An inevitable decision<\/p>\n
President B.J. Habibie's decision to \"invite\" a United Nations
\npeacekeeping force to join the Indonesian Military (TNI) in
\nrestoring peace and order in East Timor is a wise decision in the
\nface of strong international pressure this past week. It provides
\nIndonesia with a face-saving exit after suffering such
\ninternational indignation for its handling of East Timor.<\/p>\n
After Indonesia bungled its job to promote security in the
\nterritory, it would not be surprising to find some countries have
\nmisgivings about Jakarta's intentions. They would be right to see
\nthe \"security cooperation\", as Habibie termed the offer, as
\nanother trick by Jakarta to buy more time in its desperate
\nattempt to keep East Timor.<\/p>\n
In the past week, the whole world has watched in horror as
\nEast Timor degenerated into total anarchy. The Indonesian
\ngovernment, which has been entrusted with the task of maintaining
\npeace and order, did virtually nothing as pro-Indonesia militias
\nin East Timor launched a massive terror campaign against their
\nown populace, killing proindependence supporters, forcing
\nhundreds of thousands to leave their homes, and destroying
\nbuildings and other property.<\/p>\n
It was this inaction, and the strongly substantiated
\nallegations that the military was aiding the scorch-earth
\ncampaign, that raised the international outcry against Indonesia
\nand the calls to send in an international peacekeeping force into
\nEast Timor to replace the Indonesian security forces.<\/p>\n
A remark by Gen. Wiranto, the Indonesian Military (TNI) chief,
\nduring the weekend that his soldiers had psychological
\ndifficulties in clamping down on, or shooting the rampaging pro-
\nIndonesia militias because they had fought together against the
\nEast Timor separatists these last 23 years, served only to
\nconfirm the lack of impartiality of the military. If only such a
\nfrank yet disturbing admission had been made months ago, then
\nsecurity arrangements during and before the ballot in East Timor
\nwould never have been entrusted to Indonesia, and we could
\nprobably have avoided this unnecessary bloodshed.<\/p>\n
Indonesia's belligerent attitude before Sunday fueled
\nspeculation that the government and the military had no real
\nintention of letting East Timor go, and that they had other plans
\nfor the territory. That suspicions will likely remain until
\nIndonesia proves its honest intentions with deeds.<\/p>\n
Indonesia's offer looks good on paper, but Jakarta will most
\nlikely find it an uphill struggle to regain the trust and
\nconfidence of the international community.<\/p>\n
The human tragedy that unfolded in East Timor this past week
\nmade compelling argument for Indonesia to leave the territory,
\nover which it never had any legitimate claim in the first place,
\nas soon as possible. The government, until Sunday, had stood
\nfirmly by an agreement it signed with the United Nations in May,
\nwhich states that Indonesia would leave East Timor, if it lost
\nthe vote, only after the result was endorsed by the People's
\nConsultative Assembly in November. Indonesia argued that only the
\nAssembly, rather than the government, can annul its own 1978
\ndecree which formally annexed East Timor into the republic.<\/p>\n
If the government is serious about living up to the letter of
\nthat agreement, the responsible thing to do now is to admit
\nfailure, and to plan an immediate exit. In the course of the
\ndiscussion to bring the UN force into East Timor, Jakarta should
\ncome up with a game plan of phasing out its soldiers and let the
\nUN force take complete charge of the security arrangement. As the
\nresult of the Aug. 30 vote in East Timor shows, Indonesia does
\nnot have any business staying there one day longer.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/an-inevitable-decision-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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