Jingoism rises to the fore over East Timor

Jingoism rises to the fore over East Timor

After a reluctant call for United Nations peacekeepers to come
to East Timor, Indonesia now seeks to prevent certain countries
from taking part in the operation. Political analyst J. Soedjati
Djiwandono calls this maneuver "nationalistic jingoism".

JAKARTA (JP): I hate to say, "I told you so." We as a nation
should not look back, but face the troubles at hand with honesty,
sincerity and good will. The government's decision to seek
international assistance by asking the United Nations to send a
peacekeeping force to East Timor is the best and most appropriate
move given the circumstances. Like it or not, both the police and
military have failed, putting it bluntly, to maintain security,
law and order in East Timor.

That should surprise no one, considering that from the very
beginning their impartiality has been in question. The
explanation that military personnel face a "psychological
obstacle" in cracking down on pro-Jakarta militias is an
unacceptable excuse. Rampaging prointegration militias were
created, armed and controlled by the military, which could easily
have disarmed them and ended their brutality.

It does not seem inconceivable that the creation of the
militias, with all its consequences, was a way of pacifying
veterans of the East Timor campaign and the children and families
of those who lost their lives fighting for East Timor's
integration into Indonesia, who understandably but unjustifiably
resent the result of the self-determination referendum. I hope
this is not true, for such a policy, at the cost of innocent
lives and the suffering of thousands of others, would be morally
abominable and therefore totally unacceptable.

We can consider the American experience in comparison.
Thousands of American soldiers died in Vietnam, yet the United
States simply abandoned the Vietnam War because the American
people were disgusted with it. They refused to continue to
support what they saw as an immoral war. They learned the right
lesson.

It is pointless to place blame on any particular leader,
government or nation for past mistakes. History is a jigsaw
puzzle, formed by the complex interaction of innumerable factors
and therefore never fully revealed or understood.

Did not most, if not all of us, for example, in one way or
another support Soeharto's New Order regime -- almost without
reserve -- and the dual function of the military, as well as the
integration of East Timor? The point is that it has been a
learning process for all of us. It is just that some of us learn
the right lessons while others the wrong.

Yet, sadly, this point has been sorely missed by our military
and political elite, particularly certain members of the House of
Representatives and political parties. Some of these people have
insisted, for example, that the UN peacekeeping operation in East
Timor "seriously consider the self-respect of the Indonesian
nation" and not involve Australia.

One reason given for such calls is that the government and the
Indonesian Military (TNI) cannot ignore public sentiment, which
does not welcome Australia's "participation".

Some of the political elite have also said that Australia, New
Zealand, Portugal, Canada and the United States must be excluded
from the peacekeeping force on the trumped-up accusation that
they "have political interests" and are therefore not neutral, as
if the Indonesian military or police were. If these countries'
political interests relate to the protection of human lives and
human rights, what is wrong with having political interests?

Whatever the case, the Indonesian nation and the public should
not be exploited for the misplaced nationalism and jingoism of
the military and political elite, which are simply excuses for
the misdeeds and wrongdoings in their own ranks. As events during
the current crisis have shown, many among these very people have
damaged our nation's integrity, pride, self-respect and self-
confidence by sowing discord and violence in society through the
exploitation of any and all sentiments.

It is ridiculous for these politicians to accuse certain
countries of "having no shame" in interfering in our domestic
affairs, when they have shamed Indonesians with their behavior in
the political scene, wrangling and jostling for positions in the
postelection power structure rather than focusing on reform. It
also misses the issue to accuse other countries of encroaching on
Indonesia's sovereignty over East Timor, when at the heart of the
matter is the fact that the international community has always
questioned the country's sovereignty over the territory.

For once, President Habibie is correct when he says he will
leave it entirely up to the UN Security Council to determine the
makeup of the peacekeeping force. He was right in saying that
Indonesia was not at war with anyone, and that, as quoted in this
paper, "We're on friendly terms with everyone". There is one
catch, however. The cooperation between the UN peacekeeping force
and the Indonesian Military must not become another bone of
contention between Indonesia and the international community as
represented by the UN.

One would hope that Habibie would maintain this position. It
would make up for his mistakes in first coming up with his East
Timor policy. The problem seems to be, particularly as far as the
issue of East Timor is concerned, that Habibie is not always the
one calling the shots. Whatever the case, however, success in
restoring security, law and order to East Timor with the
assistance of the UN peacekeeping force would help restore the
image, reputation, influence and authority of the Indonesian
Military and government.