Jakarta – President B.J. Habibie pledged Saturday to honor East Timor's decision to reject Indonesia's offer for a special autonomy and ordered the military and police to maintain law and order in the territory until the United Nations assumes transitional authority pending elections for a new government.

East Timor has voted overwhelmingly for independence from Indonesia, with 78.5 percent of the ballots favouring separation from Jakarta and only 21 percent supporting autonomy under continued Indonesian rule. The vote count was 344,580 against autonomy and thus in favour of independence, and 94,388 for autonomy.

Habibie urged [prointegration] East Timorese and Indonesians to accept the bitter pill. "The majority of our brothers and sisters in East Timor have voted against the special autonomy offer made by the government of the Republic of Indonesia. We have to accept the fact with an open heart," Habibie said in a televised speech following the announcement of the results of the Aug. 30 ballot. The announcement came three days earlier than originally planned on Sept. 7.

Habibie said the government would report the ballot results to the People's Consultative Assembly, which will convene in November. "While waiting for the Assembly to make its decision, I appeal to all East Timorese to reconcile and work together to maintain security and order. More importantly, we need to prevent more innocent people from becoming victims," said Habibie.

He also ordered the Indonesian military and police to take stern measures against all parties that disrupt security and order in East Timor.