Jakarta Post Editorial, 17 Sept 1999
Spare us the indignity
Thanks to the leadership of President B.J. Habibie and Indonesian
Military Commander (TNI) Gen. Wiranto, we Indonesians as a nation
have
suffered one international indignity after another these past two weeks.
The decision to accept on Sunday a United Nations peacekeeping force
into East Timor -- diplomatically worded as an invitation -- came in the
face of strong international pressure. Then on Wednesday, the Security
Council unanimously voted to establish a multinational force and gave it
a full mandate to restore peace. This means the use of military force if
necessary. Rubbing salt into the wound, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan
ignored Indonesia's objections and named Australia to head the force.
Prior to this chain of events, Indonesia was widely condemned, bullied,
and threatened with economic sanctions. The International Monetary Fund
and the World Bank said they would reconsider their multibillion dollar
programs in Indonesia. Indonesia became an international pariah for its
handling, or more appropriately mishandling, of East Timor.
There are yet more indignities to come, at least for the narrow-minded
nationalists in this country. The sight of foreign soldiers landing in
East Timor, and of the Indonesian Military making way for them to take
charge of security in East Timor could well be the final humiliation.
Then there is the prospect of an international tribunal for Indonesian
leaders on charges of crimes against humanity. The United Nations High
Commissioner for Human Rights has already started work in this
direction.
Since Indonesia became an independent and sovereign nation in 1945, it
has never suffered such an international blow to its dignity. Our two
previous leaders, Sukarno and Soeharto, although they were often targets
of international criticism, were adept at steering away from this kind
of humiliation. If this were the 1960s, Sukarno would probably have told
the United Nations to go to hell, as he did in 1964 with U.S. aid, and
when he severed links altogether with the United Nations a few years
earlier.
As much as the government and military have tried to shift the focus of
attention away from what is happening in East Timor by blaming others
for the violence -- Australia, Portugal, New Zealand, the United Nations
and the United States have been targeted -- there is no denying the fact
that they have brought this on themselves. But the entire nation suffers
as a result. No matter how they explain it, or what excuses they come
up with for the situation in East Timor, the bottom line is Indonesia is
responsible for everything that has happened there. The killings, the
forced evacuation of people from their homes, and the destruction
resulting from the scorched-earth campaign took place when the territory
was under Indonesia's charge. When Indonesia signed the deal with the
United Nations in May, it not only agreed to take responsibility for
East Timor's security, it insisted on the mandate, claiming that the
territory remained under its sovereignty until East Timorese voted
otherwise. That means that Indonesia is responsible for the lives and
property of all East Timorese, and not just for the minority who support
integration with Indonesia. Events of the past week or so showed that
we, or rather our government, failed the East Timorese, the
international community and the Indonesian people. The international
outrage was understandable, for no self- respecting nation could remain
silent in the face of this humanitarian catastrophe. Australia may have
been the harshest critic of all, and some people in this country may be
offended by this attitude, but this in no way could wipe out the sins
that we have committed in East Timor. We have lost East Timor, and
nothing we do now can deny East Timorese their well-deserved
independence. There is no sense in getting upset about the prospect of
seeing foreign soldiers arriving in East Timor. Indonesia has no
business to remain in East Timor. The result of the Aug. 30 ballot
clearly shows that Indonesia never had any legitimate claim over East
Timor. If the arrival this weekend of the multinational force is to be
the greatest humiliation of all, pray that this will be the last one. By
now, we hope our leaders have truly learned their lessons well: that as
a self-respecting nation and member of the international community we
must respect universal humanitarian values and live up to our
responsibilities.
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