Rethinking the E. Timor solution<\/p>\n
By Kwik Kian Gie<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The Jakarta Post Feb. 15 edition reported
\ncomments I made when a journalist peppered me with questions
\nabout the statement of Megawati Soekarnoputri, chairwoman of the
\nIndonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Struggle), on East
\nTimor.<\/p>\n
I was trying to wrestle free from the crowd around me as I
\nhurried to find a way to my car. I admit I made several mistakes
\nat the time, and I am not trying to find excuses for those
\nmistakes. I am grateful to Leandro Elvas for criticizing me in
\nhis article in the Feb. 19 Post.<\/p>\n
It was a stupid mistake to accuse Xanana Gusmao of not
\nunderstanding the situation in East Timor because of his
\nimprisonment, and Ramos Horta of complete ignorance about the
\nreal situation in the province because he has been in exile all
\nthis time. I have learned from Elvas' criticism, which forced me
\nto think more clearly and more calmly about the East Timor
\nquestion.<\/p>\n
In a democratic society, the people decide where the country
\nshould go. I believe it is therefore only logical that referendum
\nis the best way to let the East Timorese decide what they want to
\ndo about their future.<\/p>\n
However, deeper thinking leads to the realization that
\nconducting a referendum on East Timor entails consequences that
\nare not so simple. We should ask ourselves what will happen if
\nthe proindependence group achieves victory in the referendum with
\na very slight majority.<\/p>\n
Say the proindependence group garners 55 percent of the total
\nvotes, while the prointegration group gets 45 percent? It would
\npresent the possibility of this 45 percent fleeing as refugees to
\nIndonesian territory after the province's independence.<\/p>\n
What should Indonesia do: accept them as refugees or push them
\nback to East Timor under the threat of guns?<\/p>\n
Another possibility is the majority of East Timorese want to
\nstay within the fold of the Republic of Indonesia, but the
\nmajority of Indonesians from the rest of the country refuse to
\naccept East Timor as part of the republic?<\/p>\n
Isn't it logical for any referendum on East Timor to be
\nconducted among the entire population of Indonesia, who would
\ndecide whether East Timor would remain part of the country?<\/p>\n
The group rejecting East Timor as part of Indonesia is
\nrepresented by President B.J. Habibie, who bases his decision on
\npure financial calculations of the country's huge outlay for the
\nEast Timorese. This is what Megawati rejects. She believes
\nmatters related to problems of the state and nation should not be
\ndecided by considerations of material gains or losses.<\/p>\n
If we look at the East Timorese issue without weighing about
\nthose material concerns, then the undeniable fact is that many
\npeople in East Timor feel they were trampled upon by the New
\nOrder regime. It is correct. And the New Order also trampled upon
\nby the interests of PDI Struggle.<\/p>\n
But PDI Struggle did not react to the bad treatment by pulling
\naway from the fold of the Republic of Indonesia. PDI Struggle
\nreacted by fighting against dictatorial practices, against
\noppression and cruelty while remaining part of the Indonesian
\nunitary state.<\/p>\n
It is here Megawati may have made a mistake. She judges other
\npeople's aspirations for nationalism by using her personal
\ncriterion. She has always aspired to a big state in which all
\ndisorders and discord are to be solved without dissolving the
\nstate. But it turns out there are those among us who have the
\ninclination to solve national problems by dissolving the country.
\nThis is an attitude we should respect. We will take this into
\nconsideration in our future party deliberations about East Timor
\nin the future. Thank you, once again, to Leandro Elvas for
\nteaching us this lesson.<\/p>\n
Megawati has observed that for a long time now discussions
\nhave gone on between Indonesia, Portugal and the United Nations
\nabout East Timor. Indonesia has also discussed the matter with
\nmany other countries.<\/p>\n
Since Ali Alatas became foreign minister, the diplomatic
\nhandling of the issue was always entrusted to him. We have in him
\none Indonesian who has always done his utmost to prevent East
\nTimor from breaking away from Indonesia. This same person within
\n24 hours is forced to defend an opposite stance, that is that
\nEast Timor must separate from Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Why? Because there is Habibie who is always so erratic and
\nobsessed by inconsistent ideas that within 24 hours he completely
\nreversed his position on East Timor. This may have made Megawati
\nconfused about the whole matter.<\/p>\n
How should one react to this kind of condition? We are a
\npolitical party which has no access to any of the multitude of
\ninformation that exists about East Timor. We have no information
\nto the substance of the discussions that have been carried out
\nfor 20 years. Our only access to the situation in East Timor is
\nthrough the branches of our party within East Timor. From Leandro
\nElvas' article, I fully realize that the East Timorese who have
\njoined our party probably cannot give us an accurate picture of
\nthe real situation existing there.<\/p>\n
I think Leandro Elvas is right in saying that Xanana Gusmao
\nand Ramos Horta can provide us with better information. Thank you
\nonce again to Leandro Elvas for this information, and we will
\ntake it into consideration when our party conducts the next
\nrounds of deliberations about East Timor.<\/p>\n
Megawati often ponders what may happen to the daily lives of
\nmany East Timorese if this piece of territorial entity is
\nabruptly ripped away from Indonesia.<\/p>\n
For 24 years now it appeared as if the entire island of Timor,
\nwhich comprises East Timor and Nusa Tenggara Timur, was part of
\nthe Indonesian state and nation.<\/p>\n
Intermarriage among people of the two sides of the island have
\ntaken place, and migration has become part of the daily life.
\nWhat might happen if these two parts of the island are suddenly
\nseparated from one another, and a Berlin Wall-like divide is
\nerected, barring free flow of people and goods?<\/p>\n
What might happen if crossing the border between the two parts
\nof the island requires visa and exchange of two different
\ncurrencies?<\/p>\n
All these things may look trivial to Elvas who has Portuguese
\nnationality and lives in Portugal. But they are serious matters
\nto those who live on the island because they may have direct
\nbearing on their daily life. This fact notwithstanding, we are
\nquite willing to consider Elvas' position in our internal
\ndeliberations. We will try to think about the future of the
\nisland while disregarding all the long-held fears and concerns of
\nMegawati.<\/p>\n
Will it be possible for us to close our eyes and freeze our
\nhearts if and when all that is feared by Megawati becomes a
\nreality? I simply do not know. I just pray that all these fearful
\nand frightening things will not happen.<\/p>\n
In summary, I think my party and myself personally have been
\nmuch enriched in our knowledge and insights about East Timor by
\nthe ongoing debates. As far as we are concerned, the problem of
\nEast Timor is not settled in a finite manner. The opinions we
\nexpressed about the matter have been driven by our desire to take
\npart in the debate for the purpose of crystallizing the nation's
\nthinking about the matter.<\/p>\n
Our compulsive desire to say something about this important
\nissue is also driven by the fact that PDI Struggle has never been
\nin the government, and has never been represented in the
\nlegislature or in any other institution within any Indonesian
\ngovernment.<\/p>\n
To talk to the public and to the world directly is the only
\nway for us to express our concern about the well being of the
\nnation.<\/p>\n
I would like to remind the public that actually Habibie is a
\nnon-factor in the East Timor issue, except when he is determined
\nto issue a presidential decree announcing the separation of East
\nTimor from Indonesia without waiting for the new president to be
\nelected. What he said was that he would like to submit a proposal
\nregarding the solution of the East Timor problem to the People's
\nConsultative Assembly, the MPR as the institution with the
\nhighest authority.<\/p>\n
But which MPR? The new MPR which is to be instituted through
\nthe general election in June? I think that the first agenda for
\nthe new legislature is to replace Habibie. In this situation, all
\nhe says about East Timor is actually not that important. Why does
\nthe whole world make such a fuss about Habibie's statement
\nregarding East Timor?<\/p>\n
I want to state something but I am afraid of being branded as
\npaternalistic and pedantic. But isn't it true in the first place
\nthat the whole world has adopted a paternalistic attitude toward
\nIndonesia on the East Timor issue? Encouraged by this global
\nattitude, I say Megawati is very concerned about the economic
\nfuture of the East Timorese if the territory is split from
\nIndonesia. But it must be added immediately that this is merely
\nan attempt to present Megawati's view about East Timor in a well-
\nrounded way.<\/p>\n
We are of the opinion that the issue of political independence
\nis much beyond the issue of hunger. Political independence is a
\nmatter of principle. We only wonder that Indonesia will be
\ninundated by refugees if and when there is famine in East Timor.
\nWhy is Australia never criticized for fearing the same thing?<\/p>\n
I can say with final certainty that Elvas made a fatal mistake
\nwhen he used Megawati's idea and my statements about East Timor
\nas the basis for concluding PDI Struggle is a leftist party,
\nbecause it is the inheritor of Sukarno's political legacy. PDI
\nStruggle is not that superficial in its thinking about the future
\nof the nation.<\/p>\n
The writer is a noted economist and advisor to the chairwoman
\nof the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle.<\/p>",
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