Give E. Timor dignity it deserves<\/p>\n
Y.B. Mangunwijaya was one of Indonesia's most respected
\nhumanists and intellectuals, a Catholic priest whose multitude of
\ntalents included novelist, architect and social worker. Better
\nknown as Romo Mangun, he died of a heart attack in Jakarta on
\nWednesday. He submitted the following article to The Jakarta Post
\non Feb. 7.<\/p>\n
YOGYAKARTA (JP): At last, Indonesia has put forward a highly
\nneeded proposal to cure the too long lasting cancer on East
\nTimor, or Loro Sae (The Land of the Dawn), the name which the
\nEast Timorese themselves prefer.<\/p>\n
It is a yellow light to halt the suffering in the region since
\n1975, giving the people the choice for independence at a time
\nthey can decide. Such a radical solution may be a bitter
\nconsideration for those who dream of a Greater Indonesia, but it
\nis a far better and more dignified way than to be castigated as
\nanother Serbia or even a Hitler's Germany with her Oesterreich
\nAnschluss.<\/p>\n
Foreign Minister Ali Alatas, a smart expert in political
\nsolutions to overcome regional and international conflicts, is
\ndeserving of praise again this time. But his stated reason for
\nIndonesia's refusal to be involved in the decolonization process
\n-- choosing to leave it to Portugal and the UN because \"Indonesia
\nnever practiced colonial role in East Timor\" -- is at least
\nquestionable.<\/p>\n
The Dutch, too, claimed they came to these diverse lands
\nbecause the indigenous kings appealed for their help in fighting
\nlocal foes. Not incidentally, they also arrogantly felt obliged
\nto \"civilize\" our ancestors, the \"white man's burden\" borne by
\nthe colonial masters.<\/p>\n
Japan's propaganda machine also claimed to be waging a great
\nwar to liberate the Asian peoples from the colonialism of the
\nWestern powers during World War II.<\/p>\n
The Dutch did much indeed for the material welfare and
\nmodernization of our country, gains never achieved by our own
\nfeudal leaders. They established irrigation systems, a whole
\nnetwork of asphalt roads and railroads, electricity, mail,
\ntelegraph, telephone and radio communications, rule of law and a
\nvery good elementary and higher education system able to breed,
\nunintentionally but naturally, a new kind of internationally
\nqualified leader, later to lead the people to independence.<\/p>\n
The Japanese, too, managed what we alone could never have
\nachieved, the demolition of the Dutch colonial army and
\ngovernment, the conditio sine qua non to independence.<\/p>\n
They were united in claiming to fulfill a sacred mission on
\nbehalf of the ruled peoples themselves. Even so, Indonesians
\nnever gratefully remember Dutch and Japanese rule of the past as
\nblessings.<\/p>\n
Whether Indonesia ranks as a colonial power in East Timor is a
\nquestion we should leave to sincere and honest historical studies
\nin the future, primarily seen from the eyes of Loro Sae's people.<\/p>\n
What is important is that Habibie and Alatas have courageously
\ncut the hopeless Gordian knot. We should be grateful to them. A
\nblack chapter of our history will be closed in a dignified way,
\njust as the Dutch did in 1949 through a roundtable conference
\nafter their bloody war failed. It was also the way out for the
\nUnited States after the defeat of its mighty army in Vietnam.<\/p>\n
Frankly, the closing of Soeharto's adventure in East Timor was
\nalready clear when Kofi Annan, on the first day after his taking
\noffice as the new UN secretary-general, said that \"a political
\nformula which had failed to operate during more than 20 years (in
\nEast Timor) should make place for another formula\".<\/p>\n
It was already clear time was running out when images of the
\nSanta Cruz massacre appeared on television screens all over the
\nworld, and with the awarding of Nobel peace prizes to Dili Bishop
\nBelo and Ramos Horta.<\/p>\n
The question remained over how it would be practically
\nimplemented in an acceptable and dignified manner for all
\nparties. The latter include Australia, the United States and
\nothers which have always abstained from accepting East Timor's de
\njure integration status.<\/p>\n
With our own internal economic and security weaknesses, the
\nabsence of law and order, an abysmal reputation in human rights,
\npervasive corruption, collusion and nepotism -- which the global
\ncommunity and even our own folk dislike -- I doubt the next
\nPeople's Consultative Assembly\/House of Representatives will
\nrefuse to give the mandate to the Indonesian government, even if
\nHabibie and Alatas are no longer in office, to hand over East
\nTimor to the UN and Portugal.<\/p>\n
The alternative is a prolonged disaster which the
\ninternational community will never accept. This is apart from the
\nawkward precedent set, in which any militarily strong nation, for
\nany reason, may be given the freedom to annex outer territories.<\/p>\n
A great nation is not counted merely by its great population,
\nbut by its benevolent heart and vision for the future. The
\ngeneration of our founding fathers showed such a great benevolent
\nheart and great vision toward its cruel former colonial masters.<\/p>\n
Let it be the same with our generation regarding Loro Sae,
\nwhich once was ruled by our republic. And for the same reasons,
\nbecause, affirming Ali Alatas' statement, that Indonesia came
\ninto East Timor but not as a colonial oppressor.<\/p>\n
A kind of roundtable or say oval table talk should be held to
\niron out the many technical and daily-life affairs when Loro Sae
\nmost probably and most naturally chooses its independence. These
\nrevolve around matters of diplomatic relations, communications
\nand transportation, finance and commerce, exact land and naval
\nboundaries between Indonesia and Loro Sae, education and
\ntraining, civil police cooperation, security for Timorese
\nintegration supporters and Indonesian transmigrants or emigrants,
\nguarantees of peace and nonviolence and nonrevenge policies, the
\ntemporary presence of a UN security corps and others.<\/p>\n
We sincerely hope that a mutual everlasting friendship
\nagreement will be signed between Indonesia, Loro Sae and Portugal
\nunder the kind smiles of the wise first man of the UN, Kofi Annan
\nand his assistants. We have Brunei Darussalam and Sarawak as good
\nneighbors. Let it be the same with Loro Sae, too.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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