Subject: IPS: E Timor Peace Agreement Finalised but
Hurdles Remain
Date: Sat, 01 May 1999 09:23:12 -0400
From: "John M. Miller" <fbp@igc.apc.org> Received from Joyo:
Peace Agreement Finalised but Hurdles Remain <Picture>
By Farhan Haq
UNITED NATIONS, Apr 23 (IPS) - Indonesia and Portugal agreed Friday to a peace process
for East Timor but many obstacles remain to be cleared before the pact can be signed and
implemented, UN officials warned.
Indonesian Foreign Minister Ali Alatas, cautioning that he had to consult with Jakarta
for final approval of the agreement, said that his government would sign the peace pact by
May 5. It includes an autonomy plan for East Timor, side documents on security
arrangements and a consultation process.
''I look forward to concluding this historic process on May 5, when all these
agreements will be signed,'' added UN Secretary- General Kofi Annan.
But there were many steps to be taken before the East Timor accords were signed, let
alone before the people of the former Portuguese colony, invaded by Indonesia in 1975,
could decide whether to accept or reject the autonomy plan.
One UN official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, warned that Indonesian officials
- particularly its military leaders - might still reject some of the security arrangements
that were agreed to in this week's talks.
Beyond that problem, officials also were wary of the high level of violence in East
Timor, where pro-Indonesia paramilitary forces have been blamed for killing more than 20
people in the capital, Dili, last weekend.
''For the effectiveness of these agreements, it is crucial to restore peace and
stability,'' said Portuguese Foreign Minister Jaime Gama.
Gama contended that, although the threat of violence in Dili had eased since
pro-independence and pro-Indonesia forces signed a cease-fire pact Wednesday, intimidation
and killings had continued to flare in the countryside.
Jose Ramos Horta, a leader of the pro-independence National Council for Timorese
Resistance, argued that, because Jakarta faced defeat in any vote on autonomy, ''they set
into motion a strategy aimed at derailing the whole process.''
The Indonesian Army (or ABRI), he alleged, had paid for and armed the paramilitaries
responsible for the recent violence.
Ramos Horta doubted that any vote on whether to accept autonomy or independence could
be held as long as an estimated 20,000 Indonesian troops remain on East Timor - a region
which only boasts some 840,000 people.
''We certainly look forward to the date when the people of East Timor finally will be
called upon - without threats, without coercion - to vote on their future,'' Ramos Horta,
a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, said. But he warned, ''How can a vote take place...with the
Indonesian Army there?''
Alatas, however, called for both the pro-Indonesia and pro- independence sides to be
demobilised, arguing, ''It is not a question of disarming only the so-called militias''
but also the Timorese liberation army, called FALINTIL.
The problem of demobilising combatants is made especially complex because of the
potential problems over which party will carry out such work.
The United Nations refused to reveal details of the security arrangements until all
agreements were signed next month but all sides conceded it was unlikely that UN
peacekeeping troops ccould be deployed.
''UN peacekeeping forces have never been an issue that has been raised,'' Alatas said.
The United Nations, he added, ''will contribute to security - but it will certainly not be
in the form of a peacekeeping force''.
''The United Nations cannot send a peacekeeping force on its own,'' UN envoy Jamsheed
Marker acknowledged. He said that the world body would try to establish a presence in East
Timor as soon as the accords were signed, but added that he doubted that peacekeepers were
needed.
Yet Ramos Horta feared that the alternative to a UN force would be to allow the ABRI -
which human rights groups have blamed for killing more than 200,000 Timorese since the
1975 invasion - to be in charge of peace and security on the ground.
Such a policy, he argued, would be ''like expecting Saddam Hussein to broker peace
between his own troops and the Kurds''.
There was a consensus among UN officials that some effective UN presence was needed on
the ground to monitor conditions prior to any vote on the autonomy plan.
Sources told IPS that several countries - including Australia, Japan, Germany and the
United States - could be deemed as suitable by Jakarta for disarming both sides and
ensuring a fair vote.
Behind that hurdle are several logistical problems before any vote can be held. Sources
claimed that the Indonesian and Portuguese governments had agreed tentatively to wrap up
any voting by Aug. 8 and to announce results by Aug. 15.
That would in turn require that the United Nations register voters and draw up voting
procedures within the next few weeks which, in turn, was sure to provoke controversy.
Annan has noted that many areas where Timorese exiles reside - including Portugal,
Australia, Macau and the United States - may need to have voting centres. Alatas cautioned
that a vote might need to be staggered over several days to lessen the chance of violence.
Ramos Horta, meanwhile, worried that more than 100,000 Indonesian settlers now living
in East Timor could be allowed to vote, although Annan has asserted that the
''consultation process'' - as the vote has been dubbed - will only take place among native
East Timorese.
The fate of jailed Timorese pro-independence leader Xanana Gusmao also remains murky.
Alatas said Friday that ''Xanana Gusmao will be released as part and parcel of the overall
solution'' - but so far, there has been no date set for his release from house arrest in
Jakarta.
Amid the confusion, one thing has been surprisingly clear: Few diplomats or analysts
even commented on the Indonesian-approved autonomy plan, which grants Timorese authority
over most governance outside of military and foreign affairs and monetary policy.
Ramos Horta claimed that in any case, the autonomy proposals would be widely rejected
by Timorese voters.
''Since nobody expects it to be approved, it doesn't matter what it says,'' said
Charles Scheiner, national coordinator of the US-based East Timor Action Network, a
pro-independence group. (END/IPS/fah/mk/99)
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