Dili, 12 April 2001
ACCORDING TO CABINET MEMBER,
“EAST TIMOR FLEXIBLE ON TIMOR SEA”


Cabinet Member for Economic Affairs Mari Alkatiri today said that UNTAET and the East Timor Transitional Administration are “flexible in the Timor Sea negotiations,” but that the strength of East Timor, being a small country, is international law. Alkatiri and Cabinet Member for Political Affairs and Timor Sea Peter Galbraith jointly led the UNTAET/ETTA delegation at the second round of talks on the Timor Sea with the Government of Australia. The talks took place in Melbourne, Australia, on 4-6 April. Speaking to the media upon his return to East Timor, Alkatiri described the talks as a “setback”. He said that UNTAET/ETTA’s position on the Timor Sea is that if East Timor would apply current international law, 100 per cent of the resources of the cooperation zone would belong to East Timor. “But since there is an overlapping of claims, international law advises that a solution be found through negotiations,” said Alkatiri.

East Timor’s delegation also had an informal meeting with the Australian Minister for Industry, Science and Resources, Senator Nick Minchin. This meeting was “the most fruitful of all negotiations,” according to Alkatiri, adding that at this point he could not elaborate. The next round of talks has been set for the end of April or beginning of May. It is expected that the talks will be more political, rather than technical. It is UNTAET/ETTA’s position that a deadline for a political solution to the dispute should be 15 July, when the campaign for the 30 August elections starts in East Timor. By then the Transitional Cabinet is expected to be dissolved. A future treaty governing the resources of the Timor Sea should be signed by independence day.