Picking sides on E. Timor battlefield

Picking sides on E. Timor battlefield

By Ati Nurbaiti

DILI, East Timor (JP): The red-and-white flag of the Republic
of Indonesia symbolizes the blood of the brave and the truth that
they fought for.

But to many East Timorese it has become a sign of force.

The flags lining the way to Liquica, the regency where what
the Catholic church calls a "massacre" took place in early April,
are a sign to outsiders that the local prointegration militia is
in charge. This is regardless of the fact that a member of either
prointegration or proindependence camps could be potential
suspects of the incident, judging from reports of the chain of
events that led to between seven and 25 estimated deaths.

Buses full of passengers heading for Kupang in East Nusa
Tenggara, via Liquica, carry the Indonesian flag and a few
passengers wear bandannas of the sacred colors.

The symbols hopefully provide some assurances of safety during
arbitrary road checks by prointegration groups -- before many of
the passengers join others to start a new life outside of the
troubled province.

The beauty of the sea and beach below the winding roads to
Liquica belie the tension that locals and passersby are
experiencing.

The prointegration militia led by Joao das Silva Tavares
claims 50,000 members. They appear to be in power now while
proindependence groups are lying low, a reverse situation from
the early days of the reform movement in which the fall of former
president Soeharto brought demands for a referendum to determine
East Timor's future.

The demands eventually resulted in a plan for a UN-organized
direct ballot in July. Proindependence groups claim support from
99 percent of the 800,000 East Timor population, relying on the
binding power of longtime trauma of civil war and the actions of
the military here.

One proindependence supporter is Carlos, a restaurant
employee. "The laws (of Indonesia) are very good," he says. "But
the soldiers are cruel, so we'll all choose independence."

He had just warned his children to stay inside after hearing
shots, though he did not know from where they were fired. "Stay
home, if you're shot elsewhere your body will be just thrown out
and we won't be able to bury you," he ordered them.

But diverse views prevail regarding the degree of voluntary
support and membership in both the proindependence and
prointegration camps. The views are further blurred by leading
members of the community who have shifted from one camp to
another, either out of safety concerns, conscience or ambition,
locals say.

Dili Police chief Col. Timbul Silaen explains that
prointegration groups are gaining support because they do not use
force. When proindependence groups under the National Resistance
Council for an Independent East Timor (CNRT) were in their
heyday, residents felt forced to give money and express support,
he said.

Ordinary people also join prointegration groups to seek safety
in the face of the groups' panicked reaction to the possibility
that the referendum results show a preference for independence.

Residents face sudden questioning on the streets; civil
servants leaning toward the proindependence side are on a hit
list for their government facilities to be taken from them.

"If the proindependence groups win, we will be the first to
die," a prointegration leader said as quoted by a member of the
National Commission on Human Rights in explaining their fears.

Many have been terrorized and killed by proindependence
groups, leaders said.

The commission, which was here from April 17 for a planned 10-
day visit as part of its peace-making efforts, met a number of
prointegration leaders. They said the Armed Forces (ABRI),
members of which initially seemed to favor them, were now more
neutral.

Besides, troops have been reduced and the prointegration
groups feel they have been left to defend themselves.

Military

Up to mid-April, however, military and civilian authorities
were still seen attending official gatherings of the
prointegration militia.

If there are any instances of violence, such as on April 17 in
which at least 13 were killed following such a gathering, the
military and police could claim to be understaffed. Then
prointegration leaders would most likely accuse the
proindependence Falintil militia of provocation.

One survivor of April 17 in Dili said he had fled his village
two months ago to escape intimidation from prointegration
militia.

"I would gladly join them if they didn't use force," the
farmer said.

A refugee in Liquica said he and his family had sought shelter
to escape prointegration groups.

However, a lawyer here said the proindependence CNRT used to
tax coffee growers, "Just like Jakarta's preman (hoodlums)."
This, he said, led to resentment of the organization, led by
jailed independence fighter Jose Alexandre "Xanana" Gusmao.

Eurico Guterres, deputy commander of a prointegration group,
told The Jakarta Post that people enlist freely rather than
because they need safety guarantees.

"Because it is the best choice for them," he said.

It is unrealistic to expect independence all of a sudden,
according to the long-haired leader.

Eurico himself leads the Aitarak militia -- it means the
"'thorn' to thrust betrayers" of the country, he said. He
reportedly has lost his father, grandfather and uncle to
proindependence militia.

One reporter says that in six months of frequent
demonstrations demanding a referendum, the prointegration groups
"have been free to walk the streets". Some attribute this to the
higher discipline of the CNRT and its armed wing.

"Now the prointegration people beat and harass people after
only a week of power," he said.

And so the conflicting views continue about how people
willingly join or are forced to join either camp. Both provide
some respect and security to the unemployed. Neither are armies,
but both have access to various weaponry.

Both have been condemned, and fingers point to the government
for the resulting lawlessness and senseless deaths among the
populace.

CNRT has offices -- its "shadow government" -- down to the
village level, and prointegration groups are perceived as being
close to the authorities.

The direct ballot in July should finally reveal where the
people's hearts lie, although observers say residents have not
really understood the government's offer of wide-ranging
autonomy.

The April 21 peace pledge was hurriedly prepared to catch up
with necessary preparations for the ballot, while the whereabouts
of bodies from the Liquica killings and those in Dili a few days
earlier is still unclear.