Jakarta, June 13: Visiting East Timorese Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri has said that his country has no intention of pushing for an international tribunal to try some Indonesian militarymen allegedly involved in human rights abuses in the past. "We give priority to the future of our country by enhancing cooperation in the fields of economy, trade, education and culture with neighboring countries like Indonesia in addition to building our country rather than focusing on past grievances," Alkatiri told reporters here on Thursday.

He said that the two countries each had complex internal problems that must be settled. Indonesia was in a process of transition from the old system of government to democratization in its reform era.

East Timor was also preoccupied with overcoming its own problems.

Alkatiri said that the Indonesian human rights ad hoc tribunal had actually shown Jakarta's seriousness in settling the human rights abuses. His side could also understand why the settlement of the cases was taking time as it constituted a process as a whole.

He dismissed a foreign news agency report saying East Timor wanted to bring the case to an international tribunal.

Bureau Report