Indonesia 's Belo leaves for Nobel award ceremony .
DILI , East Timor 1996-12-06
East Timorese Roman Catholic Bishop Carlos Belo left Dili on Friday on his way to Norway for the awards ceremony as co-recipient of the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize .
Witnesses said Belo left the territory for the Indonesian capital Jakarta accompanied by five other people .
It was not immediately known when he would arrive in Oslo .
The bishop will jointly receive the Nobel award next Tuesday with East Timorese-born activist Jose Ramos Horta , who lives in self-exile in Australia .
The Indonesian government has condemned the inclusion of Ramos Horta in the award , and Foreign Minister Ali Alatas said on Friday that Indonesia would not be represented officially at the ceremony in the Norwegian capital .
" I sincerely believe that this unfortunate choice in giving the honour to such a controversial figure as Ramos Horta ...
will exacerbate the problem in finding a solution ( to East Timor ) , " Alatas said on Friday .
He was responding to questions at a news conference called to discuss next week 's ministerial meeting of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference ( OIC ) in Jakarta .
Ramos Horta has been a vocal leader of the opposition to Jakarta 's rule in the territory .
Belo and Ramos Horta were awared the prize for their efforts to secure a peaceful solution to the issue of East Timor , a former Portuguese colony which Indonesia invaded in 1975 and annexed the following year .
The United Nations has never recognised Jakarta 's move .
Alatas said the government 's position on the Nobel Peace Prize would have been different if it had been awarded solely to Belo .
Asked if the Indonesian ambassador to Norway would have attended the ceremony if only Belo had been involved , Alatas replied : " Probably , yes , but that is a hypothetical question . "
Alatas said on Tuesday that on his way back from Oslo , Belo would visit the Vatican to see the Pope , and would also meet German Chancellor Helmut Kohl in Bonn .
Kohl had wanted to meet Belo during the chancellor 's official visit to Indonesia last month , but the bishop was too busy in East Timor to come to Jakarta .