Nationalism or irrational thinking?

By Devi M. Asmarani

JAKARTA (JP): There is a mounting disturbing trend of nationalism that borders on xenophobia in Indonesia these days.

Protesters picket the UN headquarters or the British and Australian embassies, burning the flags of the respective institution or countries while chanting "Go to hell with you" or "Leave us alone".

Off the streets, legislators, bureaucrats and analysts condemn foreign political intervention in Indonesia. This should in some way indicate that some people believe we are being pushed around by our big western brothers.

But whether this is genuine and appropriate nationalism, is something we should question.

While the whole world is expressing its concern about the fate of hundreds of thousands of displaced East Timorese, many Indonesians are busy debating whether a certain country, accused of disrespecting our sovereignty, should join the peacekeeping force.

Frankly, instead of appearing nationalistic this makes them look like a bunch of defiant, insensitive people with little regard for human rights.

Furthermore, one should question whether these cases that portray resentment against the western nations really represent the sentiment of all Indonesians.

In fact, the rallies are isolated protests, mostly done by the families of East Timor veterans, prointegration activists, and dubious groups that have staged demos to defend certain factions with close links to the government. Not to mention that in Jakarta and other big cities, there are many people readily willing to stage protests at a price.

That goes the same with the upper crusts of society, the political elites.

When they express their dislike of other country's concerns over lawlessness in East Timor, they claim that their views represent the aspirations of many Indonesians, when in fact they are encouraging xenophobia amongst sections of the community.

However it is clear to many people, that it is easier to shift the blame to foreign nations and organizations, instead of admitting Indonesia's mistakes in its own East Timor policy.

A military analyst, Salim Said, recently said on a private television talk show, that the international community, especially Australia, was bullying the country.

However, he later contradicted his own statement when he accurately summed up the very mistakes Indonesia always makes.

"We are a nation that always looks for a scapegoat. Australia is our scapegoat (regarding the present East Timor situation)," he said, adding that Australia is a blessing in disguise that brings the country together.

Foreign countries, foreign press and the UN have not been the only target to blame.

The Governor of East Timor, Abilio Jose Osorio Soares, recently justified the brutalities perpetrated by the pro-Jakarta militias in East Timor -- even including the once taboo burning of churches and the murdering of priests and nuns -- as an inevitable characteristic of the hot-blooded East Timorese.

It is hard to believe this self-loathing statement about his own people came from a top local government official, who is supposed to be a somewhat moderating influence.

The black-American community has two words for this kind of attitude: Uncle Tom -- the term for an overly subservient trait that originated from the pious and faithful slave in 1800's Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel, Uncle Tom's Cabin.

It is equally disappointing that some politicians, including those associated with the reform movement, treat the East Timor issue as political leverage with which to attack President B.J. Habibie.

Instead of focusing on the real issue of how to resolve a massive humanitarian crisis, they seized the opportunity to gain popularity.

To easily accept the arguments that East Timor's chaos is caused by the UN Mission in East Timor's (UNAMET) lack of impartiality during the ballot or international pressure on Indonesia, or the East Timorese's "brutal nature" is to disregard rational logic.

It also means that even up to this point, Indonesia has still not accepted the fact that an overwhelming majority of the East Timorese have clearly rejected its offer to stay within Indonesia.

If the majority of East Timorese think that by accepting the wide-ranging autonomy within Indonesia they would lead a better life, they would not have bravely defied intimidations and walked the long roads to ballot posts on that fine Aug. 30 day.

Many Indonesians so conveniently forget that hundreds of thousands of people, many of whom are women and children, are currently on the brink of starvation within or outside of the territory -- if they aren't already starved.

Yet in a strange way, the humanitarian disaster could also be a government attempt to divert attention from the fact that it has failed to maintain order and security in the territory.

Military chief Wiranto said he could understand why some soldiers were hesitant "to shoot their own people", the militias which the military had formed and groomed to fight against their own people.

Others said it was hard for the international community, especially its press, to understand the historical reasons behind the military's non-professionalism -- which had been nicely coated by the euphemism "psychological constraints" -- in dealing with the militias.

But any peace-loving and reasonable Indonesian should find it just as hard as a foreign national to digest this justification.

Does this mean that the lives of a group of rampaging armed militias are worth more than frightened, helpless, displaced and unarmed civilians?

A Jakarta human rights volunteer who was also a ballot observer in East Timor recalled her last days there. She and dozens of volunteers and refugees were staying at Dili's office of the Foundation of Human Rights and Justice when it was attacked by pro-Jakarta militia a day after the ballot.

"They were shooting at us for two hours, the police didn't come until later. And even then, they initially insisted on evacuating only the two foreign volunteers to the local police headquarters," said the traumatized volunteer who requested anonymity.

"Later at the police headquarters, we witnessed with our own eyes, how the armed militias come and go like it's their own house."

What she said "hurt" her the most was when she witnessed the seemingly systematical attempt to prevent East Timorese from leaving the chaos at the Comoro Airport, when she and her group were leaving Dili by the Air Force's aircraft.

"The security personnel looked at the list of names who were going to fly, and said coldly that 25 people with East Timorese names on the list could not fly with us. They said: 'We only take Indonesians. If the East Timorese want independence, then they aren't going to step on our soil'," she said.

If the Indonesians, who criticized the decision to allow international peacekeepers into East Timor, can claim arrogantly that it is still the country's territory before the formal separation is approved, then they have clearly overlooked the authority's continuing neglect of the welfare of the East Timorese, who are officially still Indonesians.

Surely, a nation cannot turn a blind-eye to the pain and suffering of the East Timorese, especially with mounting evidence and testimony, simply because of misguided pride.

The self-proclaimed nationalists, who claim to speak for the sake of the nation's integrity, should start asking themselves on behalf of which Indonesians they are speaking.

There are more important priorities than to save face and to uphold obscure nationalism. That is to respect the universal values of human rights.

The government's and the military's decision to allow the UN peacekeeping force was perhaps their bravest move in the face of criticism from these very nationalists.

The East Timorese deserve the peace they long for. The high voter turnout showed their yearnings to determine their own fate. The overwhelming rejection of the autonomy indicated that they were not pleased with Indonesia's 24-year rule there.

Instead of hampering the process by bickering about non- essential issues, we should help the peaceful transformation toward the building of a new nation, our close neighbor.

The writer is a journalist.