A little help from friends

A little help from friends

The East Timor peace process is now entering a make-or-break
stage in the run-up to the first ever genuine ballot for East
Timorese to determine their own future. The road to that ballot,
however, scheduled for Aug. 8, remains long and difficult.

A major breakthrough is now imminent, with Indonesia giving
its wholehearted agreement to the proposed security arrangements
during the UN-supervised ballot. This includes the United Nations
sending police officers from member countries as advisers to help
Indonesian forces secure peace in the territory.

Barring last minute changes, Indonesia and Portugal will sign
a landmark agreement on the text of the special autonomy package
for East Timor at the United Nations on May 5. They will also
sign agreements on the consultation process, and on the security
arrangements for the ballot period.

An acceptance of the autonomy proposal will confirm East
Timor's integration into Indonesia. A rejection will mean
separation, which could happen as early as Jan. 1, 2000.

A lot still needs to be done to ensure that the August vote
takes place in a peaceful environment. At the moment, the
security situation in East Timor is far from ideal. The violent
clashes between proindependence and prointegration forces that
have erupted in East Timor in recent weeks could put the entire
process in jeopardy. And as voting day approaches, the two
opposing sides are bound to harden their positions and will be
aggressively canvassing for support, or worse, threatening each
other. Unless violence is curtailed, the road to the August
election is bound to be bloody. East Timor could even plunge into
a civil war, in which case there would be not voting at all.

At this very delicate stage of the process, Indonesia will
need all the help it can get from other countries. The government
should drop all pretensions that it can do the job alone. It
should stop hiding behind sovereignty principles, preventing
other countries giving assistance. East Timor has always been an
international problem and the international community should
share the burden of bringing about a resolution.

A major breakthrough has already been made on this front.
Indonesia has agreed to the presence of UN police officers in
East Timor. President B.J. Habibie has also publicly asked the
United Nations to invite six countries -- the United States,
Australia, Japan, the Philippines, Germany and Britain -- to
oversee the implementation of all agreements made at the United
Nations.

It is interesting that President Habibie should make the
announcement during a joint media briefing with visiting
Australian Prime Minister John Howard in Bali on Tuesday. It is
equally interesting to see that Australia responded positively to
these overtures, pledging A$20 million (US$13 million) toward the
US$30 million needed to organize the ballot in August. Howard
also agreed to the Indonesian invitation to take part in
overseeing the election, and to send Australian police officers
to East Timor if asked by the United Nations.

Australia, and other countries for that matter, could and
should do more when the situation calls for it. And Indonesia
should not hesitate to ask for help, including in disarming the
militias, if it can't do the job alone. At a time like this, any
offer of help from Indonesia's friends is important. But even
more important is for Indonesia to be more open and honest about
what it can, and cannot, do.