Questionable compassion

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