Time for reconciliation

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.