MEDIA RELEASE MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS ALEXANDER DOWNER
. £/I18A1<60 - 3PM AUSTRALIA TO SUPPORT ALL-INCLUSIVE INTRA-EAST TIMOBESE DIALOGllE
I am pleased to announce that AusAlD, the Australian Government's aid proifllDl, will provide the equivalent ofUS$20,000 in support of the third round of All-Inclusive Intra-East Timorese dialogue scheduled to be held in Austria in August 1997.
The Government is commited to supporting the parties to reach a permanent resolution to the East Timor problem and is therefore making a financial contribution towards the participants' - travel costs for attendance at the Intra-East Timorese talks.
In January 1995, Indonesia and Portugal agreed to allow the UN Secretary-General to convene the All-Inclusive Intra-East Timorese Talks to allow a forum for the meetin& of represenatives of all segments of the East Timorese corrununity (both from within and outside Indonesia) to discuss aspects of the East Timor situation.
The first and socond sessions of the Intra-East Timorese dialolUC. held in June 1995 and March 1996 respectively, were useful first steps in enabling the East Timorese to contribute to the process of improvi..ng the situation in East Timor.
Although these talks are distinct from the dialogue between Indonesia and PortuaaI under United Nations' auspices. they may provide an avenue through which the various East Timorese aroups can begin to resolve their differences.
The Goverriment supports any international effort to resolve the situation on East Timor in a way that is acceptable tyo alilparties involved and hopes that the Intra-Timorese talks will assist the overall resolution of the East Timor problems.
Kuala Lumpur 26 July 1997
Innes Will ox, Canberra, Tel: 0411414695 Greg Hunt, Kuala Lumpur, Tel: 012-2060510
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