Solution to East Timor needed
By Sebastianus Darwin
JAKARTA (JP): For the eighth time, Indonesia and Portugal met to discuss the issue of East Timor at the UN headquarters in Geneva on June 27. The meeting was held after both countries failed to find a solution to the conflict in Indonesia's 27th province at their previous meeting on Jan. 16 in London.
The Portuguese colony of East Timor has remained in the international spotlight following its integration by Indonesia in 1976. But the world has not recognized this integration. There are still conflicting views, especially within the UN.
Much activity continues in East Timor itself. Anti-integration groups, including Fretilin (Frente Revolucionaria de Timor Leste Independente or the Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor), have continued to launch political maneuvers to challenge the Indonesian occupying forces.
There have been countless demonstrations protesting integration and a number of tragic incidents, including the Dili incident in 1991 and the Liquisa incident last year.
So far, the government has been able to contain the troubles. Yet that does not mean the authorities have become less vigilant, given the continued existence of these independence movements.
There are two different attitudes concerning development in East Timor.
The first holds that East Timor is an integral part of Indonesia. The development model is designed by the central government and all the regional administration has to do is implement it.
However, due to East Timor's somewhat unusual conditions, the centrally designed development program is often difficult to carry out.
The other is the attitude of the East Timorese people. They consider themselves different from people in other provinces, according to Jao Mariano Sousa Saldhana in Political Economy of East Timor Development.
East Timor is a former Portuguese colony, while the rest of Indonesia was formerly under Dutch rule. This widens the gap between East Timor and other parts of Indonesia.
Portugal ruled East Timor according to republican norms, which were also much influenced by the Catholic church. The Dutch had a monarchy with a mostly secular Protestant population and did not really care about the religious life of the colonies.
The East Timorese are very aware of these differences, and this has prevented a complete integration. The task now is to blend the two differing views to create a win-win situation.
Various efforts have been made to settle the East Timor problem. In mid-1995, the Indonesian Bishop Conference (KWI) met President Soeharto to discuss the matter. Head of conference, Mgr. Julius Darmaatmadja SJ, said after the meeting that East Timor was not merely the problem of the Catholic church, but was the problem of the nation as well.
The Catholic church plays an important role in trying to settle the case, because the majority of the people are Catholics. It should be noted, however, that since the Middle Ages, the Catholic church has strictly separated the power of the state and the authority of the church.
The Catholic church strictly forbids church officials, including the bishop, from getting involved in politics. Therefore, it would be inappropriate for Dili Bishop Mgr. Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo to take action to settle the East Timor case.
The geographical integration of East Timor to Indonesia should be followed up by integration in all fields, including politics, society, culture, religion and economics.
It is not easy to integrate all these aspects. The management of conflicts in East Timor should take into consideration the four points below:
1. Social conditions in East Timor are different from other parts of Indonesia, due to 450 years of Portuguese colonial rule in the province.
2. The majority of East Timorese are still haunted by the trauma of the prolonged civil war.
3. There are few East Timorese who speak Indonesian.
4. There are some Fretilin members who resist Indonesian rule on the province.
When the Portuguese hurriedly abandoned East Timor in September 1975, Fretilin took power and proclaimed independence toward the end of November 1975. But things changed after the Balibo Declaration on Nov. 30, 1975, which demanded the integration of East Timor into Indonesia. The declaration was made by the Apodeti (Popular Democratic Association of Timorese) and three other parties, UDT (Unitoa Democratica Timorense or Democratic Union of Timorese), KOTA (Klibur Oan Timur Aswain, Sons of the Mountains Warriors) and Partido Trabalhista or Workers Party)
Economic development should be given top priority in East Timor. Improving public welfare is essential in the management of conflict in East Timor.
The economic development of East Timor is rapid, compared to when it was still under Portuguese rule. The economic growth in the past 15 years is impressive.
Despite this economic growth, East Timor's income is still low, and so is income per capita (see table). The table shows that between 1983 and 1990, income per capita had increased from Rp 132,454 (1993) to Rp 180,727 (1990). This means that there was an increase of an average of 7.29 percent per year.
Yet, compared to other provinces in Indonesia, the income per capita of East Timor is very low. In 1990 the income per capita was only 28 percent of the national average, which stood at about Rp 650,000.
Economic development is only one of the factors involved in the efforts to solve the problems of East Timor. There are still other things to deal with, notably the military's policy toward the province. Another important factor is the special position of the Catholic church in the region. Without the church's involvement, there will be no real solution to the East Timor problem.
Table: --------------------------------- Year Income Index --------------------------------- 1983 Rp 132,454 100 1984 Rp 132,920 100.4 1985 Rp 142.843 107.8 1986 Rp 144.141 108.8 1987 Rp 152.349 115.0 1988 Rp 160.996 121.6 1989 Rp 161.890 122.6 1990 Rp 180.727 136.5
Source: The Political Economy in East Timor Development (1994)
The writer is a socio-political observer based in Jakarta.