Don Greenlees – Indonesian Justice Minister Muladi yesterday signalled that a ban on Nobel peace prize winner Jose Ramos Horta from entering the country could be revoked to enable him to join in talks on the future status of East Timor.
"He [Mr Ramos Horta] has to join [the talks]. It's only a matter of how. Is it enough to send a letter, to come here or [meet] in another country? That's another problem," he said. Asked about restrictions on Mr Ramos Horta entering Indonesia, he said: "That's no problem. We can revoke that."
It came as Fretilin leader Xanana Gusmao appealed to all parties to the conflict in East Timor to bring an end to the bloodshed.
Speaking shortly after being transferred out of Jakarta's Cipinang jail to house arrest, Gusmao said: "If all sides do not want to reduce their enmity or their hostility, then the problem will become more and more difficult.
"In my opinion, the priority now in solving the problems of East Timor is to create a peaceful climate."
Later, Mr Muladi, who greeted Gusmao on his arrival at the central Jakarta house where he will be held, said Indonesia maintained its opposition to demands by East Timorese pro-independence groups for a referendum on the status of the former Portuguese colony.
He praised Gusmao and expressed the hope his removal from prison would enable him to "work and participate" more actively in a solution for the two-decade-old dispute over East Timor. "Xanana is very moderate and co-operative," Mr Muladi said. "He is one of the key figures."
But former East Timorese guerilla commander Antonio Gomez da Costa, known as "Mahuno", called on Indonesia immediately to free Gusmao, describing house arrest as "not enough".
"The reason is simply that Xanana is East Timor's leader," Mr Gomez da Costa said. He said work should begin immediately on Gusmao's proposals for a ceasefire between all armed factions, a process of disarmament, followed by a UN presence to help maintain peace.
Yesterday's move from jail to house arrest marked a long journey for the man who was once Indonesia's most wanted. Known as Ze by fellow inmates, Gusmao was serving a 20-year sentence for plotting against the State and illegal possession of weapons.
The second eldest of nine children, he was born on June 20, 1946, and grew up in a village near north central Manatuto. Devoted to the cause of East Timor's independence, he spent 18 years hiding out with pro-independence guerillas.
By 1974, Gusmao was caught up in politics, becoming a member of the Associacao Social Democratica Timor – a new pro-independence political party.
Leaving behind a wife and two children, he joined the guerillas two days after Fretilin proclaimed a free East Timor on November 28, 1975. A week later, Indonesia invaded Dili.
Gusmao took on the leadership of the armed wing of Fretilin in 1979 and played a game of cat and mouse with Indonesian authorities for the next 15 years.