Indonesia
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24. Herr Schlagintweit expressed satisfaction at the robust and forthright line Mr Evans, the Australian Foreign Minister, had taken on East Timor with the Portuguese during his visit to Lisbon. In general he thought the EC had handled the East Timor issue well. The Indonesians realised that they had gone too far. Points which needed watching in the Indonesians' follow-up included:
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whether military personnel were brought to trial
the severity of sentences on civilian East Timorese
whether there was any improvement in the political and economic situation in East Timor
how the UNSG dealt with the outcome of Mr Waco's visit .
Herr Schlagintweit was incidentally relieved that the 'Lusitania Espresso' had turned back without trouble.
25. Herr Schlagintweit expressed regret at the Indonesian decision to terminate Dutch aid, but felt the Dutch would handle the situation with restraint. Germany saw advantage in a World Bank Consultative Group in place of the Dutch-chaired Intergovernmental Group on Indonesia (IGGI). The German aid programme to Indonesia would continue, though they faced a specific problem at present over public criticism of plans for the sale of former East German naval ships to Indonesia.
26. Sir J Coles agreed that the Indonesian response on East Timor was unprecedented by their standards. The EC needed to encourage the moderate instincts of those like Alatas: confrontation and criticism
would not bring about change. Hence the need to encourage the UNSG in his efforts to bring about a renewed Portuguese/Indonesian dialogue.
In discussion of aid strategy and the implications of the agreed EC position on the relevance of human rights and good government, Herr Schlagintweit stressed the importance of Indonesia
to Germany; Sir John Coles agreed that stopping aid would not be the
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