Cool heads must prevail in East Timor: Bishop Belo

Cool heads must prevail in East Timor: Bishop Belo

By Lourenco Vicente Martins

DILI, East Timor (JP): With tension in East Timor escalating
following the government's announcement that it is now prepared
to let the territory go its own way, many people are turning to
Dili Bishop Carlos Felipe Ximenes Belo for comfort and guidance.

In the following interview the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize winner
talks about the Indonesian government's new policy on East Timor
and the impact it is having on the territory's people and future.

He also comments on the military's policy of arming civilian
militias (Wanra, Garda Paksi and others) to defend themselves
against attacks from Falantil, the armed resistance group.

Question: What is your reaction to the two options proposed by
the Indonesian government?

Bishop Belo: These options are not exceptional. They are not
heaven sent. East Timorese must look at these offers calmly, with
a cool head.

Take the first option, let's all sit down and talk. Supporters
of integration must show a big heart, and invite those supporters
of a referendum and independence to sit together with them and
find the best solution for East Timor. There should be no mutual
suspicions. If they cannot agree on the first option, they have
to remain calm. The world will not end with the second option.

Q: What are the costs and benefits of these two options?

B: Whatever they are, we have to face them.

Q: What about the situation in Los Palos and Baucau?

B: It's calm. I gave a public address there on Saturday. I used
it to explain the two government options. When I explained that
the government would give wide ranging autonomy, and I said let's
accept it, they kept quiet. No applause. And then I said that if
the autonomy option was rejected, the government would let East
Timor go, and they all shouted: "viva".

Q: What about the East Timor representatives who traveled to
Jakarta this week?

B: I hope they speak with the interests of the East Timorese
people in mind. If they speak only for their own groups, I
disapprove.

Q: What if they only push for the autonomy plan?

B: They have to explore every possible option.

Q: What about the threats made by Falantil and Wanra?

B: I disapprove of violent threats, whether from Falantil,
Wanra, or Garda Paksi. Making threats is inhuman, uncivilized,
and uncharacteristic of peace-loving East Timorese. I hope they
don't carry out their threats. You cannot solve the East Timor
question with weapons or violence. You have to negotiate. Both
camps, the pro-autonomy and pro-referendum, if they are sincere
about putting the interests of the East Timorese people first,
must resort to negotiations.

Q: What about reports that the Armed Forces has been arming East
Timorese?

B: That's confusing. They have the police, the 744th and 745th
battalions and other military units. What do they need Wanra for?
I pity my brothers who join Wanra. They get sent to the jungles.
What are the professional soldiers doing? What are they getting
paid for? We don't need Wanra, or Garda Paksi, or any other
militia. They said they needed these militias because of
Falantil. But Falantil exists because of ABRI's presence. I think
these two forces are balanced. The others must be disbanded.

Q: After 23 years of development under Indonesia, why do people
still want independence?

B: That's just it. These people want to be loved and respected,
they want to lead their own lives. These are little things. You
have to win their hearts and minds. I have not seen any effort on
this front. Instead, they (the government) are arming East
Timorese to fight East Timorese. That won't win you their hearts.

Q: Many people here now want to leave East Timor after the
government's announcement...

B: They are probably not happy here. If they feel their lives are
threatened, they should leave. We need true nationalists.

Q: They are probably restless...

B: Why are they restless? We have lived in restlessness. But I
tell you that in the 15 years I have lived here, I've never heard
of a Fretilin band raiding a village and causing up to 6,000
people to flee. Yet, as soon as Wanra was established, we heard
6,000 people evacuated Suai in Covalima regency last week.

Q: Does the government have the political will to free East
Timor?

B: I hope this political will is shown by inviting everybody, not
just the pro-Indonesia faction Apodeti, to sit and talk. I mean
those who support a referendum and Falantil too.

Q: What about fears of a civil war in East Timor?

B: This is something that we have to prevent. If the Indonesian
government leaves East Timor in a state of civil war, then the
Indonesians are worse than the Portuguese colonialists. I think
it would betray the principles of the 1955 Bandung Declaration.

Q: Do you think the Indonesian government is trying to impose the
autonomy option by threatening separation?

B: You cannot impose your will on others. This is what we have
been telling everyone, Fretilin, supporters of a referendum and
those of integration. We should sit and talk.

Q: People in 26 other provinces in Indonesia say the government
is spoiling East Timor, although East Timor is not all that
different from Aceh, Lampung and Irian Jaya?

B: I think they should insist on their rights. But they are
quiet. Why? They are not different from the East Timorese. Their
culture may be different. In Javanese culture, all the people are
subjects who have to obey their king. But now, in a democracy, we
don't have to live as subjects forever.

Q: What about the suggestion that the two bishops in East Timor
act as mediators?

B: We have been doing that, without getting paid by the
government. Yet, we are doing the work that those paid government
officials are supposed to do. Many people seek sanctuary in our
churches, and we have to sort out their problems. But those
government officials who are paid to do this job are traveling,
drinking beer, and enjoying themselves. This is not Pancasila. I
think these people should be thrown out of here.

Q: What about the prospect of pro-Indonesia East Timorese fleeing
the territory?

B: That's a possibility. But they are East Timorese and have the
right to live here. There should be talks to build mutual
understanding between all the East Timorese factions. Those who
support a referendum and those who support autonomy should sit
together and hammer out a common vision. We don't want the East
Timorese divided. We need a win-win solution. That can be
achieved through peaceful negotiations. I hope our politicians
are prepared to negotiate rather than taking up arms. If they
take up arms, they are not good Catholics.