Drawing a lesson from East Timor

I don't know why, but I secretly felt happy and deeply touched when I heard the Sept. 4 announcement of the result of the Aug. 30 direct ballot on the future of East Timor. The result showed that the proindependence camp was the winner, a situation which made many people across the country knit their brows.

From the beginning, East Timor has never been free from the claims made on it by other nations, namely the agreements and treaties with both the Portuguese and the Indonesians, because it has been both occupied and annexed. Therefore, the courage shown by the East Timorese to break free from this condition must be appreciated, particularly after reflecting on our own commitment to independence, as shown by the creed, "Whereas in reality independence is the right of all nations ..."

What occurred in our country between 1975 and 1976 must be seen in a special light, regardless of whether what took place during this period should be categorized as negligence and recklessness on the part of our government, which fell into the trap of the Cold War, or as the wrong-headed dream of our leaders to create a Pan-Indonesia.

Another thing about the victory of the proindependence camp in the Aug. 30 ballot, a victory that will most likely lead to East Timor separating from the Republic of Indonesia, is that it may teach Indonesia, which is a multiethnic state, an important lesson. The lesson is that in the future, Indonesia must reorient its approach to its provinces so that none of them will feel the need or desire to secede, a desire now seen among some people in Aceh, Riau, Maluku and Irian Jaya.

MAS AGUNG S. AJI

Jakarta