Questionable compassion
Eurico Guterres was about 18 years old when he was imprisoned by the Indonesian military for his participation in a proindependence movement. During his time in jail, he was obviously not tortured but surely in some way brainwashed because he emerged as a glowing fanatic admirer of the prointegration militias.
In fact he became one of those children of the Indonesian military who were raised without a proper education but pampered with promises of a prosperous future, with the aim to do the dirty work. And after the population of East Timor voted overwhelmingly in favor of independence, Guterres and his fellow militias did the dirty job.
Well-trained, equipped with weapons and with hope of becoming heroes, the militias turned their own homeland into an inferno which shocked the whole world. The now arrested militia leader maintained that what he did to East Timor was "to defend Indonesia's honor". (The Jakarta Post, Oct 3).
Such an excuse is hard to believe let alone to bear. In a meeting at the National Police Headquarters on Oct. 9, Guterres, bathed in tears, gave an Oscar-worthy performance by shouting repeatedly: "Don't blame Merah Putih". He was right, those who created the "Merah Putih" movements in East Timor should be blamed even more.
Mr. Guterres should save some of his tears for the distress and misery which he and his militias have showered East Timor with - their own homeland and their own sisters and brothers.
To me Guterres is nothing but a pathological swagger without even a spark of conscience, a man who seems not to know better. But the People's Consultative Assembly Speaker Amin Rais, a politician of remarkable intellectual caliber, is supposed to know better.
Nevertheless Amin Rais' recent statements concerning Eurico Guterres' arrest should set people thinking. Pak Amin said: "He (Guterres) is our friend". Does this mean that Indonesia has to take the blame for crimes committed by "friend" Guterres? Pak Amin said: "If he (Guterres) is arrested for the sake of the United Nations (UN), then what a nasty country that makes us".
Did Amin Rais ever ask himself these questions: Who is making Indonesia a "nasty" country? Who damaged its reputation? Did Pak Amin ever realize that it was not the UN who brought Indonesia into this difficult position of having to explain to the world the horror in East Timor, but people like Guterres and his generously-sponsored armed criminal gang? Amin Rais seems to explain or even excuse the evil deeds of Guterres by saying: "He's the leader of the prointegration militias and he lost his homeland" (The Observer, Oct. 6).
Maybe Amin Rais should be remembered as the first top politician who promised East Timor a referendum: "Opposition leader Amin Rais yesterday pledged to hold a referendum on self- determination for East Timor if he becomes Indonesia's president next year".
"A referendum is the only solution to solve the problem..." (The Observer, Sept. 9, 1998). Assuming Amin Rais had become president and had fulfilled his promise, the outcome would certainly not have been much different from that of the ballot held on Aug. 30, 1999. And it can be questioned whether he would have been able to avoid the postballot violence committed by those who would have "lost their homeland".
To serve the principles of justice Amin Rais is supposed to support the arrest of Guterres. Not for the sake of the UN but for the sake of Indonesia.
HILDE MAY
Jakarta