'Clearance tests' for Timorese students

All East Timorese studying in Java and Bali were summoned to report to the local military commands where they are living on July 10 and required to answer detailed questionnaires. The orders to appear were transmitted to the students by their university deans or academy directors.

The questioning has created renewed anxiety among the students and came just as the trials of East Timorese in Jakarta and Dili drew to a close.

The questionnaire was drawn up by Bakorstanas, the notorious security agency headed by the armed forces commander in chief, General Try Sutrisno. Our source referred to it as a "clearance test" (using the English phrase) and said that the students were required to fill in their biographical data.

They then had to state in writing their personal opinion of the reports of the National Commission of Inquiry and the Honorary Military Council regarding the Santa Cruz massacre. They were asked their opinion about the Balibo Declaration issued in November 1975 by four East Timorese parties; this declaration called on the Indonesian government to integrate East Timor.

(All the Balibo signatories were under Indonesian control at the time. This document was used extensively during the recent trials of East Timorese in Jakarta and Dili as the justification for Jakarta's annexation of East Timor.)

The students also had to say what they felt about the process of integration.

After completing the questionnaires, the students were told to report to the local military command on July 13 and 14 to be interviewed on the same questions.
[From TAPOL/Pegasus.]

From GLW issue 63