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Resistance leader to stay in prison, rules Soeharto

Source
Sydney Morning Herald - August 23, 1997

Louise Williams, Jakarta – President Soeharto will not approve the release of the jailed East Timorese guerilla leader, Xanana Gusmao, despite the recent plea by the South African leader, Mr Nelson Mandela. A senior Indonesian official said Mr Soeharto would write to President Mandela and "clearly point out that he cannot release Xanana because he is a criminal and not a political prisoner", the Jakarta Post reported.

Mr Mandela wrote to Mr Soeharto after meeting Xanana during his visit to Jakarta last month, saying the release of all political prisoners, including the former leader of the Fretilin movement, was essential to "normalise the situation in East Timor".

Mr Mandela's meeting with the 51-year-old Xanana was approved by Mr Soeharto, and marked the beginning of efforts by the South African leader to broker a peace settlement in East Timor, annexed by Indonesia in 1976.

The Indonesian official said Mr Soeharto would pay a reciprocal visit to South Africa in November, despite his refusal to release Xanana. "President Soeharto respects President Mandela as a great statesman and trusts his sincerity in assisting Indonesia in finding an international solution on East Timor," he said.

But Indonesia assumed the efforts would be based on "quiet diplomacy" - a disapproving reference to the leaking to the media of the Mandela letter to Mr Soeharto.

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