East Timor remains as sensitive as ever

East Timor remains as sensitive as ever

By Yacob Herin

DILI, East Timor (JP): After 18 years of integration with
Indonesia, East Timor remained as politically sensitive as ever
in 1994.

A series of incidents in East Timor drew international media
publicity that put Indonesia on the defensive, forced once again
to explain its policy in the former Portuguese colony.

Some of the incidents proved that Indonesia still has some way
to go to resolve the East Timor integration issue once and for
all. They also were proof of the precarious situation in East
Timor, particularly the relations between the East Timorese and
local migrants, be they traders or government and military
officials.

Many of the protests or riots could have easily happened
elsewhere in Indonesia. The difference is that in East Timor,
there are remnants of a pro-separatist movement that were quick
to capitalize on such situations to further their interests.

Abroad, Indonesia also has to deal with recurrent attempts by
Portugal and Fretilin to taint its image in the world.
in peace.

Within East Timor itself, the first half of 1994 was
relatively peaceful. There were no incidents that rocked the
peace or disrupted the development progress underway in East
Timor.

It was not until the end of June that the first sign of
trouble erupted.

Two members of the Armed Forces (ABRI) became the target of an
angry congregation at a Roman Catholic church in Remixio, south
of Dili. They were accused of desecrating the church at the same
time that mass was taking place.

The protests quickly spread to other parts of Dili, with some
carrying banners with anti-government and pro-separatist
messages.

The local military moved quickly to control the damage. It
removed the two soldiers and promised that they would be brought
before a military tribunal.

Barely two weeks later, when the situation had barely cooled
down, Dili was rocked by another protest. This time it involved
students from the state-run East Timor University.

The incident was provoked by allegations that three migrants
were caught molesting nuns who were enrolling at the university.
Word quickly spread and the campus quickly turned into another
anti-government demonstration. The protests lasted for two days.

The biggest demonstration however was yet to come.

It occurred on Nov. 12, a date many East Timorese remember too
well since exactly three years earlier, Dili was rocked by a
bloody riot that left, by official count, at least 50 people
dead.

The demonstration in 1994 was more coincidental and started by
the slaying of an East Timorese trader by his neighbor, a South
Sulawesi migrant, over a petty argument. The demonstration first
turned into a race riot and later became an anti-government
protest.

The riots went on for three days. They were fanned not only by
pro-separatist elements in East Timor, but also by the hordes of
foreign journalists who were in the country at the time to cover
the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting and decided
to extend their stay and visit East Timor.

The situation was further complicated by friction between the
local authorities and foreign journalists. The military said some
of the reports by these journalists were inaccurate. They also
accused some of the TV journalists of "choreographing" some of
the anti-government demonstrations. These frictions came to a
head with the marching orders given to six journalists in
November.

In the same month, dozens of young East Timorese opposing
integration also capitalized on the presence of foreign
journalists by forcing their way into the parking compound of the
U.S. Embassy in Jakarta.

Twenty-nine of them managed to stage a sit-in for two weeks.
They first demanded to see U.S. president Bill Clinton or
Secretary of State Warren Christopher, then requested to meet
with Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas. They also
demanded the release of Jose Alexandre "Xanana" Gusmao, the
jailed leader of the armed separatist movement Fretilin. When all
their requests had been turned down they eventually accepted an
offer of asylum from Portugal.

Although they did not get what they demanded, they achieved
their objective of embarrassing the Indonesian government at a
time when it was organizing the APEC meetings and playing host to
world dignitaries, including Bill Clinton.

The East Timor question was raised during the bilateral
meeting between Clinton and President Soeharto later.

This provided Soeharto with an opportunity to explain to his
guest in greater detail the history of East Timor. He also
clarified the integration process and the government's policy in
the territory, including the presence of troopers there.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs was also preoccupied with the
East Timor issue in 1994. The ministry was busy resolving the
matter at the United Nations and also with its three neighbors,
the Philippines, Malaysia and Thailand, who last year hosted
international conferences on East Timor.

In the case of the Philippines, Indonesia made clear its
displeasure with Manila's failure to stop the conference from
taking place, despite earlier pledges. Indonesia pointed out that
the conference was being turned into a platform to attack
Indonesia's handling of East Timor. There were smaller seminars
in Malaysia and Thailand, but these did not cause friction with
Indonesia like the Manila conference.

There were, however, one or two bright spots with respect to
Indonesia's East Timor diplomacy in 1994.

The tripartite meeting involving Indonesian and Portuguese
foreign ministers and the UN Secretary General continued on its
path to increasing confidence building measures.

A second round meeting between East Timorese leaders in
Indonesia and those living in exile overseas took place in London
last October and produced encouraging results. Those living in
exile were later invited to come and see for themselves the
development in East Timor.

Lastly, an Indonesia-Portuguese Friendship Association was
established in Jakarta in 1994, similar to a forum already
founded in Lisbon.