Col. M. Simbolon pledges to respect human rights

By Yacob J. Herin

DILI (JP): East Timor's new military chief, Col. M. Simbolon, vowed yesterday to improve respect for human rights in the former Portuguese colony.

Simbolon, who assumed his post on May 27, denied accusations that the government intended to maintain the domination of the local bureaucracy by Indonesian Armed Forces (ABRI) officers and officials from other provinces.

"ABRI is working to improve human rights conditions and law enforcement in East Timor," he said in an interview with The Jakarta Post.

ABRI's heavy presence in the troubled territory has been a constant target of criticism in numerous international fora, where it has been claimed human rights violations are rampant in East Timor.

Simbolon said authorities in the province, which was integrated into Indonesia in 1976, were committed to upholding the law in order to minimize violations of basic rights.

He said that ABRI intended to bring three civil servants before a court for taking part in a raid on a military post last month in Viqueque, 200 kilometers east of here, in which a soldier was killed and another seriously wounded.

"This (legal action) is to prove that the Indonesian government and ABRI are law-abiding," Simbolon said.

He denied accusations that the government discriminated against native East Timorese in the bureaucracy.

"Look," he said, "The governor is a native. Of the 13 regents throughout the province, only two are not indigenous figures. What else. All subdistrict chiefs (camat) are natives."

He acknowledged, however, that all the province's ministerial branch offices were headed by officials recruited from other provinces.

"Currently there are about 300 East Timorese who have college diplomas, but none of those in the bureaucracy are experienced enough to head a ministerial office," he said. He added that their chance to move up would come in time.

The situation was similar in the case of local military posts, he said. According to Simbolon, the highest rank held by indigenous officers is Second Lieutenant. District military posts cannot be held by officers with a rank lower than that of Major.

Prostitutes

Simbolon said another of his projects was to try to move about 1,000 prostitutes, who are mostly from Java, out of the province. The prostitutes are employed by panderers on a contract basis.

The presence of prostitutes in the predominantly Roman Catholic territory has drawn protests, both from religious leaders and from the general public.

"We don't want to see prostitution worsen social and health problems. I have heard that two prostitutes have tested positive for AIDS. They must be repatriated," he said.

Statistics from the police and the social affairs office show that currently about 1,000 prostitutes operate in the province's 13 regencies.

Since they began working in East Timor, in 1984, two prostitutes have been killed by local residents. Local rumor has it that prostitution in the province is backed by certain individual ABRI members.

Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo once petitioned the local provincial government for the expulsion of the prostitutes from the province.