Documents on East Timor from PeaceNet and Connected Computer Networks Volume 40: September 1 — November 3, 1995

Published by: East Timor Action Network / U.S. P.O. Box 1182, White Plains, NY 10602 USA Tel: 914-428-7299 Fax: 914-428-7383 E-mail PeaceNet:CSCHEINER or [email protected] These documents are produced approximately every two months and mailed to subscribers. For additional or back copies, send US$30 per volume; add $5 for international air mail. Discount rates: $15 for educational and non-profit institutions; $8 for U.S. activists; $11 international. Subscription rates: $180 ($90 educational, $48 activist) for the next six issues. Add $30 ($18 activist) for international air mail. Further subsidies are available for groups in Third World countries working on East Timor. Checks should be made out to “ETAN.” The material is grouped by subject, with articles under each category in approximately chronological order. It is also available on IBM-compatible diskette, in either Word for Windows or ASCII format. Reprinting and distribution without permission is welcomed. Much of this information is translated and supplied by TAPOL and BCET (London), Task Force Indone- sia (USA), CDPM (Lisbon), CNRM, Free East Timor Japan Coalition, Mate-Bian News (Sydney), East Timor Ireland Solidarity Campaign, ETIC (Aotearoa), Australians for a Free East Timor (Darwin) and other activists and solidarity groups, but they are not responsible for edi torial comment or selection.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

BALIBO REMEMBERED ...... 7 BALIBO MASSACRE BACKGROUND...... 7 THE 5 GHOSTS OF BALIBO RISE ONCE MORE TO HAUNT INDONESIA & US ...... 10 INDONESIA WON’T REOPEN BALIBO INVESTIGATION ...... 13 CHRIS HAVILAND MP TO MOVE PRIVATE MEMBERS MOTION ON BALIBO ...... 13 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES “NOTICE OF MOTION”...... 13 INDONESIAN TROOPS KILLED AUSTRALIAN NEWSMEN -RADIO...... 14 CALL FOR NEW INQUIRY INTO JOURNALISTS’ DEATHS IN EAST TIMOR...... 14 TIMOR MURDERS PLANNED; SOLDIERS ...... 14

RELIGIOUS CONFLICTS ...... 15 PRO-CATHOLIC DEMONSTRATION IN DILI ...... 15 AMIEN RAIS: DON’T LET EAST TIMOR BECOME A PARASITE ...... 15 THE THREAT OF WIDER RELIGIOUS CONFLICT ...... 16 DILI’S BISHOP TO MEET THE POPE...... 17 BISHOP BELO’S INTERVIEW WITH GATRA...... 17 MUSLIMS BACK HARD LINE ON EAST TIMOR...... 18 CARDINAL URGES GOVERNMENT TO WIN TIMORESE TRUST...... 19 BLASPHEMIES AGAINST CATHOLICISM IN EAST TIMOR ...... 19 CATHOLIC LEADERS SAY RIGHTS COMMISSION TEAM DISTORTS RIOT ISSUE ...... 19 INDONESIAN CATHOLIC BISHOPS SEEK HELP FOR EAST TIMORESE...... 20 RENETIL: THE FLAME OF STRUGGLE WILL NEVER BE EXTINGUISHED ...... 20 Page 2 East Timor Documents, Volume 40. Sept. 1 - November 3, 1995.

100 ULAMAS WANT DIALOGUE WITH BELO ...... 21 BELO DENIES WANTING ‘CATHOLIC REGION’...... 22 EAST TIMORESE NEED TIME TO ADAPT ...... 22 ANTI-BELO DEMONSTRATION IN YOGYA...... 23 YOUNG MOSLEMS AGAINST XIMENES BELO...... 23 JAKARTA PUTS PRESSURE ON THE POPE ...... 24 MILITARY PLEDGES OF CONSTANT RAIDS...... 24 NU & EAST TIMOR ...... 24 ET INTRA-RELIGIOUS FORUM...... 25 CNRM STATEMENT ON RELIGIOUS CONFLICTS ...... 25 GOD AND COUNTRY: ATTACKS ON MUSLIMS IN TIMOR PROMPT BACKLASH...... 26 INDONESIAN MINISTER TO FLY TO VATICAN ON TIMOR...... 27 POPE MEETS INDONESIAN MINISTER ...... 27 SUHARTO URGES PEOPLE TO AVOID CONFLICT...... 28

RIOTS IN EAST TIMOR...... 28 PROTESTS ROCK TWO CITIES...... 28 EAST TIMOR PROTESTS SEE THREE DETAINED...... 28 TWO CIVILIANS KILLED IN EAST TIMOR ...... 28 RIOTS BREAKS OUT IN VIQUEQUE...... 28 UNREST IN DILI: MANY ARRESTS ...... 29 MORE ON CURRENT UNREST IN DILI ...... 29 LUSA: DISTURBANCES IN DILI, 3 KILLED, SEVERAL ARRESTS ...... 30 MORE ON DILI AND VIQUEQUE DISTURBANCES ...... 30 POLICE ASSERT CONTROL IN EAST TIMOR AFTER RIOTS ...... 30 MILITARY APPEALS FOR CALM IN EAST TIMOR...... 31 MORE ON CONFRONTATIONS THROUGHOUT ET...... 31 RELATIVE CALM RETURNS TO TROUBLED EAST TIMOR...... 32 DILI UNDER CONTROL AFTER TWO DAYS OF VIOLENT RIOTING...... 32 TIMORESE FEARED TORTURED AFTER RIOTS: RESIDENTS ...... 32 AI: MORE THAN 50 DETAINED AFTER EAST TIMOR RIOTS...... 33 EAST TIMOR BISHOP SAYS RIOTS UNDERLINE UNHAPPINESS...... 33 BISHOP BELO RADIO AUSTRALIA INTERVIEW ...... 34 TIME FOR THOUGHT...... 35 ALBRIGHT CONCERNED BY EAST TIMOR RIOTS ...... 35 SOEHARTO PLAYS DOWN DILI RIOTS...... 35 CNRM STATEMENT ON EAST TIMOR YOUTH UPRISING ...... 36 XANANA GUSMÃO’S STATEMENT OF SUPPORT TO EAST TIMORESE YOUTH UPRISING...... 37 TEN PEOPLE ARRESTED FOR TORCHING MARKET IN DILI ...... 37 AI: ARREST/TORTURE UPDATE ...... 37 MILITARY SUPPORTS DIALOG TO EASE TIMOR TENSION ...... 38 CNRM UPDATE ON EAST TIMOR RIOTS...... 38 RIGHTS COMMISSION TO PROBE EAST TIMOR RIOTS ...... 39 BELO CRITICISES ABRI ON THE DILI RIOTS ...... 39 ETCHRIET- URGENT ACTION 27 DETAINED ...... 40 INDONESIA INCREASES MILITARY PRESENCE...... 40 TIMOR MILITARY BUILD UP DENIED ...... 40 KWI BLAMES FRUSTRATION FOR RIOTS ...... 40 SUHARTO SAYS TIMOR RIOTS SHOULD NOT BE EXAGGERATED ...... 41 TEAR GAS AND TORTURE HIT DILI STUDENT PROTESTORS...... 41 AVERSION TO GOVERNMENT POLICIES SPARKED EAST TIMOR RIOTS ...... 41 East Timor Documents, Volume 40. September 1 - November 3, 1995 Page 3

‘PITCHED BATTLES’...... 42 EAST TIMOR RIOTS ‘BI D TO SHAKE OFF YOKE’ ...... 42 RECENT ARRESTS ...... 42 TWO DEAD: DILI TENSE...... 43 MORE SHOOTING IN DILI ...... 43 EAST TIMOR GOVERNOR CALLS FOR ARMY TO RESTORE CALM ...... 44 SIMBOLON DENIES USE OF FIREARMS...... 44 SITUATION IN DILI VERY TENSE...... 44 ARMY STRIKES HARD ...... 44 INDONESIA STAGES SHOW OF FORCE IN EAST TIMOR ...... 45 INDONESIA SAYS RESTORES ORDER IN DILI, ARRESTS 120 ...... 45 AI: UP TO 120 DETAINED AFTER NEW RIOTS IN DILI ...... 46 COMORO POLICE PRISON ...... 46 VOA — ‘ORDER RESTORED’ ...... 46 “PLEASE DO NOT MINIMISE THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THESE HEROIC PROTESTS”...... 47 TIMOR: RESISTANCE SAYS 5 KILLED BY INDONESIANS...... 47 MANUEL CARRASCALÃO ASKS FOR HELP ...... 48 DILI UNDER SIEGE...... 48 TIMORESE YOUTH ROUND-UP CONTINUES ...... 49 EAST TIMOR GOVERNOR DENIES REQUESTING SHOOTINGS ...... 49 WRONGFUL INTERPRETATION ...... 49 JAKARTA CRUSHES DILI PROTEST...... 50 E. TIMOR GOVERNOR TO FIRE CIVIL SERVANTS ...... 50 INDONESIA RELEASES MORE THAN 100 EAST TIMORESE...... 50 INDONESIA MILITARY SAYS RIOTS PURELY CRIMINAL ...... 51 INDONESIA POLICE CONTINUE SEARCHES IN EAST TIMOR...... 51

OTHER EVENTS IN EAST TIMOR ...... 51 EAST TIMORESE PRISONERS WRITE U.S. CONGRESS ...... 51 TIMORESE ON TRIAL FOR HELPING FALINTIL ...... 52 “BEATING OUT” THE EN EMY ...... 52 VILLAGE MADE TO PAY A HIGH PRICE...... 53 MILITARY SAYS GUERRILLAS KILL THREE CIVILIANS...... 54 TIMORESE WOMEN WANT FREEDOM FROM RAPE...... 54 TWO BATTALIONS WITHDRAWN ...... 54 MILITARY TRAINING FOR CIVIL SERVANTS ...... 54 EAST TIMOR HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS...... 54 KONIS SANTANA WANTS SABALAE CAPTURE INVESTIGATED...... 55 TIMORESE SAY NO TO APPRENTICESHIP ...... 56 XANANA’S DRIVER’S TRIAL POSTPONED ...... 56 PRISONERS TO BE MOVED ...... 56 EAST TIMOR GOVERNOR AND BIKERS ESCAPE SHOOTING...... 56 FEAR STALKS THE STREETS OF DILI ...... 57 TIMORESE BEAR THE SCARS OF REPRESSION ...... 57 MORE INDONESIANS LEAVE TIMOR ...... 58 POLICEMAN FIRES ON SOLDIER ...... 59 EAST TIMOR GETS LOW COST HOUSES ...... 59 UNPRECEDENTED PRISONER EXCHANGE IN TIMOR ...... 59 RESISTANCE DENOUNCES “COLLABORATORS” ...... 59 INDONESIA HOLDS TALKS WITH EAST TIMOR LEADERS ...... 59 JAKARTA WARNS TIMOR OFFICIALS ...... 60 Page 4 East Timor Documents, Volume 40. Sept. 1 - November 3, 1995.

ARMED RESISTANCE NOT ‘MORIBUND’ ...... 60 FRETILIN IN REPLY TO LE MONDE...... 61 TWO DECADES OF DEATH, DESPAIR & TORTURE IN INDONESIA’S ACHILLES HEEL ...... 61 LIVING IN DEATH’S SHADOW; THE LAST GUERRILLAS FIGHT ON ...... 63 EAST TIMOR AN UNCERTAIN PRIZE FOR INDONESIA...... 63 EAST TIMOR VISITS RAISE HOPES ...... 64 PRE-ANNIVERSARY CRACKDOWN RUMORED IN DILI ...... 65

EVENTS IN WEST PAPUA ...... 65 FIRM “MORALLY INVOLVED” IN ALLEGED IRIAN KILLINGS ...... 65 NEW INTERNET RESOURCE ON WEST PAPUA...... 65 INDONESIAN MASSACRE CONFIRMED ...... 66 IRIAN JAYA REPORTS ...... 66 INDONESIA PROBES HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES ...... 68 AID CANCELED FOR GOLD PROJECT IN INDONESIA ...... 69

EVENTS IN INDONESIA...... 69 LIBERATING OUR COLONIAL MINDSET ...... 69 AJI JOURNALISTS ON TRIAL...... 72 ACHMAD TAUFIK AND EKO MARYADI, TRI AGUS TRIALS ...... 73 INDONESIA SAYS WILL CHECK PORTUGAL’S TV PLAN...... 74 INDONESIA’S SUHARTO SEES NO PLACE FOR OPPOSITION...... 75 INDONESIAN JOURNALIST JAILED FOR “INSULTING THE PRESIDENT” ...... 75 INDONESIAN GOVERNMEN T “FACTS” ON EAST TIMOR...... 75 INDONESIA’S BRASS POLISHES ITSELF...... 77 HOW BAD IS BAD IN EAST TIMOR? ...... 78 INDONESIAN HOUSE TO HOLD PLENARY SESSION ON EAST TIMOR ...... 79 JAKARTA POST: THE EAST TIMOR ISSUE...... 79 INDONESIA: DEALING CAUTIOUSLY WITH RUMORS ...... 79 INDONESIA ACTS AGAINST PAMPHLETEERS...... 80 INDONESIA’S LEGACY OF SUPPRESSION CONDEMNED ON 30TH ANNIVERSARY OF COUP ...... 80 ELEVEN INDONESIAN NGO’S ISSUE STATEMENT ON EAST TIMOR ...... 81 SURABAYA LBH CRITICISES NGO’S ON TIMOR ...... 81 THE DYNAMICS OF THE INDONESIAN PRO-DEMOCRACY MOVEMENT...... 81 ABRI NAMES FACES BEHIND INCIDENTS ...... 86 UNIONIST, ACADEMIC DENY THEY ARE COMMUNISTS...... 87 INDONESIA ETERNALLY ON ALERT TO COMMUNIST THREAT ...... 87 ARMY RUMBLINGS OF COMMUNIST THREAT DEEMED DIVERSIONARY ...... 88 INDONESIA SCHOLAR SAID IMMUNE FROM EXTRADITION...... 89 INDONESIA HOLDS NAVAL WAR GAMES ...... 89

EAST TIMOR AT BEIJING CONFERENCE...... 89 A MESSAGE TO THE BEI JING CONFERENCE FROM THE EAST TIMORESE WOMEN ...... 89 OMOMO MELEN PACIFIC...... 90 IFET’S GAL AT THE BEIJING NGO WOMEN’S FORUM ...... 90 JAPANESE TV COVERAGE OF BEIJING...... 91

UNITED NATIONS...... 91 UNSG PROGRESS REPORT ...... 91 GENERAL ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT MENTIONS EAST TIMOR IN OPENING STATEMENT...... 92 EAST TIMOR: U.N. PICKS UP THE PACE ...... 92 UNGA FOURTH COMMITTEE DISCUSSION BEGINS...... 93 EAST TIMOR ACTION NETWORK CALLS FOR MORE FORCEFUL UN ACTION ON EAST TIMOR...... 94 East Timor Documents, Volume 40. September 1 - November 3, 1995 Page 5

PROTESTORS FLOCK TO U.N. ANNIVERSARY GATHERING ...... 94 SOARES BLASTS “OUTRAGEOUS SITUATION” IN EAST TIMOR...... 95 ALATAS’ RESPONSE TO SOARES’ UN SPEECH ...... 95 UNITED NATIONS AT 50 AND EAST TIMOR: IT’S TIME FOR CHANGE...... 95

EVENTS IN EUROPE...... 96 NEON METIN IS BACK ...... 96 OPEN LETTER TO NORWEGIAN PRIME MINISTER...... 96 NORWEGIAN PM MEETS SUHARTO ...... 98 EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION ...... 98 INDONESIA CONDEMNED BY MEPS ...... 98 OH TIMOR! (PORTUGUESE SOCIALISTS COMMITTED TO ET)...... 98 BISHOP BELO NOMINATED FOR NOBEL PEACE PRIZE...... 99 “THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING”...... 99 PEREZ DE CUELLAR ON INDONESIA ...... 99

TIMORESE SEEK ASYLUM AT UK EMBASSY ...... 100 TIMORESE SEEKING ASYLUM AT UK EMBASSY IN JAKARTA ...... 100 BRITISH COALITION FOR EAST TIMOR PRESS RELEASE ...... 101 ASYLUM BID ‘UNDER CONSIDERATION’...... 102 ANN CLWYD: ASYLUM MUST BE GRANTED ...... 102 TIMORESE PLEAD FOR UK ASYLUM ...... 102 EAST TIMOR REBELS ASK BRITAIN FOR POLITICAL ASYLUM...... 102 TIMORESE FLEE TO EMBASSY ...... 103 ASYLUM SEEKERS LEAVE TO PORTUGAL...... 103

EVENTS IN ENGLAND ...... 103 BRITISH AID TO INDONESIA UNDER FIRE...... 103 EAST TIMOR AND ARMS TRADE ON STAGE...... 104 IRISH PRESIDENT ATTENDS PLAY ...... 104 RIGHT LIVELIHOOD AWARD FOR CARMEL BUDIARDJO ...... 104 ‘ALTERNATIVE’ NOBEL PRIZE TO HONOUR FOUR ACTIVISTS ...... 105 JAKARTA: AWARD FOR CARMEL BUDIARDJO ‘A POLITICAL JOKE’ ...... 105 INTERVIEW: RLA LAUREATE CARMEL BUDIARDJO ...... 105

EVENTS IN IRELAND...... 107 PLAYING THE GAME AND RESISTING BRITISH ARMS SALES TO INDONESIA ...... 107 NEW WEST PAPUA CAMPAIGN IN IRELAND...... 107 SPRING AND ALATAS CUT SHORT MEETING...... 107 SPRING WALKED OUT ON INDONESIAN MINISTER OVER TIMOR...... 107 ALATAS ATTACKS IRISH FOREIGN MINISTER...... 108 CORRECTING ALATAS’S “INACCURACIES” ABOUT “TRANSMIGRATION” IN EAST TIMOR ...... 109 ALATAS UPSET AT SPRING’S TIMOR WORDS...... 110 OFF THE BUS AND ON TO THE HUMAN RIGHTS ROAD ...... 110

EVENTS IN ASIA-PACIFIC ...... 111 APCET PROPOSAL: “LIGHT A FIRE” SYMBOLIC ACTIONS...... 111 NGO PARALLEL CONFERENCE TO THE APEC OSAKA SUMMIT...... 111 APEC OSAKA ET PRESS CONFERENCE...... 112

EVENTS IN AUSTRALIA...... 113 REALPOLITIK V: THE LAW OF NATIONS ...... 113 SOCIALIST INTERNATIONAL RESOLUTION ...... 113 KEATING, SUHARTO TO DISCUSS HUMAN RIGHTS...... 113 Page 6 East Timor Documents, Volume 40. Sept. 1 - November 3, 1995.

CANBERRA KEEPING ON JAKARTA’S RIGHT SIDE ...... 114 KEATING HITS HUMAN RIGHTS BLOCK ON WAY TO BOOST JAKARTA TIES ...... 114 JAKARTA HINTS AT EN VOY MOVE...... 115 EAST TIMORESE PLEAD FOR UN ACTION ...... 115 LEGAL MOVES AGAINST EAST TIMOR REFUGEES...... 116 BACKSLIDING SHAMES AUSTRALIANS...... 116 REFUGEE TRIBUNAL WILL TREAT EACH CASE ON MERIT...... 117 HOSTAGES TO HISTORY ...... 117 RECONSIDER TIMOR MOVE...... 118 DIGGERS FIGHT FOR BOAT PEOPLE ...... 118 TIMORESE DISMISS CLAIM BY KEATING ...... 118 LET THE TIMORESE REFUGEES STAY! ...... 119 REFUGEE RULING SPARKS ANGER ...... 119 EAST TIMOR REFUGEES: LET THEM STAY!...... 119 IN MEMORY OF DENIS FRENEY ...... 121

EVENTS IN NEW ZEALAND ...... 121 FLAG PROTEST...... 121 FLAG BURNING RESPONSES...... 121 NZ REGRETS REPEATED BURNING OF INDONESIAN FLAG ...... 122 ET INDEPENDENCE COMMITTEE PROTESTS POLICE HARASSMENT OF MANU CADDIE...... 122 TIMOR ACTION CALL ...... 122 NEW ZEALAND VIGIL / JOSÉ RAMOS HORTA VISIT...... 122

EVENTS INVOLVING THE UNITED STATES...... 123 AMBASSADOR ALBRIGHT IN JAKARTA ...... 123 THE DEBATE OVER U.S. TAX DOLLARS IN EAST TIMOR...... 123 FEINGOLD AND STATE DEPARTMENT VIEWS ON IMET AND EAST TIMOR...... 124 JIMMY CARTER TO LOOK INTO TIMOR ISSUE...... 126 INDONESIA AND THE U.S.: 30 YEARS OF LIVING DANGEROUSLY ...... 126 COMING NY EVENTS ON EAST TIMOR ...... 127 NAIRN: FREE EAST TIMOR ...... 127 ACTION ALERT: CALL CONGRESS ON IMET ...... 128 CONGRESSIONAL LETTER ON IMET...... 128 CONGRESS LIMITS IMET FOR INDONESIA...... 129 CONGRESSIONAL LETTERS TO CLINTON...... 129 CLINTON, SUHARTO MAY AVOID RIGHTS ISSUES ...... 130 PRESIDENT CLINTON RAISED EAST TIMOR WITH INDONESIAN PRESIDEN T SUHARTO ...... 131 CLINTON, SUHARTO TALK HUMAN RIGHTS ...... 131 INDONESIA WOOS AMERICAN BUSINESS ...... 132 FIVE NAMED FOR PRESS FREEDOM AWARDS...... 132

INDONESIA BUYING U.S. F-16’S?...... 132 NO US ARMS SALES TO DICTATORS ...... 132 OWENS: US MAY LIFT F-16S SALES BAN...... 133 INDONESIA STILL STUDIES US OFFER TO SELL F-16S ...... 134 JET FIGHTERS DO NOT VIOLATE RIGHTS ...... 134 INDONESIA PLAYS DOWN MILITARY PURCHASES ...... 135 CLINTON OFFERS F-16S TO INDONESIA – NEWSPAPER...... 135 INDONESIA SEEKS U.S. EXPORT CREDITS FOR F-16S ...... 136 VOA — US F-16S TO INDONESIA? ...... 136 East Timor Documents, Volume 40. September 1 - November 3, 1995 Page 7

RESOURCES...... 136 “EYEWITNESS” BOOK LAUNCH ...... 136 BOOK TO PORTRAY ‘91 MASSACRE ...... 137 TIMOR NET AROUSES INDONESIA’S CURIOSITY ...... 137 ELECTRONIC RESOURCES ON EAST TIMOR...... 138 NEW ET MONOGRAPH ...... 139

two members were actually Australian citi- war in Timor. When the newsmen chose to BALIBO REMEMBERED zens. These were Greg Shackleton, 29, a remain behind, they must have expected to television reporter from HSV7 in Mel- be captured, or at least detained by the In- bourne, and Tony Stewart, about 21, a donesians, and to end up behind Indonesian BALIBO MASSACRE sound recordist from HSV7. The other lines. But, given the good relations between BACKGROUND members of the group were Malcolm Ren- Canberra and Jakarta, they no doubt felt nie, 28, a British citizen who had been assured of an early release. Extract from TIMOR — A PEOPLE working as a reporter with the Nine Net- Since 1976 there have been a number of BETRAYED by James Dunn work in Melbourne; Brian Peters, 29, also articles and studies about this tragic affair, British, who was the cameraman accompa- notably by Jill Jolliffe and Hamish McDon- THE MURDER OF THE ‘AUSTRALIAN’ nying Rennie; and Gary Cunningham, 27, a ald. A disappointing contribution was a TV CREW AT BALIBO New Zealander and the cameraman with report by three Australian diplomats (tabled 16 October 1975 Shackleton. The party was in fact not one, in the Parliament in 1976) which sheds more The Indonesian assault in the Balibo sec- but two television teams from rival net- light on official attitudes to the affair than tor involved about 300 troops, who were works, who had been sent separately East on the affair itself. But the Balibo killings under the command of a major, believed to Timor within a few days of the reported are not an unsolveable mystery, as the de- be Major Andreas or Junus. The attack attack on Batugade, with the purpose of partmental report suggests. . from the work began at about 4.00 a.m. and at near 7.00 establishing proof of whether Indonesian of Jolliffe and McDonald, and extensive a.m. the force entered the village square. The forces we involved in the fighting against interviews with Timorese who were in the Fretilin opposition consisted of about 40 Fretilin. vicinity of Balibo on that fateful day, it is troops equipped with one machine gun and Behind the decision to send the Channel possible to discern a clear pattern of events, small arms. Therefore, they began to with- Nine team was one of Australia’s leading and to come up with a credible explanation draw as soon as the invading troops entered current-affairs personalities on television, of how the newsmen were killed, and in the village, firing as they retreated. Left in Gerald Stone, the Channel’s news director what circumstances. Balibo were the five Australian newsmen who, it will be recalled, had himself led a Australian government ministers and of- who had decided to remain in the village, television crew to the territory late in Au- ficials have invariably referred to the attack presumably confident that their non- gust, and had maintained a close interest in on Balibo as an incident shrouded in confu- combatant status would be identified and subsequent developments. In the case of the sion and mystery. In fact, as we have seen, respected by the other party to the conflict. HSV7 team, the initiative appears to have there is really no mystery about the attack No doubt they realized that they were tak- come from Shackleton himself, who was at all. It was an entirely Indonesian military ing risks, but Indonesia was, after all, Aus- reportedly looking for a break from the mo- operation in the sense that the commanders tralia’s nearest neighbour, and a great deal notony of routine reporting in Melbourne. and the combatants were Indonesian. A few had been said in the previous two years Shackleton Cunningham and Stewart arrived Timorese were taken along, but they were about the close and friendly relations that on 10 October, and the others two days very largely in support roles, with no com- had developed between the two countries. later. Both teams spent a little time in the bat responsibilities. The dominant Indonesia The confidence of these newsmen was not, capital before heading for the border, and role is made very clear in the U.S. intelli- however, shared by their Fretilin escorts, most of the intervening days were spent in gence agency assessments contained in the nor by the Portuguese television crew, both the Maliana-Balibo area, where they took ‘Timor Papers.’ It can be assumed that of whom had tried to persuade them to some film and conducted a number of inter- these assessments were also available to the withdraw on the previous day. In order to views. Australian government, indicating that the allay the fears of Fretilin the newsmen pre- The Indonesian military assault could not government was not telling the truth when it pared and signed a statement releasing the have been a surprise to these crews. There expressed doubts about who was responsi- Fretilin officials from any responsibility for was an expectation that an attack was immi- ble for the attack. On 31 October the CIA the consequences of their decision to remain nent and, from the battlements of the old described the operation thus: ‘Some 2000 and witness the action. And it was certainly fort at Balibo which offer a commanding Indonesian regular infantry troops, special action they got: within one to two hours of view of the coastal stretches on both sides forces, marines, and Timorese partisans, the entry into Balibo of the Indonesian spe- of the border, they themselves had been able launched coordinated attacks along the bor- cial forces troops, all five were dead, the to observe the bustle of Indonesian naval der and captured at least six border towns in circumstances of their deaths creating one of activities in the waters nearby. Perhaps a Portuguese Timor on October 16. In fact, the most controversial and bitter episodes in kind of naive spirit of high adventure pre- the Timorese partisans amounted to about the entire Timor tragedy. vailed among the group, but Shackleton’s 100 men who came not from the rank of The group have been commonly referred last recorded interviews indicate that there Fretilin’s UDT adversaries, but from Colo- to as the ‘Australian newsmen,’ but this was also a strong sense of commitment to nel Sugiyanto’s guerrilla training camp in description is only partly correct — only the task of bringing out the truth about the West Timor, that is, the Atsabe Timorese Page 8 East Timor Documents, Volume 40. Sept. 1 - November 3, 1995. who had been secretly ‘recruited’ earlier in looking back and pointing his camera. He almost dead — near unconsciousness — and 1975, with the help of Tomas Gonçalves. was a big man. . . The Indonesians kept was talking into the radio. This could easily The troops who entered Balibo appear to firing. The man with the bald head [Peters] have been Tony Stewart the soundman, have been a mixture of Kopassandha (spe- was still filming, then he cried out and fell vainly attempting to record something of cial forces) and KKO (naval commandos), down. The other Australians were screaming that terrible incident. According to a source perhaps with some soldiers from the ‘Australians, Australians!’ with their hands interviewed by the writer, a Timorese Brawidjaja Division. Hamish McDonald has up. The soldiers circled them and made them moved towards the wounded man, but was suggested that the force was entirely turn their backs and face the wall of the ordered back by an Indonesian marine lieu- Kopassandha, but several Timorese who house. The firing died down and we crawled tenant, who then shot the newsman. were in the village on that day spoke of the away through the undergrowth. We heard The killing of the journalists was re- presence of the KKO. The retreating Fretilin the Australians screaming and then there ported by radio to operational headquarters troops also spoke of different styles of was burst of automatic fire. at Batugade, thence to Kodam headquarters head-gear. The invaders came not from the The evidence so far available suggests at Den Pasar and to Jakarta, probably to west — the direction of Batugade — but that things moved very quickly on that day Murdani. Colonel Dading and Louis Taolin from the south-east, preceded by three at Balibo, and it is probable that within an then at once flew to Balibo by helicopter. hours of continuous shelling. The Fretilin hour all five of the newsmen had been killed, Their visit was followed by a bizarre sequel garrison, anxious not to be surrounded and not by ‘UDT-Apodeti forces’ as Indonesian to this wanton killing. Two or three of the cut off from the main body of Timorese officials have consistently tried to make bodies were taken out of the house, dressed forces hurriedly withdrew, and the Indone- Australia believe, but by regular troops of in Portuguese uniforms, of the kind used by sian soldiers streamed into the village. the Indonesian armed forces. Most of this Fretilin, which had been discovered among The newsmen apparently took painstak- evidence has come not from Fretilin sources, the stores in the local barracks, and then the ing steps to advertise their non-combatant but from other Timorese who were in Balibo corpses were propped up behind some cap- and Australian identities to the advance on 16 October, several of them having ac- tured machine guns in front of the ‘Australia guard of the attacking forces. Greg Shackle- companied the Indonesian troops from West sign. An Indonesian soldier then proceeded ton had painted a large ‘Australia’ sign on Timor in order to carry out guide and inter- to photograph the scene. Accounts of this the wall of the house where they were stay- preter functions. A few accounts have also macabre incident came from a number of ing, and beneath it he sketched a rough, but been obtained from the Indonesian side. All sources and there can be no doubt of its identifiable, drawing of an Australian flag. in all, there is enough corroborative evidence veracity. One Timorese had been ordered to As several witnesses have attested the from these various accounts to enable us to help remove the bodies, and he noticed that, newsmen also took care to be dressed in construct a credible picture of the circum- although the corpses had severe wounds the unmistakably non-military clothing, and stances in which the newsmen met their uniforms in which they were clad were un- they did not possess any arms. The last fate. marked. Another, who had served in the Fretilin soldier to withdraw from the village It seems that the newsmen were con- Portuguese army had been ordered by the (whose interview the writer attended in Dili vinced that there was less risk in exposing Indonesians to put into working order the in late October 1975) claimed that the Aus- themselves to the incoming troops than in weapons that had been placed in front of the tralians had moved out into the open and remaining in the house. Therefore, when the bodies. He had spent a whole day on this that there was some filming when the attack attack began they came out into the open task, but had not been successful because began. The soldier, orderly named Guido and tried to establish their identity as a key parts of the weapons were missing. A dos Santos, stated that the newsmen had group of Australian journalists. Peter evi- former senior UDT leader also related this then moved back towards their house and dently decided to do some filming, which incident. He said that although he had not pointed to the signs on the wall in an obvi- was probably unwise in the circumstances. been there at the time, an Indonesian Bakin ous attempt to draw the Indonesian sol- The Indonesian troops opened fire and he officer had later shown him the photographs diers’ attention their identity. But clearly was hit. When this firing began another of the journalists seated behind the machine they did not get their message across. Ac- member of the group tried to make a run for guns. Bakin, he was told, intended to make cording to this Timorese source, the attack- it, but he was shot down before he got very use of these photographs, and the weapons ers fired in the direction of the newsmen and far. The troops then closed in on the remain- to show that the newsmen had in reality he saw one of them fall, apparently after ing newsmen who, by shouting ‘Austra- been combatants for the cause of Fretilin. having been hit. The other newsmen then lians’ and pointing to the markings on the However, for reasons that are not clear, began shouting ‘Australians!’ and feverishly wall, made a desperate bid to save their the Indonesians did not go ahead with this pointed to the signs on the wall. Dos Santos lives. One of them appears to have been sordid act of disinformation. Perhaps it was then withdrew. As he ran he claimed that he struck with a knife — perhaps this caused because the weapons could not be put in could still hear the shouting, but there was the screaming that the Fretilin soldiers working order, or maybe the scheme was some more firing, and the shouting stopped. claimed to have heard during their retreat rejected at a higher level. Yet there are some About ten days later Roger East, another from the village. In the event, the surviving grounds for believing that it was more than Australian journalist who was himself to members of the party were shot after cap- the whim of a junior intelligence officer. For meet a similar fate after the invasion of Dili, ture, perhaps within half an hour, and four one thing, the hoax was set up shortly after interviewed some other Fretilin soldiers, of the bodies presumably excluding the Colonel Dading Kalbuadi arrived at the who claimed that they had watched the body of the journalist who had tried to run scene, suggesting that the order to arrange Australians while retreating from Balibo. away, were taken into the house. It appears the deception may have come from him, or This version is not so different from that of that one of the group was still alive. A was at least approved by him. It is interest- dos Santos, but it is rather more detailed. Timorese who was present told his brother ing to note that although this bizarre hoax One these soldiers, Lucas Jeronimo, told later that the newsman was badly wounded, was not used at the time, it has subse- East: but that he was wearing headphones and had quently been given some publicity by Sir The Australians ran toward their house something like a radio strapped on his back. Keith Shann, a former senior public servant about 200 metres away. One kept stopping, He said that the newsman ‘appeared to be and ambassador to, among other countries, East Timor Documents, Volume 40. September 1 - November 3, 1995 Page 9

Indonesia. Shann remarked in 1981, after a In the circumstances, it is virtually im- reason for sending television crews in the visit to Indonesia that he understood that possible to avoid the conclusion that these first place was to establish whether the the journalists had been dressed in uniforms newsmen were not the victims of an acci- Indonesian military were involved in the when their bodies had been discovered. dent or misunderstanding. Clearly, at least fighting at the border, as Fretilin officials But let us return to events in Balibo. three of them were killed in cold blood, al- had alleged. Perhaps government officials Later in the day the bodies were taken to most certainly in order to remove the risk of knew too little about the situation on the another house where, together with some exposure to the international media of Indo- ground in East Timor itself. Indeed, it was other bodies, they were burnt after having nesia’s covert military intervention. Hamish the writer’s distinct impression at the time been immersed in petrol. This provided the McDonald later wrote that, although Indo- that some of the key officials in the relevant setting for a story that was to emerge from nesian special forces troops involved in the policy area of the Department of Foreign sources in Jakarta, that the newsmen had operation denied any prior knowledge of the Affairs felt that the less they knew about been killed in a rocket attack by UDT- presence of the television crews at Balibo, what was happening in the colony, the eas- Apodeti forces! But before the bodies were they did admit that, in any case, ‘the attack- ier it was for them to cope with the contra- incinerated some of their possessions were ing force was under explicit orders to kill dictory aspects of the Whitlam’s Timor looted. Not all of the looting was carried out any witnesses to their covert intrusion into policy. by the Indonesians. J Tavares, a Timorese foreign territory.’ To put it simply, the The tragic outcome at Balibo led some of- — one of the few ex-UDT members to cast killing at Balibo, of at least three of the men, ficials to contend that teams should not have his lot with the pro-integration faction — was nothing less than an act of murder. ventured into such a dangerous situation in ‘souvenired’ a watch from of the dead The reaction of the Australian govern- first place. It was also alleged that the newsmen and a camera from another. ment and its diplomats to the wanton killing newsmen had rushed off to the colony It has often been charged that the Indone- of five members of the nation’s press corps without first seeking a brief from the De- sians ‘executed’ newsmen at Balibo. This was consistent with other aspects of its partment of Foreign Affairs, and without may not be an appropriate term, since it dismal record in relation to the rape of East even informing Australian authorities of suggests a formal sentencing, or at least the Timor. What is particularly disturbing is what they were planning to do. There is an culmination of a process of some kind, when that the Whitlam government knew about element of hypocrisy about such criticisms, in fact the newsmen were summarily dealt the impending attack some days before it which come mostly from official sources. with. There is no doubt however that at took place. The writer was warned about it The Whitlam government’s devious handling least three of them were not killed in the by a sensitively placed senior official before of the Timor problem, the contradictory heat of battle. Nor, in the circumstances, is he left for Timor with the ACFOA team on reports coming from Jakarta and the terri- it conceivable that they were taken to be 7 October. Five days earlier, U.S. intelli- tory, and the reported dangers being faced comrades-in-arms of Fretilin. All the credit- gence analysts, using information to which not just by a small neighbour, but by a peo- able evidence points to the fact that the Australia also had access, advised their gov- ple who had rallied to Australia’s cause newsmen did their utmost to advertise their ernment that the attack would be launched during World War 2, surely presented the non-combatant status, and there could have in a few days. Hamish McDonald wrote: media of this country with an obligation to been no doubt about their identity in the ‘According to sources in Jakarta interviewed expose the truth of the situation to the Aus- minds of the Indonesians who killed the by this writer, the Australian Embassy was tralian public. After all, the Timorese had remaining three. told of plans to attack Balibo two or three for some time been appealing to Australia It was reported that the Indonesians had days before they were carried out. Almost for help; there was widespread public dis- not known that there were journalists in the certainly this information would have been quiet at what seemed to be happening in the area. This too, is difficult to accept. passed on to Canberra. Thus the govern- Portuguese colony, and conjecture on Timorese then in the refugee camps in Indo- ment had at it’s disposal enough information whether the government was really facing nesian Timor later told the writer that even — and enough time to warn Australians in up to its responsibilities in its approach to they were aware of the presence of the tele- East Timor of the impending risks at the the crisis. vision crews in the Balibo area on the eve of border. More importantly, they could have Perhaps the teams should have sought a the advised the Indonesians of the presence of briefing from government sources, but this * Tavares was subsequently appointed journalists in the area, sand stress that they begs the question: just what kind of a brief- bupati, or senior district officer, of the should be afforded protection according to ing would they have been given at that time? Balibo regency. their status. It is hard to believe that they would have attack. As for the Indonesians, one need Perhaps it would have been difficult to been provided with a frank background as- only turn to the account by Hamish convey such a warning to the newsmen sessment. If officials had talked uninhibit- McDonald, who reported that there were themselves. The crews were probably al- edly with the newsmen, the frailty of the two Timorese radio operators in Colonel ready on their way to Timor when the gov- Whitlam government’s Timor policy would Hernoto’s communications centre, for the ernment became aware of Indonesian plans almost certainly have been compromised. specific purpose of monitoring Fretilin to attack Maliana and Balibo. But Austra- Also, Gerald Stone and others might have broadcasts. Furthermore, the Indonesians lian authorities already knew about the In- feared, from their earlier exp eriences, that were well aware that there were a number of donesian operation against Batugade, and the government would have merely tried to foreigners, including journalists as well as they must surely have concluded that fur- persuade them not to go, and, therefore, to aid workers, in East Timor, whose neutral ther military operations were to come. Some have consulted officials beforehand would status warranted appropriate respect. Only officials later claimed that they knew noth- have meant providing the latter with an a week or so before the Balibo attack ABC, ing of the newsmen’s plans to visit the bor- opportunity to obstruct the venture. Reuter, an AAP journalists had visited the der area. It is hard to believe such a claim: Whatever the circumstances of the border area and their extensive reporting on their arrival in East Timor was common newsmen’s departure from Australia, it is the situation would not have escaped the knowledge to a number of Australian offi- indeed a weak argument to suggest that gov- attention of Murtopo and Murdani in Ja- cials, and it should have been assumed that ernment actions to protect its own corre- karta. they would proceed to the border. The main spondents should have been contingent on Page 10 East Timor Documents, Volume 40. Sept. 1 - November 3, 1995. such formalities as prior consultation. In John Kerin, at the time secretary of the struck down instantly by a knife blow from any case, there were already Australian ALP’s Caucus Foreign Affairs and Defence an Indonesian soldier’ source: Timorese journalists in Timor, including Tony Committee and a critic of Whitlam’s Timor witnesses Menatti of the ABC, and Rick Collins and policy, was telephoned by an anonymous Version 3: They were caught in crossfire. Jill Jolliffe of AAP-Reuter, who had already caller — presumably a troubled intelligence ‘They were not killed in cold blood. I know ventured to the border area. Did the Austra- operative — and provided with some details it was a pertempuran [combat, battle]. They lian embassy in Jakarta seek assurances of the killing at Balibo on 17 October. On were in between Fretilin and the advancing from the Indonesian military that aid work- the same day a similar contact was made Indonesian troops. And who was to know ers and journalists would be accorded pro- with a Channel Nine executive who had been in the heat of battle that they were Austra- tection appropriate to their status? There is sent to Darwin. According to McDonald, lians?’ source: Indonesian generals] little evidence of this. Notwithstanding the John Foell was called to the Travelodge –––– public fiction of the ‘civil war’ in Timor, lobby and told by a nervous stranger that It will be 20 years on Monday since 5 frank informal exchanges were going on in the newsmen had been ‘machine-gunned and Australian-based TV journalists were killed Jakarta at that time between Australian their bodies burnt.’ It was a case, it seemed, during an Indonesian army attack on Balibo, embassy officials and representatives of the of the troubled consciences of a few intelli- East Timor. It was an accident, the authori- Indonesian military establishment and more gence officials outweighing the force of their ties said. But as David Jenkins reports, they frank briefings on the Timor situation were security pledges. now confirm that they knew the journalists being provided to the military and intelli- The official Australian response to the were there and had been monitoring their gence representatives on the staff of the killing of the television crews fell not far transmissions. embassy. Apparently the Department of short of total inaction. In their attitudes to The house where Channel 7 reporter Foreign Affairs did make an effort to pass the incident most officials were defensive, Greg Shackleton painted the word ‘Austra- on a warning to journalists in Dili, although and some were even inclined to blame the lia’ and a small likeness of the Australian it came rather late. According to Jill Jolliffe: journalists for having gone to Balibo in the flag is still there and much neater now, done ‘On the Thursday on which the journalists first place. Implicit in this view was the up in the pastel blue colour scheme that was perished, the head of AAP’s Darwin bureau notion that Australians should have stayed so popular in Portugal’s overseas territories. telephoned the Dili correspondent with the away from Timor and let the Indonesians But the shutters are closed and there is information that Foreign Affairs had warned resolve the problem in their own way, that no sign of life. In a town of down-at-heel that: “something big” was to happen in East is, let ‘events take their course.’ Those who stores and slovenly open spaces, the house Timor that day and that the Dili correspon- did not comply with this rule of good sense sits like a well-tended mausoleum — which dent should be alerted.’ As Jolliffe herself and discretion could not blame the authori- in a way it is. pointed out the ‘something big’ had already ties in Australia, and nor could they expect ‘We’ve daubed our house with the word happened that very morning — the news- any quarter from the Indonesians, whose Australia,’ Shackleton said in his last report men at the border had by that time been disregard of fundamental international rule from Balibo, a bleached mountain outpost dead for about four hours! of behaviour needed to be judged against where the dry grassland and stunted euca- Although the official reaction in Australia Jakarta’s fears that the nation’s legitimate lyptus evoke powerful memories for any to reports that the newsmen were missing security interests were under threat. Australian visitor. ‘We’ve hoping it will and may have been killed was slow and afford us some protection.’ That, as it extremely cautious, it has been credibly THE 5 GHOSTS OF BALIBO turned out was a forlorn expectation. reported that within less than 2 hours the RISE ONCE MORE TO Four days later, troops from Indonesia’s government knew that the crews had been HAUNT INDONESIA & US crack paracommando regiment swarmed into killed in an Indonesian military operation. Balibo, pouring automatic weapons fire into This information came from one of Austra- Sydney Morning Herald, October 14 1995 everything that moved and much that didn’t. lia’s most closely guarded intelligence opera- David Jenkins, Asia editor In less than a hour, they were dead. tions, a system of electronic surveillance, [Summary — a long article giving 3 ver- Those deaths have never been adequately operated by a very sensitive component of explained. What happened in Balibo? the Defence Department, the Defence Sig- sions of the killing of 5 journalists at Balibo on October 16, 1975. The article is accom- For hundreds of years, Muslims from nals Division. The role of DSL in this par- Java, Sulawesi and Sumatra have been ticular incident has already been analysed by panied by a map of Balibo and a summary of 3 versions of what happened at Balibo. slowly extending their influence into the Richard Hall, Desmond Ball, and Hamish eastern backblocks of what is now Indonesia McDonald. Perhaps the most interesting Version 1: Two journalists are killed in where the Malay world rubs up against account comes from the pen of McDonald, crossfire, the others are murdered by Indo- Melanesia. Twenty years ago, that slow who wrote: nesian troops. According to former Austra- evolutionary process made a sudden spurt After monitoring the battle for Balibo as lian consul in Dili, James Dunn, ‘at least forward. it happened — through a mass of signals three of the surviving members of the party Alarmed by the success of the left-wing that detailed the movements of small units, were shot after capture, perhaps within half Fretilin independence movement, which had ships and aircraft — the Shoal Bay DSD an hour. The killing by knifing and the vain defeated its conservative UDT rivals in a station sent recorded data immediately to attempt by one of the group to escape have brief but bloody civil war, Indonesia decided DSD headquarters in Melbourne, almost surfaced in a number of accounts’ source: that it was time to intervene. next door to the HSV7 studios in St Kilda Timorese witnesses It trained a volunteer army of pro- Road. Version 2: There is no line-up and execu- integration Timorese. It launched clandestine But the few government ministers (per- tion ‘but quick ruthless killings in the heat commando raids inside Timorese territory, haps only two), and a handful of Foreign of battle.’ ‘I saw one Australian come out of deliberately fuelling the instability that it Affairs and Defence analysts were not the the door with his hands up saying some- would later cite as an excuse for a full-scale only persons to have disclosed to them that thing like ‘Australian! Journalist!’ He was invasion. And then it went in boots and all. the Indonesians had killed the journalists. East Timor Documents, Volume 40. September 1 - November 3, 1995 Page 11

As is usual in such circumstances, Jakarta tilin’s flimsy defences, as was inevitable? cluded the journalists were not just sending turned first to the elite paracommando unit We have no way of knowing. They might news reports back to Dili for relay to Aus- Kopassandha (Secret Warfare Force) later have chosen to withdraw, taking the inland tralia but were ‘helping Fretilin by convey- renamed Kopassus. mountain roads and bridle paths back to ing information of a military nature.’ On Tuesday, Oct. 7 (1975), about 100 Dili, 70km to the north-east as the crow ‘They had a radio and we had a monitor- Kopassandha troops commanded by Colo- flies. Or they might have chosen to stay on, ing system. They reported to their chief in nel Dading Kalbuadi captured the coastal believing that their status as neutral non- Dili or Darwin. But intelligence had the town of Batugade, 2 km inside Portuguese combatants would afford them protection. impression that they reported back to Timor, forcing Fretilin defenders to pull Whatever the case, they had made a fateful [someone] in Australia, whether he be a back to Balibo, 10km further east. decision. Timorese or an Australian.’ Dading, who became the first Indonesian The East Timor border area was an in- The Indonesians set up a Joint Task commander in East Timor after the invasion creasingly dangerous place in October 1975. Force Command under Col. Dading and had and who retired as a lieutenant-general in Indonesian scouting parties were making begun to mass about 3500 regular troops on 1987, established a forward headquarters in regular forays into Portuguese territory and their side of the border to seize 6 East an old Portuguese fort. One of his assis- they were not in any mood to have their Timorese towns. The attack came, with tants, the late Col. Agus Hernoto, set up a cover blown. According to a detailed Na- guile and ferocity, before dawn on October radio unit to monitor Fretilin radio traffic. tional Times article by Hamish McDonald 16th. At this stage President Suharto was con- the troops who eventually attacked Balibo At 3am Col. Dading ordered the Marine tinuing to hold out against pressure from his were under explicit orders ‘to kill all wit- Corps tank crews to start their engines and army commanders for a full-scale military nesses to their covert intrusion into foreign begin moving about the Batugade area. The invasion of East Timor. But as a leaked CIA territory.’ Soviet-made PT-76 is a growling, screeching report was to reveal, he had ‘approved a Pro-integration East Timorese were also vehicle and to the Fretilin soldiers on the plan of action that will increase pressure on operating in the border area, filled with a Balibo road it would have looked as if the Fretilin forces operating near the border.’ consuming hatred for the Fretilin forces to offensive was about to begin. This was a Under the plan Indonesian troops would which the TV crews were attached. ruse. attack Maliana and other border towns be- As the TV crews made their plans to ‘I made an operational plan to deceive,’ ginning on October 14th. The participating cover the anticipated Indonesian attack, the Col. Dading said yesterday, ‘I had no inten- troops wore uniforms with no insignia and Australian embassy in Jakarta, acquired tion of advancing up the main road. I would carried older style Soviet weapons. In the- intelligence that ‘pro-Indonesian irregulars have been crazy to do that. I attacked from ory the Indonesian plan was top secret. In reinforced with Indonesian regulars’ were behind. They were very surprised. When I practice everyone knew what was coming. preparing three border towns — Balibo, took Balibo, we found that all the machine In this atmosphere of imminent crisis, a 3 Maliana and Atsabe — from Fretilin. guns were pointed towards the main roads. man TV crew from Channel 7 in Melbourne ‘We did not know if any Australians They were not professional soldiers, like (Greg Shackleton, 29, a reporter, Gary Cun- were in that area,’ said Richard Woolcott, me. I am a professional. They just tried to ningham, 27 year old New Zealand camera- Australian Ambassador at the time. ‘How- ambush us.’ man and Tony Stewart, 21 year old sound- ever we sent a priority cable to Canberra on As Fretilin soldiers waited in their am- man) arrived in Balibo on October 11, 1975. October 13, urging that if there were any bush positions on the western approaches They hoped to get the first footage of Indo- Australians in the Balibo area, they should to Balibo, more than 100 Kopassandha nesia’s covert war against its tiny neighbour. be advised urgently of the impending danger troops swept into Balibo from the south On the same day Indonesia sent addi- in which they might find themselves. and east, laying down a deadly barrage of tional troops and Soviet-made PT-76 am- ‘The rest is a tragic piece of history. The fire. There was virtually no resistance. phibious tanks across the border to reinforce journalists were killed in the pre-dawn at- Kopassandha suffered only one casualty, a Batugade. Fretilin believed, and Col. Dading tack on Balibo on October 16th. Either the soldier who was lightly injured. encouraged this — that the Indonesians warnings were ignored or communications in The attack was lead by Captain Yunus would advance up the mountain road to East Timor in October 1975 were poor and Yosfiah, a 30 year old Buginese special Balibo. Knowing it could not hope to hold messages, if sent, did not get through.’ forces officer, who is now a major-general. Balibo, which was within range of Indone- Until now, the Indonesians have always General Yunus is married to a Timorese sia’s heavy naval guns, Fretilin kept a token insisted that they, too, were in the dark woman and commanded the Infantry Train- force of 60 men there. There task was to about the presence of journalists in Balibo, ing Centre in Bandung in the early 1990s. ambush any Indonesian column coming up even though it was well-known in East He was in Australia recently for the Kanga- the exposed mountain road. Timor and beyond that as many as a dozen roo 95 military exercises. He was described On Monday, October 13th a team from Western correspondents had visited border yesterday by a senior Australian military Channel 9 in Sydney (Malcolm Rennie, 28 areas. officer as ‘a fine officer.’ year old English reporter, and Brian Peters, That claim has now been discarded. A There are at least three versions of what 29 year old English cameraman) joined the highly placed Indonesian military source happened when the Kopassandha forces Channel 7 crew in Balibo. They spent the told the Herald that Jakarta was well aware reached Balibo. night in an abandoned Chinese shophouse at that there were journalists in Balibo. According to James Dunn, who inter- the dusty intersection where the road to ‘According to the reports that I have viewed a number of Timorese witnesses, the Cova joins the main Batuguade-Maliana read, these Australian journalists were Australians came out into the open as the road. camped in an old house in Balibo,’ said the Indonesians advanced into the town, at- The building, initially dubbed the ‘Aus- source on condition of anonymity. ‘And tempting to establish their non-combatant tralian Embassy,’ now became the ‘Com- from there they were sending messages to status. monwealth Secretariat.’ Dili to radio.’ Dunn has written ‘Brian Peters evidently What would the TV crews have done As Col. Hernoto’s officers listened in to decided to do some filming. The Indonesian once the Indonesians broke through Fre- the messages, the source said, they con- troops opened fire and he was hit.’ One of Page 12 East Timor Documents, Volume 40. Sept. 1 - November 3, 1995. the other journalists was shot down as he ill-disciplined and vengeful. Arriving in the One senior Australian official who was tried to make a run for it. A third, he wrote, town they had begun to put every house closely associated with the internal investi- appeared to have been struck with a knife. and shop to the torch. ‘I had to order them gation into the deaths said ‘If one or two Dunn concluded ‘In the event, at least 3 to stop,’ Gen. Dading said, ‘I gave the order, were not killed in the original raid, maybe of the surviving members of the party were ‘Don’t burn the houses’ ‘But sir, we don’t they were shot. But we just don’t know shot after capture, perhaps within half an like Fretilin.’ ‘Oh my God,’ I just said, about that.’ hour. The killing by knifing and the vain ‘Don’t burn the houses! That’s an order!’ The Australian TV journalists who died attempt by one of the group to escape have According to Dading the volunteers in Balibo were obviously brave and dedi- surfaced in several accounts.’ claimed that Fretilin troops had been inside cated. They believed Australians were enti- According to a Timorese witness quoted the house and had opened fire on the attack- tled to know what was happening in East by McDonald, ‘there was no line-up and ing force. Timor, the more so, it seems, because the execution, but quick and ruthless killings in Were the journalists inside the building Whitlam government was doing so much to the heat of battle.’ The witness, who said with Fretilin? ‘I think so,’ Gen. Dading said, disguise, dismiss and downplay Indonesian their was little resistance by Fretilin, claims ‘ But we didn’t know at the time they were aggression. to have an unobstructed view of the house journalists. And the volunteers, because Whether they were wise is another mat- where they were sheltering. ‘I saw one Aus- they don’t have any discipline, they just ter. They had been given many warnings tralian come out of the door with his hands attacked.’ that the border area was dangerous and had up saying something like, ‘Australian !, Dading’s version of events, which gives signed documents waiving Fretilin of any Journalist!’ greater emphasis to the military role of the responsibility for their safety. ‘He was struck down instantly by a knife volunteers than many observers would have Beyond that many things remain unclear. blow from an Indonesian soldier. I then saw thought likely, comes down firmly on the The claim that Indonesia monitored Fre- Indonesian soldiers fire through the window side of death by misadventure. tilin radio traffic is not new. It was revealed of the house on the others inside, as well as That conclusion is supported by the sen- by McDonald in 1979. However he noted the one who fallen from the knife blow. I ior Indonesian military officer who has re- that the source was self contradictory on then saw a wounded man run out the back vealed that ABRI knew there were journal- whether the journalists were identified as to a house, formerly a Portuguese security ists in Balibo. Australian or whether the information was post, behind the other. I saw him frantically ‘They were not killed in cold blood, you passed to Dading. What is new is the unam- trying to open the door but couldn’t, turn, know. I know it was a pertempuran [com- biguous claim, made by a senior military run a short distance, then drop dead.’ bat, battle]. They were in between Fretilin source and repeated in a series of interviews, According to a number of accounts, the and the advancing Indonesian troops. And that Indonesian intelligence officers knew Indonesians later dressed the dead journal- who was to know in the heat of battle that there were journalists in Balibo, knew that ists in Portuguese army uniforms of the kind they were Australians.’ they were transmitting material to Australia used by Fretilin and propped them up be- On the information available it is difficult and had come to the conclusion that they hind a machine-gun behind the house where to conclusively say which account is most were actively helping Fretilin. Shackleton had painted the word ‘Austra- plausible. (Dading, who was responsible for coor- lia.’ They were then photographed in a But Guilhereme Gonçalves, a former In- dinating 6 major attacks that day, says he crude attempt to suggest that they had taken donesian appointed governor of the terri- can’t recall every detail about the Balibo up arms with Fretilin. tory, yesterday repudiated the official claim incident. He notes that Colonel Hernoto, In the event, Dunn notes, the ‘Indone- that the 5 died in crossfire between oppos- who was familiar with everything to do with sians did not present this sordid disinforma- ing Timorese factions. In an interview with radio interception, died several years ago). tion to Australian investigators.’ There is AAP, Gonçalves said the claim, made in a Did the TV crews send such messages? little doubt that the incident took place. letter to Australian diplomats shortly after There is no suggestion in Greg Shackleton’s When asked about the allegation, a well- the killings had been invented by the Indo- diary that they did. On the other hand, informed member of the ‘Indonesian lobby’ nesians to appease Australia. ‘It was just an Shackleton reported that, ‘At Maliana we in Canberra acknowledged as much with the excuse to Australia so that Australia would conveyed a message that [Fretilin] rein- comment, ‘Yes, well, that’s very Indone- not become angry.,’ said Gonçalves, one of forcements be sent from Maliana to defend sian.’ the authors of the letter. “I think it is not Balibo.’ Dading, who had arrived by helicopter true. It was just invented. It’s a false docu- McDonald noted that this shows ‘a de- from Batugade as the fighting drew to a ment.’ gree of identification with Fretilin and a close, emphatically rejects the claim that This is not a serious blow to the Indone- minor breach of the convention that war any journalists were killed in cold blood. sian case by the disaffected Gonçalves, who correspondents do not assist combat ‘That’s not right,’ he said, ‘I know about is the Raja of Atsabe, the region from which forces.’ that .. After we took over Balibo we many of the pro-Indonesian ‘volunteers’ Nor is that the only intriguing question checked and found there were some bodies were recruited. No one in Indonesia seri- about electronic eavesdropping. We know that were burned in the house. But you ously believes that story anymore. But it that Australia’s Defence Signals Directorate know we did not do anything like that. No, will add to the sense that the Indonesian (DSD) was monitoring Indonesian army it’s not true. We were in combat. We didn’t case for intervention in East Timor is built radio traffic. Did DSD intercept any of the know form where the white men came. Af- on more myths than may be comfortable. Indonesian messages referring to the fact ter the attack we just knew some white men And although Canberra has never made a that there were journalists in Balibo? Did were killed in action. It could happen any- formal protest to Jakarta over the killing of they intercept the original Fretilin messages where. It’s the risk of the journalist in com- the journalists, even paid-up members of on which the information was based? What, bat.’ Canberra’s ‘Indonesia lobby’ speak in a if anything, did they do about it? Could Dading however claimed that the Indone- manner which suggests that they are not Canberra have done more with the DSD sian trained East Timorese volunteers who fully persuaded by the Indonesian explana- intelligence? Or was it caught in a dilemma accompanied Kopassandha force had been tion. East Timor Documents, Volume 40. September 1 - November 3, 1995 Page 13 of knowing more than it could afford to CHRIS HAVILAND MP TO “The Australian government should re- reveal? solve to clarify the circumstances surround- According to Woolcott, ‘Nothing is really MOVE PRIVATE MEMBERS ing the deaths of the courageous journalists, gained by revisiting 20 years later this tragic MOTION ON BALIBO especially in light of recent statements by event during the civil war in East Timor. We ex-Governor of East Timor, Guilherme should look to the future of our many-sided Press Release from Chris Haviland Member Gonçalves who believes that Indonesia has and most important relationship with Indo- of the House of Representatives, Campbell- fabricated the story of the journalists being nesia.’ town, NSW 2560 Australia. Oct. 23 1995 killed in cross fire by rival East Timorese Many would agree — we cannot afford Momentum for a Federal Government militias,” Mr. Gusmão said. to let one tragic incident poison our relations inquiry into the deaths of 5 journalists at Shirley Shackleton, widow of slain jour- with Jakarta. Balibo, East Timor, in 1975 has increased nalist Greg Shackleton, has also been out- But nagging questions remain. Can we with Federal Member for Macarthur, Chris spoken about the need for an inquiry. really refer to Balibo as an incident in a ‘civil Haviland, promising to move a private “I hope to be in Parliament the day Mr. war’ when Jakarta no longer bothers to hide members motion during the upcoming sitting Haviland moves his private members mo- the fact that the attack on 6 East Timorese of parliament. The motion will ask that any tion, so as to lend my unequivocal support. border towns involved a 3500 man force of provisions existing in any Federal legislation It’s time some very embarrassing questions Indonesian regulars, supported by tanks, a which would otherwise prevent full access were asked in order to get some very impor- World War II B-26 bomber, a C-47 gunship to Federal Government files or personnel, be tant answers. Let’s open up those DSD files and a naval armada? Could Australia have set aside for the purposes of the inquiry. and get to the truth,” Mrs. Shackleton said. done more to alert the journalists to the “Twenty years after the violent deaths of “If the Australian Government is not in- dangers that they faced? Woolcott for one the 5 journalists there has never been a de- volved in a cover-up, if it was not aware of believes it could. ‘The tragedy,’ he says, ‘is cent inquiry, nor a decent explanation, nor a the pending attack on Balibo that day 20 compounded by my belief that it might have protest by Australia to Indonesia. There’s years ago, if it does not know how the 5 been avoided.’ been no official expression of regret or apol- journalists were killed, then they have noth- Finally did we do all we could to avert ogy to the families of the victims; not even ing to fear from an open, honest inquiry. On the agony that lay ahead for the people of their remains have been returned,” Mr. the other hand they stand to gain the an- East Timor, between 100,000 and 200,000 Haviland said. swers to this traumatising, politically and of whom were to die after Indonesia forces “The whole episode smells of contradic- emotionally loaded enigma,” Mr. Haviland rolled across the border in such force on tion, half-truths, straight out lies, evasion of said. October 16? That, as they say, is for his- the issues, and cover-up; by both Indone- Media contact: Stephen Senise tory to judge. sian, and I’m afraid to say, Australian au- thorities. If that’s not the case an honest HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES INDONESIA WON’T REOPEN inquiry will reveal as much.” “NOTICE OF MOTION” BALIBO INVESTIGATION “Let’s get some answers, and for once, Mr. Speaker let’s put human rights and justice before I give notice that on the next day of sit- SPJ PRESS NOTES – October 21, 1995. Indonesia’s hypocritical sensitivities,” Mr. ting, I shall move that this House: Prepared by Steve Geimann, President-Elect Haviland said. 1. Notes that, 20 years after the deaths of 5 One of Australia’s most respected jour- Indonesia rejected requests to re-open an Australian-based journalists (Greg Shack- nalists, John Pilger, who has worked tire- leton, Tony Stewart, Gary Cunningham, investigation into the 20-year-old deaths of lessly on the issue of East Timor, has come five journalists from Australia, saying the Malcolm Rennie and Brian Peters) in out in support of Mr. Haviland’s call for an Balibo, East Timor on 16 October 1975, reporters faced an occupational risk by re- inquiry. porting the fighting just as in Bosnia, offi- there has never been a satisfactory inves- “I totally support Mr. Haviland’s efforts tigation into the circumstances of the kill- cials said Saturday. because there needs to be an inquiry; an “Their death at Balibo, East Timor, was ings. inquiry that will open the Defence Signals 2. Requests that the Federal Government an occupational risk because at the time Directorate Communications (DSD) file for there was fighting among various factions in establish an inquiry into the circum- October 1975. This will undoubtedly reveal stances of the deaths of those journalists, the area,” foreign ministry spokesman Ghaf- that the Australian Government was aware far Fadyl said. including the question of how they were of the truth surrounding Balibo and that killed, who was responsible, what hap- The two Australian, two British and a successive Australian Governments have New Zealand citizen died in Balibo Oct. 16, pened to the bodies, and the extent of the sought to cover it up,” Mr. Pilger said. involvement of Australian and Indonesian 1975, when Indonesian troops raided Portu- Mr. Haviland added that if what John guese East Timor. Military sources say the authorities in suppressing details of the Pilger asserted was true Australia’s behav- incident. five were killed in crossfire of the battle; a iour since Balibo was one of accessory to former Australian diplomat has claimed the eventual invasion of East Timor, if not 3. Requests that the Terms of Reference of three of the five were killed after capture. an act of downright collusion. the Inquiry include a full investigation of Fadyl said Indonesia regretted the killing the role played by Federal Government José Gusmão, South East Asia and Aus- of the journalists but Jakarta’s position tralia spokesperson for the National Council agencies, including the Department of remained the same: “The death of the five of Maubere Resistance, has also lent sup- Foreign Affairs, the Defence Signals Di- journalists is of no greater significance than port to Mr. Haviland’s call for an inquiry. rectorate and other security and intelli- those of the media people who get killed Mr. Gusmão is the cousin of jailed Timorese gence services, in relation to this matter while covering today’s Bosnian conflict. resistance hero, Xanana Gusmão, who until from October 1975 onwards. Therefore, we see no reason to re-investigate his capture waged a guerilla war on Indone- 4. Requests that any provisions existing in the Australian journalists’ case.” sian forces in East Timor. any Federal legislation, which would oth- erwise prevent full disclosure to the In- Page 14 East Timor Documents, Volume 40. Sept. 1 - November 3, 1995.

quiry by officers, employees, agents or Indonesia denies the five reporters were sonnel and documentation related to the sub-agents, of Federal Government agen- killed deliberately and says it sees no reason events. cies of any information under oath rele- to reopen the case. They are also demanding that the terms vant to the terms of reference be set aside Australian Foreign Minister Gareth Ev- of reference for the inquiry include: for the purposes of the Inquiry. ans told ABC radio from New York on · any knowledge the Australian govern- Mover: C D Haviland MP, Member for Thursday that if the former bodyguard’s ment had of the attack on the border area Macarthur Seconder: P J Knott MP, Mem- evidence was compelling he would push for of Balibo, before, during and afterwards; ber for Gilmore 24 October 1995 an explanation from Indonesia. · what steps the government took to en- But Evans said Australia could not le- sure the safety of the six journalists; gally launch an investigation into the deaths INDONESIAN TROOPS · what prevented or delayed the govern- in Indonesia. KILLED AUSTRALIAN ment from revealing to the public and the “We’re prisoners of the information journalists’ families, the fate of the jour- NEWSMEN-RADIO available to us, we have not got any capac- nalists; ity for independent investigation,” Evans CANBERRA, Oct. 26 (Reuter) — A said. · what efforts the government made to former bodyguard of an Indonesian general investigate the events surrounding their says Indonesian soldiers killed five Austra- CALL FOR NEW INQUIRY deaths; and lian-based journalists in East Timor in 1975 · what communications the government and dressed their bodies in Portuguese uni- INTO JOURNALISTS’ has had with the Indonesian government forms, the Australian Broadcasting Corpora- DEATHS IN EAST TIMOR over the deaths of the journalists. tion (ABC) radio reported on Thursday. By Susan Price, Green Left, Oct. 29 “The highest people in the land look like The man, who did not want to be identi- they’ve perjured themselves. I won’t have fied, said in an interview on Thursday the MELBOURNE — On October 25, a new anything to do with anything else but a full, deaths were not accidental and the reporters call was made for the Australian government judicial inquiry, with punishment for con- were killed because Indonesian soldiers be- to launch an open, independent inquiry into tempt of court,” Shackleton told Green Left lieved they were spreading communism. the circumstances surrounding the deaths of Weekly. “The Indonesians were saying that the six Australian journalists in East Timor, in “The terms of reference have to be set journalists had to be killed because they 1975. The demand came from Shirley Shack- down by lawyers and it has to be seen as were in East Timor indoctrinating commu- leton, the widow of one of the journalists, firm and believable. Otherwise we are wast- nism,” the man said from Perth, Western Greg Shackleton, and from Paul Stewart, ing our time. We don’t just want another bit Australia. brother of Tony Stewart, another of the of clever manipulation. A Royal Commis- “I saw three bodies on top of Portuguese journalists. sion is the only way to go, we cannot settle machine-guns, and ...I saw the general turn Several eyewitness reports indicate that for a lesser inquiry,” concluded Shackleton. the bodies around and I noticed, because of five of the journalists were intentionally curiosity, that they had Portuguese uni- killed by Indonesian troops in Balibo and TIMOR MURDERS PLANNED; forms on and the uniforms had a lot of blood not killed accidentally in cross-fire, as was SOLDIERS (on them) but none of the uniforms had been claimed at the time. Further eyewitness The (Melbourne) Age, 26 Oct. 1995, By damaged in any way,” he said. reports indicate that Roger East, the sixth Karen Middleton The man said he believed the Portuguese journalist, was executed by Indonesian sol- uniforms were put on the bodies after the diers at the Dili wharf. Indonesia planned the murder of five journalists had died. Two former Timorese Democratic Union Australian (sic) newsmen in East Timor 20 “I don’t think they were killed acciden- (UDT) soldiers, now in Australia, said on years ago and dressed their bodies in Fretilin tally,” he said. Australian television on October 25 that uniforms before burning them, two men who ABC said the man was a former body- Indonesian officers involved in the killing of claimed to be former pro-Indonesian soldiers guard to an Indonesian general who investi- the journalists at Balibo had told them that said last night. gated the deaths of the reporters, who died the killings were deliberate. (In 1975, the In allegations that add to the growing in Balibo on October 16, 1975. UDT was allied to the invading Indonesian doubt about Indonesia’s version of the The newsmen killed were Britons Mal- army. It has since joined the independence events in the town of Balibo on 16 October colm Rennie and Brian Peters, Australians movement.) 1975, the two Timorese who had supported Greg Shackleton and Tony Stewart and New According to Peter Cronau, director of the Indonesian military claimed their com- Zealander Gary Cunningham. the Australian Centre for Independent Jour- manders knew the Australian television On Wednesday night two former nalism, Canberra has kept information about representatives were there and had orders to Timorese militiamen who assisted Indone- the Balibo killings from the public and the kill them. sian troops during Jakarta’s 1975 invasion families of the journalists. Foreign minister The claims came after the Prime Minis- of East Timor also accused the Indonesian Gareth Evans has repeatedly denied these ter, Mr. Keating, met Labour faction leaders army of killing the five journalists during the claims. on Tuesday and assured them he was con- takeover. “By 7pm on the day the journalists died, cerned about present and past human rights Fernando Mariz and Antonio Sarmento the then-defence minister Bill Morrison had abuses in Timor but did not appear to fa- told ABC television they did not see the written report on his desk, describing the vour a new investigation into the newsmen’s killings but spoke soon after to soldiers who deaths,” said Cronau. A former Australian deaths. had either participated in or witnessed them. military intelligence officer has revealed that Speaking on ABC television last night, “They (the journalists) surrender and his unit had monitored Indonesian military the two former Indonesian sympathisers, then they be asked a few questions to them radio communications at the time. Mr. Fernando Mariz and Mr. Antonio Sar- and they were killed, they was killed,” Sar- Shackleton and Stewart are calling on mento, disputed Indonesia’s long-held claim mento said. Canberra to make available all involved per- that the five died in crossfire between rival East Timor Documents, Volume 40. September 1 - November 3, 1995 Page 15

Timorese groups before Indonesia invaded in the streets of Dili, protesting a document reactions but we should anticipate them and the former Portuguese colony. They said in which Catholicism is said to be “nonsen- be ready for them.” they did not speak out before because they sical” [disparatado]. Demonstrations with He was also sure that the foreign press feared for their safety. loud protests took place in at least six dif- would see such firm measures as proof of Mr. Mariz said he had spoken to a senior ferent zones of Dili and city outskirts. The human rights violations and so on. “But that Indonesian officer, the night before the men students protested a declaration, signed by needn’t be a problem, as long as the meas- were killed; he said he knew they were there 26 guards and prisoners of the Maliana ures we take are firm, proportionate and in and was ‘going to give a lesson and finish up prison, in which Catholicism is termed conformity with Indonesian laws. He was with them.’ “nonsensical” and that challenges the belief quite sure that such actions would have the “He meant they had to kill them kill all that Christ was born to a virgin woman. An full support of the Indonesian people who these people,” Mr. Mariz said. official from the Dili police considered the are steeped in a tradition of struggle. Mr. Sarmento said he had helped unload protests to be “normal,” and that they were According to Jawa Pos (16/9), Amien film equipment from a helicopter that had carried by “students who want to make Rais also said there are domestic elements in returned after the incident to the headquar- some noise.” According to the same officer East Timor who are Portuguese puppets. ters of the lieutenant-colonel in charge of the there were no violent acts or arrests. Such people need to be watched. They are area. He was told the film belonged to the more difficult to detect because they are journalists and he asked the commanders AMIEN RAIS: DON’T LET double-faced. On the one hand they appear involved in the attack what had happened. EAST TIMOR BECOME A to be Indonesians but on the other, they are “They (the newsmen) surrendered and foreign agents. “These foreign agents are then they had asked a few questions to them PARASITE doing everything possible to undermine the and then they were killed,” he said. Republic,” he said. Pikiran Rakyat, 16 September, 1995 An aide to the lieutenant-colonel said the People in East Timor are behaving like bodies of the men had been dressed in the The government should be much firmer in spoilt children who are now kicking us in uniforms of the Fretilin independence fight- reaching a solution to the question of East the head. “We should change our position ers and burnt. Timor. They shouldn’t let the things that and teach these children a lesson,” he said. Mr. Mariz said he went to Balibo the are screwing up developments in our young- He was strongly in support for proposals next day and asked what happened. “They est province continue so that it becomes a made by Professor Muladi and Major- said go inside ... they said put them inside, parasite and an ever greater burden on the General Adang Ruchiatna. Instead of taxing then the captain said, shoot them, kill all state and people. our energies and taxing our money (English these (foreigners),” he said. This opinion was expressed by Amien in the original), I would agree with Muladi Indonesia’s version has also been dis- Rais MA in a discussion on East Timor at that we should abandon them and let them puted by a former Indonesian governor of Gadjah Mada University, Yogyakarta. become a small state of their own (sic),” said East Timor. Mr. Guilherme Gonçalves, a Amien Rais is head of International Rela- Amien Rais. former Australian consul to Timor, Mr. tions at the Political and Social Science Fac- According to Republika, 14/9, Amien James Dunn, and a former defence intelli- ulty of the University and also chairman of Rais strongly denied that a process of gence analyst, Mr. Michael Darby. Mr. the central council of Muhammadiyah. Islamisation was under way by the govern- Dunn and Mr. Darby have said the Austra- He said that until now, the government is ment and the armed forces. In fact, the two lian Government knew at the time that In- very half-hearted in its handling of East largest Muslim organisations in Indonesia, donesian soldiers were involved. Timor both with regard to the domestic NU and Muhammadiyah have not been The Foreign Minister, Senator Evans, dimensions as well as on the diplomatic allowed by the government to set up claimed last week that there had never been front. “The impression is that we are pam- branches in the province. any piece of intelligence that would prove pering the province,” he said. He took the opportunity to rebut a that but that he was following up new He said that foreign agents must be statement circulated by the CNRM on the claims. The widow of one of the men, cleansed so that they don’t become our Internet (which he quoted at some length), Shirley Shackleton, is calling for a full inves- enemy (a wolf in sheep’s clothing). The which made this charge. tigation. government should also reconsider its han- According to Pikiran Rakyat 16/9, A spokesman for Senator Evans last dling of the GPK (meaning ‘security disrup- Riswanda Imawan, who is also a lecturer at night said the Government would look into tion gangs’) in East Timor. “Till now we’ve the faculty, said that he fully agreed with the two Timorese men’s claims. been super cautious and far too generous to Amien Rais though he felt that such meas- The annual report of the Department of them, pampering them.” ures should be combined with efforts to Foreign Affairs and Trade, released yester- It is high time the government abandoned draw some of the leaders of civil society in day, said Indonesia’s record on human rights its ‘defence approach’ and replaced it with Timor into the governmental framework. “remains below international standards.” an ‘offensive approach.’ “By this, I’m not One example was Bishop Belo. (Apparently talking about using the military or other an idea has been floated somewhere that kinds of violence. The government needs to Belo should be appointed deputy governor. RELIGIOUS CONFLICTS apply a clear policy, on the basis of the CB) laws and policy to be pursued on the “At present, Bishop Belo appears as the ground. These foreign agents must be legitimate representative of the Vatican. He PRO-CATHOLIC crushed in keeping with national laws, and also reports everything that happens in East DEMONSTRATION IN DILI the same should apply to the GPK people.” Timor to the Vatican. The terrible thing is Such an approach, he said, will certainly that the Vatican sees East Timor through Translated from the Portuguese, abridged lead to reactions from abroad. “But if we western eyes which is so harmful on the Dili, Sept. 8 (LUSA) — Hundreds of don’t act firmly, East Timor will for ever be international arena. East Timorese students demonstrated today a parasite. We need not be afraid of foreign If Belo were drawn into the government he would then be seen as a fully integrated Page 16 East Timor Documents, Volume 40. Sept. 1 - November 3, 1995.

Indonesian citizen instead of as now, ap- Muslim intellectuals of which Research ready able to exert influence on all important pearing to be two-faced. Such a move, he Minister Habibie is the chair, ran a series of issues of state, including East Timor. admitted, would need the endorsement of articles the theme of which is that the There have been several as-yet unsub- the Indonesian Conference of Bishops. 20,000 or so Muslims in East Timor, almost stantiated reports about an ICMI document Such a position should also be adopted all of whom are Indonesians from South setting out a programme for the Islamisation towards the elite in East Timor. If we could Sulawesi and Java, are facing discrimination. of East Timor. These Republika articles only embrace this section of society, things One article complains that a mosque in suggest that an equally sinister plan is afoot, would not be as complicated as they are Los Palos has been ordered not to broadcast to arouse the passions of Muslims in Indo- now. As for the common people, it would its calls to the faithful over loudspeakers, so nesia in defence of their co-religionists in be unwise, he said, to make use of scientific as not to upset the local inhabitants. The East Timor, a plan which could have unfore- knowledge and high technology. The gov- paper also says that a Muslim community seen consequences. ernment should continue with its pro- in the eastern sector of East Timor has been Pro-Muslim protests in Bandung gramme of development, while paying atten- prevented from building a small prayer-hall The day after the September disturbances tion to people’s rights, their attachment to or mushala, as a result of which the faithful in Dili, Republika reported a demonstration the region and local culture. have been forced to travel a long distance to by students of the Islamic College, IAIN, in the nearest Muslim prayer-hall. Bandung, protesting at the plight of the Another of the articles, all of which were THE THREAT OF WIDER Muslims in East Timor. The demonstration, published on 8 September, describes at RELIGIOUS CONFLICT organised by the Student Forum for Solidar- some length the pressure on a Muslim-run ity with the Muslim Minority in East school for having recruited Catholic children. [This article has been written for the forth- Timor, called on the government to stop The children were ordered to leave the coming issue of TAPOL Bulletin, October ‘spoiling’ East Timor. [Republika, 10 Sep- school but later, according to Republika, 1995. Further developments may call for tember] they drifted back because the fees were far additions or revisions but in view of the The Indonesian Ulamas Council, MUI, lower than at other local schools. crucial importance of the issue, we have has called on the government to send a fact- The general tone of the articles is that lo- decided to publish it on reg.easttimor in its finding mission to East Timor to investigate cal authorities, including the security forces, present form. Comments on the issues the background to the disturbances. are seeking to contain the rapidly expanding raised would be appreciated.] A number of groups have started organis- Muslim communities in East Timor, placing ing in defence of the Muslims in East Timor. There are signs that moves are afoot to them in the position of a minority facing There have been prayers at the state univer- inflame passions among Indonesia’s Mus- discrimination. lims in opposition to the people of East sity in Bandung where the called for firm Timor, and turn the righteous struggle of the Republika ups the ante measures against those involved in the riots East Timorese into an out-and-out religious A week later, the paper ran an article in East Timor and condemned people who conflict. claiming that readers were critical of the spread reports about a process of Islamisa- For the first time ever, attempts are un- restrained tone of its presentation of the tion among the Timorese. derway in Indonesia to identify the Indone- predicament of Muslims in East Timor. ‘If In Jakarta, after Friday prayers at several sian migrant community in East Timor as a all the information in our possession were to mosques on 15 September, there were col- disadvantaged minority. This is a crude be made public,’ the columnist, Zaim lections to raise money and clothing for the distortion of their position; in truth, they Uchrowi admitted, ‘I fear that many Mus- Muslims in East Timor. Responding to dominate business and the economy and lims would be very angry. If this anger is approaches from members of the Islamic have bought up a great deal of land in urban not contained, the disturbances in East Solidarity Committee, the secretary-general centres. They also hold most positions of Timor could erupt everywhere.’ of the National Commission on Human influence in the administration and other The writer claims that many people Rights, Baharuddin Lopa promised to press sectors of the community, and are to be wonder why so much money is being for action to prevent any more ‘acts of bru- found as teachers in the secondary schools. squandered on East Timor, considering that tality’ against Muslims in East Timor. Indonesian migrants now account for more one section of the community — the Mus- But other voices are calling for calm. Mu- than twenty per cent of the population. lims — are at such a disadvantage. [Repub- lyana W. Kusuma of the Legal Aid Institute According to Mauro di Nicola, writing in lika, 17 September] agreed that the targetted community should Uniya, the Australian Jesuit magazine ICMI is probably the only Indonesian be given protection but added that the es- [Spring, 1995], there are an estimated Muslim organisation with a significant pres- sence of the ethnic and religious conflict in 180,000 Indonesians in East Timor, out of a ence in East Timor. With huge resources at East Timor is the fact that the issue of the population of 830,000. Some months ago, its disposal, ICMI is likely to be the only territory’s integration into Indonesia re- the Indonesian weekly, Gatra, estimated Indonesian party organising the largely- mains unresolved. that there were 50,000 Indonesians in Dili Muslim migrant community in East Timor. It is still too early to say whether those alone. The vast majority live in the capital (ICMI would strongly object to be identi- who seem bent on inflaming passions and in the district and sub-district capitals. fied as a ‘party’ as there are supposed to be against the East Timorese will gain the up- Several thousand families have been reset- only three political parties in Indonesia.) per hand or whether moves by groups like tled as ‘transmigrants on some of the most It should be noted however that ICMI the Catholic Bishops’ Conference, who talk fertile land in East Timor, most of whom are represents a variety of views and interests. of the need for dialogue to prevent an explo- Javanese or Balinese. Set up less than five years ago as an organi- sion of religious conflict, will prevail. At a time when East Timorese resistance sation of Muslim intellectuals, its member- The broader context ship ranges from ambitious politicians, bu- to the presence of Indonesian migrants has The threat of religious conflict is not only reaucrats and academics to people outside reached a new level of intensity, the Jakarta confined to illegally occupied East Timor. the power structure. New as it is, it is al- daily, Republika, which is known to be the Christian communities in several parts of mouthpiece of ICMI, the association of Indonesia are under pressure, often the re- East Timor Documents, Volume 40. September 1 - November 3, 1995 Page 17 sult of provocative behaviour by people Timorese are to appear in court within the Q: What’s your opinion about the unrest in from outside their region. A serious incident next two weeks. East Timor recently? in Maumere, Flores was reported in In his message, distributed throughout A: You should direct that question to the TAPOL Bulletin no 130, August 1995 when East Timor, the Bishop said “I heard that Governor, the chairman of the local assem- Catholics demonstrated in force after feeling many young people, some of them students, bly, the military commander and other top dissatisfied with the sentencing of a man others not, were using violence, burning officials. They are the ones who know, they who desecrated the host during a mass. The markets, kiosks, vehicles, breaking windows will have the answers. presence of outsiders, often Buginese from of houses, throwing stones at people..” South Sulawesi or Javanese, is causing fric- “We, in East Timor, talk about human rights Q: But you have been following develop- tion in many places in the eastern part of but we do not respect the rights of others, ments all the time. Do you think mistakes the archipelago. or their belongings. We are giving the worst have been made? To reduce the conflict in East Timor to possible example...” In his pastoral letter, A: What I can see, to this day, is that peo- one of SARA, (ethnic and religious conflict), the Bishop urged all Christians to “be calm, ple at the centre and the people here still as many people in Indonesia now seek to patient and tolerant. Let the respective insti- don’t understand the real situation in East do, means ignoring the very essence of the tutions deal with justice and trials. We can- Timor. They simply do not understand the question of East Timor, namely that it is not not be the judges of others.” true aspirations of the people here. The part of Indonesia but an occupied country The Bishop appealed to young Timorese riots was not just to do with SARA (the whose people demand the right to determine “to act intelligently” and not to allow them- term used for ‘religious, ethnic and racial their own future. In such circumstances, selves to be persuaded or urged on by oth- tensions’). religious provocations take on a deeply ers, otherwise they would risk suffering the Q: What do you mean by that? political significance, as does the way in consequences. “They detain you, beat you, A: Although the people of East Timor are which people respond to these provoca- torture you, take you to secret places and still backward, ignorant and uneducated, tions. kill you. Your youth is destroyed, and you they have their own traditions, their own have no future,” warned the Bishop, refer- values, their own lifestyle. It may be tradi- DILI’S BISHOP TO MEET THE ring to the consequences that young people tional but it must be respected. People who POPE are liable to suffer when they “shout an- come here from outside should adjust to grily, like a senseless, thoughtless mass things here, not the other way round, that Publico, 19 September 1995. Abridged. which is too agitated to even stop and re- we here have to adjust to them. Translated from Portuguese flect.” After asking parents and parish priests to Q: So, do you mean that the newcomers Lisbon – Timorese Diocese source re- advise the youngsters not to take part in must adapt to the native inhabitants? veals that Mnsgr. Ximenes Belo, Bishop of any violent activities, Mnsgr. Belo appealed A: What we first need to ask is: What do Dili, will be meeting Pope John Paul II in to the authorities to enter into dialogue with they come here for? Then just see all those Rome next month, and left East Timor yes- Timorese youth. who come, the ships that arrive, the planes terday for Italy, via Jakarta. “I ask the authorities to sit down at the that arrive. How many East Timorese travel The source in Dili, contacted by phone same table as the youngsters in order to talk, by boat? How many East Timorese travel from Macao, said that Mnsgr. Belo is due to openly, about the situation and the aspira- anywhere by plane? Who is it who travel by be received by the Pope after 12 October, tions of these young people,” the pastoral plane? This is what make people here think. when he finishes attending a course organ- letter went on. ised for Bishops who have been ordained for Q: Isn’t that the result of East Timor’s “If the authorities allow this situation to status as an open region? less than 10 years (Mnsgr. Belo was or- continue, making promises or threatening dained as a Bishop in 1988). The course, to with reprisals, without offering any encour- A: Yes, that’s a consequence of opening be attended by about 100 Bishops from all agement or guidance, you will all be contrib- East Timor up. But don’t just blame Carras- over the world, starts next Friday in Rome. uting to an enormous divide between au- calão (the former governor) who opened up The Timorese Bishop is due back in East thorities and youth,” warned the Bishop. East Timor. It was opened up to make it Timor after 20 October. The same source “We all have to build bridges, meet each possible for the people here to have greater added that Mnsgr. Belo would not be stop- other, accept each other, mutually trust in freedom of movement, more space to think, ping over in Macao because of his pressing each other, have a single heart, and a single greater freedom of speech. It wasn’t for the workload back in Dili. “The visit to Macao, spirit,” the Bishop went on, finishing his benefit of others. As we see, there have been on the invitation of Bishop Domingos Lam, letter with a prayer to the Virgin Mother for reactions. Is that bringing benefits? had to be postponed once again due to lack help to all Christians in East Timor. Q: During the events last Friday, you were of time, but could well take place early in busy touring round to calm down the 1996,” said the same source. BISHOP BELO’S INTERVIEW mass of people. But even so, the acts of Before leaving East Timor, Bishop Belo arson continued. Why was that? appealed to young Timorese to abstain from WITH GATRA any violent activities, and to the authorities A: This was because the agreements we had to sit down at the same table as young Gatra, 21 September 1995, Abridged reached were not kept. What we agreed was Timorese for talks. In a pastoral letter writ- Bishop Belo has proposed that East that they would all go home. They did as ten in Tetum, dated 13 September (..) Timor should become a special region. they were asked and went home. But then Mnsgr. Belo criticised young Timorese for Every time trouble erupts in East Timor, what happened? The security forces went taking part in the recent incidents in Ma- there is one person who is always in the out that night and arrested these young liana, Ermera, Dili, Manatuto, Baucau and picture, Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo. people. Uatu-Lari. According to the territory’s chief Born in Baucau on 3 February 1940, he Q: According to reports, the armed forces of police yesterday, about 20 young was ordained as a priest in 1980..... behaved very leniently. For instance, there was no shooting. Page 18 East Timor Documents, Volume 40. Sept. 1 - November 3, 1995.

A: There’s no need for any shooting. A: What I find here is that East Timorese This week, Mr. Rais has been making What’s needed is dialogue. The authorities don’t want lots of people come from out- waves with his views on East Timor. Ac- of course know all about dialogue, especially side. They don’t want these outsiders to be cording to Mr. Rais, it is time that the prov- the people from the regional government and in control, especially in the economy. ince’s Muslim minority to stand up and be the Korem (military) commander. They Q: Disparities are not something special to counted and for Indonesia to go on the of- should be listening to the complaints of the East Timor. They exist in other regions. fensive on the issue of East Timor. people here, what their aspirations are, not, Is there a cultural problem that makes ‘We should not let the Islamic minority as happens now, that the people here come things easily explode? be suppressed in East Timor. The Islamic under more and more pressure every time community has been too patient,’ he wrote something like this happens. A: The East Timorese are very emotional. in a column in the Islamic journal Ummat, They can get angry very quickly. Their focussing on the problem of East Timor. Q: But isn’t it so that there hasn’t been any education and background are from the Por- pressure? The police chief for instance His remarks coincide with an upsurge of tuguese and the Catholic church. They are interest in East Timor by Islamic groups, said that none of the people who were ar- very straight. If the colour is A, then it’s A, rested were tortured. including the nation’s leading Muslim not B. They don’t speak in a roundabout newspaper, Republika and Ummat a new A: I don’t believe it. They told me that they way like a snake. They are very direct. fortnightly journal, which like Republika is were tortured. Q: There have been cases of blasphemy in closely associated with ICMI. Q: You said just now that the newcomers other places, like Permadi and Arswendo, Earlier this month, East Timor experi- enjoy all the benefits. In your opinion, do but they didn’t end up with fighting, burn- enced its worst period of unrest since 1991 you think that the riots were the result of ing things down, like here. with sporadic disturbances breaking out social disparities? A: That’s what people here are like. They across the province. In Dili, demonstrators A: That’s just one part of it. There are feel very afraid because there are groups attacked and burned the Comoro market, many aspects, cultural, history, religion, and who enjoy all the advantages. They them- which was manned mostly by immigrant also politics. People are quickly accused of selves can’t make their voices heard, so Muslim traders from South Sulawesi and being ‘GPK’ or in the clandestine. But has that’s why you get such reactions. Java. There were also riots in other towns anyone invited us to sit down and talk Q: Is it true that Catholicism here is very including Viqueque and Maliana. This fol- things through together and to discuss the orthodox? lowed alleged insults uttered against the political conditions. If we were to sit down Catholic faith by a Muslim jail warden at and talk, we could work out the best solu- A: I don’t agree with that term, orthodox. Maliana prison. tion. But this is always avoided. Catholics are all alike. If Catholics in Jakarta As a result of the violence, some hun- are not orthodox, then they’re not Catholics. dreds of immigrants have reportedly fled The government should be willing to listen What they call Javanese Catholicism is al- to demands. If they’re afraid to do this, from East Timor some of them seeking ref- most the same as Protestantism. Religion uge in Surabaya, East Java. things will never change. Another important must be orthodox. thing is that we are here in the interests of According to Mr. Rais, an ‘international the community. There must be a response Q: The number of Catholics has increased mafia’ is at work making mischief in East to the demands of the community. Don’t tremendously since integration, far more Timor and conspiring to weaken Indonesia, just make promises. I myself am still in than during Portuguese times. So how preventing it from becoming independent in favour of something — which I have already come the issue of Islamisation has the true sense of the word. proposed — that East Timor should become emerged? ‘If there were no foreign agents in East a special region. But this has been turned A: For me the important thing is that every Timor working for the ‘international mafia,’ down. Catholic should hold firmly to their faith. I the generosity of the (Indonesian) Govern- ment would not be repaid in such a thank- Q: Isn’t there a dialogue underway between always say that if I am surrounded by a hundred Muslims and I am the only Catho- less way,’ he wrote in Republika in a refer- the regional government, the armed ence to the economic development in East forces and the church? lic, I am not afraid to love my own religion as long as I have faith. Timor since 1975. A: There used to be dialogue when Carras- ‘Even animals would not react like that.’ calão was governor. The dialogue used to go Q: Why did they start rioting? Why not re- on late into the night, up till 3 or 4 in the solve it by peaceful means? The causes of this month’s troubles in morning. But later, people were called in and A: We’ve tried what you are talking about East Timor are hard to ascertain. Informed questioned by the armed forces: Why did for the past 20 years. sources said that there was strong evidence you take your complaints to the governor? that much of the recent rioting had been What’s all this dialogue about? deliberately orchestrated by ‘agents provo- MUSLIMS BACK HARD LINE cateurs,’ some of whom are employed by Q: What about inter-religious dialogue? ON EAST TIMOR military intelligence. As the political climate A: Yes, that can be done and it’s already has steadily deteriorated the possibilities for been done. But we’ve talked a great deal in ‘The Australian,’ September 23, 1995. Pat- manipulation of deep-seated ethnic and lots and lots of meetings. Lots of decisions rick Walters, Jakarta — slightly abridged. religious tensions in East Timor have multi- have been taken, written up and lots of Amien Rais is the chairman of Muham- plied. documents have been produced. But what madiyah, a progressive mass Islamic move- In recent months, East Timor has wit- happens in practice is another matter. ment with a membership of more than 15 nessed a steady tightening up of security Q: What about the ideology behind the riots. million. This outspoken Yogyakarta-based now that Indonesia’s special forces, Kopas- Are they rejecting our Pancasila, our uni- academic is also a leading member of the sus, hold the whip hand in determining the fying symbol, Bhinneka Tunggal Ika, and Indonesian Association of Islamic Intellec- military’s conduct in East Timor. The new so on? tuals (ICMI) and a frequent commentator on military commander, Colonel Mahidin Sim- national political affairs. East Timor Documents, Volume 40. September 1 - November 3, 1995 Page 19 bolon is a former chief of intelligence for violence this month. The predominantly The statement gives a clear indication of Kopassus and ‘intel’ boss in Dili. Catholic East Timorese were pitted against the extreme seriousness of the blasphemy, One source said ‘The truth is that there is migrant traders and non-Catholics. making the feeling of outrage of the local widespread fear and a worsening of the Although there were no reports of loss of Catholics easy to understand. situation since November 1994. In ABRI life, several people were injured in the melee An exact translation of the statement fol- there is a consensus that the softly-softly which including the torching of a city mar- lows. The obscenities in the original have approach pursued until earlier this year has ket. been retained. not bought results. The hardliners are now Cardinal Darmaatmadja said the President in control.’ recognized the problem in East Timor was STATEMENT There have been numerous unexplained not just caused by ethnic bitterness. We the undersigned before our Lord Je- disappearances and killings since the begin- “The problem is also the fact that there sus Christ and the holiest mother Mary bear ning of 1995. was a civil service recruitment (in East witness to the affront perpetrated by Contrary to announced intentions, Ja- Timor) in which many applicants failed to SANUSI ABUBAKAR to our Roman karta has not significantly reduced its mili- gain entry. This also created social unrest,” Catholic religion on 2/9/95 at approximately tary presence in East Timor with the total he said. 9.00 am and again at 15.30. number of security personnel, including Cardinal Darmaatmadja and his delegation These are the words he uttered before us: police and irregulars still numbering close to briefed the President about the upcoming “They say that the Catholic religion is 17,000. cardinal’s conference on Oct. 28 to Nov. 2. the strongest religion in East Timor but In recent days, additional troops and po- They requested the President receive the really Catholicism is nothing but a load of lice mobile brigades from West Timor, East participants. big shit: it is nothing but garbage. Java and Bali have been sent to East Timor Speaking of Dili Bishop Carlos Filipe “Every time you pray, you say the ro- to bolster security provided by East Ximenes Belo, Cardinal Darmaatmadja said sary, but the rosary is nonsense, the rosary Timorese territorial units. KWI often held regular and amicable meet- is shit.” In a significant acknowledgment of the ings with him. Last year (1994) he said some insulting grave state of affairs in the province, Indo- Bishop Belo, unlike the other bishops in things about the Virgin Mary while we, the nesia’s National Human Rights Commission Indonesia, does not answer to the authority inmates, were watching a program on TVRI will open a permanent office in East Timor of KWI but directly to the Vatican because on the birth and childhood of Christ. At the next month. The commission also wants to the Holy See does not recognize Indonesia’s time, while he was watching baby Jesus set up a non-government discussion forum rule over East Timor. being born of Mary and put into the manger for East Timorese community leaders to Frans Seda, a prominent Catholic who he (Sanusi) said “what a handsome child. help ease tensions. The scrutiny being was present at the meeting yesterday, said Who fucked Mary that she could bear such bought to bear on the province by some of that President Soeharto holds Belo in high a good-looking kid? I wonder if it wasn’t the the country’s most powerful Islamic inter- regard. “Pak Harto has a very positive out- horse that fucked her.” ests will make it even harder for President look of Belo,” said Seda who is a former We the undersigned have personally wit- Suharto to contemplate any new political minister of finance. nessed Sanusi’s attitude and insulting deal for East Timor. Meanwhile in East Timor, Fretilin sepa- words. ratist rebels on Monday took potshots at a Signed by: passing motorcycle convoy on a tour of the 1. Zakarias Sake (Spiritual leader in Maliana CARDINAL URGES prison) GOVERNMENT TO WIN province, witnesses said yesterday. The shots were heard after the motor- 2. Paulus Pereira (a guard on duty at the time) TIMORESE TRUST cade, which included East Timor Governor 3. Lambertus Berek Seran (a guard on duty at José Abilio Soares, passed the edge of the Jakarta Post, September 27, 1995 the time) forest in the Illomar and Uato Carbau dis- 4. João Baptiste de Castro (prison officer) JAKARTA (JP): The head of the Roman tricts in Viqueque regency. 5. Albert Halle (prison inmate) Catholic Church in Indonesia called yester- There were no reported casualties from (the rest of the names are on a second page day for greater effort on behalf of the gov- the gunfire. which was not available) ernment to win the trust and confidence of the East Timorese people. BLASPHEMIES AGAINST Cardinal Julius Darmaatmadja, the chair- CATHOLIC LEADERS SAY man of the Indonesian Bishop’s Conference CATHOLICISM IN EAST RIGHTS COMMISSION TEAM (KWI), asserted the need to eliminate the TIMOR DISTORTS RIOT ISSUE prevailing suspicions East Timorese still harbor. From Sally-Anne Watson, AFFET, Sept. 28 UCAN, 27 September 1995. Dili. Abridged “The question is how to ensure the East AFFET has received copy of the state- Several East Timorese Catholic leaders Timorese are not easily suspicious of us and ment issued by a group of prison officials have expressed disappointment with how how to erase that suspicion,” Cardinal Dar- and inmates (both Indonesian and East the Indonesian government has dealt with maatmadja told reporters after he and other Timorese) of Maliana Prison in East Timor, the 8-10 Sept. riot saying the investigating leaders of the conference met President Soe- denouncing the blasphemies against the team distorted the issue. Dili Diocese Peace harto at Merdeka Palace. Catholic religion repeatedly uttered by and Justice Commission staff members said The President is concerned about the prison guard Sanusi Abubakar. the Komnas Ham (National Commission for situation in East Timor because the problem This was the matter that triggered off in- Human Rights) team investigation the riots would harm everyone, including the Roman tense rioting in Maliana in early September, failed to dig out the main cause. Catholic Church, the Cardinal said. which were followed by riots in other places Instead of probing the alleged insult to Indonesia’s youngest province was in East Timor., considered to be the most Catholicism by Sanusi Abubakar, a Muslim shaken by a wave of ethnic and religious serious in a long time. prison official in Maliana, the team focused Page 20 East Timor Documents, Volume 40. Sept. 1 - November 3, 1995. on the riots, a reaction to the insult, Floren- frustration, disappointment and hopeless- are still taboo in the New Order. The result tino Sarmento of the diocesan commission ness.’ is that the views expressed by Amien Rais said 25 Sept. ‘It seems the government is Earlier this month, there was widespread have been able to flourish – without alterna- shifting the issue from the main cause to rioting, leading to an exodus of immigrants tive views being heard – and to exert an people’s reaction,’ said Sarmento, also a who have come to dominate the province’s influence on the general public who still human rights activist. ‘Sanusi, whose insult- commercial life. The KWI statement noted have a very ‘naive’ way of looking at East ing words sparked the rioting, has been for- that the non East-Timorese possessed not Timor. gotten and still worse, the Catholic Church only skills and capital but had succeeded in Dr. Rais’s biassed views are the product is being suspected of being anti-Muslim.’ occupying key posts in the provincial gov- of his intellectual “blindness” and “bigotry” Sarmento’s view was shared by Father ernment as well as in the security forces. on the question of East Timor. This is the Aureo Gusmão, another Peace and Justice ‘There are many deep wounds and trau- price which has to be paid for being trapped Commission staff member. According to matic experiences that have made the local in the undemocratic system and structure of Father Gusmão, the Indonesian govern- population suspicious of all migrants, espe- the New Order. In an ideal world, intelli- ment’s failure to find the cause of the riots cially when they see there are more and gence should be dedicated to seeking the will only perpetuate unrest in East Timor. more migrants arriving and turning into truth but it is being devoted to legitimising ‘Instead of finding the causes, the govern- competitors in the labour market,’ the falsehood. Gus Dur (Abdulrachman Wahid) ment is preoccupied with people’s reac- statement said. has said that “Intelligence which serves tions. It seems a certain group does not Cardinal Julius Darmaatmadja, chairman those in power is not intelligence in the true want peace here. East Timor has been made of the KWI, said a key issue was to alleviate sense of the word.” Why should we insult a project because unrest benefits certain lingering suspicions of Indonesia held by our intelligence for reasons of personal poli- groups,’ he said. East Timorese. He said the KWI held regular tics? Cornelis Simarmata, Peace and Justice meetings with Bishop Belo, who does not The essence of the Maubere struggle Commission vice-chairman, disagreed with submit to the authority of the KWI but is The essence of the struggle of the the establishing of an inter-religious commu- appointed directly by the Vatican. Maubere people is the fight for their sacred nication forum by the Komnas Ham investi- This month’s troubles have been attrib- and basic right which was ravaged when gating team. Simarmata, a Catholic from uted to a number of factors, including an Indonesian launched its invasion and annexa- North Sumatra, said the forum is a belated alleged insult to the Catholic Church but tion of East Timor on 7 December 1975. By idea, noting that another inter-religious fo- some sources in East Timor have claimed this action, Indonesia blatantly violated rum has existed in East Timor since 1985. that much of the rioting was provoked. international norms and laws, and even more ‘Komnas Ham should first ask religious About 100,000 out of a population of about profoundly violated basic values upheld by leaders here about what they have done with 800,000 are estimated to have migrated to all religions. Thus, the struggle of the the forum,’ he said. ‘It is much better to the province. Maubere people is perfectly legitimate un- reactivate the old forum than create confu- The bishops said that the Government der law and is morally incontrovertible. sion with a new one.’ Muslim, Protestant should not only punish those responsible It should therefore surprise no one that and Hindu religious leaders and three lay for perpetrating the violence but should pay the flame of the Maubere people’s struggle Catholic leaders signed an agreement to es- attention to the socio-cultural problem of will never been extinguished and will inspire tablish the forum on 23 Sept. but two East Timor when formulating future poli- every succeeding generation of Mauberes. Catholic signers, including Sarmento, ex- cies. They said that East Timor should have This was the spirit that inspired the people pressed doubts about the forum’s viability. a status ‘in line with the unity of the Re- of Indonesia to expel the Dutch and which public of Indonesia, to guarantee that the forced the US out of Vietnam. History will normalization process there takes place INDONESIAN CATHOLIC be repeated in East Timor. without cultural shocks, without alienation.’ BISHOPS SEEK HELP FOR Bearing all this in mind, a basic solution EAST TIMORESE to the conflict in East Timor can only be RENETIL: THE FLAME OF found if Indonesia accepts that it is its re- ‘The Australian,’ September 28 1995. By STRUGGLE WILL NEVER BE sponsibility to respect the right of the peo- Patrick Walters, Jakarta — abridged. EXTINGUISHED ple of East Timor to self-determination. Indonesia’s Catholic bishops have called This would also restore the reputation of on the Government to do more to win the RESPONSE TO DR AMIEN RAIS Indonesia, whose actions have violated in- ternational law and trampled the 1945 Con- trust of the East Timorese following a wave The following is a statement issued on 3 stitution underfoot. of social unrest in the province. In a state- October 1995 by Renetil, the East Timorese Any solutions to the question of East ment issued yesterday by the Indonesian students’ organisation, in reply to Amien Timor which refuses to recognise these basic Catholic Bishops’ Conference (KWI) they Rais, chair of one of Indonesia’s leading principles, such as those being proposed by said many East Timorese felt marginalized Muslim organisations, Muhammadiyah: in their own homeland. Dr. Amien Rais, will only further humiliate If the political situation in Indonesia were A delegation of bishops met President Indonesia on the international arena as well based on the 1945 Constitution which up- Suharto on Tuesday during which the issue as in the eyes of its own people. holds the principle of freedom of expres- of East Timor was discussed. President From a development strategy to a reli- sion, the comments made by Dr. Amien Suharto reportedly said that problems in gious strategy Rais would have been rebutted or at the East Timor should not be exaggerated but very least, would have become a topic of It appears to be the case that Indonesia is acknowledged that ethnic tensions were not open discussion by friends in Indonesia who now re-thinking its strategy of development, the sole cause of trouble in the province. understand the true essence of the East a strategy that is based on promoting eco- The statement said ‘Religious sensitivity Timor question. But this has not happened nomic growth, as practised in East Timor. was only the trigger for a deeper feeling of because, to this day, differences of opinion This strategy, which Jakarta hoped would legitimise integration and would be an effec- East Timor Documents, Volume 40. September 1 - November 3, 1995 Page 21 tive ‘weapon of diplomacy’ to demolish through a process of Islamisation (ICMI- Commission I. The ulamas also presented Portugal’s position, has ended in tragedy. isation — a reference to ICMI, the associa- twelve demands and they asked members of Indonesia’s development strategy has tion of Muslim intellectuals headed by Dr. Commission I who were represented by turned out to be a blessing in disguise for the Habibie), as Bishop Belo has already Hajjah Aisyah Amini and Hasan Sadeli to Maubere resistance, helping it to consolidate pointed out. pass them on to the government. its forces and exposing Indonesia’s lies by The position of Portugal Firstly, they urged the government to set means of the Dili massacre on 12 November up a fact-finding team with the task of ex- The United Nations still does not recog- 1991. The Dili Massacre which Professor amining the background and chronology of nise the integration of East Timor by the Herb Feith has portrayed as “the central the riots in East Timor and explain the pre- Indonesian state. On 1 December 1975, the event in the history of East Timor” acted as cise nature of what happened. According to UN General Assembly adopted several a stimulus for intellectual circles in Indone- KH Manarul Hidayat, who read out the demands by majority vote, one of which sia to develop a critical attitude towards the demands, many facts are still far from clear, was: “Rejects the claims that East Timor government. As Dr. George Aditjondro has including the number of casualties, the se- has been integrated into Indonesia...” On 22 written: “Since the massacre of 12 Novem- quence of events and the causes. December 1975, the UN Security Council ber 1991 in Dili, some Indonesian students Secondly, the government should make adopted Resolution 384 which “calls on the have begun to question the legitimacy of public the findings of this fact-finding team. government of Portugal as administering East Timor integration of 1976.” “There’s no need to hide anything because power, to cooperate fully with the UN so as Learning from these mistakes, Jakarta has we are all mature in our religious faiths with to enable the people of East Timor to exer- been considering a more idealistic develop- the exception of Bishop Belo and a small cise freely their right to self-determination.” ment strategy. An Indonesian diplomat section of East Timorese society,” said What Portugal has been doing till now is recently said that, “in order to resolve the Manarul Hidayat, who runs a pesantren in to implement the obligation placed on it by question of East Timor at the UN, there is a Cengkareng, Jakarta. the UN Security Council while at the same need for comprehensive, spiritual and mate- Their third demand was that the govern- time acting constitutionally, because Article rial development that should also establish a ment should issue a special summons to 293 of the Portuguese Constitution sup- sense of security and calm which would Bishop Belo and ask him to explain state- ports the process of the decolonisation of enable the people of East Timor to become ments he has made relating to SARA (eth- East Timor. It is there quite groundless for committed to development.” Foreign Minis- nic, religious and race conflict) in East Dr. Amien Rais to claim that Portugal wants ter Ali Alatas made the same point recently Timor, bearing in mind that the Bishop is an to restore its rule in East Timor and to say in an interview. But it’s too late. Whatever influential religious leader of the Catholic that Portugal is suffering from an “imperial- the form of development practised in East community and because he is thought to be ist syndrome.” It is Indonesia that is af- Timor, it will only be a burden for the Indo- very well informed about everything regard- flicted with a “syndrome of a greater Indo- nesian economy and will at the same time ing the riots in East Timor. nesia” by seizing Irian Jaya and East Timor reinforce the spirit of nationalism of the Another point in their list of demands and, now, by laying claim to several islands Maubere youth. expresses regrets about Bishop Belo’s du- in the South China Sea. Since the early nineties, the Indonesian plicity. In statements made at home he ex- Helder M. Pires, In charge of the Political military has shown signs of having become pressed regrets for the riots which he de- Analysis Department, Renetil frustrated with the classic strategies and scribed as being un-Christian but on Radio Copies to: have been trying to implement a new and Australia he said that the riots were the 1. Dr. Amein Rais more “sensitive,” practical strategy, the 2. All human rights organisations throughout result of the Indonesian government failing strategy of religion. The armed forces, who the world. to pay attention to the Catholic community understand the psychology of the mass of 3. All student councils in Indonesia. of East Timor. people in East Timor very well, have en- 4. Chairman of the Senate of the Social- Such statements to a foreign radio pro- gaged in acts of intolerance towards their Political Faculty at Gadjah Mada Univer- gramme are clearly unhelpful in our efforts religion as a way of provoking reactions sity, Yogyakarta. to create harmony and national unity, not to from the East Timorese youth. And this 5. The domestic and international media. mention the statement made by Belo, later strategy has succeeded. The aims of ABRI’s 6. Archives rectified by Frans Seda, that East Timor strategy are twofold: must become a special Catholic region, said 1. In the long term, to transform the conflict 100 ULAMAS WANT Manarul Hidayat. in East Timor from a political conflict to DIALOGUE WITH BELO In two other points, the ulamas ask the a religious conflict. This is also in line government to retain ABRI’s presence in with their intention to “internalise” the Surya, (date not given, probably 3 October East Timor and not to reduce its numbers. East Timor conflict. 1995) According to points 9 and 10, it is not un- 2. In the short term, to deflect the attention One hundred ulamas from Jakarta, Bogor, likely that with the emergence of SARA of the Indonesian public and the East Tanggerang and Bekasi have asked parlia- conflicts in East Timor, anti-integration Timorese youth who have become in- ment, the DPR, to arrange a meeting for forces will win support from the local com- creasingly critical of the government on them with Bishop Belo for a dialogue be- munity. the question of East Timor. cause according to the ulamas, who were led In addition to the demands presented in ABRI’s success in pursuing this strategy by KH Nur Muhammad DQ, some state- writing, KH Ahmad Damanhuri said that the will clearly influence perceptions of part of ments made recently by Belo in the national government should stand firm with regard to the Muslim community towards East and international media represent a grave all decisions adopted in relation to East Timor’s sacred struggle. At the same time, threat to the unity of the Indonesian nation. Timor. Whatever the risks, our nation must ABRI’s efforts will split the people of East This request was made by leading ulamas face the consequences, even if it means Timor; in fact, quite a number of East from throughout the region known as Jabo- standing up to the rest of the world. This is Timorese have already become Muslims tabek, in the main lobby of the DPR’s because the Indonesian nation have already Page 22 East Timor Documents, Volume 40. Sept. 1 - November 3, 1995. made more than enough sacrifices in order to which the Catholic Religion is predominant, haps this question deserves discussion: uphold human rights in East Timor, he said. a region where there are also Protestant and What about the idea of a Catholic special The ulamas as well as the members of Muslim Timorese. But special attention region itself? Commission I who received them in the should be given to the religious, historical The answer is obvious. Closing down a DPR jointly agreed to call upon all Muslims and cultural identity of the people of East region like East Timor to all non-Catholics not to be provoke by issues that could jeop- Timor. — either by denying then right of worship, ardise harmony between religious groups. 2. I am willing to enter into dialogue with or by making membership in the Catholic We must show that the Muslim community the Ulamas in Dili. I am also willing to enter Church the condition for a residence permit is the source of compassion for all, said KH into dialogue with Protestant priests in Dili. — would not only be incompatible with our Nur Muhammad Iskandar SQ. 3. I cannot yet respond positively to the Pancasila philosophy, it would run counter offer of dialogue with 100 Ulamas in Parlia- to internationally agreed standards of human BELO DENIES WANTING ment and the (parliamentary) Commission I rights. ‘CATHOLIC REGION’ in Jakarta because: It would also be without precedent in a) I must first consult with my this century (the last, and in fact the only Reuter, 4 October 1995. Abridged superiors. time something like this happened was in 16th century Spain and Portugal when, after Jakarta – East Timor’s Catholic Bishop, b) I must also consult with the Dili Diocese Council of Priests. the Reconquista, all Jews and Moslems Carlos Belo denied on Wednesday he sug- were expelled a shameful thing to do even gested the trouble territory be turned into a 4. Would you kindly pass on my views to the whole congregation, to the regional by late Middle Age standards, and one of Catholic region, East Timor’s vicar-general the greatest human and cultural tragedies in said. government in East Timor, the Pro Nuncio and the KWI (Indonesian Bishops’ Confer- Europe’s history). José Antonio da Costa told Reuter by There is, in this century, not a single in- phone from Dili that Belo, attending an ence) and to the local and national press. My greetings and blessings, stance, even in countries with almost 100 annual meeting of bishops in the Vatican, per cent Catholic population, of a Catholic denied published remarks which appeared in Mgr. Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo, SDB Apostolic Administrator of Dili Bishop having suggested such a thing. It the Gatra magazine in September suggesting would be clearly against Catholic teaching the territory be turned into a Catholic re- Comment from Carmel Budiardjo, TAPOL - on religious freedom and on the relationship gion. “After consulting with the bishop, we - Just by way of comment and without the between Church and state, as formulated at say here that he never made such remarks,” facts of the case at my finger-tips, the kind of the Second Vatican Council. he said. thing Belo is asking for here would appear Even if East Timor was an independent The bishop also said he was willing to to be what was granted to Aceh in the early state, such as Fiji, or Trinidad and Tobago, have dialogues with Muslim leaders and 1950s, following the Darul Islam revolt any demand to close it to non-Catholics Protestant leaders in East Timor,” he said. under Daud Beureuh, with respect to recog- should, as a matter of course, be resolutely Belo’s statement appeared in the wake of nising the special role of Islam in the area. rejected. riots in the former Portuguese colony last In that sense, there is a precedent. I may add that playing with such ideas month when youths took to the streets over Again, without entering into a discussion gives Indonesian Catholics a chilling feeling derogatory remarks against Catholicism by about the satisfactory nature or otherwise of up the spine. As our Indonesian Moslem an official from the prison department in such a proposal which is so far removed brothers have not failed to point out during Dili. from the demand for self-determination, the the past weeks: What if they suggested the News reports said last week Indonesia’s Aceh experience ended up having nothing same thing in regions where Moslems have a military had questioned Belo over his pub- special to it. So even the limited autonomy more than 90 per cent majority (as in West, lished remarks. “We have questioned Belo is demanding is unlikely to make any Middle and East Java or in most provinces Bishop Belo to find out what he meant by difference. of Sumatra)? what he said,” armed forces chief General What Bishop Belo has suggested on sev- Feisal Tanjung was quoted as saying. He did eral occasions is something quite different: If not give other details. EAST TIMORESE NEED TIME TO ADAPT one wants to have peace in East Timor, if Belo’s remarks sparked anger among one wants violent resistance to integration Muslim leaders in Jakarta who visited par- with Indonesia to die down, then don’t liament to express their objection over the Op-ed in THE JAKARTA POST Friday, October 6, 1995 shock the East Timorese by flooding them bishop’s statement and asked him for a with people from outside, with different dialogue. JAKARTA (JP): The last two weeks religions, customs and attitudes. Wait at ------have seen a growing debate over a statement least, until integration has also reached the Translation of letter written in Indonesian by purportedly given by Bishop Carlos Felipe hearts of the East Timorese. Bishop Belo, now in Rome, to Pastor José da Ximenes Belo of Dili to the magazine Gatra. Bishop Belo’s suggestion makes good Costa, Vicar-General, Dili Diocese: That magazine reported that he suggested sense, especially if we put it into the con- making East Timor a Catholic special region. text of the recent rioting in East Timor, 3 October 1995 Bishop Belo, who happens to be in caused among other things by the remarks of Dear friend, Rome on a visit to the Holy See, has since a non-East Timorese official which caused I have received your fax about the state- indicated that this was not what he was Catholic to fell insulted. For the record: The ment of 100 Ulamas. I would like to let you trying to convey in the interview. steeply rising numbers of such incidents, know what my response is: I do not want to enter into what it was some of sacrilegious character in eastern 1. I would like to rectify (‘meluruskan,’ exactly that Bishop Belo said in this com- Indonesia during the last three years has literally ‘straighten out’) the words “Catho- mentary, nor how the questionable sentence become a matter of serious concern. lic Region.” I do not want to create a region got into the Gatra text. Regardless of what These riots are extremely regrettable. As that is exclusively Catholic but a region in Bishop Belo may actually have said, per- a consequence, hundreds of Moslem, some East Timor Documents, Volume 40. September 1 - November 3, 1995 Page 23 of them having lived for 10 years or more in Dr. Franz Magnis-Suseno SJ teaches social believe, is being inconsistent, even towards East Timor, have fled that province with philosophy at the Driyarkara School of Phi- the teachings of his own religion. Taufik said their families. But, as the government has losophy in Jakarta. he was absolutely convinced that, as with clearly seen, these riots were primarily not other religions, the Catholic religion will not religiously motivated. They were an explo- ANTI-BELO condone repression against people of other sion of anti-newcomer resentment. DEMONSTRATION IN YOGYA faiths. In other parts of Indonesia, too, such The atmosphere became quite heated situations are sensitive. In the province of Republika, 7 October 1995. Yogyakarta when a police vehicle moved towards the Aceh, for example, 50 years after independ- crowds of students. Students halted the ence, only two parishes exist for the many Amien Rais, who chairs Muhammadiyah, the advance of the police car in which Sleman Catholics, people from the Batak regions, man who started the assault on East Timor police chief Lt.Col. Antono and members of Chinese, Javanese employees and the peo- several weeks ago, with a malicious article his staff were travelling. Things calmed ple of Flores looking for jobs. One is in complaining about persecution of the Mus- down after several student representatives Banda Aceh and another at Lawe Desky. lim minority in East Timor, is also dean of talked to the police chief. The demonstra- In East Timor, the non-Catholic popula- the Faculty of Politics at Gadjah Mada Uni- tion continued until 13.30 and ended with a tion has multiplied within a few years from versity. prayer. about one thousand to something like It is becoming increasingly clear that one During the demonstration, a student rep- 60,000. They are seeping in day after day. motive for actions like this is to influence the resentative read out a statement by AMUK They may be teachers, civil servants, or decision in Norway about this year’s Nobel TimTim. It said that the riots in East Timor, military men. Many of the bigger markets Peace Prize, due to be announced on 13 when most of the victims happened to be have been taken over by newcomers. They October. Muslims, were a violation of human rights. also have built, as is their right, their often It would be wrong however, in our opinion, If someone does something insulting to- acoustically high profile places of worship. to see the backlash over East Timor as be- wards a religion, this should be resolved by For the East Timorese this huge influx of ing motivating solely by the Nobel Peace legal means not by inciting large-scale riots. outsiders into a region not used to cultural Prize issue. The conflict is far more complex The statement attacked remarks made by diversity and still in the grips of fear can than that. Carmel, TAPOL Belo to Radio Australia. His statement to only be a shocking intrusion into their way the effect that East Timor should become a of life. They fell that their cultural identity YOGYA STUDENTS Catholic region is an attempt to legitimise is threatened. They also are afraid that they DEMONSTRATION CONDEMNS the expulsion of all people of other religions will lose out to the better skilled newcom- from East Timor. In view of the fact that he ers, afraid of losing their land, of becoming a BELO is the Bishop, the students felt that the minority in their own country. And when At a time when the name of Bishop Belo attitude adopted by Belo is very dangerous emotions boil over, these places of worship is being mentioned as a likely choice for this indeed and firm action should be taken — being the most obvious symbols of new- year’s Nobel Peace Prize, he has come under against him. comers — naturally become the object of attack by students. This occurred at a dem- Several demands were made at the dem- their wrath. onstration of about 1,000 students on the onstration: the government should take firm What the East Timorese need is time. It Gadjah Mada University campus in Bulak- action against every violation of human will take time for them to learn to maintain, sumur, at the end of Friday prayers yester- rights, including those in East Timor. The and at the same time develop, their cultural day. The demonstration was supported not government should also adopt a firm atti- identity within the framework of multi- only by Muslim students but also by stu- tude towards Belo who is being two-faced cultural and multi-religious Indonesia. The dent activists from other religions who had about integration. The Governor of East last 20 years, marred by civil and guerilla been involved in planning the action from Timor should give protection to all inhabi- welfare, the heavy presence of security the start, which was organised by AMUK- tants in East Timor guaranteeing their right forces and a general atmosphere of fear have TimTim (Community Action for Humani- to live there and practice their religion, re- done nothing to help them on the way. tarianism in East Timor). gardless of their ethnic background, religion Thus Bishop Belo was not preaching a ‘This action has nothing to do with or racial origin. Protection should also be kind of Catholic fundamentalism which not SARA,’ said Taufik Rinaldi, who chairs the given to the refugees who wish to return to even the most conservative prelate would Students Union of Gadjah Mada, speaking East Timor. consider. On the country, we should listen from the rostrum. Before he spoke, a num- The students also demanded an end to to him carefully — precisely if we want the ber of people had come to the rostrum to foreign interference in the question of East political integration of East Timor to be- speak. There were plenty of posters con- Timor, including that coming from the Pope. come a social and cultural one too. demning Belo. The attitude of NGOs also ‘One way would be for the East Timor dio- In conclusion, allow me to venture to came under attack. cese to be incorporated into the Indonesian make a suggestion to Bishop Belo: Please, if The action started at 12.30 and quickly Bishops’ Conference,’ the statement said. you give Gatra (or Radio Australia for that grew in size as Muslims from several nearby matter) an interview again, do insist that any mosques swelled the crowd after Friday YOUNG MOSLEMS AGAINST article based on the contents of that inter- prayers. They shouted ‘Allahu Akbar’ XIMENES BELO view not be published without your explicit every time anyone came to the rostrum to Diario de Noticias, 8 October 1995. Trans- written placet, and, please, have somebody speak. The posters bore slogans like: “Belo lated from Portuguese who knows the Indonesian (or the English) Out,’ ‘NGOs, where is your voice?’ ‘The About 1,000 young Moslems have been language really well — both linguistically press is not being objective.’ demonstrating in the Indonesian city of and politically — go over it with a fine- ‘Please remember,’ said Taufik ‘that Jogyakarta, in central Java, calling for the toothed comb, so that the statements attrib- what we are protesting about is not Islam or removal of Monsignor Ximenes Belo from uted to you actually do express what you Catholicism but an individual.’ That person East Timor. really want to say. is none other than Bishop Belo who, they Page 24 East Timor Documents, Volume 40. Sept. 1 - November 3, 1995.

During the protest, the students accused ence would be, in effect, another severe Taher said. “I think Vatican is also con- the Timorese Bishop of trying to turn East blow to the Timorese Resistance. cerned about the East Timor problem be- Timor into a Catholic enclave, inciting reli- Vatican considers a new Diocese cause it has a (presence) there.” gious fanaticism, and “using the Vatican for East Timor rioting in September spread Religious sources have stated that the his own personal objectives.” throughout the region, leaving scores of Vatican is considering the creation of an- The Bishop, currently in Rome, is to be people injured and widespread damage in other Diocese in East Timor, in addition to received by Pope John Paul II in mid- the aftermath. Dili, so that its own Episcopal Conference October. The riots were sparked by an alleged in- may be constituted. In September, at least four people were sult to Catholicism by a Muslim official. The Indonesian Minister’s visit to Rome killed during violent disturbances in different The violence turned into inter-religious, will take place just days after Ximenes Belo Timorese cities, including the capital, fol- racial and ethnic clashes that forced hun- himself was received by the Pope. lowing insults made against the Catholic dreds of immigrant Muslims to flee. In his statements made this week in Church by an Moslem immigrant. Taher said papal influence in the East Rome, Ximenes Belo avoided mention of the In Dili, several celebrities from the Timor problem would not mean Vatican matter, except for saying that Pope John Timorese community are said to have been interference in Indonesia’s domestic affairs. Paul had expressed his solidarity with the contacted recently by so-called “emissaries In a related East Timor issue, a foreign Timorese people. from Jakarta,” and encouraged to publicly ministry spokesman Ghaffar Fadyl has Once again, the Bishop adopted a fairly call for the substitution of Governor Abilio ruled out Indonesia’s reopening an investiga- cautious position, and appealed for talks Osorio Soares. On Suharto’s instructions, tion into the deaths of five Australian jour- between the various Timorese parties. Xi- Abilio Osorio Soares was appointed gover- nalists in 1975 in East Timor. menes Belo, it should be remembered, was nor of East Timor in 1992, substituting “Their deaths were an occupational risk one of the main stimulators of the reconcilia- Mario Carrascalão. because at the time there was fighting among tion meetings which have been held in recent various factions in the region,” Antara months. quoted Fadyl as saying. JAKARTA PUTS PRESSURE The Bishop declined to comment on the The five Australian journalists died in ON THE POPE confrontations which rocked Timor this East Timor during a civil war that erupted week, and simply stated that “Undoubt- soon after Portugal ended its colonial rule in Diario de Noticias, 15 October 1995. Trans- edly, very serious problems do still exist. 1975. International human rights groups and lated from Portuguese That is why last September I said publicly Australians alleged the five died at the hands that the time had come for us to talk — Jakarta is going to put pressure on the of Indonesian troops. government, population and young people. Vatican to transfer the Diocese of Dili to Indonesia, invaded East Timor in 1975, It is only through dialogue that we can pre- Indonesian control. Ximenes Belo is in sending thousands of troops to quell a civil vent these confrontations.” Rome. He has already spoken with Pope war that broke out after Portugal packed up John Paul II, but the Holy See’s intentions its flag and left the region. Jakarta annexed have still not been made public. MILITARY PLEDGES OF the territory a year later, but the United Indonesia’s Minister of Religion will be CONSTANT RAIDS Nations still regards Lisbon as the adminis- going to the Vatican on 26 October to find tering power. out whether Jakarta is to have control over JAKARTA, Oct. 21 (UPI) — Indonesia the Bishopric of East Timor. is seeking the Vatican’s involvement in solv- NU & EAST TIMOR Tarmizi Taher wants to discuss with the ing what the government is calling religious Pope whether the Diocese of Dili, which is unrest in the troubled Catholic-majority Forum Keadilan, 23 October 1995. Trans- currently under the Vatican’s direct jurisdic- East Timor, reports said Saturday. lated from Indonesian tion, might be integrated within the Council Several days of violence rocked the for- of the Church of Indonesia. mer Portuguese colony in September in Gus Dur has been criticized by Habibie “The main purpose of the mission is to what were called inter-religious, racial and for failing to protest against riots against raise questions of a religious nature, and to ethnic clashes. Muslims in East Timor. In an interview, define the status of the Catholic Church in Tarmizi Taher, the minister of religious Gus Dur says (speaking now as Democracy East Timor,” said the Minister, Imam affairs was quoted by Antara news agency Forum leader) the East Timor problem Kuseno Mihardjo. saying he would leave next week for the should be resolved by closing the gap be- The Indonesian authorities do not look Vatican to meet with the Pope John Paul II tween Indonesian government and interna- kindly on Bishop Ximenes Belo, head of the as well as other officials to discuss the tional opinion. Speaking as NU leader he Diocese since 1981, who is highly critical of strife. says NU does protest, but ‘not by inflaming Indonesian military presence in the region. He stressed that his Vatican visit would one group against another.’ In September, the Bishop of Dili infuri- not be primarily connected to the current The last remark is a stab at Amien Rais of ated the Indonesian authorities when he tension in East Timor — still winded from a Muhammadiyah, at Republika, at Habibie, proposed that Jakarta confer on East Timor series of violent riots — but mainly to re- and perhaps at the entire ‘modernist’ Is- the special administrative status of a Catho- ciprocate the pope’s visit to Indonesia in lamic establishment, who after years of ne- lic region. 1989. glecting it now portray the ET issue as a At present, East Timor is, from a reli- Taher said he hoped the good relations Catholic-vs.-Islamic issue that sprang up gious standpoint, under the direct jurisdic- between Indonesia and Vatican would con- out of nowhere. -- Gerry van Klinken tion of the Vatican, Ximenes Belo being the tribute in efforts to solve the East Timor territory’s Apostolic Administrator on the problem. Pope’s behalf. Integration of the Diocese of “During the meetings with Vatican offi- Dili with the Indonesian Episcopal Confer- cials, I will convey Indonesia’s hopes in connection with the East Timor question,” East Timor Documents, Volume 40. September 1 - November 3, 1995 Page 25

ET INTRA-RELIGIOUS 2. It is possible to trace back the origins slaughtered. In the 80s there were a series of of the current campaign against the East church and Chinese shop burning incidents FORUM Timorese Catholic Church and its Bishop. in Java and Sumatra. In 1994 there were Translated from the Portuguese, abridged In January 1995 there were riots in many serious anti-Chinese incidents in Medan, parts of East Timor which took a new di- Sumatra. Macau, Oct. 24 (LUSA) — Bishop D. mension. For the first time in the almost 20 7. The conflict in East Timor has abso- Ximenes Belo refused to sign the document years of occupation, Indonesian civilians lutely no ethnic or religious basis. Prior to by which the East Timor Intra-Religious (read immigrants) and their properties were the Indonesian invasion of East Timor, the Communication and Consultation Forum is targeted by the people. Street shops and nearly 700,000 East Timorese, ruled by created today in Dili, a source from the vendors were attacked. Some Indonesian Portugal for almost 500 years, were divided Timorese Diocese told LUSA today. “By civilians were killed. in a majority animist, minority Catholics specification from our Bishop, the docu- 3. It must be noted that the January 1995 (30%) Buddhist (the 15,000 Chinese set- ment will be signed by the chancellor of the incidents were sparked by the killing of an tlers) and a very small Moslem community Ecclesiastic Chamber, Father Domingos East Timorese by Indonesian merchants. of no more than 1,000 East Timorese of Sequeira,” said the same source, who admit- There is not one single instance of an inci- Arab descent. ted that Bishop Belo’s decision “may not dent provoked by East Timorese. Most of East Timor was extraordinarily harmoni- please the Indonesian authorities” who are the incidents took place in the following ous during the Portuguese rule. Even though promoting the forum. sequence: Indonesian military personnel the Portuguese fascist state favoured the The document is to include also the sig- desecrate a religious object of cult such as Catholic faith as the State religion, there was natures of leaders from the Islamic, Bud- stamping on the holy wafer, insulting a nun, never any religious incident among the four dhist, Protestant, and Hindu congregations. breaking a Virgin Mary statue; the East religious groups. One might accuse the Por- The forum is intended by the Indonesian Timorese react and attack the offenders; in tuguese of neglect, but they never engaged in authorities to promote the dialogue between the ensuing violence, the army intervenes such callous and counter-productive tactic in the leaders of these five religions, so as to and attacks the East Timorese. In every instigating inter-ethnic and inter-religious avoid future religious conflicts in the terri- single instance we have been able to identify violence. tory. Indonesian intelligence agents on the ground 8. The East Timorese resistance was al- The document is to be signed in the pres- instigating the violence. ways guided by a code of conduct of not ence of the Indonesian Minister of Religion, 4. A question might be asked: what is the harming Indonesian civilians and the Indone- Tarmizi Taher, and of the Jakarta ‘Nuncio interest of the army in instigating the vio- sian government could not show one single Apostolico,’ Monsignor Pietro Sambi, who lence. There are several answers to this sim- instance where the resistance deliberately arrived in Dili this morning in a special flight ple question. The hard-liners in the military targeted Indonesian civilian settlers even from Jakarta; and also of the Secretary of are not interested in a peaceful settlement of though the latter are willing instruments and the Indonesian Episcopal Conference, Mon- the conflict. Even the modest and limited participants in the occupation and rapacious signor Situmorang. The Bishop of Medan, idea of granting some sort of autonomy to exploitation of East Timor. Monsignor Sinaga, may also take part in the the territory with a drastic reduction in the 9. Why this sudden attack on the East ceremony. Representatives of various local troop presence, as argued by the local gov- Timorese Church and people claiming that authorities will also participate, including ernor and supported by MFA Ali Alatas, is they are intolerant and anti-Moslem? members of the Legislative Assembly and opposed by the military. Their view is that 10. The Church of East Timor is a model directors-general of the Ministry of Relig- East Timor is a conquered territory and of moderation and tolerance. It has incurred ion. The ceremony is scheduled for 12:0 hence the military earned the right to treat the anger of the army not because it does noon, local time. East Timor as a private domain. So as long not accept other religions. Quite the con- Tarmizi Taher will leave Dili after the as the territory remains in limited turmoil, trary, Bishop Belo has a strong relationship ceremony, and leaves Thursday to a six-day the hard-liners have a justification to pursue with Rev. Arlindo Marcal, head of the mi- visit to Rome and the Vatican. their one-tack policy of brutal repression. A nority Protestant Church who is also under lessening of their influence in East Timor is attack by the army. There is not much on- CNRM STATEMENT ON always a dent in their prestige (after all the going relationship between the Catholic RELIGIOUS CONFLICTS army is supposed to be invincible and un- Church and the Moslems in East Timor touchable) and in their economic monopoly only because the majority of Indonesians in From José Ramos-Horta, Oct. 24, 1995 of East Timor’s natural wealth (coffee, san- East Timor are not devout Moslems. 1. In the last few weeks, the Indonesian dalwood, marble, fishing) and lucrative There are thousands of prostitutes government, through the military intelli- trade. brought in by the Army to service the sol- gence, has launched an orchestrated cam- 5. There is another answer: having lost diers and there are thousands of small trad- paign against the East Timorese bishop of the battle of the international opinion and ers from the nearby islands who in fact are Dili, Dom Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo, the now gradually losing credibility on the home overwhelmingly Christians. Here we have an Church and the people of East Timor as a front, the hard-liners are resorting to an old army that operates like most armies of oc- whole. tactic they are good at: instigate ethnic and cupation in the middle ages where women Now, the Indonesian Religion Minister religious tension and violence to divert peo- are herded to service the soldiers and this is Tarmizi Taher is visiting the Vatican to seek ples attention from the real issues. the army that today uses religion to attack Catholic Church pressure on the East 6. Throughout Indonesian history both in the Church of East Timor. Only a few thou- Timorese. For years Indonesia has used the the period leading to and after the imposi- sand are Moslems and the army discourages threat of making the situation of Indonesia’s tion by a bloody military coup of the New the local Moslem leaders from consorting Catholic minority difficult, as a means of Order regime of gen. Suharto, there were with the bishop. pressuring the Vatican not to unduly op- always anti-Chinese violence instigated by Bishop Belo has never uttered a word of pose the illegal annexation of East Timor. the military. In the 1965-66 coup several intolerance against other religions. Quite the hundred thousand innocent Chinese were contrary. He is a very humble man, modest Page 26 East Timor Documents, Volume 40. Sept. 1 - November 3, 1995. like most of his Salesian order. When he was are now irresponsibly attempting to obfus- This media attention contrasts sharply appointed in 1983, it was hoped in Jakarta cate the issue by inciting religious conflicts. with the subdued reaction to alleged human- and in Rome that he would be much more rights abuses against Muslims in the north- malleable than his predecessor, the late GOD AND COUNTRY: ern province of Aceh in 1990-91. Then, Bishop Martinho da Costa Lopes. His con- ATTACKS ON MUSLIMS IN Islamic organizations appeared reluctant to secration in Dili was boycotted by most confront the government and the military on East Timorese priests because he was per- TIMOR PROMPT BACKLAS H the issue. ceived to be a puppet of the Vatican and This time, Muslim leaders aren’t mincing Far Eastern Economic Review, 26 October Jakarta. words. In an influential column in the Octo- 1995. By Margot Cohen in Jakarta Just imagine the pain and loneliness he ber issue of Ummat, Amien Rais, chairman must have endured all these years when For nearly two decades, most Indone- of Muhammadiyah, one of Indonesia’s larg- faced with so many conflicting interests and sians quietly accepted their government’s est Muslim organizations, wrote: “It’s time pressure. After all, he turned out to be such explanation that the vast majority of for a sharp change in direction. Up until a humble, modest, self-effacing and coura- Timorese favoured integration with the rest now, we have been so defensive, so cau- geous man of the people and public enemy of the country. tious, so good-hearted, and very much spoil- number one of the army. That’s why the According to the official view, the pro- ing our youngest province. Like a small child Indonesian army does not tolerate him and tests and clashes that flared up in East who has been spoiled too long with the that’s why they are now engaged in this Timor, which Indonesia annexed in 1976, utmost patience and tolerance, that child vicious campaign. The East Timorese were often instigated by a small group of begins to disobey us.” Those with “evil priests are extremely tolerant, generous and pro-independence troublemakers with for- intentions toward the republic,” Rais con- courageous. Most might be inspired by the eign support. Even the events of November cluded, “must be wiped out.” Latin America liberation theology and some 1991 in the provincial capital of Dili, when A main target of Muslim anger is Timor’s are theologically conservative but they all troops opened fire on protesters, killing at Catholic bishop, Carlos Filipe Ximenes share strong notions of justice and human least 100 people, were said to have been Belo. He came under intense criticism after dignity. inspired by local and foreign agents and being quoted in the weekly Gatra as calling 11. The army has the blood of thousands provocateurs. for a “special Catholic region.” Muslims of Moslems in its hands. It is quite extraor- But quite a few Indonesians aren’t buy- insist that this contradicts the state ideology dinary that it should pretend now to stand ing the old explanations any more. Reason: a of Pancasila, which grants equal status to for Islam when in fact it has massacred surge of violence against Muslim migrants in five recognized religions. thousands of Moslems in Aceh-Sumatra. the mostly Catholic province since early In a bid to ease tension, Religious Affairs Countless Moslem women in Sumatra were September. With Indonesia in the throes of Minister Tarmizi Taher planned to visit Dili raped and murdered by the army in 1983-84 an Islamic revival, the news from Timor of on October 24 to inaugurate an interfaith with the full knowledge of the army high Catholic rioters burning mosques and beat- forum. After that he was expected to go to command and not one single soldier or offi- ing up Muslims has prompted calls for a Rome and discuss the Timor issue with the cer was brought to justice. The infamous fundamental policy shift –- possibly to the Pope. But some observers doubt this will massacre of several hundred civilian Mos- hard right. provide a cure for the province’s ills. “The lems in Jakarta’s port of Tanjung Priok in In parliament and in the press, Islamic problem of East Timor is not a religious 1984 is another major crime of the Indone- leaders argue that it’s time to “get tough” on problem,” says Salvador Ximenes Soares, a sian army. The government has tried to the recalcitrant Timorese. Likewise, some Timorese member of Parliament and general suppress any information about this massa- 200 Muslim teachers from Java and Bali manager of the daily Suara Timor Timur. cre, which as a result remains unexposed to issued a statement on October 13 calling for “It’s a political problem, involving lack of this day. the government to take “resolute action” employment, sharp social jealousies and the 12. Unlike even in China where there is a against those involved in the Timor violence, undermining of self-respect.” large foreign presence (journalists, diplo- while Muslim students in Jogjakarta took to Soares and others say the September mats, businessmen) and an explosion in the the streets on October 6 and 13 to register events were an explosion of accumulated private sector, East Timor must be the most their protest. anger at outsiders, rather than purely an isolated place on earth. The only foreign Rioting broke out again in Dili in mid- attack on another faith. Still, religious fric- presence there consist of three ICRC dele- October, though this time it didn’t seem to tion played a central role in bringing this gates. The Church and to some extent the have a religious colour. Two people were anger to a head. resistance are the only links to the outside killed as security forces dispersed throngs of Riots first broke out in Maliana district world. The Church is the only institution youth who erected barricades and held two on September 4, after the circulation of a capable of sheltering the people physically military-intelligence agents hostage. By pamphlet detailing anti-Catholic remarks and morally, the only one around which October 16, however, some 150 youths had allegedly made by a Muslim prison official. even the resistance turn to for protection. been arrested and their pro-independence Angry Catholics retaliated by burning Mus- 13. Few conflicts in the world are so protests silenced. lim homes, vehicles and shops. The violence clear-cut and simple as the East Timorese. But national attention remained riveted spread to Viqueque district, where tensions Here we have a people with a clear historical on the anti-Muslim unrest of September. were already high over the results of a civil- identity, invaded and occupied by another Despite the Indonesian government’s long- service exam and a marriage between a country without a prior and clearly estab- standing taboo on press reports about reli- Catholic and a Protestant. This time, a lished claim to it. There are no overlapping, gious conflict, these events have received mosque and a prayer hall as well as two conflicting claims on East Timor by the prominent play in the local media –- par- Protestant churches were torched. Violence neighbouring countries. Only Indonesia ticularly in Muslim-oriented publications against Muslims was subsequently reported stands in the middle between the people of such as the Republika daily and the maga- in Liquiça. East Timor and self-determination. It is zine Ummat. The conflagration then spread to Dili. Be- tragic that the Indonesian occupation forces tween September 8 and 14 Timorese secon- East Timor Documents, Volume 40. September 1 - November 3, 1995 Page 27 dary-school students descended on a com- The new interfaith forum is designed to Belo, who travels on an Indonesian pass- plex of Islamic buildings, setting fire to a tackle these issues, nip rumours in the bud port, is not a member of the Indonesian mosque and other structures. Dili’s Comoro and recreate an atmosphere of mutual trust. Council of Churches and reports directly to market, where Muslims dominate trade, was The Commission on Human Rights also Pope John Paul II in the Vatican. also reduced to ashes. Students demanded hopes to improve the situation by setting He interrupted a visit to the Vatican to identity cards from motorists and pedestri- up a Dili office as son as possible. A formal return to East Timor for an Indonesian- ans and assaulted those who proved to be request to that effect was submitted to sponsored inter-religious forum on Tuesday. Muslim, with women wearing headscarves Governor Abilio Soares on September 7. Some reports said Belo would return to clear targets. The commission already has one highly Rome this week. Though it condemned the violence, the sensitive case on its hands. On October 4, a Indonesia has good relations with the Indonesian Roman Catholic Conference said: group of Timorese students filed a com- Vatican and Taher said he expected the Vati- “We need to question why the situation is plaint over the killing of Adao Fernandes can would understand the issues. developing this way, so that people become Cabral, the sub-district head of Luro, in “Indonesia and the Vatican have mutual easily emotional...religious sensitivities are Lautem district. According to the complaint, respect and because the jurisdiction of East only a trigger for deeper feelings of frustra- Adao opposed the building of a local Timor’s (bishop is) under the Vatican we tion, disappointment and hopelessness. mosque and vigorously defended his stance will explain what has happened in East Many people feel afraid and threatened.” before military authorities. On September Timor so they can listen and help us,” he According to the conference’s statement 11, he was found stabbed dead in his bed- said. published in the Catholic magazine Hidup room. Whatever the results of the investiga- “But we will not interfere (with) the au- on October 15, the solution lies in making tion, authorities hope the case won’t pro- thority of each country,” he added. sure that “the people of East Timor feel voke yet another round of violence. their social and cultural identity is not POPE MEETS INDONESIAN threatened.” Upholding the rule of law is INDONESIAN MINISTER TO MINISTER equally important, the Catholic leaders said. FLY TO VATICAN ON TIMOR For his part, Belo has sought to clarify VATICAN CITY, Oct. 28 (UPI) — his published call for a “special Catholic JAKARTA, Oct. 26 (Reuter) — Indone- Pope John Paul II Saturday held talks with district.” In a letter to the Dili diocese faxed sian Religious Affairs Minister Tarmizi Indonesia’s Religious Affairs Minister Tar- from Rome, where he was visiting the Vati- Taher was to fly to the Vatican on Thurs- misi Taher that centered on problems of the can, Belo said he did not mean to call for an day for a four-day visit to discuss problems strife-torn East Timor region, Vatican exclusively Catholic region. Rather, he said, in East Timor, including religious tolerance. sources said. he wanted “a region where Catholicism is “I will discuss the problems in East The Vatican, in line with its normal pol- predominant, a region where there are also Timor that happened in early September icy, did not release details of the talks but Protestants and Muslims. However, special and add to the information they have,” Ta- sources said the audience was part of an attention must be paid to the religious, his- her told reporters. ongoing dialogue between the Holy See and torical, and cultural identity of the Timorese “East Timor’s problems are complicated Indonesia, the world’s most populous Mus- people.” by scenarios that involve religion...certainly lim nation. The irony is that religious tolerance has a the groups who don’t like integration use The presence of Cardinal Francis Arinze, long history in East Timor. Islam coexisted this,” Taher said. head of the Vatican’s Council for Interrelig- peacefully with Catholicism during the co- “I will exp lain also about the importance ious Dialogue, at the audience also suggested lonial area. And even following the 1976 of religious tolerance in Indonesia and in that religious rather than political matters annexation, Catholics helped lay the founda- East Timor,” he said. were discussed at the meeting. tion for a mosque in Dili, while Muslims Riots and disturbances in East Timor Indonesia has long had a tense relation- lent a hand in building the capital’s Motael during September and October have killed at ship with the Vatican and has made Vatican Church. With an influx of voluntary mi- least two people, injured dozens and re- recognition of Indonesia’s 1976 annexation grants over the last six years, however, this sulted in more than 100 arrests. of East Timor a condition of improved links. spirit of mutual cooperation has soured into The disturbances have been partly The population of East Timor is predomi- mutual suspicion. blamed on ethnic and religious tension be- nantly Catholic. Each side has its own list of grievances. tween the predominantly Catholic East Indonesia invaded the former Portuguese Catholics complain of statues of the Virgin Timorese and recent arrivals from mostly colony on Dec. 5, 1975, and annexed it one Mary being vandalized, the desecration of Moslem Indonesia. year later, but the United Nations does not communion wafers and cases where children Indonesia invaded East Timor in 1975 recognize the Indonesian claim and considers of Catholic parents are whisked off to Mus- and unilaterally annexed it the following Portugal to be East Timor’s administrative lim schools. But their biggest complaint year in an action not yet recognised by the power. centres on the building of new mosques and United Nations, which still recognises for- The region has been rocked by violence prayer halls without proper government mer colonial ruler Portugal as the administer- that often involves clashes between Mus- permits. The Muslim population of the ing authority. lims and Catholics, as well as between sepa- province in 1995 was some 26,000, still a Jakarta still faces resistance to its rule ratists and government forces. tiny minority among the nearly 800,000 from a small guerrilla army and clandestine The latest round of violence over the past Timorese. independence movement. two months has left at least two people For their part, Muslims complain that Taher said Indonesia would not interfere dead and dozens others wounded. Security they are prevented from broadcasting the with the direct relationship between the officials said last week that more than 160 call to prayer through loudspeakers, re- head of the Catholic church in East Timor, people were taken into police custody. stricted in their public celebrations of reli- Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo, and the gious holidays and continually harassed by Vatican. disgruntled Timorese. Page 28 East Timor Documents, Volume 40. Sept. 1 - November 3, 1995.

SUHARTO URGES PEOPLE Lt. Col. MARCIANO NORMAN, for- investigation into news that troops killed mer chief of the Jakarta City Cavalry Battal- two civilians in Viqueque, 200 kms east of TO AVOID CONFLICT ion 7, a 1978 graduate of the National Mili- here, on Aug. 24. [slightly abridged] tary Academy, will be installed as the new Initial reports said that the two victims, chief of the Dili Military District in East identified as Inacio da Silva and Manuel da Jakarta, Nov. 2 (Reuter) – Indonesia’s Timor. He is well-known for handling dem- Silva, were shot and killed when they were President Suharto urged religious followers onstrations in the streets of Jakarta. hunting deer with other villagers, Simbolon on Thursday to live in harmony and avoid said. possible conflicts. EAST TIMOR PROTESTS SEE THREE According to Simbolon, the group of “All the followers of all the diverse relig- DETAINED people were seen in an area that the security ions can live together peacefully,” Suharto Reuter, 5 September 1995. Abridged authorities know is a stronghold of Fretilin said in a speech during a meeting with rebels. Anger and frustration with government Catholic church leaders. “My officers addressed them but there officials in the former Portuguese colony of “We hope we can maintain peace and was no reply. They (the officers) then East Timor led to protests in two separate harmony in the years to come (as) only with opened fired and two died on the spot.” towns, leading to three arrests, witnesses the harmony and peace, we can achieve and Simbolon said. “I promise to conduct a said on Tuesday. create our big ideas,” he said. thorough investigation into the incident.” Witnesses said the small demonstrations Religious tension is a sensitive subject in As eyewitness, Mario Soares, 36, said on Monday in Maliana and Liquiça, 65 km Indonesia, whose more than 190 million the incident happened at about 9am on Aug. (40 miles) south west and 30 km (18 miles) people are required to be a member of five 24 when the group of nine people was hunt- west of the capital Dili respectively, started mainstream religions – Islam, Hinduism, ing in the forest. after youths became angry after failing civil Buddhism, Protestant Christian or Catholic. Bishop Belo said he had also received a service exams. Tensions between religious groups are report on the incident from relatives of the The witnesses said that in Maliana the blamed for regular outbreaks of violence in victims. “We deeply regret it,” he said. Indonesia’s vast archipelago. protesters also carried anti-integration and anti-migrant banners. “We are aware that in society surely RIOTS BREAKS OUT IN there are conflicts of interest between one Following Indonesia’s 1975 invasion of and another... but we can’t let these con- East Timor and annexation the following VIQUEQUE flicts grow and develop out of control,” year, Jakarta has encouraged people from Jakarta Post, Sept. 8 1995 Suharto said. crowded parts of the archipelago to migrate “We will not allow discrimination in any to less populated areas such as East Timor. Dili, East Timor, Governor Abilio José form,” he added. Suharto said in the event of With high unemployment among native Osorio Soares has ordered an investigation conflict any settlement must take into ac- East Timorese, resentment of outsiders who into fresh rioting in Viqueque this week in count the interests of all parties. control commerce, small businesses and the which dozens of shops and several places of “We want a fair settlement of a conflict civil service has caused several disturbances worship were burned down. which can be accepted by all parties, with- in the last year, some causing deaths. East Spokesman for the provincial government out feeling loss or gain,” he said. Timor police chief Colonel Andreas Su- Expedito Dias Ximenes told journalist yes- gianto told Reuters by telephone three peo- terday that the authorities are yet to deter- ple were still in detention on Tuesday fol- mine what sparked the riot. RIOTS IN EAST TIMOR lowing what he called the Maliana “criminal “The Governor has made it clear that action.” Witnesses reported up to 10 people anyone involved in the chaos should be being arrested on Monday. severely punished,” Expedito said as quoted PROTESTS ROCK TWO Sugianto said the three were being ques- by Antara. Viqueque regent I Ketut Lunca CITIES tioned over the throwing of stones at the said the local government is yet to estimate house of a prison department official, from loses caused by the rioting. Jakarta Post, September 6, 1995 the Flores island, who had, what he said, Expedito said that the situation in had a misunderstanding with the local peo- DILI, East Timor: The cities of Liquisa Viqueque was under control yesterday and ple. and Maliana were rocked by protests on business has returned to normal. “He said some words which hurt the feel- Monday after the results of a recruitment East Timor police chief Col. Andreas Su- ings of Catholics and his house was stoned,” drive at the respective regency offices was gianto said he had dispatch one squad of Sugianto said. announced. policemen to Viqueque in anticipation of Sugianto said there was no political mo- In Liquisa, hundreds of youths attacked another wave of riots.(pan) tive in the Maliana incident and also denied the regency office after not finding their there was a protest in Liquisa. names on a list of 2,000 people recruited to Witnesses in Liquisa said angry youths work as regency employees. attacked the office of the district govern- Four people were injured and about 10 ment, injuring one civil servant who needed people were detained by the authorities to be hospitalised, after failing the civil ser- following the fracas. vice exams. The riot in Maliana was also staged by a group of youths upset that they were not TWO CIVILIANS KILLED IN EAST recruited by the regency administration TIMOR which just accepted 1,500 new employees. Jakarta Post, 7 September 1995. NOTES: Dili – Local military chief Col. M. Sim- bolon said yesterday that he has ordered an East Timor Documents, Volume 40. September 1 - November 3, 1995 Page 29

UNREST IN DILI: MANY One was named Lukman who comes tricity. While the Mass was in progress, the from Magelang, Central Java who is now lights suddenly went off because PLN (state ARRESTS under treatment in hospital. Two others, electricity company) lines broke down. The Jawa Pos, 9 September 1995. Abridged named Arsud Noke, from Kupang, and youngsters were furious and started attack- Marcus [not stated where from] were ing the YAKIN premises with stones. Comment: These events are almost certainly chased after being attacked by youths. Ar- In an attempt to calm things down in linked to the anger reported a day earlier sud fled into a church for shelter but Marcus Dili, (Udayana) military commander Major- over an anti-Catholic document which led to was struck a number of times. General Adang Ruchiatna visited the kam- protests on the day before. The JP report 46 people arrested by police pungs where disturbances had occurred and however makes no mention of this though later told journalists that the unrest had Police chief Andreas Sugianto said 46 the police chief made a hint about ‘provoca- spread from Maliana and Viqueque to Dili. people, thought to have lead the attacks, had tions.’ He said that many of those involved were been rounded up and were now in custody. misinformed. “They were incited by irre- The police are hunting for others thought to MORE VIOLENCE IN DILI sponsible elements. It’s not unlikely they be responsible. Dili has again been shaken by demonstra- are being used by the GPK,” he said, warn- “I appeal to the public not to be influ- tions. Yesterday, almost simultaneously in ing that those responsible will be treated in enced by false rumours or by provocations several parts of the city, there was stone- accordance with the law. started by irresponsible people,” he said throwing, punches and arson. The unrest As yet, there is no official version of how [perhaps a reference to the anti-Catholic began in the morning; by late afternoon the these disturbances started. According to document]. security forces had gained control. Eight earlier reports in Suara Karya and Jawa Pos, He agreed that the physical violence in people have been reported injured, and four they exploded after a warder at Maliana Dili was linked to a series of actions that cars, four motor-cycles and a number of prison named Sanusi Abubakar, was deemed have taken place in Maliana, Bobonaro, houses have been damaged. to have made insulting remarks about Ca- Uatolari and Viqueque earlier this week. He The action began around 8am at the sec- tholicism in front of 26 prisoners. According also said an individual, SA, thought to have ondary school (SMA) Dharma Bakti in to Suara Karya, these 26 prisoners left the instigated the action in Maliana is under Comoro and Becora STM where fighting prison and went to Sanusi’s house. He was police interrogation. broke out between students. A number of not there so they burnt down his house. non-Timorese students were physically MORE ON CURRENT UNREST IN Hundreds of other people later came out assaulted by Timorese students; some DILI onto the streets, damaging buildings and teachers were also targetted. kiosks in the vicinity of the prison. After conditions in these schools were Republika, 9 September. Slightly abridged. On Wednesday, there were disturbances brought under control, trouble broke out at [Comment: Unlike Jawa Pos of the same in Viqueque, about 107 kms from Dili during the Kristel SMA, Balide where a student day, Republika focuses on the religious as- which 25 market stalls and prayer centres and two teachers were injured. The school pect of Friday’s unrest in Dili and does refer were destroyed. They included not only was blockaded by Brimob (special police) to an incident at Maliana prison when insult- two musalla (small Muslim prayer centres) forces till midday. ing remarks were made about Catholicism.] but also two Protestant churches after a Violence broke out also along Bairo Pite- Dili – East Timor is again in ferment. A couple who were Catholic decided to get Menleuana Road, Comoro Road, Balide number of large-scale disturbances have married in a Protestant church. Road and the main thoroughfare, Audian- occurred since last Monday, starting in the The general chair of MUI, the Indonesian Becora. Large numbers of youths roamed district of Bobonaro and Viqueque and now Ulamas Council, Hasan Basri, said that dis- the streets, punching, stone-throwing and spreading to Dili. turbances with a religious dimension had burning vehicles. Hundreds of youngsters, mostly secon- been occurring on a number of occasions. Economic activity in the city was dary school pupils, went onto the streets in The victims, he said, were always Muslims brought to a standstill. Shops, restaurants Dili. In six different sections of the city, who are in a minority. “We should leave and stalls were closed and public transport they stopped many cars and harassed driv- these things to the security forces to solve. only started running again in the afternoon ers who they thought to be Muslims. Anti- These crowds will not listen to the words of — but not more than a few taxis and buses. riot police backed by a unit of army troops religious leaders.” He called on the security Few people wanted to go out onto the dispersed the demonstrations with tear-gas forces to carry out an investigation and re- streets, especially people from outside East and batons. A number of demonstrators solve the problem in accordance with legal Timor. The only people on the streets were were dragged to the police station. procedures. He also said there was a need groups of youths. Some people caught up in Several sources told Republika that the for dialogue between religious leaders. If not, the crowds of people were held and asked to situation in Dili was still tense late in the this chaos could spread elsewhere and be say where they were from and what their evening and people were afraid to go out exploited by certain elements in order to religion was. into the streets. Several prayer centres and damage national unity. “Those of us in cars were each asked Muslim education buildings were attacked Feisal praises Portugal questions like this. They were very fierce,” by the crowds. Stones were thrown at Al- said a non-Timorese woman who refused to Meanwhile in Bandung (8/9), armed Ichwan Mosque. The premises of YAKIN, give her name. forces commander General Feisal Tanjung an Islamic welfare institute was attacked; a The hospital in Bidau reported that about noted some progress in the way Portugal building was burnt down even though the 16 persons were taken in for treatment but was seeing the question of East Timor. He premises had been under army protection only three were detained. JP journalist saw referred to a report in Kompas (8/9) about a since July when disturbances also occurred. three people who had been seriously injured statement by the Portuguese Defence Min- On that occasion, a group of youngsters about the face and head. They had been istry classifying the East Timorese security in a house near YAKIN were holding a struck in the face or in other parts of the disturbers (GPK) as ‘terrorist separatists.’ Mass and asked YAKIN for help with elec- body with sticks. Page 30 East Timor Documents, Volume 40. Sept. 1 - November 3, 1995.

“This is a step forward and we hope they dents having been arrested, and with all Dili Gangs of youths rampaged across the will continue in this direction.” schools having been shut down. city on Friday, attacking police and Indone- The Portuguese statement he was refer- All efforts by LUSA to contact the mili- sian Moslem immigrants, residents said. ring to was contained in a book entitled tary and civil authorities in Dili to obtain Early on Saturday the youths burned a mar- “Peace and Cooperation” published for their version of the incidents have been un- ket where Buginese immigrants dominated limited circulation by the Portuguese De- successful. trade, they added. fence Ministry, grouping the East Timorese Demonstrations in Dili started on Friday “Security has been under control since 2 GPK along with the Basques, Northern following the release in Dili of a declaration p.m. (0700 GMT) and we have arrested a Ireland and the Western Sahara. signed by 26 guards and prisoners of the number of people on charges of destruc- The book was at the centre of huge row Maliana jail, in which Catholicism is charac- tion,” East Timor’s police chief Colonel in Portugal [in mid-August] and the spokes- terized as “nonsensical.” Andreas Sugianto told Reuters by telephone person of the Ministry, Ameida Fernandes from Dili. said that use of the term ‘terrorist separa- MORE ON DILI AND He declined to say how many people tists’ would complicate things in Portugal. VIQUEQUE DISTURBANCES were arrested, but confirmed Komoro mar- The book was also strongly attacked by ket had been set alight on Saturday. The Ramos Horta who threatened to break off Translated from the Portuguese, summa- Moslem Buginese immigrants from the relations with the Portuguese Government. rized southern part of Sulawesi island, 800 km [What Republika did not report was that, (500 miles) northwest of Dili, dominate the following strong protests from the CNRM, Macao, September 9 (LUSA) — Bishop city’s markets. Fretilin and UDT in Lisbon, the book was D. Ximenes Belo travelled to Viqueque to- Local residents said the situation was withdrawn from circulation and the Defence day, where, as in Dili, serious disturbances calmer in the afternoon but said they were Minister unreservedly apologised for this have been taking place in the last few days, still afraid to go out. “We are cautious. We grotesque distortion. TAPOL according to a church source in Dili con- don’t dare to leave our houses,” one said. tacted by phone from Macao. They said they feared further rioting could LUSA: DISTURBANCES IN DILI, 3 “In Uatu Lari, Viqueque area, the popula- break out at night. KILLED, SEVERAL ARRESTS tion burned down Protestant churches and a An official at the general hospital in Dili, Muslim house of prayer, as well as many 2,075 km (1,300 miles) east of Jakarta, said Translated from the Portuguese, summa- stores, and the priest of the local parish rized one man was being treated there for injuries asked for the direct intervention of the and residents said eight people were injured Macao, Sept. 9 (LUSA) — Three East Bishop in order to control the situation,” in the clash. Timorese were killed this morning (local said the church source. The visiting Commander of the Udayana time) in Dili in incidents related to the dis- The Bishop is expected to return to Dili Military Command, Major-General Adang turbances that have been taking place there on Sunday. The same source classified the Ruchiatna, whose jurisdiction includes Bali, for over 24 hours, according to sources in current situation in Dili as “very serious, the nearby Nusatenggara islands and East Dili. with city completely paralyzed” due to the Timor, told reporters on Friday night six The three Timorese were killed with disturbances in the last two days. “The security officers were injured after the inci- knives by Indonesian traders at the Comoro streets are occupied by the military, the dent and 41 youths were being questioned. market, according to two Dili residents. The stores are closed, there are no school classes, He said the Indonesian official had been same residents report that the Comoro mar- and everyone is locked inside their homes,” arrested, adding; “The suspect is accused of ket was set afire this morning by demonstra- said the same source, who added that it is insulting other people’s religion.” tors, who also burned at least 3 cars and 7 very difficult to estimate or confirm the Residents said on Friday police arrested motorcycles. number of dead and wounded because of dozens of youths and closed down the city At least 14 people were wounded, 7 of imposed restrictions on circulation in Dili. centre after youths smashed cars, shops and which in serious condition, at the confronta- The same source confirmed to LUSA that roadside stalls in an apparent protest against tions between the population and authori- the market had been burned down by the Indonesian immigrants. ties. One of the Dili residents stated that at population, between 4:00 and 6:30 AM Friday’s riot was the worst incident since least 18 students had been arrested, but that local time. “In the areas of Comoro and political and ethnic riots last year in Dili and it was difficult to obtain further information Becora, the students are there along the road the seaside town of Bacau. given that the military had imposed restric- and continue to set tires on fire,” said the People in Bacau, 180 km (110 miles) east tions on the circulation of people and vehi- same source. “The Church has appealed to of Dili, took their anger out by rioting and cles. “The situation is of great confusion, that both parties control themselves in order burning down the town’s two Buginese- with the streets taken over by the military, to avoid a blood bath.” dominated markets after a Buginese man and with confrontations in several locations, fatally stabbed a native East Timorese on especially in the areas of Comoro, Becora POLICE ASSERT CONTROL New Years Day. and Matadouro,” added the same source. At least five people were killed in the in- Another Dili resident reported that the IN EAST TIMOR AFTER cident, which added racial conflict to East shops were closed throughout the city and RIOTS Timor’s catalogue of woes. Religious and there were disturbances everywhere. “Fol- ethnic issues are sensitive in predominantly lowing the demonstrations on Friday more Reuter, 9 September 1995. By Lewa Par- Catholic East Timor, which mainly Moslem military have arrived and vigilance is now domuan Indonesia invaded in 1975 and annexed the very tight,” reported the resident. Police in troubled East Timor’s capital following year. The United Nations does A student of the East Timor University Dili said they had taken control of the city not recognise Indonesia’s rule there. told LUSA that there were more demonstra- on Saturday after the worst rioting in the tions today, which were harshly repressed territory this year. by the security forces, 12 university stu- East Timor Documents, Volume 40. September 1 - November 3, 1995 Page 31

MILITARY APPEALS FOR MORE ON group from the armed resistance headed by a Timorese woman. CALM IN EAST TIMOR CONFRONTATIONS Last week’s confrontations are in re- Jakarta Post, September 10, 1995 THROUGHOUT ET sponse to the Indonesian transmigration program, but there are also reports of that DILI, East Timor (JP): The military au- Translated from the Portuguese, summa- Indonesia is planning to destroy the Catho- thority appealed for calm yesterday after rized. written by Antonio Sampaio lic religion in ET. the city was rocked by a series of violent Sydney, Sept. 10 (LUSA) — The mili- Sources in Suai, a village at the border be- demonstrations. tary police has arrested dozens of youths tween East and West Timor, indicate that Udayana Military Commander Maj. Gen. during the last 24 hours, in house searches in the authorities had already announced that Adang Ruchiatna Puradiredja flew from his the areas of Komoro, in the Dili center, ac- 300 new Indonesian families will be placed headquarters in Denpasar on Friday night to cording to sources of the resistance. in the area. This region has some of the most oversee the operation to restore calm and One of the youths who participated in fertile soils in ET, and already over 900 order. the Friday demonstration told LUSA over Indonesian families have been placed there. Adang who was scheduled to be replaced the phone that the situation remains tense, “We already have no more land to farm on Monday, promised the East Timorese with “hundreds of military on the streets,” over here, and now they’re bringing in even that the people responsible for the rioting and that the demonstrations might start more Indonesians,” said a Timorese resident, would be brought to justice. again once the number of military on the adding that “if this is confirmed it is obvious This includes a correctional facility offi- streets is reduced. “As soon as the cleanups that we will protest it.” cial whose remarks to inmates at Maliana are completed we will start burning tires Zacarias da Costa, of the UDT in Portu- prison, 73 kilometres southwest of Dili, again, and burning the houses of the Indone- gal, who is currently visiting Australia, told reportedly offended the local people and sians who are living here,” said the youth LUSA today that the resistance had already sparked the unrest on Friday. who attends the school of Momoro where obtained a secret Indonesian document that “This is a state based on law. Those who there have been confrontations in the last details the Islamization plan for the terri- are guilty will be prosecuted,” Adang told few days. “The military are now cleaning up tory, which would soon be made public reporters on Friday night. Sanusi, a warden the city and proceeding with the house outside ET. “According to the information at the Maliana correctional facility, is al- searches. They have already arrested many we’ve got, this is the largest Islamization ready in police custody. people, mostly youths who had been at the plan ever made by Indonesia. It was ap- Twenty-four inmates said they heard him Friday demonstration,” said the student. proved by Jakarta and reveals that once making offensive remarks about Roman A source of the Dili hospital told LUSA again Indonesia is attacking the strongest Catholicism last Monday. When news of that at least 12 Timorese are hospitalized pillar of the Timorese resistance, the Catho- this reached the public, apparently through there, 4 of which in serious condition, lic Church,” said Zacarias da Costa. leaflets produced by inmates, a group of wounded in confrontations with the Indone- During the last 12 months, the attacks people went to look for Sanusi at his resi- sian authorities. (...) against the Catholic religion in ET have mul- dence in Dili on Friday. Tension is particularly high in the Ko- tiplied throughout the territory. In June, When they could not find Sanusi at moro region, from the Dili airport to Vila 1994, the population in Remexio demon- home, the rioting began. It quickly spread to Verde, because this is the area where most strated after two Indonesian soldiers had other parts of Dili and a number of ET youths and few Indonesian migrants stepped on holy bread at a local church. A neighboring towns. live. month later, two Timorese nuns were in- “We won’t let him go,” Adang said dur- Problems were reported also in the region sulted by Indonesian soldiers in Dili, and the ing a press briefing also attended by Col. of Becora, near Dili, where at least a family military police had detained several people Mahidin Simbolon, the chief of the East of five people was arrested, and military attending mass in the Motael church. Timor Military District, and Sugianto An- posts are positioned in every road to Dili. This week, a group of soldiers entered dreas, the East Timor police chief. Sources in Dili indicated that although the the Maliana church during mass celebration Adang appealed to the public for re- Timorese attacks have mostly targetted and insulted the priest and members of the straint. “Don’t let yourselves be easily pro- Indonesian transmigrants, there have not so congregation. The soldiers then exited the voked,” he said. far been retaliations from the transmigrants. church and profaned the statue of the Virgin Adang said that 41 of the people who “In Komoro there aren’t many problems Mary outside. took part in the riots have been detained for with transmigrants,” said a student in Ko- According to the latest information, in- questioning. moro, “because we are mostly East sults against the Catholic Church have gen- He said that six officers were injured dur- Timorese residents here and we are all fight- erated a wave of protests that spread to the ing the riots and several police vehicles were ing against the same thing.” Maliana jail where prisoners protested vio- overturned and set on fire. One person was Governor Abilio Osorio Soares mandated lently. A large number of Timorese residing reported to have died in the rioting and sev- an enquiry of the confrontations of the last in the area gathered at the center of Maliana eral others were injured. Police arrested a few days in Viqueque. The situation in and demonstrated against the Indonesian total of 46 people for rioting. Viqueque has been deteriorating since last presence in ET. This demonstration lasted Dili Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo year when Jakarta nominated an Indonesian for two days, and was joined by local also visited the scene of the riots on Friday military for the position of administrator. Timorese leaders who work for Indonesian and made a public appeal for calm. Abilio Osorio Soares had already criticized governmental agencies. Among the demon- “We know the task of the Bishop is very the nomination, and the region had been a strators were Jorge Tavares, a representative difficult,” Maj. Gen. Adang said, urging the focus of permanent tension which then of the local Indonesian Golkar party; David people to heed Belo’s call. “If people don’t spread throughout the entire eastern portion Barreto, member of the Legislative Assem- listen to the Bishop, who else will they of ET to Baucau. Recently, the Indonesian bly; and Tomas Ribeiro, the secretary of the listen to?” battalion in Viqueque was attacked by a Mariana local administrator. Page 32 East Timor Documents, Volume 40. Sept. 1 - November 3, 1995.

The Maliana region has been one of the dominated markets after a Buginese man Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo said the areas receiving the most Indonesian transmi- fatally stabbed a native East Timorese on latest wave of violence was regrettable. grants, which has forced a large part of the New Year’s Day. “Christianity rejects all forms of violent Timorese population to migrate to the At least five people were killed in the in- and destructive actions,” he told the large mountains. cident, which added racial conflict to East congregation in this predominantly Roman The Maliana demonstration ended when Timor’s catalogue of woes. In Surabaya, Catholic province of 800,000 people. a military contingent arrived joining the local East Java, Politics and Security Affairs Belo was personally affected by the vio- police. A Red Cross representative has al- One resident said on Sunday that East lent demonstrations when his way to ready been sent to the region. Timorese youths said they were ready to Viqueque was blocked with burning tires in On September 4 when an Indonesian sol- attack military and security officers. “They the Becora area, just east of here. dier was killed in confrontations between a obviously show their hatred against them,” The bishop’s public announcement of re- group of Timorese youths and security she said. Indonesian military say they have gret was warmly welcomed by chief of the forces. five army battalions in East Timor, but for- Udayana military command, Maj. Gen. eign attaches say up to 11 battalions are still Adang Ruchiatna, whose are of responsibil- RELATIVE CALM RETURNS there. An Indonesian battalion consists of ity covers Bali, Nusa Tenggara, and East TO TROUBLED EAST TIMOR 800 people. Timor. Adang said that, as of Saturday night, the DILI UNDER CONTROL AFTER TWO Reuter 10 September 1995 By Lewa Par- authorities in Dili had “questioned and de- domuan Abridged DAYS OF VIOLENT RIOTING tained” a number of people in connection The Jakarta Post, September 11, 1995 with the protests but that there had been no Relative calm returned to troubled East deaths. DILI, East Timor (JP): The provincial Timor’s capital of Dili on Sunday after According to Adang, the violence incited capital was stable but still tense yesterday, gangs of youths rampaged across the city by about 3,000 clandestine activists in favor following two days of violent street demon- for two days in the worst rioting in the terri- of East Timorese independence in various strations after an official reportedly insulted tory this year, residents and police said. places, including Bali; Salatiga in Central the Catholic region. “It’s calmer now and people are going to Java; Malang, in East Java, and Jakarta. Shops, restaurants and marketplaces re- church,” one resident told Reuters by tele- “They have made the best use of sophis- mained closed. The streets were largely phone from Dili, 1,075 km (1,300 miles) ticated telecommunications technology,” he deserted and security personnel were on full east of Jakarta. “I can say the situation has said, as quoted by Antara. returned to normal and public vehicles have alert in strategic locations. started operating,” she said. The state-run radio station, RRI, broad- Residents said gangs of youths roamed cast periodic appeals from Governor Abilio TIMORESE FEARED the city on Friday morning in an apparent José Osorio Soares’ to citizens, calling on TORTURED AFTER RIOTS: protest against Indonesian immigrants after them to end the upheaval in the provincial RESIDENTS reports that an Indonesian official had in- capital. sulted the Catholic faith of the East On Friday and Saturday, gangs of high Reuter, 11 September 1995. By Jeremy Wag- Timorese majority. school students and other youths went on a staff Early on Saturday the youths burned the rampage in the town, setting motorcycles on Residents in East Timor’s capital, Dili, Komoro market where Buginese immigrants fire, smashing cars and harassing immigrants voiced fears on Monday police had tortured dominated trade. Residents said protesters from other provinces. On Saturday an angry some of up to 100 people they said were on Friday burned six cars and motorcycles, crowd burned down the Komoro market, detained in the territory’s worst rioting this including some belonging to police. where immigrants dominate business. year, but officials denied this. The Moslem Buginese immigrants from The protestors were infuriated by a re- Police chief Colonel Andreas Sugianto the southern part of Sulawesi Island, 800 mark reportedly made by justice ministry said 30 youths had been detained since early km (500 miles) northwest of Dili, dominate official Sanusi Abubakar, who is said to Friday. All but 14 had been freed and none the city’s markets. have described Catholicism as a “nonsense had been tortured, he said. East Timor police chief Colonel Andreas religion” when addressing inmates at the “There is none. We don’t use that Sugianto said on Sunday: “It’s calm now Maliana prison on Sept. 4. (method),” he told Reuters by telephone and people’s daily activities have resumed. In Jakarta yesterday, Armed Forces from Dili. They are going to church.” Spokesman Brig. Gen. Suwarno Adiwidjojo East Timor, ruled by Indonesia since its He said 16 East Timorese were being called on the public to remain calm and to 1975 invasion, has been swept by fresh questioned by police on charges of destruc- refrain from making comments which would rioting in the past week, apparently trig- tion. Eight security officers were injured by worsen the situation. gered by religious and ethnic tensions be- stones thrown by rioters and two Buginese He warned the unrest involved the deli- tween the majority Roman Catholic traders were wounded after being attacked cate issue of race and religion and could Timorese and their mainly Moslem over- by daggers. He gave no other details. spread to other provinces if improperly lords. The military said on Friday the Indone- handled. Residents said the territory remained sian official had been arrested on charges of Suwarno said the authorities in Dili have tense after youths burned down markets in insulting other people’s religion. The riots already released more than 60 demonstra- Maliana, near the border with West Timor, were the worst since political and ethnic tors. He added that 200 police reinforce- and the coastal town of Manatuto on Sun- rioting last year in Dili and the seaside town ments have been brought into the town from day. Up to 100 people had been detained in of Bacau. East Java and Bali to help restore order. Dili alone and may have been subjected to People in Bacau, 180 km (110 miles) east In a mass to commemorate Indonesia’s torture, they said. of Dili, took their anger out by rioting and 50th anniversary of independence in the “We are getting very credible reports of burning down the town’s two Buginese- Balide Church in Viqueque on Friday night, torture in police custody, but we cannot get East Timor Documents, Volume 40. September 1 - November 3, 1995 Page 33 details,” said one resident. Sugianto said The rioting began on 8 September and turbances in the East Timorese towns of eight people had been injured, two of them was apparently triggered by reports that an Baucau and Ermera. Concern for those ar- police officers. Indonesian prison official had, on 6 Septem- rested is heightened by the consistent pat- He denied local reports of four deaths, ber, insulted the Catholic church. Rioting tern of beatings and torture in detention. including two people attacked by a mob in quickly spread across the town leading to Detainees continue to be refused access to Dili’s Komoro market. attacks on police and Indonesian migrants. independent lawyers, while others have Dili itself was quieter although the uni- Cars, shops, and a market were set alight. been pressured into withdrawing power of versity and all schools had been closed for The arrests began on 8 September and attorney for independent lawyers. the week, residents said. Sugianto said barri- there are unconfirmed reports that between RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send cades erected by locals had been dismantled. 50 and 100 people have so far been de- telegrams/telexes/ faxes/express/airmail let- “It’s already back to normal. We don’t tained, although many of these may have ters in English or your own language: have any problems, the traffic is already been released shortly after their arrest. By · urging the Indonesian authorities to pro- back to normal,” he said. the night of 8 September, the Armed Forces vide details of the whereabouts of all Residents said areas of Dili earlier had announced that 41 youths were being ques- those detained in Dili since 8 September, been blocked by locals, while others had tioned, but on 11 September, East Timor as well as any charges that are to be piled burning tyres in the street or strewn Police Chief Colonel Andreas Sugianto was brought against them; pro-Catholic banners across the road. Simi- quoted by Reuters as saying that 30 youths lar incidents had taken place in other towns had been detained since early 8 September. · calling for all possible measures to be in recent days, they said. Sugianto also stated that all but 14 had been taken to ensure the safety of the detain- “There’s been a lot of burning. Some of freed. ees; the suburbs of Dili are really quite horrible – The arrests appear to be being carried out · calling on the authorities to allow contin- cars, kiosks and markets burned and de- by both police and military officers. To ued access for those in detention to the stroyed,” one resident said by telephone on Amnesty International’s knowledge the International Committee of the Red Monday. authorities have so far not provided names Cross, lawyers of their own choice and The rioting, apparently triggered by an of those detained or precise details of the their families. Indonesian prison official who insulted the charges. APPEALS TO: Catholic faith last Wednesday, quickly Amnesty International recognises the CHIEF OF POLICE FOR EAST TIMOR: spread across the territory, fanning existing right of the Indonesian authorities to bring political and economic tensions between to justice those responsible for acts of vio- Lt. Col. Andreas Sugianto [Salutation: Timorese and Indonesian. The prison officer lence. However, based on previous patterns Dear Lieutenant-Colonel] Kapolda Timor has been arrested. of human rights violations in East Timor, Timur Dili, East Timor (Indonesia) Tele- The official Antara news agency quoted Amnesty International is concerned that grams: Kapolda Timor Timur, Dili, East Politics and Security Affairs Minister Susilo those detained may be tortured during inter- Timor Sudarman as saying in East Java on Satur- rogation. In addition, there are fears that the MILITARY COMMANDER REGION day the government would punish the Dili detainees will not be provided with proper IX/UDAYANA: (covers Bali, Lombok, rioters. access to independent lawyers or to their Nusa Tenggara and East Timor) “We will take (stern) action. We will in- families. Brig. Gen. H A Rivai [Salutations: Dear vestigate the case,” he said. Unconfirmed reports allege that some Brigadier-General] Pangdam IX/Udayana Western governments have long been have already been tortured, including with Markas Besar KODAM IX Udayana Den- critical of Indonesia’s human rights record in electric shocks, and the use of razor blades pasar, Bali, Indonesia Telegrams: Pangdam the territory. The United Nations still rec- and salt on the skin. The authorities have IX/Udayana, Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia ognises Portugal as East Timor’s colonial denied that any of those arrested are at risk AND, IF POSSIBLE, TO THE ruler. of torture. While Amnesty International FOLLOWING: What was largely a political conflict has understands that the International Commit- fanned into broader unrest this year, with tee of the Red Cross has been given access Minister of Foreign Affairs: Ali Alatas Timorese anger focused on Moslem Bugi- to the prisoners, there is concern that such SH Menteri Luar Negeri Jl Medan Taman nese immigrants from Sulawesi Island, 800 access has not always provided sufficient Pejambon No 6 Jakarta, Indonesia Faxes: + km (500 miles) northwest of Dili, who protection against torture. 62 21 36 0517 dominate the territory’s trade. Chair of the National Commission on BACKGROUND INFORMATION Human Rights: Ali Said SH Ketua Komisi The latest events in Dili add to the high Nasional Hak Azasi Manusia Jalan Veteran AI: MORE THAN 50 DETAINED level of riots and civil unrest against Indone- No 11 Jakarta, Indonesia Faxes: + 62 21 314 AFTER EAST TIMOR RIOTS sia’s occupation of East Timor which have 1625 (c/o Ministry of Justice) occurred since November 1994. The authori- AI UA216/95; AI Index: ASA 21/44/95. 11 ties have responded to the demonstrations EAST TIMOR BISHOP SAYS September 1995 and riots with arbitrary detention (including RIOTS UNDERLINE Fear of torture, EAST TIMOR detention of peaceful protesters), beatings, torture and suspected extrajudicial execu- UNHAPPINESS Between 50 and 100 people are reported tions. Over 100 East Timorese were arrested to have been arrested in the East Timorese following the November 1994 demonstra- Reuter, 11 September 1995. capital of Dili following three days of in- tions and 27 people are believed to have Jakarta – East Timor’s Roman Catholic tense rioting. Details of the precise number been tried this year for their alleged role in Bishop Carlos Belo said on Monday that and identities of those still detained are un- these demonstrations. More recently in rioting in the territory was due to the Indo- clear, but Amnesty International is con- August 1995, at least 10 people were be- nesian government’s failure to address reli- cerned that they may be at risk of torture. lieved to have been arrested following dis- Page 34 East Timor Documents, Volume 40. Sept. 1 - November 3, 1995. gious and ethnic tension in the former Por- “There’s been a lot of burning. Some of RA: Bishop Belo, what can be done by the tuguese colony. the suburbs of Dili are really quite horrible, central government in Jakarta right now, In Jakarta, Madeleine Albright, the U.S. cars, kiosks and markets have been burned to put an end to this problem so that it envoy to the United Nations, speaking to and destroyed,” one resident said by tele- does not happen again? reporters, said she had told President Su- phone on Monday. BB: Firstly, as I have always suggested, harto during talks on Monday that the situa- Indonesia’s army commander, General there must be a sincere dialogue with the tion in East Timor continued to be of con- Raden Hartono, was quoted by the official people here, in particular with the youth, to cern to the United States. “We are very Antara news agency as saying the army avoid this kind of abuse and confrontation. much in favour of the kind of dialogue that would not tolerate attempts to break the If the dialogue only consists of empty has taken place under the United Nations’ “unity and oneness” built throughout the promises, demonstrations like this will con- auspices between Indonesian and Portu- archipelago. Foreign Minister Ali Alatas tinue It will never end. guese foreign ministers,” she said. quoted Suharto as saying the riots were not Belo, speaking to Reuters from Dili, said: a political issue, but purely ethnic. RA: Can it be said that if the Udayana “All they (the government) have done is Commander, Adnan Ruchiatna, immedi- give 1,001 excuses. They have been building BISHOP BELO RADIO AUSTRALIA ately flies to Dili, he could be successful in mosques without consulting anyone, while INTERVIEW calming down the people? rich migrants are buying up all the land.” ‘Laporan Internasional,’ 11 Sept. 1995. BB: Hum... I do not trust him. “East Timorese are also being taken to Is- Abridged translation from Indonesian. RA: Those who have been arrested are lamic schools in Java,” added the bishop, a Catholics? Radio Australia (RA): ....Question missed unifying force among East Timor’s majority BB: Who else? They are the youths who Roman Catholics. Bishop Belo (BB): If the youths demon- have been demonstrating. Earlier, residents in East Timor’s capital, strate it is because there is no ...(not clear)... Dili, voiced fears that police might have amongst the army, the people and the RA: Is this because they are members of tortured some of the up to 100 people they youths here. Fretilin? Or are they not Fretilin but sim- ply people who lost their patience? said were detained in the worst rioting this RA: In the matter of curtailing other relig- year. A senior official denied torture allega- ions, the Pope himself faced protests re- BB: Does it mean that for being a Fretilin, a tions. East Timor police chief Colonel An- cently in Sri Lanka because his Holiness person is destined to be arrested and tor- dreas Sugianto had said 30 youths had been said that Buddhism is not a true religion. tured? You must be careful. They are still detained since early Friday. All but 14 had human beings. I think those who should be been freed and none had been tortured, he BB: Yes they had the right to protest. How- arrested are the military officials and the added. “There is none (torture). We don’t ever, what is happening here is different. high ranking public servants, who from the use that,” he told Reuters by telephone from The circumstances and the conditions of the beginning, allowed the situation to reach the Dili. people here are different. You can not com- point it is at now. Those are the people who East Timor has been swept by fresh riot- pare the two situations. must be arrested. ing in the past week, triggered by religious RA: Can it be said that presently the situa- RA: So what measures will Bishop Belo take and ethnic tensions between the majority tion in East Timor, Dili in particular, is to stop the current situation? If it is al- Roman Catholic Timorese and their mainly very tense? lowed to spread, it will surely become bad Moslem overlords. Residents said the terri- BB: Yes it is. Arrests have been carried out. news. tory remained tense after youths burned The streets are patrolled. There are feelings down markets in Maliana, near the border BB: There must be a radical change of po- of anxiety and fear. Yesterday I went by lices and attitudes from the army, the gov- with West Timor, and in the coastal town of Manatuto, there were more than one hun- Manatuto on Sunday. ernment, from everybody. We all must cor- dred youths demonstrating. In Maliana they rect ourselves. Mistakes are not only com- Up to 100 people had been detained in burned houses, the market and shops be- Dili alone and may have been subjected to mitted by the protesters and the youths. We longed to the Muslim people there. It is a must acknowledge that we all have made torture, they added. “We are getting very reality. credible reports of torture in police custody, mistakes and we are the guilty ones. RA: Is this not a political issue anymore but but we cannot get details,” said one resident. RA: Bishop Belo, what is your opinion about a religious one? Usually religious issues Sugianto said eight people had been in- the religious disturbances, especially the are more emotional than politics. jured, two of them police officers. He denied Catholic religion which has been happen- local reports of four deaths, including two BB: Religion...., politics..., it is all mixed up. ing lately not only in East Timor but also people attacked by a mob in Dili’s Komoro RA: How are you Bishop Belo going to rec- in Eastern and central Indonesia? Is this market. ommend to the people of East Timor to be an indication about something? Belo said Dili, where the university and truly patient before this problem gets out BB: Surely it is. We always speak about all schools had been closed for the week, of control? harmony. Harmony is very good but we was calm, adding that up to 36 youths had BB: The people tell me “we are no longer don’t practise it. Therefore, religious prob- been arrested by Sunday. He said 12 of patient. We have been very patient for too lems like this will continue. them were injured when police broke up long. From 1976 until now, we have been RA: We held an interview in 1993 when demonstrations. told to be patient, to wait a little longer. Bishop Belo visited Melbourne. At that Residents said areas of Dili had earlier This slogan has no roots, no beginning and time, you explicitly called on the Timorese been blocked, while streets had been piled no end. For how long does one have to be people for reconciliation. Now, what do with burning tyres and set alight or strewn patient and to wait? The Timorese people you recommend? with pro-Catholic banners. Similar incidents are treated like chickens and ducks, shoo BB: Reconciliation is a message from the had taken place in other towns in recent them here, shoo them there.” Policies must days, they added. Church which has a moral value. It is eter- be changed. nal. Reconciliation also contains the value of East Timor Documents, Volume 40. September 1 - November 3, 1995 Page 35 justice. If there is no justice there can be no tive behavior. But rather than merely sigh in rights and the economic situation in East reconciliation. How can the East Timorese relief at the return of calm in Dili, all this Timor is improved,” she said. People reconcile with the other side which makes it clear that it is more than time for us Albright was speaking during a one-day does not want reconciliation? to do some more serious soul-searching stopover in Jakarta. regarding East Timor. TIME FOR THOUGHT One of the ironies of the East Timor SOEHARTO PLAYS DOWN situation lies in the development that has DILI RIOTS Editorial Jakarta Post, September 11, 1995 been brought to the province. With more It is certainly good to hear from the mili- and more schools opening in the province, Jakarta Post September 12, 1995 tary and civilian authorities that order was the number of graduates has significantly increased. Yet suitable employment oppor- JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto has as of Sunday restored in Dili, the capital of dismissed the weekend riots in East Timor East Timor, where bands of youth went on tunities are limited and many jobs are taken by newcomers. This and other grievances as bearing no relation whatsoever to the a rampage last week. The violence report- question of the territory’s integration into edly lasted for two consecutive days – Fri- deserve our serious attention. We all agree that the highest degree of Indonesia. day and Saturday – during which motorcy- At a meeting with American Ambassador cles were burned, cars were smashed and sensitivity is demanded in handling East Timor. Various statements have been made to the United Nations Madeleine K. Al- newcomers from other provinces of Indone- bright yesterday in which the recent incident sia were harassed. On Saturday an angry to this effect. The thing to do now is to seriously put that insight into practice. in East Timor was raised, Soeharto report- crowd set fire to the Komoro market, where edly said that the riots were “not political.” business is dominated by immigrants. Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas, What sparked the violence was report- ALBRIGHT CONCERNED BY who was present at the meeting at the Mer- edly a remark by a justice ministry official, EAST TIMOR RIOTS deka Palace, told reporters later that the who, in a speech to Maliana, prison inmates riots were “SARA” in nature. earlier in the week, referred to the Roman Reuter 11 September 1995 Jakarta The term is the Indonesian acronym for Catholic faith as a “non-sense religion.” U.S. ambassador to the United Nations issues considered by the government to be Little wonder that, in Jakarta, Armed Forces Madeleine Albright said on Monday Wash- potentially divisive: ethnicity, religion, race spokesman Brig. Gen. Suwarno Adiwidjojo ington was concerned about continuing un- and social group. urged the public to remain calm and refrain rest in East Timor and called on Indonesia to Dili, the capital of East Timor and the from making comments that might worsen investigate the cause of new riots. site of the worst riots, was calmer yesterday the situation. In the current Indonesian po- She told a news conference rioting, which although it remained tense, according to litical vernacular, his remarks were labeled as swept several East Timorese towns since residents. “SARA” (suku, agama, ras agama). That is, Friday, appeared to have been religious and The riots were launched by a group of they involved the sensitive issues of ethnic- racial in tone but that she hoped Indonesia young East Timorese, and their targets were ity, custom, race and religion, the four issues would continue to support U.N. efforts to immigrants from outside East Timor. that could most easily incite trouble in the bring peace to the troubled territory. Smaller riots also took place in other towns community. “I think they obviously are of concern in in the province. One might be surprised that an official terms of a continuation of the problems and There were no casualties in the riots, ac- with such an important function could have the differences that exist because of religious cording to the government, but several peo- made such an inflammatory remark before a and ethnic problems,” Albright said; ple, including police and military personnel, formal audience. In the present context, “I think ... (they) are only indicative of were taken to hospital with injuries. Dili’s however, that is beside the point. A more the fact that it is important to get some kind Komoro market was gutted, cars were important question to ponder is why trou- of solution there that would alleviate these smashed and overturned, and migrants said ble continues to occur in East Timor with kinds of things happening and that investi- they ventured out of their homes. such disturbing regularity, considering the gations need to take place as to the genesis Most of the people detained for ques- fact that the government keeps assuring us of the event and try to do everything to tioning in connection with the riots have that all is well in East Timor. prevent further disturbances,” she added. been released. A statement made by the chief of the Washington has long been critical of In- “We regret that a ruckus occurred there, Udayana military command in Denpasar donesia’s role in East Timor. Albright said but as already explained by the proper au- puts the blame on about 3,000 clandestine that in talks with Indonesia’s President thorities, this issue is SARA and is not po- activists living in places such as Bali, Suharto and Foreign Minister Ali Alatas she litical,” Alatas told reporters. Salatiga (Central Java), Malang (East Java) had welcomed efforts under U.N. auspices Given Indonesia’s size and diversity, and Jakarta, who are in favor of an inde- to include East Timorese in talks between such incidents could occur anywhere, he pendent East Timor. Those activists, ac- Indonesia and Portugal. said. cording to the commanding, are making the She said she had also commended aspects During the meeting with Albright, the best use of sophisticated telecommunica- of Indonesian rule in the former Portuguese President spoke of the government’s poli- tions technology. While Gen. Adang may colony, but had called for improvements in cies in the former Portuguese colony, includ- have had ground for making his statement, economic conditions and in human rights. ing the current withdrawal of two Army more troubles in this youngest of provinces “I did in fact commend President Suharto battalions from the territory. will surely become an increasingly serious on some of the actions he has taken to im- Earlier reports said the riots were trig- thorn in the side of Indonesia. prove the economic situation but also did gered by offensive remarks about Roman Bishop Carlos Felipe Ximenes Belo’s say we consider it very important for pro- Catholicism on the part of an official of the wise and soothing words are to be greatly gress to be made on the subject, that it is an local office of the Ministry of Justice at appreciated. Christianity, as the bishop important issue to make sure the human Maliana prison near Dili. said, rejects any form of violent and destruc- Page 36 East Timor Documents, Volume 40. Sept. 1 - November 3, 1995.

The remarks, said to have been made last CNRM STATEMENT ON EAST current Islamisation efforts have outraged Monday, were reportedly heard by prison the East Timorese, creating a new battle wardens and inmates, with the news spread- TIMOR YOUTH UPRISING front. A deep religious conflict is being fos- ing beyond the prison’s wall and angering 12 September 1995 tered as a new dimension of conflict in the the East Timorese. The official, identified as territory. The latest violence illustrates its Sanusi Abubakar, is currently in police de- Over the last few days East Timor has strength. tention. once again been rocked by violent distur- In a Radio Australia interview on 11 Sep- Albright told the press after a number of bances. The current wave of riots and public tember, East Timorese spiritual leader and meetings with Indonesian officials that the protest by East Timorese youths against the Nobel Peace Prize candidate, Bishop Xime- East Timor question is important to Ameri- consequences of the illegal Indonesian occu- nes Belo, has strongly condemned the op- cans. pation of the territory is the most intense pression, injustice, corruption, and disre- “The situation in East Timor is some- and widespread so far. Youths protest spect for human dignity which characterises thing of interest to the US government as against Islamisation, immigration and eco- the present situation under Indonesian rule. well as to the American people, and I have nomic exploitation by Indonesian occupiers. Bishop Belo also deplores the dishonesty generally spoken about the importance we The latest violence was sparked by insulting and hypocrisy of Indonesian authorities, attach to some resolutions of the issue,” she comments from an Indonesian prison official whose repeated past premises to improve said. against the Catholic faith, espoused by the the situation have all proven to be empty. She added that Washington supports the great majority of East Timorese. As a result, the Bishop concludes, the Indo- current talks between Indonesia and Portu- The military authorities have acted vio- nesian government has lost its credibility gal, the former colonial ruler of East Timor, lently against the demonstrators. Over 400 with many East Timorese people. to settle the question of East Timor’s sover- arrests (Radio Netherlands, 12 September) Asked for views out of the present situa- eignty. and at least 4 deaths (Reuters, 11 Septem- tion, the Bishop calls for radical changes of The talks are continuing under the aus- ber) have occurred. Indonesian military au- policy in East Timor. The authorities need pices of UN Secretary-General Boutros thorities deny these reports, as well as the to acknowledge their own failures, rather Boutros-Ghali. accusations that brutal torture is being ap- than merely putting the protestors at fault, Albright said she had “commended Presi- plied to the detainees, claiming that the he adds. dent Soeharto on some of the actions that he situation is back to normal. In a message of support to the East has taken to improve the economic situation Reports from Dili indicate that arbitrary Timorese youth revolt, jailed Resistance (in East Timor), but also did say that we arrests continue, and new forms of torture leader Xanana Gusmão wrote on 11 Sep- considered it very important for progress to are being utilised in questioning, such as tember that there can be no peaceful coexis- be made on the subject.” inflicting cuts with razor blades and pouring tence with the occupiers of East Timor Albright stressed the need for further im- salt into the wounds. while they carry out a physical, ethnic and provements, in both economic and human Local military leaders, as well as the In- cultural genocide of the people. Xanana rights conditions, in East Timor. donesian Politics and Security Affairs Min- Gusmão said that these last 20 years of Alatas expressed a hope that the Dili in- ister stated that harsh measures will be colonialist repression have led the territory cidents last week would not cause further taken against the protesters. Such manifesta- to be flooded with people belonging to the trouble on the international scene. “Hope- tions of popular discontent against the un- lowest social stratum of Indonesia. Such fully the people involved in exploiting the acceptable conditions are usually met by people comprise the most uncultured and issue have been identified and will be inves- strong military repression and violence, poor of Indonesia, a country seemingly tigated through legal procedures,” he said. without any genuine attempt to address the unable to survive on the basis of its own Appeals for calm and restraint have come root causes of the problem, that is, the development, so that it needs to usurp the from the military as well as Dili Bishop heavy handed illegal Indonesian occupation land and resources of its neighbours. Xanana Carlos Felipe Belo, the head of the Roman and its harsh colonialist nature. Gusmão added that “the colonialists shame- Catholic Church in East Timor. In addition to the brutality of the Indone- lessly insult our Faith and our Beliefs, pre- Yesterday, Governor Abilio José Osorio sian occupation army since the 1975 inva- tending thus to destroy the spiritual founda- Soares called an assembly of all employees sion, and the repression and ongoing viola- tions of the East Timorese people.” of the provincial administration and re- tion of human rights, a recent source of Speaking in Sydney, Australia, CNRM minded them of their responsibility to main- grievance for the East Timorese has been the Special Representative, José Ramos Horta tain order. strong colonisation of the territory by Indo- called upon Australian Prime Minister He also told his staff that he would pun- nesian transmigrants, mostly Moslem small Keating to use his coming visit to Jakarta, to ish anyone who took part in the riots. traders and farmers. With the support of the forcefully raise the East Timor issue with In Jakarta, the secretary-general of the authorities, these newcomers increasingly Indonesian President Suharto. “The unac- ministry of religious affairs, Ahmad Gozali, displace the local population from economic ceptable current situation can simply not be said the Ministry has asked the directorate activity and from their land, while actively allowed to continue. This situation is very general of Catholic community guidance to trying to impose their faith. As a result, detrimental not only to the East Timorese, follow up on the reports of the riots. East Timorese are becoming economically but also to Australian and Indonesian inter- The chairman of the Indonesian Ulemas marginalised in their own land. Now, even ests. All sides, including Indonesia, would Council, Hasan Basri has also called for the their basic religious beliefs are coming under derive much benefit from a radical change of formation of a fact-finding team to look into attack, as illustrated by the prison official’s policy, seeking a genuine and internationally the riots. remarks. acceptable solution of the East Timor issue Military attacks on the Catholic Church, without further delay. Such a solution re- seen as the strongest bastion of protection quires entering into talks with the East of the East Timorese people against Indone- Timorese Resistance.” sian oppression, have increased in past Horta added that as a responsible neigh- months. Indonesian military support for bour, Australia should use its influence in East Timor Documents, Volume 40. September 1 - November 3, 1995 Page 37 in Jakarta to help induce such a change of TEN PEOPLE ARRESTED administration and two to the police, were policy. Only then will it be possible to re- either set on fire or badly damaged. move the most serious stumbling block to FOR TORCHING MARKET IN The list of those seriously injured include the desired close neighbourly relations be- DILI eight members of the East Timor police, tween Australia and Indonesia. “Unless East three troopers from the Dili military district Timorese rights and aspirations are re- Jakarta Post, September 13, 1995 and five civilians – all Komoro market trad- spected, the hoped for peace in the region DILI, East Timor (JP): Police announced ers. Everyone was still under intensive care will be hard to attain, much to the detriment yesterday that they have arrested 10 people at the Dili general hospital yesterday. of all regional peoples.” believed to be the main culprits behind the Sugianto appealed to all East Timorese to arson that razed the Komoro market last cooperate with the police to restore calm XANANA GUSMÃO’S Saturday. and order. STATEMENT OF SUPPORT East Timor Police Chief Col. Andreas “The public must stay alert against pos- Sugianto told reporters that the 10 were the sible attempts to provoke,” he said, adding TO EAST TIMORESE YOUTH “brains” behind the fire that destroyed 200 that the provocateurs usually distribute UPRISING kiosks and their entire contents. leaflets exploiting ethnic and religious issues The market, on a two-hectare site, was Via CNRM, Sept. 13. set on fire in the early hours on Saturday. AI: ARREST/TORTURE Being faithful to the principles of our Not a single structure was left standing, UPDATE struggle, and considering that there can be no only debris from the buildings and their contents remained, witnesses said. peaceful coexistence with the occupiers of AI Index: ASA 21/45/95, 14 Sept. 1995 our homeland who are carrying out a physi- Sugianto said police are now questioning cal, ethnic and cultural genocide of our peo- the suspects and searching for others who Further information on UA 216/95 (ASA ple; may have taken part in the arson. “We are 21/44/95, 11 September 1995) — Fear of Being also faithful to the most supreme resolved to catch every person who took Torture. Up to 22 still detained after riots, aspirations of the a thousand times heroic part in the brutal riot that caused misery to including: Maubere Peoples, and taking into account the people.” ·Julio Ricardo Smith that these last 20 years of colonialist repres- He declined to give details of the sus- ·Fernando Tilma sion have led to or homeland to be flooded pects already detained, other than saying ·Antonio with people belonging the lowest social that they were known as “trouble makers” ·Zito Valente stratum of Indonesia. These people com- although they had never previously been Up to 22 individuals are believed to still prise the most uncultured and poor of Indo- convicted. be detained in Dili as a result of rioting nesia, a country seemingly unable to survive The Komoro market fire was the result of which began on 8 September. Amnesty on the basis of its own development, so that one of a series of riots that rocked the capi- International’s fears that those in detention it needs to usurp our land and our resources; tal of East Timor during the weekend. There are at serious risk of beatings and torture Faithful to the blood spilled by more were no casualties but scores, including have been heightened by reports that some than 200,000 sons and daughters of East security officers, were injured, with some have already been severely beaten. Timor, and to the past sacrifices of our needing hospital treatment. Reports of the number of detainees con- People, and considering that the colonialists The government confirmed the riots had tinue to be conflicting. On 12 September, shamelessly insult our Faith and our Beliefs, ethnic and religious connotations with most East Timor Police Chief Andreas Sugianto pretending thus to destroy the spiritual victims being non-East Timorese who have stated that the police had arrested 10 “ring- foundations of the East Timorese people; settled in the territory. leaders” responsible for the burning of a As a war leader, unable to stop the force The riots began after word got out that a market in Dili and that out of 16 arrested of our People’s determination, local justice ministry official working in a earlier for their role in the demonstrations, I, Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão, leader of correctional facility had made remarks that nine had already been released. Sugianto was CNRM and Commander of Falintil, hereby denigrated Roman Catholicism, the main quoted as saying that the police were pre- publicly express my support to the acts of religion of East Timor. paring to make further arrests. On the same genuine revolt by the populations of Bau- The Komoro market was dominated day however, Sugianto was quoted in an cau, Ermera and Viqueque. mainly by migrants from South Sulawesi, as Indonesian newspaper Republika as stating I also express my full support for the are most markets in East Timor. that 53 had been arrested. acts of rejection by the Dili population, The markets in Oponaro in the Maliana Non-government sources say that up to where 52 compatriots have been detained by regency, same in Manufahi regency, and in 22 people may still be detained and that the the colonialist forces. Viqueque were also razed to the ground by total number arrested since 8 September I salute the three young people stabbed arsonists on Saturday. In Bobonaro, two may have been as high as 80. The majority to death by Indonesian transmigrants. junior high school buildings were set on fire, of this group are high school students. Dili’s With a clenched fist raised high, I will according to Antara. Catholic Bishop, Bishop Belo was reported shout together with the whole warring Migrants complained of harassment as saying that by 11 September, 36 had been arrested, and 12 of these had been injured as youth: when they ventured out of their homes dur- Out of East Timor with the Indonesian ing the weekend. Cars were overturned and police broke up a demonstration. AI has colonialists! Homeland or death! To resist is set on fire and buildings and houses were received the names of three individuals, Julio to win ! The struggle continues, without also pelted during the riots. Ricardo Smith, Fernando Tilma, and Anto- truce on all fronts! Sugianto did not have estimates of the to- nio, arrested on 8 September and believed to On behalf of CNRM tal material losses resulting from the fires be currently detained at the military intelli- Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão and riots. gence unit (Satuan Tugas Intelijen — SGI) Commander of Falintil He said the losses include nine motorcy- of the Sub-Regional Military Command for Cipinang Prison 10 September 1995 cles and four cars – two belonging to the East Timor (KOREM 164/Wira Dharma). Page 38 East Timor Documents, Volume 40. Sept. 1 - November 3, 1995.

Zito Valente is also believed to be currently group), an expression referring to issues who allegedly made insulting remarks about detained. which could lead to conflict. Bishop Belo Catholicism. But Belo stressed that the To AI’s knowledge the authorities have has stated that the cause of the riots is the incidents were only the tip of the iceberg. still not provided names of those detained or failure of the Indonesian Government to Belo said he wanted frank and “commu- precise details of the charges they will face. address “religious and ethnic tension” in nicative” dialogs that involved representa- The organization is concerned that those in East Timor. Independent sources allege that tives from the government and various other detention do not yet have access to inde- the military have provoked the unrest by groups. pendent lawyers, consistent with the fre- disseminating information about the state- According to Belo, dialogs have taken quent denial of access to independent legal ment of the prison official in Maliana. place but they have been “instructive” advice for political detainees in East Timor. RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send rather than two-way communications, with At least two individuals are known to telegrams/express/airmail letters in English the government taking the initiative. have been severely beaten by police or mili- or your own language: “Such an instructive approach has tary in detention. One eyewitness has re- proven to create more problems rather than · urging the Indonesian authorities to pro- ported meeting an 18-year-old youth de- resolve the existing ones,” he said. vide details of the whereabouts of all tained in Dili police custody from 8 to 12 Rivai said that cases of rioting and social those detained in Dili since 8 September, September. The youth showed signs of in East Timor are usually triggered by con- as well as any specific charges that are to severe beatings, including bruising and bleed- flicts related to the sensitive of race and be brought against them; ing. Nonetheless, the authorities have denied religion. that any of those arrested are at risk of tor- · calling for all possible measures to be “Rioting and social unrest usually occur ture. While Amnesty International under- taken to ensure the safety of the detain- because people do not know how to manage stands that the International Committee of ees; their differences,” he said. the Red Cross (ICRC) has been given access · calling on the authorities to allow contin- In a recent interview with the Jakarta to the prisoners, there is concern that such ued access for those in detention to the Post, Bishop Belo said that the recent flurry access in the past has not always provided International Committee of the Red of religious and ethnic violence and the local sufficient protection against torture. It is Cross, lawyers of their own choice and people’s frustrations stem from numerous also not clear whether the ICRC has been their families social injustices. able to visit all those in detention. “Students who went on the rampage on AI has also received the names of three MILITARY SUPPORTS the streets of Dili had, in their minds, tales individuals alleged to have been shot in Dili told by their parents, relatives and friends since 8 September. Two of the three are DIALOG TO EASE TIMOR about how frustrating conditions in East alleged to have died as a result. AI cannot TENSION Timor have become,” he said. confirm these reports. He said that many indigenous people are Jakarta Post, September 16, 1995 FURTHER BACKGROUND frustrated to find more skilled migrants INFORMATION DILI, East Timor (JP): The military dominating political and economic activities would fully support Bishop Carlos Filipe in the territory. The rioting began on 6 September in Ma- Ximenes Belo’s proposal for a frank dialog liana, some 120km west of Dili, following to help solve the numerous problems in the local anger about government inaction over a CNRM UPDATE ON EAST territory. statement made by a prison official in Ma- TIMOR RIOTS East Timor officials have, in fact, engaged liana deemed to be insulting to the Catholic in talks but they have yet to be institution- faith. On 7 September news about the issue CNRM East Timor, Sept. 18 alized, Maj. Gen. Abdul Rivai, chief of the had spread to the town of Viqueque, where Udayana Military Command, who oversees The following information regarding the trading stores belonging to Indonesian mi- security in Bali, Nusa Tenggara and East riots that rocked East Timor between 7 and grants were burnt down. On 8 September, Timor, said here Thursday. 12 September 1995, has been received from demonstrations broke out in six different “An open and communicative dialog be- a credible source in Indonesia. It shows that locations of Dili. On 9 September, the tween East Timorese and the government the violence had its origin in frustration with Comoro Market was burnt down, while could be effective to solve problems here,” lack of response by government authorities police and military continued to attempt to said Rivai, who assumed his post on Mon- to written popular protests against insults disperse demonstrators in several areas day replacing Maj. Gen. Adang Ruchiatna. to the Catholic religion by Indonesian gov- around Dili. Witnesses report the use of tear Bishop Belo proposed an open dialog ernment officials, and in the excessive use of gas by the authorities on both 8 and 9 Sep- earlier on Thursday when he met with activ- force by members of the security apparatus tember. By 10 September, the demonstra- ists of the powerful pro-government Pe- to repress protests. tors appeared to have dispersed; however muda Pancasila youth organization. The 14 September reports states: The tension remained as the security forces con- Belo is generally seen as a unifying force Dili riots were caused directly by mass an- tinued with their arrests. Also on 10 Sep- in East Timor, a predominantly Roman ger over the action of a jail official at the jail tember, unrest occurred again in Maliana and Catholic, ex-Portuguese colony of about in Maliana, where on 2 September at a in Manatuto. Three individuals were also ‘spiritual guidance’ session a man named SA 800,000 people which integrated with Indo- believed to have been arrested in Manatuto nesia in 1976. made defamatory statements about Catholi- on 10 September, but were released shortly He made the suggestion in the wake of re- cism, witnessed by both jail officials and afterwards. ligious and ethnic violence in the streets of prisoners. The witnesses wrote a statement, Indonesian Foreign Minister Ali Alatas Dili. About a dozen people were arrested, sent to the Governor of East Timor, which has denied that the cause of the riots is East several houses destroyed, vehicles torched was subsequently leaked. As there was no Timor’s political status, but rather SARA, and a market burned down last week. reaction from the Governor, a demonstration an Indonesian acronym for suku (ethnic), The series of violent incidents were broke out in Maliana on 6 September, fol- agama (religion), ras (race), golongan (social sparked by a local justice ministry official East Timor Documents, Volume 40. September 1 - November 3, 1995 Page 39 lowed by a riot between demonstrators and for involvement in the recent riots would One other response of his was this one: security officials. soon be tries. Others, mostly high school Question: Why were these problems (re- On 7 September Makassarese kiosks students, have been released. ligious, inter-ethnic tensions) responded to were burnt in Viqueque. The people had (by the East Timorese) with violence. Why previously heard about the ‘Maliana issue’ BELO CRITICISES ABRI ON couldn’t peaceful means have been used, for and this made them angry with the new THE DILI RIOTS example? arrivals. By chance also that day a local Answer: What you are proposing has Cooperatives chairman was beaten up by a Received from a contact in Jakarta: been tried for the past 20 years. We East policeman. People vented their anger by Timorese like to deal with things immedi- burning kiosks. The latest edition of Gatra magazine con- tains a feature story on the recent riots in ately. If people (the implication is the gov- On 8 September at 8:30 am demonstra- ernment, ABRI) come to me asking for help, tions occurred simultaneously in various Dili and elsewhere which the Indonesian government is typically referring to as the I’m expected to respond that very same villages within Dili to protest against SA’s day. However, our association with Indone- actions. The demonstrations turned into result of “SARA"-related (Suku, Agama, Ras, Antar-golongoan) tensions, involving sia has taught us the good old (Indonesian) riots between the masses and security offi- principle of “nanti dulu” (hold on, wait a cials because the latter over-reacted making the indigenous East Timorese and migrants from various Indonesian provinces. The minute!). “Nanti” could refer to today, to- people angry. In some places security offi- morrow, next year or never! cials were able to disperse the demonstra- reporting is, as ever, lopsided, but the fea- Comment from CNRM Director Gen- tions by noon time. In the villages Kuluhan, ture does present some statistics tabling eral: Becora, Lahane and Audian the situation percentages of native East Timorese and remained tense and could not be controlled migrants and total numbers of Muslims/ The above message was received by until nightfall. mosques etc. which is quite interesting. The CNRM from Jakarta. It provides comments On Saturday 9 September the markets at source of the data on religion/ places of wor- on an article in the latest issue of the Indo- Comoro in Dili were burnt. The atmosphere ship is stated as being the provincial office nesian magazine Gatra. The article, and the on that day remained tense, there was no of the Department of Religious Affairs, but comments are of interest. So are the excerpts activity and the city was deserted. In some I’m not sure about the general population of an interview with Bishop Belo which are places such as Kuluhan, Lahane, Audian and statistics. included. It shows how one of the funda- Matadoru, security officials and demonstra- 1985 1990 mental problems hindering East Timorese tors had a stand-off. Each side built barri- Natives 602,117 (95%) 700,875 (93%) integration is the cultural inability or refusal cades without attempting to attack the other Immigrants 28,459 (5%) 46,682 (7%) of the East Timorese to accept the corrupt side, except by exchanging insults. The Total 630,676 747,557 and oppressive Indonesian system of gov- number of demonstrators detained was ernment, which people in Indonesia seem to Islam: Total adherents in East Timor have resigned themselves to accepting as about 80 people, most of them junior and and Muslim Places of worship senior high school students. From other something they can not but submit to. From reports it is clear that torture was exten- year adherents mosques prayer houses this perspective, clearly the ongoing resis- sively used for questioning. 1976 500* 1 0 tance of the East Timorese is a fundamental 1980 3,677 threat to the Suharto regime, as it provides RIGHTS COMMISSION TO 1990 10,818 7 37 an example of resistance and opposition to the Regime for Indonesians. PROBE EAST TIMOR RIOTS 1995 28,212 11 41 * estimate/rough guess This is clearly noticeable in the growing interest and support of Indonesian pro- AP, 18 September 1995. Abridged The feature includes an interview with Bishop Belo. The most salient feature of the democracy activists for the East Timor The National Commission on Human cause, and the influence of East Timorese in Rights said Monday it will investigation piece is his recommendation (again) that East Timor be granted special status as a Java in encouraging Indonesians to challenge allegations of abuses by Indonesian troops the Regime. in East Timor as well as recent riots there predominantly Catholic “province.” How- ever, he makes it plan in the interview that It is remarkable that Suharto has seem- that left one person dead. ingly not yet realised that in addition to the Meanwhile the army said rebels in East the causes of the recent violence and distur- bances are far more fundamentally political enormous international costs of the East Timor shot and killed a civilian Saturday in Timor issue, this new dimension is likely to the Bobonaro district. Ten rebels from Fre- in nature than the SARA label is capable of explaining. In quite frank terms, the Bishop provide one of the costliest and most dan- tilin (sic) fled into the jungle after shooting gerous threats for the Regime. A rational the man, said Col. M. Simbolon, military criticises ABRI and the government for repeatedly refusing to engage in peaceful assessment would probably conclude that it commander.. He said troops were hunting is very much in the interest of the Suharto for guerrillas. dialogue with the East Timorese whilst at the same time demanding, with each erup- regime to withdraw from East Timor as a In Jakarta, the National Commission sec- matter of urgency. Opponents to the regime, retary-general, Baharuddin Lopa said some tion of violence, that he, as Bishop, play the role of pacifier/peace promoter with the on the other hand, clearly see the usefulness ten officials would travel soon to East of the East Timor issue for their efforts to local populace. “Why am I asked to come Timor to investigate the riots earlier this bring down the regime. month. He said the Commission had re- and to order the people to calm down, to ceived requests from the Muslim Council of return to their homes and stay out of trouble Ulemas and Muslim community leaders to when that same evening these people are conduct an investigation because of the at- called up and beaten by the police. Some- tacks on mosques. times this capacity of mine to restore order Police chief Col. Andreas Sugianto said and calm is plainly exploited (by the gov- 20 of 52 East Timorese protesters arrested ernment ... to promote its own less than peaceful objectives! -ed.). Page 40 East Timor Documents, Volume 40. Sept. 1 - November 3, 1995.

ETCHRIET- URGENT ACTION which were confiscated. UNTIM: East agencies, to ensure these people are treated Timor University. in accordance to accepted standards. The 27 DETAI NED The first 24 are being held at Police HQ communication adds “According to separate East Timor Centre for Human Rights Infor- (polwil) Dili; the last three at Military dis- reports received, and consistent with habit- mation, Education and Training trict HQ in Manatuto ual practice, the detainees are said to be subjected to torture. It is also common prac- URGENT ACTION REQUEST No. 1-9/95 INDONESIA INCREASES tice by Indonesian authorities to arbitrarily Date: 23 Sep. 95 MILITARY PRESENCE arrest people, torture them, and then force ETCHRIET has received the following the victims to sign confessions acknowledg- list of 27 names East Timorese detained by CNRM Media Release, 24 September 95 ing acts they have never committed.” the Indonesian security forces following 8- TIMOR MILITARY BUILD UP DENIED 16 September riots in East Timor. East Timorese arrested We ask your assistance to seek support East Timorese sources inform of impor- The Irish Times, 25th September 1995. and intervention from relevant agencies, to tant arrivals of Indonesian troops in the JAKARTA; An Australian pro- ensure these people are treated in accor- territory’s capital Dili, following uprisings independence group for East Timor claimed dance to accepted standards. According to on September 9-16 in protest against in- in a statement yesterday that the Indonesian separate reports received, and consistent creasing religious harassment, and growing military had stepped up it’s presence in the with habitual practice, the detainees are said pressures by Indonesian colonisers on the territory in the wake of violent religious to be subjected to torture. It is also common local population. conflict this month. The National Council of practice of Indonesian authorities to arbi- On 11 September an Indonesian navy Maubere Resistance, CNRM, said in a trarily arrest people, torture, and force them ship unloaded two battalions of commandos statement that on September 11th a navy to sign confessions acknowledging acts they in Dili. They were immediately deployed in ship “unloaded two battalions of comman- have never committed. the streets of the city, and are now based at dos in Dili, and that they were deployed in Name from place of de- Taibessi, the former Portuguese military the streets of the city.” The army spokes- tention headquarters. The same ship brought four man, Brig. Gen. Hadikarso, however, José Carvalho Dili-Audian Polwil in Dili military trucks loaded with huge equipment claimed no increase in military presence. He Paulo Gorge Ly Dili- “ cases bound to Aileu. said that there could not have been military Vilaverde Only two weeks ago, with much public- exercises on September 18th George Bidau “ ity, Indonesia announced the removal of two Agapito Marcal Bidau “ battalions from the territory. CNRM has for KWI BLAMES FRUSTRATION Antonio Soares Balide “ a long time denounced that Indonesian Paulo Ximenes Comoro “ claims of troop withdrawals are not credible. FOR RIOTS Troop removals are merely personnel rota- Pereira AFP, 26 September 1995. Abridged Jacinto A. Cabral UNTIM “ tions. Fernando de Je- “ On 18 September, a huge three day mili- Jakarta – A conference of Roman Catho- sus tary exercise was staged in Aileu, led by lic Bishops Tuesday blamed a new wave of Adelina Alau “ “ President Suharto’s son in law, Col. unrest in East Timor on deep frustration Domingos Amaral “ “ Prabowo. Several hundred East Timorese among indigenous workers at an influx of Angelino Marcos “ “ conscripts were made to take part in this migrants. “Religious sensitivity was only Amandio Fernan- “ “ exercise. the trigger for a deeper feeling of frustration, des It is suspected the East Timorese are be- disappointment and hopelessness... Many Quintino Gusmão “ “ ing trained to take part in a new military East Timorese feel as if they are being mar- Victor dos Santos “ “ offensive planned to start in October. ginalised in their own home,” a statement Victor Doloroso “ “ Given the Indonesian military’s failure so from the Bishops Conference, KWI said. Lucas Bere “ far to control the East Timorese Resistance, The statement was commenting on a se- Noel da Costa “ “ since early this year a new Indonesian army ries of riots in several East Timorese towns Augusta Rosario “ “ strategy has been evident, namely to localise last month that led to the burning of mar- Yosep Asa(*) “ “ the conflict by recruiting East Timorese kets, places of worship, vehicles and private Dircia Barreto Camea “ through coercion or financial inducement. property. The statement noted that mi- Marito Mota Kuluhun “ CNRM has already reported several times grants with greater skills and capital have Fernando Tilman “ “ on the recruitment of thugs to serve in the come to dominate the retail sector, the gov- Julio Smith Lahane “ ‘ninja’ groups that terrorise the civilian ernment and the military in East Timor. Dedi Bidau “ population. This reckless policy of pitting “There are many deep wounds and trau- Anino (27yrs) Manatuto Kodim Manatuto East Timorese against East Timorese is matic experiences that have made the local Jaimito “ “ highly damaging for future peace and har- population quickly suspicious of all mi- Sousa(23yrs) mony in the already profoundly traumatised grants, especially when they see more and Anoco (32yrs) “ “ territory. more migrants arriving and turning into their Meanwhile a list of 27 names of people competitors” in the labour market, it said. NOTES: (*) Yosep Asa is not East detained following the September 8-16 up- In this situation, a tiny event can easily Timorese, but Indonesian. Anino, Jaimito rising in East Timor has been released by the be seen out of proportion, become general- and Anoco were captured in Manatuto on East Timor Centre for Human Rights Infor- ised and trigger unrest,” the statement said. 16/9/95 upon their return from a meeting. mation, Education, and Training. In an ‘Ur- It called on the government to accord the They were carrying an East Timorese na- gent Action’ appeal to international human territory “a status in line with the unity of tional flag, documents and audio tapes, rights protection bodies, the Centre asks for the Republic of Indonesia, to guarantee that support and intervention from relevant the normalisation process there take place East Timor Documents, Volume 40. September 1 - November 3, 1995 Page 41 without cultural shocks, without alienation.” Indonesian police for a week after the riots. plaguing the predominantly Roman Catholic The KWI also suggested that the rule of law He said his arms had been tied behind back province. be upheld, included by the security and the and electric shock wires attached to his ‘The incidents were an outburst of accu- military. shoulders and back in an attempt to make mulating problems,’ Marzuki said when The East Timor diocese is not a member him tell authorities the names of the ring- announcing the commission’s findings. of KWI as it answers directly to the Vati- leaders of the riots. The commission concluded that in the can. Tension is also running high in the East course of the rioting, there had been numer- Timorese town of Los Palos after the chief ous rights violations in the areas of religion, SUHARTO SAYS TIMOR of nearby Luro village, Mr. Adao Cabral, personal safety, property as well as the RIOTS SHOULD NOT BE was found dead in his house during the dis- right to be free of fear. turbances. Indonesian authorities said that Between Sept. 2 and 14, Dili saw youths EXAGGERATED his death was suicide but the local Timorese on the rampage. Migrants were harassed and community is convinced that Mr. Cabral their houses attacked, mosques and Protes- JAKARTA, Sept. 26 (Reuter) — Indo- was murdered by the military because of his tant churches vandalized, vehicles set on fire nesian President Suharto said the scale of campaign against the enforced conversions and market place burned down. recent riots in East Timor should not be of Catholic children attending the village The authorities have since arrested more exaggerated because it would only fuel ten- Muslim school. than a dozen rioters and detained the Ma- sions in the disputed territory, the official The Indonesian Government has denied liana prison official who allegedly insulted Antara news agency reported on Tuesday. that any deaths followed the latest violence, the church when he was addressing the in- It quoted Suharto as telling chairman of which it attributed to religious differences mates. the Indonesian Catholic Church Organisa- between local Timorese Catholics and Mus- Marzuki said that the relationship be- tion (KWI), Julius Darmoatmodjo, that lim Indonesian migrants. tween indigenous East Timorese and mi- Indonesians should not exaggerate the riots The first riots were reported on Sept. 8th grants, who dominate the local economy, are which rocked the former Portuguese colony in the western regional centre of Maliana, particularly sensitive. earlier this month. after a Muslim jail warden at the local The commission suggested that political Antara gave no other details. prison allegedly insulted the Catholic faith institutions in the province improve their During the riots, youths rampaged across and snapped a small cross in two. functions to better accommodate local the capital Dili attacking police and Moslem The East Timorese capital erupted needs. In addition, he said, local government immigrants after reports that an Indonesian shortly after, with gangs of youths burning officials, community leaders and the public official had insulted the Roman Catholic tyres and throwing rocks at army personnel need to improve communication. faith of the East Timorese majority. in the streets and the military replying with It also recommended, that local religious Police in East Timor said they would try tear gas and with some gunfire. The largest leaders hold more dialogs to address differ- 20 people this month for their role in the Dili market at Comoro was torched while in ences that may exist between the people of riots, the worst in the territory this year. the regional centres of Same, Bacau and different religions. Mainly Moslem Indonesia invaded East Mantuto, mosques were burnt, immigrants The commission’s report has elements in Timor in 1975 and annexed it the following terrorized and more Timorese youths ar- common with the findings of the Armed year in a move not recognised by the United rested. Forces. Nations, which regards Portugal as the ad- Chief of the Armed Forces Gen. Feisal ministering power. AVERSION TO Tanjung said during a recent hearing with GOVERNMENT POLICIES Commission I of the House of Representa- TEAR GAS AND TORTURE tives that the riots had their origins in three HIT DILI STUDENT SPARKED unrelated incidents: the announcement of PROTESTORS EAST TIMOR RIOTS results of the civil service entrance test, which angered those who were not admitted, Sydney Morning Herald, Sept. 30 1995 Sue Jakarta Post, October 3, 1995 remarks by an official that denigrated Ro- Neales — slightly abridged. Jakarta (JP): The National Commission man Catholicism, which is the main religion More than 70 youths were arrested, on Human Rights has attributed last in East Timor, and the marriage of two peo- many were tortured and four are missing and month’s religious and ethnic rioting in East ple from different churches, which fueled believed dead in the latest riots in East Timor to the many unresolved political and anger among the local people. Timor, according to students who witnessed social problems in the territory. Earlier, the government said the riots had the three days of protests and tension Strained relations between indigenous racial and religious characteristics because across the province two weeks ago. residents and migrants, poor communication the targets were the migrants, who are The Vice-Rector of the University of between the government and the people, mostly Moslem. East Timor, Mr. Armindo Maia, claimed continuing social conflict and malfunctioning Meanwhile, about 100 ulemas from Ja- that dozens of his students had been de- political institutions all contributed to the karta and its surrounding townships went to tained by the military after widespread riot- frustration that burst into the open between the House of Representatives yesterday to ing broke out on the streets of Dili on Sept. Sept. 2 and Sept. 14, the commission con- express their concern with the tension in 9th. Mr. Maia said that he could not con- cluded. East Timor. firm if any students died during the violence The spate of rioting in the capital Dili The delegation was received by Aisyah and ensuing imprisonment. But he said there was triggered by a Moslem prison official’s Amini of the Moslem-based United Devel- did appear to be some unexplained ‘disap- statement with offended local Catholics. opment Party, who is also chairwoman of pearances.’ Commission deputy chairman Marzuki Commission I for security and political One 17 year old youth told the Herald he Darusman said that the rioters were venting affairs, and two colleagues, Abu Hasan Sa- had been imprisoned and tortured by the their frustration at the numerous problems zili and Ali Rasjidi. Page 42 East Timor Documents, Volume 40. Sept. 1 - November 3, 1995.

Led by Nur Muhammad SQ, the ulemas EAST TIMOR RIOTS ‘BID TO independence struggle is not an attack on the and principals of Moslem boarding schools religion of the Indonesian settlers.” in Jakarta, Bogor, Tangerang and Bekasi SHAKE OFF YOKE’ Aditjondro condemned what he said was lodged a petition with the House, calling on PERTH, Australia, Oct. 6 (AFP) — the way the Indonesian government, media the government to take prompt actions to Outspoken Indonesian dissident George and Islamic leaders were trying to distort the solve the problem. Aditjondro claimed here Friday recent riots East Timor situation. “I appeal to Islamic The ulemas called on the government to in East Timor were part of an uprising by leaders to end their hypocrisy,” he said. establish a fact-finding mission to obtain the East Timorese to free themselves of a “They are supporting the Palestinian and clear data on what triggered the incident and new colonial yoke imposed by Indonesia. Bosnian liberation struggles, and also have the actual number of casualties. The Perth-based academic urged Indone- strong sympathy for minority Moslem They suggested a number of actions be sians to stop blaming East Timor’s Roman groups in the southern Philippines and taken, including a meeting to gather together Catholic Bishop, Monsignor Carlos Filipe Thailand engaged in similar struggles. So it is Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo of the Ximenes Belo, for a series of ethnic and hypocritical if you support one group of predominantly Roman Catholic region, ule- religious riots last month in which one per- colonised people who are of the same relig- mas, the National Commission on Human son was reportedly killed and 15 seriously ion, but deny another group self- Rights, the Armed Forces and the govern- injured in the former Portuguese colony. determination if they are of a different relig- ment. Aditjondro, now a lecturer in Asian stud- ion.” ies at Murdoch University here, was re- ‘PITCHED BATTLES’ sponding to a statement this week (Mon- RECENT ARRESTS day) by the Indonesian National Commis- Reuter, 2 October 1995, Abridged. sion on Human Rights accusing a group of TAPOL Report, 9 October 1995, based on Jakarta – Bands of East Timorese youths East Timorese of violating human rights fax from Dili, 5 October. have been fighting pitched battles at least during the disturbances. We have been requested to give wide twice in the past week, and a leader of Indo- He said: “The riots were simply an up- publicity to the following information about nesia’s civilian intelligence network in the rising by East Timorese to liberate them- arrests in East Timor since the events of 9 territory was injured, residents said on selves from the new colonial yoke after they September which we received from sources Monday. have been able to get rid of the Portuguese.” in East Timor: The local police chief, Colonel Andreas East Timor, a predominantly Catholic Arrests on 9 September, 1995 in sub- Sugianto, confirmed the incidents but denied area, was annexed by Jakarta in 1976, a year district Uatolari, district Viqueque: any involvement by intelligence officers or after Indonesian troops intervened in a civil 1. Mateus Lopes Pinto, former student at recruits in the clashes. war abandoned by the Portuguese. The East Timor University, 27 years old, Residents said by telephone from the United Nations still recognises Portugal as from Macadiqui Village, Osso-Lari. capital Dili that local youths had clashed the territory’s administering power. Indone- 2. Celestino Veigas, 34 years, peasant with unidentified outsiders in the suburbs of sia is largely a Muslim country. from Macadiqui. 3. Abel Waidera, 21 years, finished his Vemori and Vilaverde last Wednesday and Aditjondro estimates Indonesian settlers schooling at SMEA-Dili, from Friday respectively. represent about one third of East Timor’s Macadiqui. Locals believed the assailants were re- 900,000 population. He said “The latest Arrests on 9 September, 1995 in Dili: cruits of Indonesia’s extensive intelligence flare-up is not essentially an issue between 1. Mateus de Souza Guterres, 19 years, network, residents said, sparking a revenge the Catholic Church and Muslims.” “It is an third grade student at SMA 03, Dili, attack on the car of Aleso Cobra, believed to issue between East Timorese and Indonesian from Santa Cruz village. be the informal chief of the network. people(s). Indonesian settlers become the 2. José A Soares, 30 years, from Santa Aleso was badly injured in the attack and victims because they themselves have taken Cruz village. his car damaged, they said. part in victimising East Timorese people.” They were arrested on suspicion of being “It is a continuation of the troubles be- In the September disturbances, at least involved as rioters in the demonstrations to fore. We are still looking for those people two mosques and two Protestant churches protest against offensive remarks made involved in the incidents but we haven’t were burned down by angry East Timorese against the Catholic religion by Muslims. arrested anybody so far,” Sugianto told youths. Scores of shops, homes and vehicles They were arrested by police anti-riot Reuters by telephone. were also destroyed by rampaging East squads and SGI agents. Police have said 20 people would go on Timorese students in several towns, includ- Arrests on 16 September 1995 in Obrato trial soon for their role in the September ing the capital, Dili. and Behedan kampungs, district Manatuto: riots, the worst this year. Aditjondro asserts Indonesian settlers in 1. Angelo Almeida Godinho, from Santa Residents said the city remained tense, East Timor are not innocent victims. “They Cruz village, Dili a student at the Eco- with few people daring to go outside for fear are complicit in the occupation of the terri- nomics Faculty of Diponegoro Univer- of attacks by youth gangs apparently seek- tory by their presence, by taking over land, sity, Semarang, Central Java. ing Indonesian immigrants who have at- jobs and the economy,” he says. 2. Jaime Faustino da Silva, from Dili. tracted resentment over their control of “Indonesians should understand the feel- 3. Celestinho de Fatima Sousa, from Dili. Two others who were arrested in Obrato commerce in the territory. ings of the East Timorese. Often violence At least one other person, José Konis, cannot be separated from an independence managed to escape and flee: 1. Fernando do Carmo, Dili was badly injured after being attacked by struggle. For example, Indonesians attacked 2. Alexandrio de Jesus, Dili. unidentified youths during the recent Dutch, British and Japanese during our own Some remarks about all these detainees: clashes, residents said. Sugianto denied re- independence struggle after WW II. It was a * Angelo Almeida Godinho has been ar- ports his assailants were members of the struggle against occupation forces. It was rested four times by the armed forces intelligence network. not an attack on the religion of the occupa- (ABRI) and the intelligence (SGI) as a mem- tion forces. Similarly, the East Timorese ber of the clandestine front; he is a member East Timor Documents, Volume 40. September 1 - November 3, 1995 Page 43 of the students resistance organisation, Radio Hilversum and the UN Human security operation against the underground RENETIL. In August 1994, he took one Rights Commission, as well as interna- resistance. year’s leave from university to spend it tional and national organisations con- According to AP, the two dead have been with his family in East Timor. While on cerned about human rights abuses in East identified as Sarturi and Nelson. Local coun- leave, the 9 January 1995 demonstration Timor. cil member Manuel Carrascalão, who helped occurred at East Timor University. He was bring peace between the groups said the * Since 16 September, the three men have suspected of being the ‘brains’ behind the situation was tense Monday but has since been subjected to torture and interroga- incident and ABRI started hunting him calmed down. tion by ABRI and SGI. Sources say that down. He was one of 71 students who took According to Reuter, security forces they are being pressed to give informa- part in a demonstration in Jakarta on 19 sealed off the Dili suburb where the violence tion about the resistance network, the November 1991, one week after the Santra took place after scores had gathered earlier, strength of the Falintil and resistance Cruz massacre. apparently to attack migrants. Residents fronts based in various cities in East said that while the youths dispersed during * Jaime da Silva, Celestinho Souza, Fer- Timor. The families are not in a position the day they had gathered on street corners nando do Carmo and Alexandrio de Jesus to do anything because of the current po- at dusk leaving the town tense. have each been under arrest three or four litical situation in East Timor. times before. On each occasion, they ‘The youths are out there waiting for were freed after being forced to sign un- each other. Maybe tonight they will fight dertakings written by the military com- TWO DEAD: DILI TENSE again and people are scared to go out,’ one mand, Korem. student at the university said. BBC and other agencies, 10 October 1995. This standoff followed clashes Monday The two in hiding, Fernando do Carmo Summarised when youths protested against the arrest of and Alexandrio de Jesus are in Dili. They There has been more trouble in Indone- Bobby Xavier by stopping buses and other reported to the International Red Cross sian-controlled East Timor. Reports say transport and taking a Buginese trade hos- (ICRC) but were told that the ICRC could two people have been killed and at least one tage. Police later released Xavier. not give them any safeguards. Their families other injured in clashes between Timorese Although Timorese youth vented their do not know their present whereabouts. groups in the capital. The unrest started anger on Buginese, clashes between youth * The three arrested people mentioned Monday night after a house search by secu- gangs appeared to follow political alle- above and the two who have gone into rity forces for suspects allegedly involved in giances, with one side favouring Indonesian hiding were not involved in the SARA last month’s rioting. rule and the others opposing it, residents (ethnic, religious and race conflict) inci- Informed sources say the trouble started said. dents. Their cases are all political. after police detained a leading member of the The three people, Angelo Godinho, Jaime urban resistance, during a search in an area MORE SHOOTING IN DILI da Silva and Celestinho Sousa, were arrested of the city known for harbouring opponents as they were out in the street and taken to Indonesian rule. [Other agencies give the TAPOL Report, 11 October 1995 away for interrogation. When they were name of the man arrested as Bobby Xavier, We are receiving news that there has been interrogated and stripped naked, ABRI dis- a Timorese who we know as have been con- shooting in Dili today. According to con- covered bullets, documents about East victed and sentenced in 1991 in connection tacts there, shooting could still be heard at Timor, Falintil photos and an East Timor with the Motael Church killing two weeks around 11pm Wednesday local time. Details flag. During their interrogation they were before the Santa Cruz massacre. Bobby was are difficult to obtain but according to one beaten with firearms until unconscious. released from prison in Kupang about a year source, the shooting has been taken place in After coming round, they were driven under ago and has been active in the urban resis- three districts of Dili, Audian, Vila Verde heavy army escort to Kodim 1631, district tance ever since.] and Bairro Pite. One person named Doming- Manatuto. At Kodim, the torture continued Supporters of the arrested man then took gos Lie has been injured and taken to hospi- until their bodies were covered in blood and two police hostage demanded their col- tal. they fell unconscious again. Nevertheless league’s release. The confrontation escalated One of the people killed in Dili yester- the torture and interrogation continued re- into a street battle with a rival gang said to day, Sartorio, was buried today. He worked lentlessly, in an attempt to extract from be linked with the security forces. A as the head of a storehouse belonging to a them information about the resistance net- Timorese civil servant was stabbed to death private company and was just coming out work and events in East Timor during 1995. and police reportedly fired teargas to break on the street when he was caught up in the * ICRC officials in Dili were not allowed by up the fighting. melee and killed. His body was badly ABRI to visit the men to check on their The unrest continued Tuesday with fur- mauled. The other person who died yester- condition. Relatives are afraid to visit ther confrontations. One Timorese was day has been named as Salomao. them, fearing that they may be interro- kidnapped then killed, his body horribly Friday, 13 October is ‘vision day,’ com- gated or arrested. The families are very mutilated. Another man was injured. Many memorating the Fatima legend in Portugal. eager to get permission, free from intimi- residents believed the security forces pro- This is a day when processions normally dation, so as to check up on their state of voked the trouble to justify another crack- take place. health. The families fear for their safety down on the resistance. These suspicions People in Dili fear that conditions in the because of the possibility that they may are difficult to prove. What is not in doubt city may deteriorate, following the serious be executed. is the continuing potential for violence clashes of the past two days. More troops, among the Timorese themselves. Many are which the authorities say are riot-police, * Their present state of health and where- paid informants who spy on their fellow have been arriving in Dili. abouts are not known. The three men un- Timorese, a practice which observers say is der arrest and the two in hiding are eager poisoning society. for protection from the ICRC and for in- One well-placed resident in Dili said the ternational pressure from the BBC, ABC, trouble could be the prelude to another large Page 44 East Timor Documents, Volume 40. Sept. 1 - November 3, 1995.

EAST TIMOR GOVERNOR Sugianto told the news conference some difficulty leaving the house to see what is people had been detained, but did not say happening elsewhere. The level of tension is CALLS FOR ARMY TO how many or why. very high. Shooting can be heard most of the RESTORE CALM Residents said the situation had eased by time, most of it shooting into the air to keep the afternoon, but others said gangs contin- the population in a state of fear. DILI, East Timor, Oct. 11 (Reuter) — ued to blockade some neighbourhoods, The contact said that the military com- East Timorese governor Abilio Soares urged stopping cars and blocking public or gov- mand is under orders to take control of the Indonesia’s security forces on Wednesday ernment vehicles. streets and gain control of the city, meaning to restore order after gangs of youths ram- Others taunted rows of security forces that the young people who have been so paged through the capital in the worst un- standing some distance away, witnesses active must be prevented from carrying out rest in the territory this year. said. any more actions. Residents said youths armed with knives, Trucks loaded with troops, the only ve- The contact said a ‘vision-day’ proces- bamboo sticks and stones continued to hicles to be seen in many areas, patrolled the sion took place this morning in which many gather in several places around the city after streets, they said. Catholics took part. This proceeded without two days of violence, but said there had “The place is crawling with troops. They interference as far as the contact knows, but been no reports of further clashes since are just watching the youths and doing noth- as soon as it ended, the streets were cleared early on Wednesday when youths rampaged ing,” one journalist said. and troops proceeded with their operation through the streets of Dili burning tyres and Shops were shut and only a few buses to take control of the streets. destroying cars. were operating. The contact said that everything should “I appeal to the security apparatus to Indonesia has ruled East Timor with an be done outside to bring pressure to bear on immediately restore order to Dili and take iron grip since its invasion 20 years ago, the forces of occupation to end the reign of legal action against whoever is involved,” fighting guerrillas and trying to quash linger- terror. Clearly, conditions in East Timor will Soares told a news conference, flanked by ing civilian opposition. continue to be tense during the coming local military and police commanders. It has defended its rule, saying it has months because of so many anniversaries: Soares said Wednesday’s rioting followed poured millions of dollars into infrastruc- 28 October, fourth anniversary of the killing the Monday killing of a public servant ture, education and health. of Sebastião Gomes in 1991; 12 November, named Saloman da Costa Soares. He said a the Santa Cruz Massacre; and 7 December, second person, Sertanio Aranjo, a youth SIMBOLON DENIES USE OF the 20th anniversary of the Indonesian inva- from out of town, was killed on Tuesday as FIREARMS sion. revenge. Translated from the Portuguese, abridged Unrest in mainly Roman Catholic East Timor has taken a new twist this year with Dili, October 12 (LUSA) — Colonel ARMY STRIKES HARD youths venting their frustration along ethnic Simbolon, military commander of East NRC Handelsblad, 12 October 1995. By and religious lines. Timor, denied today to journalists that the Dirk Vlasblom, Slightly abridged Riots have swept several cities since military are using firearms to disperse dem- January with Timorese attacking Indonesian onstrators. Simbolon admitted that dozens Jakarta – Last night the Indonesian mili- immigrants, most of them Moslem. of people have been arrested in an operation tary used violent methods in Dili for the This week’s violence was apparently by the security forces, but added that these first time in months. They fired indiscrimi- sparked by local gang warfare between used only tear gas and “matracas” [not sure nately and used teargas to disperse groups youths who support Indonesian rule and what this is]. Residents in Dili contacted by of rebellious youths that had put up barri- those who oppose it, however. phone reported that the soldiers “fire on cades in various parts of the city. Today the Police chief Andreas Sugianto told everything and everyone” and talk of a mas- army has continued its operations in Dili. Reuters earlier six youths had been arrested sacre. Hundreds of young Timorese have been and 12 people badly injured, including two General Adiwijoyo, spokesperson for the waging urban guerrilla fighting in Dili since police officers. He told the news conference Indonesian Army, declared to Antara news Monday which has already resulted in two those involved would be arrested if they did agency in Jakarta that “the problems in Dili deaths. They were fighting against support- not turn themselves in. can be resolved through normal procedures, ers of integration and against immigrants “We know where all the offenders live with no need to resort to excessive security from various parts of Indonesia. and only need to summon them and if they measures.” Yesterday, the Governor of East Timor, don’t answer we will come for them,” he Abilio Osorio Soares, appealed to the army told the conference. SITUATION IN DILI and the police to restore order. The military commander of the region, Colonel Mahidin Soares added: “If they don’t want to VERY TENSE come after being summoned three times, Simbolon, said it would take two days to then we can play rough.” TAPOL Report, 12 October 1995 restore order. His units have blocked off Residents said scores of youths and whole neighbourhoods for the past 24 hours A contact in Dili told TAPOL at 4pm and made dozens of arrests. Police and sol- troops were still locked in stand-offs in Dili time today that all the streets and several parts of the capital. diers in combat uniform have been patrolling houses in the city are being watched and “We can’t go out because all the streets the streets constantly. One young boy was surrounded with a high presence of troops hit in the face by a bullet and taken to hos- are blocked by the youths. The situation is and police on the streets. tense,” one resident said. pital in a serious condition. The contact said it is impossible to leave As for the background to the recent un- Sugianto said youths took three police the house because it is being watched and officers hostage, one a captain, releasing rest, several versions are circulating. Gover- guarded by troops. Many houses are being nor Soares said that on Monday, fighting them after an unknown number of Timorese entered and searched. The contact knows were freed from detention by the military. broke out between two gangs of youths, one that there have been many arrests but the led by Bobby Xavier, a well-known anti- precise figure is not known because of the East Timor Documents, Volume 40. September 1 - November 3, 1995 Page 45

Indonesian activist, and the other led by The mopping up operation began late on security forces had detained 120 East Alexio Cobra. [Cobra was named earlier this Thursday, residents said, and continued on Timorese during the unrest. He did not give year as the man who organised the Ninja Friday as troops and police lined several a timeframe or say whether the youths gangs.] According to the Governor, Cobra streets taunting and sometimes hitting pass- would be charged. destroyed Xavier’s car after which fierce ers-by. The soldiers were injured in the crack- fighting flared up. Two people were killed “Most of us are not foolish enough to down, he said. during the fighting, one a civil servant from send our children out in a situation like this. “The situation is under control now,” the public works, Salamao da Costa Gomes, We know who these troops are. They have Rivai, chief of the Bali-based Udayana mili- 18, and Sartanio Araujo, 38. The victims been here 20 years and will take them away tary region which covers East Timor, told died from stab wounds and slashings with even if they do nothing wrong,” one female reporters before leaving the territory by machetes. resident said. plane. Manuel Carrascalão, member of the re- Jakarta annexed East Timor in 1976 in a The crackdown follows four days of un- gional assembly, has a different version. He move not recognised by the United Nations. rest in the capital, the worst this year, in says all hell broke loose when Bobby Xavier It has defended its rule, saying it has poured which gang warfare turned to stand-offs resisted arrest by the army because they did millions of dollars into infrastructure, educa- between youths and security forces. not produce a warrant. According to the tion and health. At least two people have been killed and police, Xavier was involved in anti- Most shops, schools and governments more than a dozen seriously injured in the Indonesia demonstrations in 1991 which offices remained shut. former Portuguese colony which Indonesia ended in the bloody massacre. Eventually he One witness reported seeing four large invaded in 1975. was arrested, according to Carrascalão, military vehicles manned by special forces Residents said security forces in full riot whereupon groups of youngsters went to troops patrolling the streets of the former gear had marched since dark through Dili’s kampungs inhabited by Sulawesi migrants Portuguese colony, with soldiers singing suburbs, some firing volleys into the air, and pro-Indonesian East Timorese and took military songs and shouting “viva Indone- terrifying residents and hauling away sus- three policemen hostage. On Wednesday sia” as they passed. pects. morning, the policemen were released when It was not clear whether the military had “They came here shouting ‘Come out- the army released some of the East restored order in all neighbourhoods, many side, East Timorese dogs.’ I saw with my Timorese who had been arrested. of them locked in stand-offs not only with own eyes as they forced their way into my security forces but with each other. neighbour’s house and took away 14 INDONESIA STAGES SHOW Local parliamentarian Manuel Carras- youths,” one resident said. OF FORCE IN EAST TIMOR calão visited one area overnight, trying to Residents said the crackdown began after calm youths who vowed to attack any sol- days of relative restraint by the military, Hong Kong Standard e-news 10/13/95 dier trying to enter their neighbourhood. who had until Thursday used only tear gas “If we fight each other we are finished,” and sticks to disperse gangs of youths barri- DILI, East Timor: Indonesian troops and he told them. cading themselves in several neighbour- police staged a show of force in the East The crackdown followed a call on hoods. Timorese capital Dili on Friday, sweeping Wednesday by Governor Abilio Soares for According to some residents, two youths through neighbourhood streets and houses security forces to restore order after re- were shot overnight, including one who was wracked by days of rioting, witnesses said. newed unrest in several parts of the city. shot in the head in the suburb of Kuluhun. They said security forces in full riot gear Police and military officials were not im- One army source said 25 Timorese had been had marched since dark through Dili’s sub- mediately available for comment. They had injured in the sweep. urbs, some firing volleys into the air, terrify- earlier confirmed troops were firing into the It was not possible to confirm the re- ing residents and taking away an unknown air but said no-one had been injured. ports. number of suspects. Major-General Abdul Rivai, chief of the Residents said the operation began late “They came here shouting ‘Come out- Bali-based Udayana military region which on Thursday and continued on Friday as side, East Timorese dogs.’ I saw with my covers East Timor, has blamed the unrest on troops and police lined several streets, own eyes as they forced their way into my groups trying to disturb order and security. taunting and sometimes hitting passers-by. neighbour’s house and took away 14 East Timor’s clandestine movement is a “Most of us are not foolish enough to youths,” one resident said. loose-knit network of civilians opposing send our children out in a situation like this. The crackdown follows four days of un- Indonesian rule. It is linked to a small guer- We know who these troops are. They have rest in the capital, the worst this year, in rilla army in the mountains and the largest been here 20 years and will take them away which gang warfare turned to stand-offs exile group seeking independence for East even if they do nothing wrong,” one woman between youths and security forces. At Timor. said. least two people have been killed and more Most shops, schools and governments than a dozen seriously injured. offices remained shut. Residents said the crackdown began after INDONESIA SAYS RESTORES ORDER IN DILI, ARRESTS 120 One witness reported seeing four large days of relative restraint by the military, military vehicles manned by special forces who had until Thursday used only teargas Reuter, 13 October 1995. Abridged patrolling the streets, with soldiers singing and sticks to disperse gangs of youths barri- military songs and shouting “Viva Indone- cading themselves in several neighbour- Dili – Indonesia said on Friday it had re- sia” as they passed. hoods. stored order to the East Timor capital of The crackdown followed a call on According to some residents, two youths Dili, completing a sweep through the city in Wednesday by Governor Abilio Soares for were shot overnight, including one who was which 120 youths were arrested and four security forces to restore order after re- shot in the head in the suburb of Kuluhun. It soldiers injured. newed unrest in several parts of the city. was not possible to confirm the reports. The region’s military commander Major- Rivai earlier blamed the unrest on groups General Abdul Rivai told reporters that trying to disturb order and security, includ- Page 46 East Timor Documents, Volume 40. Sept. 1 - November 3, 1995. ing the clandestine movement, a loose-knit FURTHER BACKGROUND kas Besar KODAM IX Udayana Denpasar, network of civilians opposing Indonesian The recent disturbances in East Timor Bali, Indonesia Telegrams: Pangdam rule. began on 6 September in Maliana, some 120 IX/Udayana, Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia It is linked to a small guerrilla army in the kilometres west of Dili, following local anger AND, TO THE FOLLOWING: mountains and the largest exile group seek- about government inaction in regard to a Minister of Foreign Affairs: Ali Alatas ing independence for East Timor. statement made by a prison official in Ma- SH Menteri Luar Negeri Jl Medan Taman liana which was deemed to be insulting to Pejambon No 6 Jakarta, Indonesia Faxes: AI: UP TO 120 DETAINED the Catholic faith. On 7 September trading +62 21 36 0517; +622 1 345 0517 AFTER NEW RIOTS IN DILI stores belonging to Indonesian migrants Please do not send appeals after 28 No- were burnt down in Viqueque and on 8 Sep- vember 1995. AI FI216/95 EAST TIMOR Fear of Torture tember, demonstrations broke out in six AI Index: ASA 21/49/95, 13 October 1995 different locations of Dili. On 9 September, COMORO POLICE PRISON the Comoro Market in Dili was burnt down. Further information on UA 216/95 (ASA Unrest flared again in Dili on 10 October, From Mariza Cabral, Oct. 16 21/44/95, 11 September 1995) and follow-up with clashes between those opposing and LUSA reports, which are too many to (ASA 21/45/95, 14 September 1995) — Fear those supporting East Timor’s integration translate on my own, refer that many pris- of torture with Indonesia. Groups of youths are also oners have been taken to the police com- Up to 120 people are alleged to have believed to have blockaded off sections of mando in Comoro. You may recall that been detained by the security forces in East Dili. Independent sources allege that the Comoro is the most dreaded place, where Timor since renewed rioting broke out in the military provoked the unrest in September prisoners are generally tortured. One Dili capital, Dili, on 10 October 1995. Amnesty and the subsequent rioting in Dili in October resident said that some current arrests are International fears that all those held may through the use of agents provocateurs. prompted by denunciations by others pre- face torture and ill-treatment. The findings of investigations into the viously arrested. This suggests that prison- The precise number of individuals de- September riots by Indonesia’s National ers in Comoro may be under torture. tained is uncertain. On 11 October, East Commission on Human Rights (Komisi Timor Police Chief Andreas Sugianto stated Nasional Hak Asasi Manusia — Komnas VOA — ‘ORDER RESTORED’ that six had been arrested. On 13 October, HAM) has disappointed many observers. Major-General Abdul Rivai, the military The Commission’s report stated that viola- Voice of America, 10/13/95 commander of Udayana, the region covering tions were committed by “one group in the Intro: Indonesian security forces said to- East Timor, announced that the security community against another,” rather than day (Friday) they have restored order in and forces had arrested 120 people. It is not commenting on violations committed by the around Dili, the capital of the troubled terri- clear when the arrests took place, and the security forces, including cases of arbitrary tory of East Timor. David Butler reports authorities have not provided any informa- arrests and torture. from our Southeast Asia bureau in Bangkok, tion about the identities and whereabouts of FURTHER RECOMMENDED ACTION: a military show of force Thursday and Fri- the 120. Please send telegrams/express/airmail let- day ended four days of clashes between Despite repeated claims by the authori- ters in Bahasa Indonesia, English or in your rival gangs and confrontations between pro- ties in East Timor that the security forces own language: testers and security forces in East Timor. do not torture detainees, Amnesty Interna- - urging the Indonesian authorities to Text: Major-general Abdul Rivai, chief of tional believes that the torture of political provide details of the identity and where- the military region covering East Timor, said detainees there is routine. The organization abouts of all those detained in Dili since 10 120 youths were detained in the security is aware of individuals detained after riots October, as well as any specific charges that operation. He did not say if they would be broke out in Dili on 8 September who were are to be brought against them; charged. General Rivai told reporters the severely beaten despite being visited by - calling for all possible measures to be situation was under control as he left by representatives of the International Commit- taken to ensure the safety of all the detain- plane for his base in Bali Friday. tee of the Red Cross. The fact that those in ees, including those held since the earlier Security forces in full riot gear swept detention do not have access to independent disturbances in September; through neighborhoods in Dili and its sub- lawyers or to their families increases the risk - calling on the authorities to allow con- urbs Thursday night and Friday, occasion- of torture and ill-treatment. tinued access for all those in detention to the ally firing in the air. Residents reported Since 10 October, there have been uncon- International Committee of the Red Cross, some of them sang military songs and firmed reports of up to a dozen individuals lawyers of their own choice and their fami- chanted viva Indonesia. being wounded as a result of the latest lies. Beginning Monday, clashes between clashes, including those alleged to have been APPEALS TO: gangs of youths supporting and opposing beaten by the security forces. A 16-year-old Indonesian rule in East Timor left at least youth is in hospital after reportedly being CHIEF OF POLICE FOR EAST two young people dead and more than a shot in the face by Police Mobile Brigades TIMOR: Lt. Col. Andreas Sugianto [Saluta- dozen seriously wounded. on 11 October. tion: Dear Lieutenant-Colonel] Kapolda Four soldiers were injured in the military Of those detained after the rioting in Sep- Timor Timur Dili, East Timor (Indonesia) sweep. East Timor governor Abilio Soares tember, up to 20 people, whose identities Telegrams: Kapolda Timor Timur, Dili, East called on the military to restore order are unclear, are believed to remain in deten- Timor Wednesday. tion and to be facing trial for their alleged MILITARY COMMANDER REGION Until Thursday, security forces had exer- role in these earlier riots. It is not clear if IX/UDAYANA: (covers Bali, Lombok, cised relative restraint, using only tear gas they have had full access to their families Nusa Tenggara and East Timor) and sticks to control gangs holed up in sev- and lawyers, and they are still believed to be Maj. Gen. Abdul Rivai [Salutations: Dear eral neighborhoods in and around Dili. Most at risk of torture or ill-treatment. Major-General] Pangdam IX/Udayana Mar- East Timor Documents, Volume 40. September 1 - November 3, 1995 Page 47 shops, schools and government offices re- them as an agent provocateur among young aged between 20 to 30. At the same time, mained closed Friday. people. however, two thousand Indonesian civil Indonesian forces intervened in a civil Many of the local people, who feel like servants are about to arrive in Timor, like an war in East Timor in 1975, after the terri- animals waiting to be slaughtered by the invading administrative army. This is why tory’s Portuguese colonial rulers left. After Indonesians, are appealing to the interna- the people believe that nobody is concerned thousands of deaths, Jakarta annexed the tional community. The Indonesians are turn- or able enough to defend their interests and territory in 1976. The United Nations does ing Timor into a hunting ground for human future. not recognize Indonesia’s claim to sover- beings. Meanwhile, additional military forces are eignty over East Timor. According to the local Indonesian news- disembarking in Timor. Four days ago, we The worst clash between pro- paper STT, the person responsible for to- saw four large vessels unloading Indonesian independence East Timorese and Indonesian day’s bloody operation was the present troops. security forces occurred in November, 1991, Governor, Abilio Soares, as he is reported to Furthermore, the Indonesian army has when troops fired on a crowd in a Dili ceme- have requested it. just recruited and quickly trained two thou- tery, killing at least 50–and possibly more Also, people here are saying that another sand young Timorese, who are mostly illit- than 100 demonstrators. reason for this violence is that Indonesian erate and lacking any motivation, to be sent In an interview with a Portuguese radio leaders want to aggravate the situation in to the front of the Indonesian battalions station Thursday, East Timorese resistance Timor with bloody confrontation, and to who are hunting the Commander of the Re- leader José Ramos Horta, who is based in weaken the prestige of the Bishop. It is as if sistance in the bush. Australia, likened this week’s military ac- they are saying sarcastically “just look at Many people here are longing for a UN tion to the 1991 killings. He also claimed the kind of peace the Bishop has arranged.” Security Council decision to send a multina- security forces had killed at least six young The truth is that the Bishop and the people tional force, under UN control, to Timor in people. That claim could not be independ- really do want peace. This was made crystal order to put an end to the banditry of the ently confirmed. clear by what happened at the end of the Indonesian army which, for the past 20 Analysts say they anticipate further un- meeting in Austria. All the Timorese present years, has been destroying an entire nation rest in the territory on the anniversary of gathered unanimously around their Bishop and its culture, while insensitive and irre- the cemetery killings next month. and signed for unity and peace. However, sponsible neighbouring governments have neither the Indonesian Government and nor looked on. “PLEASE DO NOT MINIMISE its army want peace. What they want is Please, do not minimise the significance THE SIGNIFICANCE OF war. of the heroic protests of our young people. The Government is not interested in They are the expression of the long resis- THESE HEROIC PROTESTS” peace. It had to encourage disunity and con- tance of a people who have endured for 20 tinue the war. That is what is happening years an oppressor and unjust invader, 180 Publico, 14 October 1995. Translated from now. The events of the past few days have times more powerful. Portuguese led the older people to remind the younger Eyewitness account of the confrontations ones about the destruction of the massacres TIMOR: RESISTANCE SAYS 5 in Dili. perpetrated by the very same Indonesian KILLED BY INDONESIAN S A leading figure in Timorese life managed army, in the neighbourhoods, streets and to send to Lisbon a first-hand account of the homes throughout Dili from 7 December Publico, 14 October 1995. Translated from events which last Thursday rocked East 1975. Portuguese Timor’s capital city. The source of this Memories have started flooding back to Numbers of dead reported by Resistance testimony-appeal is reliable but, for obvious us of the piles of bodies that stretched along sources in Darwin. reasons, Publico is unable to reveal the name the beach at Lecidere. Many of the victims of its author. were killed on the Ponte Cais in Dili. Recent Francisco Sertorio Araujo, Saloman, “This afternoon, Indonesian forces of oc- days have also reminded us of Tasi Tolu, Domingos Ameu, Francisco Soares and cupation unleashed new violence on the scenario of huge massacres after 1975. Lorry Amilcar Gonçalves. According to the civilian population, and particularly upon loads of prisoners taken from Balide district Maubere Resistance National Council our young people. and from torture centres in Vila Verde and (CNRM), these are the names of the five They started by throwing gas canisters, Santayo were taken to those lakes where the Timorese who have been murdered during and then opening fire with their automatic Indonesian army summarily executed hun- the disturbances which have occurred in Dili weapons and stoning houses. dreds of Timorese men and women. since Monday. They went on to force their way into People even remarked at the time that the Based on information received from the people’s homes and, with total contempt waters of Tasi Tolu had turned red. Every- underground Resistance inside Timor over and using unrestrained violence, they tor- thing the Timorese feared from the start is the last few days, the CNRM’s list also tured the families they found inside. People beginning to come true: the Indonesian Gov- includes the names of 17 wounded. were later taken to what was formerly the ernment and army came to Timor to exter- The numbers reported from Darwin re- hospital in Lahane. It is now occupied by minate it. fute the official Indonesian version, which Indonesian troops. Just yesterday and to- The people feel that no high-ranking per- continues to refer to 2 dead and 11 seriously day over 40 seriously injured people were son in the administration is concerned about wounded. ... The Indonesian authorities taken there, and it is now known that some the real interests of the population. have also reported “dozens” of arrests, people were simply murdered in their Here are some recent clear examples: the while the Resistance puts the number at 127 homes during the raids. This time, one of the continuation of systematic sterilisation of Timorese arrested. Yesterday, General military’s victims was one of their collabo- Timorese women; the sending of two thou- Rivai, chief of the Military Command of rators, Aleixo Cobra, who used to work for sand new Timorese civil servants, after a Udayana, which is based in Bali and in- short training period, to villages around cludes Timor, acknowledged that 120 peo- Java. Many of them are young single girls, ple had been arrested. Page 48 East Timor Documents, Volume 40. Sept. 1 - November 3, 1995.

Speaking in Dili, before returning to Bali, As well, Indonesia’s Minister for Relig- cers hostage. The confrontation quickly Rivai said that the situation was “under ion is en route to the Vatican to see if the escalated into a street battle with police control,” but warned that raids on homes special status afforded East Timor could be firing tear-gas into the crowd. Two people would continue and that Indonesian soldiers removed, placing the Church in Timor under were killed by stab wounds and slashings would not hesitate to “open fire, aiming at the authority of the Indonesian Catholic with machetes. the feet” of anyone disobeying the occu- Church. The Minister is also asking that Within a few hours, demonstrators calling pier’s orders. Bishop Belo be withdrawn from his current for Xavier’s release gathered in front of the Our Lady of Fatima position. Indonesian secret service headquarters in the Both of these items require urgent inter- suburb of Colmera. Students from a local According to sources reporting to LUSA national action, possibly at the level of the university rallied in the city centre protest- and various international news agencies, UN. Please ensure that the relevant people ing the increased military presence in the after a night of intense house to house within your governments are informed and territory. In an unprecedented move, the searches, it seemed yesterday that the open asked to take action. authorities released Xavier in exchange for confrontations of recent days had given way the hostages. to a climate of tension. Unrest continued the next day, with con- About 6,000 Timorese had taken part in DILI UNDER SIEGE frontations between security forces and the traditional Our Lady of Fatima proces- By James Balowski, Green Left Weekly, Oct. local residents breaking out across Dili. It sion, which ended before sundown, leaving 15 was during these clashes that military intel- the streets of Dili deserted by nightfall. The ligence operatives kidnapped and killed 19 procession, which usually attracts greater For almost a week, thousands of East year-old Francisco (Chico) Seltorio. numbers and ends later, went off without Timorese youths have taken to the streets During the clashes, young people ram- incident. of Dili, East Timor in a series of violent paged through streets in the suburbs of Still according to the LUSA report, the clashes with Indonesian security forces. Matadouro, Vila Verde, Audian and Kaikoli, only incident is said to have occurred when Although exact figures are unclear, reports setting tires alight and destroying cars, in- a Republic of East Timor flag was hoisted in from various sources suggest that several cluding an anti-riot police vehicle. Police the Matadouro neighbourhood, the “general people have been killed, at least 15 hospital- admitted that six people were arrested and headquarters” of young pro-independence ised and scores of others suffered minor 12 badly injured, including two police offi- activists. injuries. On October 13, after a massive cers. Protesters erected barricades around Meanwhile, many military vehicles could deployment of security forces and the arrest the suburbs of Matadouro, Kaikoli, Villa be seen on the capital city’s streets. Accord- of 120 people, that military announced that Verde and Audian to prevent security forces ing to the source referred to by LUSA, the it finally had the situation “under control.” from entering and arresting those involved in vehicles were crammed with soldiers acting Riots have swept through several cities in the earlier protests. in a clearly “provocative, arrogant and con- East Timor since January. The latest out- By late afternoon on October 11 the se- temptuous manner” towards the Timorese. break began on October 10 and, according to curity forces had broken though barricades The main concern now is about the Jakarta-appointed governor, Abilio Soares, in all of the neighbourhoods except Mata- young people in detention. Among them are started after fighting broke out between two douro. At least 50 people were reported to said to be two guerrillas. Many of them are gangs of youths, one led by Bobby Xavier, have been injured during the operation. reported to have been taken to the Comoro who he referred to as a well-known “anti- At a press conference held that day, police headquarters, outside the city. Indonesian activist,” and the other led by Soares, flanked by military and police com- Comoro is a very familiar name to the Alexio Cobra, who was named earlier this manders, said “I appeal to the security ap- Timorese: it was there that the Indonesian year as the person responsible for organising paratus to immediately restore order to Dili military took Xanana Gusmão after his cap- the notorious death squads popularly re- and take legal action against whoever is in- ture. It was there that many of those ar- ferred to as the “Ninja gangs.” volved.” Police chief Andreas Sugianto told rested in the wake of the Santa Cruz massa- A number of eyewitness sources in Dili, the conference that those involved would be cre were taken. Those who came out alive however, told Green Left on October 13 arrested if they did not turn themselves in. brought with them accounts of torture and that the incident was precipitated by a “We know where all the offenders live and ill-treatment, and had the scars to prove it. house search by security forces for people allegedly involved in last month’s “rioting.” only need to summon them and if they don’t answer we will come for them,” he MANUEL CARRASCALÃO Trouble began around 3pm after police de- tained Xavier during a search of the Mata- said. ASKS FOR HELP douro neighbourhood, a suburb known for Later that day, the British human rights organisation, TAPOL, reported that shots From TAPOL, 15 Oct. its pro-independence sympathies. Xavier was convicted and sentenced in 1991 in had been fired in different parts of the city. Local Timorese parliamentarian, Manuel connection with the Motael Church killing Witnesses told Green Left that shootings Carrascalão, has phoned Portuguese radio two weeks before the Santa Cruz massacre. had taken place in the neighbourhoods of with a call for international action. Carras- He was released from Kupang prison about Audian, Vila Verde and Bairro Pite and that calão did a drive through Dili suburbs on a year ago. residents were not able to leave their houses Friday, October 13 following the killings Manuel Carrascalão too, a member of the because of the huge presence of troops, with and multitude of arrests and stopped at regional assembly, asserts the violence many houses being searched. many houses to see how people were doing. erupted when Xavier resisted arrest because On this day, 15 people were seriously To his surprise, he found only women and police failed to produce a warrant. When wounded and three killed. Several sources children. All the men and boys had disap- police took Xavier away, groups of youths have confirmed that the dead youths are peared; whether they had been rounded up retaliated by going to a kampung inhabited Francisco Soares, Domingos Ameu and by the army, or had fled to the mountains to by Sulawesi migrants and pro-Indonesian Amilcar Gonçalves. avoid the army, it was not clear. East Timorese and taking three police offi- On the morning of October 12, five oth- ers were arrested and that night Xavier’s East Timor Documents, Volume 40. September 1 - November 3, 1995 Page 49 brother, Francisco, was run down by a mili- school in the suburb of Balide Raihun early unrest residents and diplomats said was the tary vehicle. yesterday. worst in years. On October 13, commander of the “I will continue to arrest them because if He did not elaborate on the nature of the Udayana military command which covers we don’t do so they will disturb Dili. If foreign reports. East Timor, Major-General Abdul Rivai, they continue their activities then I will At least two people were killed and announced that security forces had finally arrest them,” said the police chief, Colonel about 20 injured in last week’s rioting when regained control of the city and had detained Andreas Sugianto. gang warfare turned to stand-offs between a total of 120 people during the unrest. The Police sources said 150 youths had been youths and security forces. identities and whereabouts of those arrested detained since late last week. Residents have complained of wide- have not been released. Amnesty Interna- Authorities said the situation in East spread intimidation, including shooting into tional has expressed grave concerns over the Timor was under control after the worst the air, destruction of their houses and cars, arrests saying that the torture of political unrest this year in which two people died and the beating and disappearance of young detainees there is routine. and a dozen were injured. people as Indonesian security forces re- The Indonesian government has said the Security forces had largely returned to sponded to Soares’ call to restore order. events resulted from ethnic and religious their barracks but were seen making occa- A number of residents contacted by differences, and portrayed the Indonesian sional forays to several parts of Dili to Reuters on Wednesday said security officers military as the defenders of law and order. round up more youths, witnesses said. had continued their search for suspects in- But East Timor’s Bishop Carlos Belo has Residents said they remained afraid that volved in the rioting. rejected this saying that religion and the the youths would be tortured, although the “When I was on my way to the office independence cause have become inter- police have denied reports of routine tor- this morning, troops stopped my car, asked twined. “We have been patient for too long, ture. me to go out and open my shirt. I did not the Timorese people are treated like chick- A local legislator, Mr. Manuel Carras- know what they were looking for. I feel that ens or ducks, shoo them here, shoo them calão said the sweep had covered most of we are in hell,” one said. there. Policies must be changed” he said. Dili. Soares said 20 people were being treated Other observers have remarked that the “Please arrest them if they did something at the hospital after being injured in the riots spontaneous and widespread nature of the wrong, but not if they have no idea of doing and more than 200 had been taken in for violence reflects a general anger which is so. You are arresting people who did noth- questioning. becoming increasingly difficult to contain. ing and that is against Indonesian law,” Mr. He also denied another allegation he took Many residents believe the security Carrascalão said. part in night patrols with military officers to forces and Indonesia’s extensive intelligence One mother said that her son, Rui Pedro search for more suspects. network provoked the trouble last week to Lopez, aged 22, was detained on a shopping “I never took part in any patrol...when justify another crackdown on the resistance. trip to the market. there was civil war I never shot people, let One source in Dili told Green Left that it She said his motorbike had been damaged alone when I am a governor now,” he said. was a prelude to a new offensive against by police. A senior adviser to President Suharto resistance forces in the mountains, planned “He didn’t come back so I went to the held talks with East Timorese leaders on for late October and November. Resistance police to look for him and they told me he Monday in what residents said was the first sources have reported that 10 tanks had was in detention,” she said. such initiative in the territory in years. already disembarked and that groups of Colonel Sugianto denied the youth had Sudomo, head of the president’s Supreme masked “Ninjas” had re-emerged in the terri- been arrested. Advisory Council, left East Timor on Tues- tory, intimidating people suspected of pro- Indonesia invaded East Timor in 1975 day after calling on local community leaders independence activities. and annexed it one year later in a move never not to inflame the situation through their With the large number of anniversaries recognised by the United Nations. comments. coming up — the killing of Sebastião Gomes It has defended its rule, saying it has Participants in the talks said Sudomo on October 28, the November 12 Santa Cruz poured millions of dollars into the tiny terri- spoke for two hours on Monday with some massacre and the 20th anniversary of the tory. 50 local leaders, including members of the Indonesian invasion on December 7 — Ja- local parliament, to seek views on East karta may want to ensure that they have as EAST TIMOR GOVERNOR Timor’s political situation and future. many troops as possible in Dili over the DENIES REQUESTING Diplomats said the move may be linked next few months. to wider, long-term efforts by Indonesia to SHOOTINGS gauge the options to grant greater autonomy to several provinces in eastern Indonesia. TIMORESE YOUTH ROUND- DILI, East Timor, Oct. 18 (Reuter) — Indonesia invaded East Timor in 1975 UP CONTINUES East Timor’s Governor Abilio Soares denied and annexed it the following year, in a move on Wednesday that he ordered Indonesian not recognised by the United Nations. The New Zealand Herald. Tuesday, 17 Oc- troops to open fire on civilians during riots tober 1995, Reuter. last week in the troubled territory. WRONGFUL INTERPRETATION DILI- Indonesia pressed on with its “It’s not true. I never asked for any kill- Translated from the Portuguese, abridged house-to-house arrests of East Timorese ings or shootings. I asked the security offi- suspected of being involved in last week’s cers to restore order so that people can re- Macao, Oct. 16 (LUSA) — The violence rioting, rounding up dozens and vowing to turn to their normal daily life,” he told re- employed by the Indonesian soldiers against detain more, the region’s police chief said porters. the Dili population is due to the wrongful yesterday. Soares, the Jakarta-appointed governor in interpretation by the military of what was Witness reported several mass arrests in the former Portuguese territory, denied for- the governor’s intent, governor Abilio Oso- the capital Dili, including the capture of up eign reports which said he asked the Indone- rio Soares’ secretary told Radio Macau to- to 30 youths outside a Roman Catholic sian military to fire shots at rioters during day. Page 50 East Timor Documents, Volume 40. Sept. 1 - November 3, 1995.

“The governor said he wanted to keep Security forces had largely returned to adding, “If any of those is found to be a civil the peace here, but what was translated by their barracks yesterday but were seen mak- servant they will be expelled.” the Bali military commander and the Timor ing occasional forays into several parts of Soares said the activities of security military commander was that they should Dili to round up more youths, witnesses forces in handling the violence has been act militarily in order to capture all the said. “proper” because the rioters were out of youths who had been fighting in Dili,” said ‘Conditions in Dili are back as usual, it is control and committing criminal acts. the governor’s secretary. “The governor did calm,’ an official said. But residents said “The actions taken by the Indonesian not say to use firearms, only to keep order that they remained afraid. armed forces are proper and do not violate here in Dili. If there were shots, that is due Diplomats in Jakarta are investigating the existing regulation and laws,” he said. to the Bali military commander, general claims that last week’s violence was fanned “The local government has fully handed Rivai.” by Indonesian intelligence operatives seek- over the violence to the military.” The secretary added that the governor ing to provide a pretext for continuing mili- East Timor has been rocked by a string of had gone to Jakarta to participate in a meet- tary presence in the territory. diplomatic violent riots during the past two months ing of all Indonesian provincial governors. sources said. with the latest outbreak an incident early ‘The argument seems to be that if there last week that left at least two people dead JAKARTA CRUSHES DILI are troubles in the province, Jakarta will still and more than a dozen others were injured. PROTEST need a military presence there. It makes Several days of violence occurred in the sense in some ways. In other ways it makes former Portuguese colony in early Septem- Sydney Morning Herald, October 17 1995. no sense at all,’ one source said. ber, sparked by an alleged insult to Catholi- David Jenkins, Asia Editor Fretilin representatives claim the unrest cism by a Muslim warden in the region. The was created by Indonesia’s intelligence net- demonstrations caused hundreds of Muslim [In a related report on ABC radio, Monday work. Much the same point was made by immigrants to flee the area. night, Michael Maher reported that many Mr. Carrascalão ‘These incidents were not Soares also denied reports he had taken East Timorese youths are reportedly fleeing caused by pro- or anti-integration elements, part in patrols and fired shots during the Dili for the countryside to avoid being de- but because of provocation by the military,’ recent crackdown on violence. tained in this ‘sweep.’] he said on Thursday,’ I think the military “This republic is finished if the governor In a bid to regain the upper hand in Dili, believe it’s dangerous for them if East must be involved in military patrols. I have Indonesian police have arrested up to 30 Timorese youths are united.’ hundreds of thousands of military troops youths outside a Catholic school in a north- Diplomatic sources say that the latest throughout Indonesia that can be called to ern suburb and vowed to press ahead with a unrest differs from last months’ in three safeguard the situation,” he said. “Why crackdown which has filled the city’s jails. ways — it has been confined to Dili, there should I take part?” ‘I will continue to arrest them because if has been less destruction of property and The denial was a response to reports by we don’t do so they will disturb Dili,’ Dili the trouble has involved clashes between foreign broadcasters that military troops had police chief Colonel Andreas Sugianto said rival groups of pro and anti-Indonesian beaten and fired shots at protesting citizens. yesterday. ‘If they continue their activities youths rather than clashes between demon- Indonesia invaded the former Portuguese then I will arrest them.’ strations against Buginese merchants and colony in 1975 and annexed the territory Police sources said that 150 youths had people from other parts of Indonesia. one year later. The United Nations does not been arrested since Thursday. Last week Residents said they feared that many recognize Indonesia’s claim to East Timor. hundreds of East Timorese youths ram- youths unconnected with last weeks’ vio- paged through Dili streets in 2 days of riot- lence were being rounded up and faced tor- INDONESIA RELEASES ing, burning tyres and destroying cars in an ture in detention. outbreak that left 2 people dead and dozens MORE THAN 100 EAST injured, several by gunfire. E. TIMOR GOVERNOR TO TIMORESE Last month there were 2 days of unrest after a Muslim official allegedly made insult- FIRE CIVIL SERVANTS DILI, East Timor, Oct. 20 (Reuter) — ing remarks about Catholicism. 6 police Indonesia said on Friday it had released JAKARTA, Oct. 19 (UPI) — East more than 100 of some 260 young people officers and at least 16 civilians were injured Timor Gov. Abilio José Osorio Soares and 800 Muslim Indonesian immigrants left arrested after a week of rioting and police threatened to fire civil servants involved in crackdowns in the East Timorese capital. East Timor. violent riots in the troubled former Portu- The latest clashes erupted on October “We released them because they are just guese colony, the official media reported followers but there are still 162 people in 10th in the Matadouru district of the capital Thursday. and involved hundreds of youths, some in the police station for interrogation to deter- “I will take firm action when there is a mine the extent of their involvement,” Colo- favour of the Indonesian Govt. and others civil servant found involved in violence in wanting independence. Timorese sources nel Andreas Sugianto told Reuters. this region. I will not hesitate to expel them “If they were behind the riot they should say that other affected areas of Dili included from government employee status,” Soares Becora, Bidau, Taibesse, Santa Cruz and be brought to the court in accordance with told the state-run Antara news agency. Indonesian law,” he said. Haudian. Soares was responding to reports that A local parliamentarian, Mr. Manuel Military and police have swept the capi- many government employees were involved tal for the past week, searching for youths Carrascalão, said the sweep had covered in various disturbances that have taken place most of Dili, including the capture of 50 they believe were behind some of the worst in the province over the past two months. unrest in the city this year. students taking refuge in a Catholic clinic on Some 142 people suspected of involve- Saturday. It was not clear if this was the Soldiers shot into the air, ransacked ment in the violent riots were taken into houses and intimidated neighbourhoods after same incident reported by another resident, police custody for questioning, Soares said, who said that he saw up to 30 youths being gangs of young East Timorese rampaged taken away from outside the clinic. through parts of the city, apparently an- East Timor Documents, Volume 40. September 1 - November 3, 1995 Page 51 gered by a combination of ethnic, religious East Timor’s Catholic Church reports di- and economic grievances. rectly to the Vatican and is not a member of OTHER EVENTS At least two people were killed. the Indonesian Council of Churches. IN EAST TIMOR Some of the youths arrested said they Indonesia invaded East Timor in 1975 had been tortured in detention, including one and annexed it the following year, in a move who told Reuters he had been hit by not recognised by the United Nations. EAST TIMORESE wooden sticks and iron rods in a small, unlit PRISONERS WRITE U.S. room. INDONESIA POLICE CONGRESS Sugianto declined to comment on the CONTINUE SEARCHES IN charge. Translated from Portuguese The situation in Dili remained calm but EAST TIMOR tense with most shops, schools and public Semarang Prison (Java), Mid 1995 slightly abridged offices open. Many people were still afraid Your Excellencies Dili, East Timor, Nov. 2 (Reuter) – Indo- to go outside, one resident said. Illustrious Members of Congress of the nesian police are continuing door-to-door Indonesia invaded East Timor in 1975, United States of America annexing it the following year in a move not searches for people involved in last month’s recognised by the United Nations. riots in the former Portuguese colony of We the undersigned, political prisoners, East Timor, residents and police said on survivors of the 12 November 1991 tragedy in Santa Cruz, Dili, East Timor, take the INDONESIA MILITARY SAYS Thursday. Residents reported security forces had liberty of addressing this prestigious legisla- RIOTS PURELY CRIMINAL fired into the air on Wednesday night to tive body of the great nation of North disperse a small crowd, and some said tear America, expressing our greatest considera- JAKARTA, Oct. 29 (Reuter) — Indone- tion and respect for the manner in which the sia’s military has said there was no political gas was used after a fire at a military petrol pump in Dili. Congress has directed its attention and con- motivation behind recent riots in troubled cern towards the events that have developed East Timor in which two people were killed Police denied there was any shooting as part of the continuing roundup of suspects. in East Timor. and about 200 arrested, Antara news agency By means of this letter we would like to reported on Sunday. “It is big lie. Nothing happened. If you don’t believe me please call the govern- present Your Excellencies the image of the “It was purely criminal affair. Those re- present situation “in loco” in East Timor, sponsible for it are now in police custody ment,” a police officer, who declined to be identified, told Reuters. after the massacre of 12 November 1991 in for further investigation,” Major-General Santa Cruz, Dili. Abdul Rivai, commander of the Udayana East Timor police chief Colonel Andreas Sugianto later also denied the claim of shoot- The continuing presence in East Timor of Military Command, was quoted by the the Indonesian armed forces has generated official news agency as saying on Saturday. ing. But he confirmed security forces were systematic human-rights violations through Riots and disturbances in East Timor the course of two decades of occupation. In during September and October killed at least continuing to search at night for those in- volved in last month’s riots in which two fact, the International Red Cross has kept two people, injured dozens and resulted in record of the more recent arrests and mur- more than 200 arrests. people were killed, 20 injured and more than 200 temporarily detained. ders of civilians, and the disappearance of The disturbances have been partly over twenty East Timorese civilians in the blamed on ethnic and religious tension be- “I will continue to look for and capture the youths who are involved,” Sugianto said, period from January to July, generating an tween the predominantly Catholic East increasingly tense situation. Timorese and recent arrivals from mostly adding that 30 youths still in custody would soon have their cases taken to court. The establishment of a climate of terror Moslem Indonesia. fostered by the military oppression of po- Rivai, whose jurisdiction includes Bali Sugianto said no one was arrested in Wednesday night’s sweep. lice character, through the creation of terror- and East Timor, said the military has con- ist groups supported by the Indonesian cluded that the riots were not part of the Manuel Carrascalão, a local parliamentar- ian, told reporters on Wednesday around 23 Intelligence Service, intended to create an independence movement run by Timorese environment of intimidation, has caused the rebels. youths who were released after questioning following the incident had reported torture, exodus of the Timorese youth from the “We have so far not found anything to territory. On the other hand, we observe a conclude the riots were part of a subversive including electric shocks, being used during questioning. renewed massive wave of Indonesian set- scheme. So, for the time being, we consider tlers, who arrive in East Timor and are posi- them as a purely criminal affair,” he said Sugianto strongly denied the torture re- port. tioned in the strategic and most fertile land without elaborating. in the territory. Meanwhile, the Timorese Antara quoted a spokesman for East “If they report this nonsense I will arrest them again because they promised to not population is forcibly pulled out of its vil- Timor police Captain Yohanes Wardoyo as lages and placed in new concentration camps saying 56 people were still in detention make any trouble again,” he said. Residents on Thursday reported truckloads of armed created by the Indonesian territorial forces following the riots. He did not give details with the purpose of dismantling popular on the charges or say if they would face troops and riot police continuing to circle the streets of the East Timor capital Dili. resistance. Moreover, the Indonesian forces trial. have promoted social disturbances in the Indonesian Religious Affairs Minister Sugianto confirmed the presence of the security forces but denied authorities were main East Timorese cities, with the intent of Tarmizi Taher flew to the Vatican on portraying the National Resistance as con- Thursday for a four-day visit to discuss using a stronger approach in the lead-up to the fourth anniversary of the shooting of sisting of bandit groups, removing from the problems in East Timor, including religious picture all political character, and the de- tolerance. civilians at Dili’s Santa Cruz cemetery on November 12, 1991. mand for self-determination by the East Timorese people. And there is the continual Page 52 East Timor Documents, Volume 40. Sept. 1 - November 3, 1995. politics of “Divide and Conquer” designed human rights, and the importance of World contained details of the tactics employed by to conceal the true common political goals of solidarity; in order to achieve more just the Indonesian army in East Timor. the people, projecting to the World the social conditions, human dignity, and for “From the beginning of the 80s, the en- wrong image of the East Timor conflict be- that the value attached to human rights emy has been carrying out surround and ing a war between brothers. places these at the center, not at the periph- annihilate campaigns. These tactics are sup- The most recent upheavals, which have ery, of the concerns of World political lead- ported by air, sea and land bombardment. included nearly the entire East Timor terri- ers. Furthermore, they have been using the local tory, are reminiscent of a volcanic eruption, We are confident that the US Congress, population in their raids.” in which lava accumulated for years is fi- presently dominated by an overwhelming POSITIONING OF GROUND TROOPS nally expelled. The strong motivation for majority of members of the Republican Indonesian troops are positioned along this wave of brute-force action against the Party, will not conform itself with the pre- the main access routes usually used by the Indonesian colonizers is the chagrin of this sent situation of conflict in East Timor. On guerrillas. Along the less frequently used defenseless People, accumulated over the contrary, we believe that the actions of paths — the ones they think will be used by twenty years of brutal military occupation, this prestigious Congress with respect to guerrillas to escape from the encircling rooted in the feelings of discontentment East Timor should in the future be more troops — local people are positioned, ac- with the integration policy, with the mili- determined and forceful. And we believe it is companied by a small number of troops. tary occupation, and with the growing hu- fair that the solution to the East Timor con- Once this has been set up, they send out man rights abuses. flict, which has already exterminated two platoons (...) which they call ‘hunting par- No doubt that after twenty years of ille- hundred thousand lives, not be measured ties’ to locate the hideouts and put the guer- gal occupation of the territory the Jakarta with a system of double standards. rillas on the run, while another group in the government today faces great difficulties in We wish that God bless Your Country rearguard starts firing, and a third main body successfully carrying through its program of and the American People. of men advance noisily — like the beaters in forced annexation of East Timor which as its Respectfully, a hunt -(firing their weapons, shouting and twenty-seventh province. This is proven 1. Francisco Miranda Branco sounding bamboo instruments which used to when even the pro-integrationists, led by 2. Jacinto das Neves R. Alves be used to frighten away monkeys raiding current East Timor governor Abilio Osorio 3. Gregorio da Cunha Saldanha crops). Soares, have abandoned their traditional 4. Filomeno da Silva Ferreira These were the tactics used from 1983 to political position by presenting a proposal 5. Saturnino da Costa Belo 1987, although at that time the local popula- to the Jakarta government for concession of 6. Juvencio de Jesus Martins tion was not involved. political autonomy to the territory; which From 1987 to 1990, the enemy also used was rejected by president Suharto. TIMORESE ON TRIAL FOR these tactics, adjusting them according to The existence of a national conscience HELPING FALINTIL their estimates of guerrilla presence. The among all Timorese is made clear with the enemy was unaware, however, of the num- success achieved by the dialogue between Jawa Pos, 16 August 1995. Abridged bers of guerrillas in each region, its equip- political leaders in Austria, from which re- ment, and who the key leaders were. In sulted a joint communiqué which has much Matias Gouvea Duarte known also as regions where there were constant guerrilla disappointed the Jakarta government. Hunuk, 44 years old, is on trial in Dili dis- attacks, large-scale hunting operations of We want to denounce here the way in trict court activities aimed at separating East this kind were carried out. In such opera- which the Jakarta government attempts to Timor from Indonesia from July 1991 till tions, 3 to 5 battalions would be employed influence the UN Secretary General to not November 1994. in addition to 2 or 3 companies of armed confer much importance to the intra- The defendant did not want to be de- native people called Alfas (lately referred to Timorese talks, so that the Timorese politi- fended by any lawyer. as Militarasi). Smaller-scale operations cal leaders will not come to take active part Hunuk, who worked at the General Hos- (with 1 to 3 battalions plus armed natives) in the process that would lead to a solution pital in Dili, is accused of giving refuge to are carried out in regions where there is less to the East Timorese conflict. This gesture guerrilla leader, Xanana Gusmão and pro- guerrilla activity and a lower number of by Jakarta reflects its unwillingness to em- tecting him during an interview with three guerrillas captured. brace the success achieved by the Timorese foreign journalists. He is also said to have The encircling and “beating out” opera- political leaders in Austria, and represents been responsible for health care for the guer- tions last between one and two months, an attempt by Jakarta to abort the UN pro- rilla movement and the clandestine front and after which counter-guerrilla groups (...) are gram. supplied medicines and cash to the guerrilla sent in, supported by armed members of the Today, with the existence of the Interna- leader. native population.” tional Tribunal for War Crimes, we believe it He is being charged under Article 106 of is appropriate that the crimes committed by the Criminal Code and he faces a maximum TACTICS AND EMPLOYMENT the forces occupying East Timor be pon- penalty of life or twenty years. THEREOF dered, crimes which amount to over two “1. After positioning troops in the zones hundred thousand Timorese lives during a “BEATING OUT” THE ENEMY or areas to be “beaten,” they start firing and situation of war crisis, and which ought to carry on for days or sometimes weeks. Af- From Timor Leste (monthly publication of be considered and condemned by the re- ter that, they move on to another zone or CDPM — Maubere People’s Rights Com- ferred tribunal, for which we solicit that area, but leave behind some troops in their mission). September 1995. Translated from Your Excellencies intervene with this tribu- original positions. Those who stay behind Portuguese nal. stop firing, while those who move on to Today we enter the XXI century, in Lisbon – On 16 February 1995, a docu- another area continue to fire. This is all re- which the standards are higher and the need ment from the Armed Resistance Executive peated until the entire area or zone has been stronger than ever for the democratization of Council reached the world outside Timor. It covered. all peoples, the establishment of respect for East Timor Documents, Volume 40. September 1 - November 3, 1995 Page 53

2. Troops take up a position and start night to the zone or area in which they had was followed the letter. A town meeting of firing their weapons while groups set off previously been “beating,” and start Vermasse, 31 kilometres west of Baucau, and advance one or two kms., firing at the “rebeating” the area. was called. Soldiers then methodically same time. Between the first position and 3. When they decide to “beat” the coastal searched house-to-house to ensure all in- the group that is advancing, a third body of areas, they use the same tactics as described habitants attended. troops takes up position and remains there above. For example, if they want to “beat” According to a highly placed government very quietly. the Com and Tutuala areas, they first go to source, it was during this search that move- 3. They position the main body of Lospalos and embark in Lautem or Laga, ment was heard in a dwelling. With no re- troops in a specific zone or area, leaving saying that they are leaving for Dili or Bali. sponse at the front door, solders moved to another (zone/area) free. Between the occu- Then, once at sea, they change direction and the rear and encountered two youths at- pied zone or area and the free zone/area, turn towards Com, where they disembark in tempting to flee. A volley of automatic there are groups of soldiers who set up am- the middle of the night, and do their best not shots rang out, heard by the boys’ father, bushes along the paths and routes. If there is to be seen by the locals (...) Mr. Cosme da Costa Freitas, the head of a road between the occupied zone and free In addition to “beating” areas, and the Vermasse village. He found the mutilated area, they position groups along that road. manoeuvres and tactics they employ, both bodies of his two sons on the dry ground. For example, if the main body of troops is the battalion troops and the Commandos The same government source said that “beating” the area in the South, they leave recruit individual local people (lately, even within the next 24 hours 18 people were the East free, and vice-versa, or they posi- women) called “panas” to find out where we arrested and put in Baucau jail. tion the main body in the East and special are based and then pass on the information Baucau residents believe several of the teams are launched to the South, with to them, in return for food and money. prisoners have been shot in the arms and backup from the Commandos and Milita- These “panas” go out when all the other legs and denied medical attention. risasi, in order to make us move and run locals are allowed leave (e.g. for meat pro- None has yet been released. Baucau — towards the main body. duction, etc.). They mingle with the groups, 132 kilometres east of East Timor’s capital, 4. Once the troops are in position, they and use this opportunity to try to locate Dili — is the second-largest city in the terri- start firing to let us know there are troops in any trails or traces we may have left. Once tory and was the tourist hub of the former the area. They do not send out patrols, or if they have passed on information to the Portuguese colony. they do so they only go 100 to 200 metres enemy, the latter goes out to “beat” the area In the early 1970s, Australia’s TAA flew from the base. They send out spies to locate in which traces or footprints were seen. (...) a Fokker Friendship three times a week our bases. On the basis of information ob- Recently, they have been using the fol- from Darwin to Baucau. Tourists, mostly tained by the spies, troops are sent out to lowing tactic: (...) the Commandos (...) re- Australian, found a picturesque town attack us, either by day or night, depending cruit armed individual locals to contact us perched on a mountainside 500 metres on whether the terrain is open or forest... and say that they too want to participate in above sea level and dominated by the im- When the “beating” is finished they return the fight. They even give us some details posing Portuguese colonial architectural of to the town or camp where their battalion about the military, ammunition, etc. and the marketplace. command is located. In their absence, the stay with us for a long time to gain our con- The markets are charred and deserted counter-guerrilla groups, which consist of fidence. They learn all about our habits, and now, the result of four days of violent dem- commandos and armed native population, when they think they know enough, then onstrations in January against the Indone- take over (...) In the try season, these they betray us — either by using their sian presence in the town. groups ambush the water springs, while in weapons (which is not always successful) Tension between the local Timorese the rainy season, they set up ambushes or by poisoning our food, tobacco or wine. people and Sulawesi immigrants — who along the paths used by our small patrol or (...) now dominate local business — exploded link groups.” after the death of an East Timorese youth at DIVERSION TACTICS VILLAGE MADE TO PAY A the hands of a Sulawesi trader on January 1, according to Amnesty International and 1. When they decide to “beat” an area or HIGH PRICE Baucau residents. zone, they travel in vehicles from the town For four days, as many as 5,000 East to the place, and unload. They then advance, The Sydney Morning Herald, September 9, Timorese marched around the town and giving the impression that they are going to 1995. By Daniel Pedersen and John Mar- gathered in the square outside the Roman “beat” the area (to drive out guerrillas), but tinkus Catholic church, chanting slogans against what they really do is advance directly to With a single wounding and two retalia- Indonesia and refusing orders to disperse. the chosen zone (...) tory killings, East Timor’s dirty war contin- Fires lit by young Timorese ripped 2. After a few weeks of “beating” a zone ues, write Daniel Pedersen and John Mar- through the markets and adjacent shops or a strip, they stop and return to one of the tinkus. owned by Sulawesi immigrants. The mili- concentration camps in the area. There, they When five shots hit the police comman- tary had lost control. start celebrating and say they are leaving, dant of the sub-district of Vermasse, seri- An Australian tourist visiting Baucau at and take all their luggage with them. They ously injuring him on his way to work on the time described crowds of East Timorese start buying things to take home with them July 27, the attack triggered a quick re- standing defiantly in the town centre, (e.g. cockatoos) — all to give the local peo- sponse from Indonesian Battalion 745 (Bau- watching silently as Indonesian troops cir- ple the impression that they are really leav- cau). cled them in squads of six or seven, their ing. Before “leaving” they go around the By early afternoon, two East Timorese M16 levelled at the crowd. Soldiers sprayed town to say good-bye to everyone, and then brothers were dead, with eight M16 bullets gunfire into the crowd in the square outside set off at night in the direction of Lautem. embedded in each body and crucifixes forced the church. However, on the way, they leave all their into their rectums. Government sources in Baucau this luggage and belongings at the Poskim (Mili- After the 9am shooting of the police month put the number killed at 25, with tary Command Post) and return the same commandant, Indonesian military protocol Page 54 East Timor Documents, Volume 40. Sept. 1 - November 3, 1995. many more injured. This figure dwarfs the Maria (not her real name), 25, carries the Indonesian soldiers. No soldier has been official Indonesian tally. bulk of her unborn child under a dirty T- punished, he said. A spokesman for Amnesty International shirt, her long curly hair and dark features (Indonesia), Mr. Tony O’Connor, con- unmistakably Timorese. She is six months’ TWO BATTALIONS firmed details of the July 27 killings. pregnant by an Indonesian soldier who al- WITHDRAWN Of the January incident, he said informa- legedly forced his way into her house in a tion from the territory was so restricted by village near Los Palos, past her mother and Jakarta Post, September 6, 1995 the Indonesians that exact details were im- father, and raped her. “He had a gun and I possible for Amnesty to gather. was afraid,” she said, crying. Pathetically, DILI, East Timor: The Armed Forces At night in Baucau, the streets are de- she adds, “I have not heard from him since. (ABRI) has pulled two army battalions serted. The only movement comes from a Not a letter or anything.” from East Timor, reducing the size of the tightly knit band of police outside their Her story and others are denied by Indo- military in the province to five battalions. sandbagged post. nesia, which says no such abuses exist. East East Timor Military Commander Col. For young Timorese, the streets after Timor Police Chief Andreas Sugianto told Mahidin Simbolon said the two infantry dark are extremely dangerous. For those Reuters such stories were “incorrect, crazy battalions would not be replaced. detected the likely result is arrest, torture and a provocation.” An infantry battalion normally consists and sometimes death. “There’s no chance for such a thing to of 600 soldiers. Fresh memories of this year’s so-called happen here.... It seems that someone wants With their departure, there are now five “ninja” death squads-groups of hooded men to create an impression that this region is infantry battalions doing their territorial that roamed the streets of Dili and Baucau worse than Bosnia. That’s not true,” he work, plus some combat troopers whose after dark, invading homes and beating East said. size is still smaller, than one battalion, Timorese of suspected of independence According to British author John Taylor, Antara reported. leanings — ensure the unofficial curfew is Timorese women have endured a prolonged The territorial troopers have been de- broken only by the military and guerrillas of campaign of forced sterilisation and contra- ployed in the province chiefly to conduct Falintil, the armed wing of the Fretilin clan- ception. Timorese sources say the pro- civic works, including rural development. destine independence movement. gramme continues, although Sugianto denied The two battalions withdrawn were sent any such programme beyond government- back to their home commands, one in Tan- sponsored family planning available in every jungpura (East Kalimantan) and another in MILITARY SAYS GUERRILLAS Sriwijaya (South Sumatra) KILL THREE CIVILIANS province. But the most immediate threat to women Reuter, September 2. abridged comes from the Indonesian army in East MILITARY TRAINING FOR Timor, which officially numbers seven bat- CIVIL SERVANTS Jakarta – Armed rebels in the former Por- talions but which defence sources put much tuguese colony of East Timor killed three higher. Jakarta Post, September 6, 1995 civilians in a raid on a village this week, the Isabella (not her real name), 29, lives in DILI, East Timor: The provincial admini- official Antara news agency said on Satur- the same village as Maria, a primitive but day. stration has introduced basic military train- picturesque hamlet of leaf and mud huts ing courses for its employees in a move to Quoting the Indonesian military com- perched on East Timor’s craggy northern mander in the territory, Colonel Mahidin strengthen their discipline. coast. Governor Abilio José Osorio Soares Simbolon, the agency said seven people Isabella is perhaps unusual. She has two attacked a construction camp at Samaguia warned that those who refused to take part daughters, one seven years old and one two in the course would be expelled, Antara village on Monday night, summarily shoot- years old, from two fathers, both of them ing one man identified as M. Adil. reported. soldiers who she says raped her. The girls “The basic military training is not in- It said the group then broke into a nearby have Indonesian names in bitter memory of house killing a man identified as Martindo tended to ‘militarize’ civil servants. It is their fathers. intended to teach them discipline,” he said and his younger brother, Antonio Ximemes, “I have no protection because I live alone both while they were sleeping. when launching the course for the first with my younger sister, as my parents are group on Monday. Samaguia village, 150 kms (95 miles) east already dead, and one of my brothers was of the territory’s capital, Dili, is in Baucau Discipline should be part of civil ser- killed by the Indonesians,” she said in an vants’ attitude and behavior, he said. district where Indonesian troops reportedly interview. executed two East Timorese youths in late Trying to work out how widespread such EAST TIMOR HUMAN RIGHTS July. abuses are is hard in a territory where fear The executions were believed to be con- keeps most people quiet. Aid workers say VIOLATIONS nected with the shooting that month of an the issue of rape is also muddied by strong Indonesian junior officer. From East Timor Centre for Human Rights traditions that press victims to conceal their Information, Education and Training Report experiences. No. 6/95; 8 September 95 TIMORESE WOMEN WANT But a local church worker, Fernando (not FREEDOM FROM RAPE his real name), 26, has tried to keep a tally. ETCHRIET has received the following “I have been writing down the names of information on a variety of recent human Reuters, September 3. abridged the women and the names of the soldiers rights violations suffered by East Timorese. Dili, East Timor – For many East who rape them, and the battalion they come 1. Disappearance of Afonso Pinto, an East Timorese women, a right they have yet to from,” he said. Timorese collaborator with the Indone- enjoy after 20 years of Indonesian rule is He says he knows of 50 women in the sian military, and candidate for the post freedom from rape. neighbourhood who have between one and of Regent of Viqueque. three children each after being raped by East Timor Documents, Volume 40. September 1 - November 3, 1995 Page 55

Afonso Pinto took part in the Indone- As a consequence, members of an East intensifying. Youths are being recruited sian-sponsored ‘reconciliation’ meeting in Timorese clandestine opposition group for paramilitary training, aimed to gradu- Chepstow England last year, where he ex- called ‘Fitun Naroman’ were detained. First ally localise security operations against pressed disappointment with the process of a youth named João das Neves was arrested the East Timorese nationalist Resistance. integration of East Timor into Indonesia. and severely mistreated to reveal names of Rather than have mostly Indonesian He was last seen getting out of a helicop- the group leadership. These were said to be troops fighting East Timorese, the new ter with an Indonesian military officer with Osvaldo the group’s head and Germenino its Jakarta strategy is to increase the number whom he had worked in anti East Timorese secretary . These two young men were also of East Timorese fighting against fellow guerrilla operations, after being allowed to arrested and severely mistreated until they East Timorese. briefly visit his wife to say good bye before provided the list of the approximately 200 Pro-integrationists Tomas Gonçalves, in supposedly leaving on an ‘assignment.’ He members of the group. Many members were Ermera, and João Tavares, in Atabae, have has since disappeared. then arrested but subsequently released. been ordered by the military to train East 2. There has been no Indonesian statement Osvaldo, Germenino and João das Neves Timorese civilians to assist 20 battalions regarding disappeared Clandestine Resis- remain under detention. carrying out an offensive against the guerril- tance Leader Pedro Nunes (Sabalae) and 5. According to eyewitness reports, two las in the mountains next October. Mean- his assistant Remigio Levi da Costa, who East Timorese youths were summarily while Governor Abilio Osorio has been was captured on 29 June by the Indone- executed by Indonesian Army members quoted in the media as warning pubic ser- sian Army, according to East Timorese in Wailakama village on July 27. These vants unwilling to take part in military train- Resistance sources. were Marcelino da Silva Belo, a Catholic ing that they could be dismissed. Latest Resistance reports say that Sa- village youth group leader, and student balae was taken to Jakarta, most probably Augusto Freitas Belo. The Army accused KONIS SANTANA WANTS to the Army Intelligence (BIA) detention the youths of being Resistance support- SABALAE CAPTURE ers. The victims families were not al- centre in Tebet Selatan where he was in- INVESTIGATED tensely interrogated under torture. Accord- lowed to keep the corpses, which were ing to these sources, he was then taken to taken to Baucau before being returned to Translated from Portuguese, summarized Bali, where he is most probably being held the village a day later. No confirmation of at the Military Police detention centre. It is the murder was issued by the Indonesian Sydney, Australia (LUSA, Sept. 11) — further reported that he has refused to talk, Army. The leader of the Timorese resistance, Konis Santana, has ordered an internal enquiry to and was even promised tat his capture 6. Latest reports from the town of Viqueque would be publicly acknowledged if he did the armed front, to establish the circum- refer to serious disturbances. In retalia- stances under which the leader Sabalae was so. Resistance sources feel that there is a tion for the murder of two East Timorese strong possibility that the two men may captured. civilians by Indonesian troops on 24 Au- Pedro Nunes, known in the resistance as have meanwhile been murdered by the Indo- gust, local youths have just burned four nesian military. Sabalae, and his assistant Remegio Levi da mosques and 20 market stalls owned by Costa, were captured on June 29 by Indone- 3. Resistance Leader Xanana Gusmão: Indonesian transmigrants. An unspecified sian soldiers, and their location is unknown. East Timorese sources inform that Com- (large) number of arrests of East The Timorese resistance fears there may mander Xanana Gusmão has been placed in Timorese suspects has followed. have been treason inside the prison where total isolation at his Cipinang Prison cell in 7. Two East Timorese, Marito Reis and the two men were placed, and it fears that Jakarta. His is kept locked in it throughout Albino Lourdes, released from Cipinang Remegio may have been killed. the day. prison Jakarta on 17 August after serving “The fact that Indonesia hasn’t yet an- In the past Xanana, while forbidden to a 12 year sentence for political reasons, nounced the captures is an indication of that receive outside visitors, was allowed to meet are stranded in Jakarta. The funding they at least one of the men may have been fellow inmates. Even this has now been are supposed to receive from the Justice killed,” said a resistance source in Dili. “Un- prohibited. The only human being he is Department for their return home to East til now the Indonesian soldiers who would allowed to see is the guard bringing his food, Timor has not been forthcoming. either capture or kill leaders of the armed who locks up and leaves immediately after resistance were promoted, but this has now carrying out his task. Xanana Gusmão was The two former prisoners are forced to rely been changed.” “As there is now more in- repeatedly interrogated by military intelli- on the support they receive from East formation outside ET, everything is now gence officers throughout August, after Timorese, NGOs and Church organisa- usually made public, hence we fear that one copy of his correspondence regarding an tions in Jakarta. They are in need of of the two men may have been killed.” East Timorese women’s petition to the medical attention, but are not eligible to Konis Santana delegated a group of the Beijing Women’s Conference was inter- receive assistance from the International clandestine front in Jakarta to try to estab- cepted in East Timor. A five months prison Committee of the Red Cross, as they are lish the whereabouts of Sabalae, and investi- sentence remission, automatically granted on no longer political prisoners. gations are under way in Ermera. the occasion of Indonesia’s 50th independ- 8. East Timorese sensitivities have been “Given the location where Sabalae was ence anniversary, was cancelled. dealt a further blow by the formal raising captured, it is certain that he was betrayed,” 4. It is alleged by Resistance sources that of the Indonesian national flag on the top said the source. “It seems that once again last month’s burning down of a market in of Mount Ramelau on August 17. Mount the same thing happened as with Xanana.” the in the East Timorese locality of Er- Ramelau, the highest peak in East Timor, There are speculations about the current mera, was a deliberate action of the Indo- is a place of profound symbolic signifi- location of Sabalae, Dili sources having indi- nesian Military to allow a pretext to ar- cance to the East Timorese. cated last week that Sabalae was taken to an rest youths suspected of anti Indonesian army detention center in Tebet Selatan, in 9. Indonesian moves to exacerbate internal sentiments. the vicinity of Jakarta, “where he was tor- conflict among East Timorese continue tured and interrogated daily.” According to Page 56 East Timor Documents, Volume 40. Sept. 1 - November 3, 1995. these same sources, Sabalae was then taken who has ardent supporters in the area,” he support provided by their families. This to Bali, where he is under arrest at the mili- added. support is essential for them, given the defi- tary police headquarters. “All indications In a previous trial session, Henrique de- cient conditions of the Indonesian jails. are that he refused to cooperate with the nied that he had been Xanana’s driver, main- Also, being in East Timor, affords some authorities, even though he was told that if taining that he was a farmer. degree of security, lacking in other areas. he talked about the resistance his capture The plight of East Timorese prisoners in would be reported publicly and his sentence PRISONERS TO BE MOVED the hostile, ethnically discriminating and reduced,” indicated the same sources. corrupt Indonesian prison system is well Sabalae had replaced Constâncio Pinto – From a protected source, by fax to Darwin, known. There are sufficient cases of East the organizer of the November 12, 1991, Sept. 15. Timorese experiencing increased hardship demonstration that led to the Santa Cruz From Dili East Timor, we inform that In- after transfer to other areas beyond the massacre – in the leadership of the executive donesian authorities in Dili have just decided reach of family members. The cases of pris- of the ET clandestine front. to move 90 Timorese political prisoners in oners in Semarang and Kupang are well Becora Prison (LP) to Maluku (Ambon) or documented. Possibility of family visits are TIMORESE SAY NO TO Java in nearest time. rare, and depend on International Committee APPRENTICESHIP The prisoners include: Henrique Bel- of the Red Cross funding. meiro, Matias Duarte Goveiva, José Anto- In its report N-6, ETCHRIET referred to Jakarta Post, September 13, 1995 nio Belo, José Pinto, Pedro de Fatima, Pedro the plight of East Timorese prisoners da Costa and others. That is the anticipation Marito Reis and Albino Lourdes, released DILI, East Timor (JP): Many of an esti- from Cipinang prison Jakarta after serving a mated 2,000 newly-recruited civil servants of Indonesia concerning with the worst situation recently and also there will be a 12 year sentence for political reasons. The have rejected the government’s plan to send two are stranded in Jakarta, as the funding them to other provinces on apprenticeships. visiting from Human Rights delegation to East Timor, therefor Indonesia have much they were supposed to receive from the They have skeptically said that they fear Indonesian Justice Department for their they will be forced to accept foreign values doubt about the prisoners. But all the pris- oners families and the prisoners themselves return home to East Timor was not paid, in incompatible with theirs or face discrimina- all likelihood due to administrative corrup- tion in other provinces, do not want to leave East Timor because it’ll be difficult for the families to visit, and tion. The two have had to resort to the help Some give somewhat simplistic reasons of churches to survive. like they cannot afford to part from their also we worry about their lives. Therefor, we require to all solidarity The transfer of prisoners from zones of families for one to two years. Several said war, like East Timor, is proscribed by the they would rather quit than apprentice in groups, Human Right Organisations or Am- nesty International to insist on Indonesian Geneva Conventions. other provinces. Members of the East Timorese Youth The provincial government had planned Authorities in East Timor to stop their deci- sion. Resistance request in a message sent to Aus- to send newly-recruited civil servants to the tralia, that human rights organisations and other 26 provinces on apprenticeships be- Thanks for the attention and help. Timorese Youth Resistance solidarity groups do everything in their fore being permanently posted in East power to prevent the Indonesian authorities Timor. EAST TIMORESE PRISONERS TO BE from carrying out these damaging plans to MOVED move the East Timorese prisoners away XANANA’S DRIVER’S TRIAL From ETCHRIET- East Timor Centre for from their homeland. POSTPONED Human Rights Information, Education, and Training EAST TIMOR GOVERNOR Jakarta Post, September 16, 1995 AND BIKERS ESCAPE DILI, East Timor: The district court ad- Human Rights Report No 7, 18 Septem- journed on Thursday the trial of a man they ber 1995 SHOOTING say was the driver of imprisoned rebel ETCHRIET has received information VIQUEQUE, East Timor, Sept. 26 leader José Alexandre Xanana Gusmão, from Dili sources about the impending relo- (Reuter) — Up to 15 shots were fired at a citing poor health on the part of the accused cation of a large number of East Timorese group of motorcyclists in East Timor on and the ongoing civil unrest in the East political prisoners from Becora jail in Dili to Monday including the territory’s Indone- Timor capital. jails in Maluku and Java. sian-appointed governor who were taking Henrique B Da Costa is accused of as- This relocation is being undertaken in the part in a rally, witnesses said on Tuesday. sisting pro-independence rebels. The prose- wake of mid-September riots following in- They said some 30 of the 300 bikers cution alleges that he worked as Xanana’s sults against the Catholic religion by a were floored by the shooting but no one was driver prior to the rebel leader’s capture by prison warden at Maliana. The Indonesian reported injured by the gunfire. security forces. occupation authorities are reported to feel It was unclear how many people were The court said it had adjourned the trial increasingly insecure about the prisoners involved in the shooting or if governor because the city of Dili was not secure as a and their contacts with members of the Abilio Osorio Soares, who was leading the result of the ongoing ethnic and religious wider society, from which they are attempt- pack, was the target. violence and that the accused was in poor ing to isolate the prisoners. A police spokesman confirmed the inci- health, Antara reported. The adjournment The planned move precedes the planned dent and said that an investigation was un- was the second in a week. visit to East Timor by United Nations Hu- der way. “It is impossible to try a sick defendant. man Rights Commissioner José Ayala Local security officials refused to say Besides, security does not allow it at the Lasso. what measures had been taken after the moment,” prosecutor B. Sudiro said. “Be- Prisoners and their families are against incident which took place at 2.45 pm as the sides the accused is the assistant of Xanana, this removal that imposes a further burden on them. Prisoners will be isolated from the East Timor Documents, Volume 40. September 1 - November 3, 1995 Page 57 rally neared Illomar, 150 km (93 miles) plead not to be identified. We cannot speak The military is every where almost out- southeast of the capital Dili. freely they explain. This is not Australia. numbering the civilian population in many Soares told those who fell to get up and On the streets the reason for their fear is provincial town and villages. continue with the rally, they said. apparent. Truck loads of soldiers patrol the Their presence is widely resented. Reports said some of the bullets hit a streets, sirens sounding late in the afternoon. There seems little doubt that a referen- number of motorcycles but none of the rid- A band of taunting Indonesian youths dum would deliver an overwhelming vote in ers was hurt by the gunfire. roam like a bunch of soccer thugs chanting favour of independence. Indonesia still faces small bands of guer- slogans and singing patriotic songs. If there was any truth to Indonesia’s rillas who oppose its rule over the former “Provocateurs,” my informant explains. claim that it invaded at the request of the Portuguese colony which it invaded in De- One morning near the Santa Cruz cemetery, Timorese, it cannot justify its continued cember 1975 and annexed the following scene of the Dili Massacre, I am approached presence that way. year. by a scruffy man and his friend who talks to But the reality is that East Timor’s The United Nations does not recognise me in whispered, broken English. population are caught in a much wider inter- Indonesia’s rule there and considers Portugal He has a story to tell and documents for national game of diplomacy. the administering authority. me to be taken out to show the outside Indonesia’s growing economic clout to- The five-day rally which began on Mon- world. gether with its strategic importance as a day plans to travel more than 1,388 km (860 He seems convincing but I hesitate. Per- military counter balance to an increasingly miles) around the eastern and western parts haps I am being set up. assertive China, mean that the West cannot of the island of Timor. “I am a tourist,” I explain. “I cannot take afford to upset the New Order regime. your documents.” Timorese I spoke to seem remarkably FEAR STALKS THE By day four I am feeling more confident, understanding of the dilemma Australia STREETS OF DILI cocky even and I decided to take a look at finds itself in over East Timor. the mysterious building of which I had heard One churchman said: “We are a small From Northern Territory News, September so much — the headquarters of Indonesia’s country, we cannot expect Australia to fall 29th 1995. By News Limited journalist, Nick intelligence service, Satuan Gugus Intel. out with Indonesia over us. Carter. I heard terrible tales from people who Never the less it seems Indonesia’s brutal claimed to have been tortured behind the and heavy-handed disregard for normal, (Note that Nick Carter was advised to leave compounds bamboo fence. decent human behaviour in East Timor has East Timor by Indonesian police after taking As I walked past the unmarked entrance only served to inflame in situation, creating photographs near a military site.) casually glancing inside, two men dressed in instability in a “province” three hundred Fans of cold war spy fiction would rec- civilian clothes ran after me. kilometres from Darwin. ognise Dili, where fear, suspicion and double “You are a spy, they say. You have Australia should be using its supposedly crossing are the staples of daily life. taken photographs. What is your name?” close relations with Jakarta to suggest a The journalist disguised as a tourist is “Nick,” I replied. different approach might be more affective, forced to play an intriguing guessing game “Yes,” replies one man. “Nicholas, an approach based on dialogue, conciliation — spotting the intelligence agents and in- Nicholas Carter.” He proceeds to tell me the and self determination rather than crude formants disguised as waiters, taxi drivers name of the town I had visited the day be- terror. and general passers-by. fore. As son as I stepped off the aircraft they For two hours they proceed to question TIMORESE BEAR THE had me spotted, the only white face among me in the courtyard. Where had I been? Who SCARS OF REPRESSION the 60 or so passengers on board. Just two had I talked to? Write it all down. or three tourists a day arrive in the annexed One man takes the film from my camera The West Australian (newspaper), Saturday state. to be developed. He arrives back with a September 30, 1995, pp.18-19 With a secret police force to rival that of blank strip of negatives and says I can leave. Ceausescu’s Romania, keeping track of visi- An immigration official who had been For the people of East Timor, the past 20 tors is not hard. called to witness my interrogation offers to years have been dominated by fear and Strolling the streets on my first after- take me to my hotel. I say I will get a taxi. repression. NICK CARTER reports on noon, I quickly became accustomed to the He suggests I should not. how Timorese cope with the Indonesian two questions locals stop to ask. “Perhaps it will be better if you leave presence. They are: “Hello mister. Where are you Dili today,” he says. It seems sensible ad- EAST TIMOR’S ugliest secret is hidden from? Where are you going?” vice now that the spooks had marked my behind a bamboo fence on a bland side street Anywhere else in Indonesia they might card. in central Dili. A secluded compound of be taking as casual conversation openers by On the way to the airport the official single-story buildings has become a house of locals keen to practice their English or sell says he is home sick for Jakarta, his wife torture. The buildings are the headquarters you a fake watch. and his family. He is lonely and unhappy in to the Indonesian army’s notorious intelli- But in East Timor they have a sinister a posting everyone in immigration dreads. gence service — the Satuan Gugas Intelijen. ring. He hopes to recalled to Java later this For almost twenty years the SGI has been a Those who are prepared to speak out do year. “I will be happy to get out of this byword for fear and repression in the an- so cautiously, in the backs of cars, in open place,” I tell him as my flight is called. nexed State. places where they can be sure they are not “Of course,” the official replies, “So will Those brave enough to speak about what being bugged. I!” happens behind the bamboo fence tell horri- The ground rules are clear. No one is to As I sit safely on the plane I reflect that fying tales of beatings, electrification, whip- be quoted by name. Even so time and time almost two decades after the Indonesian pings and solitary confinement – in short, again over the next few days, my informants invasion, East Timor still has the appear- the instruments of terror used by authoritar- ance of a country under occupation. ian regimes around the world. The Indone- Page 58 East Timor Documents, Volume 40. Sept. 1 - November 3, 1995. sians continue to deny that they torture The scale of the military presence in East Opposition to the Indonesians is ex- people. But the physical scars on former Timor is awesome. Dili is ringed by military pressed in subtle ways, often through mu- inmates and the consistent accounts of hu- barracks and the military presence in the sic. The Church also has become a centre for man rights groups tell a different story. country is even more overwhelming. Mili- East Timorese nationalism, the only institu- Almost two decades after the brutal In- tary checkpoints are dotted along every tion where business is still conducted in the donesian invasion, the military regime still road. In many towns and villages towards Tetun language. Before the Indonesian inva- relies on terror to maintain its grip on the the east of the island, military personnel sion there were 200,000 registered Roman troubled island province, which is little more outnumber the civilian population. There is Catholics, according to Dili’s Vicar-General, than 300km from the Australian coast. still a threat from Fretilin [sic] guerrillas Father José Da Costa. Now he says there Ilisiga still bears the scars from her five- who continue to launch isolated attacks and are more than 600,000. hour stay behind the bamboo fence almost ambushes on Indonesian military targets “The people believe in the Church, they four years ago. The bruises from the kicking from bases deep in the forest. But their see it as being interested in their problems. and punching have gone but the deep welts numbers are small, perhaps barely more It is the one place they can speak freely on her back and legs from the thrashing she than a couple of hundred. Their leader, about justice, about human rights,” he said. was given with barbed wire whips probably Xanana Gusmão, has been in Jakarta’s Cipi- But after 20 years there is a certain wea- will never disappear. Her crime – participat- nang prison since 1992 serving a 20 year riness about the East Timorese struggle for ing in the November 12, 1991, demonstra- sentence for insurrection. independence. While they take heart from tion in Dili’s Santa Cruz cemetery where The main challenge to the military is noting that the United Nations has never scores, probably hundreds of her fellow maintaining civil order among the estimated accepted Indonesian sovereignty, they real- protesters were shot dead by Indonesian 700,000 East Timorese Roman Catholics ise Western nations dare not upset Indone- troops. Since then, the 22-year-old has been among whom resentment towards Indone- sia, a country growing in economic and stra- a fugitive. She is just one of more than 500 sians appears to be widespread and increas- tegic importance. Most now see independ- East Timorese who church sources say ing. Any hope the Indonesians might have ence as an unrealistic goal as long as Presi- move nightly between safe houses in an had that the unrest in East Timor would dent Suharto and the Indonesian military effort to keep one step ahead of the intelli- eventually die down in East Timor appear hold the reins. Their hope is that a different gence agents. to have been dashed. In the most recent Indonesia will emerge under Mr. Suharto’s Little in East Timor is free from the pry- series of riots between September 6 and 11 successor, one which will give Timorese the ing eyes of the SGI, a unit staffed by crack in Dili and other towns, the most active right to choose their own future. troops from the Indonesian military’s Red group were high school students. One churchman compares the route to- Beret special force. Senior officers, mainly Indonesia’s open-door policy, launched wards independence to the winding roads in trusted men from Java, run a sinister net- six years ago, which encouraged Indonesians Timor’s mountainous interior. work of agents and informants who infiltrate to settle in East Timor, has only added to “It doesn’t look far on the map,” he said. almost every area of Timorese life. the disaster fostering hatred and envy. With “But it always takes a long time getting In the west of the city, a building which the help of preferential loans and other there.” once housed the Marconi radio station now benefits, Indonesian newcomers run most of serves as a telephone eavesdropping centre. Dili’s small businesses and shops. Hatred of MORE INDONESIANS LEAVE It was from this building that officials of the Indonesians this month erupted into full- TIMOR short-lived Fretilin government broadcast scale communal rioting. The trigger was urgent appeals to the world as Indonesian remarks insulting to the Roman Catholic Reuter 26 September 1995 Jakarta Abridged troops rolled in and aircraft strafed the faith allegedly made by a prison officer in streets on December 7, 1975. Maliana, some 120km west of Dili. News of Indonesians fearing for their safety after Those who fall into the SGI’s clutches the insult spread quickly. The following day anti-immigrant riots have continued to flee say the nightmare begins as soon as they are in Viqueque Indonesian-run shops, a East Timor in the past week, the official driven through the unmarked gates of its mosque and a Protestant church were burnt. Antara news agency said on Tuesday. headquarters. Newcomers are often stripped One day later the unrest spread to the capi- It said more than 1,000 Indonesians from and electric wires are attached to sensitive tal with demonstrations in six different loca- various cities in Java, including civil servants parts of their bodies in preparation for ques- tions. East Timorese students burnt tyres and traders, would soon arrive in Surabaya tioning. Former inmates say cries from the and hurled rocks at Indonesian military in East Java after fleeing East Timor. electrocution chamber echo menacingly units. A market at Comoro where most of “It is believed that 1,073 people from along the corridors reaching the ears of oth- the stalls were run by Indonesians was East Timor, who are now in East Nusa ers waiting in solitary cells. The mental burnt to the ground. Tenggara, will come to Surabaya,” Antara torture is often worse than the physical The Indonesian Government has catego- said, without specifying when or how they pain, according to one man who spent two rised the riots as ethnic and religious, at- would arrive. weeks locked in a damp, pitch black 2m by tempting to downplay them as part of an Hundreds of Indonesians fled to west 2m cell. Interrogators try to get the names of internal, inter-communal division in which Timor after two days of rioting in a number other suspected members of the clandestine the Indonesian military stand as the defend- of East Timor towns in early September. Antara said on Tuesday that 75 people resistance. Victims face the stark choice of ers of law and order. But East Timor’s out- holding out against an imaginative array of spoken Bishop Carlos Belo said religion and from Maliana, 138 km (86.2 miles) west of torture instruments or naming others who, the independence cause had become inter- Dili, arrived in Surabaya on Monday by in all likelihood, will be wheeled in to face a twined. ship and 81 others came last week. similar fate. In the privacy of the back of a “We have been patient for too long,” he The Moslem-oriented Republika news- car, one parish priest told me he had lost said. “The Timorese people are treated like paper said on Tuesday the ministry of so- count of the number of former inmates who chickens or ducks, shoo them here, shoo cial services’ office in Surabaya would pay had told him of being tortured by the SGI. them there. Policies must be changed.” the transport expenses for people who wished to their home towns. East Timor Documents, Volume 40. September 1 - November 3, 1995 Page 59

The paper quoted Suwarji, a headmaster The head of Perumnas regional IV divi- the groups of masked “Ninjas” had re- at a government high school in Maliana, as sion, Soedmanto, told journalists here Mon- emerged in the territory and were intimidat- saying he decided to leave East Timor after day that the waiting list for low cost hous- ing people suspected pro-independence being told by a Catholic figure he was on a ing has reached 1,000 applicants. The re- activities. list of immigrants who would be killed by gional IV division covers East Java, East and local Timorese. West Nusa Tenggara along with East Timor. RESISTANCE DENOUNCES Rioting also occurred in the capital Dili As quoted by Antara, Soedmanto said “COLLABORATORS” where angry youths set fire to the main that during the sixth development plan (Pe- Komoro market which was dominated by lita VI) a total of 1,000 houses will be built Publico, 13 September 1995. Translated Moslem Buginese traders from nearby Su- in East Timor in the Ainaro, Gleno, Same from Portuguese lawesi island. and Komoro regencies. Youths from the majority Roman Catho- Meanwhile in Kupang, East Nusa Teng- Lisbon – Vidal Sarmento, Secretary of the lic Timorese rioted in anger at derogatory gara, an additional 100 low cost houses are Manatuto Council, and Belarmino Lopes, comments reportedly made against Catholi- also due to be built this year. According to brother of ambassador Lopes da Cruz, were cism by a prison official from mainly Mos- Soedmanto a majority of the houses will be accused yesterday of being collaborators, by lem Indonesia posted to the territory, resi- allocated for civil servants. the representative of the Timorese Resis- dents said. tance in Lisbon. Vidal and Belarmino are said to be acting in conjunction with the UNPRECEDENTED forces of Colonel Prabowo, Suharto’s son- POLICEMAN FIRES ON PRISONER EXCHANGE IN in-law, who is in charge of psychological SOLDIER TIMOR warfare activities in the territory. Jakarta Post, October 2, 1995 Publico, 10 October 1995. Translated from INDONESIA HOLDS TALKS DILI, East Timor: Local military chief Portuguese WITH EAST TIMOR LEADERS Col. Mahidin Simbolon confirmed yesterday Lisbon – Timorese activist Bobi Xavier, reports of an armed clash between a police arrested yesterday morning by Indonesian DILI, East Timor, Oct. 17 (Reuter) — A officer and a soldier over a prostitute. authorities, was “exchanged” later in the day senior adviser to President Suharto has held Simbolon said the incident, involving an for a secret police agent who was being held talks with East Timorese leaders in what officer of a mobile police brigade and an by the Falintil, the armed wing of the terri- residents said on Tuesday was the first such officer of Army Company 744, occurred on tory’s resistance movement. initiative in the territory in years. the night of Sept. 27 in a red light district in This prisoner exchange — the first ever Sudomo, head of the president’s Supreme Komoro, about four kilometers west of here. since Indonesia’s invasion of East Timor in Advisory Council, left East Timor on Tues- While there has been no word of casual- 1975 — was Indonesia’s way of getting day after calling on local community leaders ties, eyewitnesses said the incident provided around the outcry caused by Xavier’s deten- not to inflame the situation through their quite a spectacle for the locals. Details of tion. A group of demonstrators, calling for comments. the argument between the two officers were his release, had been gathering in front of the “Many statements put forward by some not immediately available. SGI (Indonesian secret services) headquar- local leaders will make it more difficult for Simbolon, meanwhile, told reporters that ters in the Colmera zone. Meanwhile, in the the government to solve the problems of the the episode was so commonplace as to be centre of Dili, students from the local uni- area,” he told the official Antara news unremarkable. versity had also been calling for his release. agency in Dili. ‘It was a common thing. In Jakarta, such Preparations for the exchange of prison- Participants said Sudomo talked for two incidents happen almost every day. You ers started early in the afternoon. Jacob hours on Monday with some 50 local lead- journalists should not make it look like Fernandes, a leading local government offi- ers, including members of the local parlia- something new,’ Simbolon said. cial in the Santa Cruz neighbourhood, medi- ment, to seek views on East Timor’s politi- Eyewitnesses said the incident started ated in the process. cal situation and future. when a policeman opened fire on an Army According to Timorese sources ... Bobi “They were trying to collect information officer. The bullets fired reportedly missed Xavier’s release was witnessed by dozens on the real situation in East Timor and aspi- the officer. Shortly afterwards, a company of Timorese, who were then dispersed by rations of local people about how they per- of Army officers came to the policeman’s Indonesian security forces. Among the ceive integration (with Indonesia),” one of dormitory in connection with the dispute. awaiting crowd were university students, the participants told Reuters. Bystanders said the situation was who surrounded Xavier and took him away He asked not to be identified. Another brought under control after Simbolon and to a house in Becora on the outskirts of Dili. participant confirmed his account of the East Timor police chief Col. Andreas Su- 23-year-old Bobi Xavier had been ar- meeting in a Dili hotel. gianto intervened. rested once before after cheering long-live The meeting followed a month’s fresh East Timor and Xanana Gusmão, in 1991 in unrest which residents and diplomats say EAST TIMOR GETS court during the Resistance leader’s trial in was the worst in years. In a sweep begun LOW COST HOUSES Dili. (Xanana Gusmão is currently serving a last Thursday, security forces said they had prison sentence in Cipinang prison, in Java.) detained 150 youths and planned to capture Jakarta Post, October 3, 1995 The demonstrators, who were demanding more. SURABAYA, East Java: The state- Bobi Xavier’s release yesterday, were also Sudomo said his visit was connected with owned housing company (Perumnas) will protesting against increased Indonesian mili- the government’s nationwide plans for build 200 low cost houses in East Timor tary presence in East Timor. Resistance greater autonomy at the provincial level. this year to help fill the glut of applications sources reported to the LUSA agency that “There is no relationship with the rioting in Indonesia’s youngest province. 10 war tanks had been disembarked and which happened in this region,” he said. that, in collaboration with Jakarta’s army, Page 60 East Timor Documents, Volume 40. Sept. 1 - November 3, 1995.

Residents have complained of wide- leading. Check and recheck it, or you will separate but special province within Indo- spread intimidation, including shooting into only be messing things up,’ he said. nesia. the air, destruction of their houses and cars, Sudomo named he MUI (Indonesian and the beating and disappearance of young Council of Ulemas, the highest authority on ARMED RESISTANCE NOT people alleged to have participated in last Islam) as one of the groups whose com- ‘MORIBUND’ week’s rioting. ments ‘have even made it more difficult to Participants in Monday’s talks said Su- settle the East Timor issue in international From a protected source via Bruno Kahn, domo’s initiative appeared to follow similar fora,’ he said. Oct. 20. unrest in September. They said question- After recent riots sparked by alleged anti- naires had been circulated two weeks ago, Catholic remarks made by a prison warden News from East Timor but reached only a handful of people before in East Timor, the MUI said it deplored any 1. From the PUBLICO newspaper of his arrival on Monday. harassment and violence towards Muslim October 18th we knew that someone is It was not clear whether the move, the settlers in East Timor circulating the idea of a “resistencia mori- first by such a senior figure in years, was –––––––– bunda” (a dying resistance). This is certainly made with Suharto’s blessing. Sudomo is The following article appeared in Brisbane not true. Even if there is a strong youth considered close to the president. Courier Mail on October 18th. No source movement in the cities, the backbone of the “He appeared to be talking on behalf of was given. Some details are inconsistent whole movement is the armed resistance. It the president, but he did not say it directly,” with the AFP report above. does function not only as a symbol, but the one participant said. organizer, the real political and military back Sudomo told Antara that all sides should Dili: Sudomo, head of Indonesia’s Su- bone of the nationalist movement. The work to promote stability in the territory. preme Advisory Council, left East Timor youth’s movement would have no sense at “The East Timor problem has not just yesterday after calling on local community all without the resistance. It is not dying: become a national problem, but an interna- leaders not to inflame the situation through more and more youths are joining the armed tional one,” he added. their comments. resistance, exactly because of its importance Indonesia has been grappling with unrest ‘Many statements put forward by some for the struggle as a whole, and also because in East Timor ever since its 1975 invasion of local leaders will make it more difficult for they are hunted down by the military in the the territory, when what was planned as a the Government to solve the problems of cities. The Clandestine Front is very swift takeover deteriorated into a decade- the area,’ he told Antara in Dili. shocked with this kind of statements. long struggle against guerrillas. Participants said Sudomo talked for 2 2. The military and the SGI are still every The United Nations still recognises Por- hours to 50 local leaders including members day hunting down for members of the Resis- tugal as the administering power and there of the local parliament, to seek views on tance in the whole city of Dili and surround- are regular talks under the auspices of the East Timor’s political situation & future. ing areas. Yesterday they took more 20 U.N. Secretary-General to find a lasting ‘They were trying to collect information young men from Hera to the POLWIL in solution to East Timor’s status. on the real situation in East Timor and aspi- Comoro. Taxi drivers imprisoned, with no Senior East Timorese figures such as No- rations of local people about how they per- charges are already 20. The Indonesians are bel Peace Prize nominee Bishop Carlos Belo ceive integration (with Indonesia),’ one of taking prisoners indiscriminately. On the and Governor Abilio Soares have called for the participants(who asked not to be identi- 18th, they went to the house of Luis Bar- the former Portuguese colony to be given fied) said. Another participant confirmed his reto, a member of the KNPI (the Indonesian special status, but Indonesia has ruled out account of the meeting in a Dili hotel. youth’s association). As they did not find any such move. Sudomo said his visit was connected with him, they took his young child of 4 years In his talks, Sudomo called on East the Government’s nationwide plans for old into prison, after beating his wife, and Timorese to work out together a definition greater autonomy at the province level. smashing out all the contents of the house. of autonomy for the territory, which is ‘There is no relationship with the rioting The day before, they took Luis’ wife and treated as a separate but special province which happened in this region,’ he said. his son aged 2 years old for a day in prison. within Indonesia. Participants in the talks said Sudomo’s Late in the afternoon they released her. To- initiative appeared to follow the unrest in day Luis presented himself to the Red JAKARTA WARNS TIMOR September. They said questionnaires had Cross, and they took him to the KOREM. OFFICIALS been circulated two weeks ago, but only 3. The same strategy is being played out: The Australian, October 19. AFP — reached a handful of people before his arri- the police, the SGI, and the military go abridged val on Monday. around in civilian clothes, armed with ma It was not clear whether the move, the Chairman of Indonesia’s Supreme Advi- chine-guns. They break into people’s first by such a senior figure in years, was houses in Dili and the surrounding areas, and sory Council (DPA), Mr. Sudomo slammed made with President Suharto’s blessing. public officials for making ‘hollow’ state- take prisoners. They must have made so Sudomo is considered close to the President. much blood with every prisoner, that they ments as authorities tried to contain the ‘He appeared to be talking on behalf of damage from the latest round of rioting and started going to the shops asking the traders the President, but he did not say so di- there to give new shirts for their prisoners, arrests Antara reported yesterday. rectly,’ one participant said. Mr. Sudomo is on a 3 day visit to East so that the blooded shirts are just burned Sudomo told Antara that all sides should somewhere. No one escapes this new wave Timor to meet public figures, military lead- work to promote stability in the territory. ers and NGOs to hear views on regional of violence: even Apodeti people, even pro- ‘The East Timor problem has not just Indonesians. The house of Mr. Parada’s autonomy, Antara reported. He denied that become a national problem, but an interna- his visit was related to the riots. sister, the local Assembly’s President has tional problem,’ he said. been smashed out. And many others got the ‘Before making any statement, make sure In his talks, Sudomo called on East that your information is not biased or mis- same treatment, like Francisco Barreto, the Timorese to work out a definition of auton- Dili district Secretary, a long-time Indone- omy for the territory, which is treated as a sian supporter. Even their collaborators, like East Timor Documents, Volume 40. September 1 - November 3, 1995 Page 61

Aleixo Cobra, or Bobby Xavier have been TWO DECADES OF DEATH, face these things and make sure that the imprisoned. Bobi Xavier have been impris- truth is told.’ oned. DESPAIR & TORTURE IN Behind the picture-postcard veneer of 4. José Galucho has been imprisoned INDONESIA’S AC HILLES swaying coconut palms, coffee covered yesterday at 10.00 am at his house. HEEL hillsides and blue seas lies an oppressed and 5. Domingos Soares, 15, a resident of sullen country divided by race and ruled by Camea, a student of SMPN was taken pris- Sydney Morning Herald, October 21 1995. force. Just as sinister is the constant pres- oner on the 18th of October. With him, were Sue Neales — slightly abridged ence in Dili of thousands of uniformed sol- taken other seven students. We don’t know East Timorese village elder Adao Cabral diers, military police and intelligence officers of their whereabouts. was a worried man. It was Monday, Sep- and the paid informers who watch, follow 6. Elisio da Silva Neto, from Baucau, a tember 11 and widespread riots between and chronicle every movement in the streets. fourth year university student, was taken Catholic Timorese locals & Muslim Indone- No one trusts anyone any more. Even in the from his house in Toko Baru/Bidau. We sian immigrants had broken out across the smallest villages, Indonesian command posts don’t know his whereabouts since Oct. 12 country. perched on rocky outcrops remind the local 7. The Army is planning a big military Close to home, Cabral was also scared. population that East Timor is Indonesia’s operation in November code-named SAPU The previous evening he had seen dark fig- 27th province. Truckloads of riot police and RATA (eliminate). In the VIQEQUE area ures lurking outside his house in the small soldiers roar daily around the province. only there are NANGGALA UNITS, Four village of Luro, where he was the local chief. Clusters of army men sprawl at roadside Army Battalions (Bat. 327, 328, 413, and After a vigorous campaign about the new inspection points, demanding to see travel 406), without mentioning the KODIM. Indonesian school in town pating Catholic passes and frisky boys not yet in their There is also the TEAM SAKA, TEAM Timorese students to change their faith, teens. SERAN, and TEAM MAKIKIT, Timorese Cabral knew he had aroused the ire of many East Timor feels like an occupied land. units backed by the Indonesians. The Team powerful Muslims. Among them some of Dili, ringed by army barracks and police RAILAKAN is operating in ERMERA the 5,000 Indonesian soldiers living in the stations has been likened to a concentration region, supporting other five battalions. surrounding Los Palos region. He sent a camp. Normality is a life based on fear, 8. José da Costa, 20, disappeared from message to his brother-in-law asking him to brutality and lies. 17 year old Manuel hang- Bekusi, Dili, on Oct.13th, at 08.00 am. come and sleep at his family house that ing dangerously out of the decrepit minivan, 9. Miguel Marques, 27, from Becora-Dili, Monday night. But by midnight Cabral was shouting and touting for business as it taken prisoner on October 18. dead, his body found on the floor of his lurches through villages, looks like any care- free teenager enjoying his first job. Manuel FRETILIN IN REPLY TO LE MONDE bedroom, two stab wounds in the heart and the knife by his side. The local police said it actually spent the previous week in a mili- Translated from the Portuguese, abridged looked like suicide. But Cabral’s family and tary prison in Dili, with his hands tied be- Lisbon, October 20 (LUSA) — Falintil is the local community are certain it was an- hind his back and electric shock wires con- “in high spirits and psychologically pre- other political murder at the hands of the nected to his shoulders and waist after tak- pared” to continue defending the Timorese Indonesian military. ing part in the September street riots. people in its struggle against “an increas- Luro is now in suspense, waiting for the Torture is nothing new for Manuel. On ingly aggressive Indonesian occupation official cause of death to be announced by his right thigh is an ugly bullet-hole scar, a army,” asserts the Fretilin, in a communiqué the Indonesian officials who run Luro. It’s legacy of his part in the ill-fated Santa Cruz sent today to LUSA. an explosive situation — East Timor today protest march. It left 13 year old Manuel in The ‘Frente Revolucionaria de Timor- is in a state of high tension, more volatile jail with thumbscrews on his toes and his Leste Independente’ thus reacts to the arti- than any time since November 1991. Any childhood a distant memory. cle published on the 17th in the French pa- small spark appears capable of setting off a For many East Timorese, Santa Cruz was per Le Monde, according to which the battle between Indonesian soldiers and a personal breaking point. It drove some Timorese guerrilla is moribund. The Fretilin Timorese youths. Just as an alleged insult young men out to the mountains and a life communiqué is signed by the external dele- by a prison official in Maliana against the of exile as armed resistance fighters. For gation, in Australia. Catholic religion led to nationwide riots in others, the massacre reinforced a determina- “The Falintil know that they cannot de- early September, a finding of suicide in Luro tion never to integrate with the Indonesian feat the Indonesian army, in the conven- may have the same disruptive effect. ‘invaders.’ One Timorese, imprisoned and tional sense, but they know also that gradu- Cabral’s widow is reluctant to talk about tortured after Santa Cruz, said ‘The more ally and with persistence, they will irrevo- his death. Conversations with a foreigner are you kill, the braver people become.’ cably weaken it,” the text says. always followed by a visit from the local For a small group of the country’s intel- The proof that the Falintil are “alive and police. But a local Catholic priest and friend lectual elite, some of whom had favoured very active” is the presence of numerous of the Cabral family, Father Agostino Indonesian rule in 1975, it pushed them into Indonesian battalions in ET, which “have Salicias risks speaking out. outspoken opposition. recently been reinforced with over 2,000 ‘There is much fear in East Timor, eve- Manuel Carrascalão is a powerful local new soldiers.” ryone is afraid,’ Fr. Salicias says, just hours businessman and coffee grower, a member of Therefore, “to minimize the role of the after burying Cabral. ‘So people think its the local parliament, brother of an Indone- armed resistance reveals not only ignorance better if they keep silent. It is then up to the sian ambassador and a member of the first but also a naive political view with unpre- priests to defend the people and their hu- Indonesian integration parliament in 1976. dictable consequences.” man rights. It means I often have to go to The thin, grey-haired patrician of one of the military and make problems. That is East Timor’s oldest families was appalled. difficult. It is part of my job to give people ‘It changed my mind,’ Carrascalão said, courage. We can’t close our eyes. We must ‘We don’t have a democratic system here; we don’t even have civil rule — its rule by force, oppression and suffering. In 1975 I Page 62 East Timor Documents, Volume 40. Sept. 1 - November 3, 1995. thought that integration would be best for and money for themselves, they are not and malaria. Eight year old Nolasco Gusmão the people. But they haven’t given us inte- going to be able to support the guerilla fight- is an exception. His mother lives in Dili. His gration, they have given us occupation.’ ers too. It’s that simple. But it means that father is Xanana Gusmão. Carrascalão has decided the time has everyone here is suffering. And when your It’s dusk at Venilale and loud electric gui- come to tell the world just how bad life in family is starving, it’s very difficult not to tar chords are reverberating down its old East Timor has become. He hopes his posi- be tempted by their offers to join the police main street. As she teaches one wild-looking tion will protect him, although his brother force for 150,000 rupiah (about $A100) a teenager how to play the drums, Sr. Marlene often tells him to be careful. month.’ admits she worries about the future for East ‘It’s true we live life here on two levels. Born and bred in the Timorese mountains Timor’s young people and children like We joke a lot and smile a lot and pretend it’s and having lost several brothers in the fight- Nolasco. They are a divided generation. Half a game. But mostly it’s a very serious game ing that followed the 1975 invasion, Fr. are angry and passionately prepared to fight we are playing. It’s about truth and justice Domingos is determined to keep Timorese for a free East Timor. The rest are content and human dignity.’ culture alive. He admits that he dislikes to mimic the Indonesian soldiers, devour The phone rings. It’s the ABC from hearing the children taught in Indonesian or Indonesian soap operas and earn pocket- Darwin asking about the latest riots. He being instructed that East Timor is Indone- money as informers. Most have been answers calmly, relaying information about sia’s 27th province. He only conducts ser- brought up with weapons and violence. the numbers arrested, missing and killed. For vices in Tetum and makes sure that the chil- Almost all don’t have enough to do. most people such a conversation would be dren learn all their culture. He is building a It was the former group who led the lat- dangerous. For Carrascalão it is just a part new independent school with the help of est riots in East Timor. Throwing stones at of a new determination to make a difference. money from Japan. soldiers, burning tyres in the streets, torch- ‘My people here suffered under Portugal The Catholic Church has come to play a ing mosques and terrorising new Indonesian and now they are suffering under Indonesia. vital role in East Timor. Bishop Belo, neatly immigrants, their handiwork was a troubling I’m 62, I’ve been to university, I’ve married deflects questions about the role of the mix of political activism and racial terrorism. and had children — now, before I die, or church in Timor. He denies that it has be- Most were not born in 1975. even if I die doing it, I want to leave some- come a de facto opposition, or that it has Armindo Maia, outspoken deputy-rector thing better for my people. I hope by telling any special function at all. Belo has weaved of the University of East Timor, sees such people overseas what is happening, some of a careful line between the Indonesian au- large numbers of young people rebelling the suffering can stop. thorities and his people for years. His pres- against Indonesia as a stark reminder that Just before dawn in the beautiful hillside ence can calm a heated situation. The au- the ‘East Timor issue’ will not go away. village of Letefohu, local priest Fr. Domin- thorities are often forced to appeal for ‘I tell my students the best way to fight gos Soares is talking about suffering too. As Bishop Belo’s help in quelling riots. is by brains, not by violence — I don’t want the sun rises behind the mystical Mt. Rame- ‘People here feel like slaves in their own to sacrifice our young people or to see them lau, Fr. Soares is holding an outdoor mass in homeland; we are slaves to the Indonesians disappear or come out of jail mutilated and Tetun for his parishioners. The women are and all the power and policy decisions are mentally affected,’ says Maia. dressed in lace mantillas over bright silk managed by them,’ Bishop Belo said as he The Indonesian government retaliates to blouses, gold coins glittering in their hair, prepared to make his annual trip to the such accusations with claims that millions of their mouths slashes of betel-nut red. The Vatican. dollars have been spent on roads, schools men fidget in ill-fitting suits and beaten, ‘And you see how they [the armed and hospitals. Schooling is compulsory but broad-brimmed hats. Little girls in layered forces] beat the people, they don’t like to now free and literacy rates have soared. and faded flamenco dresses play in the learn. Every time I go to see them, it’s al- Most children no longer follow their parents shadow of the cool white church. ways the same: ‘We will improve,’ but into subsistence farming but look for jobs as Life is simple in such a remote village — where are the results?’ public servants, clerks, secretaries, teachers the houses are still bamboo huts and there is Bishop Belo has taken a letter with him and tradesmen. Jobs and financial security is no power. But much has changed. The old giving details of previously unpublished the aim of this generation. Whether they will Portuguese colonial inn on the top of the hill atrocities and deaths. It lists numerous cases get these jobs is another matter. Two is now a major Indonesian military post. To of killings at the hands of militia. While months ago, 70 young men protested out- travel anywhere requires permission from open massacres on the scale of Santa Cruz side the Governor’s office in Dili, claiming the village chief and a formal pass. seem in the past, Bishop Belo acknowledges they had been discriminated against in pub- Children have to learn Indonesian, food is the underlying level of brutality and intimi- lic service entry allocations. scarce and money short. Prices for coffee are dation is unchanged. They said ethnic Timorese had missed at rock bottom and, the refusal of the Indo- The proximity of death is impossible to out because Indonesian Muslim migrants nesian Government to buy Timorese moun- ignore in East Timor. Small cemeteries with had been favoured for the jobs, which with a tain coffee has all the hallmarks of a con- blue and white painted gravestones litter the salary of $150 per month, a house and many spiracy, Fr. Domingos explains. He is intent hillsides. Almost all crosses bear dates of benefits are a passport to security. Their on finding a way to get better coffee prices the past 20 years. Every family has lost calls have a ring of truth, less than 20% of for his people. relatives or whole branches of their clans. the civil servants are Timorese. Letefohu, like most villages in East Another legacy of what Bishop Belo calls Transmigration is a sensitive matter. New Timor’s central highlands, is known to have the ongoing ‘civil war’ is the sheer number concrete villages of little white square rebel guerrillas living nearby. Many families of children without parents. East Timor’s houses have sprung up along the southern have husbands and sons ‘away’ in the biggest orphanage near the Eastern inland coast. The 150,000 Indonesians have a firm mountains. The Indonesian authorities view town of Venilale is full. It is run by a rock- grip on the shops, markets, hotels, restau- these villages as strongholds of resistance. guitar playing American nun, Sr. Marlene rants and the commerce of the towns. Al- ‘So what the Government does is to re- Bautiste. Most of its 128 orphans lost their ready almost half of Dili’s population is fuse to buy our coffee,’ says Fr. Domingos,’ parents during the Indonesian offensives in non-Timorese. It gives rise to suggestions If the families here haven’t got enough food the mountains or the ensuing tuberculosis that the Indonesian authorities are playing a East Timor Documents, Volume 40. September 1 - November 3, 1995 Page 63 numbers game, certain over time that the own future. The words of the Tetum pop are fewer than 2000 armed rebels like José combination of new migrants and next - song ‘Joven Sira Forte’ ring out across the and Roberto in the hills. generation integration will swamp the exist- school playground: ‘Young people, be Their days are probably numbered too. A ing Timorese culture. strong; you are the future; you can change massive campaign began in September to A visit to the newly-opened white mar- the world.’ capture the resistance leader Konis Santana, ble museum in Dili gives credence to these driven by the newly-arrived hardline mili- fears The entire multi-million dollar museum LIVING IN DEATH’S SHADOW; tary commander, Colonel Simbolon. Trucks is staffed by non-Timorese. Visitors are THE LAST GUERRILLAS full of special commando squads are now shown models of traditional-style houses, arriving daily in the central hill towns close tools and gardens as if they were relics of FIGHT ON to where the rebels are concentrated. the past. Yet only 2 days earlier in eastern José and Roberto look tired and nervous. Sydney Morning Herald, October 21 1995 East Timor, the same artifacts were in daily They wear old green and khaki trousers, Sue Neales. use as part of a culture that remains alive. carry a water bottle but no guns, they speak Bishop Belo is a vocal critic of the They slipped out from behind the simple eloquently in Tetum. Only when they talk transmigration program and development cloth curtain in the bamboo hut, high in the of their commitment to fight to the death for budget. He claims most of the funds have Timor mountains under the shadow of Mt. the cause of East Timorese independence, been used to facilitate the movement of Ramelau. Hair shaggy, faces gaunt and eyes does a passionate gleam fill their dark eyes. about 17,000 troops in the country, to pro- wild and haunted, these two East Timorese ‘We are here to tell what it is like in the vide incentives for Indonesian immigrants to independence fighters had risked their lives mountains, what we are still fighting for,’ move to East Tumor and to imprint Indone- to come and talk about their silent war. With José says, ‘ This is not a physical war for sian culture on Timorese youth. Indonesian soldiers living even in remote us. It is a moral war. We ask you to tell the ‘Who and what are these developments villages, soldiers scouring the hills and paid world that we are not killers by nature, but for?,’ Bishop Belo asks. informers at every turn, it was a dangerous that we are committed to this work because ‘Materially the structure of East Tumor strategy. it is for our people. We are not doing any- has changed; but who is enjoying the bene- It was the first time that either man had thing wrong — our cause is just.’ fits? My people are not happy.’ been down from the mountains for several José bluntly calls the Indonesians his Armindo Maia goes further and believes years. José has been living as guerilla fighter enemies. He says their soldiers are intent on the only way to return peace and happiness since 1982 while Roberto has been a fighter killing all Timorese rebels and are much to his home is an independent East Timor, for 4 years. It was after 10pm on a black better equipped that his men. led and governed by Timorese people. night. The rest of the village slept. Hands Roberto listens intently during these ex- Unlike Manuel Carrascalão, who thinks were held tightly, knuckles constantly changes. He is a new type of guerrilla — a pragmatically Timor could become self- clicked. At every dog bark or footstep out- university student who was so shocked by governing within a wider Indonesian federa- side, the room tensed and waited. Guards the death of his friends at Santa Cruz that he tion, Maia just wants Indonesia out. were posted at all doors and around the hut. abandoned his studies and joined the guerril- Perhaps surprisingly, there is little bit- An escape route through the roof had been las. His life is now lived on the run. Small terness towards Australia’s unforgiving planned. We all spoke in whispers. The ambushes of Indonesian troops are their stance on East Timor. Even the fiercest night before, two military police burst into only tactics. proponents of a free East Timor recognize the hut where I was staying, aware of my ‘We have no army, hardly any guns. Yet Australia’s own diplomatic imperative to presence in the village within minutes after with our hands and our hearts and justice on have strong ties with a powerful neighbour my arrival. Westerners, especially Western our side we have kept the biggest army in like Indonesia. women, rarely come to these mountain South East Asia at bay for 20 years. We On a less formal level, Australia is seen passes. It was difficult for me to travel think this is some type of victory,’ he said. as doing much. The annual visits by the anywhere without alerting informers. José glances at his watch. They have dal- Australian Ambassador are seen as impor- In between bouts of tension, José and lied long enough. ‘We are here to appeal to tant. In a new girls training college, the dor- Roberto spoke simply of their preparedness all Timorese, both within and outside East mitory beds, desks and typewriters have to die. Timor, to be unified in the fight for just one been provided by Australia. And up in the For 13 years since he was 24, José has ideal — the liberation of our people and guerrillas hideaway, the malaria pills are sacrificed all to wage a lonely isolated war in country,’ he says,’ We ask too for anyone stamped with the mark of a Newcastle the mountains. All he seeks is to free East who can help to do something for us, the pharmacy. Timor from the clutch of the occupying guerrillas in the mountains, because we are Manuel Carrascalão is more critical. He forces. He has no wife, children or home. suffering. We will all die here without some believes that Australia should have insisted Just days, months and years of living wild more help.’ more of the profits from the Timor Gap oil and fearful amongst the giant trees of the With that plea José and Roberto push exploration found their way back to East mountain jungle, gun by his side, always back their chairs and melt away to face their Timor — ‘it’s East Timorese oil after all.’ moving, ever conscious of the roving Indo- fate. Up in Letefohu, Fr. Domingos appeals to nesian patrols. Australians to remember their debt to East José has seen many of his friends die: EAST TIMOR AN UNCERTAIN ‘Living in the mountains, we know that one Timor during World War II. ‘Your Prime PRIZE FOR INDONESIA Minister says there is no room for senti- day we might die; but we also know that it mentality in Foreign Affairs. But we are will have been worthwhile,’ he says. by Jeremy Wagstaff (unabridged) people and you are people and we all have ‘Already we have decided to die if we sentiments and emotions, it’s what being a have to, for the right of our people to be JAKARTA, Oct. 22 (Reuter) — East human being is.’ Meanwhile inside the free.’ Once there were thousands of fleeing Timor, swept this month by fresh civil un- Venilale mission, Sr. Marlene’s youthful families living in the hills. Now most have rest, is sometimes called ‘Indonesia’s Viet- rock group are singing their way to their taken up life again in the villages and there nam.’ Page 64 East Timor Documents, Volume 40. Sept. 1 - November 3, 1995.

As the Americans pulled out of Saigon in such as last month’s bid by five youths for the positive things achieved over the past 1975, the Indonesians were just arriving in asylum in Britain’s Jakarta embassy. three decades,” Sarmento said. Dili, and they are still there nearly 20 years Indonesia bases several battalions Some however see economic motives re- later. throughout the territory, a craggy half-island placing Cold War ones in underpinning In- Like the United States found over Viet- the size of Holland, and appears to most donesia’s staying power. For one, a deal nam, Indonesia faces the same international visitors and many locals as an occupying with Australia to exploit jointly oil reserves ignominy and domestic resentment that army. off East Timor is something neither country shows only signs of growing, particularly Residents, most of whom have lost rela- wants to lose to diplomacy. among local youth. tives to war, famine or disappearances over With possible reserves of 200 million “I have never seen such a group of peo- 20 years, are cowed, sullen and afraid. Most barrels of crude beneath the Timor Gap, the ple with so much hate in their hearts. It’s an observers agree it adds up to a stalemate uneasy status quo is likely to remain at least ugly, ugly situation,” one American visitor that is wearing down both ruler and ruled. economically attractive. said after witnessing riots there this week. “Indonesia must be aware that that a po- And, while East Timor may be a lot litical issue like East Timor will never be EAST TIMOR VISITS closer to home than Vietnam was to Wash- resolved on military terms,” said Florentino RAISE HOPES ington, for most Indonesians it is a remote Sarmento, one of the few East Timorese and pointless prize. figures critical of Indonesia who remains in ‘The Australian,’ October 24 1995. by “It has been a nightmare for Indonesia. the territory. Robert Wilson For almost 20 years Indonesia’s image has There are few signs that such resolution been damaged in the world community for is near. A comprehensive review of Indonesian violating international law by invading East While Indonesia has spent millions of policy in East Timor looked increasingly Timor,” said Constâncio da Conceição dollars improving East Timor’s infrastruc- likely after as rash of high-level government Pinto, a former clandestine leader. ture, education and health, it has invested visits to the province, the editor in chief of Few Indonesians would concede offi- little in winning East Timorese hearts and Suara Timor Timur, Mr. Salvador Ximenes cially that its invasion and occupation of the minds. Soares said in Sydney last night. former Portuguese colony has been a disas- Indeed, fresh resentment is building up at Mr. Soares is also a member of the Indo- ter. The official line is that Indonesia moved the influx of outsiders who have taken over nesian Parliament. He said the visits could in to restore order and that it remains com- much of East Timor’s commerce. herald administrative changes in East Timor. mitted to development. “These combined factors, which have led ‘Recently there has been a growing reali- “Integration with Indonesia has restored to the social and economic marginalisation of zation among the Indonesian Government order and stability in the region and enabled a majority of East Timorese... are seen as leaders that there needs to be a solution to the benefits of development to notably im- central to the current problems and must be the problems of East Timor. There have prove the quality of life for thousands of taken into account,” a recent visitor said. been indications that a review may be un- East Timorese citizens,” the government If Indonesia is aware of this it shows no derway. The Minister for Development and said last November. signs of it. Planning has been there recently, as well as Historians say today’s misery has its A series of apparently spontaneous riots the Minister for Religion. The Vice- roots in the priorities of the Cold War. in the capital Dili since early September President visited not so long ago and there As communist forces swept to victory in prompted a crackdown last week that netted was also a recent visit by the head of the Indochina in 1975, colonial rulers Portugal more than 250 youths and intimidated Supreme Advisory Council.’ disentangled themselves from East Timor in whole districts. Mr. Soares, who is in Australia as a guest the midst of a bubbling civil war. Two people died in the unrest, East of the Dept. of Foreign Affairs, said he was Afraid of the growing power of the leftist Timor’s worst this year. hopeful of progress in economic and social Fretilin forces and the spectre of a Soviet- Internationally, the situation is far from development but he could not see the Ja- aligned enclave on its doorstep, Indonesia resolution. karta Government granting independence or prepared an invasion which it launched in The United Nations, which does not rec- autonomy. December 1975, hoping its superior army ognise Indonesia’s writ in the territory, has ‘It’s not likely, even with a change of would win swift and painless victory. organised a series of so far fruitless meetings president that you would get a move to- Instead, chaos ensued, triggering a guer- between Portugal, Indonesia and East Timor wards independence. But the changes which rilla war that on a lesser scale continues to exiles in a effort to reach a solution. can occur are not necessarily just related to this day. While most nations prefer to skirt the is- President Suharto. They are also determined Famine and atrocities decimated the sue in the interests of competing in Indone- by local leaders and at the provincial level. population. sia’s growing economy, East Timor contin- You can have changes at that level.’ The 1990s have seen urban unrest, from ues to haunt Jakarta in terms of human Mr. Soares said reform proposals to give the bloody massacre of Santa Cruz — when rights, with vocal lobbies haranguing offi- greater autonomy to sub-provincial govern- troops were caught on film firing into cials wherever they can. ments, including those in East Timor, held crowds of young demonstrators, killing at This does not exclude Indonesia from hope. ‘I’m not saying that all you have to do is least 50 – to last week’s street riots and seeking a role befitting its status as the subsequent military crackdown. world’s fourth largest country, but it does to give special status to East Timor — it’s A small, but symbolic, guerrilla force re- help dent its efforts to portray a benign deeper and more involved than that. But I’m mains in the hills, irritating Indonesian image. optimistic,’ he said. forces with occasional attacks. “They must come to realise that East In the towns and in Indonesia proper an Timor is not a problem for just us but for allied clandestine movement stages occa- the whole of Indonesia, and that it is de- sional hit-and-run demonstrations or courts stroying both its international image and all foreign attention with well-prepared stunts East Timor Documents, Volume 40. September 1 - November 3, 1995 Page 65

PRE-ANNIVERSARY CRAC K- Eravy said his organisation, The Forum EVENTS IN WEST PAPUA for the National Attention of Human Rights DOWN RUMORED IN DILI in Irian, believed it was too early for the Editor’s Note: There has been a large Macao, Nov. 3 (LUSA) — Dili residents human rights commission to clear Freeport. amount of new information coming out today contacted the LUSA agency in Macao “It is too early to say that Freeport is about West Papua, Timika, Freeport, and expressing “great concern” about rumors not involved. ABRI (armed forces) are there related issues. East Timor Documents that run through the city about a “large scale in Timika because of Freeport. They are cannot include very much of it. To re- cleanup operation” by the Indonesian armed there to guard the company,” he said. ceive ongoing West Papua news by forces, which could start this Sunday. PT Freeport Indonesia has a nine percent email, send a note to According to these sources, the rumors stake in the venture. [email protected]. were initiated in a conversation in Hera, a location about 10 Kilometers East of Dili, NEW INTERNET RESOURCE between two soldiers, one Indonesian, and FIRM “MORALLY INVOLVED” ON WEST PAPUA one Timorese. “One of these soldiers said IN ALLEGED IRIAN KILLINGS that starting November 5, a great disaster From: Carmel Budiardjo, TAPOL, Sept. 7 could occur in East Timor, especially for JAKARTA, Sept. 1 (Reuter) — A group Dear East Timor activists, children over five years of age, and for those of activists from Indonesia’s remote Irian people born before 1975,” one Dili resident Jaya province said on Friday that U.S min- TAPOL has set up a new conference en- told LUSA. The soldier added that “this is ing giant Freeport McMoRan Copper and titled: reg.westpapua, networked through our life in East Timor. Even though I don’t Gold had a “moral involvement” in the al- GreenNet. want to kill Christ, orders are orders.” leged army killing of at least 16 people There have been very important devel- These statements were sent to LUSA in a there. opments concerning West Papua in the past note with the original version of the sol- Indonesia’s official National Commission few weeks. Following the major ACFOA dier’s statements in Bahasa Indonesian, and on Human Rights said earlier this week the report published in April about killings and their translation in Portuguese. company was not linked to the alleged kill- other atrocities in the vicinity of the Free- “Could this be possible? Only God ing but said it would soon send another team port mine, the Bishop of Jayapura came out knows, and we can only pray for that God to continue its investigation into alleged with his own report of atrocities in the protect us. If you can, pray for us as well, human rights violations in the province. Timika region, close to the Freeport mining especially for that God save the innocent,” The first team returned to Jakarta from company. It has caused a stir in Indonesia, said the same note. “Let God’s will be done, Irian on August 25 after visiting several infuriating the military, but prompting a lot because us Timorese have become used to villages. of publicity in the Indonesian press not everything that may come to happen.” The “Freeport had a moral involvement in the only about the atrocities but also about the note ends with a full transcription of the killing because it took place in the com- harmful role of Freeport. “Our Father” prayer. pany’s premises,” Phill Eravy, one of the The West Papua conference already has After receiving this note, LUSA tele- Jakarta-based Irianese activists, told a news more than twenty topics, including the full phoned other Dili residents who confirmed conference. text of the Bishop’s report and several in- the rumors that run through the city and “The victims were kept in containers be- terviews of the Bishop translated into Eng- that relate an alleged “large cleanup opera- longing to the company and those people lish. tion” with the proximity of the anniversary were killed by the army members which Campaigning on behalf of West Papua of the Santa Cruz massacre. guarded the mining,” he added. has now become a top priority. My request “There is suspicion of that something is The Roman Catholic church in the prov- at this moment is: being planned to mark November 12, and so ince has reported that Indonesian troops - that you alert people in your country this operation is being interpreted here as a gunning down unarmed villagers in the interested in West Papua who may not prevention measure to abort any initiative Timika area, near the Freeport copper mine. know about these developments, relating to the anniversary of the massacre,” The most recent report by the Catholic - that you request your own network to a Timorese person told LUSA. church in Irian Jaya accused troops of gun- take on reg.westpapua so that the news “Anything is possible and these rumors ning down 11 villagers, including two chil- there can be more widely disseminated. about a military operation are being taken dren, on May 31. The massacre of 31 May this year high- seriously and causing great concern among Freeport, whose main copper and gold lighted by the Bishop is very similar to the the Timorese,” said another source in Dili. operation is located in the town of Timika, Liquiça killings, only on a larger scale. The 3,275 km (2,046 miles) east of Jakarta, has issue deserves wide international attention been put In the spotlight following allega- and condemnation. tions by rights groups that its mine was For groups in Australia, I was struck by used by troops to torture victims. a remark by Amaral, a member of Indone- PT Freeport Indonesia’s Environmental sia’s HR Commission, quoted in The Age: Manager Bruce E. Marsh told Reuters on “We know that this is an issue in Australia Friday it would be inappropriate for the and we will try to conclude our report be- company to make any comment before the fore the Bali meeting between Mr. Keating human rights commission issued its report. and President Suharto or there may be more “But I think it is great that people are anti-Indonesia demonstrations in Australia.” talking about it and discussing it and we are The West Papua group in Australia open and happy to talk to any Irianese doesn’t have the network that exists for people who are concerned about this thing,” East Timor. Couldn’t Amaral’s apprehen- he said. sion become a fact, with the help of East Page 66 East Timor Documents, Volume 40. Sept. 1 - November 3, 1995.

Timorese groups, whatever the Commission The alleged massacre of 11 members of a has always seen the province as a resource- comes up with? prayer group by Indonesian soldiers needed rich escape valve for densely populated Java To receive reg.westpapua by email, con- clarification he said. During his first visit to but it is only now that western Indonesian tact [email protected]. Irian Jaya the commission interviewed wit- fortune seekers are making inroads into Irian Thanks for all your help. nesses who were travelling with the soldiers. Jaya. Muslim newcomers recently overtook They confirmed that the troops opened fire the province’s 400,000 Catholics in a sig- INDONESIAN MASSACRE but said they saw only 3 dead. He said new nificant shift in ethnic balance. Of Irian CONFIRMED witnesses who were with the victims at the Jaya’s 1.85 million people there are 1 mil- prayer meeting had now been found. lion Irian Jayans in a province that makes The Age, Monday September 4, 1995, Louise ‘We need to know exactly who killed up nearly a quarter of Indonesia’s land Williams, Jakarta these people and why they were killed. mass. What we know now is that soldiers opened ‘Irian is a sleeping giant, but still filled Indonesia’s Human Rights commission fire but not who they are. We also know we with mystery. Unravelling this is a great has received confirmation of a reported mas- have reports of 17 dead or missing people challenge but the hope is great,’ says Java- sacre of civilians in Irian Jaya by Indonesian but we have located only one body so far.’ nese engineer Mr. Soepadyo, who has the troops and will seek to complete its investi- Mr. Amaral said that the people of Irian task of completing the long-awaited Trans- gation ahead of the meeting later this month Jaya were very ‘nervous and tense.’ Irian Highway. between the Prime Minister, Mr. Keating, ‘We know there are many human rights The business opportunities for Austra- and President Suharto. violations and that we have to do something lian companies in Irian Jaya are highlighted A commission member, Mr. Clementino about them,’ he said. by the $3 billion Freeport McMoRan cop- dos Reis Amaral said witnesses interviewed Mr. Amaral said that the Commission per and gold mine which spends more than by a four member team that travelled to was still operating without its own head- $200 million a year buying Australian goods Irian Jaya last month had confirmed that quarters in Jakarta despite being established from Cairns. But a series of military mur- soldiers opened fire on a prayer group in almost 2 years ago, in the face of interna- ders emphasises the traps for the Australian May, but estimates of the number of dead tional and domestic pressure over the Santa Government which is trying to balance do- differed from the 11 claimed in a Catholic Cruz massacre mestic concern about human rights and envi- church report. He said however that the commission ronmental problems against the benefits of Mr. Amaral said 2 new witnesses, who operated ‘very freely’ throughout Indonesia strong relations with Indonesia. were among the survivors, had been found and was planning to open its first regional For the Indonesian Government several and a 2nd team would leave for Irian Jaya office in Dili this year. emerging areas of conflict are this week to conduct further interviews ‘We are facing many problems in the field * erosion of the rare Laurentz tropical before the result of the commission could be of human rights in Indonesia, especially in glacier and the vast Mamberano river valley released. East Timor, Irian Jaya and Aceh. We know are bound to attract international attention He said that the commission was aware we are right to investigate and we are not * over human rights it faces the difficult of the sensitivity of the hr issue in Australia fearful of doing something about the situa- task of balancing the interests of tiny native and denied suggestions made in a leaked tion’ groups such as the 5,000 Amungme against Department of Foreign Affairs cable that the the needs of 200 million other citizens results of the investigation would be sup- Note: The reference to the leaked cable is to reports that the Australian Ambassador to * and over culture where the country’s pressed. emerging Muslim technocratic elite will be ‘We are under a lot of pressure to resolve Indonesia had reported after a recent visit to Irian Jaya that he had confirmed the thrust pushing aside Irian’s old establishment of this case, the people of Irian Jaya call the polyglot Christian missionaries whose tiny office every day. The results will be pub- of the recent ACFOA report that 37 people. He reported that he had gathered informa- airstrips and schools have paved the way licly released and released to the armed for Bugis traders and Javanese roadbuilders. forces, we will not hide anything,’ he said. tion from ‘independent and reliable sources’ that documented the deaths of at least 22 After 40 years in Irian Jaya, Jayapura ‘We know that this is an issue in Austra- Catholic Bishop Hermann Munighoff ob- lia and we will try to conclude our report people in Irian Jaya since June last year. (The Age, August 30th) serves mordantly, ‘There is no communica- before the Bali meeting between Mr. tion with Islam but there is no war situation Keating and President Suharto or there may IRIAN JAYA REPORTS either.’ be more anti-Indonesian demonstrations in But a Sulawesi-born businessman Mr. Australia’ Andi Ma’mur Madjid rejects suggestions of Mr. Amaral who was part of the team Australian Financial review, Oct. 24-27, 1995, Four part series by Greg Earl. ethnic tensions; ‘I think there is no problem that visited Irian Jaya last month said that because Indonesia consists of many differ- the commission was investigating a total of Sulawesi traders, Jakarta bureaucrats & ent culture. I feel like I am Irianese.’ 17 deaths and disappearances in 4 separate Australian miners are pouring into Irian Jaya There have always been tensions over the incidents in Irian Jaya since October last in a human flood that is transforming one of effects of transmigration, sometimes flaring year. the world’s last frontiers. But Indonesia’s into conflict between the OPM and the Mr. Amaral said the commission had ambitious drive to develop its vast eastern- Indonesian Army. But discussions with a confirmed that 2 men were shot dead by most territory is fraught with dangers for wide range of government and non- Indo troops when they unfurled the Papua Australia — perhaps even more trouble- government sources in Irian Jaya last week New Guinea (OPM?) flag following church some than East Timor. suggested that development pressures are services at Christmas last year and Easter Jakarta has flagged a major role for Aus- entering a new phase. NGO sources say that this year. He said however that the commis- tralia and some companies are already in- new resistance leaders are emerging in differ- sion had been unable to determine whether volved, but the business links appear certain ent parts of the province, but conflict with another four people missing had been killed. to collide with a raft of conflicts over the the military is likely to be over local issues environment and human rights. Indonesia East Timor Documents, Volume 40. September 1 - November 3, 1995 Page 67 rather than the broader old push for inde- Plan would split largest province: Timika. People are coming here with the pendence. Indonesia is considering splitting Irian intention of being able to get jobs.’ At the Jakarta’s transmigration plans in the Jaya into two in a move aimed at boosting Souvenir Shop Kamoro, Mr. Nurdin is the 1980s proved over-ambitious because the economic development, but which could face of change. A trader from Sulawesi who Javanese migrants did not thrive in the jun- also further undermine the fading independ- moved in a year ago, he has now gathered a gle. In more recent times there have been ence movement. Provincial government offi- store full of sought after Asmatart for sale efforts to bring Christian migrants from cials said that the plan had been put to the to the emerging tourists, but mostly at closer eastern islands. About 20,000 people national government and now depended on vastly inflated prices to Bali shops. His were relocated last year, mostly to Merauke whether money was available for implemen- shop might be named after the native Ka- and a new scheme is now underway to es- tation. President Suharto is planning to visit moro people, but its focus on the more tablish agricultural projects with about 70% Irian Jaya in December to name a new town complex art of the more distant Asmat and outsiders and 30% native Irianese. But vol- that Freeport has built to accommodate the Dani people has underlined how the free untary migration from other parts of Indo- 17,000 mine workers. market has really arrived. nesia now far exceeds government-organized Provincial government official Mr. Sury- Freeport and associated companies em- transmigration and has created the prov- anto said the two province proposal was ploy 1940 native Irianese, including 70 su- ince’s fastest-growing town at Timika, designed to facilitate plans for faster eco- pervisors, in a total project workforce of south of the Freeport mine. Meanwhile nomic development by giving official a about 17,000, and are making more efforts other mining companies are flocking to the smaller are to administer. President of the as the mine has been embroiled in the public copper mountains uncovered by Freeport Irian Jaya Chamber of Commerce and Indus- scrutiny which followed the killing of 16 and Mr. Soepadyo’s road-building program try, Mr. Andi Ma’mur Madjid said the people around the project area. will increase military and commercial access division would help develop the infrastruc- In Kwamki Lama village outside Timika, to the vast interior. ture needed to attract foreign investment. where highlands Amungme people were Next year Garudawill open a massive re- Mr. Andi said “Many investors would forcefully resettled after rebel attacks on the sort hotel, modelled on Bali’s Nusa Dua like to invest here, but they haven’t realised mine in the 1970s. Freeport has launched a hotel in Bali, in Balai. Another developer, these projects because the facilities here business incubator project to teach business Intan, announced plans this month for a mean it isn’t feasible .. but for the past five skills to local people. chain of hotels to replace the existing, gener- years the government has been spending a Out of 21 initial projects, 16 are run by ally rundown accommodation. lot of money here, which is good because in local Amunme or Kamoro people and six are Government & non-government sources an area like Irian Jaya, the government is expected to become fully independent small revealed that the central Government has still the engine of development. business operators in the next few months. taken the first steps towards building a large ––––––––––––––––- The US-educated coordinator, Mr. Ishak inland port on the province’s largest river, Danuningrat, says there is a waiting list of the Mamberamo, which is also the next TIMIKA [OCTOBER 25] 65 local people who see the Freeport no- target of the trans-Irian road building pro- It has a Sheraton Hotel, shops full of interest loans as a stepping stone into the gram. The industrial development of the trendy primitive art and an international modern world. Mamberamo with a hydroelectric dam, agri- airport. But the streets still wait for signs But lowland’s Kamoro residents say culture and heavy industry is a pet project and the local Catholic priest stands out a Freeport’s programs favour the highlands of Dr. BJ Habibie. Indonesian officials have Friday community celebration because he’s Amumgme people who are the original own- already sought Australian participation in one of the people not dressed in a penis ers of the mine land and traditionally more the planning of the Mamberamo develop- gourd. militant than their Kamoro cousins. ment and advanced Australian technology About 10,000, mostly Javanese people And Jayapura-based community activist has been used to map Irian Jaya by Austra- have moved to nearby rural areas in recent John Rumbiak, describes the Freeport pro- lian companies with military cooperation years under the transmigration program — grams as ‘camouflage’ which ignore the real from both countries. but many have slipped town. High in the needs of the people who have lost tradi- Missionaries told the AFR that last mountains Freeport has built a model re- tional land. But in Timika’s markets and month central government authorities took mote mining town Tembagapura, complete taxis the alternative to the sometimes pater- over native-owned land for the Mamberamo with French bakery and children’s amuse- nalistic programs of a foreign multinational port site and Jayapura church sources say ment hall for its 15,000 residents. is far worse — a growing sea of people from that the Australian Government will be a Later this year President Suharto will western Indonesia with absolutely no regard key target of any campaign against the de- open a Freeport designed $300 million new for who was there first. velopment policies of the Jakarta Govt. town near Timika, which might best be de- –––––––––––––––– A business delegation from North scribed as Canberra — in the sago scrub Queensland recently toured the region as with nearly laid-out suburban facilities for INDONESIA ATTEMPTS TO BUILD part of Queensland’s efforts to develop everyone from a Sumatran mine digger to a BRIDGES WITH ROADS [OCT. 26] trade links into the Merauke region, which US chief financial officer. The lines on the wall map resemble a bat- Jakarta has identified as a potential rice owl But it’s in Timika’s sprawling shacks tle plan with green and yellow pincers for the entire country. that the frontier pressures are most evident swinging relentlessly toward a cornered Australian companies are prominent with thousands of Irianese and other Indo- target. The head of Irian Jaya’s public among a slate of companies about to be nesians moving to an area that the company works department, Mr. Soepadyo, explains awarded exploration contracts around the is attempting to make economically more the strategy with the enthusiasm of a general rich Freeport copper/gold mine and Austra- diverse by spinning-off mine services to about to break through the enemy defence. lian businesses have been negotiating to set a independent companies. ‘After we build this road, then this will new lowlands industrial park near the mine. Chief financial officer, Stephen Jones, be something like a magnet.’ he explains as says ‘We’re now able to hire directly out of he hits the map with a baton to point out Page 68 East Timor Documents, Volume 40. Sept. 1 - November 3, 1995.

the gaps in the long-mooted Trans-Irian JAYAPURA PREPARES FOR MODERN ‘East Timor might be different but here it Highway. Mr. Soepadyo is a battle- ERA [OCTOBER 27] is a fait accompli and they have to take it — hardened campaigner — he has taken over Yan Piteer Karafir has a budget of only there is no other way.’ the task of developing Irian Jaya after over- $30 million, a municipal area 15 times bigger From his house in the Jayapura hills, seeing Jakarta’s controversial efforts to woo than his counterparts in Java and people Bishop Muninghoff then points to Papua the East Timorese with public works spend- sleeping in the middle of the road. ‘It’s just New Guinea, which is just visible across the ing. a habit. They think there are no cars,’ the bay: ‘If we see what is happening at the Many environmental and human rights Jayapura bupati (mayor) says with a fatalis- other side of the border then we are very groups see the looming completion of the tic air. happy with what is happening here. In highways as a key tool in Indonesia’s plan In the debate over the future of Irian Jaya PNG you can’t go out after 7pm. That is to open up the vast interior of Irian Jaya to that has polarised this year between mis- not freedom.’ the army and non-Irianese business. conduct by the Indonesian army and the re- Once the main priority was building a emergence of armed rebels, people like Mr. INDONESIA PROBES HUMAN 1000km road running from north-south from Karafir represent the best hope for the RIGHTS ABUSES Jayapura to Merauke with the intention of province’s original inhabitants. As one of carving a line between West Papuan rebels Irian Jaya’s minority of native-born munici- JAKARTA, Nov. 1 (UPI) — Indonesian and potential sympathisers in Papua New pal leaders, he argues that the Irianese really military authorities in Irian Jaya will dis- Guinea. Now completing a road from have no choice but to adjust to the reality of patch a team Thursday to the area of a joint Jayapura about 100km across the PNG an invasion of economic development and Indonesia-U.S. copper mining company to border to a possible duty free port in western Indonesian immigrants. He says probe alleged human rights violations in Vanimo is seen as an economic opportunity. that he needs at least 10 years to prepare region, the official Antara news agency re- But the real priority is to complete the the people still leading primitive lives for ported Wednesday. Perbangunan Jalan (Development Road) the impact of mining and road-building that Antara quoted Col. Sulaiman, the military from Jayapura into the remote Baliem valley is already happening. But he warns: ‘If we police official in Irian Jaya who will lead the area of Wamena where the 9000 year old fail, then there are troubles in the future.’ investigation, as saying the 15-member team agricultural civilisation of the Dani people In the Jayapura area Mr. Karafir has em- would began its investigation to Timika, a has long attracted hardy travellers to mis- barked on a series of projects designed to sub-district of Fak-Fak district, Thursday. sion airstrips. The gap in the road is now bring agricultural marketing skills to subsis- The team plans to investigate six cases 112km with the main task being to build a tence level farmers and says that he is con- considered violations of existing procedures. 235 metre suspension bridge over the Mam- tent with the level of funding and autonomy “Among the six violations are the alleged beramo River. he has from the central Government. And shooting of 11 indigenous Irian Jayanese,” Mr. Soepadyo says it will be finished while his region is not a significant benefici- Sulaiman said. under current plans in 1998 — or 1997 with ary of the Freeport copper mine, he says He said the team would conduct its in- special central government priority. He then the company should not be held responsible vestigation based on an order from Irian plans to carve a previously unpublicized for development in Irian Jaya because that is Jaya’s military command. The inquest is road into the virgin Mamberamo valley a matter for governments. scheduled to be concluded by January 1996. where Research and Technology Minister, The bupati’s pragmatism is echoed Preliminary investigations show “four Dr. B J Habibie, is backing a hydroelectric across town by the Catholic Bishop of soldiers were suspected to be involved in project, industry and vast rice fields. Wa- Jayapura, Hermann Muninghoff, who took the killings.” They have been arrested and mena’s isolation has been a major constraint on the military 2 months ago with a detailed are in custody, he said. on commercial development. For example report on human rights abuses. The military has admitted there were “le- cement costs 5 times the Jakarta price be- ‘I saw more in one week than in 23 years gal and procedural violations” by soldiers cause it has to be flown in. The remoteness before,’ he says of local army officers who during operations against rebels in the Fak- of the area has also left Irian’s missionary have been stung by international reaction to Fak district. Indonesia’s civil rights commis- community with an influential role but with the bishop’s carefully documented account. sion said in a fact-finding mission concluded the roads forging ahead one said ‘Maybe one But despite his run-in with the military, in September that security forces carried out day there will be no more (role for us).’ Bishop Munighoff strongly supports Irian “indiscriminate killings” and torture in Irian Looking further west Mr. Soepadyo says Jaya’s controversial incorporation into In- Jaya during military operations against surveying is finished all the way to the donesia in the 1960s which has come under separatist rebels. north-west coast at Nabire with side legs new examination. Among the human rights violations re- into the mountains where Freeport McM o- With a perspective on Irian Jayan life ported by the commission was the killing of Ran operates its copper mine. that transcends more than a dozen governors 16 men, women and children in Timika dis- ‘If we finished this the economy will and colonial administrators he says, ‘The trict. really speed up,’ he says, outlining his idea of a free Papua is disappearing and it is The probes by the National Commission dream of driving from Jayapura through the a good thing because it was not realistic.’ He on Human Rights came after Irian Jaya’s heart of the world’s greatest untapped wil- argues that the Dutch left a cruel legacy by Roman Catholic bishop complained of derness to Nabire and then taking a ferry promising independence during the 1949-63 abuses on the part of the soldiers. north to the planned resorts on the island of period when Irian was separated from Indo- Activists from several non-government Biak. But the bridge is this year’s target. nesia and then leaving the province in the organizations and Irian Jayan students say Mr. Soepadyo has a scale model in the car- hands of Jakarta. the alleged violations were conducted by park outside his office. ‘We are part of Indonesia and it is not local authorities against villagers opposed to ––––––––––––––––––––––- changing,’ he says. the activities of the giant U.S. copper mining company PT Freeport Indonesia Corp. East Timor Documents, Volume 40. September 1 - November 3, 1995 Page 69

The small Free Papua Movement has 17,000 people. Freeport McMoRan is the provides environmental guidelines for pro- fought for a separate state in predominantly largest single American investor in Indone- jects that the Federal agency insures or fi- Melanesian Irian Jaya since the former sia. nances. The purpose of the order is to “in- Dutch colony of Western New Guinea be- Environmental groups in Indonesia and sure that all significant environmental effects came Indonesian territory in 1964. the United States that oppose the com- of its actions outside the United States are pany’s operation in the region say that the considered by OPIC in its review of pro- AID CANCELED FOR GOLD company has done little, to contain tailings posed insurance and finance projects.” PROJECT IN INDONESIA below the mine site and that runoff from the Neither the agency nor the company tailings has killed fish in nearby rivers. They could comment on when arbitration might New York Times, November 2,1995. Inter- also contend that local villagers can no begin. national Business section. Unabridged. The longer drink water from the river. Freeport article is accompanied by a map. McM oRan officials deny that the mine tailings are toxic. EVENTS IN INDONESIA By Robert Bryce The cancellation comes despite an inten- The Overseas Private Investment Corpo- sive lobbying effort in Washington by Free- Indonesia is a huge, diverse country. East ration has canceled $100 million in political port McMoRan officials, including former Timor Documents cannot include all im- risk insurance for a huge gold mining project Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger, who portant developments. This is just a in Indonesia that is operated by Freeport- sits on Freeport’s board. The insurance sampling. McMoRan (sic) Copper and Gold Inc. issue was also reported to have been raised The Federal agency, which provides in- by Indonesia’s President, Suharto, during a LIBERATING OUR surance and financing to American compa- meeting with President Clinton last week at nies doing business overseas, canceled the the White House. COLONIAL MINDSET company’s insurance effective at midnight The mine has been under increased scru- By George J. Aditjondro on Tuesday. Political risk insurance is in- tiny in recent months as a result of two tended to compensate a company if it loses reports contending that there had been sev- (Outline of a lecture presented in the Winter assets because of terrorism, sabotage a coup eral dozen instances of human-rights viola- Lecture Series 1995 on Wednesday, August or other political volatility. tions in and around the mine site. In April, 14, 1995 at the AIA-CSEAS Monash Asia The cancellation, which had been ru- the Australian Council for Overseas Aid Institute in Melbourne Australia). mored for nearly two weeks, was confirmed reported that 22 civilians and 15 guerrillas Before discussing the contemporary chal- yesterday by Allison Rosen, a spokes- had been killed or had disappeared in the lenges, allow me first to crack the basic nut, woman for the Overseas Private Investment region. The report also accused Freeport by raising the basic question to expose the Corporation, which is known as OPIC. “I security personnel of having taken part in, basic contradictions in what has been taken can’t talk about the grounds of the termina- several of the killings. Then, in August, the for granted during the last 50 years: is “In- tion,” she said. Ruth R. Harkin, the agency’s Roman Catholic church of Jayapura re- donesia” indeed the rightful heir of the president and chief executive, has been out ported that it had found evidence to support Dutch East Indies colony? Or, is Indonesia of the country this week, and Ms. Rosen many of the allegations in the Australian actually a ‘brand-new’ nation-state, which said that it was unlikely that Ms. Harkin report. The church’s report also included has liberated itself completely from the would comment on the cancellation in any accusations of torture. Dutch – as well as the Japanese – colonial event. The company has repeatedly denied any yoke? Gregg Probst, a spokes-man for Freeport involvement in the reported human-rights If the answer is that Indonesia is indeed McMoRan, which is based in New Orleans abuses. the rightful heir of the Dutch East Indies and is a subsidiary of Freeport McMoRan The Overseas Private Investment Corpo- colony, then logically: Inc., said the company was disturbed by the ration would not comment on the allegations (a) Indonesia’s history as an independent cancellation. “We believe OPIC lacks a legal of human-rights abuses or whether the inci- nation should be seen as beginning on De- basis for canceling the coverage,” he said. dents led to the cancellation of the insur- cember 27, 1949, after the Dutch govern- “Therefore, we believe the coverage remains ance. ment “legally” passed its sovereignty to the in effect, and we will operate on that basis Freeport McMoRan executives have said newborn United Republic of Indonesia pending a resolution of the dispute, which that the company provides food, transpor- (RIS), not on August 17, 1945, when only a has been submitted to arbitration, as pro- tation and shelter to Indonesian military handful of Indonesians – under protection of vided by our contract with OPIC.” personnel at the mine. But the company the Japanese occupation army – proclaimed People who have been following the issue said it did not “provide transportation or their independence; say the insurance was canceled because of other assistance to military personnel in- (b) Indonesia should constrain itself to environmental problems at the Grasberg volved in combat operations.” the Dutch East Indies borders, and not vio- Mine, which contains the world’s largest Steve Feld, an anthropologist and oppo- late those borders as happened in the case of known gold deposit, an estimated 22 million nent of the Freeport operation who has the annexation of East Timor; ounces. The ore body, in the mountains in spent two decades studying indigenous (c) Indonesia should inherit all the Dutch Irian Jaya, an Indonesian province that oc- music and culture in neighboring Papua New colonial laws, including all the regressive cupies the western half of the island of New Guinea, said the decision to cancel the com- laws to repress opposition and criticism of Guinea, also contains an estimated 15 billion pany’s insurance “confirms what many the regime, such as the haatzaai artikelen pounds of copper and 37 million ounces of people have known and talked about for a (the Hate-sowing acts) as well as the laws silver. The total value of the deposit is esti- long time.” He added, “This is extremely against ‘insulting the authorities,’ with a mated at $50 billion. important because OPIC’s scientists are possible sentence of six years imprisonment In recent years, Freeport McMoRan has internationally recognized.” for anybody who was accused of insulting pumped more than $2 billion into the infra- The decision appeared to have been the King or Queen (1) as well as the pro- structure at the mine, which employs about guided by a 1979 executive order, which gressive Hindrance Ordinance (Hinder Or- Page 70 East Timor Documents, Volume 40. Sept. 1 - November 3, 1995. donantie) of 1926, which provide the right (PRB) really makes sense and hence other natural religions, non-theist Bud- of citizens to veto projects that are going to the spirit of the aborted Brunei revo- dhism, as well as atheism; (9) be built in their neighbourhood and are con- lution is worth pursuing now; (4) · Indonesia should not deprive anybody sidered to be harmful for their well being – a (b) the territorial borders of the Indone- from the political, economic, and cultural form of direct democracy; sian Republic does not necessarily have to arenas based on their present or past po- (d) Indonesia should consist of a three- coincide with the Dutch East Indies territo- litical convictions; tier society, with the “brown” rulers who rial borders. This does not mean, though, (f) Indonesia should develop all sectors replaced the “white” rulers on the top, using that the entire archipelago or region will of the economy with equal attention both “Foreign Orientals” and other non- become fair game for Indonesia’s expansion- the industrial as well as the agricultural sec- indigenous and non-Indonesians as interme- ism, but that those borders can continuously tors; diaries to deal with the masses of the native be re-negotiated and determined in accor- (g) Indonesia should re-install the mari- peoples; dance with the wishes of the people who time powers outside Java, and not sacrifice (e) Indonesia should continue the live within those borders, based on the uni- them on behalf of favoring the agriculture Dutch’s discriminative religious policy, versally recognized right of self- powers in Java; using religion to divide and rule the colo- determination; e.g. (h) Indonesia should seriously lay the nized, as the Dutch did by favoring the · the West Papuan people did not de- groundwork of a federalistic state and de- Christians while discriminating against the termine for themselves whether they volve the power from the old capital (Ja- Muslims; wanted to join the Dutch East Indies, karta) towards the regions, and also devolve (f) Indonesia should limit its economy but were incorporated in that colony power from the new metropole (the CGI, towards the production of raw materials to only based on the Tidore sultanate’s especially the USA/World Bank, Japan and export to the industrialized countries, in- claim that they were Tidore’s sub- Germany) to a genuinely elected parliament. cluding the Netherlands, while mainly im- jects, and were thereby consequently (10) porting industrial, or processed goods, from claimed to be Indonesian citizens after If we still have serious disagreements on those countries, leading eventually to a Indonesia’s declaration of independ- all those eight points, we have to ask our- “dual economy.” ence; hence, they have the right to de- selves, what are then the substantive differ- (g) Indonesia should continue the Dutch termine their own political future, a ences between the “colonial” Dutch East policy of destroying the maritime powers right denied to them in the 1969 so- Indies and the “independent” Indonesia? Or outside Java (2), and concentrate develop- called “Act of Free Choice” which the is Indonesia only a “new society” in an “old ment on the two major strongholds of the UN General Assembly accepted at state”? Or in a more popular language, old Dutch empire, namely Java and Sumatra that time. (5) wine in a new bottle? (with the exception of Aceh); · the aspirations of the Acehnese peo------(h) Indonesia should continue the Dutch ple, who historically supported the policy of concentrating the state’s power in This leads us then into the contemporary Java-based independence struggle and challenges, which are the legacy as well as Jakarta (formerly, Batavia) in a unitarian later joined the Indonesian Republic state system (with the exception of Van the “hang-overs” of the 1945-1950 inde- on specific conditions, but who are pendence struggle: Mook’s federalistic system constructed currently opting for their own inde- hastily during the Japanese occupation in (I). Defining who we are as a nation- pendence (6), should not be violently state: is Indonesia a continuation of the W.W.II), which is indirectly ruled by the repressed; the Aceh people can also faraway metropole (the Netherlands).(3) former East Indies Dutch colony, a com- be allowed to determine their wishes pletely new nation-state in the making, or a through a UN-supervised referendum; Now, if the answer is that Indonesia is a newborn Java-based empire (Majapahit, or ‘brand-new’ nation-state, which has liber- (c) Indonesia should critically screen all Mataram)? ated itself completely from the Dutch as colonial laws, adopting the progressive ones (II). Defining whom do we consist of as well as the Japanese colonial yokes, then while throwing the regressive ones over- citizens of that nation-state: are we a multi- logically a different kind of “Indonesia” can board, using the people’s welfare and not racial and multicultural agglomeration of be constructed, the ruler’s interests as its main criteria of peoples? Or are we a single people (satu (a) Indonesia’s independence began on selection; (7) bangsa) undergoing a process of homogeni- August 17, 1945, regardless of the consent (d&e) Indonesia should abolish all forms zation under a dominant culture, a dominant of the Dutch colonial powers or the interna- of discrimination based on racial, religion, religion, and a dominant state philosophy? tional community, which by that time was gender, or political conviction, e.g.: (III). Defining the means with which we still dominated by the Western powers · Indonesia should not favor one particular rule ourselves: are we going to allow our- which came out as victors of World War II; ethnic, religious or professional group to selves to be ruled continuously by a ho- · as a consequence of glorifying its own the presidential seat and other important mogenizing and self-serving elite, which August 17, 1945 unilateral declaration bureaucratic and military posts, while glorify the supremacy of the armed resis- of independence (UDI), Indonesia can discriminating other ethnic, religious, or tance in the independence struggle to legiti- also accept November 28, 1975 as the professional groups; (8) mize civilian domination by the military as UDI and the beginning of the Democ- · the “brown” rulers should not exploit the well as to justify the collusion of the former ratic Republic of East Timor; masses of their own race by using eco- freedom fighters with their Chinese gun- · as another consequence of accepting nomic intermediaries from different races; runners? Or, do we have to create a com- Indonesia’s own UDI is that Indone- · Indonesia should not discriminate one pletely new Government ethos? sia’s support for the December 8, religion over another, or even on set of If the latter is the case then we have to 1962 independence declaration of the belief systems (e.g. the monotheistic Se- demystify the glorification of the ksatria – “United North Kalimantan Republic” mitic religions) vis a vis other belief sys- or warrior – culture that is believed to have by Azahari’s Partai Rakyat Brunei tems, including polytheist Hindu and kept us intact as a nation from various ex- ternal threats, by exploring other contribut- East Timor Documents, Volume 40. September 1 - November 3, 1995 Page 71 ing factors which have lead us to (political) that only “indigenous” Indonesians could kar, Andi Mattalata, Sam Ratulangie and independence, as well as exploring other become president should be abolished. his daughter, Zus Ratulangie, and Tjilik strands in the independence struggle which Likewise, standard practices or the current Riwut, began their struggle from the bases in Java, due to the colonial centralistic did not make it. predominant belief that only Muslim Java- state in Java, before eventually moving to For instance, we have to explore the nese military males could even be considered their places of origin. The late Tjilik Ri- “100% merdeka” strand of Tan Malaka, as candidates for the presidency, should also wut commanded the Air Force and Navy which aimed at political independence from be abolished. units which attacked the Dutch military a “foreign” power with the liberation of the Thirdly, Indonesia’s citizens and resi- posts in South and Central Kalimantan. people from their own political and eco- dents should have the right to be ruled by a because of his close connections with Su- karno, who was also an admirer of the Air nomic oppressors, who had been the agents civilian government, with maximum protec- Force, he was later appointed as the first of Dutch colonialism. We also have to ex- tion against the collusion between business governor of Central Kalimantan, one of plore the more peaceful means of liberating (private) and public interests, a government the three Dayak governors before a series the masses from poverty and isolation from which is accountable to the citizens through of Javanese governors ruled Central Kali- the global community through education, periodical elections as well as through unpe- mantan, until now. health and economic efforts, which were riodical referenda in matters which effect the (3) We should not forget that during the BPKI debates, some of the founding fa- endeavoured by Muhammadiyah, Taman public welfare. thers of the Indonesian Republic also Siswa, and other civilian organizations. In ------opted for a federalistic state, namely the mean time, we also have to explore and Finally, as a way of conclusion, allow me Mohammad Hatta and GSSJ (Sam) Ratu- appreciate the independence fighters on the langie. They were overruled by the major- to paraphrase from Albert Memmi’s classic ity of the BPKI members, which were ob- diplomatic front, and not continuously (12), which I think it quite appropriate to blame them for yielding too easily to the viously so much obsessed with unity, that celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of Indone- they feared federalistic state would cer- Dutch demands, as we often read from the sia’s attempt to become an independent tainly work in favour of the Dutch divide literature written by contemporary dwi- nation-state: and rule tactics. fungsi apologists for the Indonesian regime...... colonization materially kills (4) Currently, democracy stirs have already Now, if we do not glorify the armed re- the colonized. It also kills him or her become stronger in this Malay Muslim sistance in the independence struggle, and monarchy, which Azahari and his Partai spiritually. Colonization distorts rela- Ra’yat Brunei wanted to reform in the see their role as important as the peaceful tionships, destroys or petrifies insti- resistance through economic and diplomatic early 1960s. However, PRB is still banned tutions, and corrupts men and women, and recently its former executive secre- means, then we should also terminate the both colonizers and colonized. To live, tary, Haji Zaini Haji Ahmad, has been de- collusion of business and politics, the “ille- the colonized needs to do away with tained. Hence, another light needs to be gitimate child” (anak haram) of the armed colonization. To become a man or put on this aborted revolution, instead of guerilla struggle, (11) especially since it putting PRB – and especially its former woman, he or she must do away with chairperson and founder, Azahari – simply deprives the majority of the Indonesian and the colonized being that he or she has East Timorese peoples from the full benefits as a “puppet” of Sukarno’s expansionistic become. If the European must annihi- dreams to take over the former British of the Indonesian revolution. late the colonizer within himself or colonies of Northern Borneo. For a better ------– herself, the colonized must also rise picture of this aborted revolution and its My answers to those questions are above his or her colonized being. aspirations, see Zaini Haji Ahmad’s book, Partai Rakyat Brunei: The People’s Party probably already obvious for those who are So the question arises then: after fifty of Brunei, Selected Documents/Dokumen aware of my political trajectory under the years, have we as Indonesians risen above Terpilih. Kuala Lumpur: Insan; Graham New Order regime, having experienced major our colonized being, or have we become Saunders, 1994. A history of Brunei. shifts in the nation’s political culture, and colonizers ourselves? Not only colonizers of Kuala Lumpur: Oxford University Press; having personally grown up – biologically as another people who did not share the same Bill Tarrant, “Reform hopes rise as de- well as intellectually – in Java, Kalimantan, historical heritage as us, but also as coloniz- mocracy stirs in Brunei,” The Australian, May 26, 1995; and Sulawesi, Irian Jaya, the Netherlands, the ers of our own peoples? (5) When the report on the “Act of Free USA, and currently in Australia. Fremantle, August 15, 1995 Choice” was debated in the UN in Novem- First of all, I do not see Indonesia as the ber 1969, it was approved by 84 UN rightful heir and thereby a continuation of Footnotes members, with 30 abstentions, most of the Dutch East Indies, nor as a newborn (1) In fact, these are the legal instruments them from Africa and the Caribbean. Sup- Java-based empire. Indonesia is becoming, which the “New Order” is actually using port for Indonesia came mainly from the more and more to crack down on dissi- Western countries, which could not wait as well as will become, what its peoples dents from all walks of life in Indonesia, to invest in West Papua’s wealthy natural wanted it to become, even if that means a recently – trade unionists, journalists, aca- resources, and from Arabic countries, reformulation of the old Dutch East Indies demics, etcetera. which wanted Indonesia’s support in their borders – which have already been violated (2) There is a strong pro-Java & Sumatra bias confrontation with Israel over the Pales- – with the consent of most Indonesian intel- in the Anglophone Indonesian historiog- tinian people’s right to self- lectuals, since 1975. raphy, especially the focus on the era of determination. For a detailed report about the way the “Act of Free Choice” was car- Secondly, the Indonesian society as I see the Indonesian modern independence struggle. One tends to forget, that the ried out, and how it was approved in the it, should not be seen as a single people, but Makassarese of Gowa were only pacified, UN, see Robin Osborne, 1985, Indonesia’s as an agglomeration of peoples, consisting of through the Bongaya treaty, in 1905. secret war: The guerilla struggle in Irian different races, different ethno-linguistic Apart from Eastern Indonesia, the inde- Jaya. Sydney: Allen & Unwin, pp.40-52; groups, different historical heritages, differ- pendence struggle carried out in Kaliman- and George J. Aditjondro, 1993. Bintang ent religious and political convictions, who tan has also been overlooked by many kejora di tengah kegelapan malam: Peng- gelapan nasionalisme orang Irian dalam all strive for the right to be treated as citi- Anglophone historians. This bias is proba- bly caused by the fact that many of the historiografi Indonesia. Paper presented at zens with equal rights before the law. East Indonesian and Kalimantan inde- a seminar on Indonesian nationalism in Hence, the 1945 constitutional limitation pendence fighters, such as Kahar Muzak- the wake of the 21st Century, organized Page 72 East Timor Documents, Volume 40. Sept. 1 - November 3, 1995.

by Yayasan Bina Darma at the Satya mine their government’s budgets. This through which they insult President Suharto Wacana Christian University in Salatiga, shows how in reality the Indonesian gov- and Harmoko. June 2-5, 1993. ernment is not accountable to its own The Independen magazine, published by (6) See Tim Kell, 1995. The roots of people, but to the people of its creditor Acehnese rebellion, 1989-1992. Ithaca: nations – mainly the USA, Japan, Ger- the Alliance of Independent Journalists Cornell Modern Indonesia Project. many – which through their parliaments (AJI), reported earlier this year that Har- (7) Currently in Indonesia, the regressive can determine the direction and quality of moko has shares in more than 30 news or- colonial laws are being glorified by the re- the loans and grants to finance Indone- ganizations given to him as ransoms. gime, while the progressive Hinder Ordi- sia’s development plans. This is a form of Under Indonesian law, a publisher should nance is often overruled by the new envi- neo-colonialism one could say. apply for a license from the Information (11)Two of the richest Chinese tycoons in ronmental regulations which take away Ministry before publishing any publication. the power from the citizens and the local Indonesia, Liem Soie Liong (Sudono communities and hand it over to the bu- Salim), and Eka Tjipta Widjaja were the Being sentenced back home, the journal- reaucrats and their professional consult- gunrunners of the guerilla troops in Cen- ists, however, had won international sup- ants, thereby favoring “expert-ocracy” tral Java and South Sulawesi, respectivelty port for their free press campaign. The over democracy. (see Sori Ersa Siregar & Kencana Tirta Brussels-based International Federation of (8) With the increasing power of the gov- Widya, 1989. Liem Soie Liong: Dari Journalists and a number of international Futching ke mancanegara. Jakarta: ernment-supported Islamic Scholars Asso- media organizations have repeatedly called ciation (ICMI), there seems to emerge a Pustaka Merdeka, pp. 24-32). Twenty strong favoritism for the promotion of years later, one of the younger Chinese on the Indonesian government to release the Muslim bureaucrats, which is seen by some tycoons, Robby Sumampouw, supplied the detained journalists. Muslim politicians and academics as the Indonesian troops which invaded East The Committee to Protect Journalists right political ‘correction’ to the late Timor in 1975, under the command of (CPJ) announced in New York on Monday General Ali Murtopo’s favouritism for Benny Murdani and his two deputy com- that it would issue one of its annual Interna- manders, Dading Kalbuadi and Sahala Ra- right wing Christians – especially Catho- tional Press Freedom Awards to Mr. lics – during the first decade of the New jagukguk. Currently, the three retired gen- Order. Apart from that, there is also a erals still act as the protectors of Robby Taufik. strong favouritism for Javanese or Java- Sumampouw’s Batara Indra Group, which “As president of his union, Taufik has born bureaucrats and military officials, and has its extensive business operations in helped to lead one of the boldest movements on top of that, there is also a dispropor- East Timor, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thai- for press freedom anywhere in Asia,” said tional number of military or retired mili- land, Vietnam and Christmas Island (see CPJ Executive Director William A. Orme, tary personnel in the civil service. George J. Aditjondro, 1994. In the shadow of Mount Ramelau: The impact of the oc- Jr. (9) Indonesia’s compulsory and restrictive “Throughout the five-months of his im- religious policy has caused numerous un- cupation of East Timor. Leiden: Indoc, pleasant side effects. Because of the pp. 58-62, 88-89). Hence, the business prisonment and trial, he has steadfastly monotheist emphasis (in accordance with and military connections in Indonesia are presented a principled and articulate defense the first principle of the Panca Sila), Hin- as old as the republic, and has become the of that right.” duism, a polytheist religion, has become basis of the formation of Indonesia’s cur- According to Mr. Orme, Taufik and oth- molded into a monotheist religion, and rent oligarchy, which is very deeply en- trenched in the Indonesian economy. ers who went on to form AJI played an under the Semitic influence of Christianity instrumental role in marshaling public pro- and Islam as well as under the economic (12)Albert Memmi. The colonizer and the pressure of modern life, have become a colonized. 1990 Earthscan Publications tests against the media bans, as well as sub- centralized religion and uprooted from edition (Original French edition, 1957). sequent violations of press freedom in Indo- their Bali environment. Many local or London, p. 217. nesia. tribal religions, have to survive as a sect Indonesian reporters set up AJI in Au- of Hinduism, for instance the Dayak Ka- AJI JOURNALISTS ON TRIAL gust 1994 following the failure of the state- haringan religion and the Torajanese Aluk sanctioned Association of Indonesian Jour- To Dolo. Meanwhile, in East Timor, From: Yayasan GENI Salatiga, 1 September many believers in the tribal religions were nalists to protest the closure of TEMPO, forced to adopt one of the four religions 1995 DeTik and Editor weeklies. (Islam, Christianity, Hindu and Buddha) JAKARTA – A Jakarta district court “Journalists should tell the truth and officially recognized by the Indonesian yesterday sentenced two journalists to 30 only the truth. I’m prepared to be jailed just state, and chose Christianity. In addition, months imprisonment each for sowing ha- for the truth,” said Mr. Taufik, a former followers of Kong Hu Cu, which is a non- reporter of TEMPO and currently of Media theist religion, have opted for Buddhism tred against the government amidst an inter- or Christianity. Finally the prohibition national campaign for their release. Indonesia newspaper. against atheism has triggered the ‘free “Fascist court, where is your dignity?” A number of noted figures like human fight’ battle for those atheist souls be- jeered a visitor in a packed court room rights lawyers Adnan Buyung Nasution and tween Christians and Muslims in Indonesia where the crowd repeatedly booed the H.J.C. Princen as well as Goenawan Mo- as well as between Protestants and Catho- three-panel judges. Some visitors unfurled hamad, former TEMPO chief editor, also lics in East Timor (NTT), with all its un- attended yesterday’s trial session. pleasant side effects. posters accusing Information Minister Har- (10)Even the current parliament, which al- moko as the mastermind of the political Along with some 150 other visitors, they ready consists of persons screened by the trial. sang patriotic songs, showing their support security apparatus for their loyalty to the Chief judge Madjono Widiatmaja said toward the convicted. state philosophy Pancasila and the 1945 that Ahmad Taufik and Eko Maryadi had Media watcher Ariel Heryanto told the constitution, has practically no say in the been found guilty of the Criminal Act of West Australian that the government is approval of Indonesia’s foreign debts, trying to scare journalists. “But AJI activ- which has already been pre-arranged by publicly expressing feeling of enmity, hatred the executive arm of the government. and insult against the government of Indone- ists will not be frightened. They will go on.” This is a violation of Article 23 of the sia. The Australian-trained anthropologist 1945 Constitution, which emphasizes that Mr. Widiatmaja said the two had also said that the Indonesian government prac- the difference between a fascist state and a published unlicensed magazine Independen ticed such a threat successfully in the 1970s. democratic state is in the right of the “But not now. The time is different now.” people through their parliament to deter- East Timor Documents, Volume 40. September 1 - November 3, 1995 Page 73

The court has last week sentenced AJI ling development, the crushing of the PKI tile crowd by police wielding bamboo sticks. office helper Danang Kukuh Wardoyo to and the Dutch (often run into one event), Even so, there was considerable shoving, twenty months imprisonment for helping the potential of human resources and tech- and a couple of youths with bitter and angry Messrs. Taufik and Maryadi sowing hatred nology, and the country’s acumen in sports expressions lurched after the judges as they against the Indonesian government. (to name a few topics of national pride). cleared the door. The judges wore uncom- CPJ has presented the International Press Taking the opportunity to show a kind face, fortable smiles. Then, the convicted were Freedom Award annually since 1991 to the state abolished the ‘ET’ marking (ex- escorted out to cheers and applause. Eko recognize the commitment of journalists to political prisoner) from identity cards and had tears in his eyes but looked determined the ideals of press freedom, even in the face released a number of high profile long term while Achmad retained a casual composure. of political persecution and personal hard- political prisoners connected with the so- Remarkably, there was no security clear- ship. called attempted communist coup of 1965. ance and no identity cards were checked in The award will be presented in New (At the same time, it vowed to execute oth- any systematic fashion. Meanwhile, no York on December 6, before an audience of ers.) Although the release of the prisoners fewer than three activists from SMID (In- leading American journalists and major me- and the abolishment of the ‘ET’ designation donesian Students in Solidarity for Democ- dia executives which include R.E. “Ted” were both targets of long term campaigns by racy) and one other student were arrested Turner of CNN, Benjamin Bradlee of The human rights activists, Soeharto used them outside under the pretext of not having their Washington Post and Tom Brokaw of NBC to show his munificence and lack of resent- identity cards (though they were carrying News. ment. signs), and a group of high school students CPJ is co-founded and chaired by well Meanwhile, activists took advantage of were forbidden from entering the courtroom known presenter Walter Cronkite of CBS the dual meaning of ‘merdeka,’ the national- because they had stashed their uniforms in and directed by Katharine Graham of The ists’ anti-colonial cry, to ask why after 50 their bags. Washington Post, Peter Arnett and Bernard years of merdeka [independence], Indonesia After the two were escorted out, some Shaw of CNN, Anthony Lewis of The New was still not merdeka [free]. Another widely fiery speeches were made, poetry was read, York Times, Dan Rather of CBS and some circulated slogan, quoted by Tri Agus in his and a small performance piece was made out other leading media figures. defense speech was “50 persen merdeka, di of burying the robes of the Indonesian judi- Government prosecutor T.S. Limbong tahun Indonesia Cemas.” 50 percent free in cial system and covering it with scattered demanded the Central Jakarta district court the Year of Indonesia Disturbed. (Cemas, flowers from a wreath which had read: “To to sentence the journalists to four years jail rather than Emas, golden.) the honored judges: We are suffering from term each. During the sentencing of Achmad Taufik this Courtroom Drama.” Activists openly and Eko Maryadi, the courtroom was compared the repressive tactics of the New ACHMAD TAUFIK AND EKO packed and people overflowed into the Order regime to Dutch colonialism. MARYADI, TRI AGUS TRIALS hallways. Luminaries on the Indonesian The demo ended with cries of “Hang Report from someone in attendance at the political scene such as Adnan Buyung Harmoko!” The demonstrators were ex- sentencing of Achmad Taufik and Eko Nasution of the LBH, the scholar Marsilam pressing their anger over the fact that Har- Maryadi (AJI), and the reading of his de- Simanjuntak, and Goenawan Mohamad, moko, the Information Minister and the fense speech by Tri Agus (PIJAR)], Sept. 2, editor of the banned Tempo and chief impe- head of Golkar, has thus far not been held 1995 tus behind the formation of AJI, as well as a accountable under the same laws against number of domestic and foreign journalists defamation of religion that have led to the September 1, 1995 was a busy day for were all in attendance. The outside court- conviction of others. In July, Harmoko Soeharto’s New Order judicial system and room speakers were purposely turned off so badly mispronounced the Arabic in an Is- an emotional one for young pro-democracy as not to cause any additional disturbances lamic tract so that it came out as an obscen- activists. Within the span of a few hours, from the crowd, which jeered or hooted ity. two dissidents were sentenced and the trial nearly everything the judge said. During the reading of his defense speech of another began. In the morning, Achmad To prove, for instance, that the two AJI on August 28, Achmad Taufik compared the Taufik and Eko Maryadi, two journalists activists had spread hatred against the gov- use of the Haatzaai Artikelen (Hate Arti- from AJI (Alliance of Independent Journal- ernment, the Judge Madjono Wildiatmadja cles) of Dutch colonial law with their cur- ists, which publishes the magazine Inde- had to spell out the constitutional passages rent manifestation as articles 154 and 155 of penden) were sentenced to 2 years and 8 that showed ministers, presidents, and vice- the Indonesian criminal code (KUHP). He months in prison for spreading hatred of the presidents were equivalent to the govern- listed every nationalist leader and publisher government. In the afternoon, one level ment. This was met with tremendous laugh- who had been brought to court under these down in the Central Jakarta Court building, ter. If the judge mentioned that something articles and mentioned the verdict. A signifi- Tri Agus read his defense speech, becoming had been demonstrated according to law, cant portion had simply been freed, and the fourth PIJAR foundation activist to someone shouted in a courteous voice, nearly all of the rest had been given sen- stand trial in the past few years, following “Yeah, but what law is that, Sir?” Occa- tences of less then six months. Meanwhile, in the footsteps of Nuku Soleiman, sen- sional cries of “Sidang Sandiwara!” (Show virtually all dissidents brought to trial under tenced to jail for insulting the president via Trial!) could be heard. Among other things the New Order have been convicted for the distribution of stickers reading “Soe- which “proved” the guilt of the two ac- extended terms. harto is the Mastermind of All Disasters.” cused, the judge demonstrated that the of- A week before, the office boy at AJI, a It was as if the government had deliber- fending magazine, Independen, published young high school aged boy named Danang ately waited for the month of August to without SIUPP (permission to publish), Kukuh Wardoyo, was sentenced to 1 year draw to a close before resuming its normal was intentionally sold at a low price in order and 8 months in prison for helping to dis- blunt repressive tactics. During August, to achieve a wide distribution. tribute AJI literature at a meeting. Com- Indonesia celebrated 50 years of independ- After the verdict had been read, the pared to the extended, fiery political ence with red and white flags hung every crowd sang a solidarity song, and then the speeches given by Achmad and Eko as their few meters and propaganda billboards extol- judges had to be escorted out through a hos- defense appeals, Danang’s was only two Page 74 East Timor Documents, Volume 40. Sept. 1 - November 3, 1995. pages long and simply said he couldn’t un- that this has created a rift in the pro- is that Soeharto is still the king of Java, no?” derstand why he was being tried when he democracy movement. And the jokes go on. Significantly, Tri Agus was just trying to earn a living. Even the To rub in the absurdity of being tried for spends a good deal of time talking about typically cautious national daily Kompas quoting the sentence, “This country has East Timor, which he refers to in Portuguese took an editorial stand condemning his sen- been messed up by one person and his name as Timor Leste. He notes that the 50th an- tencing. is Soeharto,” Tri Agus repeats it several niversary of the Proclamation of Indonesian Eko’s and Taufik’s speeches were times throughout his pleidoi. He asks: Independence coincides with 30 years of the pointed and often very funny, making jokes “The Public Prosecutor has concluded rule of Soeharto and the 20 year anniversary about Harmoko that even brought a smile to that I intentionally insulted President Soe- of the “attack and occupation of Timor one of the assistant judge’s face. Otherwise harto by writing the sentence of Adnan Leste which until now has not been recog- the prosecutor and the three judges sat Buyung Nasution: ‘This country has been nized by the UN, the international commu- deadpan while the accused read their messed up by one person and his name is nity, or the people of Timor Leste them- speeches, knowing full well that it was all Soeharto.’ I emphasize here that if I actually selves.” He substantiates the fact that part of the act and would not in any way wanted to insult Soeharto, why would it be 200,000 have lost their lives by quoting affect their pre-drawn verdicts. Occasion- only by quoting Adnan Buyung Nasution Abilio Soares and the research of George ally, one of the assistant judges nodded off. like that? I have a warehouse of insulting Aditjondro. The prosecutor stared blankly, except in words for Soeharto, but I’ve been waiting But then he turns to the humor which those moments when Eko referred to him as for the moment to use these words.” makes a tragedy palatable. Timtim, the In- “the most clever prosecutor,” at which Apparently the moment was there at the donesian for East Timor, he says stands for point he could barely conceal a flinch. If trial. “Timor Leste Ingin Merdeka Tapi Indonesia Eko’s and Taufik’s speeches were humor- At the very beginning of the pleidoi, he Melarang,” East Timor wants to be free but ous, Tri Agus’ was written as a comedy. It said he wanted to remind the audience of the Indonesia forbids it. And he relates a story is well known that under the New Order, official law which is in effect in this coun- of a curfew in Dili: the place where freedom of expression finds try: “In Dili, whoever is running wild in the its ultimate realization is in the court room, “Two articles streets after 10 pm will be shot on sight. when it is clear that a verdict is already Two Indonesian Corporals, Salim and Kar- “Article 1 (one): Soeharto has never drawn. The pleidoi, the defense speech, has diman, were talking at precisely 9:30. Sud- messed up this country. “Article 2 (two): If become its own literary form. Tri Agus’ denly a shot was heard: ‘Bam!’ Apparently, Soeharto messes up this country, see article pleidoi, is titled a “Crazy Era,” using the Salimin had just shot a youth. ‘What are 1 (one)” vulgar Javanese word for crazy that Soe- you doing! It’s just 9:30, why did you Chapter III of the pleidoi, titled ‘Soe- harto leveled against demonstrators in Dres- shoot him?’ asked Kardiman. ‘Of course I harto dan Kacau’ (Suharto and Ruin) con- den earlier this year. know that,’ answered Salimin, ‘I know him. tains Tri Agus’ manifesto and the bulk of As Tri Agus read it, the microphone dis- He’s Gomes and his house is in Tasi Tolu the humor. He notes that he is already inti- torted his voice and when criticism became on the edge of town. I’m sure the trip from mate with Soeharto. He and his friends cele- too heated, phased out altogether in a shrill here to his house is more than a half hour,’ brated the birthday of that “battered and squeal. Each time this happened, the audi- Salim went on calmly.” senile toothless old man born in Godean, ence shouted out, “Don’t continue reading!” In the rest of his pleidoi, which talks Yogyakarta in 1921” by inviting about 90 or “Repeat it!,” and a court clerk would go about corruption, succession, and hypoc- people named Soeharto they picked out of a off into a back room and solve the “prob- risy, it is abundantly evident that Tri Agus phone book to a party. All kinds of people lem.” At one point the judge warned the knows he doesn’t stand a chance of being came, including doctors and ex-ABRI offi- audience that if they kept up their reactions acquitted. But he knows at least he can go to cers, and there were both those who regret- he’d order the trial to be held without the jail in a blaze. That at least, is the image ted and those proud to have the name Soe- public in attendance. conjured by PIJAR, blazing and red-hot. harto. Tri Agus was being tried for quoting, in Its not true, he repeats a joke in circula- PIJAR’s newsletter, KABAR DARI PIJAR tion, that Soeharto wants to be president for INDONESIA SAYS WILL (News from PIJAR), a sentence uttered by life. What he wants is to be president until CHECK PORTUGAL’S Adnan Buyung Nasution in June of 1994 death. And the reason Soeharto hasn’t been after the banning of three major Indonesian TV PLAN replaced as president is that the four condi- news weeklies. At issue is whether a jour- tions haven’t been met: “1) He must be Reuter, 5 September 1995. Abridged nalist, even an advocacy journalist, can be Islamic, 2) From ABRI, 3) From Java, and held accountable for quoting what someone Indonesia said on Tuesday it would most importantly, 4) With experience as else said. Buyung, now Chairman of the check reports that Portugal planned to President.” Activists, he said, have made his Board of the LBH, (partially) denies utter- broadcast television programmes to its for- name an abbreviation for “SUdah HARus ing the offending sentence: “This country mer colony of East Timor, the official TObat,” Must Repent. And he takes the has been messed up [dikacaukan] by one Antara news agency said. opportunity to quote another joke, where person and his name is Soeharto.” (Dikacau- “We are going to check the truth of the English, American, and Indonesian archeolo- kan could be messed up, ruined, or even reports,” Indonesia’s Information Minister gists confront, in the pyramids of Egypt, a fucked up depending on the context and Harmoko, was quoted as telling reporters. mummy which to the surprise of the Eng- intonation. The latter is perhaps most ap- A Portuguese newspaper Expresso was lishman and the American has never heard of propriate.) Buyung was noticeably absent at quoted by the Jakarta-based Republika either of their countries. But when the the trial, and has alienated many younger newspaper on Tuesday as saying Portugal’s mummy hears that the “short brown activists for his hesitancy to come forward state-owned television planned to broadcast skinned” archeologist is from Indonesia, it and take a stand, which would clearly put its programmes to East Timor by satellite says, to the amazement of the others, him at risk. Several young activists lamented starting in October. It was not clear if the “Haaaaa! You’re from Indonesia? Uh, word television programmes would be specific to East Timor Documents, Volume 40. September 1 - November 3, 1995 Page 75

East Timor or also broadcast to other areas. INDONESIAN JOURNALIST INDONESIAN GOVERNMENT Harmoko did not say if the government would ban the programmes if they were JAILED FOR “INSULTING “FACTS” ON EAST TIMOR aired. THE PRESIDENT” From pages on the World-Wide Web main- INDONESIA READY FACES From Article 19, London, 11 Sept. 1995 tained by the Embassy of Indonesia for Can- PORTUGAL’S TV PROGRAMS ada. Team editor: STAID Canada 1990 Tri Agus Susanto Siswowihardjo today (Akmaloni, Eko Wibowo, Gatot Susilo, Gita JAKARTA, Sept. 6 (UPI) — An Indo- (11 September 1995) became the fourth Nurlaila, Pramitha Juristyarini) Last up- nesian minister says (Wednesday) the coun- Indonesian media worker in as many weeks dated: September 15, 1995 try is ready for Portuguese television to to be sentenced to imprisonment for his broadcast its programs into East Timor, a professional activities. He was convicted of 1. Accusations: “200,000 or one-third of former Portuguese territory. The minister insulting President Suharto and sentenced to East Timor’s population have been killed says propaganda is a daily activity by Lis- two years’ imprisonment on the basis of an since Indonesia invaded the country in bon. article in Kabar Dari Pijar, the newsletter he 1075; the worst case of genocide, per edits for the pro-democracy organization, capita, since the Holocaust.” INDONESIA’S SUHARTO Pijar. Facts: On the matter of alleged “geno- SEES NO PLACE FOR Frances D’Souza, ARTICLE 19s Execu- cide” the fact is that nobody knows authori- tive Director, emphasized that “There can OPPOSITION tatively how many people died in East be no justification whatsoever for this con- Timor, during the civil war, as a result of JAKARTA, Sept. 8 (Reuter) — Indone- viction. It is a violation of international hu- tribal strife, during and after the Indonesian sia’s President Suharto has dismissed a call man rights law to punish an individual intervention, and as a result of famine. That for opposition parties to be officially recog- merely for publishing criticism of the Presi- many people died is tragic but the deliberate nised, saying the move would be inconsis- dent. Indonesia should recognize its interna- exaggeration of the number of deaths to tent with the state’s ideology and constitu- tional obligations and urgently repeal legisla- discredit Indonesia is simply dishonest. In tion, the Jakarta Post newspaper reported tion which has been used to punish legiti- 1976, Fransisco da Cruz, spokesman of the on Friday. mate political criticism.” East Timor Provisional government was In a meeting with the Association of In- The Kabar Dari Pijar article, which was quoted in the international press as having donesian Engineers on Thursday, Suharto published some nine months before the said that “60,000 had been killed” in East said he would not endorse a call for the crea- government brought charges against Tri Timor. The next day, however, the same tion of opposition parties, the newspaper Agus Susanto, concerned the protests that spokesman said that 60,000 had “lost their said. followed the banning in June 1994 of three lives or homes” and this figure included the “The spirit of consensus through delib- leading news publications. It quoted a lead- 40,000 refugees who had fled to West erations precludes the existence of opposi- ing human rights activist as saying that In- Timor. Through a process of mutual cita- tion,” State Planning Minister Ginanjar Kar- donesia had been “messed up” by President tion-and with the active assistance of the tasasmita quoted Suharto as saying after the Suharto. Indonesia’s critics/pro-Fretilin lobby, what meeting. Frances D’Souza added: “This prosecu- began as a figure of 60,000 — was gradually Consensus through deliberation is the tion was clearly politically-motivated, com- escalated to 200,000 or one-third of the fourth point in Indonesia’s five-principle ing at a time when the government was population. state ideology of Pancasila, which also in- cracking down on other government critics. (Address by Richard Woolcott, former cludes calls for belief in one supreme God The government’s campaign is a crude at- Australian Ambassador to Indonesia from and national unity. tempt to intimidate others from expressing 1975-1978 to the Sydney Institute on May Moslem scholar Nurcholish Madjid said opinions critical of the government.” 1992) being convicted of expressing “hatred” on Monday the two minority parties, the 2. Accusations: “About 100 people were against the government through AJI’s maga- Moslem-oriented United Development killed and over 100 wounded when zine, Independen. A week earlier Danang Party (PPP) and Nationalist-Christian Indo- troops opened fire on peaceful proces- Kukuh Wardoyo, a junior office assistant at nesian Democratic Party (PDI), should be sion at the Santa Cruz cemetery in Dili, AJI, was sentenced to 20 months’ impris- recognised as opposition parties. East Timor on November 12, 1991.” Officially, the parties, whose activities onment after being found guilty of assisting Ahmad Taufik and Eko Maryadi by distrib- Facts: The tragic incidents that occurred are restricted between election campaigns, in Dili, East Timor, on the 12 November are just “partners” of the government. uting copies of Independen, which has since been banned. 1991 was deeply regrettable, as was imme- “They (political and economic analysts) diately and repeatedly expressed by the find that what we’ve being doing is wrong For further information, please contact Ann Naughton, ARTICLE 19, International Indonesian Government at the highest lev- because they judge things using alien sys- els. It was a tragic incident and clearly not tems,” Suharto was quoted as saying. Centre Against Censorship Tel: 44 171 278 9292; Fax: 44 171 713 1356 an act ordered by or reflecting the policy of Indonesia’s 500-seat parliament is domi- the Government or the Armed Forces. It nated by the ruling Golkar Party, which at was not an orderly and peaceful procession the last election in 1992 won 282 seats dedicated to commemorate the death of compared with the PPP’s 62 and PDI’s 56. Sebastian Gomez. In fact, the demonstrators The Indonesian military has 100 ap- posed provocative and aggressive attitude pointees in the assembly, although in April that threatened the arms and safety of the they agreed to cut this to 75 after the next security personnel. A spontaneous reaction election, in 1997. took place among the security personnel to defend themselves, without command, re- sulting in excessive shooting at the demon- Page 76 East Timor Documents, Volume 40. Sept. 1 - November 3, 1995. strators, causing death and wounded. The seen as the culmination of centuries of colo- ference will never be known, colonial au- commission feels that there are sufficiently nial neglect and a completely bungled de- thorities themselves acknowledged that their strong grounds to conclude that the death colonization process. By utterly failing in figures for 1974 and earlier were estimates casualties totalled about 50 while the its responsibility, Portugal in fact has for- based on reports by “liurais” (village head- wounded exceeded 91. feited any right to be still considered the men), whose counts were never verified by (East Timor: Building for the Future, “administering power” of East Timor. the Portuguese Government. In any case, published by the Department of Foreign In the face of this, the East Timorese any drop in the population of East Timor Affairs, Republic of Indonesia, July 1992; people had rightly assumed their inherent was much lower than the distorted figures Final Report of the National Commission of right to decolonize themselves, considering disseminated by these critics. Inquiry, Jakarta, January 1992) themselves no longer bound to any decolo- In 1976, a spokesman of the East Timor 3. Accusations: “In January 1974 the nization covenant with the erstwhile colo- provisional government was quoted in the Timorese Democratic Union (UDT) en- nial power. This they did by choosing inde- international press as having said that tered a coalition with the Revolutionary pendence through integration with Indonesia “60,000 had been killed” in East Timor. The Front for an Independent Timor (Fre- in accordance with the U.N. General As- next day, however, the same spokesman tilin). Both parties agreed with the Portu- sembly Resolution 1514 (XV) and Princi- said that the press had misquoted him, for guese to move towards independence ples VI, VIII and IX of General Assembly what he in fact had stated was that 60,000 over a three-year period. The Indonesian Resolution 1541 (XV) and as further con- had “lost their lives or homes” and this fig- Military bribed and persuaded several firmed by the relevant provisions of General ure included the 40,000 refugees who had UDT leaders to organize a coup in Au- Assembly Resolution 2625 (XXV). fled to West Timor. gust 1975 and since then Indonesia in- How has Indonesia helped East Timor? These figures and the apparent short-fall in population have subsequently been ea- vaded East Timor.” Every part of the archipelago that is the gerly seized upon by Indonesia’s critics and, Facts: An orderly and peaceful decoloni- Republic of Indonesia has been an integral through the process of mutual citation, have zation came to an abrupt halt when in Au- and self-determining part of this strong and not only been constantly repeated but gust 1975 the Portuguese colonial admini- unified nation. It has been and remains a goal gradually exaggerated to reach what has now stration abandoned East Timor in a most of Indonesia to ensure that the benefits of become the fabricated and completely un- irresponsible manner, after allowing the development reach every part of our vast substantiated claim of 200,000 live lost. situation in the territory to deteriorate to the country, proportionate to the needs. Indeed, It is a sad fact that the tragedy that en- point of civil war, in fact, after practically that is the single reason why East Timor gulfed the East Timorese people after 1974 instigating civil war by clandestinely turning receives the largest amount of development did exact a regrettable toll in human lives. It over its arms and munitions to one particu- funds on a per capita basis, an investment should be borne in mind, however, that two lar group, the Fretilin. In doing so, Portugal that has produced hospitals, schools, roads key factors contributed to any real changes in effect relinquished its responsibility as and commerce when little to none had ex- in East Timor’s population: administering power. In August and No- isted under Portuguese rule. * First, the civil war that raged in East vember 1975 Indonesia was not even in- What about the “population discrepancy”? Timor in 1975-76 claimed many lives di- volved in the tragic events unfolding in East Of all the numerous myths about East rectly and indirectly. Not only did many Timor, although it had to bear the conse- Timor developed and disseminated by Indo- East Timorese die as a result of the quences of the turmoil interalia in the form nesia’s detractors, none is more malicious FRETILIN reign of terror, but many also of 42,000 East Timorese refugees streaming and misleading than the endlessly repeated delayed plans for marriage and childbearing, across the border in to West Timor. Four allegation of the number of lives lost in East and many families were separated. As a political parties in East Timor (except Fre- Timor during and after the process of inte- result, the 1980 census showed that children tilin) proclaimed on November 30, 1975 the gration. These critics charge that East younger than five years old accounted for dependence of East Timor through integra- Timor’s population decreased by 200,000 only 14.15 percent of the total population, tion with the Republic of Indonesia. or more, thus implying that about one-third well below the percentage in other prov- (Statement by H.E. Ali Alatas, Indone- of the population has either perished or inces. The hunger and disease caused by the sian Foreign Minister before members of the disappeared and that Indonesia should be disruption of civil war were joined by acts National Press Club, Washington, D.C. 20 held responsible for this. Some even go so of FRETILIN aggression as major direct February 1995) far as recklessly accusing Indonesia of caused of loss of life. As might be expected BACKGROUND QUESTIONS AND “genocide.” in a violent and chaotic security situation, an ANSWERS REGARDING EAST TIMOR Not only does this juggling of numbers abnormally low birthrate was an indirect ISSUES represent a shameless distortion of the tragic result of the ongoing civil war. facts surrounding Portugal’s mishandled * Second, thousands of refugees flooded Why did the Portuguese leave East Timor? decolonization of East Timor, but it also across the border to West Timor during and What is described as a “process of de- shows a complete and often deliberate mis- immediately after the war. They either set- colonization” by Portugal deserves rather to reading of the process of population survey- tled in West Timor or emigrated to other be termed a record of failure and ineptitude. ing and census-taking that has taken place parts of Indonesia or other countries. A In August 1975, the colonial authorities in prior to and following the departure of the large number of East Timorese and Portu- Dili, in a most irresponsible manner, simply colonial government. guese nationals have also emigrated to other packed up and left East Timor, after allow- The only internationally accepted census countries or returned to Portugal under the ing the situation in the territory to deterio- of East Timor was taken in 1980 as part of a repatriation and family reunion program rate to the point of civil war. Portugal was, nationwide count carried out by the Gov- initiated in cooperation with the Interna- in fact, guilty of practically instigating civil ernment of Indonesia. The resulting popula- tional Committee of the Red Cross. war by secretly turning over its arms and tion figure – 555,350 persons – seemed to Careful examination of the facts by sev- ammunition to one particular minority show a decline of some 69,000 from the last eral observers, including respected Western group. FRETILIN. This development can be colonial estimate of 624,564. The true dif- journalists, suggests that war-related deaths East Timor Documents, Volume 40. September 1 - November 3, 1995 Page 77 numbered around 5,000 with another 25,000 Nothing can be done to alter the facts of tries regarding the conduct of human rights victims of malnutrition and disease brought the incident: The test is on how the Indone- in East Timor. While we believe much of the about by a war-ravaged economy and a sian Government and people responded – concern is without foundation, we do accept gross lack of health-care services. That peo- by acting firmly and swiftly to get the facts, that there have been incidents that run con- ple have died is tragic enough, but the delib- by establishing a National Committee of trary to our commitment to the universal erate manipulation of the number of victims Inquiry and a Military Council of Honour, validity of basic human rights and funda- is highly irresponsible and simply dishon- and by initiating a due legal process, subject- mental freedoms. When we have been made est. It is to be hoped, therefore, that this ing all those held accountable for having aware of such incidents, such as the well- unsavory numbers game can finally be put violated the law, whether on the part of the publicized tragedy in Dili in November to an end. demonstrators or on the part of the security 1991, we have acted swiftly to correct them How are the cultural and social traditions of personnel, to trial by the appropriate courts and to bring to justice those individuals, be the East Timorese protected? of justice. This legal process shall be pur- they civilians or military officials, who are sued in accordance with the Rule of Law, responsible for the incident. The allegation that the East Timorese are the Pancasila State Philosophy, the 1945 It is our relief that many of the unsub- different from other Indonesians ignores the Constitution and the relevant Penal Codes stantiated charges regarding human rights fact that Indonesia is a land of diversity, upon which the Republic of Indonesia is abuses in East Timor are being disseminates comprising 300 distinct ethnic groups and based. by representatives of the Government of almost as many languages. People of the Portugal or by organizations receiving the same Melanesian ancestry and with the Is Indonesia willing to resolve the dispute support of that government. Portugal’s same culture, language base and customs, with Portugal? motivation in this regard stems from its inhabit the western part of Timor island and Although at the time of the last voting on profound sense of guilt in abandoning a the surrounding islands of eastern Indonesia. the East Timor issue at the U.N. General colony it had held for hundreds of years. Since East Timor was integrated into the Assembly in 1982, Portugal was hardly in a It is very troubling to have the former co- Republic of Indonesia, the Government has position of strength on the issue, Indonesia lonial power supporting the condemnation worked carefully to ensure that cultural agreed to the appeal by the then-Secretary- of a country that has brought peace and traditions are maintained, local languages are General of the United Nations, Mr. Javier stability to a region that was neglected for preserved and religious practices are re- Perez de Cuellar, to start a dialogue with centuries. The Government of Portugal re- spected. This has included support for cul- Portugal under his auspices. The purpose linquished its responsibilities for the ad- tural institutions and organizations, expan- was to find peaceful, comprehensive and ministration of East Timor in 1975 when its sion of economic opportunities for those internationally acceptable solution, under accredited representatives abandoned the involved in commercialization of traditional the general mandate of the Secretary- territory and left a vacuum (and weapons handicrafts and financial support for the General, through dialogue rather than and ammunition) which fueled a civil war construction and rehabilitation of facilities through continuing sterile debate in the Gen- that has been the source of a great deal of of worship in all the major faiths repre- eral Assembly. death and destruction. sented in the province. Since 1983, we have been engaged in such History will show that the very founda- East Timor, like the rest of Indonesia, is a a tripartite dialogue between Indonesia, tion of Indonesia was built on a search for province of extraordinary ethnic, religious Portugal, and the U.N. Secretary-General, freedom and justice and that the commit- and cultural diversity – a piece of the ex- under the mandate as referred to above and ment of the Government to ensuring rights traordinary mosaic that is the pride of Indo- not on the basis of or pursuant to any spe- for all has brought these basic human rights nesia. And in this diversity, no one group is cific General Assembly resolutions. This to all of the country’s more than 186 million dominant. Respect and tolerance for differ- dialogue has been, on the whole, a construc- people. This is something the people of ent cultural and religious traditions is at the tive one as it contributed to removing any East Timor did not have under Portuguese heart of the national philosophy. This pro- earlier misunderstandings and to resolving colonial rule and only gained as peace and tection and nurturing in East Timor cannot many outstanding humanitarian issues. stability have replaced civil war in this im- be denied. We also resumed discussions between the portant part of Indonesia. What were the actions taken in connection foreign ministers of Indonesia and Portugal, and the U.N. Secretary-General, in 1992 with the November 12, 1991 incident in INDONESIA’S BRASS Dili? under the Secretary-General’s auspices. The purpose of these discussions, of which two POLISHES ITSELF The tragic outcome of the demonstration meetings, one in New York and one in that occured in Dili, East Timor, on the 12th Rome, have been held, is to strengthen the By Michael Shari. Special to the Christian of November, 1991 was deeply regrettable, efforts to reach a solution that is peaceful, Science Monitor, Sept. 18, 1995. Front page. as was immediately and repeatedly ex- comprehensive and internationally accept- pressed by the Indonesian Government at JAKARTA – Indonesia, a large South- able. The next meeting is scheduled to take the highest levels. Most unfortunately, the east Asian nation often targeted in Congress place in New York later this year. We are demonstration was not entirely peaceful and for its brutal occupation of tiny East Timor, committed to the efforts of the Secretary- indeed displayed premeditated provocation showed unusual restraint during recent riots General as long as we believe they are being on the island, Western diplomats say. and belligerence. It triggered a spontaneous met with equal seriousness on the part of reaction by some security personnel, acting The Army, long criticized for rights Portugal. outside the control of command of senior abuses, appeared to have gone “by the officers, and resulted in a deplorable loss of How does the Government of Indonesia book” in ending the latest strife in the for- life and a number of wounded people. It was respond to allegations of human rights mer Portuguese territory, they say. a tragic incident and clearly not an act or- groups and a group of U.S. leaders about The new restraint toward dissent in this dered by or reflecting the policy of the Gov- human rights violations in East Timor? nation of 192 million people may be due to ernment or the Armed Forces. The Government of Indonesia is well Western-trained generals having risen up the aware of the concern of a number of coun- ranks, eager to avoid blame for bloodshed Page 78 East Timor Documents, Volume 40. Sept. 1 - November 3, 1995. caused by low-ranking soldiers. Even Military officials confirmed that in mid- HOW BAD IS BAD IN EAST TIMOR? broader say Jakarta-based envoys, the 1992, in response to the killing of unarmed Letters to the editor, The Christian Science Army may be shifting from a day-to-day demonstrators at Santa Cruz Cemetery in Monitor, Friday, October 6, 1995 political role in Indonesia to a more profes- Dili in November 1991, 10 soldiers, includ- sional defense role. ing four second lieutenants, were given [These letters relate to an article by Michael The shift may be due partly to Indonesia prison sentences ranging from eight to 17 Shari, whose name was edited out of Ter- trying to improve its international image. months, and six officers were dismissed or rall’s letter and does not appear with the But also the Army is anticipating President demoted. “writer’s note.” Full text.] Suharto – himself a former general – possi- “Now 18 months may look ... light given The author of the front-page article “In- bly ending its long rule. the nature of the crime, but that’s more than donesia’s Brass Polishes itself,” Sept. 18, “My impression is they’re willing to al- Lt. CalIey got for doing My Lai,” says a misrepresents the situation in East Timor low greater democratization, bring the Army Western diplomat referring to the American by accepting the arguments of his sources – out of politics, and allow politics to be han- soldier who led a unit accused of massacring Indonesian government officials and un- dled by civilians,” says Marzuki Darusman, a group of Vietnamese civilians. named “Western diplomats.” a former parliament member belonging to The courts-martial brought out little Since the Indonesian military invaded Golkar, the ruling party, and now vice known fact that often the troops implicated East Timor in 1975, there has been one clear chairman of the government-sponsored Na- in the most appalling human rights viola- policy from on high: genocide. To date, tional Commission on Human Rights. tions are native East Timorese. more than 200,000 Timorese have been East Timor has been in relative turmoil Army generals hope that cracking down killed. Though I have no doubt Indonesian since 1975, when Portugal abandoned the on their own troops – and letting the world generals are eager that the world think oth- colony and the Indonesian Army, fearing a watch – will put an end to the cruelty for erwise, the bloodshed in East Timor is not leftist takeover responded with an invasion which the entire Indonesian military estab- “caused by low-ranking soldiers.” that killed thousands. Since then tensions lishment and Suharto himself have taken the To imply that the failure to open fire on have simmered and the 700,00 predomi- blame. They see this as essential for Indone- crowds demonstrates “unusual restraint” is nantly Roman Catholic residents have re- sia’s political system to become acceptable shoddy journalism. sented the influx of Muslim migrants from to the tens of millions of increasingly vocal, Ben Terrall, San Francisco the rest of Indonesia. “The tension is cer- middle-class Indonesians. –––––––––- tainly there, and when yon take the lid off, “The only way [the generals] feel they it doesn’t take much to ignite it,” a Western can still enjoy public recognition is to adjust As one who has visited East Timor, I diplomat says. to the new reality,” says Mr. Darusman. was dismayed by the words of an unnamed All it took on Sept. 8 was for an Indone- The Army is painfully aware that East Western diplomat who characterized the sian justice official to drop an anti-Catholic Timor has tarnished Indonesia’s interna- behavior of Indonesian security forces to- slur in a speech (details of which are un- tional image. And it overshadows Suharto’s ward recent protests in East Timor as “un- clear) to inmates at Maliana Prison near the role as an elder statesman of the third world usual restraint.” East Timor capital of Dili. For two days, and champion of free trade. While it appears that there were few if angry mobs torched houses, schools, and Still, Suharto, has ruled out suggestions any deaths during these events, information police cars around Dili. Soldiers and police from the military that the province be I have received leaves little doubt that 100 responded by arresting more than 100 peo- granted limited autonomy, and has categori- young people or more were brutally beaten ple and releasing all but 10 “masterminds.” cally rejected calls for a referendum on inde- and tortured. To say, as this unnamed dip- But in a departure from what was once pendence. The military occupation is sym- lomat did, that the Indonesian Army ap- standard procedure in Indonesia’s youngest bolic of the president’s 30-year-old cam- peared to have gone “by the book” in ending province, they did not open fire on the paign against ethnic strife in a country of the latest strife in East Timor is unconscion- crowds, according to Dili residents and 13,700 islands and 300 ethnic groups. able. Western diplomats in Jakarta. Among those The Army recently bowed out of this The Rt. Rev. Paul Moore Jr., arrested was the justice official, Sanusi debate and marked its distance from day-to- Former Episcopal Bishop of New York Abubakar, who police say will face charges day politics by agreeing to reduce the num- –––––––––––– and stand trial. ber or parliament seats reserved for active Writer’s note: The article looked at how That incident would follow a recent pat- generals from 100 to 75 at the end of the Indonesian security forces have changed tern. In June, a court martial sentenced 1st current session in 1997. their handling of East Timor in recent years. Lt. Jeremias Kasse, an intelligence officer The diplomats say this could play into Some human rights advocates acknowledge and Priv. Rusdin Maumere to 4-1/2 years in Suharto’s hands in the next presidential vote that the situation has improved from the prison for the murders of six villagers in the in parliament in 1998 – and could well be time when people were shot in the back remote district of Liquisa, East Timor, last intended to shore up his popular support. while running and when confessions were January. Despite ruling for 30 years, Suharto has yet extracted by a boot in the teeth. Police bru- The trial followed an investigation by the to name a successor and is known to harbor tality in its current form in East Timor – National Commission on Human Rights, ambitions of ruling well into the 21st cen- although still brutal – now more generally which over-turned earlier findings by Army tury. follows “by the book” procedures practiced investigators that the six victims were guer- “The one thing that Suharto does not lack in the rest of Indonesia; it also deserves a rillas of the separatist Fretilin (a Portuguese is confidence,” says a Western diplomat. fair comparison with police brutality in acronym for Revolutionary Front for an many poor nations and even some rich na- Independent East Timor), who had been tions. killed in a firefight. The commission deter- mined that a summary execution had taken place and that the victims were unarmed and innocent. East Timor Documents, Volume 40. September 1 - November 3, 1995 Page 79

INDONESIAN HOUSE TO JAKARTA POST: the government’s policy of providing this 27th province’s people with so many more HOLD PLENARY SESSION THE EAST TIMOR ISSUE subsidies than they have ever enjoyed. ON EAST TIMOR EDITORIAL, The Jakarta Post, September We are aware that East Timor is a deli- 28, 1995 cate and sensitive issue. But without a real Jakarta Post, 26 September 1995. Abridged and concerted effort from all of us to settle The (Indonesian) House of Representa- President Soeharto is reported to have the issue, East Timor will continue to ham- tives will hold a plenary meeting this week expressed his concern over the situation in per us. to discuss the latest developments in East East Timor during a meeting with leaders of In the last several years our reputation in Timor. Aisyah Amini of the United Devel- the Indonesian Bishop’s Conference the the international community has been badly opment Party (PPP) who is also chair of other day. He reportedly called for greater dented by this issue. Many visiting dignitar- Commission I overseeing security and po- efforts to eliminate prevailing suspicions ies have raised the East Timor question litical affairs, said yesterday the House will which the East Timorese still harbor, par- during their talks with our leaders. Even discuss the findings of the visit to the terri- ticularly of non-East Timorese. some of our neighboring countries have tory made last week by herself and her col- We believe that many people share the shown a certain degree of uneasiness on the league B.N Marbun. President’s concern over the East Timor issue, as apparent during the East Timor The House will prepared a number of issue. The rioting in East Timor two weeks conferences held in Manila and Bangkok last proposals including its call for the estab- ago, which lasted almost three days, was year. lishment of an inter-religious forum to help indeed a warning to all of us as to how pre- On way or another, the East Timor issue contain racial and religious tensions, she carious the problem of East Timor is. It is has come to overshadow success of our said. She also said that during her visit, local obvious that aside from social and economic national development. Too much energy has officials promised to help the return to the problems, religion and inter-ethnic relations been spent on explaining and countering the province of dozens of Muslim ‘refugees’ could trigger social instability in that prov- negative campaigns on East Timor. We are who fled following the riots. The officials ince far too easily. afraid that without immediate and proper guaranteed their safety, she added. On the other hand we are detecting the handling, the matter will continue to sap our Aisyah and Marbun flew to the East spread of a kind of “East Timor fatigue” energy and sidetrack us from the more im- Timor capital and the city of Maliana last among many Indonesians. Questions such portant issues. Thursday, joining Baharuddin Lopa and as, how much longer will the East Timor Why should the government not initiate a Charles Himawan of the National Commis- problem continue to haunt us, or, why does conference, a series of conferences if neces- sion for Human Rights. East Timor continue to be a running sore sary, in which all parties, including intellec- She said she hoped the consultation fo- even after almost 20 years of integration, are tuals, religious leaders, Armed Forces offi- rum among religions in East Timor would be examples of this feeling. cers, government officials, parliamentarians, established soon to help people learn to live We are also aware that of late a small informal leaders, plus scores of other noted together peacefully. “People look up to number of people, particularly activists and individuals, can have open and frank discus- those religious leaders for guidance,” she for reasons still unclear, have even begun to sions on how to resolve the East Timor said. question the Indonesian “involvement” in dilemma? “No one region in Indonesia would be ex- East Timor. We believe that a first solid step like this clusively for one religion only. Our Consti- Of course we can easily accuse the Fre- would help us to understand the situation tution protects the rights of people to seek a tilin or other third parties of masterminding better and lead to the emergence of further livelihood and practice their religion in any the endless riots or incidents which are oc- positive action. After all, after almost 20 part of the country.” curring in relation to East Timor. The latest years of integration, it is time the East She dismissed the suggestion by Bishop event being the seeking of asylum by five Timor question was settled for once and for Belo that the government should designate East Timorese students at the British Em- all. East Timor “a special Catholic region.” bassy in Jakarta a few days ago. “There is no such region in Indonesia. We are of the opinion that rather than INDONESIA: DEALING blaming those people apparently suffering This notion is against the drive to establish CAUTIOUSLY WITH RUMORS unity. This will only create gaps and con- from “East Timor fatigue” of harboring sub- versive feelings or of having links with the flicts, ones which are more serious in nature. By Andreas Harsono. The West Australian Fretilin, we should try to understand why There should not be any exclusive region Correspondent, Sept. 29 and there is none in this world,” she said. such questions and opinions have emerged. “People should be free to go anywhere, Only by keeping an open mind can we get JAKARTA – Months after squeezing its to the US, to East Timor. East Timorese can answers that could be instrumental in solv- media, the Indonesian government is now go anywhere they want to, so other people ing the problem. busy dealing with unofficial media such as should be able to go there. Much has been said about the mistakes leaflets, brochures and academic papers, In an interview with Gatra, Bishop Belo of our past East Timor policy, which put calling on the public to be wary of “divisive said he once proposed that East Timor be too much emphasis on physical develop- rumors” that spread throughout the country and caused a number of tension in some declared a region of Catholic people. The ment. Billions or trillions of rupiahs have proposal was rejected, he said. been spent to raise the living standards of areas. Aisyah rejected the idea that migrants our brothers and sisters in East Timor. And Coordinating Minister for Political Af- had not adjusted to local norms. “It’s rela- much to our dismay, many of the young fairs and Security Soesilo Soedarman said in tive. Everybody has their own traits and people who have enjoyed secondary educa- a press briefing on September 28 that leaf- signs of upbringing and they should indeed tion due to these efforts, have turned their lets had been circulated, some even found in adapt to local norms. But this should not be backs on us and are opposing the govern- public spaces such as pedestrian bridges in a one-way process. The hosts should also ment. And many people in other poor re- Jakarta, that exploit social gaps, short com- strive to adapt to the newcomers,” she said gions have begun to question the merits of Page 80 East Timor Documents, Volume 40. Sept. 1 - November 3, 1995. ing in the national development and other ber of the late President Sukarno, who was report condemning continuing human rights sensitive issues. jailed from 1965 to 1977. abuses against more than a million former “The security authorities will investigate The autobiography, entitled Memoirs of political prisoners arrested in the wake of to determine the sources of the rumors and Oei Tjoe Tat: Assistant of President Su- the 1965 failed coup attempt in Indonesia. take firm action against them,” Mr. Soedar- karno, was launched in April mainly among On the 30th anniversary of the coup, which man said, adding that the government has Mr. Oei’s close friends. It was co-edited by was allegedly masterminded by the commu- yet to determine how widely the leaflets and internationally-recognized novelist Pramoe- nist PKI party, ARTICLE 19 says that the brochures containing the “misleading” in dya Ananta Toer who himself served many New Order government continues to ma- formation have been circulating. years o f hard labor for allegedly spreading nipulate fears of a communist revival as a Chief of the State Intelligence Body Gen. Marxism. means of suppressing dissent. Soedibyo, who was accompanying Mr. Meanwhile, the Indonesian Armed “Despite the implausibility of a commu- Soedarman, said the rumors were hatched by Forces announced that they had started to nist resurgence, the government arbitrarily parties who are “unhappy with everything develop their own Internet database, to be uses accusations of PKI links or ‘communist that this great and diverse nation has called Hankamnet, to counter “negative tendencies’ to intimidate those who advo- achieved.” information” about Indonesia that circulates cate peaceful democratic and social reform,” “Given the availability of communication on the computer network. Frances D’Souza, ARTICLE 19’s Executive and multiplication means, those leaflets Commodore Sri Diharto, a computer spe- Director says. Those condemned in this seem to be spread quite widely. If we find cialist of the powerful Armed Forces, said in way range from pro-democracy activists to them, there’ll be no pardon for them. a seminar earlier this month that the Internet farmers protesting against land expropria- They’ll be punished,” said Mr. Soedarman, had been used by “anti-Indonesia” group to tion. In a country where the memory of the himself a retired military general. discredit the government and the military. violence of the post-coup period in which at Political observers, however, linked the Citing an example, Mr. Diharto said that least 500,000 people were killed is strong, effective spreading of rumors, which are a lot of negative criticism of the Indonesian these accusations can have serious conse- actually more reliable than the official news, military presence in East Timor, Irian Jaya quences. to the crack down of press freedom which and Aceh had been found in the Internet. The report says that the government’s began last year with the closure of three continuing discrimination against former leading news weeklies. INDONESIA ACTS AGAINST political prisoners (known as ex-Tapols) Earlier this year, the Jakarta administra- PAMPHLETEERS acts as a powerful deterrent to dissent. The tion jailed four media workers for distribut- SPJ PRESS NOTES – September 29, 1995 government announced in August 1995 that ing unlicensed newspapers. In recent weeks, Prepared by Steve Geimann, Secretary- the ET mark on identity cards — which the government also scrapped a popular Treasurer immediately marks out ex-Tapols for dis- television talk show, reprimanded dozens of crimination will be phased out. But Frances A flurry of subversive pamphlets in In- chief editors, suspended some working jour- D’Souza stresses, “This alone is not donesia targeting social unrest and urging nalists and tried to censor the worldwide enough. Surveillance and restrictions on their people to act has raised the ire of govern- Internet. freedom of expression, association and ment officials, with threats to take “tough Mr. Soedarman also said that several for- movement must also be ended.” action” against the pamphleteers, official eign media, including BBC London and Ra- Former political prisoners are prohibited media and newspapers reported Friday. dio Netherlands, had broadcast news about from holding jobs with the potential to in- Coordinating Minister for Political and the rumors, “Almost all of those stories, fluence public opinion, including in the civil Security Affairs Susilo Sudarman said: “Se- including the data quoted, were unfounded. service, law and education. They have to curity officers will investigate and will take And the stories only contained dissatisfac- seek special permission to travel and must tough action against the people (who circu- tion over the nation’s achievement.” attend periodic interviews and lectures on late the pamphlets),” he said without elabo- Gen. Soedibyo, the highest intelligence the state ideology, Pancasila. rating. official in Indonesia, also condemned a news “The procedures are often Kafkaesque,” The Jakarta Post said leaflets had circu- letter published by the London-based Am- says Frances D’Souza, “and officials are lated in Jakarta but it wasn’t clear if the nesty International rights group, saying that reluctant to take decisions on routine mat- pamphlets were also circulated in other the “Urgent Action” news letter could be- ters such as housing and travel, even when cities. Chief of the State Intelligence Coordi- come a source of the rumors. all the official requirements have been met.” nating Body M. Sudibyo told the Post leaf- Media watcher Ashadi Siregar, however, In one case, an ex-Tapol tried unsuccess- lets originated from abroad and inside the told the West Australian that it is normal for fully for two years to get official recognition country. the Indonesian public to believe in the ru- for his change of address, even though his Sudibyo and Sudarman said comments in mors because the local media do not report former home had been torn down and re- the leaflets were hatched by parties who the truth. placed by a supermarket. were “unhappy with everything that this “The public should normally express Their families suffer “guilt by associa- great and diverse nation has achieved.” their opinion through the media. But the tion,” the report says, and they are liable to media are scared to express the opinion. face discrimination if it becomes known that They chose to report only official informa- INDONESIA’S LEGACY OF they are related to a former political pris- tion,” Mr. Siregar said, adding that the result SUPPRESSION CONDEMNED oner. Families have split up and engage- could be no more than the emergence of ON 30TH ANNIVERSARY OF ments to marry have been broken to avoid rumors by various means. the stigma of being related to an ex-Tapol. In a related development, Attorney Gen- COUP Any material deemed to contain “ele- eral Singgih said on September 27 that he From Article 19, 30 Sept. 1995 ments of communist ideology” is liable to had issued a decree to prohibit the publica- restriction. All the books of former political tion, distribution and possession of a mem- ARTICLE 19, the International Centre prisoner Pramoedya Ananta Toer, one of oir of Oei Tjoe Tat, a former cabinet mem- Against Censorship, today released a new Indonesia’s foremost writers, are banned. East Timor Documents, Volume 40. September 1 - November 3, 1995 Page 81

Following an interview with him in the are disadvantageous for the majority, eco- mented in particular on the first point which Lampung Post in September 1995, five of nomically and politically. All sides should reads: the newspaper’s journalists were suspended therefore put pressure on the powers that “That acts of violence committed by a and are being “investigated” for PKI links. be to carry out basic reforms for the group of inhabitants in East Timor against On the anniversary of the coup each achievement of a more open, democratic and another group who happen to be of a differ- year, state television broadcasts an official just social, economic and political structure. ent ethnic origin or religion are clearly crimi- film giving the government’s own highly Thirdly, the social, economic and politi- nal acts against basic rights. We therefore contentious version of the coup. Books cal problems which caused the rioting are call on the authorities to investigate these which challenge this view are banned, in- also the responsibility of the government so acts in order to uphold the regulations and cluding Wimanjaya K Liotohe’s Primadosa, therefore the government should give access enforce firm and just legal sanctions against which claims that the then General Suharto to all groups in society in the decision- anyone proven to have broken the law.” may have been involved in the coup plot. making process. We would like to ask, says LBH Sura- Video games and music albums have been Fourthly, express profound regrets for baya, which law will apply? Have you now confiscated because they contain the ham- the random actions taken by the majority accepted that East Timor is de jure part of mer and sickle emblem of communism. In against the minority. They therefore press the Republic of Indonesia so that the au- April 1995 several copies of a Nintendo the government as well as those in the ma- thorities there should be pressed to take game were confiscated in Central Java be- jority to work together to create a climate of action on the basis of the ‘laws’ in force in cause they contained the hammer and sickle harmony between the different religious Indonesia? Have you not thereby ignored emblem. groups. the right of the people of East Timor to self- ARTICLE 19 calls for an end to the dis- Fifthly, they cannot support the pro- determination and is your statement not in crimination against former political prison- posal for the region to become the region of contravention of a number of International ers and their families and for free debate one religion. That is not only against the Human Rights Covenants? about the coup and its aftermath. The or- Universal Declaration of Human Rights and The statement then list a number of in- ganization also calls on the government to the Pancasila on religious freedom but basi- ternational instruments and UN resolutions stop using allegations of PKI links to in- cally conflicts with the humane spirit of which oblige states not to recognise any timidate peaceful activists. these religions. acquisition of territory that has come about Surveillance and Suppression: The Leg- Sixthly, the government should give ac- by means of force, as well as UN Security acy of the 1965 Coup in Indonesia is avail- cess for all sides to obtain more objective Council resolution adopted after the Indone- able from ARTICLE 19. information about problems that occur in sian invasion of 7 December 1975 which For further information, please contact society, both in order to exert better control demanded the withdrawal of Indonesian Catherine Drucker Publicity and Cam- against the possibility of human rights viola- troops from East Timor. paigns Officer Tel: 44 171 278 9292 (office) tions occurring as well as to avoid distor- In conclusion, LBH-Surabaya states: Fax: 44 171 713 1356 tions that could cause unrest. “Based on all the above instruments, it is Seventhly, they appeal to all circles, clear that your statement ignores the basic ELEVEN INDONESIAN NGO’S whether from the government, religious right of the people of East Timor to deter- ISSUE STATEMENT ON EAST circles and other social groups, to uphold mine their own future by means of a refer- the interests of the people, especially those endum which has never taken place there. TIMOR who have been the victims of violence, by “We are extremely dismayed that for the opening friendly and fraternal dialogue, purposes of short-term political manoeu- Republika, 5 October 1995. Abridged treating each other as equal human beings. vring and interests, you have nullified every- Jakarta – Eleven NGOs in Jakarta issued thing for which we have jointly fought, the a statement on East Timor saying that they SURABAYA LBH CRITICISES NGO’S upholding of Basic Human Rights. You could not accept the view that East Timor ON TIMOR should realise that such a statement will be should become a special region for a particu- In a statement issued in Surabaya on 6 the cause of great international concern. And lar religion. October, the Surabaya Legal Aid Institute, what is even more important, it represents a The eleven NGOs are: Bina Desa, PGI LBH, has strongly criticised a group of lead- victory for those who oppose respect for (Protestant churches), ELSAM, LP3ES, ing NGOs for a statement they issued about Basic Human Rights.” WALHI, YLBHI, LPPS, P3M, INFID, the recent events in East Timor. The state- Munir, Director for Operational Affairs, INFIGHT and SKEPHI. ment is addressed to the eleven signatories Surabaya LBH The statement issued on 2 October in re- of the statement: sponse to the published findings of the Na- Abdul Hakim G.N. of ELSAM THE DYNAMICS OF THE tional Commission for Human Rights, team Asmara Nababan of INFID INDONESIAN PRO- said firstly that the acts of violence by one Bambang Widjojanto of YLBHI group of people against another who hap- Dedy Triawan of WALHI DEMOCRACY MOVEMENT pen to be ethnically different must be seen Gustap Dupe of PGI By George J. Aditjondro, August 1995. as a criminal act in violation of basic rights. Karjono of BINA DESA We demand that the law enforcement au- R.M. Hardo Putranto of LPPS (Revised version of a paper presented at the thorities carry out investigations and impose Masdar Farid Mas’udi of P3M “Indonesia: Putting Democracy on the legal sanctions against everyone responsible, Saleh Abdullah of INFIGHT Agenda” conference, organized by Commu- it said. S. Indro Cahyono of SKEPHI nity Aid Abroad (CAA) in Melbourne on Secondly that the acts of violence in East Rustam Ibrahim of LP3ES August 18-19 1995) Timor, like those that occurred in Aceh, Introduction Medan, Lampung, Tanjung Priok and Hoar While welcoming the initiative in issuing Koneng cannot be dissociated from social the statement, the Surabaya LBH com- It is always hard to talk or write aca- disparities which favour a small group and demically about a movement in which one- Page 82 East Timor Documents, Volume 40. Sept. 1 - November 3, 1995.

self is involved. One has to be beware of the dom of expression and freedom of assembly Right-wing “exclusive” democracy of the “double pitfalls of the academic cum activ- for all (willing and unwilling) Indonesian “reformist” democrats ist,” namely the combination of the pitfall of citizens and resident are respected, regard- Anti Pro “insider-activists,” who often suffer from a less of their beliefs and political ideologies. Socialism, Pancasila & the 1945 Constitu- “self-centered glorifying bias” by focusing This is roughly the agenda of the Indonesian especially tion, with the emphasis on Mus- too much on one’s own “trees” and less on Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI), the Alliance communism: lim revival the total “forest,” and by often being too of Independent Journalists (AJI), the De- the Socialist & optimistic, as if the “revolution” will soon mocratic Forum (Forum Demokrasi), and Communist happen after the next turn around the cor- the numerous organizations of the young parties should ner, as well as the pitfall of “outsider- Indonesian people which have sprung up remained to be academics” who often over-emphasize the during the last five years, which have even banned structure while under-emphasizing the began to campaign for a new political party, Abuse of mili- Dual-function of the military agency element in the equation, besides by with their own candidate for president, MS tary power, should against be maintained but attempting to be too academic – meaning Zulkarnain, one of the current directors of especially the in a more moderate way, to more “distanced” and thereby more “objec- the Indonesian Environmental Forum majority Muslim guard the nation-state against tive” than the activist – they often tend to (WALHI) and their own “shadow cabinet,” & indigenous extreme tendencies to disinte- be too pessimistic, as if the present situa- which includes the radical students’ organi- population grate it tion will not change in the near future. zation, PIJAR (see Tiras, September 21, Discrimination of Islam should live up to its major- The three major currents in the Indone- 1995:25). Islam in politics, ity position in Indonesian politics, sian pro-democracy movement. Those “streams” are not mutually exclu- economy, economy & technology To avoid the pitfall of the activist in sive, however, since most pro-democracy culture, and which I have been trapped in an earlier pa- activists have “conflicting” or “complex” technology per (see Aditjondro, 1994a), I will not focus aspirations, with aspirations of two or three this paper on the NGO movement in which currents in their agendas, depending on the Domination of Indigenous (pribumi) Indone- I have participated, before my current exile point of time and place and political issue in Chinese in the sians should live up to its major- in Australia, nor present an encyclopedic question. The right-wing as well as the left- economy ity position in Indonesian politics, picture of the movement’s actors. I will wing streams are, like in a river, the ones economy, culture & technology. instead focus on the ideologies of the vari- which has the strongest chance of hitting the Emphasis on representative ous streams of the movement, thereby risk- river’s left and right-hand banks, to be democracy which should be ing to touch upon the contradictions within bounced back into the mainstream, and balanced by direct democracy, the movement. thereby making the entire river’s debit even only if the interests of the “major- Broadly speaking there are two major stronger. ity” (read: indigenous & Muslim streams within the movement, namely the Hence, the challenge to the “movement masses) are threatened. If the “exclusive movements,” which has its intellectuals” is, according to Antonio interests of the non-indigenous “right-wing” and its “left-wing,” as well as a Gramsci, to create “good sense” out of the and non-Muslim minorities are broader “inclusive movement,” which at- “common sense.” To be able to do that, let threatened, they do not have the tempts to incorporate the agendas of both us first delineate the major characteristics of right to demand justice through the right-wing as well as the left-wing of the the three major or “commonsensical” cur- collective mass action. exclusive movements. rents in Indonesia’s pro-democracy move- Separation from Inclusion of East Timor into the The “right-wing exclusive” movement of ment, which, in my personal opinion, can be the Indonesian Indonesian state borders, for the reformist democrats tend to focus on outlined as follows: state which many Indonesian soldiers have sacrificed. Continuation of fighting for justice to the ethnic and religious Scheme 1: An outline of the three major majority of Indonesians, especially the Suharto’s presidency for another currents in the Indonesian pro- term in 1998 Muslim Javanese people, but tend to ex- democracy movement clude justice for left-wing activists, commu- nists as well as socialists, from the democra- tization endeavour in Indonesia. This ideol- ogy is most prominent among most of the members of the Petisis 50 group, which is dominated by retired (Army and Police) Generals and Admirals, as well as older Muslim leaders. On the other hand, the “left-wing exclu- sive” movement of the socialist democrats tend to focus on the working class, espe- cially urban industrial workers, as well as farmers deprived of their lands (who thereby become potential urban industrial workers), and tends to exclude activists who strive for religious and regionalist aspira- tions, due to their dogmatic adherence to class-struggle analysis (see SPRIM, 1995). Meanwhile, the “inclusive” movement of the liberal democrats mainly aim at restoring liberal democracy in Indonesia, where free- East Timor Documents, Volume 40. September 1 - November 3, 1995 Page 83

ultra-nationalism, glorification of high- Left-wing exclusive democracy of the “social- “Inclusive” democracy of the “liberal” technology, Muslim domination in the gov- ist” democrats democrats ernment, civilian rule, and anti-communism. Anti Pro Anti Pro Its power lays in the fact that this hegem- All forms of Socialism, ranging from Gandhian Oligarchy - Social democracy/late capital- ony, to borrow Gramsci again, has been capitalism anarchism to Leninist-Marxism dominated ism, with regulations against amplified through the government-controlled Dual function of Civilian control of the political & capitalism (“pal- conflict of interests between and government-supporting media: the military economic arenas, and civilian rule ace capitalism”) business & politics 1. Ultra-nationalism: over the military Abusive military More civilian control of the politi- Indonesia’s development strategy as well Prohibition of Freedom of speech & assembly, domination in cal & economic arenas as Indonesia’s foreign policy should be free trade unions especially for the working class. the political & based on a chauvinistic concept of national- Emphasis on direct democracy, economic are- ism, characterized by a strong suspicion of especially for the working class nas all criticism raised by the “West,” which is (workplace- or industrial democ- Banning of Freedom of speech & freedom of dominated by Christians and Zionist Jews, racy), but still allows space for certain political assembly for all people, regard- who envy of all efforts of non-Western/non- representative democracy, through parties, mass less of their race, ethnicity, Christian nations to “catch up” with the a multiparty system, where the organizations gender and ideology except West in the fields of economics and technol- working class can form their own communism ogy. This political strategy is basically party Control of the meant to counter the international support Xenophobia and Self-determination for all peoples media by the for the pro-democracy activists who are racism who have been colonized by state often labelled as “traitors,” a title which Western powers as well as who Imposition of Constitutional state, not a state seems to be more appropriate for the re- are currently colonized by neo- Pancasila as the based on an ideology which can gime’s beggars in the annual international colonial non-Western states sole principle only be interpreted by the state fund-seeking conferences in Paris. Continuation of Limitation of the next president’s (asas tunggal) of authorities and is imposed on the This strategy has been quite successful in Suharto’s presi- terms, which is not yet regulated all organizations citizens. mobilizing support for the regime, espe- dency in the 1945 constitution Emphasis on representative cially during occasions when Indonesian democracy through a multiparty nationalistic symbols were “touched” by system, but allows space for overseas critics, e.g. during the Indonesian direct democracy, especially for flag-burning incidents in Australia, recently. the middle-class, e.g. through The blind defenders of the Indonesian re- rallies, consumer boycotts and gime often forget, that Indonesians have also freedom of expression through a done the same thing to other people’s flags, free press. for instance, when recently in a demonstra- Separation from Integrity of the borders of the old tion against the USA’s support for Israel, an Indonesian Dutch East Indies colony, which US and Israeli flag were also burned in front state includes West Papua and Aceh of the US embassy in Jakarta. Xenophobia and Legal protection for the East Prior to that recent incident, several other racism Timorese, West Papuan and nations, and a would-be nation — have had Acehnese peoples who should their flags burned in Indonesia or by Indone- be able to exercise their freedom sian forces. During the birth of the New of assembly and freedom of Order, the flag of the People’s Republic of expression in the same vein as China was burned, and most properties of legal protection should be pro- the PRC were destroyed or occupied by the vided to Muslim or communist New Order demonstrators, while during the political prisoners who should be Konfrontasi era, the British Union Jack was able to exercise those basic also burned. On top of that, during the inva- freedoms sion and consequent occupation of East Continuation of Limitation of the next president’s Timor, numerous Portuguese and East Suharto’s presi- terms, which is not yet regulated Timorese nationalist flags were also burned. dency in the 1945 Constitution So how can we expect other people to re- The government-supported counter- spect our symbol of nationalism, if we our- movement selves have shown disrespect to the sym- bols of nationalism of other peoples? How The Indonesian pro-democracy move- can we expect other peoples to respect our ment does not live and operate in a political nationalism, if we ourselves have betrayed vacuum. Apart from overt and covert forms the Bandung spirit of solidarity with Asian of repression, which differ from case to case and African independence movement? How depending on the political clout which the can we justify our solidarity with the Pales- respective individuals or organizations enjoy tinian people, whose right for self- in the country, a more subtle way of reduc- determination have been violated for decades ing its influence has been developed by the by Israel, while we ourselves have allowed regime by organizing and promoting a our government and our armed forces to counter-movement. This counter movement become “another Zionist state” to another operates on five rhetorical strategies, namely Page 84 East Timor Documents, Volume 40. Sept. 1 - November 3, 1995.

“Palestina” in our own backwaters? How born, namely “industri penipu tamu negara,” tian conspiracy,” instigated by a world-wide can we justify Suharto to welcome Yasser or “the industry to cheat state guests.” It Western-Christian human rights conspiracy, Arafat as a head of state, while this same should actually also be called the industry to who resent the regime’s closeness with the cleptocracy is imprisoning the potential cheat the Indonesian people, because one of Islamic world. A favorite media gimmick is head of the East Timor state, Xanana Gus- the reasons of IPTN’s reluctance to reveal to frame the pro-East Timor solidarity mão? its books for parliamentary financial scru- movement as a continuation of the Christian How can we justify Suharto’s welcoming tiny, is that it is one of the “milk cows” of Crusade against Muslims in the Iberian pen- party for Nelson Mandela, the elected the Habibie family’s companies. insula. president of post-apartheid South Africa, 3. Muslim domination in government: Ironically, pro-Suharto Muslims who after Mandela has been imprisoned for more support the colonization of East Timor Contrary to the more secularistic ap- than twenty years, while initially attempt- nowadays co operate, consciously or un- proach adopted by the new Order during its ing to hold Xanana Gusmão for a life-long consciously, with the right-wing Catholic first decades, when the regime worked imprisonment? Are these red carpet treat- think-tank, CSIS, which encouraged Su- closely with the right-wing Catholic think- ments for Arafat and Mandela by someone harto’s anti-Islam attitude during the first tank CSIS (Centre for Strategic and Interna- who has legally and physically intimidated decades of his New Order rule. For instance, tional Studies) which was headed by two the Indonesian people from choosing other in a recent conference of the Medical Asso- close confidants of Suharto (the late generals presidential candidates for more than thirty ciation for Prevention of War (MAPW) in Ali Murtopo and Sudjono Humardani), years, not making a parody of the Palestin- Sydney, the only pro-Suharto speaker was during the last decade Suharto made a politi- ian and Black South African people’s de- an MD who is also the director of an Islamic cal salto mortale towards favoring a strong mocratic struggles? hospital and the rector of an Islamic univer- Muslim domination in government. sity in Jakarta. His main source to defend 2. Glorification of high-technology: Under the direction of his Minister of Indonesia’s occupation of East Timor was a Indonesia’s development strategy should Research and Technology, B.J. Habibie, a book written by a pro-integration East intentionally be based on the highest level of new quasi-NGO was founded, namely Timorese, João Mariano de Sousa Saldanha technology which could be obtained in the ICMI (Ikatan Cendekiawan Muslim Indone- (1944a, 1944b), who had been supported by marketplace as well as that could be devel- sia, or the Indonesian Islamic Scholars As- the CSIS to carry out his research. Both the oped by Indonesian engineers, which in- sociation). Also many Islamic political pris- Indonesian as well as the updated and re- cludes nuclear power, satellite communica- oners have been released, after Suharto him- vised English edition of this book were pub- tion, and various military weapon technolo- self had done the haj pilgrimage, and re- lished in less than a year’s time by a Protes- gies. Paralleling the previous political strat- turned home from the Holy Land as the tant daily newspaper, Sinar Harapan, which egy, mastering high technology will allow protector of Islam, a role which was also gave the blessings for the invasion in 1975. Indonesia to “catch up” with the West- played by the Mataram rulers of Java. In So, the former victims of the anti-Islamic ern/Christian nations and simultaneously line with this new political strategy, his attitude of the CSIS and General Murdani’s solve all economic problems inside the coun- oldest daughter, Mbak Tutut, has also pro- ABRI are now co operating with the same try. jected herself as a pious Muslim woman by think-tank, which has appointed the retired This political strategy’s aim is basically always wearing her jilbab (veil) in her public Catholic general as its new protector – after aimed at neutralizing the “pro-environment” appearances. the death of General Ali Murtopo. Sadly and “pro-marginalized people” streams This new Islamic image is strongly linked enough, those reactionary Muslim intellec- within the pro-democracy movement, which with the two previous political strategies, tuals have forgotten that their political has its roots, among others in the environ- namely, the ultra-nationalist and pro high- community as well as the East Timorese mental movement. For the ordinary Indone- tech rhetoric. It has been successful in woo- people had both the common victims of the sian in the streets, this very nationalistic ing many former disillusioned Islamic politi- repressive acts of Benny Murdani, a good pro-high tech rhetoric is quite effective in cal activists into the regime’s fold, who now friend of the Zionist generals who had clan- building a sense of pride of “our” achieve- feel that Suharto has recognized the role of destinely supplied the Indonesian Armed ment in this field. They really felt their na- Islam as the majority in Indonesia. Strangely Forces with 14 American A-4 Skyhawk tionalistic ego swell, when the national air- enough, those who have passed over from ground-attack fighter aircraft, two TA-4 craft industry, IPTN was sending off its opposing to supporting Suharto’s regime Skyhawk trainers and hundreds of Israeli first group of N-250 airplanes, named Ga- have overlooked the fact that religion is only UZI machine guns, to kill all “enemies of the totkaca according to the flying hero in the one way to construct Indonesia’s majority, state,” regardless whether they were red, Hindu-Javanese mythology, took off to its because “the Javanese people,” “the poor green or blue. In fact, according to the New sister company in the US. However, accord- people,” “peasants” or “civilians” also form York Times of December 14 1984, Israeli ing to my sources inside IPTN, only the the majority of the Indonesian population, UZI submachine guns had been used to gun airplane’s fuselage was made in Indonesia. who still do not enjoy much power in Indo- down the 1,500 Muslim demonstrators in The cockpit, the wings, the tail, and most nesia. Tanjung Priok in December 1984. The same importantly, the airplane’s engine were By courting his former Islamic oppo- “Zionist” weapon was used to kill the West made in Europe and only assembled in nents, Suharto has also found a strong ally Papuan artist, Arnold Ap, eight months IPTN’s factory in Bandung. in undermining the growing support for the earlier (Leifer, 1985: 156; Ramos-Horta, Hence to call that plane “100% made by East Timorese independence movement 1987: 148;Djopari, 1993: 129; Aditjondro, Indonesian engineers and technicians,” was among younger Indonesian intellectuals. In 1994: 43). Indonesia’s Israel connections actually an immoral way of cheating the contrast to Indonesia’s support for the had also watered down Indonesia’s support public. Many IPTN insiders, however, Muslim-dominated liberation movements of for the Palestinian, Moro and Patani Mus- know the actual story. They also know how the Palestinian, Bosnian, Moro and Patani lims in the Organization of the Islamic Con- all expatriates at IPTN have to hide during peoples, the East Timorese independence ference (Leifer, 1985: 157) visits of foreign state guests. Hence, a new movement has been painted in the main- Apart from that, the build-up of Indone- meaning for the IPTN acronym has been stream as well as Islamic media as a “Chris- sian military power after the invasion of East Timor Documents, Volume 40. September 1 - November 3, 1995 Page 85

East Timor has blown-up the national “de- government, the family company of Labour government supporters blamed them for fense” budget from Rp 92 billion to Rp 1.9 Minister Abdul Latief, and a conglomerate being leftists. In the Internet debates, critics trillion between 1969/70 and 1983/84, mak- close to the family, Bakrie Brothers, as of the Indonesian government have been ing it triple the national health budget. And shareholders or joint venture partners. accused of being “leftists” or “pro- even in 1992, Indonesia had still the lowest Just like in the case of Freeport, active as communists” or “pro-socialists.” When the health budget among the ASEAN countries well as retired military units and officers are Medan branch of SBSI organized the famous (Aditjondro, 1993), while the military en- constantly still involved in business or in public rally, which was later infiltrated and joys their lucrative intra as well as extra- protecting business interests. For instance, distorted into a racist rally, the then head of budgetary funding sources. This fact which Suharto’s son-in-law, Prabowo Djojohadi- the Armed Forces General Staff (Kasum did not seem to bother the Muslim doctor kusumo, has been promoted to the second in ABRI), General Mantiri accused this inde- who came all the way to Sydney to the command of the Army’s elite corps, the Red pendent trade union of using “Communists MAPW conference, to defend the Indone- Berets (Kopassus), to protect the First tactics.” The national chairperson of SBSI, sian occupation of East Timor. Family’s interests in the coming change of Mochtar Pakpahan was even attacked in the 4. Civilian rule: guards, since his wife, Titi Prabowo, is mass media as being the son of a Communist closely involved in the business interests of peasant activist whose father had been in- With the promotion of Harmoko as the the Suharto and Djojohadikusumo families volved in the bandar Betsy uprising. Now chair of the ruling party, Golkar, an impor- in East Timor and Indonesia. Likewise, in that the Supreme Court has proven his in- tant political position which for two dec- one of the new conglomerates of the Habibie nocence, Pakpahan should actually be able ades was reserved for (retired) generals, the family, the head of the Armed Forces fac- to sue Mantiri for libel. impression was created that Suharto is now tion in the parliament, Ret. Admiral Abu Personally, I have also had my shares of favoring civilian rule. This image is also Hartono, has been appointed as the con- being labelled as “communist” When I enforced by the shift of the three main mili- glomerate’s President Commissioner. And started to raise public concern in Indonesia tary industries, the former Airforce aircraft despite the popular image about the Su- about our occupation of East Timor, I was industry IPTN, the former Navy shipyard harto-Benny Murdani rivalry, the Suharto, accused through an anonymous letter as PT PAL, and the former Army arms factory Habibie and Murdani families share common being “a Chinese communist.” In Irian Jaya, PT Pindad, to a civilian establishment, BPIS business interests in Anthony Salim’s large where I worked from 1982 to 1987, defend- under the direction of another civilian minis- piggery near Batam island, while the Suharto ing the human rights of the Irianese people, ter, Habibie. Hence, Suharto’s supporters and Murdani families also helped to pro- part of whom preferred to be called “West now tend to defend Harmoko’s power over mote Robby Sumampow’s Christmas Island Papuans,” the military intelligence agents in Golkar as well as Habibie’s power over the casino – despite the Muslim prohibitions Abepura tried to alienate my Irian Jayan military industries, by labelling the critics as against pork and gambling. And in North friends from me by telling them that I am “a influenced by “military dissatisfaction” Sumatra, according to my sources, Suharto’s Communist fugitive” from Java. against Suharto, who had taken the right eldest daughter has built a new bottled Most recently, according to my sources step to “civilize” his regime. drinking water factory, together with a in Jakarta, the new Kasum ABRI my good The creation of the National Human company owned by the Minister for Ad- friend General Suyono told the chief editors Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) which ministrative Reform, Ret. General T.B. Sila- rounded up in the usual way for one-way has criticized the military and police in the lahi. briefings, not to believe all the stuff that I cases of Marsinah, Liquiça and Timika can Therefore, taking all those facts in con- had put on the Internet. He also told the also be seen as Suharto’s attempt to blame sideration, we seriously need to question senior journalists that I – and a friend of many developmental problems on the “which civilians” are actually ruling Indone- mine – was using Communist agitation and Armed Forces, while boosting his “pro- sia, and how they are (ab)using the power of propaganda tactics. Actually, be doing that civilian” image. the military to protect their business inter- Suyono did not only insult me, but also However, if we look carefully through ests, against the military’s own Sapta Marga insulted Suharto, who had awarded me with this thin “pro-civilian,” we can observe the doctrine. the Kalpataru in 1987, with the message to following facts to demystify this “pro- keep up my good work. And keeping up my civilian” image. One, rarely have Army divi- 5. Anti-communism: good work, which has been a critic of the sions, for instance Brawijaya in the case of Finally, if all those other rhetorical government in the environmental field, that the Marsinah killing, Udayana in the case of weapons do not “work” then the powers is what I have been doing, moving further the Liquiça killings, and Trikora in the case that be and their supporters, resort to their away from criticizing the impact of projects of the Timika killings, been blamed by oldest and most primitive weapon, which and policies to criticizing the political- Komnas HAM, although there is a military has been used constantly and periodically economic system which keeps producing motto, which says that “there are no bad since the earlier days of the new Order, and reproducing those environmental disas- soldiers, there are only bad commanders.” namely “the latent danger of communism” ters. So, if I am a Communists, which the Two, Komnas HAM itself is directed by a or “the latent danger of the new Indonesian Army intelligence should have known way retired Army general Ali Said. Three, in the Communist Party” (bahaya laten PKI). back in 1987, why did they allow Suharto to case of the recent Timika killings, the Su- Intentionally, no differences are usually aware me the Kalpataru? Or, is Suharto also harto appointed Komnas HAM has ab- made between “communism” and “social- a Communist? solved the giant mining company, Freeport, ism,” because by raising the spectre of NEVERTHELESS, as it has turned out, from any complicity in the killings, which communism, the general and lay public can by developing this ultra-nationalist, pro- contradicts all previous reports from West easily be led towards the danger of “athe- tech, pro-Muslim, pro-civilian and anti- Papuan sources. Komnas HAM is thereby ism,” and thereby mobilize the support of communist hegemony, the regime has quite also protecting the Indonesian interests in fanatical religious groups in Indonesia. successfully obtained public support for the giant mining operation from public scru- Lately, when hundreds of Indonesian in- many ambitious “development” projects, tiny. This Indonesian subsidiary of Freeport tellectuals supported the Magsaysay award which mostly benefit the business interests McMoRan, in fact, involves the Indonesian for Pramudya Ananta Toer, some of the of the ruling families. hence apart from Page 86 East Timor Documents, Volume 40. Sept. 1 - November 3, 1995. struggling for their bare survival in the wake economics and history and his nationalist Maubere people’s independence,” Suara of the increasing repression in Indonesia, the feelings do not emerge merely as the arro- Aksi, No.2 Sy dney: AKSI, pp.11-17. Indonesian pro-democracy movement are gant reaction of a backward people. The faced with the tremendous challenge to de- nationalist should not be chauvinistic, he ABRI NAMES FACES mystify the rhetorical weapons of the pro- must reject all narrow-minded views. True BEHIND INCIDENTS Suharto elements inside and outside the nationalism should not be merely a copy of country. Western nationalism, but it should flow The Jakarta Post, October 17,1995 Members of the Indonesian pro- from a feeling of love for the world and hu- JAKARTA (JP): The Armed Forces democratic movement need to question manity. A nationalist who accepts this kind (ABRI) announced the names of three peo- themselves seriously, whether they them- of nationalism as a divine revelation and ple whom it has identified with the “form- selves have not been prone to the pro-status practices it as a religious devotion has es- less” organizations that have been blamed quo rhetoric. From my own observation it caped from narrow minded thinking” (Pend- for recent acts of provocation. seems that New Order’s “pro-high-tech” ers, 1975: 33). So, we see here that the cur- ABRI Chief of General Affairs Lt. Gen. and “pro-civilian” rhetoric does not seem to rent ultra-nationalist wave on which Suharto Soeyono identified the three as author Pra- bother the struggling democrats, but that the is joyfully riding, is much closer to Japanese moedya Ananta Toer, scholar George “Islamic favoritism” rhetoric is more of a World War II fascism than to Sukarno’s Aditjondro, and labor leader Muchtar Pak- problem, even for liberal democrats. For (early) nationalism. pahan. instance, in a major Indonesian NGO which Perth, October 5, 1995 “These are not rumours. These are the prides itself as the “locomotive of democra- (in commemoration of the Indonesian facts,” Soeyono told reporters at his office. tization,” non-Muslim lawyers have en- Armed Forces Day) “The organizations change their form countered difficulties to climb up in the References: constantly but the people behind them are organization’s rank, even when they had Aditjondro, George J., 1993. Potret pelaya- always the sama,” he said. “Their objective popular support in the organization. This nan kesehatan Katolik di Indonesia dari is clear: to topple the government, split policy, and a common practice among Indo- kacamata seorang awam ganda. Paper pre- ABRI and set ABRI against the people, and nesian NGOs to accuse non-Muslim activ- sented at the Health Consultation of the destroy this nation.” ists of trying to “Christianize” the organiza- Archdiocese of Semarang in Kaliurang, Asked whether ABRI intends to take any tions, actually discriminate them to become Yogyakarta, on August 28-30. action against the three men, he responded: second-class citizens in this republic. Al- –––––, 1994a. The democratization process “Don’t be surprised if one of this day ABRI as two double-edged swords: re-thinking though one can understand this practice as declares them as enemies. If they continue being a revenge against Suharto’s practice to the political agenda of the pro-democracy movement in Indonesia. Paper presented with their fight, the will have to deal with favor Christians over Muslims in his Golkar ABRI. network during the first decades of his rule, at the Regional Seminar on “Democratiz- ing development in Asia: implications for President Soeharto and senior govern- it is unfair to vent that revenge upon fellow ment and military officials in the past week activists who happen to be Christians. This theory construction,” organized by the Faculty of Political Science of Chulalong- have issued several warning about the exis- is what Paulo Freire calls “horizontal vio- korn University in Bangkok, on August tence of “formless” organizations whose lence,” a common characteristic of op- 17-19. activities bear the hallmarks of the now- pressed groups who do not have the guts to –––––, 1994b. In the Shadow of Mount outlawed Indonesian Communist Party aim their opposition against the real oppres- Ramelau: the impact of the occupation of (PKI). sors. East Timor. Leiden: INDOC de Sousa These organizations, they say, are prey- Apart from the discrimination against Saldanha, João Mariano, 1994 a. Ekonomi ing on young people to spread communist non-Muslims in supposedly pro-democratic politik pembangunan Timor Timur. Ja- teaching under the guise of democracy and karta: Pustaka Sinar Harapan. organizations, many right-wing as well as human rights issues. ABRI has also linked liberal Indonesian democrats have declined –––––, 1994b. The political economy of East Timor development. Jakarta: Pustaka some recent incidents of agitation to the to support East Timor’s right for self- activities of these “formless” organizations. determination, for the fear of facing the Sinar Harapan. Djopari, John R.C., 1993. Pemberontakan Organisasi Papua Mer- Until yesterday, however, they refrained backlash from ultra-nationalists, Muslim from disclosing names. and Christian reactionary elements, and, deka. Jakarta: Grasindo. Kahin, George McTurnan, 1959. National- Pramoedya, Indonesia’s most renowned obviously, the military. ism and revolution in Indonesia. Ithaca: writer abroad, received the prestigious Mag- As far as nationalism is concerned, it may Cornell University Press. saysay award for literature last month. The be useful to search for the historical origins Leifer, Michael, 1985. “The Islamic factor award prompted criticism from some fellow of the current “ultra-nationalist” tendency, in Indonesia’s foreign policy: a case of writers who recalled Pramoedya’s campaign and contrast that with the ideas of the unctional ambiguity” in Adedd Dawisha in the 1960s to clamp down on writers and founding parents of Indonesia’s nationalism. (ed), Islam in foreign policy. Cambridge: artist opposing communist. It may be interesting to remember, that dur- Cambridge University Press, pp. 144-159. Soeyono also underlined Pramoedya’s Morton, Sandra (ed), 1981. Student Guide to ing the Japanese occupation, the Japanese membership in Lekra, the PKI’s cultural forces identified their war against the West India and S.E. Asia, including Indonesia and Brunei. London: STA Travel. wing, as one reason to be suspicious of his with a Holy War (jihad) against infidels, and recent activities. their alliance with Indonesian Muslims was Penders, C.L.M., 1975. The life and times of Sukarno. Kuala Lumpur: Oxford Uni- Muchtar is the chairman of the Indone- symbolised on a new flag, where the Islamic sian Prosperous Labor Union (SBSI), an crescent was superimposed on the Rising versity Press. Ramos-Horta, José, 1987. Funu: the unfin- organization still not recognized by the gov- Sun (Kahin, 1959: 111; Morton, 1981:87). ished saga of East Timor. Trenton: The ernment. Muchtar was recently acquitted by In contrast, Sukarno, in one of his earlier Red Sea Press, Inc. the Supreme Court of charges of inciting last articles (1926) stated that: “The true nation- SPRIM (Solidaritas Perjuangan Rakyat In- year’s labor riot in Medan, North Sumatra. alist who loves his country bases his think- donesia untuk maubere), 1995. “The In- ing on a knowledge of the structure of world donesian pro-democracy movement and East Timor Documents, Volume 40. September 1 - November 3, 1995 Page 87

“Muchtar is a PKI,” Soeyono said, add- UNIONIST, ACADEMIC DENY THEY before naming names. “Otherwise the gov- ing that Muchtar’s father led the bloody, ARE COMMUNISTS ernment would not have made the claims PKI-sponsored worker strike in Bandarbesi publicly.” in North Sumatra in the 1960s. The Jakarta Post, October 18, 1995 Oka said that Armed Forces’ announce- WANTED JAKARTA (JP): Labor leader Muchtar ment should serve as a warning to the public Pakpahan and academic George Junus Adit- to remain vigilant against the latent danger of George, a vocal scholar who is wanted by jondro denied yesterday the military’s claim communism, as described by senior govern- the police for allegedly making remarks that that they are communists. ment officials, including President Soeharto. insulted President Soeharto, is currently Mochtar, a leader of the unrecognized In- Moslem scholar Abdurrahman Wahid teaching and conducting research in Austra- donesian Prosperous Labour Union (SBSI), dismissed the move as a trick to divert pub- lia. described the accusation, made publicly on lic attention away from the various prob- Soeyono described George as falling into Monday by Armed Forces General Affairs lems facing the government. the lesser “B Category,” usually reserved chief Maj. Gen. Soeyono, as “slanderous.” “It’s usual to find a common enemy for hard-core communist. “Can he say when I became a commu- when you are in trouble. There is nothing After PKI was banned in 1966, the gov- nist?” he asked, in an interview with The unusual about it,” he said in a seminar here ernment put former PKI members into dif- Jakarta Post. “I’m planning to sue So- yesterday. ferent categories. Category A for hard-core eyono,” he said, adding that he is awaiting Abdurrahman said that current events re- communist who took direct part in 1965 the views of SBSI leaders in the provinces semble those of the 1970s, when conflicts abortive coup, Category B for hard-core as to what action should be taken. within the top echelons of the political elite communist who did not have a direct role, Meanwhile, George also denied being a flared up, manifesting themselves in the and so on. communists. well-known 1974 riots. “Look at what Aditjondro and Pramoe- “I am a Gandhi-ist. I am a leftist, yes, I “It is like a cycle. The power holders are dya wrote in the Australia-based Progress am a socialist, yes, but I believe more in trying to put the lid on the political open- magazine as well as Aditjondro’s recent Gandhi’s socialism that Marxism,” George ness they previously encouraged,” he said. comments which appeared on the Internet,” said, as quoted by AFP, adding that he “When the crisis is over, openness will be Soeyono said. stands for human rights and freedom of encouraged again,” Abdurrahman said. Soeyono warn the three men, who are association. Hendardi of the Indonesian Legal Aid now on ABRI’s black list, to stop their acts On Monday Soeyono said that Muchtar, Foundation and Tohap Simanungkalit of the of provocation. George and internationally-renowned Indo- SBSI both argued that the military must He also criticized those people, particu- nesian writer Pramoedya Ananta Toer were prove its accusations in a court of law. larly the young, who have expressed sup- communists and were linked to recent inci- “Soeyono has trampled on the presump- port for or come to the defense of the three dents of violence which the military says are tion of innocence in singling out Muchtar men. aimed at destabilizing the government. Pakpahan as a communist. He (Soeyono) Those people born after 1965 should im- Mochtar was recently exonerated by the has disrespected the rule of law,” Simanung- prove their understanding of the nation’s Supreme Court of charges of inciting last kalit said. history lest they fall under the influence of year’s labor uprising in the North Sumatran Hendardi said he is worried that the gov- these “formless” organizations, he said. capital Medan. ernment will continue labeling people as He expressed his concern with the many George, a lecturer of the Satya Wacana “communists,” adding that it is a technique young people who, puzzled by ABRI’s Christian University in Salatiga, Central for scaring people who do not share the relentless warnings of latent communist Java, is currently conducting research in government’s views. dangers, have asked: “Is the communist Australia. He left Indonesia this year while “There is fear that the government will danger really that bad?” under police investigation on suspicion of brand organizations which it cannot control Meanwhile, an organizations of former insulting the government in a seminar. as dangerous ‘formless organizations,’” he student leaders whose demonstrations in Soeyono said Muchtar was a communist said. 1966 led to the banning of PKI, yesterday because his father led a bloody communist urged the government to renew its campaign party-sponsored strike in Bandarbersi, INDONESIA ETERNALLY ON to purge the nation of communists and their North Sumatra, in the 1960s. sympathizers, whom, they say, have infil- Muchtar, however, denied that his father ALERT TO COMMUNIST trated the top levels of the bureaucracy. had been involved in the Bandarbetsi riot. THREAT The group, called Laskar Arief Rachman Armed Forces chief spokesman Brig. Hakim, said government agencies should Gen. Suwarno Adiwijaya told The Post By Jim Della-Giacoma begin now and not wait around for the mili- yesterday that the three names are only part JAKARTA, Oct. 22 (Reuter) — Even tary to conduct a screening. of a list of people the military believes are when President Suharto is on the other side The group’s chairman, Djusril Djusan, communists or activists of “formless” or- of the world he rarely misses an opportu- told reporters that the group has a list of ganizations who are out to undermine the nity to warn Indonesians of the ever-present names of former PKI members and its sup- government. threat of communism. porters who are now holding top govern- He said that, by announcing their names, In a speech to cadres of the ruling Golkar ment positions. the military means to remind the public of party on its 31st birthday, he called on citi- He recalled that before it was banned, the the latent danger of communism so that it zens not to forget Indonesia’s experience PKI had three million members and over 21 can remain vigilant. with attempted communist coups in 1948 million sympathizers. Soeyono’s statement received mixed reac- and 1965. “We should know where they are now tions yesterday. “In looking to the future we must not and what they do,” he said. Legislator A.A. Oka Mahendra of the rul- forget our past,” Suharto, currently in New Djusril, however, declined to give any ing Golkar party said the military must have York, said in the speech read by Vice- names. been armed with sufficient hard evidence President Try Sutrisno on Friday night. Page 88 East Timor Documents, Volume 40. Sept. 1 - November 3, 1995.

But the continuous use of the communist organisations who defend human rights, 25 of the 195 political prisoners still held in bogeyman, a trademark of Suharto’s New sympathise with workers or come to the custody have been there since 1965-66. Order regime, is drawing increasing scrutiny assistance of farmers in land disputes as The clemency came as Indonesia pre- 30 years after the then-general crushed the being ‘infected’ with communism,” Magnis- pared to celebrate its 50th anniversary of last communist coup attempt and outlawed Suseno wrote. independence from the Netherlands, and the party. “If we don’t want our youngsters to be- was greeted by human rights activists as In the army-backed purges that followed, come communist sympathisers, let us stop “encouraging for future politics.” at least 500,000 people were killed and more giving them the impression communism “What we are seeing is a reconciliatory than a million members of the Indonesian means solidarity with the victims of injus- mood from the palace and I think that’s Communist Party (PKI) imprisoned. tice.” very encouraging for future politics,” Mar- While most have been released, former zuki Darusman, deputy chairman of the communists and their families still face offi- ARMY RUMBLINGS OF Indonesian Commission of Human Rights cial discrimination. COMMUNIST THREAT DEEMED was quoted saying by the ‘Far Eastern Eco- Suharto, aided by dozens of senior gov- DIVERSIONARY nomic Review.’ ernment and military officials, has issued By Yuli Ismartono But Suharto’s show of clemency has not new warnings of the communist threat, say- gone down well with the military which, ing it was taking a new shape as “formless JAKARTA, Oct. 31 (IPS) — Indonesian according to analysts, is seeking to perpetu- organisations.” army warnings that the country’s commu- ate the perception of a dangerous commu- “The announcement on the presence of nist movement is mobilising to overthrow nist threat to protect its own pride of place formless organisations, including their lead- the Suharto government is seen by political in government. ers, was a Anata Toer as communists behind analysts as an attempt to divert public at- Parliamentary seats reserved for the mili- the formless organisations. tention from the real issues facing the re- tary have been reduced and questions over “They are not able any more to address gime. their dual role in the military as well as in their critics point by point so they are just Ever since President Suharto on July 28 civilian affairs are increasingly being raised. trying to shut them up by labelling them ordered the release of former foreign minis- Also, there is growing discontent among communists,” Aditjondro told Reuters from ter Soebbandrio and former air force chief Indonesia’s middle and lower classes who Australia. Oman Dhani, both imprisoned for their are complaining that they are not getting a Even Abdurrahman Wahid, the leader of alleged role in a 1965 abortive coup, Indone- fair share of the economic pie in a country Indonesia’s 30-million strong mainstream sian army officials have been warning of a which has shown impressive economic Nahdatul Ulama Moslem organisation, has communist revival that threatens the coun- growth in recent years. questioned the government’s scare tactics. try’s stability. Muslim scholar Abdurahman Wahid be- “It is easier to find common enemies Most recently, Major-General Syarwan lieves that these factors are at the root of the rather than to solve the internal problems,” Hamid, assistant military chief in charge of anti-communist rhetoric. “It’s like a cycle. Wahid was quoted as saying in the Indone- socio-political affairs, said “military intelli- The authorities are trying to put the lid on sian Observer newspaper last week. gence and socio-political analysis, including the (impact) of political openness they pre- “A threat to national stability always ex- facts found in several regions, indicate that viously encouraged,” he said. ists anywhere but it should not be exagger- the PKI (Indonesian Communist Party) is Students in particular are becoming more ated.” alive and has metamorphosed into many vociferous in their criticisms of govern- After riots this month on Sumatra fol- forms.” ment’s economic policies which are credited lowing an earthquake, the local military He added that latent type communism with bringing growth, but which have also commander was quick to blame “commu- and communist type movements were diffi- seen an increasing gap between the rich and nist” elements in the deaths of a soldier and cult to detect because of the many guises poor. a resident. they took. Eky Syahrudin, a student leader, was re- Local newspapers blamed frustration Some hide behind the revival of an old cently quoted by the ‘Jakarta Post’ as say- over the distribution of aid to earthquake cause of establishing a separate Islamic ing that the best way to prevent commu- victims. state, he said, adding that others took the nism from spreading, would be for the au- Justice Minister Utojo Usman warned on form of non-governmental organisations thorities to address the social and economic Thursday there were not “ghosts behind acting “under the pretense of defending the inequities in Indonesian society. every tree,” while former Supreme Court people and democracy” using methods simi- These are words the military does not judge Bismar Siregar said legal avenues lar to those once used by the banned PKI. want to hear. They insist the communist rather than public smear campaigns should The PKI was banned in 1966 following threat is real. be used against alleged communists. the bloody abortive coup the previous year According to East Java military com- In a front-page column this month in the that led to the eventual ouster of the late mander Major-General Imam Utomo, pic- Jakarta Post daily, Jesuit scholar Franz President Sukarno and the emergence of the tures of the hammer and sickle, as well as a Magnis-Suseno said the 30 years since Su- new order under President Suharto who kite bearing the communist symbol were harto restored order had seen Indonesia as a took over the reins of power in 1967. confiscated from some students in East stable, self-confident and economically solid The crackdown after the coup attempt Java. Graffiti on a number of school walls country. saw tens of thousands of political activists hailed the PKI as okay, he added. He warned the continual pleas for people imprisoned, with several thousand PKI “We want to remind the public that to be on alert against the communist threat members locked away on the faraway Buru communists, with their peculiar tactics, are were being greeted cynically by young peo- island, off Maluku province. back among us,” he said. ple and ran the risk of becoming counter- Most were released during the late 1970s Lieutenant-General Soeyono, the military productive. and 1980s, but others like Soebbandrio and head of General Affairs, went even further “We have to stop the despicable habit of Dhani, accused of masterminding the coup when he named author Pramoedya Ananta accusing individuals or non-government plot, were kept imprisoned. Indeed, about Toer, exiled scholar George Aditjondro and East Timor Documents, Volume 40. September 1 - November 3, 1995 Page 89 labour leader and activist Muchtar Pakpahan day on Saturday, 2,000 km (1,250 miles) eighties, the Indonesian military used to kill among those trying to stir up political un- northeast of Jakarta. husbands and children in front of the wives rest. Antara said Indonesia held naval war ex- and mothers and literally asked them to “Their objective is clear: to topple the ercises four times a year. Foreign military smile and yell “viva Indonesia,” and then government, split the armed forces sources said Indonesia’s navy fleet com- bury their own husbands and children. Little and...destroy this nation,” Soeyono charged. prises 117 ships and 43,000 personnel. unborn babies were dislodged from their Pramoedya Ananta Toer, a literary award pregnant mothers with a knife and in the winner, was a member of PKI’s cultural fury of their “anti-communism” the Indone- wing called Lekra during the 1960s. He was EAST TIMOR AT BEIJING sian military would smash them against the detained at Buru island for about 15 years CONFERENCE rocks! It was and it is, and it remains the before being released. horror! We were even prohibited to cry! Both Aditjondro and Pakpahan have de- Would you believe it? Yes, it did happen! nied Soeyono’s accusations of their commu- A MESSAGE TO THE BEIJING That is the price we paid and continue to nist links. pay for the liberation of the “land of the Public officials have chided the army of- CONFERENCE FROM THE rising sun!” ficial for calling names, since it could lead to EAST TIMORESE WOMEN We are taking care of our men and our a political witch-hunt. But this does not children in this long. We hope in human mean the army is wrong to be on guard, said Courtesy CNRM, 6 September 1995 solidarity and believe in the solidarity of the Justice Bismar Siregar. Dear Conference Participants, women of the world. We have survived, and “We must be on the alert (to the commu- for all these nearly twenty years kept the Greetings from East Timor! nist threat)...but their names should not struggle alive and strong, fundamentally In the middle of the night amidst a great have been mentioned,” said the supreme because there is a total national resistance to silence in Dili, I’m thinking of you all, and I court judge. the invasion and the military occupation. imagine how many you must be, how strong Indeed international support has been you are, how free you talk to each other, crucial. INDONESIA SCHOLAR SAID and how wonderful that is! I congratulate We appeal to you, as women, as moth- IMMUNE FROM you for what you are, and for what you ers, as sisters and as wives, to say a word achieved or will achieve in this Conference. EXTRADITION and to act in your own countries, in all your Nearly twenty years ago, on Dec.7th, In- capacities, power and strength, for the dig- [abridged] donesia invaded my country East Timor, nity and freedom of the people of East planes dropping paratroopers from the skies Jakarta, Oct. 28 (Reuter) – Indonesia’s Timor, for the dignity and freedom of all the and boats vomiting fire and hatred from the Justice Minister Utojo Usman has ruled out East Timorese Women. You will indeed help waters of the raped East Timorese northern the extradition from Australia of George save East Timor from total disaster, and that “female sea.” We have since known war, Aditjondro, an outspoken academic who is is being left to the free will of the Indonesian rape, violations of the most basic human accused of insulting the government, a military. If you understand what is a mili- rights, a military occupation regime, oppres- newspaper said on Saturday. tary dictatorship in the cultural setting of sion, imprisonment and death. We have lost The Jakarta Post quoted Usman as say- Indonesia, you understand the implications more than 1/3 of our population And the list ing that Aditjondro could not be extradited of what I’m saying. of our sorrows could go on. from Australia because the Indonesia- To the Indonesian women in this Confer- As women we have gone through any- Australia extradition treaty did not cover ence we appeal for courage and for dignity: thing a military invasion and a military oc- political crimes. Indonesia should recognise it has committed cupation machine sets up: rape, imprison- “George Aditjondro, who is wanted by a very big mistake, the real mistake of its ment and death. In twenty years, an untold the Indonesian government on political fifty years of independence. Twenty years number of women went through the horror charges, cannot be extradited from Austra- out of fifty, Indonesians have been killing in the Indonesian prisons all over East lia,” he said, without elaborating. East Timorese, denying them the most basic Timor. Many of us died of starvation and Aditjondro told Reuters in June he had human rights, chiefly among these, the right exhaustion in the mountains in the attempt no immediate plan to return to Indonesia to to self-determination and independence to escape the Indonesian hordes; others died answer the charges because his teaching which is also recognised in the Indonesian cremated by the napalm bombs; others shot contract at Perth’s Murdoch University had Constitution, as a right of all the peoples of in the battlefield; others languished in mili- been extended from August to December. the world, including, indeed, the people of tary controlled prisons until raped and exe- East Timor. As a great nation, that aspires cuted. Many of us carry on our bodies the to a place in the Community of the civilised INDONESIA HOLDS NAVAL scars of the interminable days and nights of nations of the world, it is time to say stop WAR GAMES prison. Our men and our children went out to the butchery carried out in East Timor one day to fight the Indonesians, many did against innocent people, whose only crime JAKARTA, Oct. 29 (Reuter) — Indone- not come back. Others are still fighting. is to love their mother, East Timor. It is sia is holding a three-week naval war exer- Many are in hiding, carrying out clandestine time to be “sources of the cool” and say to cise in the eastern Molucca Sea involving duties. As wives and mothers we are wor- your men: respect East Timor, and the best 3,000 personnel, 24 ships and 20 aircraft, ried about them all the hours of the day. We way to do it, is to leave East Timor. It is the official Antara news agency reported on paid, and continue to pay, a heavy price for time for Suharto to sit down with Xanana Sunday. the liberation of our homeland. Gusmão, and solve the question of East “The war games involved 24 ships and The Indonesian military have done the Timor, once forever. And there will be 20 aircraft, including Skyhawks, and subma- most terrible things against us, as women peace, we will be good neighbours. A great rines,” Eastern Armada Commander Rear and as mothers. During the most difficult nation would be able to recognise errors Admiral Bambang Suryanto, was quoted as days back in the late seventies and early saying when the exercise entered its sixth Page 90 East Timor Documents, Volume 40. Sept. 1 - November 3, 1995. made and go the right way: that is to say, firm that. As for the rape of our women, it get. And they have resources; they have Indonesia should leave East Timor. takes place in different cases. For example, funds for it. Why shouldn’t they do it? Your men, your children, your soldiers in when a woman is suspected that she is sup- For copies of the above publication, send East Timor will be doing nothing but killing porting the resistance, she is immediately NZ$5.00 to Corso Inc, PO Box 1905, Otau- innocent people, our children. In spite of the taken into questioning and then subjected to tahi (Christchurch), Aotearoa (New Zea- official rhetoric, that is the crude reality. rape and other various things that happen in land). For more information: David Small Remember November 12th, 1991, the Santa the military headquarters.... There are email: [email protected] Cruz massacre! The killing fields are no women who participate actively in the po- more in the rugged mountains alone. For us, litical field. They not only participate in the IFET’S GAL AT THE BEIJING the towns and the villages have become guerrilla front, but in the education of our battlefields for freedom. For you, only kill- children to take up the struggle, to continue NGO WOMEN’S FORUM ing fields everywhere! Development pro- on with the struggle for as long as they can. By Jean Inglis, IFET, September 19 jects, fully controlled by the Indonesian The role of women is very important in the State apparatus. Any solution short of the struggle, according to our commander, who Kiyoko Furusawa, representing the In- unconditional recognition of the fundamental has recently sent an interview that he gave, ternational Federation for East Timor, join right of our people to self-determination and when he talks about the role of the woman. ed six East Timorese women at the NGO independence will be no solution. We are on He himself could not be specific, but he Forum at Huairou to raise the plight of w the right track of the struggle for humanity, stressed that they are very much part of the omen in East Timor at the world gathering for dignity, for womanhood and for free- resistance as well as the men. For example, and to build ties with other women suffering dom. On December 7th, 1995, it will be nowadays, you see women organizing clan- under foreign occupation. twenty years of invasion and military occu- destine meetings. It is they who are basi- The Timorese women represented two pation of East Timor by the Indonesian cally carriers of information to the local groups based in Australia, East Timor Relief military. Our fight for freedom will go on as people. They carry information to the guer- Association (ETRA), and the East Timorese long as there is no freedom to live as free rillas about the situation, what is happening Women’s Group. The ETRA women, Ines human beings, as women, as individuals, as a in the occupied areas. ... Almeida, Ceu Brites, Benilda Brites, and nation and as “ema” or people of East Based on the experience that I had in Nai- Marid Odette Gonçalves, held a workshop Timor. Suffering won’t deter and discourage robi [at the previous World Women’s Con- on Sept. 2 on the theme: “East Timor: us on the road to freedom. Women are ference, 1985], I would like to suggest some Women in the Struggle for Self Determina- source of life, women are mothers and we concrete proposals. For example, we don’t tion and Independence,” while Milena Pires will deliver life, we will deliver freedom and have any documentation about East and Fernanda Varudo, who are also members dignity. Timorese women. How they live, how they of UDT, sponsored a workshop on “Vio- Dear Friends, in the freedom you live in would live in t he future. We should really lence Against East Timorese Women” on the free world, in the peace of your families, look into having more comprehensive re- Sept. 4. In spite of steaming heat , the in the dignity of your work in small and big search amongst the people fighting for the workshops were packed and vibrated with cities, don’t forget East Timor, don’t for get liberation of their country... heated discussion. the East Timorese Women, their plight, their There have been UN envoys visiting East The Timorese presented actual cases of struggle and the struggle of the people of the Timor, but their findings tend to be general. brutalization of East Timorese women at the “land of the rising sun,” Rai Timor Loro Sae. They never send a UN woman who can hands of the Indonesian forces and also On behalf of the East Timorese Women investigate the rape details. ...If we are to delivered a message appealing for “the soli- IRA LAFAI LIGHUR send a UN envoy to investigate rape, then darity of the women of the world” from Ira Of the Clandestine Resistance we should send a woman. So many rapes are Lafai Lighur, a member of the clandestine going on that people don’t know about. The resistance in East Timor. The message also OMOMO MELEN PACIFIC women feel so traumatized about it. I say appeals to Indonesian women at the confer- this because recently there have been a lot of ence “for courage and for dignity.” “It is (Women from the non-self-governing terri- Timorese escaping from East Timor, asking time to be ‘sources of the cool’ and say to tories and colonies of the Pacific), Beijing for political asylum in Australia. Some of your men: respect East Timor, and the best August 1995 them have been raped, and only at 18 or 19 way to do it, is to leave East Timor.” (A 42 page publication on Pacific women’s years old. They wouldn’t tell you their Some Indonesian NGO women working organisations for the World Women’s Con- story until you talk to them for a lengthy in East Timor who attended the workshops, ference currently being held in Beijing) period of time. And we want the UN to Kiyoko reports, generally spoke up to de- conduct a population census because we fend Indonesia’s presence in East Timor as Excerpts from article: “Still Fighting don’t have one ourselves. With the invasion being “for the good of the East Timorese,” for our Freedom” by Ines Almeida (Rep- and occupation, over 100,000 transmigrants but the other participants raised a storm of resentative at UN intra-East Timorese talks in East Timor take over the jobs and the protest over what they regarded as “the and member of ETRA (East Timor Relief economy. They take also the fertile land of same kind of paternalistic attitude the West Association, Australia): the Timorese. So it’s a total control. Not has toward the developing countries.” “I Statistically, we don’t know how many only by the military but also by the trans- think that by the time the workshops were have been raped or subjected to killings and migrants, in Dili, mainly. over a few of the Indonesian women had torture — we cannot do independent statis- Also, perhaps, we should urge Amnesty gotten the point,” she said. tics, because everything is controlled by the International and Asia Watch, because I see Throughout the NGO conference ETRA Indonesian military. But I know that in East a lot of Amnesty International reports, but staffed an East Timor table in the “Global Timor there are about 20,000 orphans. So a these have been too generalized as well. Tent” where visitors picked up information, lot of lives have been lost. There’s no such thing as specific cases, and shared concerns, and signed a petition on About 51% of the population are there are many specific cases they can tar- East Timor to UN Secretary General women, although it is very difficult to con- Boutros Ghali. Kiyoko reported that con- East Timor Documents, Volume 40. September 1 - November 3, 1995 Page 91 versations with women who dropped by pied areas working together. “Like in East will highlight here the salient points that revealed that many had had some contact Timor,” she said, “women in other occupied emerged from those discussions (see press with IFET member groups. She found, how- areas–Western Sahara, Palestine, etc.– releases SG/SM/5519 and SG/T/1974). ever, that with several notable exceptions, in though they have right on their side in terms 2. The fifth round of talks with the For- general women from the “South” had far less of international law, face very tough politi- eign Ministers of the two Governments was information than those from the “North.” cal obstacles. They can only gain by work- held at Geneva on 9 January 1995. At that “This time I had some materials in Chinese, ing together, wherever possible round, the Ministers, inter alia, noted posi- Japanese, and Korean which I could share tively my intention to facilitate and offer the with women from East Asia. I also distrib- JAPANESE TV COVERAGE OF necessary arrangements for the convening of uted an IFET backgrounder on the issue in BEIJING an all-inclusive intra-East-Timorese dia- English, but more work is needed to get the logue. The objective of the dialogue was to message to non-Western and non-English From Jean Inglis, Sept. 29 provide a forum for continuing the free and speaking countries.” informal exchange of views to explore ideas IFET’s unique contribution to the NGO The East Timorese women who partici- of a practical nature that might have a posi- forum was the organization of a workshop, pated in the UN women’s conference in tive impact on the situation in East Timor held on Sept. 5, entitled “Women Living Beijing were prominently featured on a and assist in the establishment of an atmos- Under Foreign Occupations.” IFET origi- Japanese TV documentary this week. phere conducive to the achievement of a nally planned a Timor-specific workshop on On Sept. 26 the second of a three-part solution to the question of East Timor. It “East Timorese Women Under Indonesian series on the conference was aired on the was understood that the East Timorese Military Occupation,” but it became clear to NHK educational channel at prime time. dialogue would not address the political Kiyoko as she listened to and talked with The 40-minute program focused on the status of East Timor and would not consti- women from other areas under foreign occu- plight of women in occupied areas, East tute a parallel negotiating track or be a sub- pation that everyone’s interests would be Timorese and Tibetan women in particular, stitute for the ministerial talks. In the inter- well served by a joint workshop. Women as well as the efforts of the Chinese Govt. est of creating and maintaining a propitious from other occupied areas responded enthu- to suppress the expression of views they climate for a fruitful dialogue, I issued an siastically and the jointly sponsored work- oppose. appeal to all East Timorese to exercise re- shop that resulted took the form of a panel An East Timor workshop and a work- straint and refrain from actions that could discussion, moderated by Kiyoko, with shop that East Timorese women partici- have a detrimental impact, prior to and dur- panelists from Bougainville, Cyprus, East pated in on women in foreign occupied areas ing the course of the dialogue. I also ex- Timor, New Caledonia, Tibet, Western Sa- were highlighted as well as a demonstration. pressed the need for the two Governments hara, and West Papua. Again, the workshop The program also showed Indonesian to cooperate with me in my initiative and to was packed, and as was the case with the women’s comments at the workshop (pa- encourage all East Timorese to respond other two workshops, covered by radio, tronizing as a whole) and the critical reaction constructively to my initiative and appeal. TV, a of the women who crowded in the work- 3. The Ministers further agreed to con- One outcome of the workshop was a shop rooms. sider at the subsequent round of talks sub- Joint Statement on Occupied Territories for There was some commentary by Kiyoko stantive issues identified by me regarding submission to the UN Conference. Pointing Furusawa, who helped organize the latter possible avenues towards a solution to the out that “historically, the concerns of workshop. question of East Timor. women living under foreign occupation have 4. On human rights, the Ministers re- been ignored and silenced by occupying called the statement issued following the nations, who claim that such issues remain UNITED NATIONS previous round of talks, in May 1994, in the internal affairs of the occupying nation,” which they had concurred, inter alia, on the the statement calls on the UN “to take cer- UNSG PROGRESS REPORT need to improve the human rights situation tain initial steps towards recognising and in East Timor, and the relevant Chairman’s addressing” these problems. One such issue A/50/43. 6 September 1995 ORIGINAL: statements adopted by consensus by the was the subjecting of women living under ENGLISH Commission on Human Rights, in particular, foreign or ‘family planning programs,’ abor- with regard to access to East Timor, the tion or sterilization, ostensibly in the inter- Fiftieth session Item 94 of the provi- early release of the East Timorese impris- est of health and economic advancement, but sional agenda oned and the full accounting for the persons intended to reduce the population of the dead or missing as a result of the violent occupied to minorities in their own lands.” QUESTION OF EAST TIMOR incident at Dili on 12 November 1991. The One measure, which the statement urges the PROGRESS REPORT OF THE meeting took note of the intention of the United Nations to implement, is to “create a SECRETARY-GENERAL Government of Indonesia, in the terms con- position of Special Rapporteur on Occupied 1. Since the resumption of talks between veyed at the meeting, to take further steps Nations, to monitor the implementation of Indonesia and Portugal on the question of for the implementation of the undertakings the Platform For Action by occupying na- East Timor in 1992, I have held, in the con- contained therein. tions and the rights of those living under text of my good offices, six rounds of dis- 5. The first meeting of the All-Inclusive foreign occupation.” cussions with the Foreign Ministers of the Intra-East-Timorese Dialogue was held at Back in Japan, where she is a lecturer in two countries aimed at finding a just, com- Burg Schlaining, Austria, from 2 to 5 June economics and international politics at To- prehensive and internationally acceptable 1995 and brought together 30 East Timorese kyo Women’s Christian University and solution to the question of East Timor. I of various shades of political opinion resid- Yokohama City University and active in have reported to the Assembly annually on ing inside and outside East Timor. Two human rights advocacy, Kiyoko told me that the progress of these efforts. The last two representatives of the United Nations at- her experience at the conference convinced rounds of talks were held since I submitted tended the meeting without taking part in her of the importance of women from occu- my last progress report (A/49/391), and I the discussions. The gathering, the first of Page 92 East Timor Documents, Volume 40. Sept. 1 - November 3, 1995. its kind, was held in a positive and construc- 10. Also at the sixth round, the two Those statements are new signs of greater tive atmosphere and adopted, by consensus, sides, without prejudice to their respective attention at the United Nations to East the Burg Schlaining Declaration, which inter positions of principle regarding the political Timor, the former Portuguese colony which alia, proposed to me that further meetings status of East Timor, began discussions on was invaded in 1975 by Indonesia and for- be held within the same framework; reaf- the substantive issues identified by me re- mally annexed by Jakarta a year later. firmed the need to implement the necessary garding possible avenues for a just, compre- José Ayala Lasso, the human rights measures in the field of human rights and hensive and internationally acceptable solu- commissioner, declined to specify Wednes- other areas with a view to promoting peace, tion. In that context, they discussed issues day what his specific agenda would be dur- stability, justice and social harmony; reaf- related to an eventual framework for the ing his planned visit to the territory. firmed the necessity for the social and cul- achievement of such a solution and other “I plan to be there before the end of this tural development of East Timor on the related issues, including the preservation and year.” he added. “I hope that my presence basis of the preservation of the cultural promotion of the cultural identity of the there will contribute to the better obser- identity of the people, including tradition, East Timorese people and bilateral relations vance of human rights.” religion, history and language, as well as the between them. They agreed to continue to Although the commissioner had no com- teaching of Tetun and Portuguese; and ex- discuss these issues. ment on specific charges of human rights pressed the need to create the basis for the 11. I will hold a seventh round of talks abuses by the Indonesian troops occupying involvement of all East Timorese, without with the two Ministers on 16 January 1996 East Timor, he took special offense at re- discrimination of any sort, in the develop- in London. ports that children had been beaten during a ment of East Timor in every sphere of hu- recent troop crackdown against protests. man life in a climate of mutual understand- GENERAL ASSEMBLY “Violations of the human rights of chil- ing, tolerance and harmony. PRESIDENT MENTIONS dren ... are especially atrocious and nega- 6. The participants paid tribute to Rev. tive,” Ayala Lasso said. He admonished all Dom Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo, the Apos- EAST TIMOR IN OPENING nations to implement the Convention on the tolic Administrator of Dili, for his contribu- STATEMENT Rights of the Child, a U.N. protocol which, tion to the debate, such as the proposals among other provisions, forbids state har- that were agreed upon with a view to im- From John Miller, ETAN/US assment of children. proving the physical and spiritual condi- The new President of the UN General Other U.N. officials have recently spo- tions of the lives of the people of East Assembly, Diogo Freitas do Amaral, in his ken out on East Timor, as well. Timor. They also expressed appreciation for inaugural statement, on September 19, made In his speech opening the 50th session of the consultations undertaken by the United note of East Timor. While the statement is the General Assembly Tuesday, the newly- Nations with East Timorese of various relatively mild, it is unusual for such a spe- elected president, Diogo Freitas do Amaral, shades of opinion, aiming at the gradual cific issue like East Timor to be highlighted broke with normal diplomatic practice by involvement, as well as the availability of in a GA president’s speech. Freitas do citing Timor explicitly. the Foreign Ministers of Portugal and Indo- Amaral is a former Portuguese vice-prime “In the particular case of East Timor, and nesia for direct dialogue with East Timorese minister and foreign minister and will serve without abandoning the impartiality that I personalities. I am encouraged by the result in the largely ceremonial post for a year. am called upon to display as President of of this first meeting, and it is my intention, Overall, his speech praised the U.N. role in the General Assembly, I would like to ex- with the consent of the two Governments, fostering human rights, democracy and de- press my wish for the success of the mis- to facilitate a further intra-East-Timorese- colonization. sion of mediation and good offices” the meeting following the seventh round of min- “In the particular case East Timor, and United Nations now provides, Freitas said. isterial talks on 16 January 1996. without abandoning the impartiality that I Freitas said he hoped Secretary-General 7. I convened the sixth round of talks be- am called upon to display as President of Boutros Boutros-Ghali will continue “to try tween the two Foreign Ministers, also at the General Assembly, I would like to ex- to solve this problem through dialogue be- Geneva, on 8 July 1995, a few weeks later press my wish for the success of the mis- tween Portugal and Indonesia.” than the time originally envisaged, in order sion of mediation and good offices which the As an expression of interest, Freitas’s to allow for the meeting of the All-Inclusive General Assembly has expressly entrusted words were welcomed by activists seeking Intra-East-Timorese Dialogue to take place. to the Secretary-General, who, I am fully independence for the territory. But John 8. At that round, the Ministers discussed confident, will continue to try to solve this Miller, spokesman for the U.S.-based East developments since the previous round in problem through dialogue between Portugal Timor Action Network (ETAN), doubted January, including the implementation of the and Indonesia, in accordance with the Char- the small flurry of new U.N. rhetoric on chairman’s statement on the situation of ter of the United Nations.” Timor amounts to much. human rights in East Timor, agreed upon by Freitas “reiterated part of what is Gen- consensus by the Commission on Human EAST TIMOR: U.N. PICKS UP eral Assembly policy ... to urge the secre- Rights at its fifty-first session, the impor- tary-general to facilitate discussions be- tance of which was stressed. THE PACE tween Indonesia and Portugal. 9. The Ministers welcomed the conven- UNITED NATIONS, Sep. 20 (IPS) – “Unfortunately, those discussions leave ing of the All-Inclusive Intra-East-Timorese The disputed status of East Timor is mov- out the Timorese, whose lives are at stake,” Dialogue, which constituted a positive effort ing up once again on the U.N. agenda. Miller argued. to help create an atmosphere conducive to In recent days, the U.N. High Commis- Nor are the United Nations’ member the achievement of a solution to the ques- sioner for Human Rights has announced his states likely to bring up the dispute more tion of East Timor. They also welcomed my intention to visit East Timor, while the new forcefully next month when Indonesian view on the need for convening a further president of the General Assembly has lent President Suharto is slated to appear before meeting or meetings of that Dialogue and my his voice in support of U.N.-backed media- the General Assembly, Miller added. intention to pursue the matter with the two tion efforts on the Timor dispute. “I doubt in that context that there will be parties. many critical words from the governments East Timor Documents, Volume 40. September 1 - November 3, 1995 Page 93 and the General Assembly president,” he I understand John Miller’s skepticism, Portugal and Indonesia should talk), as em- said. but I believe it necessary for us to support, bodied in the eight resolutions the GA has The U.N.-backed negotiations on East and not undermine, the efforts of all those passed on East Timor. These resolutions, Timor most recently featured a discussion who truly want to help the cause of the either directly or indirectly (by citing previ- between Portuguese Foreign Minister José Maubere people. We all know that Indone- ous resolutions) call for more – East Manuel Durão Barroso and his Indonesian sia herself has made it impossible for the Timorese self-determination for example. counterpart, Ali Alatas, mediated by East-Timorese to be fully represented in While granting the limitations of his posi- Boutros-Ghali in Geneva July 8. any talks with its Indonesian oppressors, tion, I hope Freitas will find ways to make In a report to the Assembly released and so to argue that their absence from UN- similar remarks on East Timor in the future. Wednesday, Boutros-Ghali said the two sponsored talks between Portugal and our I also expressed a pessimism that the re- foreign ministers agreed to further meetings enemy Indonesia only plays into Indone- marks by the themselves would help resolve between all Timorese groups – from pro- sia’s designs. the basic problem behind the UN- independence to pro-Indonesia – in the com- Portugal still is recognized by the UN as supervised talks – that the East Timorese ing months. the administrative power of the territory of are not directly involved. Pedro is right that Boutros-Ghali said Alatas and Durão East-Timor and that it was in that capacity this is because Indonesia does not want Barroso also discussed a framework to pre- that it tried to give independence to East- them to be. I did comment to the reporter on serve Timorese cultural identity and to im- Timor in 1975, an attempt that was sub- several factors that might move Indonesia to prove bilateral relations between Jakarta and verted by Indonesia’s brutal invasion of the take Timorese wishes more seriously. Some Lisbon. He said he will meet with the two island. Since then Portugal has been, even if of these were noted in the article, some not. sides again next Jan 16. with limitations proper to a small country, These included international pressure, the In June, 30 members of several Timorese on the forefront of the fight for human rights taking up of the issue by the democracy parties met in Burg Schlaining, Austria, to respect in, and self-determination of, the movement in Indonesia and the continuing discuss social issues – although not the po- East Timorese. Remember, for instance, turmoil in East Timor. litical status of East Timor. They agreed by Portugal’s suit in the International Court of Finally, I think it is possible to support consensus to hold further meetings, to reaf- Justice against Australia & Indonesia’s ex- actions that we consider praiseworthy, firm the need for human rights improve- ploration of Timor Gap, Portugal’s constant while arguing, indeed urging, that they could ments, and to preserve Timorese cultural interventions in the European Community, have gone further. This is the way to pro- identity, including use of the indigenous in the UN, and in all other international fora gress. language Tetum and Portuguese. The meet- against Indonesia’s economic and political ing, which was unexpected cordial, report- interests and in favor of the people of East UNGA FOURTH COMMITTEE edly left Indonesian officials fuming. Timor. Finally, please realize that the Por- DISCUSSION BEGINS Even as that process is continues, how- tuguese constitution itself has a clause im- ever, reports increase of riots in East Timor, posing upon the Portuguese citizens and Excerpts from a Press Release issued by the and a resurgence of activity by the Indone- government the duty to fight secure East- U.N. Department of Public Information, sian Army forces there. Timor’s self determination. courtesy UNIC/Sydney. It describes the Oc- “East Timor in the past year has become So, won’t you please cut Portugal a little tober 11 session of the UNGA Fourth (De- ungovernable in every sense,” Miller said. slack, so it can fight against our true enemy colonization) Committee. The ETAN spokesman argued that that THE CONTEMPORARY INDONESIAN factor would prod the drive for democratisa- GOVERNMENT, and support it in the Comment from Charlie Scheiner, IFET: tion in East Timor, and set the agenda for pursuance of East Timor’s best interests There seems to be an effort underway by the further U.N. action. and self-determination? UK and others to change the Fourth Com- mittee’s mandate, which is decolonization. If COMMENT FROM: PEDRO COELHO RESPONSE FROM JOHN MILLER, we feel that East Timor remains a “classic As a Portuguese citizen living in the US, SEPT. 28 colony” – that is, a nation under unwilling and having been involved with the fight for I’m not sure what in my remarks as par- rule by force from another country – than the self-determination of the East-Timorese tially quoted by the InterPress service set there is still a place for the Fourth Commit- people for some years now, I would like to off Pedro T. Coelho impassioned defense of tee, notwithstanding that ET is an anomaly comment on the recent comments by John Portuguese policy on East Timor. Neither because its the official Administering Author- Miller as an ETAN spokesperson on the my remarks nor the IPS article as whole ity (Portugal) is not the de facto one (Indo- subject of the newly elected President of addressed Portugal’s policy. Therefore, the nesia). It might be useful to sound out or UN’s General Assembly Diogo Freitas do issue of “cut[ting] Portugal some slack pressure your own government on the ques- Amaral’s brake from normal democratic doesn’t seem to apply in this instance. Since tion of maintaining true decolonization as practice by directly referring to the tragic reporters tend to selectively quote, I’ll take high-priority issue for the UN. situation in East-Timor. this opportunity to expand on what was in SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON Diogo Freitas do Amaral is a Portuguese the article. DECOLONIZATION BURDENED BY citizen of exceptional ability who was di- Because of his position as President of ARCHAIC, IRRELEVANT LANGUAGE, rectly involved in the changes that brought the General Assembly, Diogo Freitas do UNITED KINGDOM TELLS FOURTH about democracy to Portugal after the 1974 Amaral’s statement can not and should not COMMITTEE revolution in that country. He is a fighter for be taken as a statement of Portugal’s policy. ANTONIO NORONHA GAMITO democracy and human rights. His election to His position is largely ceremonial and re- (Portugal) said his Government was seeking such an imminent position in the UN hierar- quires him to be above national politics. to improve human rights in East Timor and chy should be thought off as a victory for I did praise the fact that he made the re- was engaged in direct talks with Indonesia, East-Timor and for all of us who are aware mark on East Timor, but its content does under the auspices of the Secretary-General, of East-Timor’s struggle for survival and not go beyond one of the least controversial to bring about a peaceful and negotiated self-determination. aspects of General Assembly policy (that Page 94 East Timor Documents, Volume 40. Sept. 1 - November 3, 1995. settlement with respect for the legitimate “World leaders and the Secretary-General PROTESTORS FLOCK TO rights of the people. should make clear to President Suharto that EMILIO IZQUIERDO (Ecuador), they will no longer tolerate Indonesia’s bla- U.N. ANNIVERSARY speaking on behalf of the “Rio Group” (Ar- tant disregard for the UN Charter and reso- GATHERING gentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, lutions. If Indonesia wants to be considered Ecuador, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Para- a respected member of the world commu- by Farhan Haq guay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela), said nity, it must withdraw its troops from East UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 23 (IPS) — although much progress had been made, Timor and allow the UN to arrange a refer- The United Nations’ 50th anniversary is there were still people suffering under colo- endum. The East Timorese should decide now more than just the world leaders’ nialism. ... their own future,” said Scheiner speeches that run from Sunday through He expressed support for negotiations “Recent events dramatically demonstrate Tuesday. Protests outside the world body under way on the question of East Timor, the need for UN observers in the occupied are a major feature. and bilateral relations between Argentina territory to safeguard the human rights and While the causes differ, many are calling and the United Kingdom aimed at resolving lives of the East Timorese people,” Scheiner for an end to civil war or mistreatment of the question of the Falkland Islands (Malvi- continued. “The UN High Commissioner for minorities. nas). The presence of military bases on Human Rights has promised to visit East At one nearby park, Tamils protesting Non-Self-Governing Territories was becom- Timor during 1995, but it will take more their minority status in Sri Lanka are selling ing increasingly questionable, he continued. than a one-time visit to ensure that interna- videotapes that accuse President Chandrika Due to significant progress made towards tional agreements are obeyed. The UN Kumaratunga of causing the deaths of inno- peace, the time had come for the Territories should set up a permanent office in East cent civilians. A few blocks away, ‘moha- and adjacent areas to be free from nuclear Timor.” During the past week, violence has jirs’ (Indian-descended Pakistanis) level testing, storage and stockpiling. The com- escalated, with several East Timorese being similar charges against Pakistani Prime Min- plete eradication of colonialism remained a killed by Indonesian soldiers, and house-to- ister Benazir Bhutto. challenge that was within reach. house searches resulting in hundreds of ar- Turkish President Suleyman Demirel is GUSTAVO ALVAREZ (Uruguay) said rests. not spared: Ankara’s crackdown on ethnic now was a time for reflection with regard to President Suharto of Indonesia is sched- Kurds is being loudly disparaged this week decolonization. There was a need for con- uled to address the UN General Assembly on New York’s streets by Kurdish protes- crete conduct by the administering Powers Monday, October 23. He will meet with tors. to eradicate colonialism. He appealed to the President Clinton in Washington later in the One New York-based radical group, the parties of Western Sahara to implement the week. ETAN is planning protests in Wash- New Alliance Party (NAP), directs protes- settlement plan and allow for a referendum ington and New York at public appearances tors shouting against Zairean dictator on self-determination. Also, the parties of by the Indonesian dictator. Mobutu Sese Seko. But several Cuban- New Caledonia should be invited to deter- The U.N. does not recognize Indonesian American right-wing groups, notably the mine their future destiny in accordance with sovereignty over East Timor, a former Por- Cuban American National Foundation the Matignon Agreement. He commended tuguese colony. East Timor is the largest (CANF), have drowned them out with the progress made towards self- (by population) territory on the United louder demonstrations against President determination in Tokelau and current efforts Nations list of non-self-governing territories. Fidel Castro. to find peaceful solution to the question of Two UN Security Council resolutions and Some groups are not even protesting spe- East Timor. The United Nations should be eight by the General Assembly call on Indo- cific governments. One demonstrator was allowed to send visiting missions to the nesia to withdraw its troops and recognize forced down from the air after attempting to Territories. The international community the right of the East Timorese to self- hang-glide past the United Nations in a craft must commit itself to a year 2000 free of determination. Since 1983, the UN Secre- bearing the emblem, “Stop nuclear testing.” colonialism. tary-General has facilitated talks between “We don’t think it was a threat of any Indonesia and Portugal, the UN-recognized kind,” U.N. spokesman Joe Sills said of the EAST TIMOR ACTION administering power of East Timor. hang-glider, which was forced to land at NETWORK CALLS FOR December 7 marks the 20th anniversary nearby Roosevelt Island. of the Indonesian invasion of East Timor. The largest of the demonstrations, in- MORE FORCEFUL UN The military assault came after a year of volved thousands of people both for and ACTION ON EAST TIMOR covert destabilization by Indonesia. In one against Castro. Anti-Castro protestors of the worst cases of genocide since World wearing “No Castro, no problem” placards Media Release from ETAN/US, Oct. 21 War II, Indonesia has killed over 200,000 have chanted against the Cuban leader out- As ceremonies celebrating the 50th Anni- people – one-third of the population – since side Cuba’s U.N. mission. versary of the United Nations began, the it invaded East Timor. In contrast, 1,300 Castro supporters East Timor Action Network/US called on ETAN/US was founded in November greeted him at a Harlem church Sunday and the world body to take a more active role in 1991, following the massacre of over 271 hundreds more protested the U.S. embargo support of the rights of the East Timorese. peaceful demonstrators in Dili, East Timor. against Cuba Saturday. “Since its founding, the United Nations ETAN/US supports genuine self- As Castro spoke at the U.N. General As- has facilitated the independence of nearly all determination and human rights for the peo- sembly Sunday, both pro-Castro and anti- of the world’s colonies. It is long past time ple of East Timor. ETAN/US currently has Castro flotillas sailed on the East River right for the UN to be more assertive in defending a dozen local chapters. outside the U.N. headquarters. U.S. Coast the rights of the East Timorese, especially Guard ships also patrolled those waters to their right to self-determination,” said prevent the boats from attacking each other Charles Scheiner, coordinator of the East or the building. Timor Action Network (ETAN). But Castro was not alone in sparking controversy. Bhutto was greeted by sup- East Timor Documents, Volume 40. September 1 - November 3, 1995 Page 95 porters of Pakistan’s Mohajir Qaumi Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, who naturally very different.” In Alatas’ per- Movement (MQM) with cries of “Bhutto, narrowly avoided an assassination attempt spective, the decolonization process was go home!” The NAP-led Zaire protestors July at an Organisation of African Unity interrupted by the Portuguese colonial ad- chanted for Mobutu to go home, as well, summit in Ethiopia, quietly cancelled his ministration who “packed up and left” the while the Sri Lankan Tamils yelled, “Out, visit here last Friday. territory in August of 1975. According to Chandrika, out!” Gen. Sani Abacha, Nigeria’s president, Alatas, Portugal left the territory in a state The Tamils, including supporters of the also cancelled his U.N. trip, U.N. officials of civil war and never returned, despite that Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), acknowledged Monday. Abacha faces con- in November 1975 Indonesia requested that came complete with videos purportedly siderable opposition in the United States Portugal return to ET in order to proceed showing Sri Lankan troops attacking civil- from pro-democracy groups. with the decolonization process. “I believe ians in the largely Tamil Jaffna Peninsula. it is important to underscore this point As one onlooker said of the Tamil informa- SOARES BLASTS which, to us, is of crucial importance. It is tion tables, “They really have their act to- “OUTRAGEOUS SITUATION” necessary to admit the facts,” said Alatas. gether.” When asked about the recent incidents in For their part, the NAP sponsored adver- IN EAST TIMOR Dili, Alatas said he regretted them, but tisements in local newspapers saying, “We, minimized their importance. In his view, United Nations, Oct. 22 (Reuter) — Por- the undersigned, together with Americans these were nothing more than “small inci- tuguese President Mario Soares sharply across the country, will fight the current dents, contrary to what the foreign press, criticised on Sunday the “outrageous situa- efforts of Mobutu’s friends ... to overturn especially the Portuguese press, would lead tion” in East Timor whose decolonization he the visa restrictions and allow Mobutu to to believe. “These were small ruffles. There said had been “brutally interrupted” by 20 visit Washington, D.C., and lobby on his was tension between ‘gangs’ who all belong years of Indonesian occupation. own behalf.” to the same groups. These weren’t even His comments on the Portuguese-ruled Mobutu has been restricted from visiting between pro-and against-integration territory which Indonesia invaded in 1975 the country on a U.S. visa since 1993, when groups,” he said. According to Alatas, the and annexed the following year, were made President Bill Clinton and Congress cen- conflicts have been duly solved by the po- during a speech to a special session of the sured Zaire after Mobutu rebuffed a democ- lice which, he said, “now has the situation General Assembly marking the 50th anni- ratic transition. under complete control.” Alatas stated that versary of the United Nations. One leader who had been blocked in the there had been arrests during the incidents, Soares said the strength of the principles past, Chairman Yasser Arafat of the Pales- but that all prisoners had been “released enshrined in the U.N. Charter and the reso- tine Liberation Organisation (PLO), now immediately after.” “The incidents were not lutions that flowed from them represented a easily receives U.S. visas since signing peace very important,” in Alatas’ opinion. powerful stimulus in favour of democracy, accords with Israel in 1993. But Arafat still Alatas guaranteed that Indonesia contin- human rights and peace. faces protests from pro-Israeli groups who ues to support the efforts by the UN Secre- “Outstanding examples of this are the de- accuse him of continuing to foster or abet tary General Boutros Ghali, to find a solu- colonization movement in which a democ- terrorist attacks against Israel. tion to ET that is “all-encompassing, just, ratic Portugal participated actively and, As a result of such opposition, Arafat and acceptable to the international commu- subsequently, the struggle to abolish apart- and Castro were the only two major leaders nity.” “Indonesia remains interested in co- heid,” he said. here to be snubbed at a Saturday dinner for operating in the negotiation process,” he “For that reason, allow me to refer to the world leaders held by New York’s mayor, said. outrageous situation that continues to pre- Rudolph Giuliani. Undaunted, Arafat held a Alatas rejected the idea that ET problem vail in the non-self-governing territory of fund-raiser with 1,000 Palestinian- is also of religious nature. “I must say most East Timor, which still awaits – notwith- Americans at a hotel across the street – and categorically that ET may be a multi-faceted standing the relevant resolutions of the Gen- was rewarded with 35,000 dollars for two problem, but it is not a religious problem,” eral Assembly and the Security Council – hospitals in the West Bank and Gaza. said Alatas. “Indonesia is a country of large the conclusion of a decolonization process Demonstrators are also on the street to Muslim majority, but it has no problems brutally interrupted by 20 years of occupa- harangue other world leaders as they seek to with other religions,” said Alatas, adding tion by Indonesia.” reap business deals and high-level contacts that the Indonesian people “lives in peace, while in New York. ALATAS’ RESPONSE TO SOARES’ side by side with Catholics, Protestants, The East Timor Action Network UN SPEECH Buddhists, and Hindus.” “The facts demon- (ETAN), a U.S. group opposed to Indone- strate that religious tolerance is a reality in sia’s 1975 invasion of East Timor, is plan- Translated from the Portuguese, abridged Indonesia,” he concluded. ning to shadow Indonesian President Su- Quotes may differ from the original harto as he visits the country. ETAN is United Nations, NY, Oct. 23 (LUSA) — UNITED NATIONS AT 50 AND planning protests in both New York and Indonesian Foreign Minister Ali Alatas, in EAST TIMOR: IT’S TIME FOR Washington, where Suharto is to go after response to questions by LUSA today, said addressing the General Assembly Monday. that the statements by Portuguese President CHANGE “If Indonesia wants to be considered a Mario Soares referring to East Timor in his by Matthew Jardine, Distributed via Knight- respected member of the world community, 5-minute speech before the UN General Ridder, 30 October 1995 it must withdraw its troops from East Assembly were “totally inappropriate” and Timor and allow the U.N. to arrange a refer- “factually incorrect.” The celebration of the United Nations’ endum,” ETAN coordinator Charles “With all due respect to the President of 50th anniversary seems to be a rare occasion Scheiner said. “The East Timorese should Portugal, I must say that he has his facts of global unity. But behind the festive fa- decide their own future.” wrong when he states in his declaration that cade is the reality of a world body that has Some leaders have decided not to risk the the East Timor decolonization process was utterly failed in its pledge “to save succeed- storm of protest waiting for them here. brutally interrupted by Indonesia. Facts are ing generations from the scourge of war” and Page 96 East Timor Documents, Volume 40. Sept. 1 - November 3, 1995. to “reaffirm faith in fundamental human nation–a nation we do a lot of business to put up a resistance to Indonesia’s furious rights.” The saga of East Timor helps us to with.” avalanches.” understand why. The United States and other Western The editorial later states: “Furthermore, On December 7, 1975, Indonesia invaded powers did more than condone Indonesia’s in order to contribute to the implementation newly independent East Timor–with U.S. atrocities in East Timor; they’ve been com- of our strategies of ‘Indonesianisation of the weaponry and consent. Five days later, the plicit in it. Successive U.S. presidents, for War of East Timor” and ‘Organisational U.N. General Assembly overwhelmingly example, have provided Suharto with hun- Consolidation,’ the editorial team launched passed a resolution deploring the invasion, dreds of millions of dollars in military and Larigutu and Loriku Lian, two further voices calling upon Indonesia to withdraw immedi- economic assistance since 1975. of the student Resistance movement. The ately and upholding the former Portuguese The Clinton Administration has largely first is published in Indonesian, and is in- colony’s right to self-determination. The continued the policy of its predecessors, tended for the Indonesian Solidarity move- United States abstained, and voted “no” on despite some positive steps like banning ment. The second is in Tetum, and is des- each of the seven resolutions that followed. small-weapon sales to Indonesia. Over the tined for the Asswains (meaning the ‘glori- The United States also ensured that the last three years, the administration has pro- ous ones’ in Tetum, — the name commonly more powerful U.N. Security Council – vided Suharto with almost $300 million in used to refer to the guerrillas).” whose resolutions are binding on all Mem- economic assistance and has sold and li- Neon Metin contains (and is often the ber-States – did not take any meaningful censed the sales of tens of millions of dollars sole source of) a wide range of information steps against Indonesia. As Daniel Patrick in weaponry to Indonesia. And now, the on the life of the Timorese in both East Moynihan, then U.S. Ambassador to the Clinton administration is trying to unload 17 Timor and Indonesia, and is obtainable from United Nations, bragged about stymieing U.S. F-16 fighter jets on Jakarta. the Autonomous Overseas General Delega- U.N. action on East Timor, “The Depart- United Nations-sponsored talks between tion of Renetil in Portugal. ment of State desired that the United Na- Indonesia and Portugal resumed in 1992, Renetil’s address in Portugal is: Associacao tions prove utterly ineffective in whatever spurred by Secretary-General Boutros 12 de Novembro, Rua do Comercio n.8, 1, measures it undertook. This task was given Boutros Ghali. While encouraging, the nego- 1100 Lisboa. to me, and I carried it forward with no in- tiations are not likely to move the Suharto considerable success.” regime to withdraw from East Timor barring OPEN LETTER TO Such diplomatic success translated into radical change within Indonesia or significant increased human suffering within East pressure from the United Nation’s ruling NORWEGIAN PRIME Timor. At the height of the assault, Indone- powers, most notably the United States. MINISTER sian forces engaged in “indiscriminate killing On the fiftieth anniversary of the United on a scale unprecedented in post-World War Nations, East Timor serves as an example of Following is the text of an open letter sent by II history,” an Australian government re- the betrayal by the global body and the an East Timorese woman exiled in Australia, ported noted. By the early 1980s, over national powers behind it to realize the to the Prime Minister of Norway, Gro Har- 200,000 East Timorese–about one-third of common dreams of humanity for a world lem Brundtland, on the eve of her state visit the pre-invasion population–had died as a free from war and oppression. It is time to to Indonesia. result of Indonesia’s aggression. Today, the move beyond nationalism and perhaps the From Maria Silva, Australia occupation and the repression continue. United Nations as well. September 15, 1995 The United Nation’s paralysis on East Matthew Jardine is a writer and researcher Dear Madame Prime Minister, Timor is inherent to its structure. The on human rights and the author of East I am an East Timorese woman, mother of World War II victors ensured that the new Timor: Genocide in Paradise, Odonian global body would allow them to pursue two children, living in exile in Australia since Press, 1995. He wrote this commentary for 1985. Like thousands of East Timorese, I their narrow national interests on the global the Progressive Media Project. stage without collective constraints. was forced to leave East Timor by the re- A number of countries in 1945 advocated pressive military regime which has ruled my the establishment of a world legislature and EVENTS IN EUROPE people for the last two decades. a world court with compulsory jurisdiction. Madame Prime Minister, I’m writing to A 1946 Roper Poll showed that 63 percent you on the eve of your visit to Indonesia. of the U.S. public supported the creation of NEON METIN IS BACK As you well know, Indonesia, under the a democratically elected world congress with leadership of President Suharto invaded my binding decision-making power. The World Timor Leste (monthly publication of the country on December 7, 1975. It was an War II powers, however, ignored this post- CDPM), July 1995. Translated from Portu- illegal act still not accepted by the United nationalist sentiment and laid the basis for a guese Nations to this day. Since then, the East U.N. oligarchy. As the Mexican delegate to Timorese People have lived through horrors Lisbon – Neon Metin, the newspaper of perpetrated by the occupying armed forces. the founding convention in San Francisco in the National Resistance of East Timorese 1945 noted, the U.N. Charter assured that More than one third of the East Timorese Students (Renetil), published in Portuguese, population, estimated at 700.000 people in “the mice would be disciplined, but the lions is back after circulation was interrupted last would be free.” 1975, have perished as a consequence of a November on account of the repression brutal and unjust war. But history has shown that mice with which followed the occupation of the US whom the lions are on good terms are also Western weaponry sold to Indonesia has Embassy premises in Jakarta. contributed to the genocide of a defenceless free. As a State Department official ex- As the Editorial states, “there is no doubt plained in 1976 while “more or less condon- people. Massive bombardments and Na- about it — Neon Metin is one of the hardest palm bombs have wiped out entire villages ing” Indonesia’s invasion of East Timor, to catch of all resistance publications. How- “The United States wants to keep its rela- and their inhabitants. The environment has ever, there is also no doubt that Neon Metin been severely damaged, causing widespread tions with Indonesia close and friendly. We is one of the few publications that manages regard Indonesia as a friendly, non-aligned famine, malnutrition and the outbreak of East Timor Documents, Volume 40. September 1 - November 3, 1995 Page 97 diseases previously unknown by the East army all over East Timor. They have been forget that Suharto is responsible for the Timorese people. Despite all this, the Indo- tortured, raped, abused, and deeply humili- death of more than one million Indonesians, nesian government claimed to the World that ated. killed by his troops after the alleged ‘Com- they went into East Timor “to protect their Madame Prime Minister, in 1980, more munist’ coup of 1965. Sutrisno was the brothers and sisters from the Communists!” than six thousand East Timorese prisoners commander of the Indonesian army in 1991, During the last twenty years, the East of conscience were transferred to the Island when his troops gunned down hundreds of Timorese population have to face daily of Atauro, which is located 45 km North of East Timorese youths at Santa Cruz ceme- arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances, the capital Dili. Eighty per cent of this tery, Dili, during a peaceful demonstration. torture, rape, confinement in resettlement number was comprised by women and chil- After the massacre, he publicly stated that camps, repression and violation of the most dren! These people were sent to the Island the “delinquents,” the East Timorese pro- basic human rights. by the Indonesian military after being ac- testers, “must be shot. And we will shoot Yet the international community shame- cused of supplying food for the guerrillas. them.” lessly turns a blind eye to these horrendous The Indonesian military seemingly forgot Suharto’s son in law, Prabowo, who cur- atrocities, for the sake of profitable trade that the guerrillas were fathers, husbands, rently holds the post of vice commander of with the corrupt government of President sons, daughters, brothers and sisters of the Indonesian elite troops, Kopassus, or- Suharto and the exploitation of the under- those people. dered a cold blooded massacre of more than paid Indonesian labour force. The continuing Their transfer to Atauro was carried out 300 hundred civilians in the village of Kraras of foreign economic aid and the sales of without any humane consideration. The in East Timor in 1983. The pregnant women Western arms to Indonesia regardless of Indonesian army shifted these people like of the village had their unborn babies ripped how ruthlessly the regime uses brutal force cattle. They were forced to leave their from their wombs with knives which then to repress its own people, is an affront to homes, traditional land, and belongings be- had their heads smashed against rocks! human decency and justice. hind, without being told about their destina- Heavens must have wept! In spite of all tribulations, the East tion. Worst of all, there were no basic hous- Madame Prime Minister, last week, East Timorese people continue to resist heroi- ing, sanitation and hygiene facilities awaiting Timor was once again rocked by riots cally all attempts by the Indonesian military them. The consequences of this policy were caused directly by mass anger over the ac- to crush their spirit. We refuse to yield to horrendous. tion of an Indonesian jail official at the jail in brutality and inhumane treatment. We con- Nursing mothers lost their breast milk, Maliana. This official made defamatory tinue trying to uphold human dignity. which dried up suddenly as result of shock statements about Catholicism, the religion Above all, we refuse to give up our right to and trauma. Their babies were screaming of embraced by the majority of the East Self-determination and Independence. hunger! Inevitably, diseases such as diar- Timorese. He is typical of the attitude of By invading East Timor, Indonesia has rhoea and dysentery broke out and the ba- many other Indonesian transmigrants. Dem- violated not only International law but also bies died like flies. I helped to bury the in- onstrations erupted in many cities of the its 1945 Constitution which states “That nocent babies who passed away ahead of territory and in most suburbs of the capital independence is the right of every nation time. At the peak of the crisis, we buried 5 Dili. Indonesian officials arrested 80 people and therefore colonialism must be eliminated babies in one week! At the time I almost most of them junior and senior high school from the world as it is incompatible with lost faith in humanity. The horrific situation students. humanity and justice.” settled down a few months later, after the The attack against the Catholic Faith in Madame Prime Minister, I was 18 years International Red Cross arrived on the Is- East Timor by Indonesian Muslim settlers, old when the Indonesian army invaded my land with basic human necessities, medicines is another strategy fomented by the Indone- country. Words fail me to express or de- and food. sian military to crush the last bastion of scribe my true feelings about the tragedies Madame Prime Minister, how can such East Timorese resistance. The Catholic that I have witnessed along these years. crimes against humanity be perpetrated with Church in East Timor has consistently de- One of my cousins was arrested the day impunity in the 20th century? How will nounced the violation of human rights per- after the Indonesians landed in Dili, the those mothers ever forgive and forget the petrated against the Timorese. In the darkest capital of East Timor. She was taken to the loss of their children in such macabre cir- hours of our tragic history, the Church has military intelligence quarters for intensive cumstances? How can they recover from the stood up against the aggressor as a symbol interrogation, following torture with ciga- depth of their sorrows and trauma with their of hope for its oppressed people. rette buts on her pregnant body. Her fiancee sanity intact? You madame, as a woman and In 1989, the Suharto government opened had been shot dead the previous day in front mother of 4 children, will probably under- the doors of East Timor to the world after of her. A high school colleague had her head stand my feelings regarding this. I will never 13 years of complete isolation. This hap- chopped off by the invaders and hung on a be able to forget the mothers’ state of des- pened as a result of international pressure. tree facing her house, in order to terrorise peration and anguish at breaking point, hold- Ever since, news and accounts about the her family and the neighbourhood. The rea- ing their screaming babies against their dried tragedy that has been going on in East Timor son for this barbaric behaviour was that the breasts. This painful memory is engraved in has reached the outside world. Unable to two women were members of the ‘Fretilin’ my mind for the rest of my life. It gives me conquer the minds and hearts of the East pro independence movement. all the strength I need to fight till justice is Timorese, Indonesian authorities encouraged Thousands of East Timorese women done. mass colonisation by transmigrants from have faced similar and even worse circum- Madame Prime Minister, you will be vis- Indonesia to East Timor. stances. Three other acquaintances of mine iting a nation whose leaders kill their own The majority of the new settlers are were thrown out alive from a flying army people including their women and children, Muslim traders, ‘bugis’ from the island of helicopter, to their deaths, because their as well as the populations of smaller Sulawesi. They take over the traditional husbands had fled to the mountains to fight neighbours. lands of the natives, they occupy most of against the occupying forces. Many of our You will shake the blood stained hands of the public service positions and are granted women are presently being held in inade- the President and the Vice President of In- business deals and financial assistance with quate prisons set up by the Indonesian donesia, and toast them. You will surely not support from the local military authorities. Page 98 East Timor Documents, Volume 40. Sept. 1 - November 3, 1995.

The East Timorese are discriminated against NORWEGIAN PM MEETS donesian government that it not oppose the in job applications, the allocation of scholar- visit to East Timor of EP parliamentarians. ships for tertiary education, housing subsi- SUHARTO The EP expresses concern for the repres- dies, and relevant government social and Abridged translation of an article distributed sion by the military of civilian demonstra- economic policies. In a short period of time, by the Norwegian news agency NTB, re- tors, namely in Manatuto. The EP resolu- the East Timorese have found themselves at ceived by CNRM on 21 September from an tion takes into account the events that took the bottom socio-economic stratum. East Timor supporter in Norway. place in Dili in July, that resulted in 3 dead Madame Prime Minister, these new de- and 14 wounded, and the 33 to 66 arrests velopments have created increasing ethnic Jakarta – The Norwegian Prime minister since September 8. [...] tensions between the locals and the settlers. Gro Harlem Brundtland raised the question These regularly erupt into riots and demon- about Indonesia’s occupation of East-Timor INDONESIA CONDEMNED BY MEPS strations, staged by the East Timorese in when she met the Indonesian president Su- The Irish Times, September 23 1995 response to insults and provocation from harto for a one and a half hour long meeting on Monday. STRASBOURG – A strong resolution the settlers. Why East Timor has to become condemning “Indonesia’s military oppres- the reservoir of Indonesian ethnic and reli- “I tried to communicate something about what kind of uneasiness and negative situa- sion” and supporting East Timor’s “right to gious problems? self-determination” has been passed in the Having said all this Madame Prime Min- tion this gives, and also how important it is that a solution is reached that both the in- European parliament by 134 votes to 59, ister, I humbly appeal to you to raise the writes David Shanks. The resolution ex- issue of East Timor when you meet the ternational community, Indonesia and Por- tugal can agree upon,” the prime minister presses shock at a recent decision by Indo- Indonesian leaders. Please suggest to Presi- nesia to implement the death sentence on dent Suharto that allowing the East said after the meeting. The meeting went on in an open tone. two 67 year old sergeant-majors who have Timorese people to assert their Self- been imprisoned since 1965 when President determination, does not mean acknowledging There was room for saying that the situation in East Timor is of concern. Suharto came to power in a bloodbath. a failure for Indonesia. On the contrary, It calls for “the freeing of hundreds of Indonesia will raise its international profile The Norwegian Prime Minister is with this placing herself among the group of political prisoners” and respect for religious as a respectable leading Asian Nation which freedom. Reaffirming a 1991 decision to contributes to world peace. Respecting in- western leaders raising the occupation of East-Timor during visits to Indonesia. send a fact-finding delegation to East Timor ternational law, and acting justly, allowing the resolution urges the Indonesian govern- the people of East Timor the independence The rest of the article is about labour rights ment “ to refrain from placing obstacles in they will continue to try to pursue, will not in Indonesia (an issue which the Norwegian the way of the delegation.” result in ‘winners’ or ‘losers.’ All will win, prime-minister promised to raise), and Among the proposes of the resolution including Indonesia. about Norwegian economic cooperation with was Mr. Niall Andrews, MEP. There were Madame Prime Minister, as a leading fig- Indonesia. five abstentions. ure on issues of World Security, Disarma- ment, Environment and Development, you EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT OH TIMOR! (PORTUGUESE have the authority to remind the Indonesian RESOLUTION leaders, that the problem of East Timor is an SOCIALISTS COMMITTED TO obstacle to political stability and peace in Translated from Portuguese, summarized ET) the Asia Pacific region. Oppression and abuse of human rights are not tools normally Strasbourg, France, Sept. 21 (LUSA) — Publico, 6 October 1995. By Adelino Gomes. used by wise governments to achieve lasting The European Parliament issued a resolution Translated from Portuguese development for a nation. They will back- today in which it appeals to the 15 member countries of the European Union to suspend Lisbon – “I ask God to help me to defend fire, as history has repeatedly shown. our brothers who have suffered so much,” Before I end, I would like to thank you economic cooperation, arms sales, and mili- tary assistance to Indonesia while occupa- implored Antonio Guterres on the night of profusely Madame Prime Minister for de- his electoral victory, referring to the East voting part of your busy time to read this tion of East Timor persists. The EP resolution condemns “severely” Timorese people. This gesture, which was letter. I sincerely wish your trip to Indone- enthusiastically received by crowds of his sia will be a successful one bringing fruitful the repression by the Indonesian military in East Timor, and expresses solidarity with supporters, went some way towards reas- results for the Peoples and Governments of suring those who had not forgotten the re- Norway and Indonesia. its victims. The resolution reiterates EP support for the East Timorese right to self- cord on Timor of previous Socialist govern- On behalf of the East Timorese people, ment ministers — the last one being Jaime in particular the Timorese women I thank determination, and calls for the participation of East Timorese representatives in the UN- Gama. you beforehand, hoping very much that East Jaime Gama, who is now the newly ap- Timor will not be forgotten during your sponsored talks between Indonesia and Portugal. pointed Foreign Affairs Minister, was the Indonesian visit. head of Portuguese diplomatic corps at the With great respect, Sincerely yours, The EP resolution also appeals to the In- donesian government to revoke the death time of the Central Block, left Timorese Maria Silva 15 September 1995 sentences given to at least 24 political op- leaders, militants and supporters with dis- ponents, some of which are pending since appointing memories. It was during his the 1960’s. mandate, when the matter had already been Reaffirming a EP decision of November transferred from the UN General Assembly 1991, the EP expresses the wish to send a to the bilateral talks table, that Timor was delegation to East Timor to evaluate the on the brink of being removed from the list current political and human-rights situation of non-autonomous territories, on the prom- in the territory. The EP appeals to the In- ise of respect for a degree of autonomy and East Timor Documents, Volume 40. September 1 - November 3, 1995 Page 99 a series of cultural and religious values. Por- to become a special Catholic region. In a Mnsgr. Belo said “If there have been abuses, tugal had even begun to calculate the cost in press release, the Vicar-General said that we shall continue our work.” The Bishop of dollars of the BNU (bank) agency in Dili, what Bishop meant by a special region was Dili expressed his agreement with the state- and the Sociedade Agricola Patria e Tra- ‘a special region in which the Catholics are ments made moments before by the Portu- balho, and to refer to the costs incurred by predominant and where there are also Prot- guese President of the Republic. Mario the Timorese refugees. estants and Muslims. But special attention Soares said that the fight should continue Although it was not publicly stated, this should be given to the religious, historical both within and outside Timor. He also was, to a certain extent, the attitude that and cultural identity of the East Timorese promised to raise the issue of Timor at all prevailed among Portuguese politicians. It is people’ the forthcoming meetings he will have in also true to say that the person chiefly re- Argentina and at the UN “against the scan- sponsible for government policy at that time “THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING” dalous occupation of East Timor” and the was Mario Soares who, later, became one of Publico, 14 October 1995. By Adelino Go- “truly intolerable” repression which the the fiercest defenders of self-determination mes. Translated from Portuguese Indonesian regime exercises over the people for the East Timorese, and the most tena- in the territory. cious international adversary of Suharto’s Norwegians “compensate” Ximenes Xanana Gusmão’s spokesman believes dictatorship. There had to be a Santa Cruz Belo. that the high profile which the Timorese massacre before public opinion in Portugal A few hours after the announcement of cause has recently attracted has created the would adopt Timor as a national cause. the Nobel Peace Prize winners (which was conditions for “the start of a new phase.” This does not seem to have been the case like a bucket of cold water for the CNRM The first test will be in New York, next for Jaime Gama, however. The ambiguity of leader), José Ramos Horta received a mes- January, when the Indonesian and Portu- his last known stated position — during a sage of congratulations from a high-ranking guese diplomatic chiefs meet for a further speech on 30 May before the Inter parlia- Norwegian Foreign Office official in Oslo: round of direct talks. Ramos Horta said the mentary Conference on Timor — shocked “This is just the beginning,” the official said, next meeting would be “extremely impor- the Resistance, as is was considered the referring to the high profile achieved by tant” because it had been agreed at the last most backward of all the views held by the Ximenes Belo and the Timorese cause in his meeting that the two Ministers and the UN parliamentary parties. country’s media. At the same time, the Secretary General would be discussing In statements made to Publico, the Resis- Norwegian Government announced its deci- “specific proposals relating to the essence tance representative José Ramos Horta ex- sion to award one and a half million Krone of the problem” at the next round of talks — pressed the hope that, in one or two years to Bishop Belo. that is, the question of self-determination. time, the Timorese will be paying the same Ramos Horta rejected the idea that this He also believes that Jakarta is going to use tribute to this new Foreign Minister, Jaime award was a kind of compensation from the the recent violent disturbances (instigated Gama, as they did a few months ago to Oslo Government to the Bishop, who even by Jakarta itself) to undermine the intra- Durão Barroso. yesterday, according to all the media, was Timorese dialogue, scheduled for after the the favourite to win this year’s prize. ministerial meeting. BISHOP BELO NOMINATED “This financial award has been an- nounced only now, but it had already been PEREZ DE CUELLAR ON FOR NOBEL PEACE PRIZE discussed during the Bishop’s visit to Nor- INDONESIA Republika, 6 October 1995, Abridged. Some way last summer,” explained the Timorese of this report is datelined Oslo, from AFP representative. He refused, however, to Translated from the Portuguese, abridged reveal the name and position of the “high- Bishop Belo is one of the favourites to ranking official” who had contacted him, and Lisbon, Oct. 26 (LUSA) — The former win the Nobel Peace Prize this year. Ac- congratulated him on the strong impact the UN Secretary-General Javier Perez de cording to AFP, he is one of six of this Bishop’s candidacy had made on the public. Cuellar [visiting Lisbon] today condemned year’s favourites which include former US Yesterday afternoon, Oslo’s intellectual Indonesia for “continuing to resist” the UN President Jimmy Carter, a Kurdish leader and journalistic circles — taken by surprise resolutions regarding East Timor. Lelya Zana, the Russian human rights activ- by the Nobel Committee’s decision — “I very much regret that Indonesia not ist Sergei Kovalev, and the Mexican bishop, speculated about the reasons behind the U- make a final political decision of complying Samuel Ruiz. turn. The most popular theory (nothing had with the [UN] decisions,” said Perez de The announcement will come on 13 Oc- managed to seep through the Committee’s Cuellar. “Unfortunately, I haven’t seen tober. There were 120 nominations from customary wall of silence) attributed the progress in [Indonesia’s] efforts” to resolve which one hundred were first excluded, leav- choice of the British physicist and the anti- the East Timor problem, Perez de Cuellar ing a short list. nuclear movement to last-minute pressure regretted. The Republika report mentions the brought to bear by the Norwegian Govern- For Perez de Cuellar, who was UN’s Sec- names of those who nominated some of the ment itself. Given the impossibility of pub- retary General for two mandates, Indone- other favourites but says that nothing is licising outright criticism of French nuclear sia’s defiance of the decisions by the UN known about who nominated Belo. testing, Norway and the other Scandinavian Security Council, together with the disregard Reacting to the news of Belo’s nomina- countries, where the pacifist movement is for UN’s decisions by other governments tion, chairman of Muhammadiah Amien very considerable, saw in Joseph Rotblat also, “has led to the loss of credibility” of Rais said: ‘This isn’t surprising.’ In his and Pugwash the ideal way in which to de- the organization. For the UN to be credible opinion, the criteria used by the Nobel liver a slap in the face for Jacques Chirac’s “it is important that the member countries Committee are not usually based on a sense nuclear policy, which would resound have the necessary political will for that the of justice. ‘We shouldn’t be too influenced throughout the world. [UN] decisions be complied with,” he by it,’ he said. Questioned in Rome, shortly after the stated. The Dili Diocese yesterday denied that announcement of the Prize winner, about Bishop Belo had said he wanted East Timor what he intended to do once back in Timor, Page 100 East Timor Documents, Volume 40. Sept. 1 - November 3, 1995.

almost killed by Indonesia’s Special Territo- Father’s name: Joaquim Antonio TIMORESE SEEK ASYLUM rial (Red Beret) Forces. I managed to flee Mother’s name: Maria Isabel Moniz AT UK EMBASSY and escaped to the jungle where I lived I took part in the demonstrations of 12 among the guerrillas for one week. After that November 1991 but managed to escape from I made my way to Dili and from there fled St Cruz cemetery at the time of the massa- TIMORESE SEEKING to Jakarta (I have been here for approxi- cre. Earlier this year, I and a number of other ASYLUM AT UK EMBASSY IN mately one month) where I am now seeking friends participated in anti-Ninja activities political asylum. My reasons and specific in Dili. At that time, I managed to capture JAKARTA demands are as follows: two Ninjas who were members of the * That the UN demand the immediate re- army’s elite red beret forces and I handed TAPOL Report, 25 September 1995 lease of our leader Xanana Gusmão in order them over to Bishop Belo. Because of the Five East Timorese entered the British to participate in dialogue on the future of Intelligence Force’s attempts to arrest me in embassy in Jakarta today and asked the East Timor with President Suharto and For- connection with these activities, I had British authorities for asylum. eign Minister Ali Alatas. planned to sail to Australia with the other We have no idea yet of their situation in- Even if Indonesia were to exterminate all 18 refugees now residing in Australia but at side the embassy or the response of the the young people of East Timor, I am con- the last minute was unable to join them and British authorities but for the time being vinced that this will not be the end of the fled instead to Kupang, Bali and finally here is the biodata of the five men, following struggle and that it will be continued by arrived in Jakarta about one and a half by their Petition: future generations. months ago. 1. T.J. Temotio 2. Name: Antonio Baptista Sequeira On 9 September my younger brother, Paulo, was arrested and was questioned by I am Temotio José Fernandes, native of Date of birth: Dili, 13 April 1971 the Intelligence forces regarding my current Asalaino, Fui Loro, Los Palos and born on Father’s name: Manual Sequeira whereabouts. Because he refused to answer 25 May 1972. My parents are Felicidade Mother’s name: Maria Sequeira. their questions and also denied his own and Afonso José Fernandes, both of whom Two members of my family, i.e. Eduardo involvement in the demonstrations of 9 were killed by the Indonesian forces in Los João Sequeira and Victor Manuel Sequeira, September, he had both his ears slashed Palos, along with many other members of were killed at the time of the Indonesian with knives by ABRI soldiers. my immediate family. I was raised by a invasion of East Timor. Belgian priest in the Don Bosco orphanage I am one of a group of activists who 5. Name: Egas Soares of Los Palos. During my time in the orphan- demonstrated at the time of the visit of the Date of Birth: 25 March 1970 age, I and the priests were constantly in- US ambassador to East Timor (January, Father’s name: Domingos Soares Faria timidated by the Indonesian armed forces, 1990). At that time, I sought refuge in the Mother’s name: Maria da Silva the excuse being that the orphanage was a Motael Church. When the church was raided I am one of the activists who took part in well known refuge for children of Fretilin by the Indonesian security forces, my friend the demonstrations at the time of Pope John resistance fighters. Sebastião Gomes was killed. I managed to Paul’s visit to Dili in 1989, and also that of After leaving the orphanage, I continued escape and was able to take part in his fu- 12 November 1991. I was forced by Sim- by studies at the SMA Negeri II in Dili. neral procession and the demonstrations on bolon, now the Regional Military Com- Even in the capital I was not free of perse- 12 November 1991. mander, to act as a spy for Indonesia, and cution by the military who would come I was detained in Viqueque, and after my specifically to report on the activities of the regularly to the school and make demands release was closely watched by the military. Bishop, but also at the time of the visits of upon the headmaster, Dr. HMR Soemardjo, During the recent violence provoked by the Swedish and Australian ambassadors. I to expel me for being the child of an anti- the Ninjas in Dili, I became involved in anti- informed the Bishop of my special ‘assign- Indonesian Fretilin fighter. Ninja/vigilante group activities in an attempt ment’ in October 1989. In 1990 in Dili, I was kidnapped by to curb their violence. When efforts were Attempts were made to arrest me after I ABRI at night, was beaten, had my face made to try to arrest me in connection with organised youths to demonstrate in front of burnt, my hair pulled out of my head and these activities, I fled to Kupang, West the Mahkota Hotel in Dili. I fled to Kupang the palms of my hands were slashed. The Timor. Fearing that I had been followed, I and came on directly to Jakarta where I have experience strengthened my resolve to ac- left Kupang for Bali and carried on to Ja- been for about 18 months. tively engage in activities aimed at guaran- karta on 29 August 1995. PETITION AND REQUEST FOR teeing the right of the people of East Timor 3. Name: Nelson Turquel REQUEST FOR POLITICAL ASYLUM to self-determination and to be free of Indo- MADE ON BEHALF OF Date of birth: Dili, 3 June 1973 nesian barbarity. These were some of my Joaquim Antonio Alim Father’s name: José Trocel activities: Antonio Baptista Sequeira I took part in the demonstration of 12 - On 1990 I was appointed Sabalae’s Timoteo November 1991. Earlier this year, I took courier, operating between the areas of Las Egas Soares part in the anti-Ninja vigilante group activi- Palos-Larimau. Nelson Turquel ties and was consequently pursued by the - On 12 November 1991 I took part in TO THE EMBASSY OF GREAT security forces. I managed to avoid arrest the procession which moved from Motael BRITAIN Monday, September 25 1995 Church to the Santa Cruz cemetery. and fled to Kupang, then Bali and finally - On 17 November 1994 I participated in Jakarta where I have been for the past I. INTRODUCTION the demonstration at Dili Cathedral. month and a half, My father was arrested in Honoured and respected Ambassador and - On 15 August 1995 on the occasion of Dili on 9 September in connection with the officials of this Embassy, we come to you in the opening of an exhibition in Los Palos to disturbances there. the name of the youth of East Timor who commemorate the 50th anniversary of Indo- 4. Name Joaquim Alim live under Indonesian military occupation nesian Independence, I was tortured and Date of birth: Dili, 20 March 1971. and constant threat to their lives and well- East Timor Documents, Volume 40. September 1 - November 3, 1995 Page 101 being. We request your protection in the about. The victims are everywhere, all over Portugal) under the auspices of the United sincere belief that the government of Eng- the territory, but out of fear, fail to protest Nations Secretary General, specifically the land holds in high regard the value and dig- to the local authorities. The East Timorese nine points contained in the declaration of nity of human life in accordance with the people have been economically marginalised the All Inclusive Intra Timorese Dialogue, Universal Declaration of Human Rights. due to the influx of Indonesian immigrants signed in Burg-Schlaining, Austria. We come to you as witnesses to the In- who occupy the most fertile zones and who 2. The unconditional release of all East donesian military brutality which since De- dominate the economy and business oppor- Timorese political prisoners, including the cember 7 1975 has become a fact of every tunities. Employment within the civil ser- East Timorese Resistance Leader, José Al- day life in East Timor; a military brutality vice is monopolised by migrants from other exandre Xanana Gusmão. which has consisted of sudden arrest, rape, provinces, therefore our people are growing 3. The inclusion and involvement of East intimidation, terror and slaughter of the kind poor. The young people are exiled, sent to Timorese Leader, Xanana Gusmão, in nego- the world witnessed on 12 November 1991 work in Indonesia, with false promises of tiations towards a settlement of the East in Dili; a military brutality which has robbed skills training, schooling, employment, so- Timor problem, and specifically in future us of the right to an education, has made us cial welfare and so on. Intra Timorese Dialogues. prisoners in our own country, and has now Such a situation is what has pushed us to 4. Peace, Freedom, Justice and Truth, as forced us to leave our beloved homeland and act against the violations committed by the the ideals to which all human beings aspire. our families and friends. Indonesian military in our homeland. The In the name of the peace-loving and mar- We are here today, therefore, not as consequences of such involvement are that tyred people of East Timor, we thank you youths seeking adventure or a free trip out we are pursued by the SGI and by the East for your kind attention. of this country (as no doubt the Indonesian Timorese mobilised by the Indonesian mili- Jakarta, September 25, 1995 government will attempt to convince you of tary as spies or informants. And even to- Signed by the petitioners: in the days to come), but as persecuted day, our families are being pressured physi- 1. Joaquim Antonio Alim individuals who fear for our lives. We trust cally and psychologically by the Intelligence 2. Antonio Baptista Sequeira that the government of England will assist to reveal our whereabouts. So we are con- 3. Timoteo us with our bid for political asylum, in ac- stantly on the run, moving from place to 4. Egas Soares cordance with International Law and the place to evade arrest. 5. Nelson Turquel Universal Declaration of Human Rights, We five, today present in the Embassy, Article 14, Clause I of which states that have experienced directly the atrocities of BRITISH COALITION FOR EAST “Every human being has the right to seek the Indonesian military. Two of us were TIMOR PRESS RELEASE and be granted refuge in another country for captured, imprisoned and exiled after the the purpose of avoiding persecution.” Arti- Santa Cruz massacre. They forced us to September 25, 1995 cle 15, Clause I of the same Declaration cooperate with them to be their informants, Five East Timorese seek asylum in Brit- states that “Every person has the right to and we were forced to report weekly. Three ish Embassy in Jakarta citizenship,” and Clause II “No human being of us managed to escape, but nonetheless may be arbitrarily denied citizenship of a continue to be pursued by the SGI. This Early this morning, five East Timorese country or be refused their right to alter situation has robbed us of our freedom to youths entered the British Embassy in Ja- their citizenship.” grow up as other young people in other karta, asking for political asylum in Great parts of the world, and we feel we have no Britain. II. BACKGROUND future. The five presented a petition to Embassy In order that you may be aware of the re- To save our lives and to escape the bleak officials stating that they were survivors of ality of East Timor and our situation, we future which threatens to overcome us and the Santa Cruz massacre of November 21, would like to inform you of the following our people, we have opted to seek political 1991, and had faced persecution and intimi- facts: asylum in this Embassy. We are fully aware dation by Indonesian authorities since that After losing our beloved friends on No- of the diplomatic repercussions which our time. Their petition states, “To save our vember 12, 1991 (many died immediately in request for political asylum will have for lives and to escape the bleak future which front of the St Cruz cemetery, many in the you and your government in relations with threatens to overcome us and our people, hospital, many of them were arrested and Indonesia, however, in the interests of we have opted to seek political asylum in most of them disappeared) and for the pur- Truth, Justice, the upholding of Interna- this Embassy. We are fully aware of the poses of protesting against the abuses of tional Law and human rights conventions, in diplomatic repercussions which our request human rights taking place in East Timor, addition to our own personal safety, we for political asylum will have for you and against the use of “divide et impera” tactics strongly appeal to you to give due consid- your government in relations with Indone- and operations such as those recently con- eration to our request and to act in a spirit sia, however, in the interests of Truth, Jus- ducted by the Ninjas, we resolved to con- of democracy and freedom to defend our tice, the upholding of International Law and tinue this struggle and to fight against the rights as prescribed in the Universal Decla- human rights conventions, in addition to our abhorrent political tactics and attitudes of ration of Human Rights. own personal safety, we strongly appeal to the Indonesian military up until the time we you to give due consideration to our request III. PETITION left East Timor in July 1995. and to act in a spirit of democracy and free- Between November 12 1991 and the time In the interests of upholding the true dom to defend our rights as prescribed in the we left East Timor, we have seen our people meaning of the UN Declaration of Human Universal Declaration of Human Rights.” forced into hiding for fear of capture and Rights and of defending peace and freedom, The five have also made several political imprisonment, as has happened recently justice and truth in East Timor, we request requests, including the implementation of all with Sabalae, Rimisio and others. Others the following: points which have been agreed to in the have been shot dead as happened during the 1. The implementation of all of the Reso- Indonesia-Portugal talks and the intra- Liquiça incident, in Walaikama (Baucau) and lutions or Joint Resolutions stated in the Timorese talks, held under United Nations in other places but which nobody knew Tri-Party Dialogue (between Indonesia and Page 102 East Timor Documents, Volume 40. Sept. 1 - November 3, 1995. auspices, and the release of Timorese politi- One of the youths, Soares told AFP he TIMORESE PLEAD FOR UK cal prisoners. was involved in organising a demonstration The British Coalition for East Timor has and had been among several youths who ASYLUM written to the Home and Foreign Offices demonstrated in front of the Mahkota Hotel The Independent, London, September 26. By urging that the request of the five youths for in Dili while several foreign journalists were Michael Sheridan, Diplomatic Editor. asylum should be quickly granted. “The in town in April this year. “My friends abridged appalling human rights situation in East were arrested but I escaped,” Soares said. Timor and Indonesia is well known,” said Britain was last night considering an ap- Maggie Helwig of BCET. “It is clear that ANN CLWYD: ASYLUM MUST plication for political asylum from five East Timorese men who took refuge in the Brit- these young men have had no choice but to BE GRANTED take such desperate measures; and if their ish Embassy in Jakarta, saying they feared for their safety at the hands of the Indone- request is not granted, or they are forced to Press release, 25 September 1995, From sian security forces. leave the Embassy, their lives will be in very Ann Clwyd, MP great danger.” A Foreign Office spokesman in London This is the latest of several dramatic bids The Foreign Office is being urged by La- said they would “certainly not” be asked to for asylum by East Timorese. Earlier this bour MP Ann Clwyd to grant political asy- leave the Embassy while the asylum request year, a number of “boat people” managed to lum to five East Timorese young men who was being decided. reach Australia after a harrowing sea voyage. sought refuge in the British Embassy in The five, all aged between 22 and 24, said They have been allowed to live in the com- Jakarta early this morning. they were activists in an underground munity while their asylum requests are con- “I have written as a matter of urgency to movement dedicated to resistance against sidered, largely on the grounds that most of the Foreign Office,” said Ann Clwyd. “I Indonesian rule. them require specialist treatment for the support the applications for political asy- The incident was a new embarrassment torture and abuse they have suffered at the lum and I have stressed that the five men for the Indonesian government, which faces hands of the Indonesian authorities. Several would be in very grave danger if they fall continued opposition to its occupation of other foreign embassies have been occupied into the hands of the Indonesian authorities. East Timor and international concern over by Timorese dissidents and survivors of the The government in Jakarta are amongst the its human rights record. The five asylum- Santa Cruz massacre, requesting asylum, world’s most brutal and repressive regimes,” seekers said they had witnesses atrocities since 1991. So far, these cases have always she said. by the Indonesian security forces, including ended with the Timorese being sent to Por- The men, believed to be independence ac- an incident in 1991 when the army fired on tugal, where they have been freely received. tivists, managed to escape from East Timor mourners and protesters at a funeral in Dili, The British Coalition for East Timor be- where they had, for some time, lived in real East Timor’s capital. lieves that the British government should fear for their lives. The 5 asylum seekers The men’s petition called for a renewed make good on its expressed concern for entered the embassy just before dawn and it dialogue between Indonesia, the UN and human rights in East Timor by accepting is under that journalists who tried to speak Portugal about East Timor. to them were thrown out of the grounds by these five men, not by refusing responsibil- EAST TIMOR REBELS ASK BRITAIN ity or passing it on to some other country. Embassy staff. FOR POLITICAL ASYLUM For more information: Maggie Helwig, “The Indonesian authorities kept these British Coalition for East Timor, 0171-252- men under continuous surveillance,” said The Times, London, September 26. By Cath- 7937 Ann Clwyd. “Their ‘crime’ is that they erine Napier. abridged oppose the illegal occupation of their coun- Carmel Budiardjo, TAPOL, the Indonesia [This article is accompanied by a photo of Human Rights Campaign, 0181-771-2904 try by the Indonesian government. One of the men had been involved in or- three of the young men in the lobby of the ganising a demonstration against the occupa- Embassy] ASYLUM BID ‘UNDER tion, Many of his friends were arrested by Jakarta – In a move likely to infuriate Ja- CONSIDERATION’ the para military police. Most of them dis- karta, five East Timorese yesterday entered appeared. Many of Indonesia’s para militar- the British Embassy and requested political AFP, 25 September 1995. Abridged ies have been trained by Britain. asylum, claiming that they feared for their Jakarta – Five East Timorese youths The British Embassy in Jakarta has con- lives from the Indonesian security forces. sought asylum at the British embassy Mon- firmed that the men are seeking asylum and The men, all in their early twenties, said day, saying they feared reprisals from Indo- that the requests have been sent to London. that they were on the run from the Indone- nesian authorities for their support of East I urge the Foreign Secretary to grant them sian military in East Timor. Two of them Timorese independence. asylum as a matter of urgency. said they had been orphaned by the army in “We received their request for asylum Ann Clwyd, Labour Member of Parlia- the occupied territory. and we are considering it, we have sent it to ment for the Cynon Valley, is a leading In recent weeks anti-Indonesian protests London for consideration,” John Virgoe, campaigner against Indonesia’s illegal occu- have been held in East Timor, sparked by an Second Secretary told AFP inside the Brit- pation of East Timor and against human Indonesian prison official’s alleged insult ish embassy compound in Central Jakarta. rights abuses in that country. The National against Roman Catholicism, to which the The five asylum seekers, who entered the Audit Office confirmed last week that they majority of East Timorese adhere. This led embassy just before noon, remained late in are investigating evidence submitted to them to the burning of mosques and several mar- the day. Virgoe declined to comment on by Ann Clwyd that there has been an illegal kets and attacks on Muslim migrants. Since what the embassy planned to do with them. linkage between British Aid funds and arms then, more than 1,000 migrants reportedly Embassy staff expelled journalists who tried sales to Indonesia. have fled the territory. In a statement, the to interview the five youths in the embassy five asylum-seekers said they had requested grounds. protection from Britain “in the sincere belief that the [British] government holds in high East Timor Documents, Volume 40. September 1 - November 3, 1995 Page 103 regard the value and dignity of human life in ASYLUM SEEKERS LEAVE ain/Indonesia’s bilateral aid programme, accordance with the Universal Declaration carried out by Labour MP Ann Clwyd. of Human Rights.” TO PORTUGAL Information from the report, which sug- The East Timorese said that they saw translated from the Portuguese, abridged gests the possible misuse of overseas aid Indonesian military brutality which, since money, has been sent by Ann Clwyd, MP troops invaded in December 1975, “has Jakarta, September 28 (LUSA) — The for the Cynon Valley, to the National Audit become a fact of everyday life in East five Timorese that took refuge on Monday Office. She has asked the Auditor General to Timor.” They said they had taken part in in the British embassy in Jakarta will leave conduct an investigation as a matter of ur- demonstrations “for the purposes of pro- to Portugal tomorrow, Friday, the spokes- gency. testing against the abuses of human rights person for the Indonesian Ministry of For- “I have provided the National Audit Of- taking place in East Timor.” eign Affairs announced today. fice with information and I can provide fur- Their supporters said two of the asylum- The five were scheduled to leave today, ther evidence they may need for the investi- seekers claimed that they had relatives who but the KLM flight was full. Tomorrow’s gation,” said Ann Clwyd. had been killed by Indonesian soldiers. Te- flight will be aboard an Air France plane. The original investigation into the Pergau motio José Fernandes, 23, claimed that he The trip will involve a change of plane, and Dam was started as a result of a letter sent had acted as a courier for the leader of an the day and time of arrival in Lisbon was by Ann Clwyd to the National Audit Office underground resistance network and said he not announced. when she was Shadow Secretary of State for had been tortured twice by the security The official of the International Red Overseas Development. forces in East Timor. Cross in Jakarta who made the flight ar- Ann Clwyd has asked the Auditor Gen- The five East Timorese said they had no rangements specified that the five will not eral to pay particular attention to the fol- future in the territory, and while they said be received as refugees but as Portuguese lowing aided projects in Indonesia and East they were aware of the repercussions which nationals. Timor: their request would have for British- Timorese ambassador Lopes da Cruz, · Short-wave Transmitter Project, installed Indonesian relations they appealed to Brit- who collaborates with the Indonesian gov- with an ATP soft loan of almost 27 mil- ain to “act in the spirit of democracy and ernment, declared today that the five were lion. It is doubtful that this project was freedom to defend our rights.” The docu- not persecuted and hence should not have properly appraised. The lead contractor ment ended with a request for the release of requested political asylum. was GEC-Marconi Communications all East Timorese political prisoners includ- “One has the right to political asylum Limited, part of GEC’s electronics sys- ing Xanana Gusmão, and his inclusion in only when one is persecuted by the security tems division. forces or when one believes one’s life to be United Nations-sponsored negotiations · Training for the para-military Indonesian in danger,” Lopes da Cruz told Indonesian between Lisbon and Jakarta to resolve the National Police was paid for with Over- news agency Antara. status of East Timor. seas Aid money. ODA’s own guidelines According to Lopes da Cruz, the five In November last year, 29 East Timorese restrict aid to non-military security or- should have resorted to the International scaled the walls of the American Embassy, ganisations. (At least one Indonesian Red Cross, or some other humanitarian or- on the eve of a trade summit in Jakarta at- para-military officer who received this ganization, and in that case, should they tended by President Clinton, to protest training has been shown to be responsible have opted for Portuguese nationality, the against Indonesian rule in East Timor. Even- subsequently for severe human rights Indonesian government would not have tually, they were granted political asylum in abuses in Indonesia and East Timor, ac- prevented them from leaving Indonesia. Portugal after 12 days. In 1993 seven other cording to a sworn statement from an East Timorese left for Portugal after ap- BCET REPORT, SEPT. 26 East Timorese.) proaching the embassies of Sweden and We must continue to monitor the situa- · Projects funded by Overseas Aid money Finland. tion and ensure that the transfer takes place in East Timor may have been unlawfully TIMORESE FLEE TO EMB ASSY safely and as quickly as possible, but the sanctioned by the then Foreign Secretary, central decision has now been made. It is through a misuse of powers in the Over- The Guardian, London, September 26, By disappointing that Britain has shuffled re- seas Development and Cooperation Act Nicholas Cumming-Bruce, slightly abridged sponsibility on to Portugal rather than deal- 1980. Bangkok – Five East Timorese, claiming ing with the case themselves, but not par- · The Transmigration Planning Project is to be members of an underground resistance ticularly surprising. At any rate it seems officially a scheme to reduce overpopula- movement, took shelter yesterday in the that the five will be safe. tion in Java and Bali. It received a 2.5 British Embassy in Jakarta and appealed for million grant from the British Aid budget. asylum abroad. The five said they were not The essence of this programme is to leaving until they received asylum. EVENTS IN ENGLAND colonise areas far from Indonesia’s popu- Embassy staff said the five would be al- lation, such as East Timor, by Javanese lowed to stay until a decision had been peasants, who are fiercely loyal to the re- reached on their application. BRITISH AID TO INDONESIA gime. The incident showed little sign yesterday UNDER FIRE The report shows that there is an intrigu- of escalating into a diplomatic row between ing link between controversial aid contracts, Indonesia and Britain, a major arms supplier Press Release from the office of Ann Clwyd, former Tory ministers and unaccountable to the Indonesian regime. The Indonesian MP, 7 September 1995 quangos. authorities have made no comment. Evidence which suggests illegal use of It exposes the myth of Britain’s concern British aid funds and of a linkage between for human rights by revealing that just six aid and arms sales to Indonesia, is published days after the infamous Santa Cruz massa- today in an extensive study of Brit- cre in November 1991 in East Timor, where up to 270 people died, the government Page 104 East Timor Documents, Volume 40. Sept. 1 - November 3, 1995. signed a memorandum of understanding helps to raise issues to a broader public, RIGHT LIVELIHOOD AWARD relating to defence contracts with the gov- then I welcome it. For me as a Christian, it ernment of Indonesia. is essential for individuals to recognise that FOR CARMEL BUDIARDJO Evidence is provided that aid expenditure they have a personal responsibility to do TAPOL Report, 4 October 1995 on certain Indonesian projects fails in terms something against things they don’t like. We of the ODA’s own test of economy, effi- can’t leave it to governments.’ The Right Livelihood Award Foundation ciency, effectiveness and developmental Chris was recently released after serving today announced the names of the four re- soundness. The role of the British electron- four months of an eight-month sentence for cipients of the 1995 Right Livelihood ics giant GEC and former Trade Minister breaching a court injunction not to trespass Award. They include Carmel Budiardjo of (and recently appointed GEC director) on British Aerospace premises. Would he TAPOL, the Indonesia Human Rights Cam- Richard Needham is also put under the mi- do it again? paign. croscope. ‘Each time, the stakes get higher,’ he The citation states that Carmel “has Ann Clwyd completed the inquiry after said,’ and I don’t want to spend all my time found, in spite of the repression suffered by tabling hundreds of Parliamentary questions in prison. I need to be more creative about her, her husband and her co-prisoners at the in the face of consistent government se- what I can do, like Tempo journalists in hands of the Indonesian Government, the crecy. Indonesia who branched out in other direc- energy and dedication to campaign for over “I have tabled very specific questions,” tions after their journal was banned. I’m twenty years for Indonesian political pris- said Ann Clwyd, “but as so often in the often invited to speak at meetings and I need oners and the oppressed and slaughtered past, the Foreign Office has refused to an- to deepen my own understanding of peace people of East Timor. The Jury honours her swer the questions on the grounds of ‘dis- issues, so I’ve decided to take a course in for ‘holding the Indonesian Government to proportionate cost.’ I find this incredible theology to refresh myself. I must find account for its actions and upholding the that millions of pounds have been poured in ways of supporting others; I needn’t be in universality of fundamental human rights.’” to supporting a regime which has just been the front line all the time.” The other recipients of the Award which named as the world’s most corrupt, and yet Had he ever thought of visiting East comes along with US$250,000, shared be- government ministers refuse to spend 450 to Timor? tween the four, are: The Serb Civic Council give honest answers to straight questions. ‘I would like to but it’s not essential to of Bosnia-Herzegovina which “maintains I urge the Auditor to investigate the find- the work I do. I want to convey to people support for a humane, multi-ethnic, democ- ings which I have drawn to his attention and the enormity of the crimes of a company ratic Bosnia-Herzegovina"; Andras Biro and to bring to account those responsible for the like British Aerospace. Just think of it! UN the Hungarian Foundation for Self-Reliance apparent misuse of British aid.” annual assistance to war-ravaged Cambodia for “resolute defence of Hungary’s Roma amounts to $1.8 billion but British Aero- (gypsy) minority” and Sulak Sivaraksa “for EAST TIMOR AND ARMS space sells war equipment worth $4 billion a his vision, activism and spiritual commit- year, most of it to countries like Indonesia.’ ment in the quest for a development process TRADE ON STAGE that is rooted in democracy, justice and Performances in Scotland and London cultural integrity.” From British Coalition for East Timor, Sept. The play will run for three weeks in The Right Livelihood Award states in its 18. Dublin, tour Ireland and then tour the UK. Press Release that the Awards are often The story of a young British peace activ- It will perform at The Artist, Glasgow from referred to as ‘the Alternative Nobel Prize.’ ist’s campaign against the sale of Hawk 7 — 9 November, at the Union Chapel Pro- “They were introduced in 1980 ‘to honour aircraft to Indonesia has been staged by ject in London on 12 November, the fourth and support those offering practical and Dublin’s leading radical theatre group, Ca- anniversary of the Santa Cruz Massacre, exemplary answers to the most urgent chal- lypso Productions. Chris Cole, who has and at the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh from lenges facing us today.’ The idea came from served two prison terms for opposing Brit- 15 — 19 November. Jakob von Uexkull, a Swedish-German ish Aerospace deals with Indonesia, is the Contact the British Coalition for East philatelic expert who sold his valuable post- inspiration for The Business of Blood which Timor for more information: Phone/fax: age stamps to provide the original endow- opened to a packed house in Dublin on 14 0171 252 7937. ment. Alfred Nobel had wanted to honour September. IRISH PRESIDENT ATTENDS PLAY those whose work ‘brought the greatest The play by Kenneth Glenaan and Donal benefit to humanity.’ But von Uexhull felt O’Kelly gives a faithful and dramatic por- From ETISC, Sept. 24 that the Nobel Prizes have tended to ignore trayal of Chris Cole’s campaign to highlight On Thursday 21st September, the Irish much work and knowledge vital for the sur- the despicable role of British Aerospace in President, Mary Robinson, attended a per- vival of humankind. The Awards are tradi- providing the Indonesian regime with weap- formance of Donal O’Kelly’s play, ‘ The tionally present in the Swedish Parliament ons of war, in disregard for its illegal and Business of Blood. Based on the actions of in the days before the Nobel Prize presenta- brutal occupation of East Timor. At the peace activist Chris Cole, the play deals tions.” heart of the drama is Chris’s one-man inva- with Chris Cole’s efforts to stop the supply A Press Conference with the recipients sion of the British Aerospace factory in of weapons to the Suharto regime in Indone- will be held in Stockholm on December 6th, Stevenage in January 1993 when he suc- sia. Afterwards the President met with 1995. ceeded in wrecking cones and computer members of the Calypso company who Carmel Budiardjo’s memoirs of her three equipment related to the production of staged the play. The play will tour Ireland years as a political prisoner in Indonesia, Hawk aircraft before security personnel and the UK in October and November. De- from 1968 till 1971, entitled “Surviving discovered him at work. tails, posters and flyers from ETISC. Indonesia’s Gulag: A Western Woman Tells Chris Cole, who was present at the world Her Story,” will be published by CASSELL premiere, later spoke to TAPOL: in January 1996. ‘I’m not thrilled at the thought of becom- ing a public figure,’ he said, ‘but if the play East Timor Documents, Volume 40. September 1 - November 3, 1995 Page 105

‘ALTERNATIVE’ NOBEL PRIZE TO the founder of TAPOL, a human rights or- the day of my release and departure for HONOUR FOUR ACTIVISTS ganisation, has campaigned for the release of London. political prisoners in Indonesia and has ac- Everything relating to that event is ex- By David Dahmen, Excerpts tively pushed for social reforms in East plained in my book, ‘Surviving Indonesia’s STOCKHOLM, Oct. 5 (IPS) — The Timor, and that she and her husband have Gulag’ which is likely to hit the bookshops theme of this year’s Right Livelihood been under pressure from the Indonesian before the end of the year. Awards, often referred to as the ‘alternative’ Government. Everything that happens in Indonesia Nobel prizes, is human rights. It is necessary to state that Carmel that is not to the liking of those in power is The four winners will divide 250,000 Budiardjo is not an Indonesian citizen al- said to be ‘direkayasa’ or ‘engineered.’ To U.S. dollars in prize monies awarded by the though she was once married to an Indone- make such charges against such a well re- Stockholm-based Right Livelihood Award sian. The aforesaid person returned to Brit- spected and honourable body as the Right Foundation (RLAF) in recognition of their ain in the middle of the 1960s and has no Livelihood Award Foundation is the height efforts to preserve or create democratic right to claim to be an Indonesian citizen. It of folly. institutions for oppressed peoples. is very strange indeed for her to claim to Indonesian press reports The four honoured groups or individuals have played a role in various developments The Press Release of the Right Liveli- are: the pro-democracy Serb Civic Council in Indonesia which have nothing whatever to hood Award Foundation was reported at in Bosnia-Herzegovina; Carmel Budiardjo, a do with her. some length in Suara Pembaruan of Satur- campaigner for human rights in East Timor; The release of political prisoners on the day, 7 October 1995. The heading, across the gypsy support group the Hungarian occasion of the 50th anniversary of Indone- two columns reads: Carmel Budiardjo To Foundation for Self Reliance and Thai social sian independence came about as the result Get the Alternative Nobel Prize. Most of rights campaigner Sulak Sivaraksa. of a normal legal process and had nothing the report summarises the backgrounds of Unlike the dignitaries behind the real No- whatever to do with efforts for the release the four recipients, the amount of the award bels, the founder and chairman of the RLAF of this group of people, the communist and the background of its initial endowment. Jakob von Uexkull – a Swedish-German political prisoners. The last three paragraphs report the Foreign writer, philatelic expert and member of the Even more ridiculous is the opinion that Ministry’s riposte. European parliament – is not shy to speak her activities have led to social reforms and Coverage in other papers is not known his own mind. developments in East Timor. The recogni- but it is highly unusual for any section of The second award winner this year is tion that will be given to her is nothing but a the Indonesian press to publish reports Carmel Budiardjo, a British-born human political joke that has been engineered in except in the most derogatory terms to any- rights activist who has spent 20 years fight- order to discredit the Nobel Peace Prize, thing connected with my work. ing for the oppressed people of East Timor whose prestige is recognised internationally. in the archipelago of Java in Indonesia. Comment by Carmel Budiardjo: INTERVIEW: RLA LAUREATE “Ms Budiardjo has been very instrumen- CARMEL BUDIARDJO tal in addressing human right issues in Indo- I take this rather silly statement as recog- nesia – also stressing the responsibility of nition of the effectiveness of everything I Peace News, Oct. 24. and others associated with TAPOL and the government,” said the jury in its motiva- “I had to do something about the people indeed all of us in solidarity groups around tion statement. whom I had left behind.” the world have done to expose human rights Budiardjo has run the Indonesian Human Carmel Budiardjo is one of the winners of violations by the Indonesian regime. Rights Campaign (TAPOL) for 22 years. the 1995 Right Livelihood Award, the “al- Of course I have never claimed to be an TAPOL – a contraction of two Indonesian ternative Nobel Prize,” which this year went Indonesian citizen, nor did the Right Liveli- words meaning “political prisoner – has to human rights campaigners in four very hood Award Foundation say any such thing. campaigned for the release of hundreds of different situations (see sidebar). I gave up my Indonesian citizenship in No- thousands of political prisoners jailed with- Carmel, the founder and permanent vember 1971 when I was released from out trial by the Indonesian government dur- staffperson of TAPOL, the Indonesia Hu- prison after serving three years as a political ing East Timor’s battle for autonomy. man Rights Campaign, richly deserves her prisoner. Indeed one of the conditions of my Budiardjo is married to a former Indone- award after years of determined and persis- release was that I give up Indonesian citi- sian government official who was impris- tent work on behalf of Indonesians in prison zenship and leave Indonesia for good. I was oned for 12 years in the 1960s. Budiardjo (the name “Tapol” is short for Tahanan happy to do that as it gave me the opportu- herself endured detention – without charge Politik; political prisoner); East Timorese, nity to campaign in Britain for those I had or trial – for three years before being forced West Papuans, and others resisting Indone- left behind in prison, beyond the clutches of to leave the country in 1971. sian military occupation; and the active but the repressive Indonesian state. vulnerable trade union, student, and envi- If the Foreign Ministry find many things JAKARTA: AWARD FOR CARMEL ronmental movements in Indonesia itself. about me ‘strange,’ what could be stranger BUDIARDJO ‘A POLITICAL JOKE’ Carmel spoke to LORNA than the fact that their statement makes no RICHARDSON about her political roots, The Director for Information of the Indone- reference to the fact that I left Indonesia her nearly 50-year association with Indone- sian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (DEPLU) after spending three years in detention, sia, and her forthcoming autobiography. issued the following statement on 6 October without charge or trial as a political pris-

1995: oner. Oh and by the way, I left Indonesia in Carmel’s political activity began while a Some newspapers have reported that an November 1971 at the end of this three-year student at the London School of Economics. Indonesian citizen has been chosen to re- stint in prison, not in the mid-1960s. The Her family, while not actively political, was ceive an award from The Right Livelihood Foreign Ministry ought to know this be- sympathetic to the left: “I tend to think my Award Foundation in Sweden. The Right cause I was formally handed over by a sen- father used to vote communist, because he Livelihood Award Foundation says that ior official of the Ministry to the British thought everyone else was awful. Well, it Carmel Budiardjo, an Indonesian citizen and Consul in Indonesia on 9 November 1971, was during the war period. There was a lot Page 106 East Timor Documents, Volume 40. Sept. 1 - November 3, 1995. of despondency about the lack of interest in was the start of a three year-stretch for of here, don’t feel any sense of guilt, be- what was happening to Jewish people in Carmel, and a ten-year one for her husband. cause you can talk about us.’ Prisoners al- Europe ... I think there was a lot of dissatis- Nothing outside ... ways say ‘please, talk about what is hap- faction about the establishment, and quite pening.’ I was in a supremely favourable Survival became very difficult both for rightly too: what did the government ever do position to speak out, since I came to Eng- the prisoners and their families. Carmel here about the Holocaust?” Student activism land. I’ve not even got the constraints of believes the treatment she received in prison led her to Prague in the ‘40s, where she being a refugee. It didn’t need any particular was slightly less awful than that many oth- helped to establish the new International courage to decide to work for the Indonesian ers received (“I was bullied and shouted at, Union of Students. During this time she met prisoners here, it just needed a sense of but never hit”), because she was English, but her then-husband, an Indonesian, and in commitment.” nonetheless, prison life was very isolating: 1950, they left Prague for Indonesia, and Although at one point Carmel had given “There was nothing outside, no human settled down to have a family. Carmel con- up her British nationality, and had expected rights organisations. It was quite dreadful, tinued her involvement in the politics which to spend the rest of her life in Indonesia, the this whole crackdown on the communists, had taken her to Prague: “I had been in the motivations for her work did not include there was a tremendous political stigma. British Communist Party, so I got involved feelings of chauvinism: “I usually put it Nobody, and I really do mean nobody, in left-wing politics in Indonesia. It was all down to my Jewishness. I never particularly wanted to do anything, because everybody rather on the fringes of the Indonesian feel rooted anywhere. I’m all right here. I’m was afraid. Terrible fear about coming to the Communist Party. But I wasn’t really heav- second generation immigrant: I don’t feel a aid of people who were in prison as com- ily involved in any particular organisation particular affinity to England. It’s a nice munists. There was no support mechanism, until 1963, when I began to work with the country, and I can work here, and some- apart from occasionally wives of detainees Indonesian Association of Graduates times it’s not a nice country, and so on. If I might try to help each other a little bit. You (HSI).” were planted in another country, I’d proba- know, you need a sewing machine, I will try bly get on all right as well. I lived for many Surviving the terror to help you, on a very very personal basis. years in Czechoslovakia, and I was fine After the military took power in Indone- “What was so shocking about this was there. For me that’s quite a healthy thing. I sia, all left-wing organisations were banned, that even the family structures didn’t func- don’t have any roots of nationalism, actu- including the HSI: “Everything went topsy- tion, because relatives were afraid. I’m not ally, let’s put it like that! I have a yearning turvey. Numerous arrests. It was just like a going to say that everybody behaved like for Indonesia, because I have many friends nightmare, it was very, very bad. After Oc- this, but by and large families were too there, but I don’t have a desperate home- tober 1965, everything just went haywire, afraid to take in the children of political sickness. I’d like to see my ex-in-law family, mayhem ... Basically you were liable to get prisoners. My own brothers-in-law and my friends there, but I don’t feel that I arrested. They didn’t get everybody. If wouldn’t come to the house ... At the same belong there, any more than I feel I belong they’d have got everybody they would have time you have other heroic stories about here.” had about thirteen million people in prison. people who did help their neighbours, or It’s sort of luck of the draw. Very arbi- help their relatives, but in many cases social Public Enemy No.1 or 2 trary.” Carmel lost her job as an economist, cohesion just broke down.” Carmel’s reaction to actually winning the and began teaching to support her family. Carmel’s eventual release was brought Right Livelihood Award is a mixture of Her husband was then arrested and spent about with the help of a young articled clerk pragmatism and delight. She describes the most of the next two years in prison. in Britain, who fought to persuade the Brit- prize money as “terribly interesting,” be- Carmel herself was also arrested, but es- ish government that Carmel was still a Brit- cause it will enable TAPOL to develop caped detention on this occasion, because ish citizen, despite being married to an In- some projects that they wouldn’t otherwise the intelligence officer who dealt with her donesian, and that therefore the British have been able to do. The granting of the was a secret sympathiser: “There were Government had to take an interest in her award has also clearly rattled the Indonesian people like that, it’s not too unusual. He fate. Eventually the British Government authorities, which pleases her: “I’m very was not happy about what the army was intervened, and the Indonesian authorities glad the Indonesian government put out a doing. Of course, he wasn’t openly op- agreed to release Carmel, on the condition statement the other day. A very stupid posed, but if he thought he could help that she leave Indonesia. statement. It said that I was misleading somebody out, he would do it. So he didn’t “Please talk about what’s happening” people that I was an Indonesian citizen, hold me. The thing that helped me was at which is absolute rubbish ... But anyhow, I Back in Britain, Carmel began working to that point I had a letter from a doctor. I had thought that was really good news. And support the people she had been forced to discovered a lump on my left breast, so I they were accusing the Foundation of being leave behind: “I had the privilege of being showed him this letter, and said I had to go used. There is an expression in Indonesian; English. The other people who I had spent to hospital, ‘it may be cancer’ and so on, in English it comes out as ‘engineered,’ ‘ma- time with could not possibly have got re- and he used this to tell his commander, ‘Just nipulated’ ... This regime always thinks like leased like this, so I felt in a way, almost let her go home.’ So I was allowed to go this: if anything happens, it doesn’t happen guilty, because I could get out, and they home. He was arrested himself, some years naturally, it’s a plot.” The press coverage in could not ... I just felt that I had to do some- later.” Indonesia has also surprised her, since she is thing about the people whom I had left be- When her husband was released, they de- regarded by the Indonesian authorities as hind. I had a very strong sense of a kind of cided to leave Indonesia, since it had become “public enemy No.1 or No.2,” and news of obligation. At one point, when I was in impossible for them to continue with their her activities is not often allowed in the prison, I heard about the likelihood that this political activity. Before they could make press. might happen. I spoke to some of my closer the arrangements to leave, however, the Carmel, not unnaturally, also speaks friends there, and I said: ‘do you think this police came to their house again. This time it warmly of the Right Livelihood Foundation. would be an awful thing to do, just to leave was to arrest Carmel, but when they found She has especial regard for the Foundation’s you all.’ ‘Oh, no, no,’ they said, ‘that’s her husband at home, they took him too. It habit of picking smaller, less well-known ridiculous, of course you should go, get out East Timor Documents, Volume 40. September 1 - November 3, 1995 Page 107 groups to give awards to: “None of us are which management, security, and workers Hull (01482 470621); and BAe Farnbor- high-fliers ... It seems they go for organisa- were all invited. ough, near Reading (01865 793820). Pledge tions that don’t have a high profile, and There are several groups which campaign of Resistance, c/o Stop the Hawk Deal, One that’s Tapol as well. I quite like that the against the Hawk deal as part of their activ- World Centre, 6 Mount St, Manchester M2 Foundation does that ... It gives us a bit of a ity on arms trade, human rights, or peace 5NS boost. I’m very proud to be a laureate, you issues: among them the British Coalition for might say.” East Timor, Campaign Against Arms Trade, NEW WEST PAPUA Carmel’s prison memoir, Surviving the TAPOL — the Indonesian Human Rights CAMPAIGN IN IRELAND Indonesian Gulag, is published by Cassell in Campaign, and the London-based antimili- January 1996. tarist group ARROW. Separate from these ETISC are delighted to announce the groups, but overlapping with them in TAPOL, 111 Northwood Road, Thornton launch of a new support group for West places, is a coalition which oversees a Papua. Details are as follows: Contact, Heath, Surrey CR7 8HW (tel +44 181 771 “Pledge of resistance” for individuals pre- 2904; email [email protected] Mark Doris. West Papua Action C/O 5 pared to engage in civil disobedience to stop Coote Street, Portlaoise, Co. Laois, Ireland. the Hawk deal. Tel 00 353 502 61035/61185. FAX 00 353 EVENTS IN IRELAND What’s going wrong? 502 61185. At the moment E-mail messages Unfortunately, the numbers – both or- to the group may be sent through ETISC. ganising and taking part in nonviolent resis- PLAYING THE GAME AND tance to the Hawk deal – have not been as SPRING AND ALATAS CUT RESISTING BRITISH AR MS hoped. With the first of the 24 Hawks due SHORT MEETING to be shipped from Warton early in 1996, SALES TO INDONESIA and with a possible further 120 in the R.T.E. Radio News, Programme; Morning by Stephen Hancock, Peace News, Oct. 24. bloody pipeline, we have been faced with Ireland 26th September 1995. some searching questions about both our The United Nations Day for Children – 2 Newsreader: In New York a meeting be- organisational abilities and about the theo- tween the Tanaiste (Deputy Prime Minis- October – was the occasion of the most ries and practices of civil disobedience. recent act of civil disobedience against Brit- ter) and the Indonesian Foreign Minister, Much focus has been on the point of pro- Mr. Ali Alatas, was cut short after a stormy ish Aerospace’s government-backed deal to duction, in terms of mild disruption and supply Indonesia with 24 Hawk ground exchange between the two men over Indone- visual protest, with some attempt at com- sian rule in East Timor. Afterwards Mr. attack aircraft. municating with workers. Although there Twenty-five of us gathered at BAe’s Spring said Mr. Alatas had taken a very has been some sympathy expressed by strong line when told of Irish concerns about London headquarters and then carried a workers, no significant action has followed – child’s coffin, first to the cenotaph for a the situation in East Timor and the meeting without the offer of concerted and compre- ended after a few minutes. (Interview with minute’s silence for the victims of Indone- hensive union or peace and human rights sia’s war in East Timor, and then to the Tanaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs, movement support, this is hardly surpris- Mr. Spring carried on programme). Foreign Office where six of us staged a ing. In resistance terms, the government has symbolic die-in for half an hour in the vehi- largely been let off the hook. SPRING WALKED OUT ON cle entrance. Police turned away vehicles With the clock ticking away towards the INDONESIAN MINISTER OVER and made no arrests. As an ending to the days when the first Hawks are shipped out, TIMOR action a letter calling on the Foreign Office there we could see either despair or frenzied to revoke BAe’s export licence was handed activity among the nonviolent resisters. The Irish Times, 27th September 1995. By in along with wreath, and a final minute’s However, given that other groups are en- Conor O’Cleary. silence was held. gaged in parliamentary lobbying and some The article was accompanied by a photo- Nonviolent direct action against the individuals are mounting a legal challenge to graph of Mr. Dick Spring, with the caption Hawk deal has been taking place regularly the deal, it is vital that nonviolent resisters “Making the case for East Timor.” for the past two and a half years, initiated create calmer spaces in which to work out by Chris Cole’s “BAe Ploughshares” action New York – An article in the Irish Times how best to use their energies in support of written by the Tanaiste, Mr. Spring, in of January 1993, in which he broke into the overall campaign. I think that two larger- BAe’s Stevenage factory and, with a house- which he criticised Indonesia for its sup- scale actions in the first half of next year, pression of East Timor was at the centre of hold hammer, disarmed various military one high-profile one at the Foreign Office in components, including a Hawk nosecone. a stormy exchange between Mr. Spring and London and a mass rally and civil disobedi- the Indonesian Foreign Minister in New Lower risk actions have since taken place at ence at Warton, could contribute signifi- the main factories involved in Hawk produc- York on Monday, it has been learned. cantly to creating political and public pres- The row, in the United Nations building, tion – Stevenage, Brough, and Warton – at sure to reverse the deal. Whatever we decide BAe offices in London and Farnborough, has left Ireland’s relations with the South in the coming months, we need more people East Asian country in tatters. and at various BAe events including share- willing to organise, mobilise for, and enact holders’ meetings and the Hawks’ contribu- Mr. Spring walked out of the meeting af- the sort of protest and resistance the people ter he was berated by Mr. Ali Alatas over tion to the VE-Day celebrations in Hyde of East Timor deserve. Park. Actions have included painting, blood- the article, which appeared in the Irish pouring, flyposting, occupations, the dyeing The next round of protest and NVDA around Times of July 13th. red of ornamental fountains, die-ins, block- the Hawk deal will happen on 11 November, Headed ‘Ireland to the fore in seeking in- ades, factory incursions and – at the recent the day before the anniversary of the 1991 ternational action on East Timor,’ the article peace camp at Warton, a short-lived football Santa Cruz massacre in East Timor. Actions took issue with Indonesia’s military occupa- match within the factory perimeter, to are planned for BAe Warton, near Preston tion of East Timor and the denial of human (0161 834 0295 for info); BAe Brough, near and political rights to the people there.. Page 108 East Timor Documents, Volume 40. Sept. 1 - November 3, 1995.

Mr. Alatas (62), also apparently accused A spokesman at the Indonesian mission Mr. Alatas said it was unacceptable that Mr. Spring of refusing requests for a bilat- declined to comment on the row yesterday. his country should be made the ‘whipping eral meeting with the Indonesian ambassador Deaglan de Breadun adds. boy’ by Mr. Spring. in London, who is accredited to Dublin, “I started to convey to my colleague, The Labour whip in the Seante, Mr. Pat during the last two months. Minister Spring that we found it highly un Magner, applauded the stance taken by Mr. His main complaint however, voiced in usual and in fact quite unacceptable that as a Spring. Mr. Magner pointed out that the extreme terms, was that the Tanaiste had foreign minister, he would choose this way Senate had tabled a motion on East Timor gone public where other Foreign Ministers of not only criticising but attacking another last June which was signed by all the politi- had make similarly strong criticism in pri- country, that is by way of a signed article in cal parties and by the Independent Senators. vate meetings. a newspaper,” he said. It endorsed the Declaration made in Lisbon Mr. Spring confirmed yesterday that the In his eight years as a foreign minister, he at the International Conference on East Irish Times article was raised when he met said, he had seen differences between minis- Timor calling for the Indonesian government Mr. Alatas as part of his round of meetings ters in many forms and constantly received to comply with international norms of hu- with Foreign Ministers at the 50th UN expressions of concern and even criticism man rights. General Assembly.. from other foreign ministers about East “The Indonesian Foreign Minister took David Shanks adds Timor. offence at the fact that I stated my views Apart from the all-party consensus in “But I never have I experienced this kind and the views of the Irish government in Ireland on the East Timor issue several of an approach, a public, signed article. So that way,” he said. “ If offence is taken events earlier this year may have contrib- that’s what I conveyed to him. I was not there is a diplomatic way of communicating uted to the row in New York. querying his right to have a different view or that. I just wasn’t prepared to take the tenor In May the London-resident Indonesian his right to express his concern,” Mr. Alatas or the tone or the manner... I made sugges- ambassador to Ireland Mr. Junus Habibie said. tions how the meeting might continue and was forced by the presence of East Timor In the article published on July 13th, Mr. they were not accepted and the meeting just Solidarity protestors at the Dept. of Trade Spring accused Indonesia of human rights terminated.” and Tourism in Dublin to leave by the back abuses in a territory “invaded and annexed Mr. Spring said he wanted to discuss door. Mr., Habibie said afterwards Mr. by a powerful neighbour” and called for an ASEAN/EU co-operation and the meetings Kenny apologised. (From ETISC; Mr. end to Indonesia’s occupation, freedom for which will take place next year when Ireland Kenny’s office denied any such apology political prisoners and an arms embargo. has the EU presidency. Asked how relations was given). “I have the article in which he says not might be patched up, he said; “ In all these Ireland has a small but growing trade with only are we critical of the Indonesian Gov- situations you let the dust settle. We have Indonesia. Semi-state companies, such as, ernment but we will make sure that this is our views, they have their views.” ESB international, FAS international and done and this is done, we should prevent In his article Mr. Spring said that Ireland CIE international have had contracts in this Indonesia from getting this and we should was and would be one of the foremost advo- growing South East Asian economy. work with other governments to do this and cates of East Timor’s case. “A small terri- do this,” he said. tory has been invaded and annexed by a ALATAS ATTACKS IRISH He said Mr. Spring has told him he wrote powerful neighbour in defiance of interna- FOREIGN MINISTER the article to reply to concerns raised in tional law,” he wrote. Ireland, but there were other ways of doing “The Indonesian military administration The Irish Times, 29 September 1995 this, through interviews or in parliament. of East Timor has been widely condemned, “Other ministers don’t make a signed ar- including by the Irish government, for its Spring comments on East Timor ‘almost ticle and attack another government,” he gross abuses of human rights. He cited the “ like declaration of war,’ says Indonesian said. cold blooded killing” of up to 270 people by Minister. At one point, Mr. Spring said: “I am not Indonesian troops at a peace demonstration [Intro] The Indonesian Foreign Minister, prepared to accept you lecturing me,” and in 1991. Mr. Ali Alatas, told Connor O’Clery in Mr. Alatas had replied: “I am not lecturing “We want Indonesia to end it’s illegal oc- New York of the displeasure Mr. Spring’s you, Mr. Minister. In fact, talking about cupation of the territory,” said Mr. Spring . opinions on the situation in Timor caused in lecturing, you have been lecturing us in pub- “We want to see a political solution based Jakarta lic.” on international law and justice. We want to The Tanaiste and Minister for Foreign “One remark perhaps made Mr. Spring a see the people of East Timor enjoy their full Affairs, Mr. Spring, was responsible for an bit irritated or angry,” Mr. Alatas said. human and political rights.” He also called act which was ‘almost like a declaration of “I said to Mr. Spring, ‘How many times for an arms embargo on Indonesia and the war’ in writing an article for The Irish have you been to Indonesia?’ And he release of political prisoners.. Times, attacking Indonesian policy in East thought that was not a fair question because In a reply, published in the Irish Times Timor, the Foreign Minister of Indonesia, he said: ‘You know that I have never been to on August 1st, an Indonesian embassy offi- Mr. Ali Alatas said in an interview in New Indonesia.” cial disputed the number of dead in the 1991 York. “I said: ‘I don’t because you speak with shootings, saying an official commission had Mr. Alatas was giving his version of a so much conviction and knowledge about concluded 50 died... heated meeting with Mr. Spring at United Indonesia that I thought you had been to President Suharto had expressed “pro- Nations headquarters on Monday, which Indonesia.” found grief” and soldiers had been jailed, ended when the Tanaiste walked out be- “I would think twice before commenting wrote Mrs. Hendrati Munthe, information cause he said he was not prepared to accept on the Irish situation,” said Mr. Alatas. “I councilor to the ambassador. Ireland’s con- the manner or the tone of the Indonesian would simply look silly if I don’t know cern, she said, only served the narrow fac- Foreign Minister’s complaints. what is happening there. I read a lot about tional interests of particular East Timorese how certain things are not good apart from group... many things that are very goo d in Ireland.” East Timor Documents, Volume 40. September 1 - November 3, 1995 Page 109

“I am not saying that we are as pure as This has caused problems and we are Evolution of Transmigration in East Timor just-fallen snow. We have made our share of stopping that now. “Many of the people 1981/82 — 1992/93 mistakes. But we have tried to correct our have now left,” the Foreign Minister said. mistakes.... We have perhaps a human rights Fiscal year Families Location Origin problem in some remote parts of Indonesia. CORRECTING ALATAS’S (persons) We are a large developing country. Which “INACCURACIES” ABOUT 1982/83 50 (214) Tunubibi Bali country is completely free of human rights “TRANSMIGRATION” IN EAST (Bobonaro) abuses?” America and many European coun- TIMOR 1985/86 96 (402) Salele (Co- Bali valima) tries were not,” he said. By George J. Aditjondro, Oct. 4 “So all I’m saying to critics such as Mr. 142 (567) idem East Java Spring: please sit down with us, also make IRISH TIMES, in its September 29, 1995 3 (10) idem Central Java sure that you have the facts correct,” said edition, published a statement of the Indo- 9 (16) idem Jakarta Mr. Alatas. nesian Minister of Foreign Affairs, who said 96 (274) idem Bali that “the transmigration programme does Reacting to the suggestion that there was 3 (3) Beco (Co- Jakarta not apply to East Timor, because we know a crisis between Indonesia and Ireland, Mr. valima) that it is a very sensitive issue. The only Alatas said: “I hope it will not become a 1990/91 120 (413) Raimean Bali people who moved there when East Timor crisis., of course. But it is to be regretted (Covalima) that this had to happen but I think that we was opened up as part of Indonesia were traders. This has caused problems and we 1991/92 75 (274) Culuan Central Java should, now, as he himself said, let the dust (Covalima) settle for a while.” are stopping that now.” 1992/93 50 (170) Raimean Bali Mr. Spring told the Irish Times on Tues- From one perspective, what Alatas has (Covalima) day that “in all these situations, you let the said is correct. Yes, there are no Indonesian 1993/94 75 (235) Weberek Central Java dust settle.” transmigrants in East Timor, because the (Manufahi) The Indonesian Foreign Minister said he word “transmigrant” only applies to people fully understood that Irish foreign policy who have moved, or have been moved, from 50 (163) Abatoan Bali put great store on human rights and democ- one part of Indonesia – mostly Jawa, Bali (Manatuto) racy, but Ireland should try to hear both and Lombok – to another part of Indonesia. 18 (67) idem Central Java sides of the story. He accused Timorese And East Timor, according to international Total 662 (2,808) nationals living in Portugal of orchestrating a law, is not part of Indonesia. So, the Indo- João Mariano de Sousa Saldanha, 1994. The campaign of misinformation. nesians who are in East Timor, or who were Political Economy of East Timor Develop- Commenting on the situation in East there before the latest uprising which has ment. Jakarta: Pustaka Sinar Harapan, p. Timor, Mr. Alatas said that human rights left hundreds of Indonesians stranded in 355. Kupang and Surabaya, are not “transmi- allegations were addressed immediately These statistics, which themselves are grants.” They are “immigrants.” when they arose. adopted from the official Indonesian statis- From another perspective, however, it He said the territory had been “inte- tical bureau in Dili as well as an Indonesian- can be safely said that the Indonesian For- grated” after the Portuguese left 20 years sanctioned newspaper, Suara Timor Timur, eign Minister is not telling the truth. The ago. There were two dialogues taking place show that Balinese “transmigrants” were following statistics, which are adopted from about East Timor, one between Indonesia already brought into East Timor in 1982- a book on East Timor, written by a pro- and Portugal and under UN auspices, an- 1983, long before East Timor was officially integration East Timorese, are self- other to promote reconciliation. opened by the Indonesian government. But explanatory: Asked if there was a policy of planting indeed, they are also not called “transmi- people from other Indonesian islands in East grants,” probably because of the sensitivity Timor, which has a population of 812,000, of this programme, but “petani teladan” he said this was not the case. Indonesia (pioneer farmers). So, Alatas is correct country (sic) had 195 million people living again, there are no “transmigrants” in East on 6,000 islands of whom 100 million live Timor, only “pioneer farmers.” on Java, he said. The numbers of these Javanese and Bali- Since Dutch colonial times, there was a nese “transmigrants” are indeed much lower policy of persuading people to populate the than the number of the economically much other islands, on the lines of ‘Go West, more aggressive trader-migrants from South young man.’ Sulawesi (from the Makassan and Buginese People got two hectares of free land, ethno-linguistic groups). The number of guaranteed incomes for one year and free these “pioneer farmers” may also be much farm implements. lower than the number of the migrants from “We are trying to persuade them to go to West Timor, who move over land from Sumatra and Borneo but not to East Timor. West to East Timor, thanks to the improved I repeat, not to East Timor,” Mr. Alatas roads and transportation system developed said. by the occupation forces. These people are “The transmigration programme does not physically of the same stock as the East apply to East Timor because we know that Timorese, speak Tetun, and are mostly it is a very sensitive issue.” practicing Catholics, and hence could be- The only people who moved there when come Indonesia’s “Trojan horse” in the case East Timor was opened up as part of Indo- of an eventual UN-supervised referendum in nesia, were traders,” he said. East Timor. Page 110 East Timor Documents, Volume 40. Sept. 1 - November 3, 1995.

So, who has not done his homework be- negative answer, he told him that he (Alatas) Afri. But apart from a loose group of volun- fore speaking about East Timor, Mr. Dick would think twice before commenting on the teers who monitor the phone, it’s Hyland Spring, the Irish Foreign Minister, or his conflict in Northern Ireland. who does most of the work. He gives talks Indonesian counterpart? ‘I am not saying we are as pure as just- to schools, media interviews, speaks to Nevertheless, please be assured that not fallen snow,’ Alatas told the paper. news solidarity groups and ‘networks’ on e- all Indonesians support Alatas’s propa- ‘We have perhaps a human rights prob- mail. Now there are organisations in Gal- ganda, or the entire policy of denying the lem in some remote parts of Indonesia. We way, Belfast, Carlow, Portlaise and Cork East Timorese right to self-determination. are a large developing country. Which coun- and new ones are being set up in Limerick Hundreds of younger and older Indonesians try is completely free of human rights and Wexford. have since 1991 openly declared their sym- abuses?’ he asked, adding that the United Maubere, meaning brotherly in Timor’s pathy with the lot of the East Timorese, and States and European countries also abused Tetum language, is the Ballyfermot group’s have appealed for the withdrawal of the human rights. quarterly newsletter, with a print order of Indonesian troops from the territory, to 2,000. enable the East Timorese people to exercise OFF THE BUS AND ON TO Hyland, 42, sees himself politically as their right for self-determination. I am one of THE HUMAN RIGHTS ROAD middle of the road, a social democrat. “But I them, and had to flee the country for fear of always felt from an early age that we have a military-backed trial being prepared to put On Saturday 30 September, 1995, the Irish to weigh in on the side of the underdog... me behind bars, supposedly for “insulting Times published the following article, written against the bullyboys.” He believes that the Head of State” in an academic seminar in by David Shanks. (Slightly abridged.) everyone should try to do something useful the beautiful cultural city of Yogyakarta in with their lives. “The tragedy is that it is the Java. Unfortunately, the Indonesian How Tom Hyland made oppression in great suffering that has given us the oppor- press is muffled, so that their voices are distant Timor an issue in Irish politics tunity to do that.” His heroes are Bishop rarely heard outside the country. So, dear “I would suggest to Mr. Ali Alatas,” said Tutu, Gandhi and Martin Luther King, sisters and brothers, keep up your support the East Timor activist Tom Hyland of the whose works he turns to for comfort and for the struggle of the East Timorese people, Indonesian Foreign Minister, “that if he is fortitude. who would once see the sun of independ- serious about the issue of East Timor, he Respected international and at home, the ence rise above their sacred mountains, open it to Amnesty International, United solidarity group co-ordinator can get front- Ramelau and Matebian. May God bless Nations humanitarian organisations, Asia door access to Iveagh House. The British- their struggle. Watch, independent journalists and observ- based journalist, Hugh O’Shaughnessy, tells ers and then we’ll know if he is telling the of accompanying Hyland to a Seanad debate truth.” on East Timor earlier this year. “As they ALATAS UPSET AT SPRING’S Hyland says that the East Timor Ireland TIMOR WORDS spoke, all the politicians made sure they Solidarity Campaign started “by accident” tipped their forelocks to Tom.” A Foreign in 1992. A neighbour in Ballyfermot, who Jakarta Post, October 1, 1995 affairs source speaks of the group’s “admi- didn’t have cable TV, asked, could he watch rable” work. DUBLIN (AFP): Indonesian Minister of an ITV programme called In Cold Blood, the Figures such as Noam Chomsky, the US Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas has accused his Massacre in East Timor. linguistics professor and John Pilger, the Irish counterpart of publicly attacking his Two things struck him, that one third of Australian journalist whose film, Death of a country in a manner that was ‘almost like a the territory’s people had been killed since Nation, helped put East Timor issue before declaration of war,’ according to press re- Indonesia’s invasion, and that there had the world — are in regular contact. ports here. been a deathly international silence since. In The group now links with the British Alatas said Irish Foreign Minister Dick the massacre, 270 died, according to the Coalition for East Timor, and activists and Spring had attacked Indonesia over its pol- Indonesians (sic), 500, if you talk the East intellectuals in several countries in several icy in East Timor, according to The Irish Timorese resistance. And there was the countries. Contact with the Timorese resis- Times on Friday. visual image of Max Stahl’s film of the Santa tance, or National Council of Maubere Re- Alatas said he found the attack unaccept- Cruz cemetery carnage carried out by the sistance is “loose.” “We receive information able and unprecedented in his many years as troops. And there was the story of the five from them as we do from the Indonesian diplomat and foreign minister. journalists who were murdered by troops in embassy but we are not controlled by any The Indonesian minister was referring to the invasion aftermath. outside force,” Hyland said. an article Spring wrote in The Irish Times in A former Dublin bus driver, Hyland had He showed something of this sense of in- July in which he accused Indonesia of hu- already taken voluntary redundancy...... dependence yesterday when reacting to the man rights abuses in East Timor. In the At the time of the ITV film, Hyland was “brave” stand taken this week by the article, Spring also called on Indonesia to looking for something in which to invest his Tanaiste in his row with the Indonesian release political prisoners [see article below energy. He heard an echo in history – the Foreign Minister, Mr. Ali Alatas over the — Najoan]. Great Famine, in which a million died and Irish Times article by Mr. Spring. Alatas and Spring discussed the article at millions left, and the place where one third He pointed out that the article was the United Nations in New York on Mon- of the people had been killed since 1975. mainly in response to a previous one critical day, The Irish Times said, but the meeting He rang up Yorkshire TV and was ad- of Mr. Spring by Tom Kitt, the former Fi- ended abruptly when the Irish minister vised to get in touch with the UK-based anna Fail Minister of State at Foreign Af- walked out. Indonesia Human Rights Campaign, Tapol fairs. Hyland said that he would like to see Alatas told the paper it was unacceptable and with Amnesty. With some neighbours, Mr. Kitt who had criticised Mr. Spring for that his country should be made a ‘whip- Mick and Martina Cranny, Jim Hurley and not doing enough about East Timor, now ping boy’ by Spring. Shirley Moran, he set up a campaign. publicly support the action of the Tanaiste, He said he asked Spring if he had ever Nowadays there is an informal advisory who was, after all, just “upholding interna- been to Indonesia and when he received a committee which includes Joe Murray of tional law” and the UN’s will. East Timor Documents, Volume 40. September 1 - November 3, 1995 Page 111

Mr. Kitt said yesterday that credit On November 12, the 4th year of the Dili We will be issuing bulletins and updates to should be given where credit is due. “I asked massacre, peoples supportive of the East keep you posted. the Tanaiste to stick his neck out and he Timorese cause will spark the light and will Viva Timor Leste! certainly did that.” Mr. Spring had suc- watch over it until our immediate demands Gus Miclat, Coordinator ceeded in making Mr. Alatas more sensitive are met. Asia-Pacific Coalition for East Timor to the strong feelings in Ireland and the EU We are inviting you to accompany us in in general and it was “a good day’s work,” this endeavor. NGO PARALLEL he added. If you can, please prepare torches also on CONFERENCE TO THE AP EC This is an example of Hyland’s capacity November 12 and from these beacons ignite to get politicians to pull together on his as many candles to symbolize both the lives OSAKA SUMMIT single issue. that have been spilled in their struggle for From: Pacific Asia Resource Center “In this way we are trying to talk some self-determination and their continuing and , Oct. 17. sense to the Indonesian government, that burning hopes for freedom and justice. they realistically consider the issue and cut It would be best if these torches and can- November 1995, Osaka Japan out the propaganda. This can be solved dles be planted outside any symbolical en- The NGO Forum on APEC, a coalition without any loss of face on any side.” He tity in our respective locales to remind the of Japanese NGOs, citizen movements, and says the group has tended to campaign in a Suharto regime of their genocide and the labor unions, will hold a series of events way that casts no aspersions on the Indone- world of its conspicuous silence over this parallel to the official Osaka APEC Summit sian people “but we could not say the same heinous crime. which is scheduled to take place in Novem- of the Indonesian military and we now see It is time to break the silence. ber of 1995. The purpose of these events what we have taken on.” The simultaneous lighting of our torches will be to add new momentum to the ongo- But he says that taking on the fourth and candles will show that the world’s peo- ing process of formulating a new paradigm largest country in the world was “like taking ples do not condone what their governments of development from a people’s perspec- on the former Soviet Union with all the have allowed Indonesia to scamper away tive. mechanism they had in place to control the with. The APEC Meeting itself, like other offi- people and the media, but with the added Depending on each group’s capacity, a cial multinational forums such as GATT and disadvantage that, by and large, the West is vigil can ensue that will activities on East the World Trade Organization, will focus on the side of Indonesia. Timor. entirely on pushing its own neo-liberal The group has not yet decided on broad- The light can be kept a-burning until de- agenda, through the promotion of trade and ening its campaign to include calling for an mands are met or until December 10, Human investment liberalization. On the NGO side, Indonesian trade ban. Total merchandise Rights Day. Since it is also the 50th anni- we will work both to advance our own par- trade is small at 37 million in 1992, but it versary of the United Nations, and Decem- allel vision, by holding our own sessions and has grown tenfold since the 1980s. ber 7 being the 20th year of Indonesia’s by working with the press, and to lobby the Trade in services is seen as another po- cowardly invasion of East Timor, perhaps official forum, pressing the official delegates litical growth area. Hyland says of contracts we can lend significance to these twin occa- to address issues such as environment, hu- won by semi-state companies: “I think they sions by declaring December 7 as Interna- man rights, and labor rights, which they should look elsewhere.” tional Day of Solidarity for East Timor. have so far refused to put on the table. We Let us also continue to pressure our re- will thus create a momentum on the NGO spective governments to make the United side which will help to advance a people- EVENTS IN ASIA-PACIFIC Nations likewise declare this as such. oriented position as we move toward the For this campaign, the East Timorese are next ministerial meeting scheduled for Ma- seeking for the release of all political prison- nila in 1996, and beyond. APCET PROPOSAL: “LIGHT A ers and the application of the Geneva con- This parallel process will be a very im- FIRE” SYMBOLIC ACTIONS ventions in their resistance to Indonesia rule. portant chance for regional NGOs to be- They also seek that international groups come involved in the APEC process, which The Asia Pacific Coalition on East Timor such as the International Red up until now has been quite closed to voices (APCET) co-ordinator has posted the fol- Cross/Crescent or Amnesty International be from the grassroots level. NGOs and citi- lowing appeal regarding proposed symbolic given access into Dili. Maximum demand is zen’s movements were not very successful “light a flame” actions on November 12 (or for the United Nations to open a Human in their work concerning the 1994 Summit in 11). Rights office inside East Timor or send regu- Bogor, Indonesia, at least in part because of For further info. contact APCET Coordi- lar missions into the bleeding country. the repression of the Indonesian govern- nator at email address below or by fax at 63- APCET will issue a logo, poster, slogan ment, so the Osaka meeting will give us a 2-9216774 or Max Lane via and possibly compose a song to identify crucial chance to begin a process of partici- [email protected] or by fax at 02- this campaign. We have tentatively dubbed pation. In 1995 a choice will be made be- 6901381. the endeavor as “AHI NAKLAKAN.” It is tween whether the APEC process will be a Ahi Naklahan the Tetum term for “light.” participatory one or whether the decisions 23 August 1995 Ahi Naklakan should not in any way dis- will continue to be made in the official corri- tract any other planned activity by groups dors of power without consultation with the Dear Friend of East Timor, around the world for November and Decem- people of the region. A flame will be lit this November. ber. Ahi should instead complement and APEC, despite its nebulous nature, will It will kindle waiting torches in all cor- help weave the international thread of all prove to be an important issue for the future ners of the world. efforts. We hope you also take this as such. of people in the Asia-Pacific region, and yet The light will carry a message of hope, a Please feel free to let us know how you it has not yet become either a transparent or blaze of justice and freedom that the feel or what you think about Ahi Naklakan. participatory process. It will have signifi- Maubere people have been struggling for. Page 112 East Timor Documents, Volume 40. Sept. 1 - November 3, 1995. cant impacts in the region, just as NAFTA including ACFOD, PARC, as well as New the official meeting, but will also carry out has for North America, and these effects Zealand, American, and Canadian research- lobbying at the national level both in the must be seen as particularly important given ers, joined in this process. The oppressive preparation and follow-up process, and will the size of the region encompassed by character of the Indonesian government, encourage NGOs in other countries to work APEC. In fact, the ability of NGOs and however, served to severely restrict these to lobby their own official delegates. other organizations to respond to this chal- activities. The Japanese NGOs who were 3) Citizens’ Public Meetings in both To- lenge will have a significant effect on the present began to feel a strong need to use kyo and the Kansai area future of popular mobilizations in other the Osaka Meeting as an opportunity to These public forums will be a crucial part international issues such as the GATT and pick up what had been started in Bogor. of our efforts to make the APEC process World Trade Organization. The process of organizing for the Osaka more open and democratic. We will gather The origins of APEC can be found in a Summit proceeded smoothly in December large numbers of Japanese citizens and initi- desire from Japan to foster technical coop- and early January, but then on January 17 ate a dialogue on APEC, and by doing so eration in the Asian region, but the initiative the Kansai region (including Osaka) was will add legitimacy and energy to the ongo- was seized early on by Australia, which struck by a devastating earthquake, which ing process of formulating a people’s alter- hoped to use the Forum to strengthen the killed more than 5,500 persons. The NGOs native to the neo-liberal model of develop- ties between its economies and the dynamic responded to this crisis by pouring their ment. In addition, we will use these meet- growth of other nations in the region. Begin- energies into rescue and recovery activities, ings as a place to build ties with the mass ning in 1993, in Seattle, the United States in and as a result the preparations for the media to counter what has often been one- turn began to exert its dominance over the Osaka Summit had to take a back seat and sided coverage of the official process. process, hoping by doing so to pry open the have been greatly delayed. It was not until 4) meetings to carry out studies of the economies of East Asia to its own trade and May 8 that we were able to organize our- APEC process and the formulation of alter- investment. selves to form the Forum. natives At the APEC Bogor Summit in Novem- The Pacific Asia Resource Center in To- Finally, we will hold a series of study ber 1994, a declaration was issued by the kyo and the Kansai NGO Council will take meeting, which will be conducted mainly by states of the forum calling for the creation of responsibility for secretarial functions. the Japanese side, both during the process free and open trade and investment in the PARC has agreed to carry out most of the of preparation for and follow-up to the region by the year 2020. There are still, coordination at the international level, November meetings. These meetings will naturally, contradictions between the inter- whereas the Kansai office will work mostly serve to give the NGO side a stronger posi- ests of the different state parties, including on domestic preparations. tion during the lobbying and alternative the United States, Australia, Japan, and the Activities: meeting processes, and will also help us to ASEAN nations. keep issues such as the environment, human The specific range of events we will con- This is a very important issue as far as rights, and labor rights, on the official agenda duct in parallel to the official summit will all the people of the region are concerned. The in future summits. We will also expect serve to promote the objectives listed above, achievement of the target of free trade by groups in other countries to hold their own and will include specifically: 2020 would have a variety of serious reper- study meetings. 1) An NGO Conference to run parallel to cussions for these people, as can be seen by the official event Schedule of Events: what has been brought about by NAFTA in The purpose of the first event will be to November 11-12 Citizen’s Public Meet- the North American region. have NGOs from the Asia Pacific region ing, Tokyo November 12 Citizen’s Public Despite the importance of this question, gather to continue formulating an alternative Meeting, Kansai (Osaka, Kyoto, and however, there has been a paucity of debate vision of development and regional coopera- surrounding areas) November 13-14 between the official APEC process and tion. This will be part of an ongoing process NGO International Conference November people at the grassroots .The voice of the that developed both in tandem with World 16-17 APEC Ministerial Meeting November people has never been heard in the corridors Bank, IMF, Asian Development Bank, and 19 APEC Government Summit of power during this APEC process. other international meetings, and most re- During the 1994 Summit in Indonesia, cently with the declaration issued by NGOs NGOs in the region met and discussed the APEC OSAKA ET PRESS at the time of the World Summit on Social necessity of strengthening their ability to CONFERENCE Development in Copenhagen. carry out joint activities to participate in The official APEC meeting will itself fo- regional processes such as APEC. This re- Press Release from the Free East Timor cus on its own view of “cooperation,” in- solve was further strengthened on the occa- Japan Coalition, Nov. 2. cluding its own neo-liberal values, and it will sion of the ADB annual meeting in New be essential for groups representing people The Free East Timor Japan Coalition or- Zealand in April, 1995. as the grassroots to come together and work ganizes a press conference and a public lec- The NGO Forum on APEC was formed to articulate a new vision. ture by CNRM Special Representative José by Japanese NGOs, citizen groups, and 2) Organized lobbying of the APEC Ramos-Horta. Please inform journalists you labor unions (see list below) in order to hold process by regional NGOs know who are going to cover APEC Osaka a parallel NGO meeting to the APEC Minis- The purpose of this lobbying of the offi- about these programs. terial Meeting and Summit scheduled to be cial process will be to enable the voices of 1. Press Conference held in Osaka in November 1995. the grassroots to be expressed more strongly The preparatory discussions for the for- Title: East Timor Seeks Observer Status in the official process. We will do this by mation of this coalition began in 1994, im- in APEC working to create more transparency and mediately following the Bogor APEC meet- Speakers: José Ramos-Horta and Tomiko participation in the official APEC process, ing in Indonesia. At that time, Indonesian Okazaki, MP, secretary of the Diet Mem- and by creating dialogues between official NGOs such as INFID and WALHI worked bers Forum on East Timor delegates and people from the NGO side. hard to make the opinions of NGOs visible Day: November 11, 1995, 12:30-13:30 We will conduct this activity at the time of in the process, and many regional groups, East Timor Documents, Volume 40. September 1 - November 3, 1995 Page 113

Place: Osaka Prefectural Central Public Justice Lambert’s paper draws three con- Noting that the Indonesian government Hall clusions: has not yet developed confidence-building Note: Also attended by CNRM Repre- 1. That the State of Indonesia has perpe- measures, such as the further opening of the sentative for Australia and Southeast Asia trated a “war of aggression” — “a crime territory to humanitarian and assistance José Adriano Gusmão, RENETIL Overseas against international peace,” by its armed organisations, reducing the military the mili- Representative Domingos Sarmento Alves invasion of East Timor in 1975 and its con- tary presence in the territory, allowing for (the leader of the 29 East Timorese students tinuous military occupation of the territory. the full expression of cultural and religious who occupied the US embassy in Jakarta Its purported exercise of sovereignty over rights of the East Timorese people, nor last year), and torture trauma specialist the territory and jurisdiction over its peo- releasing all political prisoners; Maria Bernardino. ples since 1975 has been at all times Calls on the Indonesian Government to Special Attention !! “unlawful” under the Law of Nations. make a major reduction of the military pres- We organize a demonstration after the 2. At all relevant times the peoples of the ence in East Timor and enter into a process press conference. Territory of East Timor were, and are rec- of reconciliation with the people of East 2. Public Lecture ognised by the U.N. General Assembly to Timor, including the resistance forces; and remain “Colonial Peoples,” within the mean- Urges, as a confidence-building measure Title: East Timor; A Scenario to the Solu- ing of that term in the 1960 U.N. “Declara- in this process, the release of all political tion tion on the Granting of Independence to prisoners and the free movement of Speaker: José Ramos-Horta Colonial Territories and Peoples,” with an Timorese citizens into and out of the terri- November 15, 1995, 19:00-21:00 inalienable right to self-determination pursu- tory. Place: Osaka Prefectural Labour Center ant to the Declaration, which has been frus- (L-Osaka) trated by the continuing act of aggression by STATEMENT The press conference marks the com- the State of Indonesia. The Committee discusses the fact that mencement of the 10th East Timor Speaking 3. That the fundamental causes of the the UN General Assembly had resolved to Tour in Japan which covers more than 60 continuing conflict in East Timor are the set the year 2000 as the year by which co- cities and towns between 11 November and continuing “act of aggression” by the State lonialism should be eliminated. The Com- 7 December. of Indonesia, and the failure of other U.N. mittee notes that not all non-self-governing For further information and interview Member States to act in conformity with territories are listed with the UN Special appointments, contact: Akihisa Matsuno, their individual and collective responsibility Committee on Decolonisation. The Commit- secretary of Osaka East Timor Association to bring that aggression to an end. tee undertakes to discuss further the status tel. +81-6-321-5579 fax. +81-6-370-8314 e- Justice Lambert based his paper on the of non-self-governing territories in the Asia- mail: [email protected] premises: Pacific region with a view to taking a posi- a. that the evidence that there has been no tion on which territories should be added to peace in East Timor but persistent and gross the UN’s list of non-self-governing territo- EVENTS IN AUSTRALIA abuses of human rights since 7 December ries. This will be an agenda item for the next 1975 is overwhelming, and meeting of the Committee. REALPOLITIK V: THE LAW OF b. that that state of affairs has occurred through defiance by the State of Indonesia KEATING, SUHARTO TO NATIONS and other United Nations Member States of DISCUSS HUMAN RIGHTS (from a paper presented to Peacemaking the obligations imposed upon them by the Initiatives for East Timor Conference in principles of international law developed in CANBERRA, Sept. 7 (Reuter) — Aus- Canberra, 10-12 July, 1995 by Retired Jus- pursuance of the United Nations Charter. tralian Prime Minister Paul Keating and tice George E. Lambert) Indonesian President Suharto will discuss SOCIALIST INTERNATIONAL regional and bilateral issues, including human “Real-Politik” is the practice of promot- RESOLUTION rights, when they meet in Bali this month, ing and protecting perceived national self- an Australian official said on Thursday. interest in international relationships in a Resolution on East Timor approved at the Keating will meet Suharto at the Indone- manner and in circumstances contrary to the Socialist International Asia-Pacific Commit- sian resort island of Bali on September 17 principles of international law ... It has been tee meeting, Sydney, Sept. 1-2, 1995. ahead of November’s leaders’ summit of the a constant feature of international relations Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) throughout history.. Noting that the forcible takeover of East forum in the Japanese city of Osaka, said As a result of two of the most cataclys- Timor by Indonesia has led to continuing the official, who declined to be identified. mic of wars in the first half of this century, conflict in the territory; It will be Keating’s fifth visit to neigh- and the generation of the destructive capa- Considering the Socialist International bouring Indonesia as prime minister. bility of the atom, the principles enshrined resolution of October 1993 in Lisbon, the “It’s part of a pattern of regular informal in the United Nations Charter were devel- Tokyo resolution of May 1994 and the meetings which he’s had with Suharto be- oped as a means of achieving peace between Manila Declaration of February 1995 and fore each of the APEC leaders’ meetings,” UN efforts to initiate talks between In- States through collective condemnation of the official said. the unilateral practice of real-politik. donesia and Portugal under the auspices of “They’ll range over all aspects of the re- In the case of the “Timor Question” they the UN Secretary-General; lationship, including, I imagine, human have failed to date to do so because of the Deeply deplores the continuing violation rights.” collective practice of real-politik by perma- of human and political rights in East Timor The meeting follows a strain in bilateral nent Member States of the Security Council and notes with particular concern the dis- ties over a series of incidents, including flag- holding the balance of power, through veto, turbances, arrests and killings which have burning protests in each country and the with respect to their enforcement.” taken place in recent weeks; withdrawal in July of Jakarta’s choice for ambassador to Canberra, Lieutenant-General Page 114 East Timor Documents, Volume 40. Sept. 1 - November 3, 1995.

Herman Mantiri, after an uproar over com- coming APEC summit in Osaka, Japan, than Timor, Australia’s position has not changed. ments he made about East Timor. about anything else. Instead, the main topics Not even the results of a recent opinion poll Indonesia is routinely criticised for its were bilateral relations and human rights, got in the way of the PM’s support for human rights record, especially in the former including the question of East Timor. integration. The poll, published on Friday Portuguese colony of East Timor, which it (...) The good relationship between the by the “Sydney Morning Herald,” revealed invaded in 1975 and annexed one year later. two countries — which the Timorese prob- that 58% of those interviewed would be The United Nations has never recognised lem has scarcely affected over the past 20 prepared to risk jeopardising the excellent the move. years — suffered an unprecedented blow in relations with their Indonesian neighbours Keating, seeking to forge a greater role in July when Jakarta appointed Herman Man- by Australia adopting a more critical posi- Asia for this country of 18 million people, tiri to be its ambassador to Canberra. Man- tion on the question of Timorese autonomy. has said no country was more important to tiri became renowned in 1992 for his view This was the fifth time that the Austra- Australia than Indonesia. that the Indonesian soldiers involved in the lian PM, Paul Keating, in office since De- Keating and Suharto will meet privately massacre at Dili’s Santa Cruz cemetery had cember 1991, visited his country’s powerful with just an interpreter on September 17, behaved correctly. neighbour, and each time he has been at before talks involving more officials, the Jakarta’s choice of ambassador caused an pains to safeguard their bilateral relations. source said. outcry in Australia and, following a very After all, it was Keating himself who said, in “We expect the meeting to cover the tense diplomatic meeting, Indonesia was March 1994, that “no country is as impor- APEC meeting in Osaka and exchange of forced, on 6 July, to give in. The hatchet tant for Australia as Indonesia.” views on the lead up to Osaka and what we was not completely buried, however, and can hope to get out of it, and bilateral rela- another crisis arose when Indonesian flags KEATING HITS HUMAN tions and regional developments,” the offi- were burned by Timorese and anti- RIGHTS BLOCK ON WAY TO cial said. integration activists outside Jakarta’s em- APEC groups Australia, Brunei, Canada, bassy in Melbourne, at the time of Indone- BOOST JAKARTA TIES Chile, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, sia’s commemorations of its 50th anniver- South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zea- sary of independence. The East Timor Problem Has Made land, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Tensions were to heighten later when Links with Australia Prone to Turbu- Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and the United Canberra gave temporary asylum to 18 lence States. Timorese who had managed to reach the Financial Times, 20 September 1995, By Australian coast in makeshift boats. Ja- Manuela Saragosa (no dateline) CANBERRA KEEPING ON karta’s response was to play its economic No country “is more important to Aus- JAKARTA’S RIGHT SIDE card, and circulated rumours that retaliatory tralia than Indonesia,” Mr. Paul Keating, measures affecting trade might be adopted. Australia’s prime minister, said last year. Publico, 18 September 1995 By Fernando This is something the Australians do not “If we fail to get this relationship right and Sousa. Translated from Portuguese, even want to hear about. develop it, the whole web of our foreign Abridged This was more or less the situation at the relations is incomplete.” time of Paul Keating’s meeting with Suharto Lisbon – Although the main discussion As Indonesia assumes a higher interna- in Bali, where they did not even resolve the tional profile by taking a formative stance topic ought to have been the November matter of substituting Herman Mantiri, who APEC summit, last weekend’s meeting be- on issues of free trade in the Asia-Pacific had been the root of all the trouble. Accord- region, as a voice for the “south” and a non- tween Australia’s PM Paul Keating and ing to the Australian PM, Suharto had re- Indonesia’s President Suharto was domi- permanent member of the United Nations ferred to the Mantiri issue, and stated that it Security Council, so Mr. Keating has made nated by talks about bilateral relations and would be dealt with “in good time,” but had human rights. However, Canberra’s Gov- it his personal crusade to strengthen ties not given any date for the appointment of with Australia’s northern neighbor. ernment chief managed to relieve some of the new ambassador. the tension by stating that it is also impor- Military co-operation between the two Australia is one of the few countries that sides has increased in recent years with both tant that the Timorese “feel that the prov- recognise integration of the former Portu- ince can belong harmoniously to Indonesia.” armies regularly staging joint manoeuvres; guese colony of East Timor with Indonesian two-way trade has trebled in the five years The exchange of courteous expressions at territory, following an act (1976) which has the end of yesterday’s meeting between to 1993, when it reached A$3bn (1.4bn not been sanctioned by the UN. Over the Sterling), and Australia now ranks among Australian PM, Paul Keating and the Indo- past 10 years, and in spite of the enormous nesian President, Suharto, were not enough Indonesia’s top 10 investors. number of reports by various international Yet there are few international neighbours to disperse the clouds overhanging relations organisations, Canberra has avoided almost between the two countries, which were who could be more different. The list of all references to the systematic violation of contrasts goes on and on. But most of all a marred last July by the unfortunate state- human rights in the territory, except when ments made by an ambassador-general of lack of understanding of Australia’s democ- such reference has been quite unavoidable ratic process on the Indonesian side, cou- Jakarta who, consequently, did not make it and when it would not call integration into as far as Canberra. pled with a vocal lobby in Australian human question. “Most of the meeting was taken up with rights, has made relations prone to turbu- And it happened again. “It is important lence. bilateral relations,” said Keating to awaiting that human rights are respected, that the journalists, adding “We are both satisfied Mr. Keating’s meeting at the weekend in people of Timor feel that the province can Bali with Indonesia’s President Suharto, his with that, and think that we have come belong harmoniously to Indonesia, and that along a long and difficult path.” fifth since he took office, was aimed at people see that all their rights are being re- mending the broken bridges of recent However, in the two hours in which they spected,” said the PM (quoted by Reuters). were together in Bali, the two statesmen months. Relations appeared to be in free fall Although somewhat more critical with after Jakarta’s forced withdrawal of its pro- ought to have talked more about the forth- regards the human rights situation in East East Timor Documents, Volume 40. September 1 - November 3, 1995 Page 115 posed ambassador to Canberra in July on a In appointing Gen. Mantiri, officials say to intervene in their homeland to protect human rights question. no thought was given to how the Australian citizens from oppression by Indonesia. Political observers say Mr. Keating, like public might react, partly because public They have also demanded that the Minis- President Suharto, would like human rights reaction is never an issue in Indonesia, gov- ter for Foreign Affairs, Senator Evans, visit issues such as East Timor to take a back erned almost single-handed by Mr. Suharto East Timor as a matter of urgency to inves- seat in relations between the two countries. for 30 years. tigate their claims of continued detention, However, the Australian premier, due to “It showed how the whole focus of their torture and murder. stand for elections within the next year, decision-making process is inward-looking,” The demands have been echoed by the cannot afford to ignore them. An Australian says one Australian political observer. The Darwin-based political group Australians poll last week showed most respondents Mantiri case “has made them careful but it For a Free East Timor. thought the government did not take a took that forum to make them realise.” It Speaking through an interpreter yester- strong enough position on human rights in could be some time before a replacement day, Luisa Ferreira and Antonio Gouveia, its contacts with Indonesia. acceptable to both sides is found. both 24, talked of their fear for the family Indonesian and Australian officials have and country they left behind when they worked to extend contacts in other areas in JAKARTA HINTS AT embarked on a six-day voyage to Darwin the hope these would deflect Australian ENVOY MOVE with 16 other East Timorese. criticisms of Indonesia’s human rights re- “I think an international solution by cord. “It was time for us not to be forever The Australian Friday, 22 September 1995 United Nations forces is necessary to stop looking at this relationship as if [it were] a the brutal repression by the Indonesians and sick patient,” Mr. Ali Alatas, Indonesia’s JAKARTA (AFP): A former Indonesian to halt the forced transmigration to Timor foreign minister, said. provincial governor yesterday sought to from other parts of Indonesia,” Ms Ferreira Trade has been one area the two have play down a report that he was a leading said. latched on to as a common goal. Following candidate to be Jakarta’s next ambassador to Ms Ferreira also spoke of the torture and the two-hour Bali meeting, Mr. Keating Australia. harassment she says her people are sub- found an ally in Indonesia in aiming to heal Mr. Ben Mboi, who was the governor of jected to after involvement in democracy the rift that emerged after for Asia Pacific East Nusa Tenggara, which includes West demonstrations. Economic Co-operation members (Japan, Timor, said he had not been approached for “People in “Timor don’t have any Taiwan, South Korea and China) last week the job, although he expected the choice dreams left — you just live in fear all the tried to water down APEC’s commitments would be made clearer “in one or two weeks time and do your best to hide from the au- on liberalisation. ... but in God’s name, I have never been thorities,” she says. “But the Indonesians Mr. Keating said both parties had “a approached.” will never break our spirit; we will keep on vested stake” in ensuring the 18 countries On Wednesday, Surabaya’s Jawa Pos fighting for our freedom until we die.” which attended the APEC summit in Indo- said Mr. Mboi, 60, was a leading candidate The comments have been made at a time nesia last November keep to the free trade and quoted the Indonesian State Secretary, of great sensitivity for relations with Indo- schedule agreed at the time. At APEC’s Mr. Murdiono, as confirming Mr. Mboi’s nesia — 16 October is the 20th Anniversary Bogor Declaration, which stipulates the name had been “suggested.” of the murder of the five Australian journal- region must achieve free trade by 2010, Mr. Sources at the Indonesian Foreign Minis- ists at Balibo, East Timor, by Indonesian Suharto emerged as an enthusiastic sup- try said yesterday that formal consideration troops. porter of trade liberalisation in the Pacific of candidates was still some time off. The Indonesian embassy in Canberra and region, an initiative fostered by Australia’s Mr. Mboi is a Catholic and a member of the Indonesian consulate in Darwin refused government. Jakarta’s Supreme Advisory Council, which to comment on Ms Ferreira’s claims. Despite a long list of projects on which advises the Government and executive. On 30 May, Coastwatch officials rescued the two sides co-operate, including a com- The Jawa Pos also named an international the refugees and their leaking six-metre boat plex agreement on the oil-rich Timor Gap relations expert and National Defence Insti- after they had run out of food and water and zone of exploration and the combined ef- tute vice-chairman, Mr. Yuwono Sudarsono, were drifting off course in their attempt to forts to resolve the Cambodia crisis, no- as a contender. reach Darwin. They were the first Timorese where are the inherent problems in differing The ambassadorship has been vacant boat people to arrive in Australia since In- political styles more evident than on the since July when Jakarta withdrew its am- donesia invaded the island in 1975. issue of human rights. bassador designate, Lieutenant-General The refugees were detained at Curtin The decision not to send Lt. Gen. Her- Herman Mantiri, after a furore in Australia RAAF base, near Derby in Western Austra- man Mantiri as ambassador to Canberra erupted over General Mantiri’s 1992 com- lia, followed strong opposition to the appoint- ment that the military’s actions in the 1991 for two months before being released on a ment in Australia because of his defence of Dili massacre were “quite proper.” bridging visa to await the outcome of their actions by the Indonesian army in the No- Both Mr. Mantiri and Foreign Affairs application for asylum. vember 1991 Dili massacre in East Timor. Ministry spokesman Mr. Irawan Abidin While she anxiously awaits her fate, Ms An estimated 100-200 unarmed East have made positive public comments about Ferreira is teaching herself English and en- Mr. Mboi. Timorese demonstrators were killed when joying the first real freedom of her life. Indonesian troops fired on them, and Gen. “Gareth Evans should visit Timor him- Mantiri described the army’s actions as EAST TIMORESE PLEAD self because he only seems to see the Indo- “quite proper.” FOR UN ACTION nesian side to the struggle,” she said. Bilateral ties were further strained a “By being totally submissive to Suharto, month later when demonstrators in favour The Age, 5 Oct. 95, by Peter Bonner, Dar- he has forgotten about the Timorese and the of an independent East Timor publicly win great contribution we made to Australia burned the Indonesian flag in several Austra- East Timorese boat people in Darwin during the Second World War.” lian cities. have called for United Nations ground forces Page 116 East Timor Documents, Volume 40. Sept. 1 - November 3, 1995.

LEGAL MOVES AGAINST tuguese and accused the Government of (Government’s) hypocrisy’ — Picture: “hypocrisy” and “political opportunism.” Chris Pavlich EAST TIMOR REFUGEES But the Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed that government-to-government BACKSLIDING SHAMES The Australian, Tuesday 10 October 1995, AUSTRALIANS p.1. by MARIA CERESA negotiations between Australia and Portugal over the East Timorese were underway. The West Australian — Editorial, 10 Octo- THE Federal Government is declaring The Government is expected to advise ber 1995 that Australia will not accept refugees from the tribunal this week that under Portuguese THE Keating Government seems bent on East Timor, sidestepping a major diplomatic law the East Timorese are Portuguese, not embarrassing the Australian people — yet row with Indonesia. Indonesian nationals and therefore do not again — over our relationship with Indone- The Government will this week advise qualify for refugee status in Australia be- sia. the Refugee Review Tribunal that Australia cause they have the protection of another It has entered into a tangled legal argu- should not accept the refugees, based on the country. ment to justify the indefensible — the be- legal argument that Portugal still recognises The executive director of the East Timor trayal of the best interests of East Timor East Timorese as Portuguese nationals, Relief Association, Mr. Agio Pereira, said asylum seekers. therefore disqualifying them for refugee the Timorese were not automatically Portu- An argument is emerging from acknowl- status in Australia. guese as they were recognised by the UN as edgments made by Foreign Minister Gareth The legal argument Australia is relying on the population of a non-self-governing terri- Evans that some of the 18 East Timorese appears to contradict recognition of Indone- tory. boat people who arrived in Darwin in May sian sovereignty over East Timor since the “This adds to the hypocrisy and oppor- may not qualify for refugee status because annexation of the province in 1975. The tunistic policies it (the Australian Govern- of their alleged Portuguese nationality. United Nations, unlike Australia, accepts ment) has been adopting over the past 20 Australia should be fair to all seekers of Portugal as the colonial authority in East years,” Mr. Pereira said. political asylum. But there is a special emo- Timor. “It offered strong technical legal argument tional dimension to the plight of people Since immigration officials granted 18 that Portugal cannot represent the people of from East Timor because of the close bonds East Timorese boat people bridging visas in East Timor in the world court. How can you formed during World War II. Australia feels July this year, Indonesian ministers have then argue as official Australian policy that a debt of gratitude to the Timorese who complained strongly that Australia should East Timorese are Portuguese?” made sacrifices to protect Australian sol- not accept East Timorese refugees because Diplomatic tensions with Indonesia diers from the Japanese. they feared the East Timorese would be worsened in July after the Indonesian For- Indonesia had been humiliated by the ac- seen as fleeing persecution under the Indo- eign Minister, Mr. Ali Alatas, criticised tions of people from one of its provinces in nesian regime and have warned of a diplo- Australia over the granting of bridging visas fleeing its oppression and seeking asylum matic rift. to 18 East Timorese boat people who with a close neighbour. The release from The tribunal, which is reviewing more claimed they had been tortured by the Indo- detention of the 18 boat people — who than 50 applications for refugee status in nesian military, a claim Indonesia rejects. were the first to arrive here in more than 20 Australia from East Timorese, is expected to The Immigration Department’s decision years of strife in East Timor — caused a rift receive the advice — prepared by the De- to grant the bridging visas — which offi- between Jakarta and Canberra. Indonesia partment of Immigration with the assistance cially recognised they had suffered some warned that any decision to grant the boat of the Attorney-General’s Department — form of physical abuse and/or trauma in people asylum would set an unwelcome this week. their homeland — prompted the Indonesian precedent. The secretary of the tribunal, Ms Patricia embassy in Australia to write to DFAT The East Timorese are waiting for their Leehy, confirmed that the tribunal was ex- warning that similar decisions would “have a applications for refugee status to be decided pecting the advice, but said the tribunal negative impact on our bilateral relation- by the Refugee Review Tribunal, whose would “make up its own mind” after con- ship.” decisions can be challenged in the courts. sidering each case. Dr. Avila said yesterday that Portugal For the Government to contemplate appeal- A spokesman for the Minister for Immi- recognised East Timorese as Portuguese ing against a finding for the boat people on gration, Senator Bolkus, said the advice had nationals under certain circumstances, which the ground that they are technically Portu- not been sent to the tribunal and refused to include the ability to prove that they were guese is morally bankrupt. comment. born in East Timor during certain years. That stand also would expose Australia The Portuguese ambassador, Dr. Rui de Dr. Avila said Portugal was concerned to international derision for brazen hypoc- Avila, yesterday described the behaviour of about the interests of the East Timorese, risy. The world has seen Australia argue the Federal Government as an “apparent particularly the hardships endured by the 18 previously — at least when access to oil and contradiction.” boat people. gas reserves was at stake — that East Timor Dr. Avila expressed regret at moves by “They arrived in a boat that was leaking, is under Indonesian authority. the Government to sidestep the human they didn’t drown by sheer chance. They Australians expect their government to rights issues in East Timor by taking advan- were in very bad shape. They were obvi- do its best to maintain good relations with tage of Portugal’s stance on the nationality ously persecuted and they were victims of other countries — but not at the cost of of East Timorese. the Indonesians. We consider that an impor- fundamental principles on which the nation “We above all regret conditions in Indo- tant issue and we try and will try to help as was founded. There should be no caving in nesia and that the issue of East Timor has much possible,” he said. been settled in a way to avoid these situa- to bully-boy tactics or forsaking notions of tions,” Dr. Avila said. The article was accompanied by a picture of fairness and compassion that underlie the The East Timorese community yesterday Agio Pereira seated before a picture of refugee programme. rejected the arguments that they were Por- Xanana Gusmão with the caption: Mr. The Keating Government takes pride in Pereira yesterday ... decision ‘adds to the the strength of Australia-Indonesia links. East Timor Documents, Volume 40. September 1 - November 3, 1995 Page 117

But lots of Australians are disgusted with Timorese are separate issues. Foreign Min- ship. So they have no refugee status, though the policies of appeasement it has used to ister Evans said earlier this week that if the the Government has taken the view that achieve them. people in question have Portuguese Timor is part of Indonesia, is a province of Many people cringe when they think of nationality ‘as a matter of Portuguese law Indonesia, and those people still have Por- the Government’s muted voice on civil liber- then they are obliged to seek any refugee tuguese citizenship status.’ ties in Indonesia. It was only in response to status from Portugal, not Australia. You’re Opposition spokesman on foreign affairs, a public outcry that the Government sought talking about people basically who were Alexander Downer, accused the Prime Min- seriously to question officially the ap- born in East Timor during a period of une- ister of pre-empting the decision of the in- pointment as Indonesian ambassador of Lt.- quivocal Portuguese sovereignty but there dependent Refugee Review Tribunal. Gen. Herman Mantiri, who tried to justify are some twilight issues to be resolved for After speaking to the Portuguese ambas- the 1991 Dili massacre. people who were born a bit later and they sador, Mr. Downer said: Senior members of the Government were are the ones that have to be resolved through ‘The Government had been given this in- prepared to deny freedom of expression in the courts.’ formation by the Portuguese Government Australia by proposing legislation to ban He also said that if they are deemed not and has chosen to ignore it. Embarrassingly flag-burning because a series of such inci- to be Portuguese nationals then their appli- for the Federal Government, the Australian dents had upset the sensitivities of Indone- cations will be processed in the usual way. Bureau of Statistics regards people of East sia A third option is to grant the East Timorese Timorese origin not as dual Portuguese In- The resort to pettifogging legal manoeu- is to grant the East Timorese entry under donesian citizens but as Indonesians. vring to deny justice to asylum-seekers for the humanitarian program. The fact is Australia has never considered the sake of pandering to Indonesia’s rulers Immigration Minister Bolkus stressed the people of East Timor as anything but would be repugnant to the Australian com- that the humanitarian discretion was used Indonesian since 1979 — the latest claim by munity. Canberra could expect a strong only after the processes had been applied Mr. Keating that they are Portuguese is protest — not just from expatriate Timorese and in limited circumstances. Senator Bolkus simply absurd and hypocritical.’ but from all fair-minded Australians. said at least 200 people from Indonesia had A spokesman for Mr. Keating said the obtained asylum in Australia. Prime Minister was referring to Government REFUGEE TRIBUNAL WILL An Immigration Dept. spokesman said legal advice that the East Timorese ‘have a TREAT EACH CASE ON that asylum seekers applications are first right to’ Portuguese nationality. ‘He is not assessed by the Immigration Dept. in line saying that they are walking round with MERIT with the international convention on refu- Portuguese passports.’ gees, establishing nationality before taking a ‘The Australian,’ October 12 1995, by decision. Applicants found to have dual Maria Ceresa, abridged HOSTAGES TO HISTORY nationality must first seek refuge from a This article is accompanied by a photo of 5 country from which they are nationals. Ap- ‘The Australian,’ October 14, 1995. By of the 18 East Timorese who arrived in May. plicants who are refused can then appeal to Cameron Stewart. Abridged. Antonio Pinto Goveia is quoted as saying the Refugee Review Tribunal The outcry this week over the Federal ‘We don’t want to go to either Portugal or Portugal yesterday denied that the 1300 Government’s push to deny refugee status East Timor — it would be better to shoot us East Timorese seeking refugee status in to East Timorese asylum seekers has ex- here and send the ashes to East Timor for Australia are automatically Portuguese na- posed how deep the divisions in Australia our families to bury’ tionals. Portuguese Ambassador Dr. Rui de run over East Timor and how problematic The Refugee Review Tribunal distanced Avila said the East Timorese could only the issue has become for a Government itself from the row over East Timorese ap- qualify for citizenship if they expressed a intent on improving its links with Jakarta. plications for refugee status stating that each desire to be Portuguese and met certain spe- For East Timorese supporters the case will be judged on its merits. The Fed- cific criteria. Govt.’s push to deny refugee status is an- eral Government intends to tell the tribunal ‘They can apply for it, which means that other example of its willingness to compro- that under the international refugee conven- every East Timorese wishing to be entitled mise its values on human rights for the sake tion East Timorese may be rejected because to be considered for Portuguese nationality of appeasing Indonesia. But the Govern- they are eligible for Portuguese nationality. has to make a gesture in that direction. It is ment denies this saying that a refusal of Acting principal member of the tribunal, not an automatic umbrella that is there for refugee status would merely represent a Mr. Murray Gerkens, said the tribunal was them to be considered Portuguese since the proper application of Australia’s immigra- created by Parliament to provide independ- moment they were born,’ he said. tion laws and its obligations in relation to ent review of decisions made by the Immi- Dr. Avila said it was unlikely that any of the UN convention on refugees. gration Dept. The tribunal is now looking at the East Timorese who have applied for The origins of the complex dispute can be more than 50 East Timorese cases. refugee status here would have applied to traced to the unexpected arrival in Australia The processing of 1358 East Timorese become Portuguese nationals as well. He of 1800 East Timorese on tourist visas be- cases has been frozen pending a resolution disputed the argument that East Timorese tween June 94 and January 95. About 1300 of the nationality issue. These people in- had dual nationality. remained in Australia and have applied for clude 18 ‘boat people’ who arrived in May ‘It is not precise to say East Timorese refugee status on the grounds that they fear and applied for refugee status, 1100 who have dual nationality because if they have persecution if they return to East Timor. have overstayed visitor visas since 1994 and not applied for Portuguese nationality, if the The issue remained relatively low-key until the remainder who arrived before 1994. case has not been studied, they couldn’t the arrival in May of 18 East Timorese who None are in detention. possibly automatically have dual national- made highly publicized accusations of tor- The Federal Government has said that ity.’ ture and abuse by the Indonesian military. the questions of Indonesian sovereignty Earlier this week Mr. Keating argued that The Indonesian Government raised the over East Timor and the nationality of East East Timorese were Portuguese saying that stakes when it warned that diplomatic ties ‘Timorese people have Portuguese citizen- Page 118 East Timor Documents, Volume 40. Sept. 1 - November 3, 1995. would be harmed if they were granted refu- But widespread skepticism about the haps the normal rule that apply for qualifi- gee status. Government’s motives do not come from a cation for refugee status have to be bent. The sensitivity of the issue spurred the detailed legal analysis but from a broader The point remains that Australia owes a Dept. of Immigration and Ethnic Affairs assessment of Canberra’s record on East debt to these people and most of us — the into action. It sought legal advice in May Timor. Only 4 months ago, the Australian Australian commandos on Timor — would from the Portuguese Government and an Government told the ICJ that Portugal had not be alive today if it had not been for their independent Portuguese legal expert about no rights or responsibilities in relation to the steadfastness. the status of East Timorese under Portu- people of East Timor. Australia strongly REX J. LIPMAN guese law. attacked Portugal’s poor colonial record, Ex-Adjutant 2/4th Australian Commando This is a central question because, under saying that Lisbon ‘cannot claim any right Squadron, AIF. the UN Convention on refugees, a person to represent the people of East Timor.’ who has more than one nationality must Yet 20 years after Portugal abandoned DIGGERS FIGHT FOR BOAT PEOPLE seek refuge in a country of his nationality East Timor, the Australian Government The Sunday Times (Western Australia), Oct. before seeking it elsewhere. Therefore if claims suddenly to have greater respect for 15. abridged East Timorese are Portuguese citizens as the Portuguese nationality of the East A GROUP of elderly World War II Dig- well as Indonesian citizens, he could not Timorese than does Portugal itself. But gers is fighting for 18 East Timorese boat qualify for refugee status in Australia. what is perhaps most damaging to the Gov- people, who have become diplomatic hot The Portuguese government’s reply on ernment’s own credibility is that it has al- potatoes. July 1st was ambiguous, stating that East ready granted refugee status to more than Members of the 2/2nd Commando Asso- Timorese were not Portuguese nationals but 200 East Timorese. These people, who ciation of Australia say the boat people, were entitled to Portuguese nationality if applied between 1989 and 1994, were qui- who arrived in Darwin on June 1, were they made a formal application. The inde- etly granted refugee status after they were genuine refugees. They say they bear the pendent expert’s opinion (delivered last judged as Indonesian — not Portuguese- family names of people who, thanklessly, month) reinforced the Portuguese govern- citizens. helped the Diggers in their fight against the ment’s position. Immigration passed the The advice on their citizenship status, Japanese in Timor during the war. The Dig- matter to the Attorney General’s depart- and therefore their eligibility to be refugees, gers are ashamed that their friends’ children ment. was provided by DFAT at the request of face lengthy prison terms if they are re- Throughout this period the Dept. of For- the Immigration Dept. The Government’s turned to their Indonesian-ruled homeland. eign Affairs had been pushing for special decision to examine whether East Timorese The Diggers sent as protest letter to the treatment, a ‘quick fix’ as one official called asylum seekers were also Portuguese citi- Immigration and Ethnic Affairs Minister it, to be given to the East Timorese for the zens was only made this year when the Nick Bolkus, urging the Government to sake of Australia’s relations with Indonesia. issue loomed as a threat to Australia’s rela- change its stance. But it was the Attorney-General’s Dept. tions with Indonesia. The association’s members are ashamed not Foreign affairs that made the key deci- As Oscar Wilde once said, ‘Consistency of Australia for recognising East Timor as sion; it ruled that access to Portuguese citi- is the last refuge of the unimaginative.’ part of Indonesia and for threatening to zenship was as good as having it and the deport the boat people to Portugal. East Timorese should be disqualified from RECONSIDER TIMOR MOVE At a symposium on boat people at Mur- access to refugee status in Australia under doch University yesterday, Human Rights the UN Convention. That Department’s By Rex J Lipman (Ex-Adjutant 2/4th Austra- and Equal Opportunities Commission ruling was passed last week in the form of lian Commando Squadron, AIF, Adelaide). president Sir Ronald Wilson criticised the the Refugee Review Tribunal, which will Letters to the Editor, The Weekend Austra- boat people’s treatment. make its own independent assessment of the lian, October 14, matter. I implore the Prime Minister to recon- TIMORESE DISMISS CLAIM The Government has defended itself sider his decision about not granting refugee against charges of immorality by trying to status to people from East Timor. BY KEATING confine the debate to the narrow legal argu- In the black 1942-43 years of the war, The Sunday Times, Abridged (very). ments. ‘What particular status individuals there were some 400 Australian commandos may have who were born during that period fighting in the mountains of Japanese-held A CLAIM by Prime Minister Paul of Portuguese sovereignty under Portuguese Portuguese Timor — the East Timor of Keating that the majority of East Timor’s law, is a matter of law — it is not a matter today. The Timors as they were then called, population wanted to be part of Indonesia for government judgment or preference,’ never gave our locations away. They looked has been dismissed as laughable by East Foreign Minister Evans said. The Prime after us; they hid us in their oomlahs; they Timorese residents and resistance leaders. Minister’s claim that ‘Timorese people have lied for us; and they were tortured for us. Mr. Keating said in a radio interview on Portuguese citizenship, so they do not have And after that stormy January night in 1943 Tuesday that if there had been a free vote on refugee status,’ was denied by the Portu- when we were taken off Timor in a de- East Timor: “It is often argued that the guese ambassador. stroyer, much the worse for wear, they were people there would have voted for incorpo- Given the conflicting views between left to face the music alone — and more of ration of Timor into Indonesia.” Australia and Portugal, the validity of the them died for us. But Mr. Keating’s claim was dismissed Government’s legal arguments must be con- This is the year when “We Remember as completely wrong by East Timorese sidered debatable and are complicated by Them,” and if we cannot do something very council member Manuel Carrascalão yester- Portugal’s refusal to grant citizenship to special for the Timorese, WE ARE day, who said there would be an 80 to 90 East Timorese who do not want it. Two FORGETTING THEM. percent vote for independence if the East East Timorese have already indicated that Perhaps they have Portuguese national- Timorese were given the chance to their they do not want to go to Portugal. ity; perhaps it requires a special effort; per- feelings. East Timor Documents, Volume 40. September 1 - November 3, 1995 Page 119

“It is quit clear that the majority is not cupying forces. Even as Keating and Evans In Mr. Gerkens interim ruling on March for integration,: Mr. Carrascalão said, speak- displayed their cynical sophistry, Indone- 28, he found that there were continuing links ing by telephone from Dili. sian troops were shooting and rounding up between Portugal and East Timor because Darwin-based resistance movement more youth in the East Timorese capital, the international community recognized spokesman José Gusmão said only a hand- Dili. Lisbon as the rightful administrator of the ful of collaborators would vote to be part of But the Keating government puts big territory and had been charged with respon- Indonesia. business profits before human rights. It sibility for allowing its people the right to “If the Prime Minister is so confident, wants to send a message to any future refu- self-determination. please can he convince President Suharto to gees from East Timor that they are not wel- The support and encouragement of Por- accept a UN-supervised referendum,” Mr. come in Australia. Our duty is to support tugal’s international efforts to assist East Gusmão said. the refugees, assist the struggle for East Timor from the East Timorese resistance [The article goes on to cover the boat peo- Timor’s independence and build the growing movement supported these links. ple’s asylum case and the recent unrest in public opposition to the Australian govern- ‘Portugal, as far as it is able to do so in Dili, with reference to José Ramos Horta] ment’s close business and military collusion practice, is honouring its obligations as ad- In Darwin Mr. Gusmão described the with the Suharto regime. ministrator and has demonstrated a clear situation in Dili as critical, saying friction commitment to facilitate and respect the had reached its highest level since the Santa REFUGEE RULING principle of self-determination for the peo- Cruz massacre SPARKS ANGER ple of East Timor,’ the ruling said. Less than a week after Mr. Gerken’s rul- LET THE TIMORESE Sydney Morning Herald, Oct. 19 1995. By ing, a senior Immigration Dept. official REFUGEES STAY! David Lague, Foreign Affairs correspondent wrote to the RRT insisting that East Timor was part of Indonesia and the East Timorese In a controversial ruling the Refugee Re- Editorial, Green Left Weekly, Oct. 15 should be regarded as Indonesian citizens. view Tribunal (RRT) has challenged long- In a following ruling on May 29, Mr. Recent public statements by Prime Min- standing Australian Government policy of Gerkens found that five East Timorese asy- ister Paul Keating and foreign minister Ga- recognizing East Timorese people as Indo- lum seekers were all Indonesian citizens, but reth Evans denying the refugee status of nesian citizens. The interim ruling on the sources close to the RRT said there was no East Timorese who have fled their Indone- citizenship of East Timorese was from a inconsistency between the two decisions. sian-occupied country to Australia, is yet senior RRT member, Mr. Murray Gerkens. another despicable episode in the federal It has not been published because the appli- Labor government’s collusion with the Su- cation for asylum lapsed, but the finding EAST TIMOR REFUGEES: harto dictatorship in Indonesia. angered senior Dept. of Foreign Affairs LET THEM STAY! Their statements — made while the cases officials when it was circulated in Canberra. of 18 refugees are being considered by the The ruling found that East Timorese were By Max Lane, Green Left. Oct. 29 Refugee Review Tribunal — were ap- not recognized as Indonesian citizens under The Australian government’s support for plauded by the Indonesian government, but international law but that they were eligible the 1975 invasion of East Timor; its August, widely condemned in Australia and abroad. for Portuguese citizenship. This meant that 1983 legal recognition of Indonesia’s annexa- Keating and Evans added insult to injury by Australia was freed from any obligation to tion by force; its policy of continuing joint claiming that the refugees should be turned consider claims for asylum from East military exercises and training with the In- away because they could claim Portuguese Timorese asylum seekers. The ruling took donesian occupation forces; its defence of citizenship and hence seek refuge in Portu- into account advice from international legal the Suharto dictatorship’s atrocious human gal. experts that Indonesia’s invasion of East rights record in numerous international fora; While the United Nations officially rec- Timor was illegal. This meant that Indonesia and its complicity in dividing up East ognises Portugal as the legal administering was unable to impose Indonesian citizen- Timor’s oil with Suharto’s oil cronies in the power in East Timor (with acknowledged ship on the East Timorese. However the Timor Gap Treaty, make it a willing accom- responsibility to de-colonise East Timor), ruling found that there were direct and con- plice in the repression and persecution of the Australian government is one of only a tinuing links between Portugal and the peo- the people of East Timor. handful in the world that recognises Indone- ple of East Timor. The moral and political bankruptcy of sia’s forceful incorporation of that country. The ruling also led to a sharp response the federal Labor government is further ex- To be consistent, Keating and Co. should from the Dept. of Immigration advising that posed now when it cannot even bring itself argue that East Timorese are Indonesian the RRT should have found that East to allow human beings, who try to flee this citizens. The Australian government vocif- Timorese have Indonesian citizenship. war, the right to reside in Australia. The erously disputed that East Timor was still a Mr. Gerkens was recently promoted to government’s refusal to consider this most Portuguese territory when its blood-for- acting principal member of the RRT. basic humanitarian gesture to the victims of Timor-Sea-oil deal with the Indonesian re- The Government is now urging the RRT its own foreign policy is evident in its han- gime was taken before the World Court by to rule that most East Timorese are Indone- dling of the East Timorese refugees. the Portuguese government. sian citizens but many are also eligible for On October 16, WA Green Senator As East Timorese community spokes- citizenship of Portugal which means that Christabel Chamarette quizzed immigration people have pointed out with justified an- Australia is not required to consider applica- minister Nick Bolkus on the government’s ger, these refugees are East Timorese citi- tions for refugee status from some of the policy regarding the Portuguese nationality zens, not citizens of Portugal or Indonesia. 1358 asylum seekers now in Australia. of East Timorese refugees currently seeking They want to stay in Australia, not go to However it is understood that some RRT to stay in Australia. In his response, Bolkus distant Portugal. These refugees should be members disagree strongly with the Gov- insisted that, as far as processing the appli- allowed to stay because they are fleeing ernment’s advice. cations of the East Timorese were con- bloody repression from the Indonesian oc- cerned, “We have not interfered; we will not Page 120 East Timor Documents, Volume 40. Sept. 1 - November 3, 1995. interfere; and international laws will be ap- home. This applies equally to family mem- phasise that if an East Timorese renounced plied.” bers, particularly immediate family and his or her Portuguese citizenship, under this Legal loophole close associates of the person targeted by law it “will not be effective for the purposes the security forces ... of the Refugees Convention.” Bolkus’s denial of interference in the “The attitudes of the authorities to a re- Coming so soon after the October 4 deci- refugee review process rests on very shaky turning Indonesian, particularly an East sion, it is not too far fetched to conclude ground. Timorese, who is known or suspected of that this was an attempt — “within the The government has been straining to holding anti-government activities, is likely law” — to steer the RRT away from its find some legal loophole to enable it to avoid to be negative. Moreover, because the prob- previous conclusions. granting visas to the more than 1350 East lem of anti-government feeling is more acute Missing from the immigration depart- Timorese seeking permission to stay in in East Timor than other areas of Indonesia, ment’s advice is any reference to the Aus- Australia. and because the physical ratio of security tralian government’s responsibility for help- Bolkus’s defence rests on the assertion and intelligence personnel per head of popu- ing to create a situation from which the refu- that the government has only been seeking lation is higher in East Timor, this negative gees have been forced to flee. to clarify, for the Refugee Review Tribunal, attitude will likely manifest itself in more This important element is also missing whether the East Timorese refugees would direct and obvious forms.” from the government’s considerations. be able to be received by Portugal as resi- The government cannot deny, what has dents under Portuguese law. Under interna- Special visas become common knowledge for Australians, tional law, a country to which refugees have In 1989, when Bob Hawke shed his that East Timorese are being persecuted by fled does not have to grant them perma- dime-a-dozen tears following the Beijing the Indonesians in East Timor. nency if another country, in which they government’s brutal repression of student It is clear that the Department of Immi- have a legal right of residence, accepts them. protesters in Tiananmen Square, the Austra- gration and Ethnic Affairs has been keen to This defence completely avoids the Aus- lian government decided to create four spe- roll back the precedent created by the suc- tralian government’s complicity in helping cial visas. This included visa class 815, cess of the four applicants in attaining refu- to create the situation from which the East which granted a visa to any Chinese citizen gee status. Timorese are fleeing. There is no doubt that in Australia on the day of the massacre. With regard to one of the applicants all the East Timorese in Australia are fleeing This illustrates that it is completely (whose names are kept confidential) the persecution. within the Australian government’s power RRT’s October 4 decision read in part: The applicants have all been granted to create a special visa category for East “The Tribunal acknowledges that the appli- refugee status in the four cases the Refugee Timorese wishing to stay in Australia. cant may be able to obtain Portuguese na- Review Tribunal (RRT) has dealt with this The federal government’s immigration tionality under certain conditions. However, year. In the latest decision, made on October policy towards the East Timorese is even the Tribunal is not satisfied that, at this 4, tribunal member Andrew Jacovides de- more ridiculous given that it has already time, the applicant has Portuguese national- cided that, “the individual’s circumstances, created a visa class which allows East ity or that he has automatic and non- in conjunction with current conditions in Timorese residents in Portugal, or the Por- discretionary right to Portuguese national- Indonesia, will place him at risk of persecu- tuguese colony of Macao, before 1989 to ity. tion of he returns to Indonesia.” move to Australia for humanitarian reasons. “Based on the evidence and documents The decision also noted that, “Indonesia Yet, it is refusing to create a similar hu- provided by the applicant, the Tribunal has a huge security network which operates manitarian category for people fleeing East finds that the only nationality which he can throughout the entire nation, and [RRT] Timor to Australia to escape, what it de- be assured of having, at the time of the deci- agrees with the applicant that he will not be scribes as, the Indonesian military’s “nega- sion, is Indonesian nationality. Accordingly, able to avoid the adverse attention of the tive attitude [which] will likely manifest the Tribunal has decided that for the pur- authorities.” itself in more direct and obvious forms.” pose of assessing the applicant’s claim to It is clear from the RRT documents that The government should immediately cre- refugee status, the only country of reference the Australian government is also aware of ate a special class of visa for the East is Indonesia.” the persecution of the East Timorese peo- Timorese who have escaped to Australia Seven days later, on October 11, the ple. The October 4 decision quotes from a directly from East Timor. deputy secretary of the immigration de- Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade partment, Dennis Richardson, wrote to the Labor’s motives Cable O.J1264 of September 30, 1993, RRT acting principal reminding him that, as It is not difficult to understand what mo- which provided the following advice: early as July, the department had urged that tivates the Keating government’s desire to “Participation or suspected involvement decisions “on persons born in East Timor ... get the East Timorese refugees out of Aus- in outlawed, anti-government or so called pending the receipt of a written submission tralia and into Portugal. It is afraid of any ‘anti-Indonesian’ political groupings or from the Department” be delayed. further disruption to the smooth functioning movements particularly, but not exclusively Clearly the October 4 decision went of its political alliance with Jakarta on a in East Timor, is likely to lead suspected against the July request. The October 11 range of issues — especially East Timor. persons to be monitored by security and letter had only one purpose — to convince Cooperation between the East Timorese intelligence authorities on a more or less RRT members that East Timorese refugees activists and their Australian supporters in regular and continuing basis. in Australia are guaranteed entry to Portugal the protests against last year’s visit by In- “In East Timor, suspect people are liable as Portuguese citizens even if they do not donesian vice-president Try Sutrisno, and to be picked up and detained for indetermi- want that citizenship. this year’s by research and technology min- nate periods for questioning, observation, or Richardson’s case, that the East ister Habibie, laid the basis for Jakarta’s as a preventative security measure. They Timorese refugees in Australia can be re- withdrawal of General Mantiri as Austra- may be removed from their own town or ceived by Portugal, is based on one aca- lia’s ambassador. village and taken to another place, or mili- demic’s interpretation of a 1867 Portuguese It is the current generation of East tary unit, some distance away from their law. Richardson went out if his way to em- Timorese youth who are at the forefront of East Timor Documents, Volume 40. September 1 - November 3, 1995 Page 121 the struggle against the Indonesian occupa- only authority and the unique valid mouth- tion. Keating, Evans, and Bolkus are worried piece in the process of decolonisation.” EVENTS IN NEW that Australian youth are also increasingly This 68 page work with preface by Ron ZEALAND taking the lead in the pro-independence Witton stands then as the first published solidarity struggle in this country. book on East Timor. It was originally pub- East Timorese in Australia can be guaran- lished in duplicated form by the Australian FLAG PROTEST teed of full support from the Australian Campaign for Independent Timor, the pio- people. If they want to stay in Australia, neering support group which established New Zealand Herald. 6 September 1995 they should be able to refuse to leave with branches in almost every state of Australia The following caption accompanies a front the knowledge that we will support them in and of which Denis was a force. page photo of a flag burning protest yester- every way we can. And we are with them if The table of contents reads as follows: day with a banner reading “Why is the NZ they want to continue their struggle for East 1)The Background Air Force training the Indonesian military to Timor’s freedom while in Australia. 2)Behind the UDT Coup murder (the people of) East Timor? 3)Portuguese Involvement 4)America and the Coup The Indonesian Embassy will protest to IN MEMORY OF 5)Indonesia’s Complicity the Ministry of Foreign Affairs over the DENIS FRENEY 6)The Australian Connection burning of an Indonesian flag in Wellington 7)The Role of the Joint Intelligence Or- yesterday, amid warnings from Indonesia From Geoffrey Gunn, Oct. 20. ganisation that relations between the two countries Echoing the memorial piece on Denis 8)Whitlam’s Position could be jeopardised by protests over East Freney (1936-1995) published in Matebian 9)Drawing the Threads Together Timor. News (Sydney) [Vo.3. No.5 September Writing of the danger of impending full The head of information at the Indone- 1995], I think it important to flag the pass- scale Indonesian invasion, Freney wrote: sian Embassy, Mr. Mozes Lelating, said the ing of this East Timor activist par excel- “Such a blatant act of aggression would not torching of an Indonesian flag outside De- lence. As Mandy King and Jamese Kesteven “restore order” or stabilise the region, but fence headquarters was not acceptable and observe in their obituary piece, it was endanger the Indonesian military regime the embassy would make its views plain. thanks to “Denis’ inspiration, invaluable itself, which would face a long Vietnam- “Such an action is considered an insult to contacts, knowledge of the issue and com- type war in East Timor, and the explosive the nation,” he said. mitment” that made possible their jointly anger of its own people” “This small group of anti-Indonesian produced film on East Timor, entitled, “The “The issues in East Timor today are very people systematically endeavouring to incite Shadow Over East Timor.” Produced in clear cut,” he continues, “Which side Aus- Indonesia to react could mar New Zealand- 1986, the film was eventually shown on UK tralian workers and students take will be Indonesia relations. I’m afraid it could make and Australian television. A revised version vital in the coming weeks, months and hostile feelings.” was shown on Australia’s SBS Television years.” The flag was set alight by Mr. Manu within three weeks of the Dili massacre. On Such prescience armed Denis for the Caddie, a spokesman for the East Timor set in Darwin, as it were, or at least in an years ahead, as the virtual I.F. Stone of East Action Group, in protest against the Indo- undisclosed location in the bush, it was Timor journalism in the pages of his East nesian occupation of East Timor and New Denis who made secret radio contact with Timor News, for long years the single vital Zealand’s military links with Jakarta. Fretilin fighters in East Timor. It was via source of hard information on East Timor this radio link that the voice of Xanana available in Australia. Notable was Denis’ FLAG BURNING RESPONSES Gusmão was first heard in the outside world “A Reply to Prof. Arndt: An Apologist September 6. Several of this morning’s New (18 May 1985 and again on 16 June), albeit who can’t get his facts straight,” East Timor Zealand papers carried front page colour silenced by the Australian Labor govern- News, Winter, 1982, pp.5-9 and “A Reply photos and articles of the burning of an ment of Bob Hawke, just as the Fraser gov- to Peter Hastings: A Sophisticated apologist Indonesian flag outside the Defense Minis- ernment had done before it apropos an ear- for Suharto’s Genocide: East Timor News, try’s building in Wellington yesterday. The lier radio link. Winter, 1982, pp.3-4. group, East Timor Action, were protesting But as the original East Timor cam- Never disguising his support for Fre- New Zealand’s participation in military paigner, it would be fair to pass comment on tilin’s righteous struggle or his own Austra- exercises with the Indonesian armed forces. lian working class links, Denis also contrib- Denis’ earlier “career” in this respect. While This brought an angry response from Indo- personally unknown to myself, I would uted to Southeast Asian Chronicle (No.94, 1984, pp.3-9), Carpa Bulletin (No.15, No- nesia and a resulting apology from the New simply acknowledge Denis’ 1975 publica- Zealand Prime minister, Mr. Bolger, result- tion, “Timor: Freedom Caught between the vember 1983), among other left-wing and solidarity publications. ing in the following article in the capital’s Powers” (Spokesman Books, Nottingham, evening paper: UK). Published around October 1975, the The best tribute for Denis Freney, then, book also carries an appeal for humanitarian is to recognise the courage of his conviction, Colin Iles, East Timor Independence aid from the embattled Fretilin central com- the value of his disclosures, and the difficult Centre mittee in Dili, namely its first president, times when he made them. FLAG BURNING APOLOGY DERIDED Francisco Xavier do Amaral, along with an The Evening Post, Wellington, Sep.. 6 1995 interview with José Ramos Horta. At this juncture, Fretilin comprised the de facto The Auckland-based Council for Civil government in East Timor, the Portuguese Liberties says it is ridiculous for Foreign flag was still flying in Dili, and Fretilin, in Affairs to apologise to Indonesia for a flag- the words of do Amaral, “stressed its recog- burning incident in Wellington yesterday. nition of the Portuguese government as the The Indonesian flag was set alight outside Defence Headquarters by members of the Page 122 East Timor Documents, Volume 40. Sept. 1 - November 3, 1995.

East Timor Action Group protesting against ET INDEPENDENCE COMMITTEE tory, especially the reports that children last week’s exercise in which RNZAF Sky- PROTESTS POLICE HARASSMENT were beaten by the military. hawk squadron trained with the Indonesian OF MANU CADDIE The East Timorese continue to resist In- Air Force. donesian occupation and instead of support- The incident drew a swift response from PRESS RELEASE 1 Oct. 1995, From East ing their just cause, the New Zealand Gov- the Indonesian Embassy, which said it could Timor Independence Committee (Protest ernment gets into a lather about an incident affect New Zealand-Indonesian relations. letter to the Minister of Police attached) of flag burning, to the point of vicitimising a A senior Foreign Affairs official ex- “The flag burning action should be seen young activist. We appeal to you and your pressed its regrets to the Embassy. How- in its correct light — not as an insult to the Government to reflect — burning a flag may ever, civil liberties vice-president, Barry Indonesian people, many of whom suffer have caused upset but flags, unlike people, Wilson, said it was ridiculous to apologise similar repression to that suffered by the do not suffer pain and terror. The actions of for such a trivial incident which paled into East Timorese, but as a determined effort to the Indonesian military in East Timor over insignificance alongside the atrocities and draw attention to the ongoing suffering of the past twenty years amount to genocide. civil rights abuses that continued in East the East Timorese and the New Zealand Yours sincerely Timor and Irian Jaya. Government’s complicity in the Indonesian Maire Leadbeater, for the East Timor In- military repression. dependence Committee NZ REGRETS REPEATED BURNING East Timor support groups nationwide OF INDONESIAN FLAG are discussing future protest action to em- TIMOR ACTION CALL WELLINGTON, Sept. 15 (Reuter) — ploy new strategies on a co-ordinated ba- New Zealand said on Friday it regretted the sis.” The New Zealand Herald, 16 October 1995 repeated burning of Indonesia’s flag by For further information: Maire Lead- Supporters of independence for East demonstrators, calling it an insult to that beater 849-3890 (day 828-5109) Timor are urging the New Zealand Govern- country and its people...... ment to back a human rights mission in the “The Indonesian flag is a symbol of free- Hon Mr. J Luxton Indonesian-ruled territory. dom and nationhood. For some 400 years Minister of Police The East Timor Independence Commit- Indonesia was subjected to colonisation and Parliament Buildings tee said that New Zealand could no longer only gained independence after a very costly Wellington ignore the plight of the East Timorese peo- struggle. Their flag therefore deserves re- ple and must replace a “softly softly” dip- Dear Mr. Luxton spect,” Foreign Minister Don McKinnon lomatic approach with clear demands. said in a statement. The East Timor Independence Commit- It urged New Zealand promotion of a He said the government had again ex- tee has been horrified to learn of the police United Nations human rights mission and tended its regrets to Jakarta after the third harrassment and police threats experienced unimpeded access to East Timor for Am- flag-burning incident in recent weeks. by Manu Caddie, the Wellington student nesty International observers. The small demonstrations have been who took part in a recent flag burning pro- The group’s call followed riots in East mainly in defence of human rights in East test organised to draw attention to the plight Timor. Timor, a former Portuguese colony invaded of the East Timorese people. by Jakarta in 1975 and annexed the follow- It is our understanding that Mr. Caddie NEW ZEALAND VIGIL / ing year. had committed no offence and that the New Zealand’s ambassador to Jakarta moves to obtain a search warrant and subse- JOSÉ RAMOS HORTA VISIT quently to search his home were quite un- was summoned to the Foreign Ministry in Press release from ETIC (East Timor Inde- justified. We also believe that it is quite August to receive a formal complaint after pendence Committee), Oct. 29. an earlier flag-burning incident. The envoy contrary to the principles of freedom of said he told the Indonesians the incident was speech and action that police should become Candlelight Vigils to mark significant disgraceful. involved in intimidatory actions. East Timor Anniversaries; The New Zealand government has, how- We are particularly disturbed that diplo- Forthcoming visit of East Timor Resis- ever, been criticised by political opponents matic police were involved in this attack on tance leader, José Ramos-Horta and some quarters of the media for being too Mr. Caddie’s rights. Are the civil liberties of quick to proffer its apologies. a New Zealander taking second place to the The Auckland East Timor Independence “In the last few weeks I have discussed demands or complaints of another Govern- Committee will mark the period spanning our concerns about human rights abuses in ment? the 4th anniversary of Dili Massacre (12 Irian Jaya and East Timor on two occasions As to the flag-burning incident itself: we November 1991) to the 20th anniversary of at the very highest levels of the Indonesian ask you to confirm that under New Zealand the Indonesian invasion of East Timor with government,” McKinnon said. law this act is not an offence. As a group a series of candlelight vigils. The theme of “I will continue to do this but burning the deeply concerned about the suffering of the the commemorations is ‘Let Light return.’ Indonesian flag is inappropriate and East Timorese people we also ask that you The simultaneous lighting of torches and counter-productive. It confuses the real and every member of the New Zealand candles in numerous corners of the globe message.” Government reflect on the situation in East will carry a message of hope and blaze of Timor. Two new battalions of Indonesian freedom to the struggling East Timorese commandos have just landed in Dili to people. strengthen an already formidable military The dates of the vigils are: 12 Nov., 17 presence. The UN High Commissioner for Nov., 24 Nov. and 7 Dec. at Queen Eliza- Human Rights is about to visit and has ex- beth Square Downtown, 5pm — 8pm. pressed his concern about the violation of The East Timor Independence Commit- human rights during recent riots in the terri- tee is inviting prominent members of the Auckland community to join us including East Timor Documents, Volume 40. September 1 - November 3, 1995 Page 123

Auckland M.P.’s, Mayors and religious taken by Suharto to develop East Timor’s that 90% of their weapons came from the leaders. economy. U.S. The situation in East Timor is dire in the In 1990 an Indonesian army intelligence wake of recent clashes in which lives were THE DEBATE OVER U.S. TAX official confirmed that in the course of Indo- lost and at least 120 arrested. Men and boys DOLLARS IN EAST TIMOR nesia’s occupation of East Timor, the Su- were recently rounded up in an unprece- harto regime has taken the lives of at least dented sweep on homes and even on a By Ben Terrall, ETAN/San Francisco. Sep- 200,000 people. But the genocidal campaign Catholic Church. President Suharto’s Sp e- tember 1995. A revised version of this arti- against the East Timorese people was cial advisor Sudomo made a highly unusual cle appears in the November 1995 ETAN largely ignored in the Western press until visit to East Timor to talk to local leaders in Newsletter. 1991, when investigative journalists Allan an attempt to contain the volatile situation. Nairn and Amy Goodman filed stories de- The New Zealand Foreign Minister has so Testifying before the UN Decolonization tailing the brutal suppression of a peaceful far failed to take any effective action. He Committee on July 11, Australian nurse protest march in Dili, the capital of East should be calling for a permanent United Simon de Faux described memories of his Timor. Indonesian troops fractured Nairn’s Nations human rights monitoring mission or recent two-month stay in East Timor, the skull and, using U.S.-supplied M-16s, killed for Amnesty International to be given unre- Pacific island nation illegally annexed by more than 250 unarmed demonstrators. stricted access. After twenty years the time Indonesia twenty years ago: “I did not meet In the aftermath of the 1991 massacre, is well overdue for New Zealand to con- one Timorese person who hadn’t had a rela- the East Timor Action Network (ETAN), a demn Indonesia’s illegal occupation. tive who had been tortured, or killed whilst decentralized, grassroots organization, José Ramos Horta will visit New Zealand under Indonesian occupation. I didn’t meet formed in the United States. Its focus was, briefly from the 6-10 December. He will one Timorese who could say that their fam- and remains, on changing U.S. policy to- speak at a public meeting on 6 December, ily was intact.” He went on to describe see- wards Indonesia. Standing in solidarity with 1995. ing an Indonesian soldier beating a child of the long-ignored people of East Timor, José Ramos Horta is the Special repre- eight: “Half his face had been bashed in. I ETAN chapters throughout the U.S. have sentative for the CNRM (National Council tried to stop the child being bashed by the lobbied members of Congress in their home for Maubere Resistance) and has been dip- soldier and in the process I was hit on the districts and in Washington, DC to place lomatic representative for the East Timorese back of the shoulder by the rifle butt. It was substantive restrictions on any support of resistance abroad since 1975. after this incident that for the second time I dictator-for-life Suharto. Partly as a result of José Ramos Horta was not able to visit had a gun pointed at me.” this pressure, Congress cut off International New Zealand during the Muldoon years — The blood-chilling scenario de Faux spells Military Education Training (IMET) funds he was advised that a condition of his visa out is typical of a shameful history that for Indonesian soldiers in 1992. Though the was that he would no be permitted to speak U.S. tax dollars helped create. Our govern- legislation provided a loophole whereby about East Timor! He last visited New Zea- ment has always treated the ruthless Indo- Indonesia could still pay for military train- land in March 1985. Further information to nesian tyrant Suharto as a trusted ally; Gen- ing, it nonetheless sent a message to the follow. eral Suharto’s bloody rise to power in 1965, Suharto regime that their excesses were be- in which Amnesty International estimates ing noticed. one million people were killed, was greeted In 1993, Congress, again feeling the heat EVENTS INVOLVING THE by a flurry of ecstatic notices in the Western from enraged constituents, managed to push press. Time magazine went so far as to call UNITED STATES the State Department away from its tradi- the coup “the West’s best news for years.” tional lock-step support of the regime in (See chapter 5 of Noam Chomsky’s essen- Jakarta. In March, the U.S., which in the tial Year 501: The Conquest Continues for AMBASSADOR ALBRIGHT past had opposed such measures, backed a other stomach-turning citations.) resolution presented to the UN Human IN JAKARTA The invasion of East Timor in 1975 was Rights Commission criticizing torture and a different story. Few media outlets in the Translated from the Portuguese, abridged. unlawful imprisonment in East Timor. In U.S. took notice of the unfolding tragedy. July the State Department blocked a trans- See also several articles in the Riots section As clearly laid out in the great British TV fer of U.S. F-5 fighter planes from Jordan to of this Documents compilation. film Death of a Nation, President Ford and Indonesia. Two months later Senator Rus- notoriously conscience-free Secretary of Jakarta, Sept. 11 (LUSA) — The US am- sell Feingold introduced an amendment, State Henry Kissinger were fully aware of bassador to the UN, Madeleine Albright, unanimously adopted by the Senate Foreign Suharto’s plans to invade the island. Portu- currently visiting Jakarta, defended today Relations Committee, that linked major arms gal, East Timor’s long-time colonial ruler, that Indonesia ought to promote the dia- sales to Indonesia with human rights im- was beginning the process of decolonization logue among Timorese as a means to achieve provements in East Timor. The Feingold while facing a revolution of its own at home. a solution to the ET problem. Amendment never became law because the Seeing a small nation well on the road to “Obviously, this matter continues to be a authorization bill it was attached to never self-determination independent of Western concern to the United States” [translated made it to the Senate floor. control, Ford and Kissinger were quick to quote], said Albright to the journalists fol- Since the 1991 Dili massacre, U.S. muni- assure Suharto of their support for his deci- lowing a meeting with President Suharto, tions manufacturers have profited from sion to add another crown jewel to the In- which the ambassador classified as an “ex- more than 250 military sales to Suharto & donesian Archipelago; the U.S. Ambassador cellent meeting.” Co. This flow of weaponry was partially to Indonesia at the time, David Newsom, The ambassador said that Washington abated in 1994, when the pressure from told his Australian counterpart that our would like to see all Timorese tendencies ETAN and sympathetic legislators led the government hoped the Indonesian military included in the Timorese talks, but added State Department to issue a ban on the sale would invade “effectively, quickly and not that she appreciated some of the measures of “small and light arms” — its first prohibi- use our equipment,” a difficult request given tion on weapons sales to Indonesia. This Page 124 East Timor Documents, Volume 40. Sept. 1 - November 3, 1995. was voted into law in July of 1994; unfor- bill stipulating that “none of the funds made subsidizing multinational investment is not tunately, in the same period the Senate available in this act may be used for assis- an adequate justification for bankrolling voted down a ban on the use of U.S.- tance in Indonesia.” Debate on this attach- repression. The people of East Timor sim- supplied lethal arms in East Timor. ment was blocked by a last-minute rule ply ask that they be allowed to vote in a This year bipartisan groups in both the change, leading Frank to say, “We see a UN-sponsored referendum that gives them a Senate and House wrote letters to President continuation of the pattern here that when choice between independence and a con- Clinton urging support of a resolution to the amendments are inconvenient they are sim- tinuation of the current occupation. Surely UN Human Rights Commission that called ply prevented from being offered.” The the world powers that have turned a deaf ear for specific steps to increase respect for “expanded IMET” bill passed the House to the cries of East Timor for so many years human rights in East Timor. On the floor of without the changes ETAN and their sym- owe them this much. the House, Representative Jack Reed of pathizers in Congress had sought. Broader education of the American public Rhode Island planned to introduce an As this is being written, the debate on about the on-going tragedy in Timor is es- amendment to the Foreign Aid Authoriza- IMET funding is moving to the Senate. [Due sential. For further information about what tion Bill extending the current IMET ban for to time pressure and the difficulty of suc- you can do to end the repression of the East two years. Conveniently for Indonesia and cess, no Senate action is expected in 1995.] Timorese, contact ETAN. its friends in Congress, the House “did not Further uphill battles are expected from have time to take up the amendment.” More such long-time Indonesia boosters as Cali- FEINGOLD AND STATE than fifty other amendments to this bill fornia’s Dianne Feinstein and Louisiana’s DEPARTMENT VIEWS ON were also shunted aside for the sake of ex- Bennett Johnston, whom The Nation maga- pediency. zine, in its July 31/August 7 issue called IMET AND EAST TIMOR On June 27, Rep. Nita Lowey (D-NY) “the Senate’s staunchest advocate of the This was just before the final Senate passage introduced an amendment in the House to Suharto regime and of U.S. oil and mining of H.R.1868, which appropriates all Foreign continue the Indonesian IMET ban through interests.” Freeport McMoRan, the U.S.- Aid for the next fiscal year. The House next year. In the discussion, Rep. Patrick based multinational currently pillaging the passed a different version of the bill, and a Kennedy (D-RI) pointed out that “the re- mineral-rich nation of West Papua (renamed conference committee will shortly reconcile pression is too severe for us to hold any “Irian Jaya” by its Indonesian rulers), the two. The House version contains lan- hope that it can be tempered through educa- helped Johnston understand the importance guage limiting IMET to “Expanded IMET” tion and training. IMET is designed to sup- of friendly ties with Suharto through a re- only; the Senate contains no such restriction. port democracy and military professional- ported $8,000 PAC contribution. Possibly ism, and we cannot support what does not to demonstrate their sensitivity to the recent The following is unabridged from the Con- exist.” history of Southeast Asia, Freeport also gressional Record, except for a few minor Apparently Subcommittee Chair Sonny retains the services of the original realpolitik procedural items. Callahan, who this year replaced the more profiteer, Henry Kissinger, who it has paid – Charlie Scheiner, ETAN/US. progressive-minded David Obey, did not millions of dollars in consulting fees. entirely follow the logic of this argument. Other battles lie ahead, chief among them Congressional Record — Senate. September He explained that this new, improved ver- the possible sale of F-16 fighter planes to 21, 1995. Pages S14079-14081. sion of the training program, called “ex- Indonesia. The U.S. is in debt to Pakistan Indonesia’s Deplorable Human Rights panded IMET,” was “specifically designed for twenty-eight F-16s bought and paid for Record to help improve human rights practices of but never delivered; the sale of these combat Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, as the the military,” with candidates “carefully jets was legally blocked during the Bush Senate considers the foreign operations ap- screened to make certain they have not been administration due to Pakistan’s status as a propriations bill, I want to discuss two involved in past human rights abuses.” “suspected nuclear proliferator.” The Clin- provisions which sanctioned Indonesia for Though less of a media star than that ton White House is now looking for a buyer its deplorable human rights record in East other Republican representative named for the F-16s in order to refund Pakistan its Timor, and which were eliminated in the Sonny, Callahan is no less prone to forceful money. The U.S. ambassador-designate to chairman’s bill. I want to make it clear that statements on the habits of his peers. In Jakarta, J. Stapleton Roy, has said that ped- Indonesia has done nothing to improve its discussion the same week about providing dling these killing machines to the Suharto human rights record in the past year which monies for Kenya and Ethiopia, he com- dictatorship “makes sense in terms of our would recommend any change in United plained about “members of Congress be- broad relations with Indonesia.” The oft- States policy. coming pseudo-Secretaries of State, and demonstrated belief of the Clinton Admini- As my colleagues know, Indonesia has traveling all over the world, and dictating stration that trade should be given greater brutally occupied the Catholic population of policy to the administration... civics teaches priority than human rights will make the East Timor since 1975. In that time, East us that the administration has the authority battle against the sale of the F-16s difficult, Timor has been the focus of many interna- and responsibility for foreign policy, apart but ETAN members are committed to mak- tional human rights efforts, not the least of from appropriations.” In the case of policy ing sure that the East Timorese people are which are those that have been spearheaded towards Indonesia, it would seem likely that not forgotten. by my friend and colleague from Rhode there is more at work than a rigorous adher- At a time when pundits across the media Island, Senator Pell. To my disappointment, ence to the lessons of civics, given that spectrum agonize over the horrific situation those causes have not been championed by IPTN, Indonesia’s leading aircraft company, in the Balkans, a clear opportunity exists to any U.S. administration. is setting up manufacturing operations in halt another genocidal nightmare with no But in recent years the Indonesia military Mobile, Alabama — the heart of Callahan’s commitment of troops or military aid. We rule has become particularly cruel. Today, I home district. merely need to end our support for one of want to dispel any myths among my col- Callahan’s spin on “expanded IMET” the world’s true terror states. In an age of leagues that despite Indonesia’s economic left Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) uncon- cutbacks to all of the most essential services successes in the past few years, its human vinced. Frank tried to attach a clause to the of a civil society, the corporate politics of East Timor Documents, Volume 40. September 1 - November 3, 1995 Page 125 rights record continues to be dismal, and is troop withdrawals from East Timor and and why they are permitted to continue particularly deplorable in its activities in the Indonesian participation in the U.N. Secre- functioning in East Timor. last year in East Timor. Such instability and tary General’s peace talks. Indonesia must Other forms of torture by the military are violations can only destabilize the regime understand that there is an international still commonplace in East Timor as well. In that some business interests are all to quick price to pay for their continuing occupation. January 1994, the U.N. Human Rights to invest in. Since last July, when Congress passed Commissioner’s Special Rapporteur on Since the Indonesians invaded East Timor this amendment, there have been several Torture reported that the most common 20 years ago, over 200,000 East Timorese developments in East Timor – most of them forms of torture are beating on the head with have died – about a third of the entire popu- quite discouraging, some quite violent, and wood, iron bars, bottles, and electric cables; lation. Indonesia’s self-styled annexation of some hopeful. kicking with heavy boots; electric shocks – the territory has not been recognized by the The tension in East Timor has been in- mostly with cattle prods; slashing with United Nations, nor the United States, tensifying for the past year – influenced in razor blades and knives; death threats and which acknowledges that ‘no act of self- part by the ongoing power struggles in Ja- faked executions; hanging people upside determination has ever taken place.’ The karta, the increased resentment of the pres- down by their feet; isolation; sleep depriva- military is practically omnipresent through- ence of Indonesian military officers and tion; and the rape of East Timorese women. out the island, and according to diplomats vigilante groups, and the immigrant settlers The U.N. Special Rapporteur for Torture stationed in Indonesia, ‘its callousness in brought in by Indonesia to consolidate their reported last year that there were ‘patterns dealing with the local population’ is shock- occupation of the island. of dealing violently with political dissent ing. The Indonesians have had some bizarre and [a] virtual impunity enjoyed by mem- East Timor made international headlines responses. For instance, last summer, they bers of the security forces responsible for in 1991 when the military massacred, by went to great lengths to pressure their human rights violations.’ conservative estimates, at least 100 East ASEAN partners to prevent private confer- The U.N. Human Rights Commission Timorese who were attending a funeral. It ences on East Timor to take place in the this year once again condemned Indonesian was all videotaped before international cam- Philippines, Malaysia, and Thailand. abuses in East Timor. It also forced Indone- eras. Today, the National Human Rights But the violence has been on the increase sia to invite the U.N. Human Rights Com- Commission in Jakarta says it has evidence as well – particularly since the APEC sum- missioner to visit East Timor. This was the that the massacre was ‘not a spontaneous mit in November. During the summit pro- first time that happened since 1975. reaction to a riotous mob, but rather a testers were detained and, by most ac- The United States, in my view, has not planned military operation designed to deal counts, tortured. Reports of deaths of pro- lived up to its leadership responsibilities on with a public expression of political dis- testers at the hands of Indonesian soldiers this issue. While administration rhetoric – sent.’ Today, 66 people remain unaccounted have been constant all year. though measured – sounds supportive of for, and the commander of the operation is On January 12, 1995, there is docu- human rights protections, the policy has not Vice President of Indonesia. mented evidence that the military tortured been forceful enough, given the extreme Congress has acted twice since then. and killed six civilians in Liquiça in a horren- extent of the brutality that I described. For First, in 1992 we cut off IMET funding for dous incident. Even the Government- example, the United States defers to the Indonesian soldiers to distance our support appointed National Commission on Human U.N. peace process by which the Indone- for the Indonesian military that committed Rights acknowledged that ‘a process of sians and Portuguese are supposed to work the atrocity at Dili. Last July, to signal fur- intimidation and torture by security offi- with the East Timorese, yet the United ther disappointment with the disintegrating cials’ occurred and resulted in ‘unlawful States has not applied sufficient – if any – situation, we codified administration policy shootings by the military.’ It found that pressure to get the Indonesians to partici- on the linkage between the sale of small ‘there was intimidation and torture by the pate seriously in the talks. The administra- arms and human rights. security officers in charge at the time to tion says it is concerned about the military I have a letter from the administration, extract confessions.’ troop presence in East Timor, yet it has addressed to Senator Leahy and myself, Recently, there has also been an outbreak never devised a plan of action to work with which indicates that the administration will of gang violence, of hooded vigilantes terror- the Indonesians, or requested a plan for continue its ban on the sale or licensing of izing, abducting, assaulting, intimidating, and Indonesian troop withdrawal from the is- small and light weapons, and crowd control harassing East Timorese. These gangs – land. In fact, at most, the administration instruments, until there has been significant commonly known as Ninjas – have been seems to investigate the level of troop pres- progress on Indonesia’s human rights re- described by residents and human rights ence in East Timor only when a Member of cord. The letter also says the administration monitors as military-related death squad- Congress asks whether the promised reduc- will offer only expanded-IMET – human type bands. Travelers describe walking on tions ever took place. rights training for the military – to the Indo- the tropical island on a sunny Sunday after- I am also perplexed why the United nesians. I ask unanimous consent that the noon, and being passed by armed youths, States is even trying to placate Indonesia. letter be printed in the Record at the conclu- covered in ski masks. The administration permits Indonesia to sion of my remarks. Notably, the Ninjas have not been buy IMET: However, for years they have (See exhibit 1.) reigned in by the same military that has so been lobbying to get the taxpayer to subsi- Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, I regard effectively suppressed the East Timorese. dize the Indonesian military training. And this is as a commitment from the administra- For that reason, there is reason to believe while there is a small arms ban in place to tion that current policy will remain in place, that they are tolerated by the military. prevent United States weaponry for being whether we legislate it or not. I expect the There is even some evidence that they were used in human rights violations, the admini- administration to continue to consult with created by the military to do what uni- stration is now trying to sell F-16’s to the Congress on Indonesia. I am particularly formed soldiers cannot because of interna- Indonesian military. concerned that we agree upon what ‘signifi- tional attention. Mr. President, given Indonesia’s defiant cant progress’ means. Our legislation has Mr. President, there must be an investi- human rights policies, I see no reason to included six conditions, including significant gation into the operations of these groups, weaken United States policy toward it. In Page 126 East Timor Documents, Volume 40. Sept. 1 - November 3, 1995. fact, the record of the past 2 years only Expanded-IMET during the coming fiscal INDONESIA AND THE U.S.: indicates continued repression, continued year. deterioration, and increased violence against I hope this information will be useful to 30 YEARS OF LIVING the East Timorese. you. Please do not hesitate to contact us if DANGEROUSLY I appreciate the administration’s com- we may be of further assistance. mitment to continue its current policy, and Sincerely, by Matthew Jardine only hope that it will redouble its efforts on Wendy R. Sherman, A slightly different version of this appeared behalf of human rights in Indonesia and East Assistant Secretary, Legislative Affairs. in the San Francisco Examiner Oct.10,1995 Timor. Thirty years ago, one of the worst mass I thank the Chair and yield the floor. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The bill murders of the twentieth century began in Exhibit 1 having been read the third time, the question Indonesia. President Suharto–the man most is, Shall the bill pass? The legislative clerk U.S. Department of State, responsible for the carnage–remains in called the roll. (Rollcall Vote No. 458 Leg.) Washington, DC power to this day. Nevertheless, the Clinton YEAS – 91 (All Senators except those September 21, 1995 Administration is attempting to bolster listed below) Dear Senator Feingold: Indonesia’s repressive military through the NAYS – 9 (Bingaman, Byrd, Craig, sale of U.S. F-16 fighter jets. Basic decency I am writing about your continuing con- Faircloth, Helms, Hollings, Kempthorne, demands that the administration abandon cern about the human rights situation in Nunn, Smith) this reprehensible course. Indonesia, including in East Timor, and your [A conference committee was appointed Today the world’s fourth most populous interest in the Administration’s policy to- to meet with the House to reconcile the two country, Indonesia remains largely unknown wards that country, specifically our current versions of the bill: Senators McConnell, to most Americans. U.S foreign-policy mak- arms sales policy and our proposed Interna- Specter, Mack, Gramm, Jeffords, Gregg, ers and companies, however, have long ap- tional Military Education and Training Shelby, Hatfield, Leahy, Inouye, Lauten- preciated that nation’s economic resources (IMET) program. berg, Harkin, Mikulski, Murray, and Byrd.] and strategic value. We too are concerned about the human What Richard Nixon called “by far the rights situation in Indonesia, including in JIMMY CARTER TO LOOK greatest prize in the South-East Asian area” East Timor, and we raise our concerns with INTO TIMOR ISSUE is today one of the Clinton administration’s the Indonesian government regularly. Our ten “Big Emerging Markets.” current arms sales policy, codified in law Diario de Noticias, 1 October 1995. By Car- Post World War II Indonesia under Su- last summer and included in S. 908, prohib- los Guerreiro, Translated from Portuguese. karno was far too nationalistic and non- its the sale or licensing for export of small or Abridged aligned for Washington. On September 30, light arms and crowd control items until the Lisbon – Jimmy Carter’s stay in the Al- 1965, General Suharto assumed control of Secretary has determined that there has been the Army, and with U.S. assistance, significant progress on human rights in In- garve to meet with President Mobutu, was a chance for Durão Barroso to raise with him launched a killing spree over several months, donesia, including in East Timor. Current in response to an alleged coup by the three law also forbids funding of International the issue of Timor. Carter promised to look into it, even though he was more concerned million member communist party of Indone- Military Education and Training (IMET) for sia. Indonesia. As you are aware, the Admini- with Africa. Former President of the US, Jimmy The exact scale of the killings is un- stration has proposed that this ban be re- known. Amnesty International estimated scinded, and there is language in the House Carter, promised the Portuguese Foreign Affairs Minister, Durão Barroso, to pay “many more than one million” killed. The authorization and appropriations bills that head of the Indonesia state security system would permit funding for Expanded IMET more attention to the question of East Timor. approximated the toll at half a million, with (E-IMET) courses. another 750,000 jailed or sent to concentra- We understand that you or other Sena- He made the promise during a quick meeting at Faro Airport, after Bill Clinton’s tion camps. tors may be considering amendments to the General Suharto’s brutal seize of power Foreign Operations Appropriations Bill that envoy had been in the Algarve to discuss matters relating to southern Africa with was hailed by Time magazine as “The would further restrict the types of defense West’s best news for years in Asia.” The items that can be sold or licensed for export Zairean President Mobutu Sese Seko. Durão Barroso requested Carter’s “per- U.S. Navy League’s official publication to Indonesia. We also have heard that some gushed over Indonesia’s new role in South- Senators who oppose any IMET funding sonal intervention on the matter,” and handed him a memorandum outlining Portu- east Asia as “that strategic area’s unaggres- for Indonesia are considering working to sive, but stern, monitor.” have the complete ban on such funding re- gal’s position on the question of Timor. By so doing, Durão Barroso hopes to Unaggressive? On December 7, 1975, Su- tained. harto’s Indonesia invaded the newly- You have proposed that you and others have won over an important ally, in terms of public opinion and the US presidential ap- independent country of East Timor–with in the Senate will refrain from attaching U.S. approval and weaponry. language to the Senate’s version of the bill paratus, for the Timorese cause. Jimmy Carter is said to have promised to Since that time, well over 200,000 East restricting arms sales to Indonesia and ban- Timorese–about one-third of the pre- ning IMET funding if the Administration study the document, especially since (ac- cording to his own admission to Durão Bar- invasion population–have died as a result of will agree to abide by our current arms sales Indonesia’s invasion and occupation of the policy and accept only funding for E-IMET roso) he is not well familiarised with the issue. former Portuguese colony. in FY 1996. Despite ten U.N. resolutions condemning We will abide by our current arms sales the invasion and calling for Jakarta’s imme- policy and, though we would have preferred diate withdrawal, the United States has restoration of full IMET, will fund only never seriously contested Indonesia’s an- East Timor Documents, Volume 40. September 1 - November 3, 1995 Page 127 nexation of East Timor. Indeed, successive COMING NY EVENTS ON the New York area chapter of the East U.S. administrations have provided Jakarta Timor Action Network (ETAN). “Twenty with hundreds of millions of dollars in mili- EAST TIMOR years of killing and torture are enough. It is tary and economic assistance. Since the long past time for the East Timorese to invasion, over 2,600 Indonesian military PROTEST SUHARTO IN NEW YORK decide their own fate.” officers have received military training in the Wednesday, October 25. 6-8 pm December 7 will mark the 20th anniver- U.S. under the International Military Educa- Grand Hyatt Hotel, 42nd St. between sary of the Indonesian invasion of East tion and Training program. Park & Lexington, near Grand Central Sta- Timor. An invasion ordered by President At the same time, East Timor has become tion. Suharto. The military assault came after a the focal point of criticism of the Suharto Indonesian President-General Suharto is year of covert destabilization by Indonesia. regime. During the presidential campaign, the speaker at the Asia Society’s annual In one of the worst cases of genocide since Bill Clinton called U.S. policy toward East dinner, where prices start at $1200 a plate. World War II, Indonesia has killed over Timor “unconscionable.” And, indeed, his He addresses the UN on Monday, and 200,000 people – one-third of the popula- Administration has taken some noteworthy meets Clinton later in the week, but this is tion – since it invaded East Timor. The steps to challenge traditional U.S. complic- where we will show him that Americans United Nations does not recognize Indone- ity. haven’t forgotten his genocide of 200,000 sian sovereignty over East Timor, a former In mid-1993, for example, Clinton’s State East Timorese people. Portuguese colony. Department blocked a proposed sale by the Other protests are planned when Suharto A similar release was issued about the Jordanian government of four U.S.-made F- goes to Washington later in the week. Con- ETAN Washington protest: 5E fighter jets to Jakarta. In early 1994, the tact DC ETAN at [email protected] for Supporters of East Timor will picket In- State Department banned small arms sales details. donesia’s President Suharto on Thursday, to Indonesia and recently added helicopter- REMEMBER THE VICTIMS October 26 from 6:30-8 pm as he speaks at mounted weaponry to the ban. a fundraising dinner at the Capitol Hilton But Jakarta’s economic and strategic im- Thursday, November 9. 4:00 pm United (16th & K Street, NW) in Washington, DC. portance has exposed the limits of Clinton’s Nations Chapel, 777 UN Plaza (First Ave. President Suharto is scheduled to be the concern for human rights and international & 44 St.), NYC. featured speaker at a corporate-sponsored law. His Administration has provided al- On November 12, 1991, Indonesian sol- fund-raiser for CARE. most $300 million in economic assistance to diers shot down hundreds of peaceful dem- “President Suharto contradicts every- Indonesia over the last three years. During onstrators at Santa Cruz cemetery in Dili, thing CARE says it stands for. His invasion that period, the United States has also sold East Timor. Join an interfaith service to of East Timor brought starvation, death and and licensed the sales of tens of millions of memorialize all those killed in East Timor torture to thousands in East Timor,” said dollars in weaponry to Indonesia. and to pray for an end to the 20-year night- Sally Levison, coordinator of DC ETAN. And now the Administration is on the mare. Organized by East Timor Religious Suharto is scheduled to meet with Presi- verge of reappropriating the military educa- Outreach. dent Clinton on Friday. tion and training funds to Indonesia, which –––––––––––––––––- was cut off in 1992 in response to public East Timor Action Network/New York Box Over 50 people (not counting a few dozen outrage to ongoing atrocities in East Timor. 150753, Brooklyn, NY 11215. (718)788- Indonesian security agents) picketed Suharto Most notably, the Administration is trying 6071 [email protected] or in New York. In Washington, a smaller to unload 17 F-16 fighter jets to Indonesia. [email protected] group was able to make their “Free East Recently Secretary of State Warren Timor” chants heard by the Indonesian Christopher urged Jakarta to buy the aging NY PROTEST FOR EAST TIMOR president. planes. Jakarta is still undecided, but Admi- ACTIVISTS TO PROTEST ral William Owens–vice chairman of the NAIRN: FREE EAST TIMOR Joint Chiefs of Staff–expressed optimism INDONESIA’S OCCUPATION OF about the sale during a recent visit to Ja- EAST TIMOR By Allan Nairn. New York Times, October karta. ETAN/New York media release, Oct. 22 26, 1995. Op-ed Thirty years after Suharto’s bloody Supporters of East Timor will picket In- When candidate Bill Clinton was asked power grab, ongoing systematic human donesia’s President Suharto at the Grand about East Timor, he said, “We have ignored rights violations in Indonesia proper and Hyatt Hotel in Manhattan on Wednesday, it so far in ways that I think are unconscion- continuing brutality in occupied East Timor October 25, beginning at 6 pm. able.” But as President, he has continued demonstrate the tragic human costs of The protest, sponsored by the East Washington’s 20-year support of Indone- strengthening the Indonesian military. Timor Action Network (ETAN) will call for sia’s occupation of neighboring East Timor. It is time to end U.S. complicity in these an end to the 20 year military occupation of When President Clinton meets Friday crimes. East Timor and a UN-supervised referen- with President Suharto, the Indonesian dic- Matthew Jardine is a writer and researcher dum on self-determination. tator, he should tell him that America can no on human rights and the author of East President Suharto is scheduled to be the longer go along with the repression, which Timor: Genocide in Paradise, Odonian featured speaker at an Asia Society dinner at even the pro-Suharto State Department. Press, 1995. He wrote this commentary for the hotel, which is located on 42nd St. be- admits is worsening. East Timor is in tur- the Progressive Media Project in Madison, tween Park & Lexington, near Grand Central moil, with riots, mass arrests and the secret Wisconsin. Station. police going from door to door. “As the perpetrator of one of the worst The Clinton Administration is making genocides of the post-World War II era, matters worse by its willingness to sell President Suharto should be shunned not General Suharto 20 F-16’s and approve $60 feted,” said John M. Miller, coordinator of million in weapons sales. If Mr. Clinton were serious about promoting democracy, Page 128 East Timor Documents, Volume 40. Sept. 1 - November 3, 1995. he would call off the deals and instead em- ACTION ALERT: CALL House of Representatives brace the solution offered by East Timor’s Washington, DC 20515 Roman Catholic Bishop, Carlos Filipe Xi- CONGRESS ON IMET October 23, 1995 menes Belo. In 1989, risking his life, he From the East Timor Action Network, Octo- Dear Conferee: asked the United Nations to hold a referen- ber 11, 1995 We are writing to urge you to adapt the dum on East Timor’s future political status. House language limiting IMET in Indonesia. The army cut off his phone and mail and Congressional Conference Committee The House version of the Foreign Aid threatened him with death. meets momentarily Appropriations bill limits IMET in Indone- About a third of the populace has been Urge your legislators to oppose military sia to human rights training. The limiting of killed in massacres and by enforced starva- training aid for Indonesia IMET to Indonesia is crucial to the people tion. Ignoring the evidence of mass murder, of East Timor. These human beings are be- Washington maintains that terrorism is not The House and Senate Foreign Opera- ing brutally abused and repressed. The most Jakarta’s policy. That position willfully tions Subcommittees will meet within a effective step the Congress can take to op- ignores what even the Indonesian generals week to reconcile differences between the pose Indonesia’s flagrant violations of hu- say. After the massacre in Dili, the capital, Foreign Aid Appropriations bills passed by man rights is to limit the amount of IMET in 1991, General Try Sutrisno – whom both houses. One of the differences con- Indonesia receives. The House agreed to bar President Suharto later promoted to Vice cerns U.S.-supplied International Military war training, limiting IMET. We urge you to President – said of the Timorese who op- Education and Training (IMET) for the adopt this policy. posed the occupation: “These ill-bred peo- Indonesian army. A restriction on Indonesian participation ple have to be shot... and we will shoot Please contact members of the conference in IMET has been in place for the past 3 them.” Gen. Herman Mantiri said the mas- committee (below) immediately to urge years due to Indonesia’s human rights re- sacre, which involved American M-16 rifles, them to support the House version of this cord in the former Portuguese colony of was “quite proper” because the Timorese part of the bill, which would bar war train- East Timor which Indonesia invaded in “were opposing us, demonstrating, even ing aid for Indonesia and limit IMET to 1975. The Portuguese Caucus and other yelling things against the Government.” “expanded” subjects: human rights, civilian concerned Members of Congress are dis- President Clinton should urge President control of the military, etc. If the Senate turbed by the continuing abuse. The United Suharto to let the Timorese conduct a free prevails, Indonesian soldiers will get free States must demonstrate its commitment to referendum and should permit the United training in weapons and strategy – training human rights by only granting limited IMET Nations to organize it in accordance with which has been barred by Congress since to Indonesia. two Security Council resolutions that call 1992 in protest of human rights violations The human rights abuses in East Timor for an Indonesian withdrawal. by the Indonesian military in East Timor. must end. Adopting Senate language which American companies profit from Indone- Last Spring, ETAN opposed all IMET permits free training in weapons and strat- sia’s repressed labor – the women who (expanded and traditional) for Indonesia. We egy would be detrimental to the human make Nike and Reebok sneakers there earn argued that this was the wrong signal to rights of the East Timorese. Indonesia about $2 per day – and some say they do send to Jakarta – rewarding their worsening should be barred from war training. This is not want Washington to rock the boat. But human rights record by reinstating training the least the United States can do to protest even by Washington’s most cynical stan- taken away three years ago. Although we the deep corruption, extreme violence, and dards, corporate lobbyists would be hard- did not have enough Congressional support severe repression Indonesia is inflicting on pressed to explain why democracy in East to defund Indonesian IMET, the House fellow human beings. IMET is a powerful] Timor is intolerable. agreed to bar war training, limiting IMET to and effective tool. But it must be used in the The occupation violates not only interna- “expanded” issues. Given the realities of right way, in the right place. tional law but also a 1958 defense treaty Washington in 1995, this was the best com- Before us today is an instance where, by under which Indonesia agreed not to use promise we could get – but now we need to barring war training, IMET can have the American arms for aggression. In 1975, fight for even that. However, East Timor greatest impact. What little progress we America chose to overlook a finding making transcends ideological and party lines, and have made with human rights in East Timor, this point from the State Department’s legal there are supporters on the conference can be attributed to the influence of interna- office when it gave President Suharto the committee across the spectrum. tional pressure. green light after he asked permission to in- Indonesian dictator Suharto, who bears As a country, we need to make as much vade Timor. responsibility for two decades of genocide effort as possible to protect human rights. Right after his troops parachuted ashore, in East Timor and many other atrocities will The United States has a responsibility as a Washington doubled military aid to his re- be hosted President Clinton at the White world leader to forcefully say that such gime and ran interference at the United Na- House on October 24. The IMET discus- violations of human rights will not be toler- tions to prevent enforcement of Security sion is well-timed – a good opportunity to ated. We should demonstrate our strong Council resolutions. If President Clinton send a strong signal directly to Suharto. opposition to the infliction of harm on the switched to democracy’s side, President Let’s use it! suffering people of East Timor by barring Suharto would quickly find that it was no CONGRESSIONAL LETTER ON IMET war training and limiting INLET in Indone- longer feasible to continue the occupation. This letter was addressed to members of the sia. Allan Nairn, a journalist, witnessed the mas- House and Senate who are participating in a Sincerely, sacre in 1991 in Dili, the capital of East conference committee to reconcile differing Patrick J. Kennedy, Richard W Pombo, Timor. version of the Foreign Aid Appropriations Pete Stark, Jack Reed, Lloyd Doggett, John Bill. Both bills funded renewed IMET mili- W Olver, Joseph P. Kennedy II, Barney tary training aid, although the House bill Frank, Lane Evans, Sam Farr, Jerrold had restrictions on the type of training. Nadler, Tony P. Hall, Lucille Roybal-Allard, Nita M. Lowey, Ron Wyden, Melvin L. Congress of the United States East Timor Documents, Volume 40. September 1 - November 3, 1995 Page 129

Watt, Peter A. DeFazio, Christopher H. panded’ IMET assistance for Indonesia abducting, assaulting, intimidating, and har- Smith, Martin T Meehan, Sander M. Levin, because they believe that expanded IMET assing East Timorese civilians. John J. Moakley could address some of the human rights These recent developments underscore concerns associated with the Indonesian the need to accelerate the United Nations- CONGRESS LIMITS IMET FOR military. The conferees expect the IMET sponsored dialogue on East Timor, with INDONESIA courses to focus on human rights, military genuine East Timorese participation. We Report from ETAN/US, Oct. 30 justice, and civilian management and control believe that the U.S. should strongly sup- of the armed forces, and the courses should port such diplomacy as a vehicle to advance Last Tuesday, a House-Senate Confer- include members of the Indonesian legisla- the numerous previous United Nations reso- ence committee met to reconcile the differ- ture and representatives from nongovern- lutions on East Timor. The U.N. dialogue ences between the versions of the Foreign mental organizations. should be aimed at a demilitarization of the Aid Appropriations Bill (H.R.1868) which territory, and work toward a just solution had been passed by both Houses of the US that respects the rights of all parties to the Congress. CONGRESSIONAL conflict. The Conference adopted the more restric- LETTERS TO CLINTON President Suharto comes to Washington tive position on military aid to Indonesia, on the 50th anniversary of Indonesia’s dec- limiting IMET (International Military Edu- Full text of letters from members of each laration of independence from Dutch coloni- cation and Training) to non-military subjects House of Congress sent to Clinton prior to alism, against which he and many others (called “Expanded IMET”). In addition, the his meeting with Suharto on October 27. fought bravely. On this historic occasion, conference report suggests that political and – Charlie Scheiner, ETAN/US we take pride in the fact that actions taken non-governmental civilians be offered the United States Senate by the United States Senate in the late training. Washington, DC 20510 1940’s probably hastened Indonesia’s inde- Although this is a partial resumption of October 24, 1995 pendence from the Netherlands. It certainly training aid which has been barred by Con- President William J. Clinton would seem appropriate that the U.S. take gress since 1992 (after the Santa Cruz mas- The White House the same principled stance in opposition to sacre in East Timor), Congress continues to Washington, DC the Indonesian occupation of East Timor. make it clear that it is not happy with the We recognize and appreciate the impor- human rights conduct of Indonesia’s mili- Dear Mr. President: tance of a strong and positive U.S.- tary. The Conference report was the best We are writing out of concern about the Indonesian relationship. For that reason, we possible outcome of this stage of the proc- continuing pattern of severe human rights believe it is in the interest of that bilateral ess; the Senate had already approved unre- abuses in the former Portuguese colony of relationship to work toward a genuine reso- stricted IMET aid. East Timor, a predominately Catholic island lution of the East Timor problem. Thus, it is Consistency is not a characteristic of this which has been occupied by Indonesia since in the spirit of the long U.S.-Indonesian policy. The Conferees banned all IMET for 1975. friendship and historical links that we offer Guatemala – even though the allegation that We have appreciated your statements on these proposals, and urge you to raise these pro-Guatemala human rights groups had human rights in East Timor in the past, concerns in your meeting with President agreed with Expanded IMET was used to particularly during your meeting of with Suharto. suggest that East Timor supporters in the President Suharto in Jakarta last November. Thank you for your consideration. House should accept the same thing. In We hope you will take the opportunity to Sincerely, addition, they allowed unrestricted IMET raise these concerns and others when Presi- Russ Feingold, Connie Mack, Patrick J. for Pakistan – at the same time that Pakistan dent Suharto arrives in Washington this Leahy, Barbara Boxer, Frank R. Lautenberg, is barred from buying the F-16 fighter jets week. Craig Thomas, Paul Simon, Edward M. that the US is trying to sell to Indonesia. The tension in East Timor has been in- Kennedy, Frank H. Murkowski, Bill Brad- The full text of the relevant part of the tensifying in the past year, influenced in ley, Christopher Dodd, Tom Harkin, Paul Conference Report follows, from the Con- part by the ongoing power struggles in Ja- Wellstone, Herb Kohl, Mark Hatfield, Clai- gressional Record of Oct. 26, 1995. Both karta; the increased resentment of the pres- borne Pell, Joe Biden, John H. Chafee, Carol Houses will pass the Conference report ence of Indonesian military officers and Moseley-Braun, Byron Dorgan, Paul Sar- shortly, and it is expected to be signed by vigilante group; and the more than 100,000 banes, Patty Murray, Alfonse D’Amato, President Clinton to become law within a Indonesian settlers the government has William Roth, John Kerry, Dianne Fein- few weeks. brought in to consolidate its occupation of stein, Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Bob Gra- CONFERENCE REPORT ON H.R. 1868 the island. Violence in the territory has been on the ham. (House of Representatives — October 26, 1995). Excerpt: International Military increase as well, especially since the APEC Education And Training Summit in Jakarta last November. As you Congress of the United States know, during the Summit protestors were House of Representatives Amendment No. 62: Inserts Senate lan- detained and, by most accounts, tortured at Washington, DC 20515 guage adding Guatemala as a nation prohib- the hands of Indonesian soldiers. Other October 20, 1995 ited from receiving IMET funding. This reports of deaths of protestors at the hands President William J. Clinton matter is also addressed in amendments no. of the Indonesian soldiers have continued all The White House 63 and 176. year. Recently, there has also been an out- 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Amendment No. 63: Deletes language break of gang violence in East Timor: Washington, D.C. 20500 proposed by the House permitting ex- hooded vigilantes — described by residents Dear Mr. President: panded IMET training only for Guatemala and human rights monitors as military- and retains House language permitting ex- related bands — have been seen terrorizing, We are writing out of concern about the panded IMET training only for Indonesia. continuing pattern of severe human rights The managers have agreed to permit ‘ex- abuses in the former Portuguese colony of Page 130 East Timor Documents, Volume 40. Sept. 1 - November 3, 1995.

East Timor, which has been occupied by Dellums, Stephen Horn, Benjamin A. Gil- Pakpahan, was released from prison in May Indonesia since 1975. man. 1995 and the Supreme Court has overturned We have appreciated your Statements on ======his conviction, SBSI members are harassed, human rights in East Timor in the past, Congress of the United States interrogated and detained by the police and particularly at the meeting of Asian Pacific House of Representatives military. The Indonesian military regularly Economic Conference (APEC) last Novem- Washington, DC 20515 intervenes in peaceful disputes with impu- ber. We hope you will take the opportunity October 16, 1995 nity. to raise these concerns and others when President William J. Clinton In Irian Jaya, we are deeply concerned President Suharto arrives in Washington this The White House about the highly credible report by the local week. 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Catholic bishop as well as the findings of Tension and violence in East Timor has Washington, D.C. 20500 the official Indonesian Human Rights Com- been on the rise in the past year, especially mission, documenting serious allegations of since the APEC summit in Jakarta last No- Dear Mr. President: torture, disappearances and the killing of vember. As you know, during the Summit In your discussions with President Soe- sixteen indigenous people by the Indonesian protestors were reportedly detained and harto later this month, we urge you to em- security forces between October 1994 and tortured by Indonesian soldiers, and phasize U.S. concerns about the protection June 1995. throughout the year there have been addi- of fundamental, internationally-recognized We urge you to raise these concerns with tional reports of protestors dying at the human rights in Indonesia and to raise par- President Soeharto and to encourage his hands of Indonesian soldiers. ticular concern about the critical situation in government to take specific steps to im- These recent developments underscore East Timor and Irian Jaya. prove human rights and worker rights in the need to accelerate the United Nations- We welcomed your giving attention to Indonesia by: sponsored dialogue on East Timor with human rights concerns during your state · allowing regular, unhindered access to genuine East Timorese participation. We visit and meeting with President Soeharto in East Timor by independent human rights believe that the U.S. should strongly sup- Jakarta last November, but since then, there groups and reducing substantially the port such diplomatic actions as a vehicle to has been a serious escalation of abuses. For levels of troops stationed in East Timor, advance previous United Nations resolu- example, in East Timor, in the wake of riots with international verification; tions on East Timor. The dialogue should be in early September, a number of East · establishing a Military Honor Council to aimed at a demilitarization of the territory, Timorese were detained. There have been investigate the alleged abuses by the mili- and work toward a just solution that re- reports of severe beatings and torture. tary in Irian Jaya and allowing the Indo- spects the rights of all parties to the con- Meanwhile, arbitrary detention and ill- nesian Human Rights Commission to es- flict. treatment of detainees continue routinely. tablish an ongoing presence in the region President Suharto comes to Washington On January 12, 1995, six civilians in Liquica to prevent future atrocities; for the 50th United Nations General As- were summarily executed by the Indonesian · repealing the “spreading hatred” clause in military. Two officers were later put on sembly, but this year also marks the 50th the law and releasing unconditionally trial, but there has yet to be a full accounting anniversary of Indonesia’s declaration of journalists and others detained for exer- of the incident, and the soldiers were pun- independence from Dutch colonialism cising their rights to freedom of expres- ished not for the killings but for violating an against which he and many others fought sion; and bravely. As actions taken by the United order from a superior. States Congress in the late 1940’s hastened Freedom of expression is under attack by · allowing freedom of association by Indo- Indonesia’s independence from the Nether- the Indonesian government. over the past nesian workers and ending harassment lands, so too can we take a stand now year, seminars held by Indonesian nongov- and intervention by the military in peace- against the Indonesian occupation of East ernmental organizations have been broken- ful labor disputes. Timor. up by the police, gag orders issued against We appreciate your attention to these We recognize and appreciate the impor- controversial speakers, and in March 1995 concerns and look forward to your reply. tance of a strong and positive U.S- key members of an association of journalists Sincerely, Indonesian relationship. Indeed it in the were arrested. On September 1, 1995, Ach- Jack Reed, Doug Bereuter, Howard L. spirit of this relationship that we urge you mad Taufik, secretary-general of the Alli- Berman, Christopher II. Smith, Lane Evans, to raise these concerns in your meeting with ance of Independent Journalists, and Eko Richard A. Gephart, Victor O. Frazer, Con- President Suharto. Maryadi, a member of the group, were sen- stance A. Morella, Esteban Edward Torres, Sincerely, tenced to two years and eight months each Eliot L. Engel, Nancy Pelosi, Henry A. Nita M. Lowey, John Edward Porter, in prison for “spreading hatred against the Waxman, Barney Frank, Nita M. Lowey, Tom Lantos, Christopher H. Smith, Jack government.” On September 11, 1995, an- Lucille Roybal-Allard, Martin T. Meehan, Reed, Dick Zimmer, Howard L. Berman, other journalist, Tri Agus Susanto, was Peter A. DeFazio, John Edward Porter, Patrick J. Kennedy, Barney Frank, Nancy jailed for two years for “insulting the presi- David Minge, Patrick J. Kennedy, David E Pelosi, Carrie P. Meek, Jerrold Nadler, Mar- dent” by publishing a critical newsletter. Bonior, Ken Calvert, Christopher Shays, tin T. Meehan, Robert E. Andrews, Henry Despite commitments made to the U.S. Tony P. Hall, Gary L. Ackerman, Neil A. Waxman, Victor O. Frazier, Eliot L. Trade Representative just prior to the Asia Abercrombie, Donald M. Payne, Patricia Engel, Robert A. Underwood, Charles E. Pacific Economic Cooperation forum meet- Schroeder. Schumer, Patricia Schroeder, Lane Evans, ings in Jakarta last year, there has been no Peter A. DeFazio, George E. Brown, Jr., substantial progress in improving labor CLINTON, SUHARTO MAY Sherrod Brown, John W. Olver, Fortney rights. The government refuses to allow AVOID RIGHTS ISSUES Pete Stark, David Minge, William O. Lipin- freedom of association by legally recogniz- ski, Rosa L. DeLauro, Robert K. Dornan, ing the only independent trade union (SBSI WASHINGTON, Oct. 26 (UPI) — The Major R. Owens, Cynthia A. McKinney, or the Prosperous Workers Union of Indo- White House said Thursday it was unclear William J. Coyne, Tony P. Hall, Ronald V. nesia.) Though the SBSI’s leader, Mochtar whether President Clinton, during his East Timor Documents, Volume 40. September 1 - November 3, 1995 Page 131 scheduled meeting Friday with Indonesian McCurry instead insisted the administra- CLINTON, SUHARTO TALK HUMAN President Suharto, will even seek a discus- tion has “consistently in our dialogue with RIGHTS sion of human rights issues. the government of Indonesia...very directly White House press secretary Mike raised concerns about East Timor, we’ve By Kenneth R. Bazinet McCurry said Clinton instead planned to raised our concerns about human rights. Washington, Oct. 27 (UPI) — President concentrate on economic issues involving “And we’ll check and see whether that is Clinton said he had a “good talk” Friday Indonesia and next month’s summit in Japan on their subject for tomorrow,” McCurry with Indonesian President Suharto during a of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation said. White House meeting that included a discus- forum. sion of the South Pacific island nation’s Suharto, who took power in 1965 in a PRESIDENT CLINTON human rights record and next month’s Asia- military coup, heads a government regarded RAISED EAST TIMOR WITH Pacific Economic Conference in Japan. as one of the world’s most authoritarian “Good talk,” Clinton told reporters as he regimes. Several hundred thousand people INDONESIAN PRESIDENT escorted Suharto from the hour-long meeting have died in violence related to the 1965 SUHARTO in the West Wing of the White House. “We takeover and to the government’s subse- were planning for the APEC meeting.” quent armed annexation of the territory of WASHINGTON (Reuter Oct. 27) — However, the president did not comment East Timor. President Clinton Friday met Indonesian on the most pressing issue concerning Indo- Freedom House, a non-profit New York- President Suharto and raised continuing U.S. nesia – its human rights record, especially in based organization that monitors political concerns about the human rights situation in East Timor. The White House issued a rights and civil liberties worldwide, put Indonesia, particularly East Timor, the statement saying only that Clinton “raised Indonesia at the bottom of its 1994-95 list White House said. continuing American concerns about the of countries ranked by their tolerance of free Indonesia has occupied East Timor, a human rights situation, particularly in East expression. former Portuguese colony, since 1975 and Timor, and White House spokesman Mike The Freedom House report said the hu- has several military battalions there. A small McCurry said it was now up to the Indone- man rights situation in Indonesia deterio- guerrilla force remains in the hills, making sian government to respond to Clinton’s rated in particular last year when “the gov- occasional attacks on Indonesian forces. comments. ernment sought to stifle dissent” in advance There were street riots in East Timor last “The president did raise the issue of East of last November’s APEC summit in Bogor, week followed by a military crackdown. Timor, continuing to reflect our concern. I’ll Indonesia. A group of 28 U.S. senators, led by Wis- leave it up to the Indonesian government to In one of the most recent such cases, a consin Democrat Russ Feingold, urged Clin- see if they wish to offer any response,” Jakarta court announced Wednesday that an ton Wednesday to discuss the status of East McCurry said. outspoken former Indonesian legislator will Timor with Suharto. The Indonesian leader did not speak to face trial next month on charges of insulting White House spokesman Mike reporters as he emerged from the meeting. Suharto during a speech he made last April McCurry, in the last sentence of a four- Suharto, who took power in 1965 in a in Germany. paragraph statement outlining what had military coup, heads a government that sev- Sources in Indonesia said the legislator, happened in the meeting, said: “President eral international advocacy groups have Sri Bintang Pamungkas, also would be Clinton also raised continuing American deemed to be a major violator of human charged with endangering the president’s concerns about the human rights situation in rights. life, which could carry the death penalty. Indonesia, particularly East Timor.” Several hundred thousand people have But despite such criticisms, Suharto, who McCurry said an important focus of the died in violence related to the 1965 coup and is due to visit Clinton at the White House meeting was a review of plans for next the government’s 1975 armed annexation of on Friday, has also been a firm and consis- month’s summit of Asia-Pacific leaders in East Timor, a former Portuguese colony. tent U.S. ally in both economic and military Japan. Portugal left the territory with the intention matters. Clinton and Suharto met for about an of giving the East Timorese people self-rule, Clinton, who attended last year’s APEC hour on Friday. Suharto was in Washington but before that could happen, Indonesia summit in Indonesia and was preparing to on a private visit including a dinner in his moved in its well-armed military. join Suharto at next month’s APEC summit honor by CARE, an international relief Freedom House, a non-profit New York- in Japan, has argued that economic coopera- group. based organization that monitors political tion is the best way to win democratic Leaders making up the Asia-Pacific Eco- rights and civil liberties worldwide, put change in such capitals as Jakarta and Bei- nomic Cooperation group, which includes Indonesia at the bottom of its 1994-95 list jing. the United States, hold their annual summit of countries ranked by their tolerance of free Administration supporters cite such re- in November in Osaka, Japan. expression. gional examples as South Korea and Taiwan, “The two men exchanged views on how Clinton met Suharto at the first APEC both formerly autocratic nations that moved to make the Osaka leaders’ meeting success- meeting held two years ago on Blake Island, toward democratic rule as their economies ful,” McCurry said. He said Clinton wel- Washington, and the Indonesian leader prospered. comed Suharto’s efforts to move APEC hosted last year’s conference in Bogor. In- McCurry, asked Thursday why Clinton toward the goals of free trade and invest- donesia was criticized during last year’s treats Suharto differently than he treats ment called for in the “Bogor Declaration” meeting for widespread human rights viola- Cuban President Fidel Castro, and whether of 1994. tions during a pre-APEC crackdown on Clinton will urge Suharto to hold a referen- The two leaders also discussed bilateral known opponents of Suharto’s government. dum allowing self-determination in East relations, including a broad range of eco- The United States also has been attacked Timor, said he did not know whether the nomic, trade and security issues, McCurry for not taking action against Indonesia’s two presidents would even discuss human said. human rights violations, with critics saying rights matters Friday. the superpower has turned a blind eye to Page 132 East Timor Documents, Volume 40. Sept. 1 - November 3, 1995. protect its relationship with the strategically International Affairs, The George Washing- Guatemala’s José Rubin Zamora Morro- located nation. ton University quin is editor-in-chief of Siglo 21, who has “On the subject of APEC, as the immedi- Karl Jackson, Director of Southeast ignored death threats and violence toward ate past host and the host prior to that, Asian Studies Program, School of Advance him and his staff because of the newspa- President Clinton and President Suharto International Studies, John Hopkins Univer- per’s reports of military and government have a common interest in ensuring that the sity corruption and human rights violations. forthcoming meeting of the APEC leaders in James Clad, Research Professor of Dublin’s Sunday Independent investiga- Japan is successful,” McCurry said. Southeast Asian Studies, tive reporter Veronica Guerin has faced “And they did review in substantial de- Georgetown University death threats and physical violence in re- tail the APEC agenda (and) offered to work Place: Carnegie International Center, porting on Ireland’s underworld. In January together as we seek to make the APEC George Washington University, 2400 N 1995 she was shot and wounded in her meeting a success. In our separate ways we Street, NW, Washington DC home following publication of an article on a will be pursuing, in advance of that meeting, Thursday, November 9 1995, 6-8 pm bank heist suspect. ways in which we can follow through on the ===== The editor-in-chief of Zambia’s The action program that APEC adapted at its The Wharton Asia Club and The Indone- Post, Fred M’membe, is currently on trial meeting last year in Jakarta,” McCurry sian Student Association of Philadelphia for allegedly defaming President Frederick added. are honored to present: Chiluba. As a result of his reports on gov- Meanwhile, White House officials would The Wharton Asian Capital Markets ernment corruption, controversial govern- not confirm nor deny whether Clinton and Conference: Growth, Revolution, and Inte- ment policies and drug trafficking, he faces Suharto discussed the proposed sale of 38 gration more than 100 years in jail. U.S. F-16 fighter to Indonesia. The jets were Friday, 3 November 1995 The CPJ awards are given annually to originally sold to Pakistan, but the deal was Harold Prince Theater, The Annenberg journalists from around the world who have held up in 1990 under U.S. laws collectively Center. University of Pennsylvania, Phila- faced difficulties in reporting independent known as the Pressler Amendment. delphia, PA 19104 news and viewpoints. Earlier this year, Congress approved an This is the time when experts in Gov- amendment that allows the United States to ernment Agencies, Private Companies, and help Pakistan find a buyer for the jets. In- Academical Institutions gather in one whole- INDONESIA BUYING donesia was among the countries who were day conference. This conference will focus U.S. F-16’S? offered the jets. on the role of Asian Capital Markets in the Pakistan paid $658 million to Lockheed Global Economy, the Investment Infrastruc- for the planes, but the United States had no ture, and the Investment Opportunities of NO US ARMS SALES TO control over the money and could not have Asia. it returned. DICTATORS The 38 F-16s, complete with Pakistani FIVE NAMED FOR PRESS The Journal of Commerce, September 19, markings painted on the tail sections, remain 1995; Opinion page. Also printed in other in storage at Davis Monthan Air Force Base FREEDOM AWARDS papers. by JENNIFER WASHBURN in Tucson, Arizona. Pakistan is being charged for the storage of the planes. NEW YORK, Oct. 30 (UPI) — Five The Senate is expected to vote this week journalists who have defied their govern- on the “Code of Conduct on Arms trans- INDONESIA WOOS ments or dogged criminals to report the fers,” an historic piece of legislation spon- news were named Monday winners of the sored by Sen. Mark Hatfield, R-OR, chair- AMERICAN BUSINESS International Press Freedom Award by the man of the Senate Appropriations Commit- Committee to Protect Journalists. tee. The Code of Conduct would ban U.S. [Here are the announcements of two typical The CPJ also announced that Benjamin weapons sales to any foreign government recent conferences in the U.S.] Bradlee, former editor of the Washington that abuses human rights, violates neighbor- Indonesian Student Association (ISA) Post, was named winner of the Burton Ben- ing countries’ borders, rules by authoritarian and Pacific Affairs Study Society (PASS) of jamin Memorial Award for his lifetime means or fails to register arms purchases or The Gorge Washington University have commitment to press freedom. sales with the United Nations. teamed up to organize a conference on “US- The winners will be honored at a dinner This amendment could not be more Indonesia relations: Toward the Twenty- in New York Dec. 6. timely since the Clinton administration, like First Century.” Yevgeny Kiselyov of Russia’s independ- its Republican predecessors, has shown a The idea would be to take stock of the bi- ent NTV was named because he “boldly disturbing inclination to use arms sales as a lateral relationship at present, and then ex- defied official pressure to present govern- way to nurture close ties with undemocratic plore the factors that would augur for closer ment propaganda concerning the war with regimes. relations, Indonesia’s big promise as a “Big Chechnya and brought that war’s stark real- Just this August, Secretary of State War- Emerging Market,” the growing weight at- ity into the living rooms of millions of Rus- ren Christopher approached the foreign tributed by the United States to Indonesia’s sians.” ministers of both Indonesia and the Philip- role in regional security and the proliferation The president of Indonesia’s first and pines with an offer to sell 28 F-16A jet of cultural and academic exchanges. only independent press union, Ahmad fighters. These older model F-16s were The conference will be featuring: Taufik, has been a thorn in the government’s originally purchased by Pakistan, but were Ambassador Edward Masters, Former side for several years. The CPJ said he was never delivered due to congressional con- US Ambassador to Indonesia and, President sentenced to 32 months in jail in August for cerns about Pakistan’s secret nuclear weap- of the US-Indonesia Society publishing Independent, an unlicensed ons program. Ambassador Ronald Palmer, Diplomat magazine of the press union. By selling the F-16s to a third party, the Consultant in Residence, Elliot School of administration hopes to fulfill a promise East Timor Documents, Volume 40. September 1 - November 3, 1995 Page 133 made to Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir The very day that Mr. Owens visited Ja- Washington suspended the fund dis- Bhutto that he would get around the 1990 karta, Assistant Secretary of State for Hu- bursement and the sale of F-16s to Indone- congressional ban, known as the Pressler man Rights John Shattuck told two House sia in early 1992 for alleged human rights amendment, and reimburse Pakistan for the subcommittees that Indonesia’s human violations in East Timor, annexed by Jakarta cost of the planes. rights had deteriorated. In particular, Mr. in 1976. The Indonesian Air Force has 11 F- But Mr. Clinton’s decision to offer the Shattuck described an incident in January in 16s. Last year, it signed a contract to buy 16 F-16s to Indonesia, which is ruled by one of which Indonesian security forces tortured British-made aircraft. the world’s longest-running and most re- and executed six innocent Timorese civilians, Comment from Charlie Scheiner, ETAN/US pressive dictatorships, is extremely ill- whom Indonesian authorities falsely as- – Indonesia had not actually asked to buy considered. Each shipment of U.S. arms to serted were resistance fighters. these F-16s, which are decade-old planes Mr. Suharto’s military regime sends an un- Given that there has been no improve- which were not allowed to be shipped to mistakable political message that the United ment in Indonesia’s human rights record, the Pakistan and are currently being peddled by States condones Indonesia’s gross violations administration’s eagerness to sell F-16s to the US government to various regimes. The of human rights and its illegal occupation of Mr. Suharto suggests another agenda. October “visit” to Jakarta is probably in the East Timor. Winston Lord, assistant secretary of State nature of a sales call. Since Indonesia invaded the tiny island of for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, has fre- East Timor in 1975, one-third of the popu- quently asserted that, although human rights Also, military training aid suspended in late lation (200,000 people) has been killed in concerns remain, good military ties and 1992 (not early, Congress took time to act), the largest proportional genocide since growing trade and investment are important and I don’t believe there has ever been a World War II, according to Amnesty Inter- areas to pursue. suspension of F-16 sales to Indonesia. Al- national. The United States approved Indo- Mr. Clinton’s policy is quite simple, and though Indonesia has not purchased any of nesia’s invasion in advance and has sup- is consistent with the approach taken by these particular warplanes in recent years, ported the occupation both diplomatically every president since Richard Nixon: Use there have been over 200 arms shipments and militarily. Over the past decade, the arms sales to cement ties with Third World from the US to Indonesia since the Santa United States has supplied over one-third military regimes and extend U.S. influence. Cruz massacre. ($560 million) of Indonesia’s weapons im- Despite the stunning failure of this policy US TO SELL MORE FIGHTER PLANES ports. over the long haul – witness Iran in the TO INDONESIA The tide began to turn in 1992, when ac- 1970s and Iraq more recently the Clinton JAKARTA (Sept. 19) XINHUA — The tivists fighting for human rights and East administration actually has boosted the US Department of Defense intends to sell Timorese self-determination successfully government’s role in promoting U.S. arms additional F-16 fighter planes to the Indone- pressured Congress to cut off military train- exports to unstable, authoritarian regimes. sian air force. here today after a meeting ing funds to the Suharto regime. This action The Code of Conduct is the first major with Indonesian President Soeharto. followed the November 1991 massacre in legislative effort since 1976 to attempt to Admiral Owens said the purchase of the Dili, the capital of East Timor, where Indo- systematically curtail these shameful export fighter planes depends on the Indonesian nesian troops carrying American-made M- policies. According to an August report by government. 16 rifles shot down more than 271 Timorese the Project on Demilitarization and Democ- Indonesian General Feisal Tanjung said participating in a peaceful memorial demon- racy, over the past four years 85% of all that the Indonesian armed forces want to stration. U.S. weapons sales went to countries that have modern warplanes, such as F-16s, as In 1994, the State Department, respond- the State Department deemed undemocratic. many as possible. However, he said, the ing to ongoing congressional pressure, Americans who want their government to budget is limited. banned the sale of small arms and riot con- stop selling arms to repressive dictators – To date, Indonesia has 11 F-16s. Admiral trol items to Indonesia. like the recent offer to sell 28 F-16s to In- Owens also revealed that the US govern- Recently, however, there have been trou- donesia’s Mr. Suharto – should immediately ment totally supports the continuation of bling signs that some in the administration call upon their senators to support the Code the US International Military Educational want to resume cozy relations with Indone- of Conduct. Fund for Indonesia which has been frozen sia’s military. On March 16, Admiral Wil- Jennifer Washburn is a research associate since the Dili incident in 1991. liam Owens, vice chairman of the U.S. Joint at the World Policy Institute at the New He said he is optimistic about the re- Chiefs of Staff, visited Jakarta to meet with School in New York City. sumption of the military training aid to In- Vice President Try Sutrisno and Minister of donesia. Defense Edi Sudrajat. (Mr. Sutrisno was OWENS: US MAY LIFT He said the US government is also ex- head of the Indonesian military during the ploring the possibility of conducting a joint Dili Massacre and justified the killing, at a F-16S SALES BAN military exercise with Indonesia. military academy graduation the following Financial Times, 20 Sep. 1995.“World day, saying, “Agitators have to be shot, and Trade News Digest” U.S. TO SELL INDONES IA JETS — we will I shoot them.”) OFFICIAL SAYS During his visit, Admiral Owens con- Kyodo, Jakarta – The US is likely to re- sume sales of F-16 fighter aircraft to Indo- JAKARTA, Sept. 19 (UPI) — The U.S. veyed the Pentagon’s desire to promote Defense Department hopes to resume sell- weapons sales to Indonesia, resume military nesia after suspending them in 1992 in pro- test against Indonesia’s human rights record. ing F-16 fighter jets to Indonesia, a U.S. training and “establish a normal relationship official said Monday, adding that Washing- with the Indonesian military and the Indo- The second-in-command of the US mili- tary’s Pacific Command, Admiral William ton may also resume the a military training nesian government.” The administration program that was suspended four years ago already has called for restoring military Owens, yesterday said a US team would visit Jakarta in October and give information because of Jakarta’s human rights record. training to Indonesia, and Congress seems Following a meeting with President Su- likely to go along. on “various options” for the Indonesian armed forces to buy F-16s. harto, Adm. William Owens told reporters Page 134 East Timor Documents, Volume 40. Sept. 1 - November 3, 1995. the Pentagon may resume the International around Spratly and South China Sea. Jakarta But deliveries of the aircraft were held up Military Education and Training in Jakarta. is interested in a resumption of U.S. pro- under a U.S. law that barred weapons sales Owens is vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs grammes for military aid and the training of to countries suspected of developing nuclear of Staff and the nation’s second-highest- Indonesian servicemen. The implementation weapons. ranking military officer. of the programmes was interrupted by the Pakistan paid about $658 million for 17 Washington “totally supports the con- U.S. Congress several years ago. F-16s, all of which have been warehoused in tinuation of the IMET,” Owens said, adding Arizona. that he was “optimistic” that U.S. lawmak- INDONESIA STILL STUDIES If Washington succeeds in selling them to ers would agree to resume the military train- US OFFER TO SELL F-16S Indonesia, proceeds from the sale will help ing aid. reimburse the Pakistanis who have been The United States suspended IMET and JAKARTA (Sept. 22) XINHUA — In- demanding either their aircraft or their F-16 sales to Indonesia in 1992 on a number donesia is still studying the United States’ money back. of grounds, including human rights viola- offer to sell F-16 fighter planes. Defense Addressing the Senate Foreign Relations tions in East Timor, a former Portuguese Minister Edi Sudradjat made the remarks Committee in July, Stapleton Roy, U.S. colony of East Timor annexed by Jakarta in here today at the Indonesian armed forces Ambassador-designate to Jakarta, said the 1976. EXPO. proposed deal “makes sense in terms of our In 1993, the United States refused to al- The US offer was made by visiting dep- broad relations with Indonesia.” low Jordan’s bid to sell four U.S.-built F-5 uty chief of the US Joint Chief of Staff Roy also said that Indonesia has legiti- jets to Indonesia, citing Jakarta’s widely Adm. William Owens who said recently that mate security concerns because of conflict- criticized human rights record. President Bill Clinton’s administration ing territorial claims in the South China Sea. Owens also said Washington is consider- wishes to strengthen its relations with Indo- Joel Johnson of the Washington-based ing conducting joint military exercises with nesia, including sale of the F-16 fighter Aerospace Industries Association told IPS Indonesia. planes. the Bill Clinton Administration should have no problem selling the jet fighters to Indone- US ADMIRAL ON SECRET VISIT TO Indonesian chief of the Armed Forces General Staff Lt. Gen. Soeyono made a simi- sia because “F-16s are not used for crowd INDONESIA lar statement confirming that Indonesia is control.” BY ANDREI BYCHKOV still in the stage of studying the US offer. Johnson said that traditionally there has JAKARTA SEPTEMBER 19 (ITAR- He said Indonesia needs about nine addi- been opposition to the sale of items such as TASS) — A high-ranking U.S. military tional F-16 fighter planes for its air forces. M-16 assault rifles and riot control gear leader — Admiral William Owens, Deputy At present Indonesia has 11 F-16s. because they could be related to domestic Chairman of the U.S. Chiefs of Staff, is violence. “The sale of F-16s is no danger to paying a visit to Indonesia in an atmosphere JET FIGHTERS DO NOT human rights violations,” he said. Johnson also said the Indonesian air force of secrecy. VIOLATE RIGHTS The purpose of his stay here is to meet already possesses F-16 fighters provided by with Indonesian political and military lead- By Thalif Deen the U.S. back in 1989. ers, a U.S. embassy spokesman told ITAR- “The Indonesians have not used any of UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 8 (IPS) — TASS on Tuesday. The U.S. diplomat de- these F-16s against their own people,” he The United States may find less resistance clined to give any details of the current con- added. to selling Indonesia state-of-the-art jet fight- tacts. Since the Indonesians already own F-16s, ers than to peddle assault rifles, tear gas and It is clear from an embassy press release they are qualified to acquire additional handcuffs to the Asian nation, according to that Washington’s commitments to maintain planes, along with the aircraft’s military human rights groups. security in South-East Asia are one of the technology provided only to close U.S. The New York-based Amnesty Interna- subjects under discussion. allies such as Israel and Egypt. tional USA (AIUSA) says it has no plans to Countries in the region, including Indone- The proposed sale, however, can still run fight the proposed sale of F-16 jet fighters sia, are worried at stability problems in view into trouble on Capitol Hill. Senator Russell even though it has traditionally opposed of the territorial disputes over the Spratly Feingold, a Democrat from the state of Wis- arms sales to Indonesia. archipelago in South China Sea. Spread over consin, has expressed reservations over the “It is very difficult to link F-16 fighter an area of hundreds of kilometers, Spratly proposed sale. planes to human rights abuses,” T. Kumar Islands are being disputed by Brunei, Viet- “If we are going to sell these planes to of AIUSA told IPS. nam, China, Malaysia, Taiwan, and the Indonesia, I hope we are getting something Even though AIUSA is not opposing the Philippines. in return– a better human rights record or a sale, he said, the human rights organisation Last summer, following an aggravation of timetable for the resolution of the East “will still closely monitor” the deployment relations between Manila and Beijing over Timor situation,” he said. of the sophisticated fighter planes. one of disputed areas, Washington ex- Feingold was particularly critical of In- “We are not going to keep our eyes pressed concern over the growth of tension donesia for its alleged human rights abuses closed on this. If even a single F-16 is linked in South China Sea and over the actions of in the former Portuguese colony of East to human rights abuses, we will be pushing “some countries.” The U.S. also declared Timor, annexed by Jakarta in 1976. hard in Capitol Hill” against any such future unambiguously in support of the observance In June, AIUSA criticised Washington sales, he added. of the freedom of navigation principle in for resuming military assistance to Indonesia Washington is expected to formally offer that part of the world. and increasing sixfold U.S. arms sales to that about 12 to 17 F-16s to Indonesia before the This is why the current contacts between country. end of the year. the high-ranking representative of the U.S. According to figures released by the Pen- The F-16s originally belonged to Pakistan armed forces and the Indonesian leadership tagon, Washington plans to sell about 26 which had paid for the aircraft in advance of can be viewed in the context of the situation million dollars worth of arms to Indonesia in delivery. East Timor Documents, Volume 40. September 1 - November 3, 1995 Page 135 fiscal year 1996: up from 4.6 million dollars 1) “(...) In the documentary ‘Death of a Defense Minister Edi Sudradjat said the the previous year. Nation,’ screened in several countries during purchases — including British combat air- In a report released early this year, February and March 1994, East Timorese craft — were not made for offensive pur- AIUSA criticised the Clinton Administra- people asserted that they had seen British poses. tion for providing military grants to some of Aerospace Hawk aircraft in action in East “There is no reason for foreign quarters the world’s worst violators of human rights. Timor. to see the military equipment purchase by The United Kingdom too has been Asked specifically about the monitoring the Indonesian armed forces as a potent thwarted in its attempt to sell weapons to the UK government undertakes with regard threat,” Sudradjat was quoted by the state- Indonesia because of heavy lobbying against to the Hawks, Foreign Office Minister run Antara News Agency as saying. such sales by human rights groups. Alastair Goodlad said: “It would be imprac- He said Indonesia was buying some mili- In March, Michael Heseltine, president ticable on a regular basis to monitor, after tary hardware to meet the country’s mini- of the Board of Trade, revealed that the transfer, equipment which we have licensed mum defense requirements and to “maintain British government had approved the sale of for export. We are, however, ready where domestic stability.” some 50 to 90 light tanks and armoured necessary to ask recipient countries, on a Sudradjat admitted that the purchases at- personnel carriers only after a “thorough confidential basis, about the location and use tracted attention of military observers, par- assessment” that these vehicles would not of defence equipment we have supplied. We ticularly if that related to the offensive im- be used for “internal repression.” have no evidence that Hawk aircraft are age of certain countries ready to engage in an Meanwhile the U.S.-Indonesian bilateral being or have been used for repressive pur- arms race. relations have been strengthened with the poses against the civilian population in In- “But, in Indonesia’s case, the number announcement last year of a hefty 40- donesia and East Timor. Nor do we believe and...type of military equipment were only billion-dollar package of joint economic and that the Hawk, or any other items of British adequate to maintain the domestic stability,” trade projects over the next decade. equipment, have been or are likely to be Sudradjat said. The largest of the agreements involves used against the civilian population in Indo- Indonesia is currently waiting for the ar- U.S.-based Exxon and Pertamina, Indone- nesia and East Timor. The Indonesian Gov- rival of 16 advanced British-made Hawk sia’s state-run oil company, which will ernment have given us assurances that Hawk aircraft. Jakarta signed a contract to pur- jointly develop a huge 35-billion-dollar off- aircraft will not be used for internal security chase the advanced British Aerospace Hawk shore natural gas field. purposes."10 100 and 200 jet fighters last year. Comment from Charlie Scheiner: 2) Interestingly, the International Insti- Indonesia has also purchased almost 40 tute for Strategic Studies describes the warships used by the former East German Why not sell them H-bombs? There’s no Hawk aircraft already supplied as being in navy to back up its existing fleet. evidence that they will be used for repression service with one of the Indonesian Air Military leaders recently voiced the in East Timor? Force’s two counter-insurgency squad- country’s willingness to buy U. S.-built F- And if the Aerospace Industries Association rons.11 16 jet fighters. is proud that “they have not used any F-16s Besides this evidence Jet Fighters could The Indonesian air forces currently oper- against their own people” would they be be used in the military operations of peo- ates modern jet fighters, including the some even happier if Indonesia used them against ples struggling for there rights it is clear the U.S-made F-16 Fighting Falcon. others – East Timorese, West Papuans, Indonesian armed forces as a whole has a Australians, Malaysians,???? Or are they very important role in suppressing people’s CLINTON OFFERS F-16S TO just toys for ABRI and profits for the arms- rights. In Power and Impunity it is stated INDONESIA – NEWSPAPER makers? that “in most respects it [Indonesia] is a Comment From Martin Broek, Stop military authoritarian government.” (page Jakarta, Oct. 28 (Reuter) — U.S. Presi- Arming Indonesia Campaign 18). So there is a strong need to oppose all dent Bill Clinton discussed the sale of a arms trade to this government, because de- Oct. 17. number of F-16 Fighting Falcon jets to In- nying people there civil rights is in itself a donesia in talks with President Suharto in The issue of big arms and human rights is violation of human rights. Moreover the two Washington, an Indonesian newspaper re- again in the news. Naval ships and Jet fight- guidelines of Indonesian military rule (Dwi ported on Saturday. ers are seen as not directly linked to the Fungsi and the Security Approach) are de- The Suara Pembaruan evening newspaper question of human rights. In the case of scribed in detail in several sources and are quoted Indonesia’s State Secretary Indonesia there are several reasons not to legitimising the strong influence of the mili- Murdiono as saying on Friday in Washing- exclude Jet Fighters from human rights cam- tary in controlling Indonesian society. ton that Clinton had offered Suharto the paigns. (For naval vessels there are other 10) Hansard, 9 February 1994, opportunity to buy more F-16s. “The offer reasons to do so.) In the booklet ‘POWER 11) The Military Balance 1993-94 was presented by the U.S. President when AND IMPUNITY; Human rights under the Martin Broek, Pesthuislaan 39, 1054 RH meeting President Suharto at the White New Order,’ Amnesty International Sep- Amsterdam, the Netherlands, fax/tel +31 20 House,” Murdiono told reporters. tember 1994, it was stated that: “At least 40 6164684. Murdiono said that Suharto considered civilians, and possibly as many as 100, were Email: [email protected] the offer. killed in February 1989 when government “ ...The offer will be considered if Indo- forces launched a combined land and air [!] INDONESIA PLAYS DOWN nesia is given soft payment condition...,” he assault on a village in Lampung, which the was quoted as saying. military claimed was harbouring a Muslim MILITARY PURCHASES The paper did not give other details. In- rebel gang.” (page 5) In the booklet STOP donesia’s air force has more than 80 combat Arming Indonesia, Amsterdam September JAKARTA, Oct. 18 (UPI) — Indonesia said Wednesday its purchase of military aircraft, including 12 F-16s. 1994 it was stated by the Campaign Against The White House said on Friday that Arms Trade from London that equipment was made only to meet the coun- try’s domestic defense needs. Clinton also raised continuing U.S. concerns Page 136 East Timor Documents, Volume 40. Sept. 1 - November 3, 1995. about the human rights situation in Indone- United States has been trying to sell the meeting the country’s minimum defense sia, particularly in East Timor, during the aircraft which were originally part of a mili- requirements, but also to maintain domestic meeting. There were street riots in East tary equipment purchase by Pakistan. stability. Timor last week followed by a military Text: After talks between President Clin- US officials say negotiations with Indo- crackdown. ton and President Suharto in Washington nesia on the F-16 question are continuing. Clinton and Suharto met for about an last month, a White House statement said a As for the possibility of any soft-financing hour on Friday. Suharto was in Washington number of bilateral issues were discussed – arrangement, officials say that is not cur- on a private visit. including trade, economic, and security mat- rently seen as a possibility. ters. US defense officials are known to favor INDONESIA SEEKS U.S. However, White House officials would continued strong military-to-military coop- EXPORT CREDITS FOR F-16S not confirm whether the two leaders dis- eration with Indonesia, and pressed for re- cussed the question of selling to Indonesia sumption of a military education training JAKARTA, Nov. 1 (Reuter) — Indone- F-16 fighters originally destined for Paki- program (IMET) for Indonesian military sian President Suharto said on Wednesday stan. officers. The IMET program was suspended his country needed more U.S.-made F-16 Returning from his overseas trip, Mr. by congress in 1992 in response to the Fighting Falcons for its air force but asked Suharto was quoted as saying the subject of shooting of demonstrators by Indonesian Washington to allow soft payment for them the F-16’s did come up in his meeting with troops in East Timor the previous year. through export credits. Mr. Clinton. Reuter news agency quoted The Clinton administration faced criti- Suharto said he and President Bill Clinton him as saying that Indonesia needs the air- cism this year after it was disclosed that had discussed the purchase by Indonesia of craft but could not pay cash. He said he had some Indonesian officers were still receiving several F-16s during talks in Washington on suggested an export-credit arrangement simi- training, but at Jakarta’s expense. Critics October 27. lar to one used to finance the sale of former said that amounted to flouting the congres- “We were offered F-16 aircraft. We East German warships to Indonesia. sional ban on education funds. thanked him for that and actually Indonesia The United States has been looking for a In explaining its support for resumption still needs (them),” Suharto told reporters buyer or buyers for the F-16’s. Twenty- of military education funds, the Clinton on board his aircraft on the way back to eight of the planes were to have gone to administration said the program helps ex- Indonesia after an 18-day trip to the Ameri- Pakistan five years ago, before concerns pose foreign military personnel to US con- cas and Saudi Arabia. about Pakistan’s nuclear program led to a cepts of democracy and respect for interna- “I stressed to the U.S. that Indonesia’s congressional ban on military sales. tional standards of human rights. priority is economic development,” Suharto The State Department said earlier this said. year that Indonesia and the Philippines were “Therefore, we must think how to pay likely and acceptable potential customers RESOURCES for the aircraft. It is impossible to pay in among a very small number of potential cash,” he said. buyers. Pakistan had already paid for some Suharto said he told Clinton how Indone- of the planes. “EYEWITNESS” BOOK sia bought several warships cheaply with US, Indonesian, and Philippine officials LAUNCH export credits from Germany. “If the U.S. have discussed the aircraft issue on a num- can provide it (export credits), certainly ber of occasions in recent months. The sub- Report from Gerry van Klinken, Sept. 12 Indonesia will accept it,” Suharto said. ject came up in Brunei during bilateral con- An English translation of a book of short Indonesia’s air force has more than 80 tacts coinciding with the Association of stories about East Timor written by Indone- combat aircraft, including 12 F-16s. Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) regional sian journalist Seno Gumira Ajidarma will be In 1993 Indonesia bought 39 warships of meetings. launched by the publisher in Sydney on the former East German navy. These in- During a September visit to Jakarta, the Monday 18 September. The stories have cluded 16 corvettes, 14 tank landing ships visiting vice chairman of the US joint chiefs been translated by Jan Lingard of the Uni- and nine minesweepers. of staff, Admiral William Owens, said US versity of Sydney. During his meeting with Suharto Clinton and Indonesian officials would be discussing Entitled ‘Eyewitness’ (original title also raised continuing U.S. concerns about details. Amid continuing criticism of Indo- ‘Saksi Mata’), it is published by Imprint the human rights situation in Indonesia, nesia’s human rights record, the Clinton and distributed by Harper Collins. It will particularly East Timor, the White House administration has faced pressure from op- cost AUD 14.95. The book will be widely said. ponents of renewed arms sales to Indonesia. distributed, but mail orders can be placed Indonesia has occupied East Timor, a In 1993, the United States blocked the either at: former Portuguese colony, since 1975 and sale of US-built F-5 jet fighters from Jordan · Gleebooks, Glebe Point Road, Glebe has several military battalions there. to Indonesia. Last July, the US Senate voted 2037, Australia, or to restrict small-arms sales to Indonesia. US · Nusantara Indonesian Bookshop, 72 statements say the human rights situation in VOA — US F-16S TO Maroondah Hwy, Croydon Vic 3166, Indonesia remains a key factor in decisions Tel:(03) 723 1195 Fax: (03) 723 6650, INDONESIA? on arms sales. Washington says Indonesia’s Australia legitimate defense needs, its ability to pay, Voice of America, 11/3/95, by Dan Robin- The book launch will be held at 6 pm on son, Bangkok and regional stability and security are other factors. 18 September, at Gleebooks. Arrangements Intro: Indonesian President Suharto was Indonesia has 12 F-16’s in its air force had been made for author Seno to be at the quoted as saying this week he had discussed and is awaiting delivery of advanced British- launch, but he was at the last minute pre- with President Bill Clinton the possible sale made Hawk aircraft. Indonesia’s defense vented from travelling to Sydney by the of F-16 fighter planes to Indonesia. VOA minister (Edi Sudradjat) said recently that newspaper where he works, citing fears of correspondent Dan Robinson reports the military equipment purchases are aimed at East Timor Documents, Volume 40. September 1 - November 3, 1995 Page 137 repercussions in view of delicate Australia- He lost his job after executives of his the network, the “it means the end of the Indonesia relations at the moment. publishing company, fearing government information embargo.” I personally think the stories are explo- action against the magazine, criticized the Indonesians currently make up 10% of sive — they are a cry of horror at what “vulgarity” of his explicit reporting. the approximately 2,000 weekly consulta- Indonesians have done in East Timor. This, “Writing a news story is not a matter of tions, and it is also curious to note that it is as James Dunn points out, is the precondi- aesthetics, it is not beauty of language,” mainly individuals who access the network, tion for a process of reconciliation. The Ajidarma says. “It’s a matter of facts: What and not just for a quick browse, to consult translation is also very good indeed. actually happened?” several pages “for a long time.” If his journalism was not a matter of aes- Since late 1994, when the University of BOOK TO PORTRAY ‘91 thetics, neither is his fiction. Coimbra created this information within MASSACRE A news report of Timorese youths hav- Internet, 91 different Indonesian computers 28 Sep. 95 ing their ears cut off during torture provides contacted Timor Net. However, only 13 of the visual image for a story about a soldier these belonged to institutions linked to the MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) – Indo- who sends his girlfriend human ears as bat- Jakarta Government. nesian journalist Seno Gumira Ajidarma lost tlefield souvenirs. Since its creation, almost one year ago, his job when he tried to report the facts of a In another story, the witness in a court the database has been consulted 37,000 1991 massacre in East Timor. Now he’s case whose eyes have been gouged out be- times by 4,000 different computers from all counting on fiction to tell the truth. comes a metaphor for muzzled witnesses to over the world. However, the number of In his book “Eyewitness,” a collection of the Dili massacre, whose stories are either people who consulted the database is higher 12 short stories, Ajidarma gives a gruesome, disbelieved or not heard. than the number of computers (4,000) regis- surreal and often disturbing account of tered, because some of them are being used events in East Timor – even though he never collectively, particularly in universities. explicitly names the setting. TIMOR NET AROUSES The biggest user of “consumer” of infor- Ajidarma was dismissed as editor of Ja- INDONESIA’S CURIOSITY mation on East Timor was the US, with 600 karta Jakarta magazine in January 1992 for computers, followed by Portugal with 400, his reports on the massacre in the East Capital, 7 October 1995. Translated from Australia with 185, and a group made up of Timor capital, Dili, on Nov. 12, 1991, when Portuguese Canada, Norway and the UK, with a num- Indonesian troops fatally shot 50 to 270 Lisbon – According to the LUSA news ber somewhere between 100 and 150. Indo- people at a pro-independence protest. agency, Indonesia is currently one of the nesia, with its 91 different computers, Over the next two years, Ajidarma wrote countries that most uses the database on comes next, even though consultations from the stories that makeup “Eyewitness.” East Timor which the University of Coim- that country were nearly all carried out in “When journalism is gagged,” he says, bra makes available to the computerised the last 3 months. “literature must speak, because while jour- international network, Internet. Although Joaquim Ramos de Carvalho says he feels nalism has its source in facts, literature has before July there was practically no de- that the effort put into creating and updating its source in truth.” mand, since then the number of Indonesia’s the database (work done with the help of his All 12 stories have been published in the consultations has rocketed, and in the first History students on the Computing Meth- Indonesian press. week of that month alone, Indonesia tapped ods course) is worthwhile. “I regret not Ajidarma’s introduction to the English- in 235 times — more than the total ever being able to do more,” he said, adding that language edition tells of the perils of practic- registered. “fresh news” and constant updating would ing journalism in a political system where History Lecturer, Joaquim Ramos de lead to greater demand for information and rules are vague and shifting, but punishment Carvalho, in charge of dealing with the net- help the East Timor cause. is certain: dismissal, banned publications, work, said yesterday to LUSA that this Timor Net provides a wide range of in- jail terms. increase must be linked to the availability of formation — from the territory’s history, Jakarta Jakarta’s report on the Dili mas- access to Internet within Indonesia. the era before it was discovered, and Dutch sacre focused at first on video footage of the “We always thought that one day this colonial times, right up to the current con- killings, secretly filmed by a British cam- would happen,” said Carvalho, referring to flict with Indonesia. eraman and smuggled out of the territory. the thirst for information felt by people Through text and maps, the island’s de- Ajidarma followed up by sending two living under a repressive regime. velopment is presented from several differ- reporters to Dili. Their report implicitly People are using Internet “to find out ent approaches, and data on the routes of questioned the government’s account that what information they have no access to,” the discoveries, geography, geology, climate, the shooting was an “unintentional acci- and because it is a “relatively anonymous” wildlife, plant life, waterways and rainfall in dent.” service.” “It is very difficult for the Gov- Timor is all provided. Instead, it produced evidence that the ernment to find out who is using the data- The Internet database also offers infor- troops were acting under orders and that base on East Timor, unless a huge registering mation on anthropology, ethnography, leg- soldiers bayoneted protesters after the ini- system were set up,” he added. ends, customs, the construction of tradi- tial volley of gunfire. Ramos de Carvalho went on to explain tional East Timorese dwellings, and the It told how survivors were bashed to that, with the service, the user receives a island’s various art forms. death with rocks, their bodies thrown onto temporary address, which disappears when Also available is data on East Timor soli- trucks, and how troops moved among the s/he switches off, and changes when contact darity groups, other organisations that have injured, kicking bodies to see who was still is re-established. databases on Timor, and all the addresses, alive and stabbing them with knives. “This illustrates how useful Internet can both national and international, of govern- After the articles appeared, Ajidarma was be in situations where the government is mental organisations as well as NGOs con- summoned by the armed forces to explain repressive,” said the Lecturer, adding that nected with Timor. his reporting. from the moment a country becomes part of Timor Net, which is constantly being updated, is available through drawings, Page 138 East Timor Documents, Volume 40. Sept. 1 - November 3, 1995. sound, text, and video images and taped or [email protected] if you are inter- Network News music of the Maubere people. ested. ETAN/US prepares an electronic version Comment from Charlie Scheiner: If you subscribe directly to PeaceNet or of its newsletter, NETWORK NEWS, one of its sister networks you will have which averages eight printed pages. Many Although TimorNet was the first and one of easier access to the conference, including prefer the paper version of the newsletter to the best-designed Web sites on East Timor, it past material. For information about e-mailed one. often isn’t updated with current news. PeaceNet, a non-profit progressive network- Gopher TimorNet has very good cultural and his- ing service run by the Institute for Global torical background. However, there are Communications (IGC) in San Francisco, ETAN maintains background informa- other Internet sites with good current East send a message to peacenet- tion, including weekly summaries of Timor materials. Here are a few. [email protected]. reg.easttimor, in the Institute for Global Communications Gopher. To access the ELECTRONIC RESOURCES ON There is a reg.easttimor newsreader on the Web page East Timor information go to IGC’s public EAST TIMOR http://peg.pegasus.oz.au/etchrmel/ run by gopher. Type ‘gopher gopher.igc.apc.org’ From ETAN/US. Updated September 1995 the East Timor Center for Human Rights and look under the “Peace, Human Rights Education and Training in Melbourne. Un- and Social Justice.” The URL for this go- The rapid growth of computer network- pher is go- ing is a good match with the renewed activ- fortunately, it only works for people ac- cessing the Web through an APC network. pher://gopher.igc.apc.org:70/11/peace/timor. ity, information-sharing and internationalism gopher of the East Timor support movement. There Weekly summaries of reg.et are on are a number of resources available over the ETAN’s gopher (see below) and on the web World-Wide Web Internet, and more are being added all the at http://iconz.co.nz/calliope/Nettalk.html. East Timor information in English is on time. Please let us know of any additions or Reg.easttimor items, slightly selected and the World-Wide Web at the University of corrections. delayed, are also at the University of Lisbon Lisbon The first three lists (alerts, reg.easttimor, WWW site (see below). http://amadeus.inesc.pt:80/jota/Timor/ This and Network News) are maintained manu- An abridged, read-only version of include both background and current infor- ally. For access, contact John M. Miller reg.easttimor, with an average of two daily mation, and links to many other systems ([email protected]) or Charles Scheiner postings, is on APC as the conference ta- including the IGC Gopher. Amnesty Inter- ([email protected]). ETAN/US also pol.etimor. This is also available as e-mail; national’s Indonesia & East Timor material maintains a postal mailing list (for the news- send a note to [email protected] to receive is available through letter and other mailings), a fax list for alerts, it. http://www.io.org/amnesty/overview.html and a phone list. Even if you only wish to The APC also has conferences or ftp://ftp.io.org/pub/human- receive electronic material, we would appre- reg.Indonesia and reg.westpapua. The latter rights/Amnesty/Indonesia/ ciate having your postal mailing address, is available by email; write Other well-maintained East Timor pages phone and fax numbers. [email protected]. include: All four of these APC conferences can be Alert list http://iconz.co.nz/calliope/Nettalk.html and queried from GreenNet by email. To get the http://peg.pegasus.oz.au/etchrmel/ East Timor Action Network/US has a conference index, send email to: A good “course” on East Timor and other electronic mailing list for action alerts. These [email protected] (with anything you reference materials are at alerts deal with lobbying the US govern- like in the subject line) and a body like: http://www.uc.pt/Timor/TimorNet.html ment, severe human rights violations and the send index e.g.: although this site is not kept up to date. like. Items are sent as needed, and postings send tapol.etimor index Legal and historical background are at average 1 per month. send reg.westpapua index http://143.117.33.25/qub_law/Timor/intro.h reg.easttimor These indexes – which contain one line tm per posting with the topic title, data, and Reg.easttimor is a conference (news- Usenet group) which originates from the Alliance poster’s name – can be long; some of these conferences have over 500 items in them. The Usenet newsgroup for Progressive Communications (APC) soc.culture.Portuguese includes information member networks (PeaceNet, GreenNet, After receiving the index, you can retrieve a particular topic (or topics) with another on East Timor in both Portuguese and Eng- Pegasus, etc.). Reg.easttimor contains post- lish. The soc.culture.Indonesia group dis- ings from a wide range of sources, including message to [email protected] with a body like: cussion of East Timor is mostly flaming the National Council of Maubere Resistance debates, with little substantive English- (CNRM), ETAN/US, TAPOL, and support send e.g.: send tapol.etimor 608 language material not available elsewhere. groups in Australia, Portugal, Japan, France, Misc.activism.progressive and Canada, Sweden, England, Ireland and else- send reg.westpapua 3 You can send more than one query per soc.rights.human also contain materials. where. Reports and translations from wire Several mailing lists, including SEASIA- services and the Indonesian, Portuguese, message, just put each one on a separate line. The topics will come back by email, [email protected] (bit.listserv.seasia-l as a Australian, British, U.S. and Irish press also newsgroup) and INDONESIA-L (a private regularly appear there, as well as official one email per query. It will be broken into smallish chunks, mostly to accommodate list mediated by [email protected]), also documents and statements from the U.N., contain materials, but have little on East national governments, and other sources. people at the far ends of FIDO-style point software. Timor in English that does not appear in Postings average 6-10 per day, although the reg.easttimor. INDONESIA-L does have a frequency varies with the pace of East Topic numbers change every few days, so use the index soon after you get it, and lot of material in Bahasa Indonesia. Timor-related events. This conference is INDONESIA-L is available on the Web available by email with read/write access to don’t refer to topics by number in any post- ings. at any Internet address; write [email protected] http://www.uni-stuttgart.de/Indonesia/news/ East Timor Documents, Volume 40. September 1 - November 3, 1995 Page 139

There is a summary of INDONESIA-L at gopher://oasis.leidenuniv.nl/11/ .kitlv/.daily-report

NEW ET MONOGRAPH From Paul Webb, [email protected] Oct. 27. The Northern Territory University’s Centre for Southeast Asian Studies new Monograph is available: East Timor Project: Anthology on the Political Economy of East Timor Edited By Mario Saldanha (Volume Ed) Paul Webb (Series Ed) CSEAS Monograph 4 1995 $A 30 plus surface mail charges This monograph comprises seven lec- tures given in the Centre between September 1994 and February 1995 including lectures by Max Lane. Hadi Soesastro, Gerry Van Klinken, Armindo Maia, Mario Saldanha (East Timorese economist) and others.