A lesson in democracy from a former colony

A lesson in democracy from a former colony

Kornelius Purba, Staff Writer, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

While many Indonesians still fantasize that one day the
country will adopt a direct presidential election system, the
people of East Timor -- soon to be known as Timor Lorosae --
have overwhelmingly voted for their independence fighter and hero
Xanana Gusmao as their first president.

One day the honorable members of People's Consultative
Assembly (MPR) here may have to go to Dili to study the new
nation's constitution if they finally accept the fact that the
1945 Constitution should be amended for the sake of democracy.

Indonesia, which occupied the tiny island for nearly 23 years
until 1999, can also learn from the new nation on how to treat
citizens equally regardless of religion, ethnicity or other
backgrounds. It is a wonderful lesson, that they have entrusted
Mari Alkatiri, a Muslim, with the important task of being their
new prime minister in the predominantly Catholic territory.

Despite the fact that Timor Lorosae will become a new
independent nation on May 20, the Indonesian legislature, using
cheap pretexts, still retains four seats for representatives of
its former territory in the legislature. East Timor is
"represented" by two legislators from President Megawati
Soekarnoputri's party, the Indonesian Democratic Party of
Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), while the other two are from Golkar.

Doesn't this look like a former colonial master who cannot
accept the reality that its former colony has become completely
independent?

Gusmao, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison -- of which he
spent about six -- for his "rebellious crime against the state",
was released by Indonesia soon after the referendum for self
determination. He repeatedly calls for national reconciliation
and vows to prioritize good relations with Jakarta.

Some Indonesian generals, including former military chief Gen.
(ret.) Wiranto, are still busy blaming the United Nations Mission
in East Timor (UNAMET) for the gross human rights violations in
East Timor following the embarrassing result of the referendum
three years ago.

"UNAMET's failure to remain neutral during that historic
moment sparked anger among East Timorese who felt that they were
being treated unfairly," Wiranto said in his testimony earlier
this month in one of the sessions of the ongoing ad hoc human
rights trial in Jakarta. Wiranto has also recently launched a
book on his version of the events in East Timor.

Is it true that Indonesia lost the referendum because of
massive fraud engineered by the UN? The generals may have to
listen to former minister of foreign affairs Ali Alatas who
pointed out that 78.5 percent of voters opted for independence.

"There were violations but not to the point that you can
change 78.5 percent to 21.5 percent," the internationally
respected diplomat commented, two months after Indonesia's
defeat.

The East Timorese may become a model for those who want to
liberate themselves from oppression, and abuses of human rights.
They can also teach authoritarian governments not to belittle the
struggles of people whom they may regard as stupid and educated.

Soeharto's government was overconfident that East Timorese
people would love their new master and that only a very few of
them would want independence from Indonesia. When Dili Bishop
Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo and Jose Ramos Horta jointly won the
Nobel Peace Prize in 1996, the government made light of it. When
Soeharto dedicated the Jesus Christ statue in Dili a few days
after Belo was named a Nobel recipient, he did not touch upon the
issue during his conversation with the bishop.

When Pope John Paul II visited Dili in October 1989, the
government claimed it as a tremendous diplomatic victory because
the Pope did not kiss the earth when he arrived in Dili as he
always does when he visits a country.

In 1996, Soeharto confidently approved the request of visiting
South African president Nelson Mandela to meet with the jailed
Gusmao. Soeharto even provided the State Guest House as the venue
for the meeting for the legendary African leader.

When Soeharto's successor, B.J. Habibie surprised the world by
offering the UN to hold a self-determination referendum in August
1999, top officials and military leaders boasted that East Timor
would remain part of Indonesia. They insisted that East Timor's
condition, despite all odds, was much better than under the
Portuguese colony.

An elderly woman gave a simple reason on why she chose
independence. "When my son returned late during that (Indonesian)
time, I always worried that the military had arrested him. But
now when he has not come back I only guess that he is still with
his girlfriend," the woman said during the visit of president
Abdurrahman Wahid to Dili in February 2000.

During the visit Abdurrahman officially apologized to the
people for their sufferings and told them that the Indonesian
people were also the victims of Soeharto's dictatorship.

"You were oppressed, we also were under tyranny," Abdurrahman
told the crowd near the Santa Cruz cemetery.

It is better for President Megawati to learn from this poor
nation in taming the rebellious provinces like Papua and Aceh.
Like it or not, people in the two provinces may use East Timor as
one of their sources of inspiration to achieve their goals.

Many people think that it would be very difficult for East
Timor to survive as a nation because of its poor natural and
human resources. But they have oil. When Indonesia declared its
independence in 1945 the Dutch government also thought that its
former colony could not live without its colonial master.

Will East Timor be the first and the last region to separate
from Indonesia? If Megawati's administration continues to repeat
the mistakes made in the past, it is not impossible that East
Timor will be the last tragedy for this country.