Questionable compassion<\/p>\n
Eurico Guterres was about 18 years old when he was imprisoned
\nby the Indonesian military for his participation in a
\nproindependence movement. During his time in jail, he was
\nobviously not tortured but surely in some way brainwashed because
\nhe emerged as a glowing fanatic admirer of the prointegration
\nmilitias.<\/p>\n
In fact he became one of those children of the Indonesian
\nmilitary who were raised without a proper education but pampered
\nwith promises of a prosperous future, with the aim to do the
\ndirty work. And after the population of East Timor voted
\noverwhelmingly in favor of independence, Guterres and his fellow
\nmilitias did the dirty job.<\/p>\n
Well-trained, equipped with weapons and with hope of becoming
\nheroes, the militias turned their own homeland into an inferno
\nwhich shocked the whole world. The now arrested militia leader
\nmaintained that what he did to East Timor was \"to defend
\nIndonesia's honor\". (The Jakarta Post, Oct 3).<\/p>\n
Such an excuse is hard to believe let alone to bear.
\nIn a meeting at the National Police Headquarters on Oct. 9,
\nGuterres, bathed in tears, gave an Oscar-worthy performance by
\nshouting repeatedly: \"Don't blame Merah Putih\". He was right,
\nthose who created the \"Merah Putih\" movements in East Timor
\nshould be blamed even more.<\/p>\n
Mr. Guterres should save some of his tears for the distress
\nand misery which he and his militias have showered East Timor
\nwith - their own homeland and their own sisters and brothers.<\/p>\n
To me Guterres is nothing but a pathological swagger without
\neven a spark of conscience, a man who seems not to know better.
\nBut the People's Consultative Assembly Speaker Amin Rais, a
\npolitician of remarkable intellectual caliber, is supposed to
\nknow better.<\/p>\n
Nevertheless Amin Rais' recent statements concerning Eurico
\nGuterres' arrest should set people thinking. Pak Amin said: \"He
\n(Guterres) is our friend\". Does this mean that Indonesia has to
\ntake the blame for crimes committed by \"friend\" Guterres? Pak
\nAmin said: \"If he (Guterres) is arrested for the sake of the
\nUnited Nations (UN), then what a nasty country that makes us\".<\/p>\n
Did Amin Rais ever ask himself these questions: Who is making
\nIndonesia a \"nasty\" country? Who damaged its reputation? Did Pak
\nAmin ever realize that it was not the UN who brought Indonesia
\ninto this difficult position of having to explain to the world
\nthe horror in East Timor, but people like Guterres and his
\ngenerously-sponsored armed criminal gang? Amin Rais seems to
\nexplain or even excuse the evil deeds of Guterres by saying:
\n\"He's the leader of the prointegration militias and he lost his
\nhomeland\" (The Observer, Oct. 6).<\/p>\n
Maybe Amin Rais should be remembered as the first top
\npolitician who promised East Timor a referendum: \"Opposition
\nleader Amin Rais yesterday pledged to hold a referendum on self-
\ndetermination for East Timor if he becomes Indonesia's president
\nnext year\".<\/p>\n
\"A referendum is the only solution to solve the problem...\"
\n(The Observer, Sept. 9, 1998). Assuming Amin Rais had become
\npresident and had fulfilled his promise, the outcome would
\ncertainly not have been much different from that of the ballot
\nheld on Aug. 30, 1999. And it can be questioned whether he would
\nhave been able to avoid the postballot violence committed by
\nthose who would have \"lost their homeland\".<\/p>\n
To serve the principles of justice Amin Rais is supposed to
\nsupport the arrest of Guterres. Not for the sake of the UN but
\nfor the sake of Indonesia.<\/p>\n
HILDE MAY<\/p>\n
Jakarta<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/questionable-compassion-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }