Distrust hampers Timor border security operation
By Lela E. Madjiah
ATAMBUA, East Nusa Tenggara (JP): It is easy to accuse the international community, including the United Nations, of being paranoid when it comes to Indonesia's conduct regarding East Timor.
A recent gathering on the Indonesian side of the East-West Timor border caused alarm on the part of the United Nations Peacekeeping Forces (UNPKF) in East Timor. Without checking, they reported a concentration of people, suspecting links with activities of former prointegration fighters.
It turned out that what they perceived as militia training was nothing but a funeral gathering.
"Someone died and the locals held a traditional funeral ceremony. As there was no electricity in the area, the people used candles. This was what the UNPKF saw -- large groups of people moving, holding candles to light their way," Indonesian Military (TNI) spokesman Rear Marshal Graito Usodo said at a news conference in Kupang on March 14.
The visit to Jakarta by officials of the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) on March 9 was another indication of the distrust the international community has of Indonesia, particularly its military.
During the visit, UNTAET's Director of Political Affairs Peter Galbraith and UNTAET's Commander Lt. Gen. Jaime de los Santos, lodged complaints with President Abdurrahman Wahid and TNI chief Adm. Widodo AS concerning 16 recent incidents inside East Timor. They also demanded that the Indonesian government put an end to the violence blamed on former prointegration fighters or former members of TNI.
"The visit to Jakarta was both political and military," De los Santos said at a joint PKF-TNI news conference at the Motaain border post in Atambua, East Nusa Tenggara, on March 15.
The political aspects were raised by Galbraith, who discussed such issues as refugee management, the Philippine general said.
"What I did was to present the reports on the 16 incidents for the consideration of Admiral Widodo," said De los Santos.
He dismissed as unfounded the assumption the visit to Jakarta was a sign of his distrust of TNI, in this case, of Maj. Gen. Kiki Syahnakri, chief of the Udayana Military Command which oversees Bali, East and West Nusa Tenggara, and which is therefore also responsible for security along the East Timor-East Nusa Tenggara border.
"There is a good degree of goodwill and friendship between me and General Kiki Syahnakri and I would like to emphasize that I trust him and trust his sincerity. On many occasions I call him and he calls me and we exchange reports on incidents. We have good communications," De los Santos said.
TNI, on the other hand, saw the visit as a breach of trust. Based on a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed between Maj. Gen. Peter Cosgrove, then commander of the International Force on East Timor (INTERFET), and Kiki Syahnakri, all problems should be discussed at the lowest level possible.
"General De los Santos had agreed to discuss the 16 incidents with me and we had agreed to meet on March 15 to discuss reports about the incidents, but he raised the issue with Jakarta on March 9," Kiki said at a news conference in Kupang the day before the meeting in Motaain.
Kiki argued that until a new MOU was signed, the old agreement should remain the basis of cooperation between TNI and the UN peacekeeping forces (PKF) in East Timor.
"One should also note that all the incidents occurred inside East Timor, which comes under the PKF jurisdiction and outside our responsibility," Kiki said.
He did not discount the possible involvement of former prointegration fighters or former TNI members of East Timorese descent in the 16 incidents.
"TNI does not rule out the possibility of their involvement. After all, around 150,000 refugees, including former prointegration fighters and TNI members, have returned to East Timor," he said.
"However, there is also a possibility of the involvement of prointegration members. Apart from that, we should not rule out the possibility of motives other than political, such as criminal, behind the incidents."
Kiki said TNI had arrested three members of the National Council for East Timorese Resistance (CNRT) for illegal border crossings.
"We have released two of them for illegally crossing the border because they were simply looking for food. We are still keeping one man from Oekusi in detention to determine his motive. He has with him a document containing a list of names of refugees and former TNI members. He also carried a weapon."
UNPKF's distrust of TNI appears justified considering that TNI has still to clear its name of allegations that it masterminded, planned or was involved in the violence and destruction which hit East Timor after the Aug. 30, 1999 ballot that led to the territory's independence. There are also suspicions that TNI harbors dreams of winning back East Timor into Indonesia's fold.
TNI, meanwhile, feels that it has been treated unfairly.
"Not only TNI, but the Indonesian people and government have no ambitions to win back East Timor. TNI's concern today is to provide border security and to repatriate all the East Timorese refugees as soon as possible," Kiki said.
Kiki denied reports by Australian media that TNI was not serious in taking actions against illegal border crossers, that it had not done anything to prevent violence blamed on former prointegration fighters.
"Since September 1999, we have seized 291 weapons from former prointegration fighters. Most of them were returned by the owners when the militias were disbanded on December 13, 1999," he said.
East Nusa Tenggara Police chief Brig. Gen. Yusuf Muharam added that the police also returned the 51 United Nations Mission in East Timor (UNAMET) cars stolen by prointegration fighters during the September violence.
"We have also arrested several people and one is being tried," said Muharam.
Aware of the need to build trust and forge better cooperation, De los Santos and Kiki Syahnakri met on March 15 to discuss better ways to deal with border problems, including illegal incursions by residents of both sides of the border.
Although the Motaain meeting did not result in an agreement, it was seen as a step toward trust building that would facilitate future cooperation in providing security along the 172-kilometer- long border.
"Building trust is important, because we will not be here forever," De los Santos told The Jakarta Post after the meeting, at the same time ruling out a suggestion that the UN build walls along the border to prevent future incidents.
At the meeting, TNI proposed three points: to allow the UNPKF to place liaison officers in Atambua and several border posts, and in exchange to ask the UNPKF to allow the TNI to place its liaison officers in the headquarters of the western sector; to build four to five joint posts along the border, and finally, to hold joint patrols to eliminate distrust.
"The presence of liaison officers on both sides of the borders will allow speedy exchange of information and immediate handling of any problem along the border," said Kiki. He added that when the proposal was approved, it would be included in the new MOU and would serve as a directive for the East Nusa Tenggara military chief Col. Jurefar and the UNPKF commander of the western sector, Brig. Gen. Brian Lewis.
"These are good proposals, but I have to refer these to the highest leadership of UNTAET because the employment of the peacekeeping forces is dependent on UN regulations," said De los Santos. He added that UN Headquarters in New York would make a final decision on the proposal.
While the fate of the proposal remains in the balance, De los Santos, who cited the meeting as productive, agreed to strengthen the existing arrangement.
"We have a tactical coordination working group and our tactical commanders will meet with TNI every two weeks," he said.
He also said that Kiki Syahnakri had committed a deployment of one more battalion on the border.
"The troop deployment will hopefully be completed by the end of this month," he added.
Kiki also said that De los Santos had agreed to settle all border problems at the lowest level possible, with he and De los Santos the highest level of authority.
"All problems should stop with us," said Kiki, who was referring to the recent Jakarta visit by UNTAET officials.
Outside the meeting, Kiki said he doubted a change in the UNPKF's and international attitude toward TNI. Good personal relations do not guarantee official commitments.
"I told Lewis (Brig. Gen. Brian Lewis) that I doubted there would be any change in the (UN) attitude toward us. More complaints and accusations will be directed against us," he said, citing his experience with INTERFET commander Cosgrove.
"On a personal level, he was very understanding and ready to accept my explanations, but he would say different things to the (foreign) media. Maybe he too was under pressure from his government."
Kiki also warned that internal disputes in CNRT could add fuel to the present problems.
In a recent interview with the Post, former Fretilin president Abilio Araujo admitted a rift within the CNRT leadership in the face of a general election that would allow East Timorese to elect their own government.
"There is, for example, this indigenous and nonindigenous issue. Indigenous people like me and Taur Matan Ruak will never forget how nonindigenous people like Ramos Horta and Xanana Gusmao always boast of their Portuguese blood," Abilio said.
Taur Matan Ruak is the commander of the Falintil proindependence fighting forces. There are talks of Xanana's plan to remove him from the post and this has caused dissatisfaction in Ruak and other indigenous proindependence fighters.
Kiki said the internal friction could be behind the recent incidents or violence.
"We should not rule out future incidents or problems due to the rift," he warned.
Graito Usodo said earlier that economic and psychological reasons were part of the problem.
"Food is very expensive in East Timor. A pack of instant noodles, for example, can go as high as Rp 15,000, compared to around Rp 750 in West Timor. Sugar is priced at Rp 60,000 per kilogram compared to Rp 3,500. This provides a good opportunity for smuggling," said Graito.
To complicate the problem, there are fanatic prointegration supporters who have not given up their aspirations to remain part of Indonesia.
"The aspiration to integrate with Indonesia dates back as long ago as 1945, when East Timorese asked Sukarno to include the Portuguese colony in the new republic. Sukarno rejected the idea, arguing that East Timor was not part of a former Dutch colony," said Graito.
Given the above facts, it will be quite some time before peace finally settles on the Timor border.