Tension darkens Timor before vote<\/p>\n
The day before Monday's historic ballot, East Timorese
\nfamilies were still burying their dead, killed in clashes on the
\nstreets of Dili. Although it is controversial, the ballot is
\nsupposed to be the first step on the road to peace for
\ninhabitants here. The Jakarta Post reporters Dwi Atmanta,
\nBoediman Moerdijat, Ridwan M. Sijabat, photographer IGGP Bayu
\nIsmoyo and correspondent Lourenco Vicente Martins filed the
\nfollowing stories and photos from East Timor on this page, page 2
\nand page 6.<\/p>\n
DILI, East Timor (JP): With fears of violence and two decades
\nof agonizing memories casting a shadow over them, East Timorese
\nare bracing for a landmark vote on their future on Monday.<\/p>\n
The fact that only a few shops and other commercial centers,
\nparticularly those selling basic necessities, remain open with
\nreduced trading hours gives a clear sign of anxiety.<\/p>\n
A curfew has not been ordered, but security authorities have
\ncalled on people to refrain from going out in the evening.<\/p>\n
Bloody clashes, which exploded just before the cooling-off
\nperiod, served to warn East Timorese of further hostility
\nregardless of the results of the self-determination ballot in
\nwhich people will determine whether to accept or reject a package
\nthat offers wide-ranging autonomy within Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Four people were killed on Thursday -- although the United
\nNations Mission in East Timor (UNAMET) put the figure at five --
\nand two others died on Friday as fighting between the bitter foes
\ncontinued.<\/p>\n
\"Enmity has persisted for years here. It's very difficult for
\nthe warring groups to put their bitter memories behind them,\"
\nAntonio Britis, a taxi driver, said.<\/p>\n
The bullets that flew just as talks on disarmament were about
\nto materialize have raised a fresh debate on whether or not an
\ninternational peace-keeping force is needed in this troubled
\nprovince.<\/p>\n
Less than a week before the clashes, three visiting U.S.
\nsenators issued a plea for an immediate dispatch of armed United
\nNations peacekeepers to prevent a possible \"bloodbath\". Despite
\ngrave concern about the latest violence, however, the UN has
\ndecided to stick to an earlier agreement to mandate the
\nIndonesian Police to maintain security during the voting process.<\/p>\n
Antonio, the driver, echoed the grim assessment and dismissed
\nrepeated calls for reconciliation among people after the popular
\nconsultation.<\/p>\n
\"It is an East Timorese stereotype to seek revenge of all pain
\ninflicted by the enemy. Unabated clashes between warring parties
\nlook to be the destiny of people here,\" Antonio, a former
\nindependence guerrilla fighter, said.<\/p>\n
\"It may take us five generations to start a new life as a
\nunified society.\"<\/p>\n
The former Portuguese colony has been beset with guerrilla
\nwarfare and human rights abuses since Indonesian troops were
\ndeployed to the half-island territory in 1976. Human rights
\ngroups said more than 200,000 people died, many from starvation
\nin the following years.<\/p>\n
The massacre in Santa Cruz in November 1991 -- when troops
\nopened fire on a crowd of protesters and at least 51 people were
\nkilled, according to the National Commission on Human Rights --
\nhas underlined the uneasy relationship between Jakarta and East
\nTimor.<\/p>\n
A new wave of violence has been on the rise since the
\ngovernment reversed decades of opposition and gave the green
\nlight in January for independence, a decision widely hailed by
\nthe international community but criticized by domestic opposition
\nparties.<\/p>\n
Dozens of people have been killed and thousands displaced from
\ntheir homes in the lead-up to the Aug. 30 ballot. While both
\nsides suffered losses, many have blamed the prointegration
\nmilitia, which is suspected of receiving support from the
\nIndonesian Military.<\/p>\n
London-based human rights group Amnesty International said in
\nits statement: \"The consistent failure of the Indonesian
\nauthorities to guarantee safety and security for all East
\nTimorese ... poses a dangerous precedent for the future of the
\ntroubled territory.\"<\/p>\n
Although there have been some encouraging signs, most notably
\nthe successful voter registration program in which more than
\n451,000 signed up for the ballot, continued violence has
\novershadowed the achievement.<\/p>\n
With the number of registered voters surpassing earlier
\nestimates of between 300,000 and 400,000, the UN let the ballot
\ngo ahead as scheduled. The vote was initially slated for Aug. 8,
\nbut was delayed due to security concerns.<\/p>\n
Antonio is just one of many who foresee escalating violence in
\nthe aftermath of the vote. Prointegration figure and leader of
\nthe armed militia Aitarak, Eurico Gutteres, hinted that a \"civil
\nwar\" looked unavoidable if the autonomy status was rejected.<\/p>\n
\"It will be a do-or-die battle for me to keep East Timor
\nwithin Indonesia's grip and I'm prepared to take to the jungles
\nto stage a resistance movement if most people vote for
\nindependence.<\/p>\n
\"If the autonomy offer is rejected, the province must be
\ndivided into two: the eastern part will be ours and the western
\npart goes to the proindependence faction,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Another prointegration figure, Basilio Diaz Araujo, also
\nexpects to see \"bloodshed\" in the province if autonomy is
\nrejected.<\/p>\n
Self-exiled proindependence leader Jose Ramos-Horta also said
\nfull-scale violence was almost certain. He said that the ban
\nimposed on him and popular East Timor leader Jose Alexandre
\n\"Xanana\" Gusmao from campaigning and continued Indonesian
\nMilitary support for prointegration militias \"makes for an
\nextremely dangerous situation\".<\/p>\n
\"Conflict will continue and this time our mild manners will be
\ncast aside. The next phase of resistance will be much more
\ndesperate and ferocious and will not be contained to East Timor,\"
\nRamos-Horta wrote recently.<\/p>\n
To anticipate the worst possibility of bloodshed, the
\ngovernment will deploy 20,000 security personnel, including
\npolice, to strategic areas across the province to avoid open
\nconflict between the two warring camps, the new Provincial
\nMilitary Commander Col. Noer Muis said.<\/p>\n
\"We will work hard to maintain security and public order and
\nto provide a feeling of safety among people,\" he promised.<\/p>\n
Muis acknowledged that security authorities would face an
\nuphill struggle if proindependence forces won as it would
\ncertainly incite harsh reactions from opponents.<\/p>\n
But layman Zuli Monterio, who saw bloodshed in his village
\nfollowing a clash between proindependence and prointegration
\nsupporters on Thursday, predicted that peace would instead
\nprevail in the province if independence was accepted.<\/p>\n
\"We are prepared to welcome our proautonomy brothers if we
\nwin,\" he said, following the words of his revered leader Xanana.<\/p>\n
\"We have always been kind to proautonomy supporters. We
\nrespect Indonesia's red and white flag they don, because we know
\nthousands of people have died to defend it.\" (byg\/amd)<\/p>",
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