Subject: IPS: East Timor Frets About Independence
Vote
Date: Sat, 20 Mar 1999 09:17:10 -0500
From: "John M. Miller" <fbp@igc.apc.org>Received from Joyo:
*East Timor Frets About Independence Vote
By Kafil Yamin
DILI, East Timor, Mar 15 (IPS) - Indonesians are caught up in election fever as the
June election nears, but the East Timorese are fretting about a different type of
balloting: a vote for autonomy or independence.
So here in East Timorese capital, the colourful war of flags and banners of rival
parties seen across the archipelago, in preparation for the June general poll, are nowhere
in sight.
There are no vehicle convoys led by political partisans or mass gatherings among the 48
parties contesting seats in the consultative assembly.
In short, this island on Indonesia's eastern end seems totally excluded from election
activism peaking elsewhere in the run-up to the country's first multi-party polls in four
decades.
''We have no business with Indonesia's election,'' said Domingus Soares, field
commander of the CNRT (Concelho Nacional Resistencia de Timorese), the Timorese national
resistance movement, said in an interview.
''We are concentrating more on how to turn the new agreement into reality,'' said
Soares, referring to last week's landmark United Nations-brokered agreement between
Indonesia and Portugal on the holding of balloting on East Timor's fate.
Under a ''direct ballot'' for East Timor, a former Portuguese colony, the Timorese will
decide whether or not they accept the so- called 'unlimited autonomy' proposed by
Indonesia, which would allow election of their own representatives.
If rejected, the Indonesian government says it will let East Timor become independent.
Jakarta is adamant in not calling this balloting, which is widely expected to be held
by August, a referendum. It says holding one would spark more violence and would be
costly.
So, the direct vote will be held under UN auspices but without the other official
trappings of a referendum. Still, analysts say that is essentially what the vote is.
Jailed East Timor resistance leader Jose Alexandre Xanana Gusmao has hailed Indonesia's
stance, saying the country ''took an important step'' with the accord on a vote.
But exiled East Timor leader and Nobel laureate Jose Ramos Horta shrugged it off,
saying Jakarta should first prove its trustworthiness. ''I judge them (Indonesian
officials) on their actions on the ground and not their promises. Their actions speak much
louder,'' he said.
There are some 600,000 eligible voters in East Timor, which has a population of
800,000. Up to 30,000 East Timorese reside in Australia, Canada, Macau, Portugal and in
the United States.
Many Timorese here can accept the agreement on certain conditions, viewing this as a
step forward in the decades-long stalemate on the status of their homeland.
To many, it also offers respite from the uncertainty today that has led to violence
between groups supportive of and opposed to independence, and triggered an exodus of
residents with harmful effects on the economy and social services.
Residents here say the realisation of the direct ballot should be subject to tight
monitoring, given the Indonesian government's past records in restricting demands for
democracy.
''Actually we want a referendum. But we can accept such a manner (direct ballot) on
condition that it is tightly monitored. I think the presence of international monitoring
institutions will be good,'' said Licinio Branco, a student at East Timor University.
''We are concerned more with this ballot, not the (national) election,'' he said.
Meantime, the Indonesian government has decided that East Timor, which it considers the
country's 27th province, is included in the June election despite the new agreement.
''As long as the final result is not there, East Timor remains to be part of
Indonesia,'' said Home Minister Syarwan Hamid.
Many Timorese actually prefer the autonomy vote to be held before the rest of Indonesia
goes to the polls in June. ''It is fair that when Indonesians have new government, we here
have our own,'' said another student.
So far, it is also not immediately clear whether the Indonesian military will withdraw
its troops from the territory, a move many Timorese would like to see.
''People here are scared of the military. They will not feel free to choose during the
ballot. From now on, we prefer not to see Indonesian troops in this land,'' the student
asserted.
There is little love for the Indonesian military here, an institution remembered for
human rights abuses, killings and torture since its soldiers invaded East Timor in 1975.
Ironically, as independence grows to be a real option, the territory finds itself
coping with renewed violence.
Reports say torture, rape and killing by military-linked militia forces are on the
rise, resulting in the exodus of villagers from one area to another.
Activists say that pro-integration militias, among them those called Mahidi, Halilintar
and Besi Merah Putih, are spreading fear in various villages of East Timor.
''They are well-armed. No single institution here can stop their action because the
military are behind them,'' said Isabela da Costa Perreira, who chairs the Victims of
Violence and Missing Persons (Kontras) of Dili office.
Factionalism has also prompted the exodus in waves of non- Timorese traders, teachers,
doctors and medical people out of the enclave.
Everyday in Dili harbour, huge ships come and go to carry thousands of people and their
belongings, to other islands of Indonesia. ''There is no life here anymore. We will seek
better life somewhere else,'' said a trader from South Sulawesi.
Marketplaces here are no longer as busy as before, some shops are closed and prices of
basic necessities are skyrocketing.
Perreira says the best way of building a sense of security and guaranteeing the
smoothness of the planned ballot is to withdraw Indonesian troops from East Timor. Some
units were pulled out last year.
The military should concentrate on escalating violence in its own areas, like riot-torn
Ambon and Aceh, instead of distributing arms to pro-integration civilians in East Timor,
she suggests.
Reports quoted UN Secretary General Kofi Annan as saying the world body would not
require a complete pullout by Indonesian troops, but wants them to ensure law and order
ahead of a vote. (END/IPS/ap-ip-hd/ky/js/99)
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