Megawati and East Timor

Megawati and East Timor

Bantarto Bandoro, Editor, The Indonesian Quarterly
Centre for Strategic and International Studies, Jakarta

The invitation extended by the president-elect of East Timor,
Xanana Gusmao, to President Megawati Soekarnoputri to attend that
territory's independence celebration on May 20 has driven people
here in this country to polemic.

Certain members of the academic community have sent a clear
message that Megawati should not skip Dili's independence
declaration, while most politicians and other members of the
legislature have urged Megawati to boycott the ceremony. Although
Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Gen.
(ret.) Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono announced on Thursday that
Megawati would fulfill the invitation, the issue remains
controversial.

Perhaps some still remember when Megawati expressed her strong
opposition to the 1999 UN-sponsored self-determination ballot in
East Timor. One can only wonder about her exact feelings on the
end results of that ballot. If it is eventually decided that
Megawati will not accept the invitation to attend the ceremony,
it will probably be because of these feelings.

However, that East Timor has emerged as an independent entity
is a political fact that cannot be ignored, especially by
Indonesia, which shares a border with the new country.

Much of what happened in the past with regard to East Timor
seems relevant to the present debate. But, of course, there are
some people who cannot discuss this issue without becoming overly
emotional, particularly those who exhausted their energies trying
to develop East Timor and thus are absolutely against the
territory's separation from Indonesia.

The future of East Timor will certainly be different from the
time it spent under the authoritarian rule of Indonesia. As the
youngest member of the international community, East Timor will
have to go through the extremely difficult period of nation
building. Xanana Gusmao made clear that the transition to
independence will not be easy after centuries of Portuguese
colonial rule, followed by more than 20 years under Indonesian
military rule.

Xanana has reportedly expressed his sincere commitment to
developing a good neighbor policy. And he has gone out of his way
to bury the hatchet with Indonesia, as he understands the
importance of having a positive and constructive relationship
with such a close and large neighbor.

This is perhaps the message that is carried by the invitation
extended to the government of Indonesia; one should not simply
assume that the invitation was meant to test the leadership of
Megawati, especially with regard to the issue of East Timor.

Given this, it is difficult to understand why a politician the
caliber of Akbar Tanjung has adhered to the idea that Megawati
should ignore the invitation, arguing that problems related to
East Timor's independence remain unresolved.

Although the past 25 years shook the faith of both Indonesia
and East Timor, it is still fashionable to believe the countries
can develop an underlying harmony of interest in the future that
will become the basis for resolving any remaining problems.

It is against such a background that Megawati should accept
the invitation. Megawati's presence at the independence ceremony
would send a clear signal to all members of the international
community that both countries have buried old grievances and are
eagerly looking to the future. Furthermore, Indonesia's
international image would certainly be helped by Megawati's
presence.

Efforts by both sides, once they have established diplomatic
ties, to make the harmony more explicit by promoting mutual
interests and other activities are essential, in terms of the two
countries future contributions to the development and stability
of the region.

It is thus not irrational to think that East Timor may become
part of Indonesia's regional diplomacy. It would be
understandable if history cast a shadow over future relations
between Indonesia and East Timor. But a true commitment by both
sides to develop a better relationship would gradually eliminate
the bad feelings. And domestically, this would also help
reconcile contradicting views with regard to the issue of East
Timor.

The emergence of East Timor as an independent entity has made
the territory the focus of international assistance. It is
perhaps here that Indonesia should initiate policies that would
hopefully win the hearts of the East Timorese.

Economically, East Timor may be insignificant compared to
Indonesia. But its strong international political network cannot
be ignored, being evidence of the continuing international
support for an independent East Timor. If Megawati rejected the
invitation from Xanana Gusmao, it would mean ignoring of the
reality that East Timor will one day be an important player in
regional networking.

The great transformation that has taken place in East Timor
will drastically change the political, economic and security
landscape of the region. Once the territory attains full
independence, the opportunity is there for East Timor to become a
member of the regional organizations, be it in the Southeast
Asian region or in the Asia Pacific.

But historically and geographically, East Timor belongs to
Southeast Asia. It is just as much a part of the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as it was once part of Indonesia.
Thus, there is no reason for other ASEAN members to reject East
Timor's presence in the grouping, provided that East Timor is
willing to enter and abide by the regionally accepted code of
conduct.

Viewed from such a perspective, it is necessary that Indonesia
grant diplomatic recognition to East Timor. Megawati's acceptance
of the invitation would be a first and major step toward such a
recognition.

Indonesia should realize that with the emergence of an
independent East Timor, blood and iron are no longer on the menu,
having been replaced by the need to build fruitful bilateral
relations.