Subject: AGE: Timor: plan for UN rule
Date: Sun, 01 Aug 1999 11:33:53 -0400
From: "John M. Miller" <fbp@igc.apc.org>Received from Joyo Indonesian
News:
The Age [Australia] July 31, 1999
Timor: plan for UN rule
By MARK RILEY NEW YORK CORRESPONDENT
NEW YORK, FRIDAY
EXCLUSIVE
The United Nations is drafting plans for an administration to rule East Timor for up to
four years if, as expected, the territory votes to break away from Indonesia.
In interviews with The Age, senior UN officials have revealed they are preparing to
establish an elaborate interim government structure in the event of a yes vote for
independence in next month's referendum.
The officials said that during the period Australia and other countries with a
particular interest in the future of East Timor would have to be prepared to maintain
large commitments of money, police and soldiers.
The most pressing issue, emphasised by the Australian Foreign Minister, Mr Alexander
Downer, this week, is getting an agreement with Jakarta on bolstering the UN police
presence in the territory after the vote.
The first significant step towards achieving this was taken yesterday when the UN
invited senior Indonesian military and police officials to New York next week for a series
of crucial meetings on post-ballot security.
At the same time, Australia has begun a new push within the UN for a senior military
envoy to be appointed to negotiate separately with the Indonesian army on increasing the
international military presence in the territory after the vote.
The Australian proposal is to forge an agreement with the Indonesian generals to allow
UN peacekeepers to gradually replace Indonesian soldiers in East Timor if there is a move
to independence.
Another meeting of senior UN and Indonesian Government officials has also been
scheduled in Jakarta in mid-August to finalise arrangements for post-ballot security.
UN officials said that all the discussions would relate to the period between the
ballot on 30August and the ratification of the outcome by the new Indonesian Parliament,
between two and three months later.
The ultimate composition of the UN mission during this period, known as phase II of the
self-determination process, will depend heavily on the outcome of the vote.
Observers believe the possibility of widespread violence will be greatest if, as
expected, the East Timorese reject the option of autonomy within Indonesia and opt for
independence.
Anti-independence militia have been responsible for several attacks in recent months,
backed covertly by elements of the Indonesian military.
There are deepening concerns that those attacks could worsen and be met by reprisals
from pro-independence guerrilla forces if a strong security presence is not maintained.
The magnitude of the task ahead was reinforced by Mr Downer, who today became the first
Australian foreign minister to visit the Timorese capital, Dili. He described the
post-ballot period as ``very dangerous'' and committed Australia to support plans to boost
the UN force already in the territory.
He also hinted that Australian troops might be sent to East Timor if the vote is for
independence.
``As the Indonesian security forces withdrew the UN would be increasingly responsible
for security,'' he said.
He said that while at first he thought it would be a miracle if the ballot could be
held successfully, the security environment had improved and ``I think there is a chance
it can be achieved''.
``But I am not calling the game over yet,'' Mr Downer said. ``There is a long way to
go. There are enormous risks ahead. There has been so much violence for so long it could
very easily erupt again.''
UN officials emphasised this week that the Indonesian army would retain the primary
responsibility for security in the phase II period and that any build-up of UN forces
would be gradual.
``There seems to be this growing misconception that we can just send in the cavalry if
violence breaks out after the consultations (ballot), but that simply is not true,'' one
official said.
It would take several weeks for the UN to mount a peacekeeping mission, which could be
done only with the approval of the Security Council.
Contingency plans for such a mission have been discussed for several weeks in various
departments of the UN, but no formal strategy has been finalised.
If the vote is for independence, Indonesia would maintain administrative control of the
territory until the outcome was ratified by the Indonesian Parliament. It would then hand
over responsibility to the UN in what would become phase III.
That part of the process is expected to be the most critical, requiring a new civil
administration to take immediate control of all government services, including health,
education, justice, electricity and water. The UN expects it will have to maintain a
strong military, police and administrative presence in East Timor for up to four years
after the vote to allow it sufficient time to establish an effective independent
administration.
Diplomats voiced private concerns this week that the UN planning for such an outcome
has been inadequate.
``I really don't think we realise the immensity of the task ahead of us if we move to
independence in Timor,'' one diplomat said.
``I mean, what criminal law are we going apply? What sort of contractual law, and what
currency do we use? The questions are as fundamental as that.''
UN officials said nations such as Australia that had particular interests in the East
Timor issue would also have to be prepared to help a new government with the considerable
costs of running the country.
Services such as electricity and telecommunications are provided by Indonesia under
heavy subsidies, which would disappear if the East Timorese opt for independence.
Those subsidies would have to be picked up by member nations of the UN in the short
term and new benefactors found for the longer term, officials said.
Residents of the troubled western province of Aceh are reported to have dug up 51
bodies of civilians killed by Indonesian troops last week for allegedly possessing illegal
arms.
The bodies were found in four separate places on Wednesday and yesterday by people in
the Beutong Ateuh valley of West Aceh, the Kompas daily said.
Twenty bodies were found in two places on Wednesday, and 31 the next day in two further
mass graves.
The local military commander, Colonel Syarifuddin Tippe, has said the military launched
an operation in the Beutong Ateuh area to sweep for illegal weapons.
Villagers said residents were told by the troops to gather in a field near a school for
an identity check. The soldiers opened fire and massacred them in cold blood.
Violence in Aceh has spiralled since early May, when troops shot dead 41 civilians amid
a campaign for a referendum on self-determination in Aceh.
Armed Acehnese groups, believed to be members of the Aceh Merdeka (Free Aceh) movement
that has been fighting for independence since 1976, have killed more than two dozen
soldiers in the past month.
with AFP
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