East Timor issue

East Timor issue

The colonial leaders of Portugal during the 1970s created the
East Timor problem. But the new leaders in Lisbon can solve this
issue, if there is a will. In 1962, India -- the so-called
"largest democracy" -- did not care about world opinion, the
United Nations or human rights when it invaded the Portuguese
colony of Goa and forcibly annexed it. Is Portugal doing anything
about it?

Indonesia could have done exactly as Nehru did in Goa, but
President Soeharto showed great patience, hoping that Portugal
would peacefully transfer the territory of East Timor to
Indonesia. Instead, Portugal played a cunning game of instigating
the local East Timorese to rise and fight in the Portuguese
battle with Indonesia, thus creating the tragedy of East Timor.
Indonesia was in a strange fix over what to do, because this was
the time when Saigon had fallen to the communists, and there was
widespread concern that communists would infiltrate the most
vulnerable area of Indonesia, which was East Timor, causing
serious problems for the country.

Shortly before Indonesia took military action in East Timor,
president Ford, who had the uncomfortable job of leading America
in a recovery process following the tragedy of the Vietnam War,
met with President Soeharto in Jakarta. It is reasonable to
assume that Soeharto must have told the American president about
the danger his country of over 17,000 islands faced from possible
communist infiltration of East Timor, and that it could be
necessary for Indonesia to take military action.

It is also reasonable to speculate that president Ford might
have given support to any action that Indonesia chose to take to
stop the spread of communism in East Timor. In my opinion,
Indonesia's military action in East Timor was correct and timely.
Everyone regrets the loss of life on both sides, but the blame
for this tragedy must be solely placed on the Portuguese, who
instigated the East Timorese before leaving the colony abruptly.

If the current Portuguese leaders in Lisbon have guts and
vision, they should do now what they should have done much
earlier to end this tragic episode, simply by officially
returning the colonial administration of East Timor to its
rightful owner, Indonesia. Timor was not Portuguese or Dutch, but
Indonesian land. It does not matter if the colonial
administration of East Timor was in the hands of Portuguese and
West Timor was administered by the colonial Dutch. It is an
established fact that Christians and Chinese, like any other
hard-working and capable Indonesians, have an equal opportunity
to become prosperous and reach higher positions in the Indonesian
administration.

East Timorese are smart people and they will have similar
opportunities in Indonesia if the Portuguese will leave them
alone. The question is whether the Portuguese leaders in Lisbon
are bold enough to make the courageous decision, as suggested
above, to bring a final end to their colonial aspiration of
hanging on to East Timor.

M. KHALIQ QURESHI

Jakarta