East Timor remains as sensitive as ever<\/p>\n
By Yacob Herin<\/p>\n
DILI, East Timor (JP): After 18 years of integration with
\nIndonesia, East Timor remained as politically sensitive as ever
\nin 1994.<\/p>\n
A series of incidents in East Timor drew international media
\npublicity that put Indonesia on the defensive, forced once again
\nto explain its policy in the former Portuguese colony.<\/p>\n
Some of the incidents proved that Indonesia still has some way
\nto go to resolve the East Timor integration issue once and for
\nall. They also were proof of the precarious situation in East
\nTimor, particularly the relations between the East Timorese and
\nlocal migrants, be they traders or government and military
\nofficials.<\/p>\n
Many of the protests or riots could have easily happened
\nelsewhere in Indonesia. The difference is that in East Timor,
\nthere are remnants of a pro-separatist movement that were quick
\nto capitalize on such situations to further their interests.<\/p>\n
Abroad, Indonesia also has to deal with recurrent attempts by
\nPortugal and Fretilin to taint its image in the world.
\nin peace.<\/p>\n
Within East Timor itself, the first half of 1994 was
\nrelatively peaceful. There were no incidents that rocked the
\npeace or disrupted the development progress underway in East
\nTimor.<\/p>\n
It was not until the end of June that the first sign of
\ntrouble erupted.<\/p>\n
Two members of the Armed Forces (ABRI) became the target of an
\nangry congregation at a Roman Catholic church in Remixio, south
\nof Dili. They were accused of desecrating the church at the same
\ntime that mass was taking place.<\/p>\n
The protests quickly spread to other parts of Dili, with some
\ncarrying banners with anti-government and pro-separatist
\nmessages.<\/p>\n
The local military moved quickly to control the damage. It
\nremoved the two soldiers and promised that they would be brought
\nbefore a military tribunal.<\/p>\n
Barely two weeks later, when the situation had barely cooled
\ndown, Dili was rocked by another protest. This time it involved
\nstudents from the state-run East Timor University.<\/p>\n
The incident was provoked by allegations that three migrants
\nwere caught molesting nuns who were enrolling at the university.
\nWord quickly spread and the campus quickly turned into another
\nanti-government demonstration. The protests lasted for two days.<\/p>\n
The biggest demonstration however was yet to come.<\/p>\n
It occurred on Nov. 12, a date many East Timorese remember too
\nwell since exactly three years earlier, Dili was rocked by a
\nbloody riot that left, by official count, at least 50 people
\ndead.<\/p>\n
The demonstration in 1994 was more coincidental and started by
\nthe slaying of an East Timorese trader by his neighbor, a South
\nSulawesi migrant, over a petty argument. The demonstration first
\nturned into a race riot and later became an anti-government
\nprotest.<\/p>\n
The riots went on for three days. They were fanned not only by
\npro-separatist elements in East Timor, but also by the hordes of
\nforeign journalists who were in the country at the time to cover
\nthe Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting and decided
\nto extend their stay and visit East Timor.<\/p>\n
The situation was further complicated by friction between the
\nlocal authorities and foreign journalists. The military said some
\nof the reports by these journalists were inaccurate. They also
\naccused some of the TV journalists of \"choreographing\" some of
\nthe anti-government demonstrations. These frictions came to a
\nhead with the marching orders given to six journalists in
\nNovember.<\/p>\n
In the same month, dozens of young East Timorese opposing
\nintegration also capitalized on the presence of foreign
\njournalists by forcing their way into the parking compound of the
\nU.S. Embassy in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Twenty-nine of them managed to stage a sit-in for two weeks.
\nThey first demanded to see U.S. president Bill Clinton or
\nSecretary of State Warren Christopher, then requested to meet
\nwith Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas. They also
\ndemanded the release of Jose Alexandre \"Xanana\" Gusmao, the
\njailed leader of the armed separatist movement Fretilin. When all
\ntheir requests had been turned down they eventually accepted an
\noffer of asylum from Portugal.<\/p>\n
Although they did not get what they demanded, they achieved
\ntheir objective of embarrassing the Indonesian government at a
\ntime when it was organizing the APEC meetings and playing host to
\nworld dignitaries, including Bill Clinton.<\/p>\n
The East Timor question was raised during the bilateral
\nmeeting between Clinton and President Soeharto later.<\/p>\n
This provided Soeharto with an opportunity to explain to his
\nguest in greater detail the history of East Timor. He also
\nclarified the integration process and the government's policy in
\nthe territory, including the presence of troopers there.<\/p>\n
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs was also preoccupied with the
\nEast Timor issue in 1994. The ministry was busy resolving the
\nmatter at the United Nations and also with its three neighbors,
\nthe Philippines, Malaysia and Thailand, who last year hosted
\ninternational conferences on East Timor.<\/p>\n
In the case of the Philippines, Indonesia made clear its
\ndispleasure with Manila's failure to stop the conference from
\ntaking place, despite earlier pledges. Indonesia pointed out that
\nthe conference was being turned into a platform to attack
\nIndonesia's handling of East Timor. There were smaller seminars
\nin Malaysia and Thailand, but these did not cause friction with
\nIndonesia like the Manila conference.<\/p>\n
There were, however, one or two bright spots with respect to
\nIndonesia's East Timor diplomacy in 1994.<\/p>\n
The tripartite meeting involving Indonesian and Portuguese
\nforeign ministers and the UN Secretary General continued on its
\npath to increasing confidence building measures.<\/p>\n
A second round meeting between East Timorese leaders in
\nIndonesia and those living in exile overseas took place in London
\nlast October and produced encouraging results. Those living in
\nexile were later invited to come and see for themselves the
\ndevelopment in East Timor.<\/p>\n
Lastly, an Indonesia-Portuguese Friendship Association was
\nestablished in Jakarta in 1994, similar to a forum already
\nfounded in Lisbon.<\/p>",
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