Do we need foreign troops?

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