Subjects: Australia/East Timor relationship; International Criminal Court;
E&OE...........
PRIME MINISTER:
Good morning ladies and gentlemen. I would like to say how delighted the Australian Government is to welcome President Gusmo of East Timor on his first visit to this country as the newly installed President of the newest member of the United Nations, or prospective member of the United Nations, and of course a close friend of Australia';s. I along with my Foreign Minister, the Defence Minister and the Leader of the Opposition and many other people participated in what I can only describe as a quite exhilarating and moving occasion and that was the independence celebrations for East Timor in Dili only a few weeks ago.
The friendship and commitment of the Australian people in so many ways to the people of East Timor is well known, and I';ve had the opportunity this morning of reaffirming that commitment to President Gusm o and to his Foreign Minister Jose Ramos-Horta. I welcome them. I know that the path ahead will have a lot of difficulties but the friendship and support of the Australian Government and the Australian people will be a constant element of East Timor';s journey along that path and I do very warmly welcome you Xanana as the leader of a close neighbour of Australia';s and on a personal basis Australians will for years into the future admire greatly the struggle of your people towards achieving independence and we certainly rejoice in the achievement of that independence and commit ourselves to a firm friendship in the years ahead.
I apologise for the Canberra cold.
PRESIDENT GUSMO:
Thank you very much. Of course we came to meet the Prime Minister and to express our profound gratitude for all the help that we have received during the transitional period. We do that and to thank also the commitment of the Australian Government to continue to help us in this difficult stage of our history, the beginning of our independence. Of course as a close friend and neighbour, we will count on Australia and their government help Australian people as before and it is wonderful that we put them not only to express but to convey to the Australian Government that we are looking towards and for a new stage of the relationship. We are now an independent country, it is part of our effort to establish a relationship with our neighbours in Pacific and Asia, and Australia is actually the first country that we came to visit and to talk about the future. Thank you Prime Minister.
PRIME MINISTER:
A couple of questions.
JOURNALIST:
Mr Gusm o, are you still concerned about Australia';s refusal in future to allow the jurisdiction of the ICJ, in relation to maritime boundaries and the effects that might have on future revenue from oil and gas, in the Timor Sea?
PRESIDENT GUSMO:
What I can say is that as we talk before [inaudible] that the two Governments will do everything to work to a solution with mutual benefits and respect in each other';s sovereignty.
JOURNALIST:
But what about Australia';s decision not to subject itself to the ICJ in future, in relation to maritime boundaries, what do you say about that specifically?
PRESIDENT GUSM O:
I will let my Government to talk to you, perhaps the Australian Government in this case.
JOURNALIST:
Could you also tell us whether your country intends to sign up to the international criminal court?
PRESIDENT GUSMO:
I beg your pardon?
JOURNALIST:
The international criminal court which is now coming into effect next month. Does your country intend to sign up to that convention?
PRESIDENT GUSM O:
Better to ask Foreign Ministers if they are intending to do this.
JOURNALIST:
Mr Howard, are you confident that Australia';s getting a fair hearing from the new administration in Dili? Do you think that there';s any evidence of an anti-Australian bias developing in that administration?
PRIME MINISTER:
No, none at all.
JOURNALIST:
Just in relation to the future of justice in East Timor, a lot of the people accused of complicity in the crimes that took place immediately after the independence referendum, including members of TNI, havw still not been brought to justice. Does Megawati Surkanoputri need to do more to bring those people to trial and is it necessary for Australia to apply more pressure on Jakarta to bring those people to trial?
PRESIDENT GUSMO:
All they can tell you is that we are now trying our best to bring back our countrymen including foreign militias and foreign militias commander. And we all read, they all read in all that when they come back to East Timor, there will be a trial. It will not be at the conciliation without justice, they know this, and we started a new phase of the process of reconciliation in this [inaudible] that they actually…that when they come back to East Timor there will be a trial, they will face trial. About Indonesian military I would like to say that give them the opportunity to prove to the international community their good will in this matter. But what is concern to me is East Timorese, they must be more clear, East Timorese, militias, and militias commanders.
PRIME MINISTER:
Thank you.
[ends]