---------------------------------------------------------- FREE for JOIN Indonesia Daily News Online via EMAIL: go to: http://www.indo-news.com/subscribe.html - FREE - FREE - FREE - FREE - FREE - FREE - Please Visit Our Sponsor http://www.indo-news.com/cgi-bin/ads1 ---------------------------------------------------------- Jakarta Post 13 August 1999 Opinion East Timor's history ignored Sri Pamoedjo Rahardjo This is the first of two articles on East Timor. JAKARTA (JP): Confusing signals from concerned international agencies, the Indonesian government and politicians about the East Timor issue have resulted in chaos. Government officials seem to show ambivalence toward East Timor in response to international pressure. Only a few months ago, the government took a firm stand saying East Timor was an integral part of Indonesia. The meaning of reform has been muddled, from development to drastic legislative change. In doing so, the government may seem to have lost its vigor to protect its own people. The unique facts and history of the country's provinces, including East Timor, seem to have been forgotten. The conflict has claimed thousands of lives of both ordinary citizens and the military. The fate of disabled citizens, of crippled soldiers and the welfare of thousands of others who are directly or indirectly related to the victims has been compromised. In a bizarre twist of events, the international community now seem to regard "Xanana" Gusmao and Jose Ramos-Horta as heroes, whereas Abilio Soares, the current governor, and prointegration Timorese are the rebels. The Indonesian armed forces are seen as the colonial force, Indonesian National Police as armed and dangerous civilians. We are now facing a comedy of errors. The current turmoil in East Timor has been triggered by the political blunders made by our own officials, by allowing the United Nations to raise East Timor as an issue. Endorsing the UN's mediation implies lack of historical knowledge on East Timorese's previous determination to be one with the Republic of Indonesia. Indonesia should learn from India when the country annexed Goa decades ago. The Indian military forces stormed Goa. The Portuguese army surrendered without a fight. The Indians were welcomed by the people of Goa as liberators. Despite international objections, India went ahead with annexation and integration. Goa has become part of India. Although there is some parallel between Goa and East Timor, there is a difference. The Indonesian military forces were invited by the pro- Indonesian forces to help stop the bloodshed against the Fretilin forces. Indonesia has maintained its stand as a non-expansionist country. The government strove to get international recognition for East Timor as part of Indonesia. Endorsement from our ASEAN neighbors, non-aligned countries and some "friendly" countries was forthcoming and Indonesia maintained endless diplomatic initiatives on East Timor until the government decided overnight to propose a vote, as if previous commitments had not been made. This action was seized by secessionists groups to move into high gear. The international community has forgotten the background of Indonesia's "invasion" of East Timor. At that time, the United States was busy with its own war in Vietnam. During the Cold War, the U.S. was worried by the apparent rise of a left-leaning government in East Timor. As a proponent of the "domino theory", Indonesia was urged to help avert the spread of communism in the region. The deployment of Indonesian military volunteers to East Timor was highly welcomed then. What a price to pay! Today, the same superpower is backing up the UN to possibly remove East Timor from the map of Indonesia. Facts are now distorted to fit the image it wants to project. At present, any discussion of East Timor is politically loaded with human rights violations. The prointegrationist faction requested that the territory become part of Indonesia. The People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) subsequently approved the request in 1976. Being a part of Indonesia, the underlying assumptions for the structure of East Timor's government apparatus and development plans were integrated into the national government structure and development plans for all the other provinces. In addition, during the first decade after integration, huge amounts of rupiah funds were pumped into East Timor to rehabilitate and construct new infrastructure, among other things roads, irrigation, public buildings, transport, telecommunications, housing, health services and the school system. A conservative estimate of the cost is close to US$100 million annually for the last 20 years. The aim was to provide basic infrastructure in East Timor and close the gap between it and other provinces in Indonesia. This kind of development was never seen in East Timor in the hundreds of years under Portuguese domination. The deployment of human resources from other provinces was necessary to support the developing infrastructure and administer the laws of the Republic of Indonesia. Migrants from other provinces, seizing this opportunity to build a better future for themselves, entered the small- scale trade and the informal sector in East Timor. East Timorese and other Indonesians do not seem to realize that all provinces under the Republic actually partake to shoulder these huge development funds. In order to maintain development in its provinces, the central government had to obtain large loans from multilateral agencies, reaching $40 billion before the crisis. The writer is a social and economic observer. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Didistribusikan tgl. 12 Aug 1999 jam 21:41:44 GMT+1 oleh: Indonesia Daily News Online <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> http://www.Indo-News.com/ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
