East Timorese, Indonesian people face common problem<\/p>\n
By Krisna Suryanata and Keith Mattson<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): A two-week long human tragedy has been unfolding
\nin East Timor. The estimated death toll following the Aug. 30
\nplebiscite is already in the hundreds and rising, and the terror
\nand forced exodus of residents is all too familiar after Rwanda,
\nBosnia and Kosovo.<\/p>\n
The international community was temporarily held in check as
\nhelpless bystanders before Indonesia finally agreed last week to
\naccept the United Nations multinational forces scheduled for
\nimminent arrival in the territory.<\/p>\n
But the most conspicuous bystanders of all are the Indonesian
\npeople, who only three months ago participated in the first open
\nelections since 1955. It is unconscionable that the people who
\noverthrew Soeharto, demanded free elections, and voted to replace
\nHabibie's government have not rallied to support the overwhelming
\nchoice of the people of East Timor. Instead, there are daily
\ndemonstrations in Jakarta against the United Nations.
\nIncreasingly, the crisis in East Timor has been portrayed in
\nJakarta as foreign intervention in Indonesian internal affairs.<\/p>\n
The trouble with the East Timor issue in Indonesian public
\ndiscourse is that it is caught in the midst of the current
\npresidential politics. Many of Habibie's opponents blame him for
\nthe \"hasty\" decision in allowing the referendum to take place.
\nThe overwhelming result in favor of independence may also come as
\na shock to a public kept ignorant for many years about the
\nappalling humanitarian situation in East Timor.<\/p>\n
Indonesians should note that the post-ballot violence in East
\nTimor bears an eerie resemblance to the bloody massacre that
\noccurred following the ascent of Soeharto's New Order government
\nin 1965. Between 500,000 to 3 million people were estimated to
\nhave died in the countryside of Java and Bali. They were victims
\nof local militias that acted with the blessing of the Indonesian
\nmilitary, if only through its inaction. A similar pattern took
\nplace in May 1998 when security forces stood by as mobs of
\nlooters attacked shops and homes belonging to Chinese
\nIndonesians.<\/p>\n
One year ago, reports that ethnic Chinese women were
\nsystematically raped during the riots generated an outpouring of
\nrage from around the world. It also brought together a number of
\nbroad-based groups in Indonesia demanding justice, a movement
\nthat many had hoped would begin a difficult healing process.<\/p>\n
Military officers, however, derailed this positive development
\nby challenging the validity of the rape accounts and appealing to
\nxenophobic sentiments. To the dismay of many, public discourse
\nshifted from demanding a thorough investigation into defending
\nthe nation's image. Public debates on human rights in Indonesia
\nface a tremendous challenge from a false sense of patriotism that
\ncan be mobilized when foreign pressure intensifies.<\/p>\n
The most effective force thus lies with the Indonesian
\nelectorate. Indonesian pro-reform leaders should learn from
\nIndonesia's past, and understand that East Timor is not an
\nisolated problem. This same manipulation of pitting civilians
\nagainst each other can happen elsewhere in the nation, as was
\ndemonstrated time and time again throughout the past 34 years.
\nStopping the horror in East Timor and respecting the wish of East
\nTimorese is integral to the goal of the national reform movement.
\nOnly the people of Indonesia can effectively put pressure on
\ntheir government to allow international peacekeepers to begin
\nrestoring order immediately.<\/p>\n
A working democracy requires the electorate's constant
\nvigilance. Once democracy is compromised in one part of a nation,
\nit quickly erodes the foundation for democracy throughout the
\nentire nation. This should be even more threatening to Indonesia
\nthan the widespread belief that if East Timor secedes, so too
\nwill Aceh, Irian Jaya, and other traditional hot spots of
\npolitical discontent. Worst of all, if they don't act now the
\npeople of Indonesia may find it impossible to live with their own
\nconsciences in the years to come.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/east-timorese-indonesian-people-face-common-problem-1447893297",
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