The East Timor issue

President Soeharto is reported to have expressed his concern over the situation in East Timor during a meeting with leaders of the Indonesian Bishop's Conference the other day. He reportedly called for greater efforts to eliminate the prevailing suspicions which the East Timorese still harbor, particularly of non-East Timorese.

We believe that many people share the President's concern over the East Timor issue. The rioting in East Timor two weeks ago, which lasted almost three days, was indeed a warning to all of us as to how precarious the problem of East Timor is. It is obvious that aside from social and economic problems, religion and inter- ethnic relations could trigger social instability in that province far too easily.

On the other hand we are detecting the spread of a kind of "East Timor fatigue" among many Indonesians. Questions such as, how much longer will the East Timor problem continue to haunt us, or, why does East Timor continue to be a running sore even after almost 20 years of integration, are examples of this feeling.

We are also aware that of late a small number of people, particularly activists and for reasons still unclear, have even begun to question the Indonesian "involvement" in East Timor.

Of course we can easily accuse the Fretilin or other third parties of masterminding the endless riots or incidents which are occurring in relation to East Timor. The latest event being the seeking of asylum by five East Timorese students at the British Embassy in Jakarta a few days ago.

We are of the opinion that rather than blaming those people apparently suffering from "East Timor fatigue" of harboring subversive feelings or of having links with the Fretilin, we should try to understand why such questions and opinions have emerged. Only by keeping an open mind can we get answers that could be instrumental in solving the problem.

Much has been said about the mistakes of our past East Timor policy, which put too much emphasis on physical development. Billions or trillions of rupiahs have been spent to raise the living standards of our brothers and sisters in East Timor. And much to our dismay, many of the young people who have enjoyed secondary educations due to these efforts, have turned their backs on us and are opposing the government. And many people in other poor regions have begun to question the merits of the government's policy of providing this 27th province's people with so many more subsidies than they have ever enjoyed.

We are aware that East Timor is a delicate and sensitive issue. But without a real and concerted effort from all of us to settle the issue, East Timor will continue to hamper us.

In the last several years our reputation in the international community has been badly dented by this issue. Many visiting dignitaries have raised the East Timor question during their talks with our leaders. Even some of our neighboring countries have shown a certain degree of uneasiness on the issue, as apparent during the East Timor conferences held in Manila and Bangkok last year.

One way or another, the East Timor issue has come to overshadow the success of our national development. Too much energy has been spent on explaining and countering the negative campaigns on East Timor. We are afraid that without immediate and proper handling, the matter will continue to sap our energy and sidetrack us from the more important issues.

Why should the government not initiate a conference, a series of conferences if necessary, in which all parties, including intellectuals, religious leaders, Armed Forces officers, government officials, parliamentarians, informal leaders, plus scores of other noted individuals, can have open and frank discussions on how to resolve the East Timor dilemma?

We believe that a first solid step like this would help us to understand the situation better and lead to the emergence of further positive action. After all, after almost 20 years of integration, it is time the East Timor question was settled for once and for all.