Welcoming the rising sun in E. Timor<\/p>\n
Menyongsong Matahari Terbit di Puncak Ramelau (Welcoming the
\nRising Sun at the Top of Ramelau);
\nBy George J. Aditjondro;
\nPublished by: The Foundation of Law, Rights and Justice and
\nFortilos (Solidarity Forum for the People of Timor Lorosa'e),
\nJanuary 2000;
\n312 pages;
\nRp 20,000<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): George Junus Aditjondro is one of the few
\nIndonesian intellectuals who was concerned about the military
\noccupation by Indonesia in Timor Lorosa'e (East Timor). At a time
\nwhen other intellectuals kept silent, Aditjondro, with his
\ninvestigative capabilities as a former journalist and his
\nattitude in favor of marginalized groups, played a great role in
\nexpanding the horizon of attention of human rights activists as
\nwell as political activists to the problems of Irian Jaya and
\nTimor Lorosa'e. It was he who also reintroduced the original
\nnames of Papua (instead of Irian Jaya) and Maubere or Timor
\nLorosa'e (instead of East Timor) in intellectual discourse and
\nmovements.<\/p>\n
Aditjondro's book, Welcoming the Rising Sun at the Top of
\nRamelau, the Impact of the Timor Lorosa'e Occupation and the
\nEmergence of the Pro-Timor Lorosa'e Movement in Indonesia, is
\nproof of his seriousness and courage in closely following the
\nTimor Lorosa'e affair. The greater part of the material of this
\nbook (collected from his writings, mostly published by
\nalternative media and the student press) was written at the time
\nthe Indonesian Military (TNI) was still enjoying its political
\npower, and Timor Lorosa'e issues were still a subversive
\ndiscourse. The result of his courage compelled him to become a
\npermanent resident in Australia.<\/p>\n
His efforts, in fact, were not futile. On Jan. 9, 1999, then
\npresident B.J. Habibie launched two options for the future of
\nTimor Lorosa'e: Independence or extended autonomy. In August, the
\nmajority of its people voted for independence and, accordingly,
\nIndonesia withdrew its troops from the region.<\/p>\n
At the beginning of the book, Aditjondro makes a critical
\ncomparison between Timor Lorosa'e's culture and Indonesian
\nculture to reveal the mystification of cultural similarities
\nwhich became the legitimate tool for the "integration process"
\nbetween Indonesia and Timor Lorosa'e. The study even presents the
\nprocess of the paralyzation of the local culture (which at the
\ntime was the source of inspiration for resistance). It was
\nunavoidable that there was a process of Indonesianization to
\nremove the Porto tradition and to paralyze the Tetum culture.<\/p>\n
The analysis of the process of TNI's occupation in Timor
\nLorosa'e is the focus of the book. Starting from this theme,
\nAditjondro explains in a comprehensive way the ecological,
\neconomic and social impact of the process of TNI's occupation. He
\nespecially discussed the experiences of women in Timor Lorosa'e.
\nAditjondro also criticizes the masculine characterization of the
\nresistance movement of Timor Lorosa'e that only highlights male
\nfigures (e.g. Xanana Gusmao, Jose Ramos-Horta) and neglects the
\npolitical role and the sacrifices of the political organization
\nof Timor Lorosa'e women (Organizacao Popular da Mulher de Timor),
\nwhich was systematically crushed and banned by TNI.<\/p>\n
The comprehensive analysis is supported by an exaggerated
\nperfectionism (as the editor of this book says) of Aditjondro who
\nlaid bare the data, not only from the reports on human rights
\nviolations, testimonies and textbooks, but also from official
\ndata of the government (interpreted critically) and the aviation
\nmagazine Angkasa (it was from here that Aditjondro found proof of
\nthe sale and purchase of fighter planes to exterminate the
\nresistance movement of Timor Lorosa'e). The critical
\ninterpretation of the government's official data even pushed
\nAditjondro to write especially on the process of "fake
\nstatistics" to cover up for the reality taking place in Timor
\nLorosa'e. The faking process was done by simplification which
\ncompared arbitrarily "the fruits of development of the New Order
\nin East Timor" with "the remnants of Portuguese colonization".<\/p>\n
Aditjondro found the facts of "forced removal or forced
\nexpulsion" of the people of Timor Lorosa'e at the time of the
\nJanuary 1975 occupation by studying the "unofficial" statistical
\nfigures obtained from statistical data from the Center for
\nStrategic and International Studies (CSIS) research and Catholic
\nchurch records. According to the CSIS research, the number of
\ninhabitants in 1980 was 555,350 (70,196 less, compared to the
\nfigure of 1973: 626,546). According to the Catholic church, the
\npopulation decreased drastically from 688,771 in 1974 to 329,271
\nin October 1978. Where did they go and why did they go\/disappear?<\/p>\n
An inseparable part of the struggle of the Timor Lorosa'e
\npeople is the role of the Catholic church. Aditjondro tries to
\nreveal the ups and downs of the support of the Catholic church
\nand the process of state intervention (TNI) against the hierarchy
\nof the Indonesian Catholic church in the attitude toward Timor
\nLorosa'e. The book also exposes the "doubts" of the church about
\nthe realities. A big challenge had to be faced by Bishop Belo
\nwhen he wrote to the UN secretary-general to immediately hold a
\nreferendum, when he gave an interview to Der Spiegel and when he
\nreceived the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize. Under this pressure, the
\nIndonesian Catholic church did not show a firm stance.<\/p>\n
In the final part of the book, Aditjondro discusses the
\nsupport of the Indonesian prodemocracy movement for the struggle
\nof Timor Lorosa'e people. Only in 1991 (after the Santa Cruz
\nincident) was there open support for self-determination for the
\npeople of Timor Lorosa'e. Previously, the Timor Lorosa'e affair
\nhad rarely been on the main agenda of the struggle of human
\nrights and prodemocracy activists in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
There are a number of analyses which are interesting but not
\nmuch has been followed up on. The history of the diplomatic
\nstruggle of Timor Lorosa'e was one of the determining factors in
\nthe success of the struggle of the Timor Lorosa'e people.
\nThis book could also have benefited from the inclusion of
\nAditjondro's latest writings on the postreferendum situation in
\nTimor Lorosa'e and its prospects. Nevertheless, these
\ndeficiencies do not reduce the importance of this book in lifting
\nthe mist surrounding the history of Timor Lorosa'e.<\/p>\n
-- Wahyu Susilo<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/welcoming-the-rising-sun-in-e-timor-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }