The world is watching us
Indonesia may find it comforting to learn that the United Nations Security Council will not set up an international tribunal for people responsible for the campaign of terror and destruction in East Timor in September. This assurance from visiting UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Wednesday, however, comes with a caveat: That the investigation and the ensuing trials -- assuming there is a case for prosecution -- conducted by Indonesia is seen as credible and meets basic international standards of justice. Although Annan's words are reassuring, the onus is still on Indonesia to prove to the international community that this country's judicial system can deliver justice.
Some people in this country have wrongly treated this kind of international pressure as meddling in Indonesia's domestic affairs. Those with the most to lose from such an investigation have even tried to fan nationalist sentiments and mobilize public opposition against any kind of international pressure. The independent Inquiry into the Violations of Human Rights (KPP HAM) in East Timor has been accused of working for foreign interests. President Abdurrahman Wahid has also been criticized for bowing to international pressure when he let the investigation continue, and again when he suspended Gen. Wiranto from a top Cabinet post on Monday because the latter was named as the target of the investigation.
These accusations miss the whole point of the investigation. Indonesia, as a member of the international community, must live up to its responsibility. The tragedy in East Timor -- the killing, the forced evacuation of almost the entire populace and the destruction of property -- was our responsibility since the territory was still under the care of our government. Even if we assume that the Indonesian Military (TNI) did not take part in the terror campaign, it should bear some responsibility for allowing the mayhem to occur right under its nose.
While international pressure on Indonesia to investigate the East Timor tragedy has been strong, the domestic pressure has barely been heard or felt. This is partly because the local East Timor lobby no longer exists since the territory opted for independence in September, and partly because to the Indonesian public, East Timor is only one of many tragedies of miscarriage of justice that have occurred in this country these past years. The cry for justice has recently become louder from people in Aceh, Maluku, Irian Jaya and even here in Jakarta because of the presence of a strong domestic lobby.
Although the domestic pressure on East Timor is virtually absent, that in no way clears Indonesia of its international obligations. Indonesia's own experience from the last two years has shown that international pressure is not necessarily a bad thing. At times, it more than supplemented the domestic pressure for change in the face of a strong and stubborn regime.
The International Monetary Fund may have contributed to the worsening of the economic crisis, but it was the one that forced then president Soeharto to end monopolies and other business privileges given to his children and cronies. Outside pressure has also played its part in the anticorruption drive, and in forcing the regime to make concessions on questions of human rights, democracy, labor rights and environmental conservation.
While these are essentially battles for the Indonesian people to wage, there is nothing wrong with counting on a little help from outside from time to time.
This argument could now be stretched to include the current fight to ensure that justice is upheld in this country, a cry that has been heard louder and louder all across the country. Given Indonesia's notorious judicial system, a little pressure from outside could well provide the thrust to ensure that justice finally sees the light of day, not only in East Timor, but also in Aceh, Maluku, Irian Jaya, Jakarta and the rest of Indonesia.