Sir, - I notice a letter from one Raziaty Tanzil (January 20th), a representative of the Indonesian Embassy in London. This person seems to have little contact with Indonesian or Timorese reality. A couple of matters struck me particularly in the midst of his tissue of misrepresentation. First of all, the statement that "East Timor is a wide open province with free access for all including international observers such as foreign diplomats, European politicians, Vatican representatives and foreign journalists."How interesting. Perhaps it may be explained to me, then, how it was that I and a number of other persons travelling on valid passports with valid airline tickets, no criminal record, etc., were illegally removed from an aeroplane at Denprassar airport in Bali just an hour before our arrival in East Timor, detained and then deported by the Indonesian authorities with no explanation or pretext in an act that amounted to air piracy and was certainly a violation of international law.Of course, violations of international law are nothing new in the relations between the Indonesian dictatorship and East Timor. However, this fact of which I was personally a victim would seem to undermine the bland statements about freedom of movement made by the Indonesian Embassy.There is a clear difference in perception between Mr/Ms Tanzil and the civilised world with regard to the meaning of freedom and cultural respect. We are treated to the remarkable paragraph:"In reality East Timorese culture is actively promoted. For example the people are free to use their own Tetun language and Portuguese monuments and road names have been retained in the province, showing the tremendous tolerance of the Indonesian government."I doubt if many Irish people would regard the fact that the Timorese people are permitted to use their own language in their own country by their Indonesian overlords is quite such a display of "tremendous tolerance" as Mr/Ms Tanzil appears to think. Indeed it rather reminds me of a visit I paid two years ago to the Islamic Republic of Iran. We were taken to the beautiful city of Isfahan, the beauty and sophistication of whose architecture would certainly impress any visitor. We were then introduced to members of the Christian community in their cathedral and given a little talk by Iranian officials on the wonders of Iranian religious tolerance. I pointed out that they seemed to be wearing the chador despite the fact that they were Christian and asked was this compulsory. Indeed it was, I was told, every one is compelled to submit to Islamic law in Iran. But the official went on: "You won't believe our tremendous tolerance. We do permit them to wear their own clothes when they are alone in their houses."Finally, may I congratulate the Indonesian Republic on having such an excellent spokesperson and express the wish that The Irish Times will be favoured with many more such letters. Nothing could make the case for Tom Hyland and the East Timor Ireland Solidarity Campaign better than the kind of dishonest and morally confused material emanating from the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia. - Yours, etc.,Senator David Norris,Seanad Eireann,Dublin 2.