Military rules East Timor

Military rules East Timor

The imposition of martial law in East Timor on Tuesday
corroborates the bitter reality that real power in this country
lies in the hands of the Indonesian Military (TNI), not the
President, his Cabinet, or the House of Representatives. Those
who fail to grasp this fact probably find it mindboggling that a
state of emergency could be declared a mere few hours after the
idea, which came from the military, was rejected at a Cabinet
meeting, and at a meeting between the President and House leaders
before that.

The decree, signed by President B.J. Habibie, invokes a rarely
used 1959 law which allows the head of state to declare a state
of emergency. The measure empowers the military to do whatever it
deems necessary to restore peace and order in East Timor. It is
scary to think that we are giving a carte blanche to an
institution with a long history of human rights abuses, not only
in East Timor but elsewhere in Indonesia, including Aceh.

For better or for worse, martial law has been declared. Even
the United Nations has given the benefit of the doubt and given
its consent, albeit with a caveat: Indonesia has 48 hours to end
the violence in East Timor.

The United Nations had no alternative, at least at this stage,
but to accept the imposition of martial law. East Timor has
plunged into anarchy since the United Nations announced on
Saturday the result of the Aug. 30 ballot in East Timor which
gave an overwhelming victory to proindependence forces. Like it
or not, the only power that could still be expected to stop East
Timor's descent into lawlessness, the killings and the forced
evacuations, is still the Indonesian government, that is, TNI.

The idea of a UN peacekeeping force may be gaining support,
but even if Indonesia approves the idea, it would be some time
before such a force could be assembled to send into East Timor.
As it is at the moment, Indonesia rejects the idea completely.
The United States, which would provide the logistics to support a
UN peacekeeping operation, is reluctant to commit itself to the
plan which would mean sending its soldiers and risking their
lives.

The House leadership and some members of the Cabinet reflected
public thinking when they rejected the martial law plan. They
doubted whether imposing martial law could really curtail the
violence in East Timor. TNI's history of human rights abuses is
one reason. Another is that the decision may have been based on a
wrong diagnosis. Since the military is widely deemed part of the
problem in East Timor, more militarism, which is what the martial
law essentially means, may exacerbate the conflict.

East Timor has degenerated into such a state of lawlessness
chiefly because of the inaction of Indonesian security forces as
pro-Indonesia militias launched their terror campaigns against
the populace before and after the Aug. 30 ballot. The campaign
was initially conducted by the militias right under the noses of
the police. Lately, there have been allegations that Indonesian
soldiers were taking part in the campaign.

Whether these allegations are true or not, TNI seems to lack
the political will to prevail over its self-created militias in
East Timor from the beginning. This raises speculations that TNI
may have its own agenda, different from the government. East
Timor has been a military adventure all along, from the 1975
invasion, the 1976 annexation, through all these years until
today as Indonesia's rule is about to end. It would not be
surprising to see TNI doing all it can to prevent the inevitable
separation, and deprive East Timorese of their hard-earned
freedom.

If the domestic and international public harbor suspicions of
TNI's intentions with the martial law in East Timor, it is
because it fits a pattern. With most of the UN officials and
foreign and Indonesian journalists out of the territory, a
martial law gives TNI a free rein in East Timor. It could use
this power, which has now been sanctioned by the United Nations,
either way: end the violence, as it promises; or consolidate its
hold on East Timor.

In the course of the next two days, we hope TNI will disprove
the misgivings. Indonesia's international reputation has already
been tarnished by the recent events in East Timor. Here is a
golden last chance for the military to salvage some respect,
pride and credibility, if not for itself, at least for the
nation.