Paris – Four East Timorese youths who broke into the French embassy in Jakarta on Tuesday will leave for Portugal by Wednesday, the French foreign ministry in Paris said.

"We are in contact with the ICRC (International Committee for the Red Cross), who are in contact with the Portuguese authorities," said spokesman Yves Doutriaux, saying they would leave "today or tomorrow." He confirmed that the four had "scaled the railings of the embassy" to get into the grounds of the French mission in the Indonesian capital early Tuesday morning.

Since September 1993, 115 East Timorese have left for Portugal after seeking sanctuary in foreign embassies in Jakarta, 72 in 1996.

Lisbon automatically grants citizenship to any East Timorese applying for it. hm/mt/job