Nationalist response over East Timor 'misguided'
Nationalist response over East Timor 'misguided'
JAKARTA (JP): Observers said on Tuesday that protests against
international criticism over the government's inability to
suppress the mounting violence in East Timor were "clearly out of
place".
Noted political observer Soedjati Djiwandono told The Jakarta
Post in a telephone interview that the protests could be seen as
jingoism, referring to the advocacy of an aggressively
nationalist foreign policy.
"To say that the UN peacekeeping force in East Timor is an
external interference in our domestic affairs is wrong," Soedjati
said.
"It is not something that can encroach on Indonesia's
sovereignty... Foreign countries may have political interests,
but their political interest is directly related to the
protection of human rights, so what is wrong with that?"
Under mounting international pressure, the government decided
on Sunday to invite an international peacekeeping force to East
Timor to restore order in the troubled territory.
A number of political leaders and members of the House of
Representatives, however, have openly expressed their reluctance
to accept the international force in East Timor, saying that the
move would be tantamount to interference.
"We have proof that our military is not capable of maintaining
security and order in East Timor. In this kind of situation, we
do need a UN peacekeeping force which is expected to be neutral,"
Soedjati said.
"To say that this is foreign interference in our sovereignty
misses the issue because our sovereignty over the territory is
exactly what is at issue in the international community... This
has been the question from the beginning by the international
community."
Soedjati also said that the recent protests against alleged
foreign interference "do not represent all of the Indonesian
public".
"We don't have to exaggerate their importance. They tend to be
exploited for this kind of bellicose behavior when the government
is facing criticism from other countries," he said.
Sociopolitical observer Mochtar Buchori was more direct by
saying that the protesters were "just paid demonstrators" and the
protests were only for "domestic consumption".
"They do not know what nationalism is. If we look at the
situation carefully, is this really a matter of nationalism, or
is this a matter of barbarism," Mochtar said, referring to a
number of attacks on several foreign mission offices here and in
the East Java capital of Surabaya recently.
"A true nationalist will not allow himself or herself to
degenerate into doing a barbaric act," he added.
Meanwhile in Bali, political scientist AS Hikam also expressed
disappointment at the unruly wave of nationalism.
"I'm worried and disappointed. The excessive expression of
nationalism has clouded and deviated our perception of an
historic event," he said.
"This is a tremendous distortion. The East Timor issue has
nothing to do with nationalism. (East Timor) was an erroneous
policy conducted by the New Order." (byg/50)