Battling brutality in East Timor

Battling brutality in East Timor

Journalists are observers, not combatants. Even the most
repressive regimes normally recognize this and protect reporters,
who are just doing their job in covering news from the world's
trouble spots.

But not in East Timor, as shown by the murder and mutilation
of Sander Thoenes, who worked for Britain's Financial Times. Far
from respecting the neutrality of the press, the Indonesian-
backed militias, some dressed in army uniforms, are targeting
journalists.

Their brutal actions once again show how far what is happening
in East Timor transgresses the norms that govern behavior in the
civilized world; and that Jakarta remains unable or unwilling to
rein in those who are doing the dirty work for it on the streets
of Dili.

With Indonesian soldiers opening fire near international
peacekeepers yesterday, it would be no surprise if the militias
felt they had been given the green light to take still more
direct action.

Their forces are reported to be massing in the border areas of
West Timor and maps have been drawn up showing a partition of the
eastern half of the island, so that some areas would remain with
Indonesia.

Rather than help prevent starvation, the military seems most
interested in bolstering its power. This was shown yesterday when
a controversial bill provoked demonstrations in Jakarta as it was
debated in the legislature.

The bill gives the army powers to ban such protests and ignore
human rights safeguards when a state of emergency is declared.
The world must make clear it will not tolerate any efforts by
conservative elements in the military to roll back the progress
made toward a more democratic and freer Indonesia over the past
year.

Efforts to establish an international tribunal to try those
responsible for the brutality in East Timor need to be
accelerated. So too should the deployment of more peacekeepers,
even if this provokes outrage in Jakarta.

The international media must also continue courageously to
condemn the militias and the Armed Forces who have connived with
them to commit barbaric acts, whatever the risks.

-- The South China Morning Post, Hong Kong