Indonesia's man left to carry can on his own

By Bernard Orsman

The man in the Apec hotseat for Indonesia last night bared his soul on East Timor and promised that his country would not go back on independence for the province.

"As a human being, I'm very sad to see the situation in East Timor," Ginanjar Kartasasmita, Minister of the Economy, Finance and Industry, told the New Zealand Herald.

Mr Ginanjar has found himself having to defend the uncontrolled carnage across East Timor after President Jusuf Habibie and Foreign Minister Ali Alatas decided not to come to the Apec forum in Auckland.

The savvy and charming 58-year-old father of four says that if New Zealanders are mad and angry about events in East Timor "we are madder and angrier."

But he makes it crystal clear that Indonesia is not angry enough with the roaming militias and duplicitous military in strife-torn East Timor to accept an international peacekeeping force.

Mr Ginanjar said Indonesia was capable of restoring law and order, although he could not give a timeframe for doing so.

"While physical assistance will be asked for when it is needed, we are asking for moral support because we have no intention of reneging on our commitment to honour and respect the decision of the people of East Timor.

"The East Timorese have cast their votes and decided on their future and we have to respect that ... We do not want to stay there longer than is necessary."

Mr Ginanjar said Indonesia believed the United Nations should not pull out of East Timor. And speaking as a finance minister, Mr Ginanjar said it would be uncalled for and unprecedented if economic sanctions were imposed on Indonesia.

This, he said, would only worsen the situation in East Timor.

He said the Indonesian economy was in the early stages of recovery from the Asian crisis and was still fragile and dependent on support from the international community.

Please, Mr Ginanjar asked at the end of the interview, present these views to your readers "and let them decide for themselves."