The Belo uproar

It is perhaps not very hard to understand the hurt which East Timor's Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo's remarks, as published by the German magazine Der Spiegel, have caused many Indonesians. Whether one approves of it or not, many Indonesians have, over the past several years, shown themselves to be highly sensitive to what they consider as undue criticism of their country and its leaders. In light of this, the demonstrations that have been staged in a number of cities can likewise be easily understood.

However, this tendency to vent our anger at critics without apparently giving much further thought to what underlies their criticism is a penchant that, to be quite frank, we find rather disturbing. Noisy demonstrations and counter-demonstrations seem to be gradually replacing sensible public debates directed toward examining controversial issues that may arise. But while no doubt demonstrations have mass appeal, they seldom help to fairly and effectively resolve the issues against which they are aimed.

This is certainly true in the case of East Timor's Bishop Belo. Though a strong critic of human rights abuses, the bishop is not only a highly esteemed and popular public figure among the people of the province, he is generally known here and abroad as a sensible man as well as a comparatively moderate leader of the Roman Catholic Church of East Timor. True, his choice of words as published in the Der Spiegel interview may hurt most Indonesians' sensitivities, but protests can be delivered in ways that temper the issue and not aggravate it instead. It must be remembered that the East Timor issue is still one that easily incites sentiments and that provocative actions and statements had therefore be better avoided by everyone concerned.

There is, however, another no less important aspect to the present case that deserves our attention. Assuming that Belo was quoted correctly in Der Spiegel, one question that we might have asked ourselves is, what drove the usually temperate East Timorese bishop to make his piercingly critical statements? Could it be true that there is still that much room left for improvement in East Timor, especially with regard to the protection of human rights? Surely the fact that Belo enjoys such huge support among the East Timorese is an indication that his words and actions appeal to the conscience of the people of the province. This, if nothing else, should serve as a warning for us to try to get to the essence of Belo's message and to start to properly address whatever grievances there still may be in East Timor.

As the present stage of developments, restraint is what is first of all needed before we can work effectively on improving the situation with regard to East Timor. Common sense and reason on all sides must prevail. There is an impression that at least some of the "spontaneous" anti-Belo demonstrations have been staged by manipulating the crowds, an action that can only be counterproductive.

We hope that, more than just keeping us busy with the problem of the moment, the present case involving Bishop Belo will lead us to reflect on the wider implications of our actions and reactions towards criticism, however painful it may be. Criticism, after all, leads to correction and is one of the essential elements of democracy. It is not an exaggeration to say that unless one can accept criticism with a positive attitude, one is not ready for democracy, and to live in a healthy democracy is surely something to which we all aspire.