Jakarta – Indonesian Foreign Minister Ali Alatas said on Monday a referendum on East Timor's future would only trigger a divide among the territory's people. "It will only invite dissension between anti-and pro-integrationists," Alatas was quoted as telling reporters by the official Antara news agency.

Alatas said a referendum was something inappropriate and unacceptable to the majority of the East Timorese who have already decided several years ago to integrate with Indonesia. "Theoretically, a referendum is democratic. But we have to see the historical background and its implications to the present lives of the people of East Timor," he said.

Newly-installed member of the Supreme Advisory Council from East Timor, Mario Viegas Carrascalao, said over the weekend that demands to hold a referendum on East Timor or declare the province independent from Indonesia were impossible things.

"A referendum as a self-determination process in East Timor is a way of committing suicide, as the East Timorese themselves do not have the ability to be self-reliant," he said.