Subject: AAP: ET public servants quizzed over
loyalty
Date: Fri, 02 Apr 1999 07:57:48 -0500
From: "John M. Miller" <fbp@igc.apc.org>ETimor public servants quizzed
over loyalty By Karen Polglaze, South East Asia Correspondent
JAKARTA, March 29 AAP - A local government authority in East Timor has begun a
compulsory survey of all public servants to find out if they support independence for the
troubled province, observers said.
The regent of Bobonaro, Guilherme Dos Santos, issued the instruction on March 24
requiring all employees in the town of Maliana to fill in a form stating their views.
The move would be interpreted as intimidating by most public servants, according to
observers.
"Now they're trying to make everyone support integration," said one refugee
aid worker, who asked not to be identified.
The instruction, posted to heads of state institutions, sub-district chiefs and village
heads, said it aimed to find out which of the options presented by the national government
of President BJ Habibie was supported by public servants.
Indonesia has announced two options for the future of East Timor to be decided in a
ballot probably to be held in July. The choice is between wide-ranging autonomy for the
province within the republic, or full independence.
Indonesia invaded the former Portuguese colony in 1975 and annexed it as the country's
26th province in 1976.
Although the instruction says each civil servant can choose an option without pressure
or force, the survey is not anonymous with each employee required to give their name and
number and each statement to be signed by the employee's superior.
The instruction reminds public servants of all relevant laws, including those annexing
East Timor, those related to the employment of public servants in the province and new
laws recently passed by the national parliament requiring public servants who are members
of political parties to resign their jobs.
"With the issuance of two options by the central government in an effort to solve
the political problems of East Timor, it is necessary to make an inventory of civil
servants in Bobonaro District to find out which of the two options they support,"
said a copy of the instruction obtained by AAP.
The document does not explain why the regent needs to know whether people support
independence or integration.
In the past compulsory political alignment of Indonesian public servants with the
ruling Golkar Party ensured government employees complied with the views of their
superiors.
In United Nations supervised talks on the future of the half-island, the foreign
ministers of Indonesia and former East Timor colonial ruler Portugal agreed to hold the
ballot to decide the autonomy offer.
The vote, which will be run by the UN, is expected to be secret. The final round of
tripartite talks on the East Timor problem are due to be held in New York between senior
officials from April 13 and between foreign ministers from April 23.
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