Subject: IFET Observer Project Bulletin #7-8
Date: Thu, 26 Aug 1999 12:08:50 -0800
From: "Eric S. Piotrowski" <altin@atlantic.net>IFET OBSERVER PROJECT
BULLETIN
Issues #7-8 August 7-22, 1999
Special Double Issue: IFET-OP Grows Daily!
Since our last issue two weeks ago, the size of the IFET-OP presence in Dili has
increased five-fold. We apologize for not issuing a bulletin last week -- we were busy
interviewing, orienting and placing more than 100 volunteers from all over the world. As
of one week before the August 30 consultation, we have 107 observers from 16 countries in
our Dili office staff and 13 teams in 12 of East Timorís 13 sub-districts.
Security Concerns
Because the Indonesian police are not fulfilling their commitment under the May 5 New
York Agreements to provide comprehensive security for the consultation process, many in
East Timor are fearful that violence may escalate before or during the vote next Monday,
or when the results are announced about a week later. The IFET-OP has developed a
comprehensive security outline, and are developing detailed plans for our teams in the
field and the four houses we have rented in Dili. We are providing transportation (cars
and drivers) and communication (including satellite phones where necessary) for each of
our teams. We have had consultations with European Community Ambassadors, U.S. and other
embassy officials, the Indonesian police responsible for East Timor, UNAMET, and other
observer missions to discuss security issues.
The first line of security for our teams is their visibility and relationship with the
people where they are living. IFET-OP volunteers build rapport with local authorities,
police, UNAMET civilian police and electoral officers, community leaders and other local
residents. We explain that we are nonpartisan observers, to serve as a bridge between what
happens there and the rest of the world. This "social security" is the best
protection possible, both for IFET-OP observers and for the people in the towns where we
are.
IFET-OP Teams in the Field
We have rented houses and deployed teams in every area of East Timor. IFET observers
can receive personal email at ifet2@dili.wasantara.net.id -- but it may be several days
before the message gets to them, and they may not be able to reply. IFET-OP teams are
currently working in Aileu, Ainaro, Baucau, Dili, Ermera (Gleno), Liquica, Los Palos,
Maliana, Manatuto, Maubisse, Oekusi, Same, Suai and Viqueque. We have rented houses and
are living in each of these locations except Liquica, which is served from Dili. Upon
arriving in a town, an IFET-OP team first makes contact with the police and local
authorities, and then with various community leaders and advocates on both sides of the
campaign. They settle into a house which an IFET-OP advance team has arranged, and begin
observing and inquiring about events and perceptions related to the campaign and other
aspects of the consultation. Each team reports in nightly by phone and files a written
weekly report. Although nobody on any of our teams has been injured, several have
witnessed violent or intimidating incidents, and have reported such events to the
appropriate authorities, UNAMET, and IFET-OP headquarters in Dili.
Joe Nevins and Pam Sexton, our "roving team," just returned to Dili after
visiting six teams in the field, bringing news and updates, and coming back with
information, requests, and a more complete picture of the situation around the country.
Other IFET-OP staffers are continuing to visit teams, delivering new members and training
them for election day observation.
Media Coverage and Interviews
The IFET Project has been featured in numerous media all over the world, including
newspapers in Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway and Australia. We have also done
numerous radio interviews, and are visited by many journalists every day. Please let us
know of any coverage you see at home.
A few IFET Observers have begun to return home, and are available for media interviews.
Financial Support
The IFET Observer Project has received generous donations from individuals and IFET-OP
component groups from various countries, too numerous to list here. Last week we were
visited by the Canadian Ambassador to Indonesia, who has approved C$10,000 (about Rp
50,000,000) to support our project. We look forward to support from other quarters, which
will help us improve our effectiveness and security.
Violations and Intimidation Prevent Free Campaigning
On August 17, IFET-OP issued a comprehensive report covering the first few days of the
campaign phase of the consultation process. Our Report #5 detailed a number of attacks
against pro-independence campaign offices, and concluded that "The current situation
in East Timor demands an immediate and radical change in the behavior of the Indonesian
security forces. Unless that happens, there is a serious possibility that the TNI-backed
paramilitaries and the Indonesian military itself will engage in widespread violence aimed
at disrupting the vote and/or engage in large scale violence against the general
population around the time of the vote." We recommended
* That the Indonesian police make a commitment to protecting the offices of political
organizations campaigning around the consultation by deploying officers at the premises
when asked;
* That the Indonesian authorities guarantee freedom of movement throughout the
territory by removing all militia posts and roadblocks; and
* That the international community work diligently through the United Nations to
broaden the UNAMET mandate as it relates to security, and to increase significantly the
numbers of United Nations security personnel in East Timor before the August 30 vote.
IFET-OP issued a media alert on August 19 describing shots fired by militias and a
Kopassus soldier to scare people in the middle of Manatuto, and then shooting up the
pro-independence CNRT office. Three dozen bystanders fled into the IFET-OP house (150
meters from the shooting) and sought shelter there for about an hour. Similar incidents
have occurred throughout East Timor.
As this Bulletin goes to press, we are writing a letter to U.N. Secretary General Kofi
Annan describing our assessment of the situation one week before the vote. We are
recommending that the U.N. escalate its presence and commitment in an effort to compensate
for Indonesiaís failure to provide adequate security for both sides to campaign, and to
reduce the level of fear which will distort the results of the consultation.
We called on the U.N. to demand that the Indonesian police disarm and disband the
militias, push for the immediate withdrawal of Indonesian military personnel from East
Timor, and introduce a larger international security presence to maintain security
following the vote. The letter included an appendix detailing a score of recent violent
incidents and violations of UNAMET procedures -- creating a climate of fear and presenting
"a compelling case for rapid and forceful action by the United Nations, the
international community, and the Indonesian government." The full text of the letter
and the report are on the IFET-OP website at http://www.etan.org/ifet/report6.html.
Networking
We continue to broaden our contacts with other international and domestic observers
here in East Timor. Among those we have been in frequent communication with are the Carter
Center, the Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL), Yayasan HAK (an East Timorese human
rights group), KIPER (an Indonesian and East Timorese ballot monitoring group),
Parliamentarians for East Timor and many others. We are sharing team contact information
with these groups, and coordinating Consultation Day placements.
Office Organization
As we approach the end of the Consultation process, IFET-OP has placed qualified people
in key staff positions in our Dili office, as follows:
Project Co-Coordinators: Randall Garrison and Saskia Kouwenberg Consultation team:
Randall Garrison and Sue Severin Media and information team: Russell Anderson, Sabine
Hammer, Natalie Reid Team support and logistics: Antonio da Rocha and Yannis Tavridis
Office and financial management: Will Seaman and Charlie Scheiner Training: Jill Sternberg
External liaison: John Roosa and Hendra Pasuhuk International Coordination: Charlie
Scheiner Security: Volker Stapkes Research and troubleshooting: Joe Nevins
Weíve also elected our Executive Body for the IFET-OP project: Joe Nevins (USA),
Saskia Kouwenberg (Netherlands), Antonio da Rocha (Brazil), Charlie Scheiner (USA), Hendra
Pasuhuk (Indonesia/Germany), and Maggie Helwig (Canada, external). All members except
Maggie are here in Dili and actively involved in carrying out the project.
We held our Constituent Assembly here in Dili on Sunday, August 15. Representatives
from IFET-OP constituent groups in seven countries spent the day assessing where we are
with the project and analyzing our finances. We evaluated our team structure and
preparation, and planned for how to observer the rest of the consultation process.
Security of our people in East Timor was also a major discussion, and we started some
discussions on our post-vote report and what the project will be doing after the
consultation.
International Federation for East Timor Observer Project East Timor field office Bairro
Pite Kec. Dili Barat, East Timor RT/RW 01 (di depan SD Empat) Tel: 62-390-321969 fax:
62-390-321264 ifet@etan.org or ifet@dili.wasantara.net.id http://www.etan.org/ifet
This Bulletin is published weekly for people interested in the workings of the IFET
Observer Project in East Timor. Previous issues can be found on the IFET-OP web site at
http://www.etan.org/ifet .
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