Focus on East Timor still drags on<\/p>\n
By Meidyatama Suryodiningrat<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The issue of East Timor's long-term future hung
\nheavy in everybody's mind this year as it attracted more
\nattention than at any time since the 1991 Dili shooting incident.<\/p>\n
The events that transpired proved that while Indonesia may be
\nwinning the political battle in forums like the United Nations,
\nit was being pounded in the public relations war as the number of
\nsympathizers and supporters of East Timorese autonomy seemed to
\nmultiply overnight.<\/p>\n
Continued reports of human rights violations and a series of
\nbreak-ins into foreign embassies in Jakarta by East Timorese
\nyouths seeking asylum both helped to exacerbate the image of a
\ncollapse of loyalty to Jakarta in East Timor.<\/p>\n
The most painful slap in the face to Indonesia must have been
\nthe presentation of the Nobel Peace Prize to separatist leader
\nJose Ramos Horta.<\/p>\n
Considered a political opportunist by Jakarta, Horta gained
\nworldwide recognition and credibility in 1996 as a Nobel
\nlaureate.<\/p>\n
Along with the Nobel prize came the international spotlight
\nand media exposure highlighting the plight of Timorese
\nseparatism.<\/p>\n
In the eyes of many here, the Indonesian foreign ministry bore
\na large part of the blame. Analysts asked how could the
\nnomination of East Timor Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo and
\nRamos Horta go undetected in the selection process which began
\neight months before the announcement was made.<\/p>\n
The tiny Portuguese colony of East Timor was integrated into
\nIndonesia in 1976. Twenty years on, the UN still regards Lisbon
\nas the administrative power there. Major European states also
\nrefuse to recognize the integration.<\/p>\n
Kusnanto Anggoro of the Centre for Strategic and International
\nStudies agreed that the foreign ministry's policy of trying to
\ncontain the East Timor issue was in tatters.<\/p>\n
\"In the past, the pressure over East Timor has always been
\nthere, only this year it's stronger and we've been dragging and
\nstumbling over ourselves trying to keep up,\" he said.<\/p>\n
While the foreign ministry might need to sharpen its
\ndiplomatic skills a bit, Kusnanto points out that the
\nincreasingly negative international opinion of Indonesia's
\npresence in East Timor comes back to the performance of the
\ngovernment itself in the territory.<\/p>\n
\"The foreign ministry has no authority to do things in East
\nTimor,\" he explains.<\/p>\n
In April the United Nations Human Rights Commission again
\ncensured developments in the province and expressed \"deep
\nconcern\" over allegations of human rights violations.<\/p>\n
There were several milestones too this year, such as an
\nimpromptu meeting between Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio
\nGuterres and President Soeharto on the fringes of the Asia-Europe
\nsummit meeting in Bangkok in March.<\/p>\n
However, it did not amount to anything as Indonesia played
\ndown the meeting as Guterres put impossible conditions to an old
\nproposal of establishing interest sections in each other's
\ncapitals.<\/p>\n
Two meetings between the Indonesian and Portuguese foreign
\nministers under the aegis of the UN secretary-general achieved
\nlittle as the sides continued to grapple with little more than
\nconfidence-building measures.<\/p>\n
A third meeting scheduled for December was postponed due to a
\nchange in holder of the UN's top post. But even if the meeting
\nhad taken place, few people expected much success.<\/p>\n
Strategy<\/p>\n
As international criticism continued to be thrown in
\nIndonesia's face, Jakarta adopted a new strategy of using its
\nclout in several international organizations to garner support
\nfor its stand on East Timor.<\/p>\n
During the informal summit of ASEAN heads of government,
\nIndonesia successfully got the backing of the other six members
\nin warning the European Union that persistence on extraneous
\nissues like East Timor could jeopardize relations between the two
\nregional groupings.<\/p>\n
Analysts like Dewi Fortuna Anwar of the Indonesian Institute
\nof Sciences hailed the unexpected move, saying it strengthens
\nASEAN's position.<\/p>\n
This tactic was taken a step further when Jakarta, as host of
\nthe ministerial meeting of the Organization of Islamic Conference
\n(OIC), this month was able to get support for its stance on East
\nTimor included as part of the resolutions of the meeting.<\/p>\n
While maintaining that the resolutions were a spontaneous
\nexpression of support, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Director
\nGeneral for Political Affairs, Izhar Ibrahim, defended this
\nstrategy saying that it showed Indonesia could also get tough.<\/p>\n
Describing Jakarta's move, he likened it to someone who would
\nretaliate if slapped on the face.<\/p>\n
Despite Jakarta's apparent show of political prowess through
\nASEAN and the OIC, the declarations proved to have little impact
\nas European heads of government at a meeting in Dublin two weeks
\nago issued their own statement of concern on East Timor.<\/p>\n
Kusnanto Anggoro argued that while consolidation through ASEAN
\nmay have done some good, the use of organizations such as the OIC
\nto defend Indonesia's position was largely ineffective.<\/p>\n
He maintained that, like it or not, the European Union's
\ncriticism would continue given Portugal's central role in the
\norganization.<\/p>\n
Furthermore the global trend is toward human rights and any
\nperceived infringement of them will provoke strong international
\ncriticism regardless of the number of countries that may side
\nwith Jakarta.<\/p>",
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