Setting the record straight on East Timor<\/p>\n
By Irawan Abidin<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Instead of the true story of East Timor, an
\nelaborate myth is being foisted upon the world by members and
\nsupporters of the minority group that tried and failed to gain
\npower in the wake of Portugal's abrupt withdrawal from its former
\ncolony in 1975.<\/p>\n
Fashioned out of lies and slander, as well as innuendoes
\nagainst Indonesia, this myth is being disseminated far and wide
\nby the government of Portugal. Indeed for the past 19 years, the
\nUnited Nations and the international community have been
\nsubjected to a ceaseless bombardment of half-truths and
\ndisinformation on the events surrounding the decolonization of
\nEast Timor.<\/p>\n
In spearheading this campaign, Portugal is perhaps driven by
\nfeelings of guilt over the shameful way it deserted the people of
\nEast Timor at a time when it should have done its utmost to spare
\nthem from the ravage of political chaos.<\/p>\n
This myth ascribes to the Indonesian government all sorts of
\nhorrible atrocities without a shred of evidence or proof that
\nmight be acceptable in a court of law. It is being made to appear
\nthat the government of Indonesia would, without compunction,
\nviolate its own laws and fundamental principles and even the
\ndeeply ingrained values of its people.<\/p>\n
The grievousness of these accusations is such that they should
\nnot be freely bandied in the absence of clear evidence to back
\nthem up. And yet somehow these fabrications, largely through the
\nefforts of the government of Portugal, have been dignified with
\ncredence in some international circles.<\/p>\n
There is therefore a need, once again, to set the record
\nstraight on the issue of East Timor. It has to be stated that the
\nEast Timor issue is irrefutably a case of decolonization utterly
\nmishandled by the erstwhile colonial power, Portugal.<\/p>\n
Had it shown a higher regard for the civic and political
\nrights of a people whom it had oppressed and neglected for over
\nfour centuries, Portugal might have effected a less stormy
\ndecolonization process, but it did not.<\/p>\n
It is clear that after abandoning East Timor in a most
\nirresponsible manner, after allowing the situation in the
\nterritory to deteriorate to the point of civil war, in fact,
\nafter practically instigating civil war by clandestinely turning
\nover its arms and munitions to one particular group, the Frente
\nRevolucianaria de Timor leste Independente (Fretilin), Portugal
\nhas relinquished any claim to be considered the administering
\npower of East Timor.<\/p>\n
We cannot but be astonished that there are still those who
\nwould wish to set the clock back and return East Timor to its
\nformer colonial master so that Portugal could do what it
\nmiserably failed to do nearly 20 years ago -- take part in the
\ndecolonization process that is already consummated.<\/p>\n
A brief review of the chaotic final months of Portuguese rule
\nin East Timor is instructive. In April 1974 the new Portuguese
\ngovernment proclaimed its intention to decolonize all its
\n\"overseas provinces.\"<\/p>\n
In line with United Nations General Assembly Resolution 1541,
\na proposed referendum would present the people of East Timor with
\nthree options: to become an autonomous territory in federation or
\nassociation with Portugal; to become a separate, independent
\nstate; or to integrate with the Republic of Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Five political parties were formed in 1974 to take part in the
\nreferendum. These five parties represented the entire spectrum of
\nEast Timorese society. The Uniao Democratic Timorense widely
\nacknowledged by both Portugal and other unbiased observers to be
\nthe largest party among the five, supported integration with
\nIndonesia.<\/p>\n
It enjoyed the support of approximately 50 percent of the
\ntotal population or 230 of the 472 existing suku, or clans, in
\nEast Timor.<\/p>\n
The Fretilin which comprised a small group of young radicals
\nand members of the Portuguese colonial army, the Tropaz, opted
\nfor independence.<\/p>\n
The Associacao Popular Democratica de Timor and two other
\nparties, the Klibur Oan Timor Aswain, and the labor party
\n(Trabalhista), also came out in favor of integration with
\nIndonesia.<\/p>\n
Indonesia welcomed these steps towards decolonization and, at
\nthe request of Portugal, extended its active cooperation to the
\nprocess as evidenced inter alia by the series of meetings held
\nbetween high level representatives of the two sides in New York,
\nSeptember 1974; Lisbon, October 1974; London, March 1975;
\nJakarta, August and September 1975, and in Rome in November 1975.<\/p>\n
At those meetings, Indonesia reaffirmed its readiness to
\nsupport Portugal in the peaceful and orderly implementation of
\nthe decolonization process, on the basis of Portugal's own plan.<\/p>\n
Early on, the Fretilin refused to participate in an orderly
\nand peaceful process of decolonization and attempted to
\ncircumvent the envisaged democratic procedures.<\/p>\n
It boycotted the Macao meeting of June 1975, which was
\nconvened by Portugal and attended by other four parties to ensure
\na peaceful transfer of power.<\/p>\n
As a result of the Fretilin's continued acts of intimidation,
\ntension and confusion increased to the point of civil war between
\nthe Fretilin and the other four political parties.<\/p>\n
Thus the Fretilin's attempt to seize power by force of arms
\nrather than through democratic methods and the refusal by the
\nmajority of the East Timorese people to accept such a seizure of
\npower plunged the territory into political chaos.<\/p>\n
The Portuguese colonial administration in Dili made no effort
\nto stop the bloodshed and at the height of the fighting, the
\ngovernor and his staff packed up and left East Timor in much the
\nsame way that Portugal abandoned Angola and Mozambique.<\/p>\n
By October 1975, more than 3,000 people had lost their lives
\nin the civil war and more than 42,000 refugees had fled to safety
\nin West Timor.<\/p>\n
Despite the utter confusion and escalating violence in East
\nTimor, Indonesia encouraged Portugal to return and exercise its
\nauthority to complete a just and orderly decolonization process.<\/p>\n
As late as November 1975, the Indonesian and Portuguese
\nforeign ministers met in Rome and issued a joint communique
\nagreeing on the need to restore peace and order in the territory
\nto enable the people to freely decide their own future.<\/p>\n
It was agreed that a meeting between Portugal and all five
\npolitical parties be held as soon as possible. This meeting never
\ntook place because, once again, the Fretilin refused to
\nparticipate and, instead, unilaterally declared independence.<\/p>\n
In response to Portugal's withdrawal from the territory and in
\nthe face of the Fretilin's mounting reign of terror against its
\nown people, the four other political parties declared the
\nindependence of East Timor through integration with the Republic
\nof Indonesia.<\/p>\n
They also established a provisional government and called upon
\nthe government of Indonesia to take the necessary steps to
\nprotect the lives of the people who had declared East Timor part
\nof Indonesia.<\/p>\n
It was at this point that Indonesia became involved in the
\nEast Timor crisis.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian government welcomed the desire of the East
\nTimorese to join Indonesia but declared that it would accede to
\ntheir expressed wishes only after a proper exercise of the right
\nto self-determination had taken place.<\/p>\n
Representatives of all of the critics of East Timor were
\ntherefore elected in a political exercise similar to the one
\noriginally planned by Portugal.<\/p>\n
The elected representatives formed a provisional People's
\nAssembly of East Timor and on May 31, 1976, this Assembly, in a
\npublic session attended by members of the diplomatic corps, as
\nwell as by representatives of the local and international media,
\nformally declared independence through integration with
\nIndonesia.<\/p>\n
Much has been made of the fact that the UN was \"not involved\"
\nin the process of decolonization in East Timor. It is a matter of
\npublic record, however, that throughout 1976 the Provisional
\nGovernment of East Timor made every effort to have the UN
\nparticipate in the process.<\/p>\n
Regrettably, all its invitations were turned down as Portugal
\nand its supporters blocked every attempt to secure UN
\nparticipation. Despite these repeated rebuffs, the provisional
\ngovernment of East Timor continued to keep the relevant UN organs
\nappraised of every stage of the decolonization process.<\/p>\n
Since integration, Indonesia's sincere intent to give
\nsubstance to the freedom won by the people of East Timor is
\nreflected in its continuous efforts to accelerate the social,
\neconomic and political development of East Timor.<\/p>\n
It has also ensured the protection of the cultural and
\nreligious rights of the East Timorese and pursued a continuing
\nprogram of infrastructure building for agriculture, health,
\neducation, public housing and communication in East Timor.<\/p>\n
More asphalt roads, bridges, schools, hospitals and health
\ncenters, public markets and places of worship have been built in
\nEast Timor during the 19 years since its integration with
\nIndonesia than during the entire 450 years of colonial misrule.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian government also maintains a policy of providing
\naccess to East Timor on a regular basis to foreign
\nrepresentatives, parliamentary missions, international agencies,
\njournalists and others.<\/p>\n
International humanitarian organizations, including Unicef,
\nthe World Health Organization and the International Committee for
\nthe Red Cross, have been operating in East Timor since 1979.<\/p>\n
It is time for those who espouse the principles of self
\ndetermination and democracy, which imply respect for the wishes
\nof the majority, to realize that they cannot, at the same time,
\nsupport the unreasonable and irrational demands of a minority.<\/p>\n
It is clear that the only real base of support that the
\nFretilin has is in Portugal, which continues to subsidize the
\nFretilin's activities abroad.<\/p>\n
Up to now the Fretilin has made no attempt to play a positive
\nrole in the development in East Timor.<\/p>\n
In the ultimate analysis, the question is whether the noise
\nbeing made by the handful of political failures who compose the
\nFretilin can be allowed to cancel out the profound improvements
\nthat have been wrought on the lives of hundreds of thousands of
\nEast Timorese.<\/p>\n
To Indonesia, the important thing is that the vast majority of
\nEast Timorese are now living normal productive lives. And
\nconsidering the development program that is being undertaken in
\nthe province, they now have a much brighter future to look
\nforward to.<\/p>\n
The writer is the Director for Information of the Ministry of
\nForeign Affairs.<\/p>\n
30<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/setting-the-record-straight-on-east-timor-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }