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.