East Timor burning

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.