Australia should be fair in Timor Gap: Bambang

Indonesia has refused to bear all the costs for the repatriation of Indonesian workers and the termination of the Timor Gap treaty following the transfer of the country's authority over East Timor to UN Transitional Administration on East Timor (Untaet).

Minister of Mines and Energy Susilo Bambang Yudohyono said in Jakarta on Thursday that giving Indonesia with such responsibilities was certainly not fair because the termination of the treaty was not due to Indonesia's wishes.

"Both parties should therefore share the responsibility and Austrlia should play a fair game in this case," he said in a business dialogue held by Harvest International.

Indonesia has formally transferred its authority under the 1989 Timor Gap Treaty, which allowed the country and neighboring Australia to share oil and gas resources in the Timor sea, to Untaet.

Bambang also said that Untaet, Australia and Indonesia were discussing new seas boundaries in the area to ensure there would be no conflicts in the future.

" Politically there are no more problems related to the transfer of the Indonesian role in the zone, " he said, adding that the three parties were also still calculating how much Indonesia should receive from oil and gas revenues from the area before the country transferred its rule over East Timor,

The provincial administration of East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) howeve is not happy with the new development in the Timor Sea. NTT Governor Piet A Tallo said that his province, which shares the borders with East Timor, should be involved in the negotiations of the new treaty.

"We will issue a formal protest to both the UN and Australia if the province is not involved in the negotiation process," he said.