Analysts say no to Australian forces
YOGYAKARTA (JP): Political observers have recommended against the inclusion of Australian forces in a peacekeeping contingent for East Timor, but conceded that the government lacks power to reject their participation.
They urged that a peacekeeping force be comprised predominantly of Asian and African countries, along with "neutral" European states such as Sweden and Norway.
They said that given the emotionally charged sentiment prevailing across the country, it would be unwise to include forces from countries such as Australia and the United States.
M. Najib Azca of Gadjah Mada University's Center for Peace and Security Studies said it would be difficult for Indonesia to accept Australia, given questions raised about its neutrality.
"Sentiments against Australia in Indonesia are at a high, because it concerns pride... even though that can be debated," he said here on Tuesday.
International relations researcher M. Imran Hanafie of Hasanuddin University said that given the current climate the government must lobby the United Nations and not "blindly" accept the force's composition.
"I'm afraid the presence of forces from Australia and the United States under the UN flag will only create new complications with prointegration forces," he said.
Imran, who is head of the international relations department at the university, told The Jakarta Post that countries such as Sweden, Norway and Malaysia would be more acceptable.
He said there were strong suspicions that Australia and the United States had ulterior motives in participating in the peacekeeping force.
Lambang Trijono of the Center for Peace and Security Studies in Yogyakarta also suggested that "Western" countries had a strong interest in seeing Australia included, because it was viewed as a "doorway" into Asia and East Timor.
However he conceded it would be difficult for Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas to set conditions for the peacekeeping force, given Jakarta's weak bargaining position.
"Minister of Foreign Affairs Alatas will face tough negotiations in New York, because he faces the interest of European and Australian interests in East Timor," Lambang told the Post here on Tuesday.
He said the most that Indonesia could do was to block Portugal's inclusion.
"It's even going to be hard to stop an Australian or American from heading the force."
Lambang urged Indonesia to seek support from fellow Asian states, and in particular China, using the cause of a common Asian interest.
"Indonesia has to ensure that the peacekeeping force is comprised as much as possible of Asian countries, especially China," he said, noting that China has a veto right in the UN Security Council.
Gadjah Mada University political lecturer Praktino said Indonesia should demand to have some say in the formation of the peacekeeping force, given that technically East Timor was still part of Indonesia.
"Based on the UN resolution, until the General Session of the People's Consultative Assembly is held, East Timor is still the responsibility of Indonesia. Thus Indonesia is still the host of the UN forces," he said.
The Coordinator of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), Munir, while supporting the presence of international peacekeepers, said if the UN completely neglected Indonesia's appeals then it could face trouble in adapting to conditions in East Timor.
"Let them come in. They'll find out for themselves the complexities of dealing with the situation in East Timor," he said.
"Personally, I'd like to see neutral countries like those from Africa and fellow ASEAN states who are not involved in East Timor." (23/27/44/emf/prb)