| Subject: Interview
w/Gusmao: 'The U.N. Is Not Listening'
Asiaweek December 3, 1999
'The U.N. Is Not Listening'
Xanana Gusmao on East Timor's present and
future
East Timor continues to generate
headlines. In Jakarta, a human-rights commission is preparing to
investigate the military's top brass for abuses committed in East Timor,
as well as in Aceh. In East Timor itself, relations have been strained
between UNTAET (U.N. Transitional Authority in East Timor) and the
Timorese leadership, as represented by the pro-independence National
Council for East Timorese Resistance (CNRT). U.N. officials have been
accused of leaving CNRT leaders out of the rehabilitation operation, and
UNTAET head Sergio de Mello is currently trying to mend the breach.
Meanwhile, former rebel leader Xanana Gusmao has been on a whistle-stop
tour of the territory to brief himself on what has happened and what needs
to be done. Contributor Tom Fawthrop caught up twice with Gusmao, 53, on
the road. Excerpts from their conversations:
What role do you envisage for the CNRT
during the transitional period? We want to make clear that the present
leaders of the CNRT will be the government of tomorrow. We have a unique
mandate - 78.5% of the vote in the Aug. 30 referendum. The CNRT must be
consulted by UNTAET on every decision. Timorese people should be appointed
to positions in UNTAET and international staff only brought in to fill the
gaps. But the U.N. and some U.N. humanitarian agencies are not listening
to the CNRT. We do not want the U.N. to turn into a bureaucratic machine
that does not understand the Timorese people.
You have complained that all the best
buildings still standing have been allocated to UNTAET, other U.N.
agencies and international NGOs.
The CNRT is still trying to find an
office for itself. Now foreigners occupy all the best buildings, leaving
us with nothing.
What is your position on U.N.
peacekeeping troops?
We don't want too many. We don't need
9,000. It can bring social problems. We are more concerned with
reconstruction.
Does that mean there are no more serious
security threats to East Timor?
I have said we need a small number of
peacekeeping forces in the border area and in the Oecussi enclave [which
is surrounded on three sides by West Timor]. Three thousand troops are
enough. I have written to U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan about this. We
want the U.N. to save money from peacekeeping troops and spend it on
reconstruction aid.
What is your assessment of the new
leadership in Indonesia?
This is a positive development. I think
the new government is aware that if it doesn't stop the violence, it won't
be able to manage the economic crisis.
Will you ask Jakarta to provide
compensation for all the damage inflicted by pro-Indonesia forces?
I have already told the people we won't
ask for compensation.
When you visit Jakarta [at the end of
November], do you plan to ask the government for a full accounting of all
East Timorese people forced to flee to West Timor and other parts of
Indonesia?
Yes, of course, because we want to know
how many people died and how many people disappeared. We know that at
present [the militias] are continuing to kill and rape East Timorese
refugees in Atambua [in West Timor]. Many, many are suffering. I appeal to
the international community to pressure the Indonesian generals to stop
the killings, the rape, the violence. I appeal to the Indonesian
government to do more to stop the militias.
Who do you hold responsible in the
Indonesian government?
It seems Gen. Wiranto has lost his heart,
his human sense. Or he has no control over his men, his Kopassus special
forces. We know it is the military that is doing the killings and
encouraging the militias. It is a shame on Indonesia.
Do you support moves toward setting up an
international tribunal?
Yes. We have a sense of justice and human
rights. We want our people to feel that independence will bring them
justice.
But you have also committed yourself to
reconciliation.
Yes. On Aug. 25, I gave an amnesty for
all acts of political violence committed before that date. Now those who
accept the result of the referendum, we welcome them into the national
movement for reconstruction. But those who instigated the violence must
face justice. If not, we will be a country without justice, just as in
Suharto's time. But East Timor will be different. It will have justice,
human rights and democracy.
What are the priorities for an
independent government of East Timor?
Free education and health care are most
important to us. We will be very proud to have educated people, strong
people, healthy people. Many countries went bankrupt because of corruption
and dictatorship. We are ready to face bankruptcy for free education and
health._
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