Sydney – The Indonesian government remained committed to releasing jailed resistance leader Jose Xanana Gusmao from house detention, possibly before a vote on the future of East Timor, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said in an interview screened here.
Eighteen other political prisoners would also be released by Indonesia, he told SBS television late Saturday, adding Australia had a vital role to play in organising a ballot to determine East Timor's future.
"On Friday the government reaffirmed its commitment to us that Xanana Gusmao will be released as part of the overall settlement that we are discussing, so I am hoping that he will be free before the actual vote takes place," he said.
Gusmao was captured in 1992 and sentenced to life imprisonment, later reduced to 20 years, for leading the bloody resistance war against Indonesian forces which invaded the former Portugese colony in 1975. He was moved to a house from Jakarta's Cipinang prison earlier this year.
The UN was central in the push to allow Gusmao house detention so he would have greater freedom to talk to supporters and foreign visitors over Indonesian President B.J. Habibie's proposals to offer the province autonomy.
Annan said there were still problems to overcome in determining East Timor's future, such as the logistics of organising a ballot within the region and for East Timorese living around the world, but he was hopeful of a positive outcome.
"We would want Australian contribution," he said. "We have approached Australia and many other countries with capacity and interest in the problem to work with us in bringing it to a successful conclusion, so we will be relying on Australian support and contribution as we would with other countries."
Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer later confirmed Canberra would provide help as early as next month, but said it was still unclear exactly what the involvement would be.
Annan had not asked for Australian troops to be involved, he added. "The type of UN involvement will depend on the types of needs that there are on the ground," he said.
"We've always said that we are not passionately of a desire to send Australian troops into danger ... we don't want them to risk their lives or for them to lose their lives. We have a responsibility to them so we hope it won't be necessary to send them.
"What we hope will be necessary is to send administrative assistance, observers, some technical assistance, perhaps some people to assist with policing functions and we hope that it won't be more than that, but it will at a minimum be that."
Annan said the UN had to be seen to be organising a transparent ballot for a free East Timor.
"What is important is how credible the entire process is and if the flaws that one perceives are such as to negate the results of the entire elections ... we will try to ensure that it is credible, it is democratic, it is free, it is well organised and only those who are entitled to vote are admitted at the ballot box," he said.