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.