Do we need foreign troops?

The presence of foreign troops in East Timor is now becoming a topic for discussion in Indonesia. Several answers have been given, some are for and some are against inviting United Nations' troops to take care of East Timor.

I don't know why, and perhaps people will call me stupid or worse than that, but my answer is automatically a very big "no". My Indonesian heart feels hurt that this very fundamental thing of foreign troops entering sovereign Indonesia and trying to restore peace and order in a part of Indonesia which is called East Timor, is considered a possibility.

I think we have gone through more difficult periods than this in the past and we never asked for help from outside. I remember the communist uprising in 1948 in our infant republic, while the Indonesian Military was facing the Dutch and even when the Netherlands offered to help with troops to quell the communist rebellion.

The prime minister Mr. Hatta said definitely "no" and we succeeded in suppressing the communists on our own and continued fighting the Dutch.

In the 1950s almost half of Indonesia rebelled against the central government. There were Dewan Gajah, Dewan Banteng, and Dewan Garuda in Sumatra, there was the Dewan Manguni in Sulawesi, there was the Dewan Lambung Mangkurat in Kalimantan, there was Darul Islam which wanted to establish a republic based on Islamic law and all these happened at the same time. On top of that there was the U.S. helping the rebels by sending weapons and bombers to support them. Because of this American help the rebels created a revolutionary government and later proclaimed a new republic -- Republik Persatuan Indonesia (United Republic of Indonesia).

But the central government under Soekarno was not shaken and remained firm to maintain the country's sovereignty and tried to solve their national problems without the help of outsiders. The U.S., seeing the firm position of the central government, changed their attitude and in 1958 left the rebels and sided with the Jakarta government by sending 60 battalions of equipment to the central government (no troops) and in 1961 all rebel leaders surrendered and peace and order were restored, without any help from foreign troops.

The Indonesian condition at that time was worse compared with the present condition especially from an economic point of view. The Indonesian people now are used to luxury and because of that the nationalistic feeling and spirit is fading. National pride is thin. We don't want to lose those luxury cars, the skyscrapers, the dollars, etc. etc., and considering to accept help even when that goes against our national sentiments and pride.

How big is East Timor? How many people live in East Timor? Are we going to believe foreign reports saying that the situation in East Timor is still bad and perhaps worse. Why don't we listen to Gen. Wiranto, who said the situation is improving? Electricity and telephones are functioning again, gunshots are still heard but very rarely. The situation is becoming normal.

It is ridiculous to expect that the situation can change 180 degrees in 48 hours. Why is the government given only 48 hours to bring the situation back to normal? We are going in the right direction and supported by the people's confidence the Indonesian Military (TNI) and the police will be able to overcome the problems.

I will regret very much if the government including the TNI, in which I had the honor of serving, will rely more on foreign troops than on our own strength.

So far I have given only my "red and white heart" the chance to speak, my brains and logic say that I am a very loyal citizen and if the TNI and police say "we give up" and the government approve inviting foreigners to put order in our house then what can I do but support their decision. Unfortunately the signs point to a decision inviting foreign troops.

SOEGIH ARTO

Jakarta