Time for reconciliation
Given that it has taken some governments many years or even decades to publicly acknowledge the wrongs that their countries have done to others, President Abdurrahman Wahid can be said to have shown remarkable sensitivity by using his brief visit on Tuesday to apologize to the people of East Timor for the treatment they received during the 25 years that the territory was part of Indonesia.
"You were oppressed. We also were living under tyranny. But praise God, that past period which was full of hardship and pain, will end soon. Let us start building a better future for Timor Leste and Indonesia," the Indonesian President said to the cheers of thousands of East Timorese gathered to welcome him.
A public apology from the Indonesian President to the people of East Timor, of course, is fully deserved. Although many of the injustices and atrocities committed by Indonesians during the era of "integration" may come to light only after a full investigation and many others will probably forever remain concealed, even what little is known at present is sufficient to put an indelible blot on Indonesia's contemporary history.
Undeniable, because of the available testimony of living witnesses, are the killings, the massive destruction and the displacement of innocent East Timorese during the upheavals that followed the East Timorese independence vote last year. So are the killings by Indonesian troops of scores of peaceful demonstrators during the infamous 1991 Santa Cruz incident.
True, the territory underwent rapid development under Indonesian administration during "integration". New roads were built to lift remote villages out of decades of isolation. Schools were built to provide education for the youths of East Timor. On the other hand, many of the benefits that development could have brought to the East Timorese went to newcomers from other parts of Indonesia instead.
No less destructive was the New Order regime's subculture of corruption that found a foothold and infected the territory. And despite the numerous development projects undertaken by the Indonesian government, the one factor that most strongly helped sustain the spirit of independence was the injustice, real or perceived, perpetrated by that administration.
As President Abdurrahman noted, however, all that is water under the bridge. To continue to dwell on those past mistakes may satisfy the emotions of some, but will help neither East Timor nor Indonesia to build a future that benefits both. If Indonesia wants to atone for the wrongs it has done in the past, one thing it can do is to assist the East Timorese, as much as it can, in building a prosperous, democratic East Timor.
This Indonesia can do without too much cost, for example by providing East Timorese students with the opportunity to continue to study at Indonesian universities and by providing expertise to the administration of the newly independent Timor Leste. It is fortunate, indeed, that both East Timor and Indonesia are led at present by people dedicated to the cause of democracy and peace. For both countries and for the sake of regional stability, it is of vital importance that their leaders continue to do their best to ensure that both can live together and cooperate as befits good neighbors.