Column: Our Life and Times
November 1999

East Timor: 'We will rebuild our homeland'

by Kevin A. Barry and Mary Holmes

Xanana Gusmao, former guerrilla chief and now nominal leader of independent East Timor, returned there for the first time since he was captured and imprisoned in Indonesia in 1992. Speaking in Dili on Oct. 22, Gusmao vowed "We will rebuild our homeland. Nothing can stop us."

Gusmao arrived only days after the Indonesian government voted to formally "separate" East Timor from Indonesia, finally recognizing the Aug. 30 referendum in which 80% of East Timorese chose full independence, defying a campaign of military-militia intimidation which turned into a smash-and-burn rampage after the vote.

A mixed force of Australian-led "international peacekeepers" (Interfet) arrived only after nearly a month's delay to counter the wholesale destruction. By the end of October, the occupying Indonesian army and its militia forces were forced to leave. What the Indonesian military-militia could not loot-from personal property to the national infrastructure, including air traffic control technology, water treatment equipment and building materials-it trashed and burned. The East Timor armed resistance, Falintil, has said it will not disarm until it judges all civilians are safe.

The East Timor Transitional Council has been formed to deal with the projected two to three years of UN administration, and to ensure the interests of East Timor self-determination are primary during this period. The council includes Gusmao as president, Jose Ramos Horta as vice-president, together with representatives from Falintil, Fretilin, political parties, and women's groups. A number of new groups have emerged in the period following the overthrow of Suharto in May 1998, especially those organized by students.

Given the scale of devastation in East Timor which has already been impoverished by over 25 years of Indonesian domination, there is need for immediate material support. Few countries other than Portugal are offering any substantial aid. It goes without saying that East Timor can expect nothing but economic harassment and sabotage from Indonesia, which has just completed the process of installing a new post-Suharto government that differs little, if at all, in policy from the last.

The new president of Indonesia, Abdurrahman Wahid, leader of the Islamic National Awakening Party, was elected with the support of the Suharto-Habibie Golkar party along with strong blocs of the military and other Islamic parties. Wahid immediately chose his main political rival, Megawati Sukarnoputri, as vice president. Megawati, who had earlier opposed East Timor independence, has been charged to deal with the anti-government independence movements in Ambon, Irian Jaya, and in the Spice Islands.

Wahid plans to deal himself with the Islamic-based upheavals in Aceh province, the most serious challenge to Jakarta's central domination. Wahid has talked conciliation with East Timor, but appears poised to tighten control over the rest of Indonesia. While General Wiranto, overseer of much of Indonesia's military brutality since Suharto's downfall, has been removed from the more visible position of defense minister, the military remains integrally active in ruling Indonesia.

While U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright lectured the Indonesian government at the end of September on respecting East Timor independence and adhering to the results of its own popular elections, the role of the U.S. in this crisis has been tawdry and criminal. The Clinton administration cut off military aid to Indonesia, a relatively meaningless gesture, only after the most egregious violations had been committed in East Timor. The U.S. is concerned with the viability of post-Suharto Indonesia, not independent East Timor.

CLICK HERE TO GO BACK TO CONTENTS PAGE

CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO NEWS AND LETTERS