Рет қаралды 400,195
(20 Sep 1999) English/Nat
The Indonesian government and military reacted on Monday to the arrival of a multinational peacekeeping force in the troubled Indonesian province of East Timor.
About 2-thousand-500 soldiers were due to be on the ground by late afternoon Monday, and the bulk of the 7,500-strong force was to arrive within a few days.
In Jakarta, the spokesman of the Indonesian armed forces said he expected full co-operation both from the army and the militias.
He said the army and police would withdraw from East Timor as quickly as possible.
International peacekeepers landed in East Timor at dawn Monday, launching a U-N approved operation to restore order and help usher the Indonesian province toward independence.
Government officials stressed that Indonesia welcomed the task force, reminding the international community that they themselves had turned to the U-N for help.
Nevertheless the Indonesian government acknowledged that bilateral relations between it and Australia were at their lowest level for some time but that they hoped that ties would be strengthened as Indonesia moved towards democracy.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
" I am quite confident that General Kiki Syahnakri will be very co-operative. As General Peter Cosgrove mentioned yesterday, co-operation has been first class."
SUPER CAPTION: Brigadier General Sudrajat, military spokesman
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"I would urge everybody not to put forward such a scenario could make things worst and is not conducive to the situation. The situation as a matter of fact on the ground is very conducive and we are welcoming the multinational troops coming."
SUPER CAPTION: Dewi Fortuna Anwar,presidential spokeswoman
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"In terms of Indonesia's acceptance of multinational forces there is no question. Indonesia has turned to the United Nations and accepts the arrival of the multinational forces. We hope that they will be able to do their job effectively. But in so far as Indonesian bilateral relations with Australia are concerned, I don't think one can pretend that the relations are as good as usual. Everybody has been saying that this is the lowest point in terms of the relations between the two countries."
SUPER CAPTION: Dewi Fortuna Anwar,presidential spokeswoman
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"In politics nothing is impossible. Whether Indonesia and Australia continue to have good relations or not, geographically they are still very close, and politically in fact. As Indonesia moves towards its democracy there is clearly no reason why relations should not be closer and also because of our economic and, until recently, military ties. Unfortunately the wound is much deeper this time because it involves people to people relations. In the past the break in the two countries' relations has been mostly at the elite level it did not really involve the people. But now the Indonesian people have become very involved in this as well. "
SUPER CAPTION: Dewi Fortuna Anwar,presidential spokeswoman
Find out more about AP Archive: www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork
Twitter: / ap_archive
Facebook: / aparchives
Instagram: / apnews
You can license this story through AP Archive: www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...