Drawing a lesson from East Timor

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