INDONESIA: UN ENVOY JAMSHEED MARKER VISIT

• published: 21 Jul 2015
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English/Nat Both sides in the bitter East Timor conflict are displaying a newfound taste for compromise. That's according to U-N envoy Jamsheed Marker, who has been visiting Indonesia to promote a U-N-designed blueprint for autonomy in the former Portuguese colony. Marker's fact-finding mission was not without problems - as he left Dili airport, East Timorese protesters spilled onto the runway tarmac and shouted their anger. Sent to make peace in Indonesian-controlled East Timor, U-N envoy Jamsheed Marker has been holding talks with all sides in the conflict. Based on these meetings, he told reporters that both sides in the bitter conflict were displaying a newfound taste for compromise. Marker admitted that a peaceful solution remained distant. But in a big step forward, he said, many separatist activists were no longer pressing for an immediate vote on independence. Indonesian troops invaded East Timor in 1975 and annexed it a year later. The territory is a former Portuguese colony and the people of East Timor have been calling for independence since Jakarta rule moved in. SOUNDBITE: (English) "Well, I would say in terms of 10 years ago, we certainly are closer. But if you ask me to say ''Do you have a solution?', then the answer is 'No'. I think I know what a solution should be but I'm not sure that all the parties agree to it yet. But I think there are ways of getting there, the first thing is to have peace and quiet and the second is to work seriously towards this and do it in stages." SUPER CAPTION: Jamsheed Marker, U-N envoy But Marker's hasty departure from the troubled territory signaled how easily tensions there can boil over. Hundreds of East Timorese separatists stormed the capital's airport and took over the runway, forcing the visiting U-N special envoy to alter his travel plans. Marker left the Indonesian-controlled territory after talks with its spiritual leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Bishop Carlos Belo and other community leaders. During a visit last year, Indonesian soldiers killed two pro-independence demonstrators outside a hotel where Marker was staying. Activists have alleged that Indonesia secretly ferried troops into East Timor in spite of pledges to reduce the number. Marker said Jakarta had advised him of troop rotations and that U-N staff were monitoring the situation. On Monday, Marker said Indonesian troops in East Timor are there for a reason. SOUNDBITE: (English) "I think there is the just apprehension that things could get out of hand if they didn't have...any..in terms of law and order and that what is keeping the Indonesian troops there is more for maintenance of public security and order and not for purposes of repression and I'm quite convinced of that." SUPER CAPTION: Jamsheed Marker, U-N envoy During his fact-finding mission, Marker also met separatist leader Xanana Gusmao. He remains a key figure in talks on a peaceful solution to the long-running conflict in the former Portuguese colony. Fears are widespread that more unrest in East Timor could derail the negotiations. And Marker voiced his concern in a meeting with Gusmao. SOUNDBITE: (English) "That's why I've been urging in my meeting with Xanana also today I said that there was a lot of tension in East Timor and that here people ought to be doing everything they can to reduce it." SUPER CAPTION: Jamsheed Marker, U-N envoy Indonesia and Portugal will send diplomats to open sections in each other's capitals next month. Formal diplomatic relations, however, will not be resumed. Also in January, the two countries are scheduled to embark on a new round of U-N-sponsored peace talks in New York. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/b7ac39c2f34f59b1654200816c7653b3 Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork