Australian troops in East Timor<\/p>\n
Nova Poerwadi's article History binds RI and Australia
\npublished in The Jakarta Post on Oct. 13, 1999 is full of all
\nsorts of Indonesian misconceptions about what is happening in
\nEast Timor.<\/p>\n
Mr. Poerwadi's assertion that Australia is involved \"in
\ndictating (Indonesian) domestic policy\" belies the reality of
\nwhat Australian troops are doing in East Timor. He makes the
\nincreasingly common mistake of confusing UN troops for Australian
\ntroops.<\/p>\n
The Australian troops are there under the auspices of the
\nUnited Nations. This is the key point because the UN has never
\nrecognized Indonesia's sovereign claims over East Timor. Poerwadi
\nseems to ignore this fact. Given this reality, it is hardly a
\ncase of Australia dictating domestic policy to Indonesia. It is a
\ncase of the UN pressuring Indonesia over what, as far as the UN
\nis concerned, is not domestic policy because it does not
\nrecognize East Timor as part of Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Mr. Poerwadi then adds his own simplistic views on the matter
\nby failing to distinguish between different groups within
\nAustralian society. He asserts that while \"Canberra has insisted
\nthat their quarrel has never been with the Indonesian people,
\nconditions on the ground were much different\". He then goes on to
\ntalk about protests at Indonesian missions and union boycotts, as
\nif the Australian government was behind these. Clearly, Mr.
\nPoerwadi cannot distinguish between the Australian government,
\nAustralian labor unions and those who choose to protest.<\/p>\n
Furthermore, Mr. Poerwadi asserts that Westerners (who, if we
\nbelieve Mr. Poerwadi, all share the same history and views) fail
\nto understand how deep Indonesian mistrust of Westerners is
\nbecause Westerners have never been subject to systematic racism.
\nThis demonstrates an awesome lack of knowledge of history.
\nEuropean history is one long example of racism and racist wars.
\nIndonesia freed itself from colonial oppression just over 50
\nyears ago, about the same time that Europe was freeing itself
\nfrom occupation by Nazi Germany, where racism was one of the
\ngovernment's central platforms. Indeed, no Indonesian under the
\nage of 50 has lived under the oppression of another power,
\nalthough all of them have lived under the oppression of a nasty
\nregime.<\/p>\n
Nor is Mr. Poerwadi's comparison of the republican debate in
\nAustralia and Indonesia's presidential election anywhere close to
\nthe mark. The republican debate in Australia is over whether to
\nreplace its monarch as head of state -- a largely ceremonial
\nposition in all but the most extreme of circumstances. It is not
\na debate on whether Australia should become \"self-ruling people\".
\nAustralians have ruled themselves since the turn of the century.<\/p>\n
There is no doubt that Australia has badly handled the East
\nTimor crisis and will pay the price for doing so. And certainly
\nAustralian Prime Minister John Howard's provocative and ill-
\nconsidered comments on the so-called \"Howard Doctrine\" did not
\nhelp and were an embarrassment.<\/p>\n
Indonesians have a right to be angry over this. But they
\nshould be very clear about what they are angry about. The troops
\nin East Timor are there because the international community, not
\njust Australia -- through the UN Security Council -- wanted an
\nend to the bloodshed.<\/p>\n
Blaming Australia for it will not take away Indonesia's shame.
\nIndonesia would be better off asking itself why almost 90 percent
\nof East Timorese voted to separate from it. Then, hopefully,
\nthese mistakes can be avoided in other parts of the country and
\nIndonesians can all work toward building the democratic and
\nprosperous future they are entitled to.<\/p>",
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