Withhold funding to East Timor<\/p>\n
The Directorate General of Taxation has always said that taxes
\nare used to finance our country's development. In the past 23
\nyears, the taxes we paid have partly been used for the
\ndevelopment of East Timor. I have nothing against this
\nallocation, because East Timor is part of the Republic of
\nIndonesia.<\/p>\n
It is expected that the East Timorese would appreciate the
\nfinancial assistance from Indonesian taxpayers, because the
\nprovince is able to contribute only 7 percent of the budget
\nneeded for its development. The fact is that most East Timorese
\ndo not show gratitude for this assistance. Medical and teaching
\npersonnel dedicating themselves to the East Timorese have instead
\nbeen tortured.<\/p>\n
Xanana Gusmao has said he is convinced 99 percent of East
\nTimorese will opt for independence from Indonesia, rather than
\naccepting broader autonomy as offered by the Indonesian
\ngovernment. If things are as clear as this, we should simply give
\nup East Timor as of January 2000. Stop the financial aid from
\nIndonesia and ask Portugal, Australia, Canada and other countries
\nsupporting East Timor's independence to send their aid instead.
\nThe Indonesian soldiers must be pulled out of East Timor and
\nreplaced by UN peace-keeping forces. If we deem it necessary to
\nhelp East Timor, we may extend some financial aid, but this will
\nbe voluntary.<\/p>\n
The funds we have dropped into East Timor for the past 23
\nyears would be more useful if they were now used to help our own
\nregions within the Republic of Indonesia. Let the East Timorese
\nlearn to manage their own land, just as Indonesia's people did
\nafter proclaiming their independence on Aug. 17, 1945.<\/p>\n
We need not worry about the likelihood of a civil war in East
\nTimor because Xanana himself has definitively dismissed this
\nconcern.<\/p>\n
Indonesia will benefit from a prosperous independent East
\nTimor because it will import a lot from Indonesia.<\/p>\n
As for the referendum, let them hold this after 10 to 15 years
\nof independence. That will be their own internal matter,
\nsomething which they will have to finance themselves. This
\nreferendum should not be financed by Indonesian taxpayers.<\/p>\n
SUNARTO PRAWIROSUJANTO<\/p>\n
Jakarta<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/withhold-funding-to-east-timor-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }