East Timor Independence

Ambassador Siregar spoke about the Indonesian perspective on efforts in East Timor for more independence. Indonesia annexed East Timor, a former Portuguese colony, in 1976. He outlined the benefits which integration with Indonesia has provided to the region over the past twenty years and stressed that Indonesia remains committed to an internationally acceptable solution to the East Timor question, about which talks between Portugal and Indonesia will resume later in the month. After his remarks, he took questions from the audience of reporters. The same day, two leaders of the Timoran independence movement received the Nobel Peace Prize.