| Subject: Militia
boss weeps at East Timor inquiry
Indonesian Observer 29th December 1999
Militia boss weeps in East Timor inquiry
JAKARTA (IO) — The feared East Timorese
leader of a pro-Jakarta militia gang broke down and wept while being
questioned in Jakarta yesterday by the Commission of Inquiry for Human
Rights Abuses (KPP HAM).
Joao da Silva Tavares, chief of the East
Timor Fighting Troops (PPTT), said the militias had fought extremely hard
to keep East Timor within Indonesia, only to later be abandoned by the
Indonesian government and military.
KPP HAM members were questioning Tavares
over his militia gang’s role in the violence that occurred after the
people of East Timor voted overwhelmingly on August 30 to split from
Indonesia.
After the vote, militia gangs —
allegedly trained, armed and following orders from the Indonesian Defense
Forces (TNI) — went on a killing, burning and looting spree throughout
the half-island territory.
KPP HAM member Todung Mulya Lubis told
reporters he was touched by how close Tavares was to the government and
TNI.
"It really touched us when Joao
Tavares cried in front of us because they [the militias] felt that after
having given their best contribution to keep Indonesia united, they were
abandoned by not only by TNI but also the Indonesian government," he
said.
"I was personally touched by that.
This is an irony in the history which has become part of our lives."
Lubis said Tavares denied the killings,
arson and looting were conducted solely by the militias. "He said it
was also set up by pro-independence supporters."
Asked whether Tavares admitted links with
TNI, Lubis said the militia leader basically admitted it but had not spelt
anything out in black and white.
"He didn’t admit it plainly. He
said the relations between TNI and the militias were justifiable and good.
He used the analogy that because every East Timorese person was an
Indonesian citizen at that time [before August 30], every East Timorese
person was obliged to obey the authorities, be they police or
military."
Lubis said that when Tavares started to
cry, he admitted the clear link between the militias, TNI and the
government.
Tavares lambasted former president B.J.
Habibie for daring to give the people of East Timor an opportunity to vote
for freedom.
"We were felt abandoned by the
government. In 30-minutes everything seemed topsy turvy when the second
option was offered without prior discussions with us," he said.
"The government didn’t bother to
count our contributions over the past 24-years, our fighting to keep East
Timor integrated within Indonesia," he said.
After a few statements from Habibie in
January, the independence option for East Timor was clarified when
then-foreign affairs minister Ali Alatas met with Portuguese and United
Nations officials in New York to negotiate the government’s previous
offer: wide-ranging autonomy in East Timor.
As for the militia’s modern-looking
weapons, Tavares claimed all of the guns were obtained when Portugal
abandoned East Timor in 1974.
"All of our guns were from the
Portuguese who fled East Timor in 1974. They abandoned their guns just
like that."
Tavares said he disbanded PPTT in Atambua,
East Nusa Tenggara or West Timor on December 13 because he realized it was
better to fight in political corridors, rather than with guns.
PPTT consisted of numerous pro-Jakarta
militia gangs which were formed in each district in East Timor. The gangs
included: Alfa team in Los Palos, Saka and Sera in Baucau, Makikit in
Viqueque, Halilintar in Bobonaro, Mahidi in Ainaro, Ablai in Manufahi, Red
and White Iron in Liquisa, Laksaur in Covalima, Red and White Sakunar in
Ambeno, Integration Blood in Ermera), Morok in Manatuto, and Aitarak in
Dili.
Tavares claimed there were 54,000
militiamen.
Witnesses in East Timor point out that
the militias were clearly in cahoots with TNI, and many militia members
were actually Indonesian soldiers in disguise.
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