INDONESIA HABIBIE EAST TIMOR ADDRESS TO PARLIAMENT

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(21 Sep 1999) Indonesian/Nat • • Indonesian President B-J Habibie has urged parliament to accept East Timor's independence as a means of restoring the country's international image. • • In an hour-long address to parliament, Habibie said the referendum on East Timor had been his only option to ensure Indonesia's continuing credibility in the eyes of the world. • • He urged parliament to fulfill Indonesia's agreement with the United Nations by ratifying the result of the independence vote when it convenes again in two months time. • • B-J Habibie, Indonesia's beleaguered president, on Tuesday addressed his country's highest legislative body over the continuing crisis in East Timor. • • He told lawmakers in Jakarta that they should accept the result of the referendum in which the residents of the former Portuguese colony voted to reject Indonesian rule. • • On August 30, almost 80 percent of East Timorese cast their votes in favour of independence. • • Habibie told parliament he understood why the people of East Timor had voted for freedom. • • Indonesia was largely ruled by the Dutch until independence in 1949 but the government had long laid claim to the Portuguese colony of East Timor. • • SOUNDBITE: (Bahasa Indonesia) • It's become the goal of our struggle to be free from Portuguese colonialism, so we can accept that East Timor wants its independence. • SUPER CAPTION: B.J. Habibie, President of Indonesia • • He also told the assembly that the result of the vote was not in doubt and that the next move for Indonesia was to implement the agreement on the territory's future made by the United Nations Security Council in the aftermath of the poll. • • But members of Indonesia's highest legislative body must still approve the independence vote in a session expected by November. • • And opponents of independence say the presence of peacekeepers violates national sovereignty. • • But large numbers of U-N troops are being sent to the province to help assure a return to peace. • • The commanders of the Australian led force said they expected to have some 28- hundred troops on the ground by late Tuesday. • • SOUNDBITE: (Bahasa Indonesia) • The issue is not the actual result but rather that we emphasise the need to take the process forward according to the agreement made in New York, by following our own constitution and handing the matter over to the People's Consultative Assembly. • SUPER CAPTION: B.J. Habibie, President of Indonesia • • Habibie went on to tell his audience that he was unhappy with the way the Australians had behaved in the matter. • • He said Canberra had overstepped its responsibilities by what he called interference in Indonesian domestic affairs. • • This had led, he said, to a suspension of the four year old security agreement between the two countries. • • SOUNDBITE: (Bahasa Indonesia) • We feel Australia has violated international agreements by interfering in our domestic affairs. The government deeply regrets Australia's action which have damaged our bilateral relations. As a result, Indonesia has decided to cancel the agreement between Indonesian and Australia about security. • SUPER CAPTION: B.J. Habibie, President of Indonesia • • The international force began arriving in East Timor on Monday ending a three-week rampage by militias loyal to Jakarta. • • Their landing at Dili airport effectively marked the end of 24 years of iron-fisted Indonesian rule. • • Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork • Twitter: / ap_archive • Facebook: / aparchives • Instagram: / apnews • • • You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...

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