Secretary of State Madeleine Albright implored Indonesian President B.J. Habibie on Friday not to allow East Timor to break down in bloody violence if the territory chooses independence over remaining an autonomous part of his country.
“A cycle of violence will not lead to a resolution,” Albright said, referring to the question of East Timor’s future and June 7 parliamentary elections.
Habibie, in turn, vowed not to let the territory erupt, as it did in 1975 when Portugal abandoned what was then its colony and before Indonesia took over.
Albright met afterward with Jose Alexandre “Xanana” Gusmao, a separatist East Timorese rebel leader who is under house arrest.
Gusmao suggested elections could be held to select representatives from about a dozen districts in East Timor, which could then each decide whether or not to accept an autonomy plan now being negotiated with the help of the UN.
