'Xanana' release 'to be meaningful'

'Xanana' release 'to be meaningful'

Visiting U.S. Congressmen urged the Indonesian government on
Jan. 13 to release East Timor guerrilla leader Jose Alexandre
"Xanana" Gusmao who is serving a 20-year sentence. Military
observer Let. Gen. (ret.) Hasnan Habib addresses the issue.

Question: The government reportedly plans to release Xanana
from prison. Will his release help Indonesia expedite a solution
to the East Timor issue?

Hasnan: Oh, yes. A plan for his release will be a progressive
idea on the part of the government as he is recognized by the
international community as a political, and not a criminal,
prisoner. The fact that United Nations officials and other
foreign envoys wanted to visit him in prison indicates that he is
not a criminal prisoner.

Moreover, Xanana, after being released, will no longer go
underground in his struggle for the interests of the East
Timorese people. His release will offer advantages because he
does not reject the government's offer of broad-based autonomy
for the territory, knowing that East Timor has no adequate
resources if it is immediately set free from Indonesia. Some of
the East Timorese people who are proposing the holding of a
referendum in the territory also regard Xanana as their leader.

What if Xanana stages a rebellion as soon as he is released?

Setting him free will surely be based on the understanding
that he will help all parties to look for a peaceful solution
which will be most beneficial to the East Timorese people.

The government, which claims to be working in the interests of
the people, should pay more attention to the interests of the
East Timorese.

Do you consider that offering broad-based autonomy is better
than holding a referendum?

The government has offered broad-based autonomy for the
territory, while some of the East Timorese want their territory
to remain integrated with Indonesia, some want a referendum and
some others want immediate independence.

Now that the government's offer is the most outstanding, while
the balance of the numbers of people wanting integration, a
referendum and independence is not known yet, we'd better start
with the offered autonomy. But in formulating the autonomy, we
have to accommodate the interests of the East Timorese people.

The government, therefore, should hold negotiations with the
East Timorese people, including those wanting to have a
referendum, to formulate the autonomous authorities that the
territory will enjoy.

The East Timorese will then be given a chance to implement
the autonomy, whose formulation is approved by both parties, for
some three to five years. During that period, the government and
its Armed Forces (ABRI) should try to correct all their past
mistakes in order to win the hearts of the East Timorese people.

After the implementation of the autonomy for some three to
five years, we must give a chance to the East Timorese to
determine their own fate through a referendum, asking whether
they want to continue to be part of Indonesia with a certain
status -- as an autonomous province or even within a federal
state -- or to go independent.

During this reform era, we have to offer sovereignty to the
people, including those in East Timor.

Suppose the East Timorese won independence, won't it encourage
others to do so?

Many friends in other countries have also asked me such a
question. I told them that some people, not only those in East
Timor but also in other provinces like Aceh and Irian Jaya,
wanted separation from Indonesia. But they are just small
minorities.

I also told them that the majority of people in those
provinces just wanted fairer treatment and fairer shares of
financial resources from the central government.

Aceh, for example, currently demands an 80 percent share of
resources it produces, while the government can take the
remaining 20 percent.

People in the provinces know that major portions of their
resources go to the central government and that some of them are
corrupted by its officials.

Will Australia's recent policy shift on East Timor affect
Indonesia's international diplomacy?

I do not think so because Australia maintains its recognition
of Indonesia's sovereignty over the territory -- as shown by its
rejection of a proposal that it renegotiates or revises its Timor
Gap agreement with Indonesia.

However, the new policy is a warning that Indonesia must be
more flexible on the East Timor issue. Australia might support
the independence of East Timor if Indonesia failed to win the
hearts of the people in the territory.

Who has made mistakes, the government or ABRI, if Indonesia
has thus far failed to win the hearts of the East Timorese?

Both. The government, for instance, has made a mistake by
centralizing its policy on East Timor, including the appointment
of officials there. Meanwhile, atrocities in the territory
indicate that ABRI is too emotional in carrying out its tasks.
(riz)