---------------------------------------------------------- FREE for JOIN Indonesia Daily News Online via EMAIL: go to: http://www.indo-news.com/subscribe.html - FREE - FREE - FREE - FREE - FREE - FREE - Dengan mengClick banner sponsor anda menyumbang Rp. 1000,- untuk HomePage IndoNews. ---------------------------------------------------------- * Dili tense amid prospect of independence * East Timor offered deal on troops * Rallies to be banned for election campaign * Hoodlums from Jakarta incited Ambon riots * Suharto cash linked to 12 parties ---------------------------------------------------------------- Dili tense amid prospect of independence ======================================== Agence France Presse - Feburary 1, 1999 Dili -- The capital of the troubled territory of East Timor remained tense on Monday in the week after Indonesia's surprise announcement that it might allow independence. With both supporters and opponents of the idea consolidating their plans, about 200 youths staged a rally to press for independence, crisscrossing the streets of capital Dili on trucks yelling slogans. At the stately governor's office, facing the Bay of Timor, the administrative and military heads of the territory's 13 districts met Jakarta-appointed Governor Jose Osorio Abilio Soares. "The meeting is to obtain explanation from the governor on the government's announcement so that they can provide the correct information to their people in their respective districts," a source at the governor's office said. However, the source said that during the meeting, the governor "underlined that the stress should be laid on the government's expanded autonomy scheme." Jakarta on Wednesday said it may propose that East Timor, annexed by Indonesia 23 years ago, be allowed to secede should a current proposal for a wide-ranging autonomy be rejected by the Timorese people. Foreign Minister Ali Alatas has said independence for East Timor was only "the last option" and that Jakarta would flesh out the autonomy scheme in talks with Portugal held under the auspices of the UN secretary general. Lieutenant Colonel Supadi, who heads the East Timor military command's general staff affairs department, said the possibility of independence was preoccupying the people in Dili. "Both camps, those for the autonomy and those demanding independence, are now busy preparing their own proposals, plans and positions. They are all consolidating their forces," Supadi told AFP. The protestors, some wearing headbands with "total independence" in Portuguese inscribed on them, went to the local parliament to make calls for a free East Timor, then held a free-speech forum at the Santa Cruz cemetery. Santa Cruz was the scene of the November 12, 1991 "Dili Massacre" when Indonesian soldiers fired into a crowd of peaceful demonstrators, killing at least 50 according to official tolls. Other tolls, including from witnesses, spoke of more than 100 deaths. The protestors then boarded trucks and paraded around Dili in the absence of security forces. A lone military helicopter circled above. The demonstration came after a separatist group, the National Front for the Defenders of Independence of the Timor Leste Nation, called in leaflets circulating in Dili, for mass rallies in support of full independence. Meanwhile, the head of the East Timor education and culture office, Andry Sutardi, said his office will soon ask its employees, including school teachers in the territory, whether they wanted to leave or stay should East Timor secede. Officials have said some 250 migrant teachers in East Timor were seeking transfers to other regions saying they feared for their lives in the territory, citing cited terror, intimidation, physical attack and threats. Major General Adam Damiri, head of the Bali-based Udayana regional military command that oversees security in East Timor, confirmed there had been instances of terror and intimidation against teachers and doctors, Antara said. On January 26, the Dili state hospital closed down, allowing a skeleton staff to man the hospital, following attacks on two doctors. Florentino Sarmento of the National Commission on Human Rights in Dili told AFP that attacks on Indonesian staff at the state hospital had been going on since June. Indonesia annexed East Timor in 1976 but the move was never recognized by the United Nations. A pro-independence movement has been active since. East Timor offered deal on troops ================================= The Age - February 1, 1999 Paul Daley, Canberra -- Indonesia's military intelligence has offered a proposal to the East Timor resistance whereby it would swiftly remove Indonesian troops from the troubled province if former collaborators were protected. It is believed that Australia became aware of the proposal late last week through its own intelligence sources, after discussions between senior resistance figures and Indonesian military intelligence officers. Sources said the Indonesian intelligence officers told the resistance that senior military (ABRI) figures were willing to "immediately" withdraw from East Timor on two conditions. The Indonesian officers initiated the discussions. "The first condition was that they wanted to save some face, having been in Timor for so long, in any withdrawal. There must not be a suggestion that the resistance had beaten them," a source said. "Secondly, the military intelligence men spoke of their requirement for `assistance' to be given to their `friends' in East Timor in such an event. "What they were saying was that, for want of a better term, they wanted protection to be given to pro-Indonesian sympathisers, people who helped them through the civil service, or intelligence and military circles." It is understood that the East Timor resistance gave no guarantees to the Indonesian intelligence officers. But the resistance made it clear that a swift ABRI withdrawal was unacceptable if the Indonesian military continued to heavily arm pro-government citizen militias, before their departure. Australia's knowledge of the Indonesian military's informal proposal contributes to a rapidly developing view in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade that Indonesia intends to quickly grant independence to East Timor, without a sustained period of autonomy or an act of self-determination. While Australia was last week quick to praise Indonesia's "new flexibility" in relation to its East Timor policy, it is believed that the Department of Foreign Affairs views rapid independence as potentially disastrous. The department also believes that such a path to independence -- which would almost certainly spark a civil war between pro and anti-independence factions -- would require a massive peace- keeping contribution by Australia. Meanwhile, Indonesian and Portuguese diplomats arrived in Lisbon and Jakarta yesterday to establish the first diplomatic ties between the two countries since Indonesia's 1975 invasion of East Timor. Two diplomats from each country are setting up interest sections under the auspices of embassies of friendly nations, the Thai embassy in Lisbon and the Dutch embassy in Jakarta. Indonesia's Rzlan Ishar Jenie said on his arrival at Lisbon airport that Jakarta was determined to seek a "peaceful and lasting" solution to East Timor. In Jakarta, the head of the Portuguese interests section said she hoped to visit Jose "Xanana" Gusmao at the first opportunity. Rallies to be banned for election campaign ========================================== Agence France Presse - February 2, 1999 Jakarta -- The Indonesian government will ban outdoor political rallies during the campaign for the June 7 general election, reports said Tuesday. The Indonesian General Elections Board (LPU) has agreed a schedule for the first post-Suharto polls. And Home Affairs Minister Syarwan Hamid, who chairs the board, said political parties would not be allowed to stage outdoor rallies to avoid violence, the Jakarta Post daily said. "Political parties will not be allowed to mobilize the masses in open fields and party supporters will be barred from taking to the streets. These measures are meant to prevent clashes and violence like in the past," Hamid said. Past election campaigns under Suharto were marked huge rallies, street convoys and violence between supporters of the three legal parties that contested the elections. A legislature has to be formed by November 10 to elect a president and a vice president. President B.J. Habibie, who took over from veteran strongman Suharto last May, has promised elections by June. Many analysts have said the election will be a test of the new Indonesian government's democratic credentials. Opponents have accused Habibie of being a left-over from the old Suharto regime. The election process started Monday with a one month period for parties to register and be approved, Kompas daily reported. Some 130 new parties have sprung up since Suharto was forced to stand down amid protests over the economy and political climate. Officials say only about 30 will be allowed to contest the election. The second one-month phase, begining March 18, will be for voters to register. From March 1 to April 15, parties will have to submit candidates for national, provincial and district elections. A 20 day legislative election campaign will start on May 18 and end one day before the June 7 election. The winning district election candidates will be named between June 20 and June 26, those at provincial level between June 27 and July 2 and those for the national parliament between July 3 and July 12. National legislators will be sworn in on August 29. Parliament last week passed new political laws governing political parties, the composition and role of the legislature and the elections. Home Affairs Ministry spokesman Herman Ibrahim said 11 government and non-government representatives, including of students, will determine which parties would be allowed to contest the election. "The team is composed of non partisan, impartial individuals of high integrity," Ibrahim said. The team includes leading pro-reform Moslem academic Nurcholis Majid, the Home Affairs Ministry's Andi Mallarangeng, independent poll monitor Mulyanakusumah, student leader Rama Pratama, human rights lawyer Adnan Buyung Nasution, former supreme judge Andi Andoyo and Miriam Budiarjo, a former member of the national human rights commission. Hamid was quoted by the Jakarta Post as estimating that only about 30 parties were expected to pass the vetting. Voters will now have to register themselves. In the past, election committee teams went from house to house. But Ibrahim said party candidates would no longer be subjected to security screening. Under Suharto, intelligence screening was carried out, officially to weed out candidates with past links to the banned Indonesian Communist Party. The practice was widely criticized by human rights activists and politicians as a tool to root out vocal and critical legislators. Habibie's government has pledged these elections will be free and fair and the government would welcome foreign observers. Hoodlums from Jakarta incited Ambon riots ========================================= Reuters - January 31, 1999 Jakarta -- Hundreds of hoodlums from Indonesia's capital Jakarta arrived on the eastern island of Ambon days before it was hit by bloody riots that killed at least 65 people, a newspaper reported Monday. The Media Indonesia daily quoted a report by Muslim groups in Ambon, capital of Indonesia's spice islands, as saying that last month at least 862 hoodlums arrived in Ambon in two ships and had helped mastermind the unrest. The chairman of the Al-Fatah group, Abdullah Solissa, was quoted as saying the hoodlums had arrived ready to instigate riots. The Muslim-Christian violence started on January 19, the first day of the Muslim Eid al-Fitr celebration, and continued for several days. Media Indonesia said 47 people had been arrested by local police in connection with the riots. Indonesia has been hit by waves of religious, ethnic and political violence over the past year during the country's worst economic crisis in decades. The Ambon violence was the worst since savage riots hit Jakarta last May, killing almost 1,200 people. Human rights groups and opposition leaders have regularly blamed provocateurs for inciting unrest in the troubled country. Last week, opposition leaders urged the army to expose the masterminds behind recent violence. Abdurrahman Wahid, head of Indonesia's largest Muslim group, said the provocateurs could be members of the military or followers of former President Suharto, who was forced from power in May. Suharto cash linked to 12 parties ================================= South China Morning Post - February 2, 1999 Jenny Grant, Jakarta -- Indonesia's powerful former first family is funding 12 political parties in an attempt to influence the June elections, opposition and party sources said yesterday. Mulyanah Kusumah, a member of the government team which will select which political parties qualify to compete in the June 7 polls, said the Suharto family was providing financial backing to 12 small parties. "They want to maintain political influence and to make a political defence mechanism. They also want to create a political safety net by providing this kind of financial support," said Mr Kusumah, who is also the head of the independent election monitoring committee. He said politicians from the 12 parties met each week at the East Jakarta home of Ibnu Hartomo, the younger brother of late first lady Ibu Tien Suharto. Mr Hartomo was unavailable for comment, but his staff said many new parties used his house for meetings. A senior source in the National Mandate Party said Suharto family agents offered it 11 billion rupiah and asked for the bank account number of party chairman Amien Rais. "We rejected the money, but it is clear the money machine is already working," the party official said. Mr Rais, who is likely to be a serious contender for the presidency later this year, launched the Jakarta branch of his party at the weekend. The Suharto family also has a direct line into larger parties that stand a chance of forming alliances to get elected. Mr Suharto's half-brother, businessman Probosutedjo, was elected chairman of the Indonesian National Party on Sunday. The National Mandate Party official said: "It's a very big problem, money politics. Suharto wants to stop the election process and make a big mess." Mr Kusumah said sources of funding might be one criterion for deciding whether parties could contest the polls. "I will recommend that the team should not only use legal criteria but also political criteria. We don't want pseudo-parties," he said. Other party leaders say they were keen to be funded by the former first family. The head of the Indonesian People's Party, Agus Mitfah, said he would not reject money from the Suhartos: "As a new party I need funds from anywhere -- Suharto, Hong Kong, wherever." Politicians have established 120 parties in Indonesia since political laws were relaxed last year. Parties wishing to compete at the polls must have branches in nine of the country's 27 provinces and at least half of the local regencies in those provinces. Funding that number of branches is difficult for poorer parties. ********************************************************** Action in Solidarity with Indonesia and East Timor (ASIET) PO Box 458, Broadway NSW 2007 Australia Phone: 61-(0)2-96901230 Fax : 61-(0)2-96901381 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] WWW : http://www.peg.apc.org/~asiet/ Free Xanana Gusmao, Budiman Sujatmiko and Dita Sari! Free all political prisoners in Indonesia and East Timor! ********************************************************** ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Didistribusikan tgl. 3 Feb 1999 jam 09:13:00 GMT+1 oleh: Indonesia Daily News Online <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> http://www.Indo-News.com/ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
