World community wants facts not excuses

By Raphael Lengesa Nombo

YOGYAKARTA (JP): The arguments raised by Aleksius Jemadu in Can Australia sever ties with RI? (The Post, Sept. 20) have a bias which might have been born out of blind, narrow nationalism.

In actual fact, it is rational for people of his caliber and intellectual background to see things in reality, considering the prevailing situation in East Timor.

The current situation in East Timor is so pathetic that it not only provokes the sympathy of peace lovers in Indonesia, but also the whole international community.

It is very important to understand the nature of the current problems in East Timor, of which Jemadu is certainly very much aware of. Who is the real enemy in the conflict in East Timor? Is it Australia, Indonesia, Portugal or the United Nations?

In order to offer a clear answer to this question, it will help to avoid fabrication, "gong beating", bias and the shifting of blame to either Australia, Indonesia or the United Nations.

Instead, Australia has become a convenient scapegoat for Indonesia's embarrassment over East Timor. (The Post, Sept. 22) We must face the reality that the current conflict which has led to suffering in East Timor has a historical basis.

For instance, Jemadu was quite right in arguing that "in the 1970s together with the United States, Australia tacitly endorsed the Indonesian military's invasion of East Timor".

However, it is interesting to note that Jemadu does not inform readers about the true state of affairs behind Australia's foreign policy towards East Timor in the early 1970s.

It is necessary to understand that the end of the Cold War era has paved the way for the globalization and democratization of international relations. National interests have sometimes been forced to be compromised, readjusted and even transformed in order to conform with contemporary socioeconomic and political environments.

Quite probably, the reasons which made Australia a staunch supporter of the Indonesian military's invasion in East Timor at the time, have now been overtaken by the chain of events. Mind you, as Simone de Beauvoir wrote, "if you live long enough, you'll see that every victor turns into defeat".

One may offer a quick answer to Jemadu's question, "Does this mean Australia wants to forsake its long-term good relationship with Indonesia?", by this quotation from the Bible, "Forsake not an old friend, for the new is not comparable to him: a new friend is a new wine, when it is old, thou shalt drink it with pleasure."

As an indication that Australia is still serious on maintaining its friendship with Indonesia, it is currently engaging in a soft diplomacy: seeking to persuade public opinion and keeping quiet on some of the sentiments raised by Indonesia.

Australia is sticking to the old adage that "in matters of principle stand firm like a hard rock, but in matters of taste swim with current".

The truth remains that Australia is a member of the international community and a democratic, peace loving nation which respects human rights. Probably what annoys people like Jemadu and causes them to shy away from reality is the arrogance of people not honoring the East Timor referendum.

No man is an island. No nation-state in this world will ever survive without any form of cooperation with other countries. It is highly surprising to note Jemadu's views which endorse Malaysia's suggestion that economic cooperation in East Asia should be confined to Asian States, "thus excluding North America, Australia and New Zealand" because their economies are Western-oriented.

Even with my modest knowledge of international trade, I will never be convinced that Asian nations, especially Indonesia, will advance economically by stopping economic cooperation with the West.

In conclusion, I wish to agree with political analyst Soedjati Djiwandono's opinion in the short commentary, Jingoism rises to the fore over East Timor (The Post, Sept. 15).

"We as a nation should not look back, but face the troubles at hand with honesty, sincerity and goodwill... like it or not, both the police and military have failed, putting it bluntly, to maintain security, law and order in East Timor," he writes.

This is the right time for Jemadu to learn the truth about the problems in East Timor instead of resorting to scapegoating. Meanwhile, what the international community would like to hear about East Timor are facts, because facts alone are wanted in life and not excuses.

The writer is currently a postgraduate student in Public Administration at Gadjah Mada University, Yogyakarta.