President's bombs

I am surprised by the capability of our President to drop bombs -- politically, that is -- on certain targets, but fortunately with very little damage done. The bombs did not damage the targets, but instead caused civilian casualties. The main target was perhaps unaffected or did not consider the damage significant enough to invite reaction or retaliation.

The first bomb was dropped on Singapore a long time ago. The reason for the bombing is the President considers Singapore to be unfriendly for not sending a letter of congratulations when he assumed office. The President mentioned other friendly countries which took the trouble to send congratulations. The mature Singapore government did not react, but instead sent tons of rice to the needy Indonesian people, a donation received by the Minister of Defense/Armed Forces Commander Gen. Wiranto.

But the cold shoulder reaction must be very painful for the pilot.

The second bomb was dropped a few days back, when the President said Singapore is a racist country and there was discrimination in its society, as reported in the Feb. 11 edition of The Jakarta Post. A Malay citizen, according to the President, cannot become an officer in the Singapore Armed Forces. Again, the Singapore government kept silent and let their people react. The reaction was mild and consisted only of showing photographs of Malay officers in the air force and other units. Again, the Singapore nation of about two million people does not consider it important enough to react to a statement given by the President of a country of 200 million people.

Minister of Education Yuwono Sudarsono, who happened to be in Singapore at the time, gave his reaction on the bomb dropped and said: "The President may know a lot about technology but he may not know the social and economic context. And since he is a bubbly person, I think Singapore will understand."

Since both bombs dropped did not hit the target, he dropped a third bomb in Indonesia which hit East Timor. East Timor is considered a burden for the republic and he sincerely hopes that by Jan. 1, 2000 he will not have the responsibility to take care of Timtim anymore and can concentrate on the remaining 26 provinces.

Indonesia has given the people of East Timor the freedom to choose their future as a solution for the East Timor case (I do not want to call it the East Timor problem). The bomb dropped by our President must sadden the feelings of the people who want to stay as citizens of the Indonesian republic, because they are considered a burden by the President and unwanted.

It is like a one-sided love affair. What to do? They want to stay in the Indonesian republic, but they are not welcome because they form a burden for the government. On the other hand, they do not want to be free and independent because they know what they can and cannot do. In a newspaper, I saw a photo of armed Timorese people who have vowed to stay within the republic and are prepared to fight with their last drop of blood for their ideals.

Why does the President not wait until the people get the chance and opportunity to express their desire? A President cannot have a personal opinion and say that what he expressed was his personal opinion. What a pity for our brothers in East Timor who loved the republic with all its faults and merits. This is really a bomb which can cause casualties. And the tragedy is that the casualties are caused by us.

Perhaps high placed officials should learn that they cannot say just what comes into their mind, but should carefully consider the consequences.

SOEGIH ARTO

Jakarta