To be free, E. Timor needs Indonesia

To be free, E. Timor needs Indonesia

By Soegio Sosrosoemarto

JAKARTA (JP): If I were East Timorese, I would wholeheartedly
support the struggle of East Timorese to be free, and that can be
achieved only by East Timor becoming an integral part of the
archipelago called Indonesia. For Indonesia is a nation born out
of the universal ideal of freedom from colonial bondage, and not
based on single racial, single religious or single cultural
concepts. It is this force of universal idealism which has worked
as a centripetal force bringing together far flung islands and
people into one nation.

Only the vagary of colonialism in the past has made this
eastern part of the island called East Timor an infamous symbol
of Portuguese presence in the "remote" corner of the world for
hundreds of years. It was made possible only because our
illiterate and guileless ancestors were unknowing victims of
colonialism, regarded as mere human chattels by the white masters
and by vernal and corrupt local henchmen. The easternmost tip of
the island had become a model of utter neglect of colonialism, so
much so that Polish-born English writer and adventurer Joseph
Conrad (1857-1924), described East Timor in his book The Victory
as a "god-forsaken spot".

An independent East Timor (with original indigenous name or
newly imported one) would be an artificial, even grotesque,
creation, designed only to cater to the anachronistic dream of
some local quasi "westernized" elite. They seem to still cherish
the preservation of "Lusitanian" culture in this former
Portuguese colonial chunk of land. Being artificial, an
independent East Timor would most likely be short-lived. Like a
severed household lizard's tail: it wiggles for a while and then
stops moving.

Human memory indeed is short. Many of those who are now loudly
demanding a referendum to be held in East Timor belong to an
armed political group who, in the mid 1970s (on Nov. 28, 1975 to
be exact), unilaterally declared independence for East Timor,
blatantly ignoring the other political groupings.

Apparently afraid of the prospect of losing in a
democratically held act of free choice, they tried to seize
power, leaving, had they succeeded, the other political groupings
with a stark choice: either disbanding themselves of facing
elimination. By no stretch of the imagination could one expect
this political grouping to be a democratic vehicle in an
independent country. In power, they would most likely not
tolerate any opposing political factions and would use force to
achieve their political goals.

One can certainly understand why a lot of young East Timorese
join the clamor for a referendum. They seem to take for granted
what they see as their land of birth. In the 1970s, they were too
young -- some not even born yet -- to be able to make comparisons
between Indonesia's 27th province and Timor Leste under colonial
rule. Jobless, uprooted from their native soil and living in
unfriendly jungles of concrete, they are deeply frustrated young
people, ready to believe that an independent East Timor under the
current "proindependence" leaders would be a panacea for all
ills.

Indeed, human rights violations, violence, and other great
mistakes have been committed in East Timor by the Indonesian
"newcomers", who in many instances, because of overreaction and
perhaps also zealotry, have indeed shown an utter lack of
sensitivity and respect for local values and customs. All those
wrongs must be corrected and injustices redressed, and not
repeated.

Failure to do this will lend credit to the propaganda cleverly
concocted and effectively disseminated by "interested parties",
mostly operating abroad, that there have been large-scale and
systematic measures of "Islamization" or "Javanization" in East
Timor.

Recent spates of bloody clashes between proindependence and
pro-Indonesia supporters in East Timor should make all of us
think long and hard about the wisdom of holding a referendum in
East Timor, as demanded by proindependence elements.

These clashes could be a foretaste of possible future
violence, certainly bloodier and on a larger scale than the
conflict in the 1970s, if the results of a referendum are not
satisfactory to both sides.

Pro-Indonesia groups have suddenly sprung up everywhere in
East Timor recently, following the government announcement on the
"two options". Earlier, the government decided to reduce the
number of Armed Forces there. It would be absurd to insist that
rebels have the right to carry guns legally because they are
fighting for a political goal, while private citizens should be
forbidden to arm themselves.

The arming of East Timorese private citizens, dubbed
"militia", is obviously an act of prepared self-defense for
emergencies, since as often as not they are the object of the
rebels' attacks and terrorism. These so-called "militia" would
likely be willing to dispose of their weapons as soon as
proindependence rebels stop attacking them. Unfortunately, the
recent reported call of the leader of the proindependence group
for his followers in East Timor to declare war on the Indonesian
government and the Armed Forces have made the situation worse.

One of the ways to find a peaceful solution to the East Timor
problem is to give proindependence elements in East Timor the
opportunity to found a political party of their own, followed by
the disarming of their supporters. This new political party,
whose goal is independence for East Timor, along with other
political parties already in existence, would take part in
regional and local elections to choose their representatives.

There would be two options for them in their quest for
independence: Voting, qualified or not, in the regional council
on a bill which would declare independence for East Timor, or
voting on a bill demanding a referendum or popular sounding on
independence. All the proceedings should take place under the
United Nations aegis. This special election would be held
separately from the general election scheduled for June.

No one doubts that the road to a peaceful solution of the East
Timor problem is long, hard, and arduous. And no one knows
exactly how the two opposing groups can be reconciled. Could a
United Nations presence in East Timor help the warring sides find
a peaceful solution acceptable to all parties concerned? Yes, it
could probably help, but only for a short time. Observe, for
example, what has happened in a number of other countries where
UN peacekeepers or observers are stationed.

The underlying main cause of recurrent violence between
contending parties is the parties' failure to agree on a national
consensus on the future system of government, and its concomitant
failure to merge their "military" wings into one national army.

As to the prospect of a peaceful solution to conflicts in East
Timor, much depends on whether independence supporters are
willing and prepared to form a a genuine political party
committed to democracy and the non-use of force in seeking
solutions to the problems in East Timor.

One of the main prerequisites for this transformation is
whether they are sincerely ready and willing to disband and
disarm their "military" wing. Looking into their past records one
doubts if they are ready for that, but let us hope they will be.

Bearing in mind the possible obstacles and difficulties
mentioned above, we can only hope that foreign "instant experts"
who from afar dabble in the problems of former colonial
territories and who usually are more inclined to listen to the
favored party, would come to their senses and seek a more
realistic and viable peace formula for East Timor.

Finally, taking the cue from peace efforts in the Middle East,
our government leaders who have played an active and constructive
role in efforts to find a peaceful solution for the 27th province
of Indonesia should now gird themselves with courage to face a
possible new "problem": an offer of an award by the Nobel Peace
Prize committee.

The Nobel committee's goals are indeed noble, but in this
particular case, the committee would demonstrate, to our deep
regret, a flagrant lack of objectivity. Therefore, a Nobel Peace
Prize, shared or not with someone else (one name comes to mind),
should be politely turned down. Indeed, this decision does need
courage, because the hundreds of thousands of dollars which go
with the award would be for many a temptation too strong to
resist.

Soegio Sosrosoemarto was Indonesia's charge d'affairs in
Namibia from 1992 to 1995. The opinions expressed here are
entirely his own.