Violence jeopardises ballot in East Timor

August 18, 1999
Issue 

DILI — On August 5, Green Left Weekly's Sam King spoke to MARIANO SABINO LOPEZ, chairperson of the central leadership council of the East Timorese Student Union (IMPETTU) and vice-president of East Timorese National Student Resistance (Renetil), an organisation for East Timorese students active outside East Timor, about the current situation.

Question: What is your assessment so far of the UN mission to East Timor (UNAMET)?

The security situation has become the number one barrier to enrolment in the referendum. This is because security is not managed by UNAMET. It is in the hands of the Indonesian military. Practically, it is handled by Indonesian police, who are opposed to East Timor's independence.

The police have been a machine for killing the East Timorese people for the last 23 years. Psychologically the people are still scared of the presence of a police contingent that works with the UNAMET.

So, the work that UNAMET is doing is effective but they have not been effective in creating the necessary conditions for people to freely enrol to vote.

Question: What is your opinion of the balance of forces in East Timor a month before the ballot?

The struggle of the East Timorese people for independence has not just come from this generation but also from generations before; we have a solid basis for the independence movement. The East Timor people have struggled since invasion for freedom.

So the militias that Indonesia pays and the few public servants that it pays to support Indonesia don't form a real base for integration. For example — in the Ponta Leste in the east, violence is almost non-existent because of the level of organisation of Falintil [Armed Forces for the Liberation of East Timor].

However, in the west the security apparatus has caused some problems but the clandestine resistance is still operating.

Question: What is the main role of the student movement?

The first task of the students is to mobilise all the people to enrol for the referendum. The second task is to raise consciousness of the concepts of independence and reconciliation and to avoid problems of paybacks and revenge.

Our task is to criticise and expose as lies the pro-autonomy propaganda from the Indonesian government, which argues that autonomy is a viable and middle road.

Question: How are activists able to push for an independence vote under militia intimidation and violence?

We meet violence, terror and intimidation every day. Every person thinks every day about whether their friend has been arrested, whether their parents have been killed or whether their sisters or brothers are being tortured. These are the difficult conditions East Timorese people exist and work together under.

But in these difficult conditions we are still able to organise as a popular resistance. For 23 years the resistance has used three fronts — armed, clandestine and diplomatic. During repressive conditions we favour the use of clandestine methods of organising. This is the case at the moment.

Question: What are IMPETTU's main demands?

IMPETTU is an organ of resistance that demands the total withdrawal of the Indonesian presence from East Timor. Before the referendum period, our first demand was a referendum for East Timor, our second, a total, unconditional withdrawal of Indonesian forces in accordance with the UN resolutions, and our third, give freedom to the people to determine their own lives.

The presence of the UN and the agreement from the Indonesian government to allow the referendum mean our activities now concentrate on how to create conditions that are conducive to self-determination.

Our demands in East Timor now have a different orientation. For example, there was the action here to demand that Ramos Horta be allowed to participate in the Dare II reconciliation meetings [a meeting between the pro-integration and pro-independence leaders supported by the UN in Jakarta].

We demand that leaders such as Ramos Horta, Maria Alkatiri, and Jose Guterres be allowed to come to East Timor. This can contribute to stability in the country.

Secondly, we organise actions around the terror and intimidation by the militias. In Liquica we demanded that UNAMET form a peacekeeping committee including Falintil, the Indonesian government, ABRI [the Indonesian military] and the human rights commission. This is a concrete and immediate way to realise the commitments made on June 18 and May 5 to create peaceful conditions for the referendum.

Question: What is the relationship between the student activists and the Falintil guerillas?

There is no significant difference between the militant students and Falintil. This is because, while Falintil undertakes armed struggle in the jungle, students are also guerillas in Indonesia.

The resistance is divided into four regional divisions in East Timor and a fifth is in Indonesia — the students [Renetil]. All of the divisions work together. All of the divisions are organised under CNRT [National Council of Timorese Resistance].

Falintil is the armed division. Our organisation is also a militant organisation under the command of Xanana Gusmao and CNRT. Both have the right to criticise Xanana Gusmao.

Question: Has Falintil been able to counter the effect of the militia terror and violence in any of the regions?

The instruction from Xanana Gusmao was not to respond to violence from the militias. After the incident in Liquica, as the violence continued to escalate, Xanana instructed everybody to protect themselves from the militias. This instruction was said by the Indonesian government to be an instruction for war.

After the instruction for self-defence was received by Falintil, there were no large attacks on the militias. However in a few places, such as Ermera, Falintil responded to protect the people, leading to exchange of fire between Falintil and the militias and the military.

In a similar situation in Becora on June 27-29, [the Indonesian military] and the militias were forced out and returned to Dili.

Question: What is the likelihood of the pro-integration militias attempting to wreck the ballot if a victory for independence is clear?

The Indonesian military is still trying to scare people into voting for the autonomy package. We can see the military and militia activity is still high. Some leaders of the Indonesian army said that they were unable to limit the militias' actions, but in reality have been exposed as arming the militias.

At the time of the referendum, they will continue to terrorise the people in order to win the autonomy package. For instance, [militia leader] Francisco Lopez said that if the autonomy package is accepted there will be no more victims, but if it is rejected, "The blood will flow like a river".

Also, the presence of Zacky Anwar Makarim [a high-ranking Indonesian military intelligence officer], who is an effective manipulator of data, in East Timor is proof that the Indonesian government and army are trying to spoil the vote. We worry that ABRI and Indonesia are preparing to wreck the referendum.

You need Green Left, and we need you!

Green Left is funded by contributions from readers and supporters. Help us reach our funding target.

Make a One-off Donation or choose from one of our Monthly Donation options.

Become a supporter to get the digital edition for $5 per month or the print edition for $10 per month. One-time payment options are available.

You can also call 1800 634 206 to make a donation or to become a supporter. Thank you.