador to Sweden) made the comment that SA could have greater
> influence over undemocratic conditions in Indonesia and East Timor
> through "constructive engagement" (not toungue in cheek).
>
> Oh, and sorry about recently posting what I thought was a personal reply to a
> personal note from Marc at D&S; got to watch those addresses on the
> screen...
>
> Ciao!
>
> Patrick
>
> > Date: 28 Jul 1997 17:44:08
> > Subject: mandela's silence on suharto genocide
> > To: Recipients of conference <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> >
> > As quoted in agitprop news 7/27/97:
> >
> > Mandela was silent on the Suharto regime's brutal suppression
> > of political dissent and trade unionism at home, as well as its
> > coercive labour policies. Asked for comments on the
> > Indonesian regime's occupation of East Timor, he stated that
> > it was an internal affair that should be resolved through
> > discussions.
> >
> > Did mandela get a lobotomy? ... Perhaps apartheid was an "internal
> > affair" that should have been "resolved through discussions."
>
>
>
