UNAMET off the rails?

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