Another E. Timor disaster

Another E. Timor disaster

The violent way with which Indonesia got rid of East Timor
last year is likely to haunt the nation for many years to come.
As Indonesia faces international demands for a war crime tribunal
to try its military leaders, another East Timor humanitarian
disaster of horrendous proportion looms large again this week
which could prove to be a major embarrassment for the country.
Indonesia has announced that after Friday, it will no longer
provide relief aid to around 100,000 East Timorese still
languishing in refugee camps in the western half of Timor island.

Considering the extensive damage that Indonesia caused during
its 24 years of illegal occupation of the territory, one suspects
that the East Timor issue will continue to dog Indonesia. The
refugee problem, in all probability, will prove to be just the
tip of the iceberg as we pay the price of the mistakes past
regimes committed in East Timor.

The East Timorese refugees have been told that they have until
March 31 to decide whether to return to their homeland or accept
the offer of Indonesian citizenship and be resettled elsewhere in
the archipelago. The termination of the government's relief
operation means the refugee camps will soon be closed down, and
their inhabitants moved out, one way or another.

This is indeed a tough choice to make for the refugees. While
most undoubtedly want to go back to their homeland, almost every
one of them has nothing to go home to, or to look forward to. And
having voted for independence, it is inconceivable that they
would want to take up Jakarta's offer of citizenship.

East Timor was ravaged by violence which erupted after the
Aug. 30 ballot that saw the majority opting for independence. The
destruction, perpetrated by pro-Indonesia East Timorese but
allegedly with direct or indirect support of the Indonesian
Military, was so complete that there is virtually nothing left of
the towns and villages in the new independent country. Not only
do the East Timorese refugees have no jobs to go back to, they
also have no roofs over their heads if they do decide to go back.

Not surprisingly, many East Timorese have chosen to stay in
refugee camps, even with all the discomforts, rather than face
the uncertainty of returning to their homeland. Many who did
return have subsequently crossed the Indonesian border back, and
have chosen to live, for the time being, in the refugee camps.

The issue of the East Timor refugees, just as with all people
displaced by war, is an international problem. The solution, or
rather the burden, therefore, must be borne by the international
community. Indeed, massive international aid has been pouring in
since October. But East Timor is primarily the responsibility of
Indonesia, if only because the September violence could, and
should, have been prevented by Indonesia. If Indonesia now finds
that it has had to shoulder the larger share of the burden, then
it only has itself, or rather its past leaders, to blame.

To Indonesia's credit, it has, until today, lived up to its
responsibility in caring for the East Timor refugees. But there
is also a limit to its resources, especially when the country has
hundreds of thousands of other refugees displaced by violence in
Ambon, North Maluku, West Kalimantan and Aceh. The East Nusa
Tenggara provincial administration, which oversees the western
half of Timor island, has now been told by the central
administration in Jakarta that as of April 1 no more money will
forthcoming for the East Timor refugees. The provincial
administration in turn gave the ultimatum to the refugees to make
their choice.

With only three days before the deadline, we hope that the
government, particularly the East Nusa Tenggara provincial
administration, will show more wisdom and compassion in dealing
with this sensitive issue. Carrying out its threat to forcefully
remove the refugees, or simply neglecting their needs, would turn
the refugee problem into another major humanitarian disaster.

He who sows the wind shall reap the whirlwind, so the saying
goes. The East Timor refugee problem was largely Indonesia's
doing. The failure of the government, or rather the military, to
live up to its international responsibility after the ballot last
year has wrought a very high price. It is just as well that the
East Timorese are not asking for war reparations, which could
have been well within their rights. But the refugee problem is
one that Indonesia has to address. Considering the damage it
caused, can Indonesia seriously claim today that it has done
enough for the East Timorese refugees, and stop further relief
aid to them?