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.