'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)