East Timor debacle a study in cultural differences<\/p>\n
Ballot and Bullets: Seven Days in East Timor
\n By Tim Fischer
\n Allen and Unwin, Sydney
\n 149 pp
\n A$19.95<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Australian reviewer Ray Duplain wrote last May
\nthat former Australian deputy prime minister Tim Fischer's
\naccount of the United Nations-sponsored East Timorese ballot was
\n\"fearless\". He further commented that Fischer wrote \"clearly and
\nforcefully ... in an honest and direct style\" about the ballot
\nheld in August last year.<\/p>\n
Fischer, a widely respected elder statesman of Australian
\npolitics, undertook the role of leader of the Australian Observer
\nDelegation as his last official duty before resigning as deputy
\nhead of the government and trade minister. His account, Ballot
\nand Bullets: Seven Days in East Timor, is clearly intended for a
\ndomestic Australian readership.<\/p>\n
The book is passionately written, which is part of the
\nproblem. Are Indonesians interested in an Australian perspective
\nof the East Timorese self-determination vote and its violent
\naftermath? As usual, the differences between the way Australians
\nand Indonesians perceive delicate issues and then write about
\nthem is not so much in substance, but in the form it takes.<\/p>\n
In Indonesia it is said that \"the more subtle the meaning, the
\nmore culturally sophisticated the message, the greater the
\nimpact\". Indonesians often express a negative by emphasizing a
\npositive. For this reason, many conceal strong feelings,
\nincluding justified criticism. For most Indonesians, the
\nsuppression of emotion is a virtue instilled from childhood. It
\ndoes not mean that Indonesians are culturally incapable of
\nconfrontation, but rather that the manner of preserving dignity
\nin interpersonal, professional and diplomatic relationships is
\nparamount. Indeed, most Indonesians earnestly maintain that
\nconfrontation can be a positive experience, if handled correctly.<\/p>\n
Indonesians are trained to express themselves in an entirely
\ndifferent way to many westerners, who, in the most part, are
\nencouraged to externalize their thoughts, opinions or
\nfrustrations, as demonstrated by Fischer. Indonesians on the
\nother hand are typically less blunt, more subtle. They are seen
\nby people in the West to internalize their feelings. This is not
\nstrictly true. Instead many Indonesians have a greater sense of
\nthe implications of a negative confrontation. Therefore they are
\nmore careful with delicate issues, and they are especially
\ncareful with the \"truth\".<\/p>\n
Americans, Europeans and Australians like Fischer, on the
\nother hand, believe that being forthright, bold and
\nuncompromising are among the highest social and political
\nvirtues. It is almost the antithesis of the compromise and
\nconsensus that characterizes the way controversy is negotiated in
\nthe world's forth most populous nation.<\/p>\n
Fischer is, however, consistent. His strong words are not just
\nreserved for those complicit in the militia violence. His well-
\njustified criticism of 60 Minutes journalist Richard Cartlon's
\nprovocative actions in Liquica on Sept. 8, 1999, is a case in
\npoint. The debate that follows casts new light on how Australians
\ndo things, how they relate to each other's shortcomings and why
\nit is important for both Australians and Indonesians to
\ncreatively manage, rather than gloss over, these cultural
\ndifferences.<\/p>\n
The fallout from the East Timor ballot, the militia violence
\nand the intervention of the International Force for East Timor
\nhave without question damaged relations between the two
\nneighbors. Australians were outraged by the violence and put a
\ngreat deal of pressure on their government for swift and decisive
\naction. Indonesians were angry and confused about what appeared
\nto them to be an unwelcome incursion by a foreign power on
\nsovereign Indonesian territory during the darkest days of the
\nAsian economic crisis.<\/p>\n
Fischer's book is not all criticism, although one has to look
\ncarefully for conciliatory comments. These are centered on the
\nrole of the Habibie government in approving the ballot, in the
\nassistance of sections of the Indonesian Military in the smooth
\ndeployment of peacekeepers and in the role of Indonesian
\nlegislatures, particularly on Oct. 19, 1999, in affirming the
\nresult of the ballot and then revoking Indonesian sovereignty
\nover her 27th province.<\/p>\n
During an interview with this author last week, Fischer
\nencouraged Indonesians to read his book with an open mind, and to
\nlook beyond the particular cultural form it takes. He asked that
\nthey consider his experiences in the balance.<\/p>\n
Fischer was also keen to add a postscript that most of the
\nIndonesian officials he met during the United Nations Mission in
\nEast Timor ballot were courteous and constructive, and that he
\nunderstood the pressures they were under to carry out their jobs
\nin difficult circumstances. In particular, Fischer singled out
\none Lt. Arly, now promoted and serving in Bogor, who he said \"was
\nparticularly helpful and courageous to him in his duties at
\nNicasar\".<\/p>\n
Fischer's pragmatism and natural optimism are appealing
\nfeatures of the book. In one section, he wrote about the strain
\nof the ballot, the upheaval and the occupation by Australian
\ntroops.<\/p>\n
\"These difficulties are small compared to all of those that
\nhave to be overcome in rebuilding the relationship between
\nAustralia and Indonesia,\" he wrote. \"With the help of balanced
\nmedia, this is an achievable task that will be helped by resumed
\ngrowth in trade, investment and tourism links.\"<\/p>\n
-- Rob Goodfellow is a writer and Indonesian cultural
\nconsultant to international business. He is based at the
\nUniversity of Wollongong and can be contacted on
\nsujoko@ozemail.com.au.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/east-timor-debacle-a-study-in-cultural-differences-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}