Ambivalence over E. Timor

Ambivalence over E. Timor

Reactions by top politicians to last week's arrest of East
Timor militia leader Eurico Guterres underscored Indonesia's
policy ambivalence toward East Timor. While officially Indonesia
recognizes, or rather grudgingly accepts East Timor's vote for
independence last year, the government continues to nurture or
support pro-Indonesia militias who still dream of a unification
or an integration with Indonesia.

No less than Amien Rais, the speaker of the People's
Consultative Assembly and Akbar Tandjung, the speaker of the
House of Representatives, have asked the police to go easy on
Eurico, whom both called a "true national fighter". A day
earlier, Eurico in a widely publicized media conference claimed
that all his struggles for East Timor's integration with
Indonesia were conducted for the red and white national flag.

What he did not tell the public, and what Amien and Akbar
chose to neglect, was that the militias were responsible for many
of the human rights atrocities which besmirched Indonesia's
reputation even if they claimed to have fought for a national
cause.

Because of their reprehensible actions, Indonesia earned
international condemnations on two occasions these past 12
months. First, for the campaign of terror and violence by the
militias after they lost the Aug. 30, 1999 United Nations-
sponsored ballot to the proindependence camp. That campaign, in
which the Indonesian Military did little to prevent, forced
almost the entire East Timor population to flee and saw the
virtual destruction of the territory. The second international
condemnation came last month following the deaths of three UN
relief workers in Atambua -- a refugee town near the East Timor
border -- by a mob instigated by the militias.

It is incomprehensible that a person who has caused so much
damage to Indonesia's international credibility and image can
still be regarded as a national fighter. But this policy
ambivalence toward the East Timorese militias explains the
government's reluctance, or unwillingness, to clamp down on the
militias, even when it has the legal powers to do so. Until last
month, the militias were about the only groups of people in the
country outside the military and the police who could freely
carry firearms in the open. Other people would have been arrested
immediately for illegal possession of firearms.

This ambivalence also explains why not a single militia member
or their friends in the Indonesian Army have been tried in court
in connection with last year's mayhem. Nearly one year since the
investigation was launched, the government has yet to name a
single suspect in the case. Even Guterres, who has been
questioned by investigators, is under arrest for a recent and
minor charge.

This policy ambivalence is not without its costs to the entire
nation. The killing of the UN workers in Atambua could have been
prevented had the government put the militias under control. The
repatriation of the more than 100,000 East Timorese refugees
would have moved faster were it not for the constant disruptions
caused by the militias. Allowing the militias to roam freely with
their weapons was a sure recipe for disaster.

If Indonesia is not careful, this ambivalence can cause even
more damage to its international reputation. Indonesia's
inability to clamp down on the militias and to distance itself
from the prointegration cause raises suspicions that certain
quarters in Indonesia still entertain the idea of annexing East
Timor again some day. Remarks by Akbar Tandjung and Amien Rais,
calling Guterres a national fighter, are not helping to dispel
lingering suspicions of Jakarta's territorial ambitions.

With East Timor independence recognized internationally, the
government's tolerance toward the militias, whatever service they
have done for the country, must have its limits if Indonesia and
East Timor were to get along as neighbors. We do not want to be
accused of providing shelter to East Timorese in exile to fight
their prointegration battle in the same way we do not want to see
Acehnese in exile fighting their separatist battles from
neighboring Malaysia or Irian Jaya separatist fighters launching
their campaign from within the Papua New Guinean border.

It is time Indonesia takes a clearer stand with regard to the
East Timor militias. They should be encouraged to return to their
homeland and fight whatever cause they have democratically and
peacefully from within, or if they chose to become Indonesians,
they should pledge their allegiance to the country, start playing
by the rules, and most of all, start protecting the honor of the
national flag.