Birth of a nation
Birth of a nation
A new nation is about to be born. Almost 24 years after
Jakarta invaded East Timor to make it Indonesia's 27th province,
the people of this former Portuguese colony last week
overwhelmingly voted to end their ties with their big neighbor
and enter the future as an independent nation. The official
announcement, made simultaneously on Saturday in New York, Lisbon
and Jakarta, said the decision was taken by a vote of 78.5
percent against 21.5 percent in favor of independence.
By doing so, the East Timorese have resoundingly rejected an
offer by Jakarta for wide-ranging autonomy within Indonesia.
Without doubt, for quite a number of Indonesians -- and some East
Timorese as well -- last week's vote represents a painful
decision. Indonesian soldiers have lost their lives in the
territory. Jakarta has spent a good deal of money building roads
and other public infrastructure in what has for 23 years been its
youngest province. Thousands of ordinary Indonesians have settled
there in the belief that the territory would offer them an
opportunity to build a living that is better than what they had
in their own hometowns and villages.
Nevertheless, the dice is cast and the decision cannot be
altered, much less reversed. In fact, for any self-respecting
nation that considers itself civilized, it has been irreversible
ever since January of this year, when President B.J. Habibie
offered the East Timorese the option of full independence in a
referendum supervised by the United Nations should they reject
his offer of wide-ranging autonomy within Indonesia.
Considering all that has been said, there is good ground for
believing that last week's vote does not necessarily mean the end
of violence in the area. Indeed, if the increased unruliness of
the pro-Indonesian militias and the killings that have been going
on in Dili and other areas since the previous weekend can be
taken as a foreshadow of what is to come, East Timor and the
world had better brace themselves for ever greater trouble in the
days ahead.
All this is utterly lamentable, and not only for East Timor
but for Indonesia as well. As experiences in Aceh, Ambon, Irian
Jaya and other regions of this country should have taught us, the
use of force may have its uses in the immediate term, but it does
not solve problems in the long run. The best Indonesians can do
under the circumstances is to respect the decision the East
Timorese have taken. This means that Jakarta must use all the
influence it has over the pro-Indonesia elements in East Timor --
the militias in particular -- to accept the majority decision,
lay down their arms and work with the rest of the population to
bring about a reconciliation among all the rival factions in the
territory.
Jakarta should realize that even the impression that it is
assisting the militias, or any other group of trouble-makers for
that matter, will hurt its reputation as well as its credibility
in the eyes of the world -- with possibly serious consequences
for the country. As for the people of East Timor and their
leaders, who have through all these years inspired courage and
confidence in their fellow countrymen by their perseverance and
integrity, our sincere congratulations are due.
Whatever Indonesians may feel about an independent East Timor,
for this country and for this region as a whole, the best bet for
securing stability and prosperity is by helping the elected
leaders of the newly independent nation to ensure that peace and
order are restored and maintained. There can be little doubt that
a free, peaceful and democratic East Timor can make a valuable
contribution to the progress of this region.