The East Timor issue

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.