GREEN LEFT WEEKLY - NOVEMBER 11, 1998
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Labor's East Timor policy: how much has changed?
By Jon Land
In the period immediately leading up to the October 3 federal
election and in the weeks since, the Labor Party has made various
statements on East Timor designed to distance itself from the
party's past position of betrayal and appeasement.
Foreign affairs spokesperson Laurie Brereton, told a press
conference in Darwin in September: "East Timor will be a key
diplomatic priority for an incoming Labor government ... Labor is
determined to seize this opportunity and do all that we can to
encourage negotiations of a just and lasting solution to the
problem of East Timor."
Labor has managed to make considerable mileage out of the
bumbling efforts of foreign affairs minister Alexander Downer and
the inability of the federal government to deal effectively with
several important issues in relation to East Timor.
Brereton has called for independent monitors to be placed in East
Timor and for a bipartisan inquiry into the deaths of five
journalists at Balibo in 1975.
Shadow immigration minister Con Sciacca called on the Howard
government to allow the East Timorese asylum seekers to stay,
following the successful appeal of an East Timorese man in the
Federal Court on October 30 against a decision of the Refugee
Review Tribunal.
But how genuine is Labor's about-face on East Timor? Didn't Labor
deliberately forge closer military ties with the Suharto
dictatorship when it was in power?
The new policy on East Timor, which was adopted by the Labor
national conference in January, states that Labor supports a
"process of negotiation through which the people of East Timor can
exercise their right to self-determination".
It also calls for the reduction of troop numbers and the release
of resistance leader Xanana Gusmao and other East Timorese
political prisoners.
Labor had previously dropped all reference to self-determination
for East Timor at the 1984 national conference, the year after
Bob Hawke was elected prime minister.
The new policy was formally adopted by Labor's parliamentary
caucus on May 26. On that same day, Labor voted with the
Coalition against an Australian Greens motion in the Senate which
called for a free vote on self-determination in East Timor, the
release of Xanana Gusmao and the suspension of military aid
programs to Indonesia until free and fair elections have been
held.
Labor has still not revoke its recognition of Indonesia's
annexation of East Timor, nor has it called for the suspension or
end to military ties with Indonesia.
Supporters of a free East Timor should not be taken in by ALP
rhetoric that is still unmatched by action.
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East Timor: Habibie stalls as pressure mounts
By Jon Land
The Indonesian government is under increasing pressure to resolve
the growing political crisis it is caught in as a consequence of
its 23-year illegal occupation of East Timor. President Habibie,
while attempting to portray his regime as more willing to listen
to the aspirations of the East Timorese people than his
predecessor, has shown he is incapable of dealing with the
renewed push for independence occurring across East Timor.
With the fall of Suharto in May, there were initial indications
that Habibie would be prepared to make some changes in policy on
East Timor. There was the promise of the release of political
prisoners, the offer of autonomy and the intimation that troop
numbers would be reduced.
These gestures, viewed by many as token, have proven to be
precisely that.
ABRI (Indonesian armed forces) documents disclosed to western
diplomats and news services worldwide on October 29 revealed the
full extent of Indonesian troop numbers and armed militias. This
shattered the lie that troop numbers had been significantly
reduced since late July.
Indonesian foreign minister Ali Alatas alleged just prior to the
information being leaked that the number of soldiers serving in
East Timor was around 6000.
According to the documents, the total number of regular troops
exceeds 17,000. Including the armed militias, the number is
greater than 21,000.
The documents on the 13 militias funded by the Indonesian
military also disprove the persistent claim by the Indonesian
government that these groups arose "spontaneously to support
integration with Indonesia. The militias include the infamous
ninja gangs, which terrorise many rural towns and villages.
The Habibie regime has vigorously denied that the documents on
troop and militia numbers are genuine. The immediate response by
Indonesian military heads, however, was contradictory.
An Australian Associated Press report on October 30 quoted the
chief of staff of the East Timor military sub-command, Lieutenant
Colonel Supadi, as saying the numbers were around 18,000: "It may
be true because now there are still many civilians who have been
trained in military exercises and they also carry guns". He added,
"On several occasions, such as operations, they wear military
uniforms".
On the same day, ABRI head General Wiranto told reporters in
Jakarta: "It is not true that the ABRI personnel [in East Timor]
reach 17,000. That is a lie that is not supported by facts."
Wiranto declined to give the number of troops in East Timor. He
said that foreign diplomats were free to travel to East Timor to
see for themselves.
Wiranto also claimed: "ABRI is in East Timor to maintain security
and to create a feeling of safety as well as to help enhance the
prosperity of the population by providing guidance".
In an interview in the November 4 edition of the British
Independent newspaper, Falintil commander Lere Anak Timur told
journalist Richard Lloyd-Parry that the troop reduction claims by
Indonesia were false:
"We need international attention. We need the UN to come and
witness the withdrawals; otherwise they will never happen." He
added: "The Indonesian military has too much business here, too
many opportunities for promotion and profit".
An article in the October 31 Australian Financial Review by
Geoffrey Barker reported that the leaked documents could be part
of a "new push to destabilise" Habibie.
Barker stated: "Australian officials said they were not surprised
by disclosures in the documents that Indonesian troop numbers
were much higher than claimed by Indonesia's most senior
officials".
Barker also claimed that officials in Canberra believed that the
documents were leaked by sources seeking to embarrass Habibie
and/or force a genuine withdrawal of Indonesian troops from East
Timor.
There have been unconfirmed reports that the documents were first
released to United States officials in Jakarta. The US Congress
passed a bill on October 22 placing a ban on the use of weapons
sold to Indonesia in East Timor. (Congress has also supported an
internationally supervised referendum on the political status of
East Timor.)
Australian foreign minister Alexander Downer responded awkwardly
to questions posed on Channel Nine's Sunday program on November
1, refusing to acknowledge that the Australian government knew
that troop reduction claims by Indonesia were untrue.
He said Australia was seeking "verification" from Indonesia, and
stated: "... there have been rumours about troop numbers, there
have been varied rumours ... they [Indonesia] may or may not have
done what they said they would in terms of troop numbers."
Military operations have been increasing in East Timor over the
last six weeks. A series of encirclement campaigns are attempting
to kill and capture Falintil guerillas.
Clashes occurring in central and eastern East Timor have been
denied by the Indonesian military. Falintil commander Cranek Hali
Mesak issued a report on October 27, detailing the arrival in
mid-October of fresh troops in Dili, along with a substantial
number of battalions active in the Ermera region and around
Viqueque and east towards Los Palos.
An additional three battalions of troops were flown into Kupang,
the capital of West Timor.
As with the claims of troop reductions, the release of East
Timorese political prisoners has proven to be a farce. There has
been little movement on this front, despite the pledge by the
Indonesian government to speed up the release of political
prisoners in talks held with the United Nations secretary-general
and the Portuguese government on August 5.
Arbitrary detention of students and those suspected of helping
Falintil guerillas is still common.
There has been only one round of prisoner releases since the
August 5 meeting. On August 15, 10 prisoners were granted
amnesty.
Of these, two had already been released from prison by a court
order and another three were overdue for release, having served
more time than their sentences. The East Timor Human Rights
Centre estimates that there are at least 131 East Timorese
political prisoners, including resistance leader Xanana Gusmao,
whom the Habibie regime refuses to involve in any negotiations.
An All-inclusive Intra-East Timorese Dialogue (AIETD) was held
from October 31 to November 3 in Austria. The AIETD has been an
annual meeting conducted under the auspices of the UN secretary-
general since 1995, involving East Timorese who favour
integration, independence or other arrangements similar to
autonomy.
The National Council of Timorese Resistance (CNRT) presented a
draft statement proposing self-determination as the only viable
solution. This was flatly rejected by those supporting
integration, who represent a very small and privileged minority
with close ties to the Indonesian government.
The CNRT responded by stating it would not participate in any
further AIETD meetings in their current form and that talks in
the future should be conducted in East Timor.
CNRT leader Jose Ramos Horta called the meeting a "complete farce",
accusing some of the participants of being "Indonesian officials"
who were obstructing progress through "sterile conversation".
Horta said he would not sign any final document of the meeting: "I
am flexible, but not to the point of debasing the people of East
Timor".
There is an increasing confidence and militancy among student and
youth activists in East Timor, who sense that their struggle for
freedom and independence is closer to victory.
This feeling is spreading throughout the population, as they
openly discuss and debate the possible future of an independent
East Timor. There are likely to be larger and more determined
demonstrations if their demands are not met soon.
Horta told reporters in Canada on October 26: "If there was a
referendum today, and that's what Indonesia fears, 100% of the
people would vote in a bloc against the Indonesian invasion. So
there is no possibility of civil war because there'll be no
losers in such a referendum. Everyone would vote against the
Indonesian occupation. It is a simple answer."
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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: asiet@peg.apc.org
WWW : http://www.peg.apc.org/~asiet/
Free Xanana Gusmao, Budiman Sujatmiko and Dita Sari!
Free all political prisoners in Indonesia and East Timor!
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Source APC Newsgroup: act.indonesia