Distrust hampers Timor border security operation<\/p>\n
By Lela E. Madjiah<\/p>\n
ATAMBUA, East Nusa Tenggara (JP): It is easy to accuse the
\ninternational community, including the United Nations, of being
\nparanoid when it comes to Indonesia's conduct regarding East
\nTimor.<\/p>\n
A recent gathering on the Indonesian side of the East-West
\nTimor border caused alarm on the part of the United Nations
\nPeacekeeping Forces (UNPKF) in East Timor. Without checking, they
\nreported a concentration of people, suspecting links with
\nactivities of former prointegration fighters.<\/p>\n
It turned out that what they perceived as militia training was
\nnothing but a funeral gathering.<\/p>\n
"Someone died and the locals held a traditional funeral
\nceremony. As there was no electricity in the area, the people
\nused candles. This was what the UNPKF saw -- large groups of
\npeople moving, holding candles to light their way," Indonesian
\nMilitary (TNI) spokesman Rear Marshal Graito Usodo said at a news
\nconference in Kupang on March 14.<\/p>\n
The visit to Jakarta by officials of the United Nations
\nTransitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) on March 9 was
\nanother indication of the distrust the international community
\nhas of Indonesia, particularly its military.<\/p>\n
During the visit, UNTAET's Director of Political Affairs Peter
\nGalbraith and UNTAET's Commander Lt. Gen. Jaime de los Santos,
\nlodged complaints with President Abdurrahman Wahid and TNI chief
\nAdm. Widodo AS concerning 16 recent incidents inside East Timor.
\nThey also demanded that the Indonesian government put an end to
\nthe violence blamed on former prointegration fighters or former
\nmembers of TNI.<\/p>\n
"The visit to Jakarta was both political and military," De los
\nSantos said at a joint PKF-TNI news conference at the Motaain
\nborder post in Atambua, East Nusa Tenggara, on March 15.<\/p>\n
The political aspects were raised by Galbraith, who discussed
\nsuch issues as refugee management, the Philippine general said.<\/p>\n
"What I did was to present the reports on the 16 incidents for
\nthe consideration of Admiral Widodo," said De los Santos.<\/p>\n
He dismissed as unfounded the assumption the visit to Jakarta
\nwas a sign of his distrust of TNI, in this case, of Maj. Gen.
\nKiki Syahnakri, chief of the Udayana Military Command which
\noversees Bali, East and West Nusa Tenggara, and which is
\ntherefore also responsible for security along the East Timor-East
\nNusa Tenggara border.<\/p>\n
"There is a good degree of goodwill and friendship between me
\nand General Kiki Syahnakri and I would like to emphasize that I
\ntrust him and trust his sincerity. On many occasions I call him
\nand he calls me and we exchange reports on incidents. We have
\ngood communications," De los Santos said.<\/p>\n
TNI, on the other hand, saw the visit as a breach of trust.
\nBased on a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed between Maj.
\nGen. Peter Cosgrove, then commander of the International Force on
\nEast Timor (INTERFET), and Kiki Syahnakri, all problems should be
\ndiscussed at the lowest level possible.<\/p>\n
"General De los Santos had agreed to discuss the 16 incidents
\nwith me and we had agreed to meet on March 15 to discuss reports
\nabout the incidents, but he raised the issue with Jakarta on
\nMarch 9," Kiki said at a news conference in Kupang the day before
\nthe meeting in Motaain.<\/p>\n
Kiki argued that until a new MOU was signed, the old agreement
\nshould remain the basis of cooperation between TNI and the UN
\npeacekeeping forces (PKF) in East Timor.<\/p>\n
"One should also note that all the incidents occurred inside
\nEast Timor, which comes under the PKF jurisdiction and outside
\nour responsibility," Kiki said.<\/p>\n
He did not discount the possible involvement of former
\nprointegration fighters or former TNI members of East Timorese
\ndescent in the 16 incidents.<\/p>\n
"TNI does not rule out the possibility of their involvement.
\nAfter all, around 150,000 refugees, including former
\nprointegration fighters and TNI members, have returned to East
\nTimor," he said.<\/p>\n
"However, there is also a possibility of the involvement of
\nprointegration members. Apart from that, we should not rule out
\nthe possibility of motives other than political, such as
\ncriminal, behind the incidents."<\/p>\n
Kiki said TNI had arrested three members of the National
\nCouncil for East Timorese Resistance (CNRT) for illegal border
\ncrossings.<\/p>\n
"We have released two of them for illegally crossing the
\nborder because they were simply looking for food. We are still
\nkeeping one man from Oekusi in detention to determine his motive.
\nHe has with him a document containing a list of names of refugees
\nand former TNI members. He also carried a weapon."<\/p>\n
UNPKF's distrust of TNI appears justified considering that TNI
\nhas still to clear its name of allegations that it masterminded,
\nplanned or was involved in the violence and destruction which hit
\nEast Timor after the Aug. 30, 1999 ballot that led to the
\nterritory's independence. There are also suspicions that TNI
\nharbors dreams of winning back East Timor into Indonesia's fold.<\/p>\n
TNI, meanwhile, feels that it has been treated unfairly.<\/p>\n
"Not only TNI, but the Indonesian people and government have
\nno ambitions to win back East Timor. TNI's concern today is to
\nprovide border security and to repatriate all the East Timorese
\nrefugees as soon as possible," Kiki said.<\/p>\n
Kiki denied reports by Australian media that TNI was not
\nserious in taking actions against illegal border crossers, that
\nit had not done anything to prevent violence blamed on former
\nprointegration fighters.<\/p>\n
"Since September 1999, we have seized 291 weapons from former
\nprointegration fighters. Most of them were returned by the owners
\nwhen the militias were disbanded on December 13, 1999," he said.<\/p>\n
East Nusa Tenggara Police chief Brig. Gen. Yusuf Muharam added
\nthat the police also returned the 51 United Nations Mission in
\nEast Timor (UNAMET) cars stolen by prointegration fighters during
\nthe September violence.<\/p>\n
"We have also arrested several people and one is being tried,"
\nsaid Muharam.<\/p>\n
Aware of the need to build trust and forge better cooperation,
\nDe los Santos and Kiki Syahnakri met on March 15 to discuss
\nbetter ways to deal with border problems, including illegal
\nincursions by residents of both sides of the border.<\/p>\n
Although the Motaain meeting did not result in an agreement,
\nit was seen as a step toward trust building that would facilitate
\nfuture cooperation in providing security along the 172-kilometer-
\nlong border.<\/p>\n
"Building trust is important, because we will not be here
\nforever," De los Santos told The Jakarta Post after the meeting,
\nat the same time ruling out a suggestion that the UN build walls
\nalong the border to prevent future incidents.<\/p>\n
At the meeting, TNI proposed three points: to
\nallow the UNPKF to place liaison officers in Atambua and several
\nborder posts, and in exchange to ask the UNPKF to allow the TNI
\nto place its liaison officers in the headquarters of the western
\nsector; to build four to five joint posts along the border, and
\nfinally, to hold joint patrols to eliminate distrust.<\/p>\n
"The presence of liaison officers on both sides of the borders
\nwill allow speedy exchange of information and immediate handling
\nof any problem along the border," said Kiki. He added that when
\nthe proposal was approved, it would be included in the new MOU
\nand would serve as a directive for the East Nusa Tenggara
\nmilitary chief Col. Jurefar and the UNPKF commander of the
\nwestern sector, Brig. Gen. Brian Lewis.<\/p>\n
"These are good proposals, but I have to refer these to the
\nhighest leadership of UNTAET because the employment of the
\npeacekeeping forces is dependent on UN regulations," said De los
\nSantos. He added that UN Headquarters in New York would make a
\nfinal decision on the proposal.<\/p>\n
While the fate of the proposal remains in the balance, De los
\nSantos, who cited the meeting as productive, agreed to strengthen
\nthe existing arrangement.<\/p>\n
"We have a tactical coordination working group and our
\ntactical commanders will meet with TNI every two weeks," he said.<\/p>\n
He also said that Kiki Syahnakri had committed a deployment of
\none more battalion on the border.<\/p>\n
"The troop deployment will hopefully be completed by the end
\nof this month," he added.<\/p>\n
Kiki also said that De los Santos had agreed to settle all
\nborder problems at the lowest level possible, with he and De los
\nSantos the highest level of authority.<\/p>\n
"All problems should stop with us," said Kiki, who was
\nreferring to the recent Jakarta visit by UNTAET officials.<\/p>\n
Outside the meeting, Kiki said he doubted a change in the
\nUNPKF's and international attitude toward TNI. Good personal
\nrelations do not guarantee official commitments.<\/p>\n
"I told Lewis (Brig. Gen. Brian Lewis) that I doubted there
\nwould be any change in the (UN) attitude toward us. More
\ncomplaints and accusations will be directed against us," he said,
\nciting his experience with INTERFET commander Cosgrove.<\/p>\n
"On a personal level, he was very understanding and ready to
\naccept my explanations, but he would say different things to the
\n(foreign) media. Maybe he too was under pressure from his
\ngovernment."<\/p>\n
Kiki also warned that internal disputes in CNRT could add fuel
\nto the present problems.<\/p>\n
In a recent interview with the Post, former Fretilin president
\nAbilio Araujo admitted a rift within the CNRT leadership in the
\nface of a general election that would allow East Timorese to
\nelect their own government.<\/p>\n
"There is, for example, this indigenous and nonindigenous
\nissue. Indigenous people like me and Taur Matan Ruak will never
\nforget how nonindigenous people like Ramos Horta and Xanana
\nGusmao always boast of their Portuguese blood," Abilio said.<\/p>\n
Taur Matan Ruak is the commander of the Falintil
\nproindependence fighting forces. There are talks of Xanana's plan
\nto remove him from the post and this has caused dissatisfaction
\nin Ruak and other indigenous proindependence fighters.<\/p>\n
Kiki said the internal friction could be behind the recent
\nincidents or violence.<\/p>\n
"We should not rule out future incidents or problems due to
\nthe rift," he warned.<\/p>\n
Graito Usodo said earlier that economic and psychological
\nreasons were part of the problem.<\/p>\n
"Food is very expensive in East Timor. A pack of instant
\nnoodles, for example, can go as high as Rp 15,000, compared to
\naround Rp 750 in West Timor. Sugar is priced at Rp 60,000 per
\nkilogram compared to Rp 3,500. This provides a good opportunity
\nfor smuggling," said Graito.<\/p>\n
To complicate the problem, there are fanatic prointegration
\nsupporters who have not given up their aspirations to remain part
\nof Indonesia.<\/p>\n
"The aspiration to integrate with Indonesia dates back as long
\nago as 1945, when East Timorese asked Sukarno to include the
\nPortuguese colony in the new republic. Sukarno rejected the idea,
\narguing that East Timor was not part of a former Dutch colony,"
\nsaid Graito.<\/p>\n
Given the above facts, it will be quite some time before peace
\nfinally settles on the Timor border.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/distrust-hampers-timor-border-security-operation-1447893297",
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