=Subject: IPS: Portugal, Indonesia Sign Autonomy
Agreement
Date: Sat, 08 May 1999 09:28:23 -0400
From: "John M. Miller" <fbp@igc.apc.org>Received from Joyo Indonesian
News:
RIGHTS-EAST TIMOR: Portugal, Indonesia Sign Autonomy Agreement
By Farhan Haq
UNITED NATIONS, May 5 (IPS) - Supporters of East Timor's independence supported the
signing Wednesday of peace agreements for the Indonesian-occupied state but warned that
the United Nations must ensure the safety of the Timorese population.
All sides hailed the signing of the agreements - by Indonesian Foreign Minister Ali
Alatas, Portuguese Foreign Minister Jaime Gama and UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan - as a
breakthrough in resolving the question of East Timor, the former Portuguese colony
occupied by Indonesia since 1975.
The agreements include a plan to allow East Timor a wide degree of autonomy under
Indonesian rule, and a side agreement to allow a ''consultation'' in which Timorese can
vote on Aug. 8 whether to accept or reject the autonomy plan.
If the Timorese voters decide to reject autonomy, Jakarta is committed to allow East
Timor to go its own way without Indonesian rule.
''This is a historic moment,'' Annan said. ''All of us are determined to ensure that
(the August ballot) is free, fair and thorough.''
In a message conveyed from his house arrest in Jakarta, Timorese pro-independence
leader Xanana Gusmao agreed. The signing of the accords could lead to ''the implementation
of an international mechanism that will end the illegal situation in the territory, which
has lasted for 23 and a half years,'' he said.
Yet many Timorese fear that the rising level of violence on the Pacific island state,
much of it by pro-Indonesian paramilitaries, could still derail a fair vote if the United
Nations cannot intervene.
Gama, after signing the accords, warned, ''A free consultation cannot take place in an
environment of pressure, intimidation, fear and killings.''
''The situation in East Timor right now is not favourable for a fair and free
consultation,'' argued Mari Alkatiri, first vice president of FRETILIN, the Timorese
national liberation front.
Alkatiri said FRETILIN would do its part to allow the Aug. 8 vote to take place
peacefully, but he claimed that militias set up by Indonesia could wreck the process if
they are not disarmed.
''The peace process in East Timor is very much in danger of becoming a cruel hoax,''
declared Charles Scheiner, UN representative of the International Federation for East
Timor, which supports Timorese self-determination.
Indonesia's military could not be trusted to maintain peace since ''they are a party to
the conflict,'' he alleged.
Several rights groups blame the Indonesian military, or ABRI, for killing more than
200,000 Timorese since 1975. In recent weeks, massacres have been reported in Liquica,
Suai and Dili, the Timorese capital.
Despite the separatists' distrust of Jakarta, the agreements specify that ''the
government of Indonesia will be responsible for maintaining peace and security in East
Timor'' to prevent any coercion in the run-up to the ballot.
''The maintenance of law and order is the responsibility of the Indonesian
government,'' Annan said. He cautioned that all UN operations require the permission of
the authorities on the ground - in this case, Indonesian President Bacharuddin Jusuf
Habibie's government.
Annan said Habibie had assured him that Jakarta will ''do its utmost'' to ensure that a
peaceful and fair vote is held. Jakarta is also under some pressure from its longtime
ally, the United States.
On Tuesday, US Senators Pat Leahy of Vermont and Russell Feingold of Wisconsin
announced plans to introduce legislation that would withhold US military sales and
services to Indonesia until Jakarta disbands and disarms its militias, investigates the
massacres and allow access to rights groups and the media.
Timorese leaders - including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Jose Ramos Horta - have argued
that, although some members of the year- old Habibie administration are trying to resolve
the Timor question, some ABRI leaders still seem unwilling to let go of the territory.
''The Indonesian military remain defiant and are bent on denying the people of East
Timor their hard-won rights,'' Ramos Horta wrote in a letter to Annan last week.
He contended that the ABRI forces in East Timor ''must be reduced to a maximum of 1,000
and they must be confined to a designated area.''
That is not likely to happen as Indonesia would be entrusted with the task of disarming
both pro-Indonesia and pro-independence forces - ''a potentially complex task,'' according
to Alatas.
At the same time, the United Nations will soon dispatch a police monitoring force to
help maintain peace - estimated by some officials to comprise some 600 personnel.
Indonesia has already indicated it would approve of U.S., British, Australian, German,
Japanese and Philippine officers.
On Wednesday, Gama gave Annan a ten-million-dollar contribution from Portugal to help
pay for the balloting, while Australia has agreed to support the UN effort. But UN special
envoy Jamsheed Marker said that the world body will still have to request governments to
provide money and officers for the mission.
In any case, Annan conceded, the police contingent would not be armed. For some critics
of the Indonesian occupation, that could be a recipe for disaster.
''If there is intimidation in East Timor, who is going to accept (the results of
voting)?'' asked Constancio Pinto, UN representative of the National Council of Timorese
Resistance, a coalition of pro-independence groups.
''The United Nations is going to have a very big responsibility (to prevent
violence)...otherwise, it would undermine the United Nations' credibility,'' he said.
Logistical hurdles that need clearing in the coming weeks include registering people
entitled to vote. This means all persons above the age of 17 born in East Timor, or who
have one Timorese-born parent or Timorese spouse.
The United Nations also will allow ''special registration centres'' in several
Indonesian and Australian cities, as well as in Lisbon, Maputo, Macau and New York. All
registration is to be completed by July 18, to allow for some two weeks of campaigning and
a two-day ''cooling-off period'' before the vote.
At the same time, activists were wondering when Xanana Gusmao, whom Indonesia has
agreed to release in conjunction with the peace process, would be set free.
Alatas reiterated Wednesday that he would be released as ''part and parcel'' of the
agreement, and Annan argued that he hoped for Gusmao's freeing ''sooner rather than
later.'' (END/IPS/fah/mk/99)
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