Habibie under fire over East Timor's independence vote
SEMARANG (JP): President B.J. Habibie was already feeling the effects of the political fallout of the East Timor ballot as observers across the country demanded he be held accountable for the likely separation of Indonesia's 27th province.
"I'm not saying that Habibie should resign from his post as a consequence of the proindependence victory in East Timor," National Commission on Human Rights member Bambang W. Suharto said here on Saturday.
"But he has to be held accountable for it in the next General Session of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR)," he said.
Bambang conceded that the Indonesian government only had itself to blame.
"When Indonesia was asked to hold a referendum by the United Nations after the Balibo Declaration (on Nov. 30, 1976), the government refused. Had we run the ballot then, we could've gathered full support from all East Timorese," Bambang said.
Indonesians have to accept the fact that East Timor is no longer a part of the country, he added.
Former minister of environment Sarwono Kusumaatmadja shared Bambang's view, saying that Habibie's administration made a "sloppy decision" by hastily holding an autonomy ballot.
He called Habibie's move impulsive and reckless.
It was Habibie who suddenly reversed Indonesia's long-standing policy on East Timor in January by saying that he would allow East Timor to accept or reject an offer of wide-ranging autonomy.
In Yogyakarta, A.S. Hikam said the results of the ballot could cause Habibie's accountability speech to the Assembly later this year to be rejected.
The Indonesian Institute of Sciences political scientist said that if the accountability speech was rejected then there would be no chance for him to retain the presidency.
Hikam therefore urged the Golkar Party to renounce Habibie's nomination, "unless Golkar chooses to be foolish by confirming its support (to Habibie)".
Another broadside was fired by constitutional law expert Muchsan, who said Habibie failed to carry out the people's mandate as Assembly Decree No. VI/1978 clearly stipulates that East Timor is an integral part of the republic.
Noted political scientist and lecturer Afan Gaffar said as a Golkar candidate, it was only natural for party chairman Akbar Tandjung to demand Habibie be responsible for the loss.
"Habibie has to be responsible for three main things: Soeharto's wealth investigation, East Timor, and the corruption cases in his administration, including the Bank Bali scandal," Afan said.
Nevertheless, Afan conceded that the result of the ballot may have been the best for all concerned.
"One thing is clear, we have spent so much money on East Timor yet they aren't willing to accept the republic. It's like having a thorn in your side," Afan said.
Separately in Ujungpandang, political observers Sadly A.D. and A. Muis from Hassanuddin University noted that the East Timor case was a vivid example of the government's lack of control over the country as a whole.
"The disintegration issue could easily erupt into a separation issue," Muis said.
Sadly encouraged the government to reduce tension in other provinces hit by unrest and separation issues by implementing a regional autonomy concept.
"If other provinces such as Aceh or Irian Jaya get their autonomy rights fairly and properly, things will be better."
Conspiracy
In a statement issued in Dili on Sunday, the United Front for East Timor Autonomy (UNIF) strongly rejected the results of the ballot, calling it a contrived international conspiracy.
They condemned the United Nations Mission in East Timor (UNAMET) for its manipulative and colonialistic behavior in always siding with the antiautonomy camp.
UNIF urged the People's Consultative Assembly and the Indonesian government to reject the ballot and to hold a second one.
They further demanded that the government file suit against UNAMET at the International Court of Justice.
Another proautonomy group, the Forum for Unity, Democracy and Justice (FPDK) also described the ballot as an international conspiracy.
"The existence of a conspiracy cannot be denied. There's enough proof to show the involvement of the international community," FPDK spokesman Basilio Araujo told Antara in Dili.
"UNAMET's mission from the start was to help the proindependent side win," he asserted on Sunday.
He claimed that one strategy used by UNAMET was to switch the symbols on the ballot paper.
"They did that so the proautonomy sign would be on the bottom of the ballot paper because during the campaign, people were told that to choose autonomy one should choose the top symbol," Basilio claimed.
He also alleged that in the district of Ossu, Viqueque regency, a UNAMET official dashed away with the ballot box only to return later with the box's seal broken. (44/30/har/edt/05/06/23/swa)