The Belo uproar<\/p>\n
It is perhaps not very hard to understand the hurt which East
\nTimor's Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo's remarks, as published
\nby the German magazine Der Spiegel, have caused many Indonesians.
\nWhether one approves of it or not, many Indonesians have, over
\nthe past several years, shown themselves to be highly sensitive
\nto what they consider as undue criticism of their country and its
\nleaders. In light of this, the demonstrations that have been
\nstaged in a number of cities can likewise be easily understood.<\/p>\n
However, this tendency to vent our anger at critics without
\napparently giving much further thought to what underlies their
\ncriticism is a penchant that, to be quite frank, we find rather
\ndisturbing. Noisy demonstrations and counter-demonstrations seem
\nto be gradually replacing sensible public debates directed toward
\nexamining controversial issues that may arise. But while no doubt
\ndemonstrations have mass appeal, they seldom help to fairly and
\neffectively resolve the issues against which they are aimed.<\/p>\n
This is certainly true in the case of East Timor's Bishop
\nBelo. Though a strong critic of human rights abuses, the bishop
\nis not only a highly esteemed and popular public figure among the
\npeople of the province, he is generally known here and abroad as
\na sensible man as well as a comparatively moderate leader of the
\nRoman Catholic Church of East Timor. True, his choice of words as
\npublished in the Der Spiegel interview may hurt most Indonesians'
\nsensitivities, but protests can be delivered in ways that temper
\nthe issue and not aggravate it instead. It must be remembered
\nthat the East Timor issue is still one that easily incites
\nsentiments and that provocative actions and statements had
\ntherefore be better avoided by everyone concerned.<\/p>\n
There is, however, another no less important aspect to the
\npresent case that deserves our attention. Assuming that Belo was
\nquoted correctly in Der Spiegel, one question that we might have
\nasked ourselves is, what drove the usually temperate East
\nTimorese bishop to make his piercingly critical statements? Could
\nit be true that there is still that much room left for
\nimprovement in East Timor, especially with regard to the
\nprotection of human rights? Surely the fact that Belo enjoys such
\nhuge support among the East Timorese is an indication that his
\nwords and actions appeal to the conscience of the people of the
\nprovince. This, if nothing else, should serve as a warning for us
\nto try to get to the essence of Belo's message and to start to
\nproperly address whatever grievances there still may be in East
\nTimor.<\/p>\n
As the present stage of developments, restraint is what is
\nfirst of all needed before we can work effectively on improving
\nthe situation with regard to East Timor. Common sense and reason
\non all sides must prevail. There is an impression that at least
\nsome of the \"spontaneous\" anti-Belo demonstrations have been
\nstaged by manipulating the crowds, an action that can only be
\ncounterproductive.<\/p>\n
We hope that, more than just keeping us busy with the problem
\nof the moment, the present case involving Bishop Belo will lead
\nus to reflect on the wider implications of our actions and
\nreactions towards criticism, however painful it may be.
\nCriticism, after all, leads to correction and is one of the
\nessential elements of democracy. It is not an exaggeration to say
\nthat unless one can accept criticism with a positive attitude,
\none is not ready for democracy, and to live in a healthy
\ndemocracy is surely something to which we all aspire.<\/p>",
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