The truth about E. Timor

The truth about E. Timor

Any inquiry into the violence which erupted in East Timor in
September, sooner or later, would lead to the Indonesian Military
(TNI) simply because it was the institution most responsible for
maintaining security in the territory at the time. Thus, it
should come as no surprise that the National Commission on Human
Rights (Komnas Ham) this weekend disclosed its preliminary
finding of some kind of "association" existing between TNI and
the pro-Indonesia East Timor militia, which conducted the ugly
campaign of terror and destruction after the Aug. 30 ballot.

Komnas Ham's finding corroborates what many people in Jakarta,
and abroad, already knew. Since TNI has been the chief supporter
of the gun-totting militias which terrorized the East Timor
populace in the run up to and immediately after the ballot, one
only needs to put two and two together to conclude that the
military must have had a role in that unfortunate episode in East
Timor.

The only thing left for any inquiry is to determine the extent
of the military's role. The weekend disclosure of its preliminary
finding was a good start. The Komnas Ham team, which has just
returned from East Timor, now wants to speak to the military's
top brass who were involved in East Timor policy making,
including Gen. Wiranto, the TNI chief at the time and now
Coordinating Minister for Political Affairs and Security.

To facilitate the investigation, President Abdurrahman Wahid
must allow Komnas Ham to question Gen. Wiranto. Given the
sensitivity of the investigation, it may even be desirable for
the President to suspend Wiranto from his Cabinet, at least until
after the inquiry is completed. The government must give its full
cooperation and ensure unimpeded access to this inquiry, the
results of which are much awaited, not only in Indonesia, but
also in East Timor and the international community.

This is an inquiry upon which Indonesia's reputation, and
especially that of the government, is at stake. This is an
investigation which was launched immediately after Indonesia
firmly rejected the proposition of an international inquiry of
possible war crimes committed by its own people in East Timor. A
separate UN inquiry in fact has already started, but, since it
won't have the full cooperation of the Indonesian government, its
results would be partial and incomplete at best.

The Komnas Ham investigation, on the other hand, will be more
thorough since it is supposed to have the benefit of more access
to all the players in the affair. Whether or not its findings are
credible, however, is something that the current administration,
and President Abdurrahman Wahid in particular, will determine.

Given its independence and high reputation, Komnas Ham is
indeed the best institution to conduct such an investigation. The
commission has in the past produced various commendable reports
detailing the atrocities of the government and the military in
other parts of Indonesia. Few people would doubt Komnas Ham's
credibility and integrity in promoting human rights.

Unfortunately, Komnas Ham makes up only half of the act in any
effort to stamp out human rights abuses in this country. The
commission lacks teeth as hardly any of its findings, no matter
how credible and courageous, were followed up, or acted upon.
This is true for earlier reports of systematic human rights
abuses in East Timor when the territory was under Indonesia's
military occupation as well as for similar findings elsewhere in
the country, including Aceh, Irian Jaya and in Jakarta. All the
commissions' reports, and recommendations, were virtually ignored
by the presidents at the time. First Soeharto and then B.J.
Habibie.

Will the Komnas Ham report into the September violence in East
Timor, when it comes out, meet the same fate? We hope not,
certainly not under President Abdurrahman, especially given the
goodwill that has been shown toward him at home and also abroad.

The September violence in East Timor has put Indonesia in the
international spotlight. Indonesia may have prevented an in-depth
UN inquiry into that affair, and probably spared some of its Army
generals from international war crime tribunals, but it still
cannot ignore its international responsibilities. The guilty
parties must be punished in accordance with their crimes, whether
at an international or an Indonesian court.

Ultimately, it is the reputation of President Abdurrahman that
is really at stake. He is the one who calls the shots: whether
Wiranto should be questioned or not, and whether those military
officers most responsible are prosecuted or not. And he is the
one best suited to repair the government's reputation which has
been tarnished after the military's botched handling of East
Timor's separation from Indonesia.