Megawati and East Timor<\/p>\n
Bantarto Bandoro, Editor, The Indonesian Quarterly
\nCentre for Strategic and International Studies, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The invitation extended by the president-elect of East Timor,
\nXanana Gusmao, to President Megawati Soekarnoputri to attend that
\nterritory's independence celebration on May 20 has driven people
\nhere in this country to polemic.<\/p>\n
Certain members of the academic community have sent a clear
\nmessage that Megawati should not skip Dili's independence
\ndeclaration, while most politicians and other members of the
\nlegislature have urged Megawati to boycott the ceremony. Although
\nCoordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Gen.
\n(ret.) Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono announced on Thursday that
\nMegawati would fulfill the invitation, the issue remains
\ncontroversial.<\/p>\n
Perhaps some still remember when Megawati expressed her strong
\nopposition to the 1999 UN-sponsored self-determination ballot in
\nEast Timor. One can only wonder about her exact feelings on the
\nend results of that ballot. If it is eventually decided that
\nMegawati will not accept the invitation to attend the ceremony,
\nit will probably be because of these feelings.<\/p>\n
However, that East Timor has emerged as an independent entity
\nis a political fact that cannot be ignored, especially by
\nIndonesia, which shares a border with the new country.<\/p>\n
Much of what happened in the past with regard to East Timor
\nseems relevant to the present debate. But, of course, there are
\nsome people who cannot discuss this issue without becoming overly
\nemotional, particularly those who exhausted their energies trying
\nto develop East Timor and thus are absolutely against the
\nterritory's separation from Indonesia.<\/p>\n
The future of East Timor will certainly be different from the
\ntime it spent under the authoritarian rule of Indonesia. As the
\nyoungest member of the international community, East Timor will
\nhave to go through the extremely difficult period of nation
\nbuilding. Xanana Gusmao made clear that the transition to
\nindependence will not be easy after centuries of Portuguese
\ncolonial rule, followed by more than 20 years under Indonesian
\nmilitary rule.<\/p>\n
Xanana has reportedly expressed his sincere commitment to
\ndeveloping a good neighbor policy. And he has gone out of his way
\nto bury the hatchet with Indonesia, as he understands the
\nimportance of having a positive and constructive relationship
\nwith such a close and large neighbor.<\/p>\n
This is perhaps the message that is carried by the invitation
\nextended to the government of Indonesia; one should not simply
\nassume that the invitation was meant to test the leadership of
\nMegawati, especially with regard to the issue of East Timor.<\/p>\n
Given this, it is difficult to understand why a politician the
\ncaliber of Akbar Tanjung has adhered to the idea that Megawati
\nshould ignore the invitation, arguing that problems related to
\nEast Timor's independence remain unresolved.<\/p>\n
Although the past 25 years shook the faith of both Indonesia
\nand East Timor, it is still fashionable to believe the countries
\ncan develop an underlying harmony of interest in the future that
\nwill become the basis for resolving any remaining problems.<\/p>\n
It is against such a background that Megawati should accept
\nthe invitation. Megawati's presence at the independence ceremony
\nwould send a clear signal to all members of the international
\ncommunity that both countries have buried old grievances and are
\neagerly looking to the future. Furthermore, Indonesia's
\ninternational image would certainly be helped by Megawati's
\npresence.<\/p>\n
Efforts by both sides, once they have established diplomatic
\nties, to make the harmony more explicit by promoting mutual
\ninterests and other activities are essential, in terms of the two
\ncountries future contributions to the development and stability
\nof the region.<\/p>\n
It is thus not irrational to think that East Timor may become
\npart of Indonesia's regional diplomacy. It would be
\nunderstandable if history cast a shadow over future relations
\nbetween Indonesia and East Timor. But a true commitment by both
\nsides to develop a better relationship would gradually eliminate
\nthe bad feelings. And domestically, this would also help
\nreconcile contradicting views with regard to the issue of East
\nTimor.<\/p>\n
The emergence of East Timor as an independent entity has made
\nthe territory the focus of international assistance. It is
\nperhaps here that Indonesia should initiate policies that would
\nhopefully win the hearts of the East Timorese.<\/p>\n
Economically, East Timor may be insignificant compared to
\nIndonesia. But its strong international political network cannot
\nbe ignored, being evidence of the continuing international
\nsupport for an independent East Timor. If Megawati rejected the
\ninvitation from Xanana Gusmao, it would mean ignoring of the
\nreality that East Timor will one day be an important player in
\nregional networking.<\/p>\n
The great transformation that has taken place in East Timor
\nwill drastically change the political, economic and security
\nlandscape of the region. Once the territory attains full
\nindependence, the opportunity is there for East Timor to become a
\nmember of the regional organizations, be it in the Southeast
\nAsian region or in the Asia Pacific.<\/p>\n
But historically and geographically, East Timor belongs to
\nSoutheast Asia. It is just as much a part of the Association of
\nSoutheast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as it was once part of Indonesia.
\nThus, there is no reason for other ASEAN members to reject East
\nTimor's presence in the grouping, provided that East Timor is
\nwilling to enter and abide by the regionally accepted code of
\nconduct.<\/p>\n
Viewed from such a perspective, it is necessary that Indonesia
\ngrant diplomatic recognition to East Timor. Megawati's acceptance
\nof the invitation would be a first and major step toward such a
\nrecognition.<\/p>\n
Indonesia should realize that with the emergence of an
\nindependent East Timor, blood and iron are no longer on the menu,
\nhaving been replaced by the need to build fruitful bilateral
\nrelations.<\/p>",
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