East Timor burning
The euphoria of the East Timorese people over their victory in the UN-run ballot of Aug. 30 lasted only a few hours. They soon not only found themselves harassed by the pro-Indonesia groups, but saw their region plunged into unimaginable bloodshed. Thousands of people have had to seek refuge from the spiraling bloody attacks.
The armed groups, who have reportedly been joined by troops of mysterious well-armed and well-trained men, refused to accept their loss, although Jakarta acknowledged the ballot as fair. The militias are so powerful that within a few days they were able to gain control most of the former Portuguese colony.
This unholy war has paralyzed all government agencies and facilities and leaves no place for people to hide. Even Australian Ambassador John McCarthy was shot at in his car in Dili yesterday. He was lucky he was not hurt.
But thousands of local people have been evacuated to the Indonesian part of the island and many buildings have been attacked. Some 6,000 East Timorese sought refuge in the residence of Bishop Carlos Belo in Dili.
However, these panicked people found hell everywhere. The bishop himself was saved and evacuated by police helicopter to Baucau, a safer town, after his house was attacked by the ravaging militia.
Our questions are: If the spiritual leader of a region is not respected, who else is? And what kind of predators are the attackers? They seem to move so fast, and their aim is reportedly to turn this region -- or some portion of it -- back to the Indonesian fold.
The world leaders hold the Indonesian government responsible for the chaos. Jakarta has accepted the burden, while rejecting any idea from the world powers to send a United Nations force there.
Down here, the military commander, Gen. Wiranto, has dispatched some 2,000 troops to bring the situation under control. Will the troops be able to accomplish the mission? Looking at the battleground, the situation seems to be that every party is racing against time. Who will reach the finish line first, and who will meet their Waterloo?
Another question is what will the military do if the militia and the mysterious gang win the war? Will the military authorities be able to change the map and return East Timor to the winners of the recent poll? If they fail, will they allow UN troops to replace the Indonesian units?
While we try to find the answer to these questions, in Jakarta a political crisis looms as many parties are trying to put the blame on President B.J. Habibie alone.
The move might sound partly unjust, but Habibie told reporters yesterday that he was responsible for the problem. Alas, he seems to forget to take account of the fact that his failure will definitely have a negative impact on the military support for his election.
Habibie in this case has taken over the faults of his predecessor, Soeharto, who ordered the invasion of the former Portuguese colony in 1976 and later justified the military rule by terror. What Habibie did not foresee is that the fruit of this militarism is the overwhelming rejection of his autonomy offer by the East Timorese.
It will perhaps take months or even years to extinguish the East Timor conflagration for a regime that has failed to solve the dragging troubles in Aceh, Maluku and Irian Jaya.
Meanwhile, this country will continue to be judged by world public opinion for the continuing murder of innocent people in the former Portuguese colony, which is supposed to be moving toward enjoying full independence.