PAN regrets govt inconsistency<\/p>\n
President Habibie's statement that a referendum in East Timor
\nis not necessary is to be regretted and shows the arrogance of
\nthe government of Indonesia and is inconsistent with the spirit
\nof reform. Habibie's justified this stance by stating that East
\nTimor was integrated into Indonesia by a People's Consultative
\nAssembly (MPR) decree. This reasoning should be roundly condemned
\nbecause the relevant MPR decree was a product of the New Order
\nand thus manipulated and passed with scant regard to the
\nhumanitarian aspects of the East Timorese issue at that time.<\/p>\n
We believe that there is a strong element of blackmail in the
\nsuggestion that East Timor could be granted independence if
\nIndonesia's proposal of greater autonomy is rejected. It appears
\nas if the people of East Timor are being forced by fait accompli
\nto accept the offer of the autonomy. \"If autonomy is not accepted
\nthen we (the Indonesian government) will leave.\"<\/p>\n
If the government lets East Timor go overnight, this would
\nconstitute an highly irresponsible act because it could give rise
\nto a civil war in the territory. Recent events in East Timor such
\nas the clashes between rival groups proves that such a risk
\nexists. As has been stated by the Bishop of Dili, Carlos Belo, if
\nIndonesia lets East Timor go now, \"Indonesia would be worse than
\nthe Portuguese colonial administration.\"<\/p>\n
The problem of East Timor has to be resolved once and for all.
\nTherefore, as stated in the National Mandate Party (PAN)
\nmanifesto, a referendum is the best solution. However, a
\nreferendum need not necessarily take place after a transitional
\nperiod of ten years because there is the possibility of the
\nterritory descending into a civil war. A referendum could take
\nplace after a transitionary period of between three and five
\nyears. In this era of reform, with a new democratic government in
\nJakarta after the June election, the people of East timor may
\nchoose to stay within a democratic Indonesia. Indonesia should
\nnevertheless be prepared for the eventuality that the East
\nTimorese will choose to set up an independent state. We are
\nconfident that in the event of this happening, Indonesia will not
\nfeel exploited and trust can be developed as the basis for
\nmanaging future bilateral relations.<\/p>\n
BARA HASIBUAN<\/p>\n
Head of International Relations Dept.<\/p>\n
The National Mandate Party<\/p>\n
Jakarta<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/pan-regrets-govt-inconsistency-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }