Taming Western media on E. Timor (2)

Taming Western media on E. Timor (2)

By Al Busyra Basnur

This is the second of two articles on the relationship between
the Western media and East Timor.

JAKARTA (JP): There have been times when inaccurate reporting
by the Western media has threatened friendly relations between
Indonesia and other countries.

The Western media's influence on arms deals recently between
Indonesia and the United States, Indonesia and the United
Kingdom, and Indonesia and Australia in relation to both
political and economic issues, are examples.

Fortunately, Indonesia's bilateral relations with these
countries are so broad-ranging and so durable that the other
countries were able to understand, whatever misgivings they might
have had.

Of course, appropriate action has to be taken whenever
misrepresentation of Indonesia and East Timor occur in the
(Western) media. Indeed every Indonesian should lend a hand to
the national effort to safeguard the country's good name.

Above all, there should be an effort made to provide the
Western media with the true facts about Indonesia, and East Timor
in particular, especially in countries where there are active
detractors of Indonesia. Indonesia's foreign offices should play
a leading and pivotal role in this endeavor.

As well as this the activities of East Timor-related offices,
agencies and institutions should be enhanced in order to
unmistakably demonstrate that the Western media have misreported
the real situation in East Timor.

This is easier said than done because it would require a great
deal of resources, creativity and coordination among several
institutions.

History shows that whenever developing countries truthfully
portray themselves, they are largely ignored by the Western media
and by developed nations. Nevertheless, it is worth giving it our
best effort.

Alternatively we could call on the foreign journalists who are
based in Indonesia to try to be well-informed when they report on
Indonesia and East Timor. This is because they do not just write
the news, they also serve as resource people and sources for
other media.

In short, they could and should help us tell our true story to
the world, especially in regard to East Timor.

It might also be a good idea if these Indonesian-based
journalists and even those based abroad, were regularly invited
to visit East Timor (beside the yearly program in the frame of
Indonesia's independent anniversary) so they can see for
themselves the progress achieved in the province.

Since its integration into Indonesia on June 17, 1976, East
Timor has risen from a state of utter backwardness (a heritage of
some four centuries of colonial rule) to become socially and
economically developed.

In fact, the development success of Indonesia's youngest
province in development has surpassed that of the older
provinces. The East Timorese have had their lives transformed.
They have moved from abject poverty to relative prosperity. Many
projects have been and will continue to be planned and
implemented in order to improve the welfare of the East Timor
community.

There are now a good deal more education and training centers,
public health centers, public roads, bridges and places of
worship than there were before integration.

East Timor now has more than 800 churches compared to only 100
in 1974. There are now 30 kindergartens, 736 elementary schools,
112 junior high schools, 37 senior high schools and four colleges
in the province. In 1976 there were only 47 elementary schools,
two middle schools, one high school and no colleges.

There are now 11 hospitals compared to only two hospitals in
the past. Such progress has been made possible because of the
rapport between the government and the East Timorese public.

Nevertheless, there are still a few dissidents -- some in East
Timor, others operating abroad -- who are bent on changing the
status of East Timor and who do not care at all about the
province's development.

These dissidents, with the support of Fretilin leaders and
other detractors of Indonesia, have been making unrealistic and
unreasonable demands of the Indonesian government, such asking
for East Timor to be made independent, or calling for it to be
given special status as a province, or for a referendum to be
held to determine its political future.

They have sought to embarrass the Indonesian government
through the rallies and rowdy demonstrations of their supporters
in various countries.

To do that, they have used several influential NGOs and the
student activists of several universities to support their
struggle.

Although these activities are small in scale and involve only
a few people, they nevertheless have a disrupting affect on
development of East Timor, and they besmirch the good name of the
Indonesian government and affect its ties with other countries.

Although the integration of East Timor into Indonesia is an
accomplished fact, and development has continued unabated, there
are still some nations that do not officially recognize this.

Even the United Nations does not officially recognize East
Timor's integration into Indonesia. This stems from a lack of
information or appreciation of the history of East Timor and of
the present situation in the province.

Perhaps there is a political agenda behind this refusal to
recognize a simple fact of Indonesian history. What we need to do
now is to get the Western media to report the news about East
Timor fairly and objectively by telling them the truth. Everybody
knows that the media is a "tool", but it is supposed to be a tool
which leads us to peace, stability and prosperity.

At the same time, the Indonesian government should remain
faithful to its continued support to the socioeconomic
development endeavors of the province. So, hopefully, the Western
media will eventually abandon its "decades-old fantasy" about
East Timor.

The writer is an international observer and an alumnus of
University of the Santo Tomas, in Manila, the Philippines. He
works for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The views expressed in
this article are his personal views.