UNAMET off the rails?

There has been a great deal said and written by various parties regarding the failure of the Indonesian Police to maintain security in East Timor, collaboration between the Indonesian Military (TNI) and the proautonomy militias as well as various other well-versed and frequently repeated moans, complaints and criticism that Indonesia is acting wrongly or insufficiently in one arena or another in the lead-up to the referendum on Aug. 30, 1999.

There are always two sides to every coin. So, perhaps it's about time the people of the Republic of Indonesia, East Timor Lorosae and the very taxpayers (from UN member countries) who are funding Mr. Ian Martin's little stint of power in East Timor were allowed to know exactly what the US$45 million has been used for so far.

Obviously, the United Nations Mission for East Timor (UNAMET) has done a reasonable job in regard to the registration of eligible voters (exceeding expectations on all sides). Let us forget the interrogation and rejections, which have been mentioned by others already. The campaign period has commenced without a hitch despite the tension in the lead-up to this period. So far, all in all, UNAMET has had it fairly easy as can be seen by anyone frequenting the bars, restaurants and "places of disrepute" in Dili. Without being too long-winded, I feel it is imperative to expose certain incidents in which UNAMET has committed to the whole truth and anything but the truth in the last month or so.

One matter which received a lot of press was the "attack" on UNAMET personnel in Ainaro (civilian police to be precise whose mission is to observe and advise the Indonesia Police, although they do not seem to be too sure what these words mean) on Aug. 5, 1999. This attack which Mr. Martin regarded as "extremely serious" resulted in one civilian police officer suffering a slight injury (or some might call it a scratch) to his shoulder. It is now apparent from credible eyewitnesses that the supposedly neutral and impartial officers were partaking in the inauguration of a new proindependence students organization. Perhaps the incident could have been avoided altogether if the two police officers had stuck to their original task under the May 5 agreement, had not attacked people at the scene with pieces of furniture and subsequently tried to apprehend them, which they have no mandate whatsoever to do.

UNAMET also seems to be very reckless as to who it lends its vehicles to, who it employs, (approximately 91 percent of about 4,000 local staff are proindependence supporters) and whose house they decide to illegally search. Perhaps Mr. Martin ought to spend less time in his hotel room and more time keeping his staff under control (at least giving them some very basic training as regards their duties, responsibilities and powers in East Timor).

Unlike UN failures such as Kosovo, Bosnia and Angola to name but a few, until now UNAMET has not lost one vehicle or had one of its members threatened with a gun or killed in East Timor. Perhaps they can be excused for exaggerating the security situation where possible, as the higher the risk factor the more money they get from UN coffers in daily allowance.

Other reports have been circulated, by nonpartial NGO charity organizations and independent observers, of UNAMET staff intimidating and threatening people with the Indonesian flag in front of their house and forcing them to lower it under threat of violence from dozens of people if their orders were not adhered to immediately. Is this really the behavior to be expected of an internationally renowned and admired organization or some of the boys getting affected by the sun and having a little fun they think they can get away with, or is there something deeper to it?

Every action has an equal and opposite reaction and there are certain names of UNAMET foreign personnel which are on many people's lips who openly state they are waiting on their chance.

G.K. SANGSTER (IFA)

Dili, East Timor