East Timor: time for action
By Jon Land
The events of April mark another turning point in the East Timorese people's struggle for independence. Pro-integration terrorist gangs armed and funded by the Indonesia military have unleashed a wave of repression, the likes of which have not been seen since the Santa Cruz massacre of November 1991. Their activities are part of a concerted campaign by President Habibie and the Indonesian military to halt the momentum towards independence.
The exact number of East Timorese killed by the pro-integration gangs in the last few weeks is still unknown, but it is likely to be many more than 100. In many instances, such as happened after the massacre at Liquica on April 6, the bodies of the murdered have been taken away and dumped in secret locations.
Hundreds have been wounded and thousands more displaced from towns and villages, although independent verification of the exact numbers by church, student and human rights groups has been made impossible by the intimidation and death threats these organisations continue to receive from pro-integration groups.
Following the rampage by gangs such as Thorn, Besi Merah Putih and Aitarak in the capital, Dili, on April 17 and 18, international criticism prompted Indonesia's military chief, General Wiranto, to travel to Dili on April 21 to oversee the signing of a "peace agreement" between pro-independence and pro-integration leaders. The event, which was reported widely by the Indonesian media, was intended to give the impression that the Habibie regime is seriously trying to resolve the situation.
Yet reports from around East Timor on and since April 21 have said that the gangs have not disarmed and are continuing to intimidate and terrorise suspected independence supporters. More anti-independence rallies are expected over the next few weeks.
Lusa news service reported on April 21 that five youths were killed by Besi Merah Putih gang members in the town of Bazar Tete, 30 kilometres south-west of Dili. Disturbing reports have also started to filter through from the town of Suai in the far south-west. The Mary MacKillop Institute for East Timorese Studies issued a statement on April 23 confirming the deaths of 15 people.
Solidarity urgently needed
As a result of the deteriorating situation in East Timor, solidarity groups in Australia and around the world have stepped up their activities in support of independence for East Timor. Within Indonesia too, protest actions have occurred, such as the vigil and hunger strike by East Timorese and Indonesian students outside the headquarters of the Udayana Command in Bali, the military command responsible for the troops in East Timor.
Solidarity actions are urgently needed to force an immediate end to the activities of the paramilitary gangs and the Indonesian military. Protests are being held weekly in some Australian cities and "Free East Timor" contingents are being organised for May Day marches.
The key demands being raised in these protests by solidarity groups and East Timorese organisations include, first, that the federal Coalition government cease all military ties with Jakarta and demand that the Habibie regime withdraw its troops from East Timor and disarm the pro-integration gangs. Progress towards peace and justice in East Timor is impossible while the Indonesian military and its pro-integration paramilitaries can act with impunity.
Secondly, the Howard government must immediately announce that Australia no longer recognises Indonesian sovereignty over East Timor. The formal recognition of Indonesia's "incorporation" of East Timor was last officially reaffirmed by the Bob Hawke Labor government in August 1985. Last May, Labor and Liberal voted against a motion proposed by Australian Greens Senator Bob Brown which included ending formal recognition.
This bipartisan support for Indonesia's occupation has been the cornerstone of the close relationship between Australian governments and the Suharto and Habibie regimes. It is dishonest for the Howard government and the Labor opposition to claim that they support the desires of the East Timorese people.
Third, solidarity organisations are demanding that the Australian government cease its legal action to have 1500 East Timorese asylum seekers deported from Australia. The asylum seekers should be granted special bridging visas. They must be allowed to stay in Australia until they decide it is safe to return to East Timor, and be allowed to settle in Australia as permanent residents if they wish.
Role of the United Nations
The National Council of Timorese Resistance (CNRT) has called for Indonesian troops to withdraw from East Timor, the pro-integration gangs to be disarmed and the United Nations to play a role in monitoring this process, as well as supervising a referendum on independence.
CNRT representative Jose Ramos Horta expressed the view on March 9 in Melbourne's Age newspaper that with "sustained, firm pressure" from Australia and other countries on Indonesia to force it to withdraw its troops and disarm the paramilitaries, "there is no need for a UN armed police force in East Timor".
He also said: "We need first a major, significant international presence in the form of UN specialised agencies, humanitarian agencies in the form of non-government organisations, UN international civil servants, technical expertise in various areas to be provided by member countries including Australia".
Following the UN-sponsored negotiations on the future of East Timor between Indonesia and Portugal in mid-March, Horta and other resistance representatives expressed deep concern about the proposal to hold a vote in July on accepting or rejecting the Indonesian offer of "autonomy" while a large numbers of Indonesian soldiers continue to be present in East Timor.
"If the UN simply relies on the will of the Indonesian side and pushes ahead with this vote, bloodshed is almost certain because the Indonesian army will be there, the paramilitary will be there, and their interest is to disrupt the vote, to intimidate the people", Horta told journalists in Hong Kong on March 18. Horta added that he and imprisoned resistance leader Xanana Gusmao "oppose a vote without Indonesian troops first being out [and] the paramilitary must be disarmed".
While the pro-integration gangs are terrorising people throughout East Timor, repressing pro-independence campaigning and causing great fear among the population, a ballot on self-determination could not be considered fair or democratic.
The repression makes it extremely difficult for student and youth activists to organise large public meetings and mass protests, such as those held from June to November last year, which were instrumental in pushing forward the independence struggle. A concerted campaign by the Indonesian military to encircle and capture Falintil guerillas is also under way. Falintil is extremely wary of being provoked into armed confrontations with the military or pro-integration gangs, knowing that this would result in massive reprisals against defenceless civilians.
UN talks on East Timor involving Portugal and Indonesia from April 21 to 23 concluded with Indonesia agreeing to allow UN monitors to supervise the July referendum on autonomy. The UN presence is likely to include a police force, and UN personnel are expected to start arriving after the formal signing of the agreement on May 5.
Any UN involvement must ensure the immediate withdrawal of Indonesian troops and the total disarming of the pro-integration gangs. Monitoring of this, and the vote in July, should also be carried out by teams of representatives from trade union, church, student, women's and human rights groups, in consultation with the East Timorese resistance. For so long as the Australian government maintains its recognition of Indonesian sovereignty in East Timor, its participation in the UN team in East Timor should be opposed.
Whether or not the UN arrives, the East Timorese people are preparing to defend themselves. They are more determined than ever to gain independence. Tere Bulak, a Falintil commander from Region III, told me while I was visiting East Timor earlier this month that the people are "ready to fight to the last" for freedom. Many East Timorese I met and spoke with said they were "tired of being slaughtered like animals".
A dramatic increase in solidarity with the people of East Timor is essential now if the killings are to stop. Every effort must be made to provide as much material assistance as possible to the East Timorese independence movement — to CNRT, Falintil, the clandestine network, the student and youth activists, and church and human rights groups — and much more political pressure must be placed on the Australian government to force it to reverse its deplorable policies on East Timor.