Tension darkens Timor before vote

Tension darkens Timor before vote

The day before Monday's historic ballot, East Timorese
families were still burying their dead, killed in clashes on the
streets of Dili. Although it is controversial, the ballot is
supposed to be the first step on the road to peace for
inhabitants here. The Jakarta Post reporters Dwi Atmanta,
Boediman Moerdijat, Ridwan M. Sijabat, photographer IGGP Bayu
Ismoyo and correspondent Lourenco Vicente Martins filed the
following stories and photos from East Timor on this page, page 2
and page 6.

DILI, East Timor (JP): With fears of violence and two decades
of agonizing memories casting a shadow over them, East Timorese
are bracing for a landmark vote on their future on Monday.

The fact that only a few shops and other commercial centers,
particularly those selling basic necessities, remain open with
reduced trading hours gives a clear sign of anxiety.

A curfew has not been ordered, but security authorities have
called on people to refrain from going out in the evening.

Bloody clashes, which exploded just before the cooling-off
period, served to warn East Timorese of further hostility
regardless of the results of the self-determination ballot in
which people will determine whether to accept or reject a package
that offers wide-ranging autonomy within Indonesia.

Four people were killed on Thursday -- although the United
Nations Mission in East Timor (UNAMET) put the figure at five --
and two others died on Friday as fighting between the bitter foes
continued.

"Enmity has persisted for years here. It's very difficult for
the warring groups to put their bitter memories behind them,"
Antonio Britis, a taxi driver, said.

The bullets that flew just as talks on disarmament were about
to materialize have raised a fresh debate on whether or not an
international peace-keeping force is needed in this troubled
province.

Less than a week before the clashes, three visiting U.S.
senators issued a plea for an immediate dispatch of armed United
Nations peacekeepers to prevent a possible "bloodbath". Despite
grave concern about the latest violence, however, the UN has
decided to stick to an earlier agreement to mandate the
Indonesian Police to maintain security during the voting process.

Antonio, the driver, echoed the grim assessment and dismissed
repeated calls for reconciliation among people after the popular
consultation.

"It is an East Timorese stereotype to seek revenge of all pain
inflicted by the enemy. Unabated clashes between warring parties
look to be the destiny of people here," Antonio, a former
independence guerrilla fighter, said.

"It may take us five generations to start a new life as a
unified society."

The former Portuguese colony has been beset with guerrilla
warfare and human rights abuses since Indonesian troops were
deployed to the half-island territory in 1976. Human rights
groups said more than 200,000 people died, many from starvation
in the following years.

The massacre in Santa Cruz in November 1991 -- when troops
opened fire on a crowd of protesters and at least 51 people were
killed, according to the National Commission on Human Rights --
has underlined the uneasy relationship between Jakarta and East
Timor.

A new wave of violence has been on the rise since the
government reversed decades of opposition and gave the green
light in January for independence, a decision widely hailed by
the international community but criticized by domestic opposition
parties.

Dozens of people have been killed and thousands displaced from
their homes in the lead-up to the Aug. 30 ballot. While both
sides suffered losses, many have blamed the prointegration
militia, which is suspected of receiving support from the
Indonesian Military.

London-based human rights group Amnesty International said in
its statement: "The consistent failure of the Indonesian
authorities to guarantee safety and security for all East
Timorese ... poses a dangerous precedent for the future of the
troubled territory."

Although there have been some encouraging signs, most notably
the successful voter registration program in which more than
451,000 signed up for the ballot, continued violence has
overshadowed the achievement.

With the number of registered voters surpassing earlier
estimates of between 300,000 and 400,000, the UN let the ballot
go ahead as scheduled. The vote was initially slated for Aug. 8,
but was delayed due to security concerns.

Antonio is just one of many who foresee escalating violence in
the aftermath of the vote. Prointegration figure and leader of
the armed militia Aitarak, Eurico Gutteres, hinted that a "civil
war" looked unavoidable if the autonomy status was rejected.

"It will be a do-or-die battle for me to keep East Timor
within Indonesia's grip and I'm prepared to take to the jungles
to stage a resistance movement if most people vote for
independence.

"If the autonomy offer is rejected, the province must be
divided into two: the eastern part will be ours and the western
part goes to the proindependence faction," he said.

Another prointegration figure, Basilio Diaz Araujo, also
expects to see "bloodshed" in the province if autonomy is
rejected.

Self-exiled proindependence leader Jose Ramos-Horta also said
full-scale violence was almost certain. He said that the ban
imposed on him and popular East Timor leader Jose Alexandre
"Xanana" Gusmao from campaigning and continued Indonesian
Military support for prointegration militias "makes for an
extremely dangerous situation".

"Conflict will continue and this time our mild manners will be
cast aside. The next phase of resistance will be much more
desperate and ferocious and will not be contained to East Timor,"
Ramos-Horta wrote recently.

To anticipate the worst possibility of bloodshed, the
government will deploy 20,000 security personnel, including
police, to strategic areas across the province to avoid open
conflict between the two warring camps, the new Provincial
Military Commander Col. Noer Muis said.

"We will work hard to maintain security and public order and
to provide a feeling of safety among people," he promised.

Muis acknowledged that security authorities would face an
uphill struggle if proindependence forces won as it would
certainly incite harsh reactions from opponents.

But layman Zuli Monterio, who saw bloodshed in his village
following a clash between proindependence and prointegration
supporters on Thursday, predicted that peace would instead
prevail in the province if independence was accepted.

"We are prepared to welcome our proautonomy brothers if we
win," he said, following the words of his revered leader Xanana.

"We have always been kind to proautonomy supporters. We
respect Indonesia's red and white flag they don, because we know
thousands of people have died to defend it." (byg/amd)