Documents on East Timor from PeaceNet and Connected Computer Networks Volume 33: - November 9 - December 1, 1994

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$25 per volume; add $3 for international air mail. Discount rates: $10 for educational and non-profit institutions; $6 for U.S. activists; $8 international. Subscription rates: $150 ($60 educational, $36 activist) for the next six issues. Add $18 ($12 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 Wi ndows or ASCII format. Reprinting and distribution without permission is welcomed. Much of this information is translated and supplied by TAPOL (London), Task Force Indonesia (USA), CDPM (Lisbon), CNRM, Free East Timor Japan Coalition, Mate-Bian News (Sydney), East Timor Ireland Solidarity Campaign, and other activists and solidarity groups, but they are not responsible for edi - torial comment or selection. Please note that the categorization of articles in this issue of East Timor Documents is less rigid than usual, because many items deal with more than one topic. In particular, actions and statements from solidarity groups in support of protesters in Jakarta and East Timor are included in the section on the country where the solidarity group is located.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PRE-APEC BACKGROUND ...... 7 HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE APEC REGION: 1994 ...... 7 AMNESTY SHINES SPOTLIGHT ON JAKARTA...... 12 ON EVE OF ASIAN SUMMIT, HUMAN RIGHTS GROUPS ASSAIL ABUSES IN INDONESIA...... 12 CLINTON SET TO DISCUSS HUMAN RIGHTS ...... 13 SUMMIT LIGHT SPILLS OVER ON TO EAST TIMOR ...... 13 INDONESIA RIGHTS RECORD WATCH...... 14 INDONESIA RIGHTS ABUSE CITED ...... 15 CLINTON URGED TO PUT PRESSURE ON JAKARTA...... 15 DISSENT JUST A RUMBLE AS SUHARTO BANGS APEC GONG...... 16 JAKARTA UNEASY UNDER MEDIA GLARE...... 16 COST OF CONFLICT: REPORT SAYS FUTURE GRIM FOR EAST TIMOR...... 17 AI: HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS CONTINUE THREE YEARS AFTER SANTA CRUZ MASSACRE...... 17

SIT-IN AT U.S. EMBASSY IN JAKARTA ...... 18 EAST TIMORESE INVADE U.S. EMBASSY ...... 18 EAST TIMORESE WORKERS’ AND STUDENTS’ PETITION TO PRESIDENT CLINTON ...... 18 Page 2 East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994.

TAPOL SUPPORTS EMBASSY OCCUPIERS...... 19 TIMORESE PROTESTERS SAY THEY WONT QUIT U.S. EMBASSY ...... 19 AUSTRALIAN TV COVERAGE OF EMBASSY SIT-IN...... 20 VOA: TIMORESE DEMONSTRATE AT US EMBASSY ...... 20 TIMORESE BED DOWN AT EMBASSY...... 20 STUDENTS SETTLE DOWN FOR FIRST NIGHT ...... 20 DEMONSTRATORS STILL AT EMBASSY ...... 21 EAST TIMORESE ACTIVISTS ASK TO MEET PRESIDENT CLINTON...... 21 CLINTON FACES RIGHTS SIDESHOW AT ASIAN PACIFIC SUMMIT ...... 21 EMBASSY FAILS TO CLEAR COMPOUND...... 22 ‘WE LIVE LIKE IN HELL HERE – THE WHOLE OF EAST TIMOR IS JUST A JAIL’ ...... 22 TWENTY-NINE TAKE REFUGE IN EMBASSY LOT...... 23 EAST TIMOR PROTESTS EMBARRASS INDONESIA...... 23 TIMORESE IN U.S. EMBASSY “WANT ASYLUM IN LISBON” ...... 23 RIGHTS PROTESTS UNDERCUT INDONESIA’S STANDING AT ASIA-PACIFI C FORUM...... 23 ASIA SUMMIT CLOUDED BY TENSIONS IN EAST TIMOR...... 24 TWENTY NINE EAST TIMOR YOUTHS REQUEST ASYLUM IN THE U.S...... 25 EMBASSY SIT-IN FORCES ISSUE OF HUMAN RIGHTS ...... 25 U.S. JAKARTA EMBASSY PROTESTERS PONDER OPTIONS...... 26 EAST TIMOR STANDOFF IN DILI AND JAKARTA ...... 26 TIMORESE PROTESTERS STILL HOLED UP ...... 26 INDONESIA SAYS TIMORESE FREE TO LEAVE COUNTRY ...... 26 EAST TIMOR PROTEST CONTINUES AT US EMBASSY...... 27 US EMBASSY DISCUSSES ASYLUM WITH EAST TIMORESE...... 27 UNWELCOME GUEST AT SUHARTO’S PARTY...... 27 TIMORESE REJECT ASYLUM...... 28 STATEMENT BY THE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF INDONESIA...... 28 TIMOR’S OPPORTUNITY ...... 29 ‘TO THE LAST DROP OF BLOOD’...... 29 PROTESTER HOSPITALIZED ...... 30 EAST TIMORESE EMBASSY PROTEST TO CLIMAX ON TUESDAY...... 30 EMBASSY TIMORESE OPT FOR PORTUGAL...... 30 EAST TIMOR GOVERNOR APOLOGIZED ...... 31 EAST TIMORESE PROTESTERS LEAVE EMBASSY FOR EXILE...... 31 ETAN/US PROTESTS U.S. GOVERNMENT HYPOCRISY...... 32 TWENTY-NINE IN EXILE AFTER PROTEST ENDS ...... 32 INDONESIAN “SPIES” ...... 32 AI: UPDATE ON 12 NOVEMBER PROTESTS ...... 33 LET EAST TIMORESE PROTESTORS EXPERIENCE EXILE: ALATAS...... 39 BBC INTERVIEW WITH EMBASSY PROTESTORS ...... 39

MANY ARRESTED IN JAKARTA...... 39 AI: FEAR OF TORTURE FOR DETAINED PROTESTORS...... 39 CONCERN FOR FATE OF FORTY EAST TIMORESE...... 40 INFID LETTERS ON EAST TIMORESE STUDENTS DETENTION ...... 40 RELEASE STUDENTS, HUMAN RIGHTS GROUP TELLS JAKARTA ...... 41 AI: NOVEMBER 12 PROTESTERS IN DANGER OF TORTURE...... 41

APEC ECONOMICS...... 44 APEC: WHAT’S AT STAKE IN JAKARTA MEETING?...... 44 VOA: APEC MINISTERS END TALKS...... 45 East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. Page 3

APEC: POLITICS GATECRASHING ON ECONOMIC SUMMIT...... 46 ASIA-PACIFIC COUNTRIES NEAR AGREEMENT ON TRADE...... 46 U.S. SIGNS DEALS AND PRESSES RIGHTS WITH INDONESIA...... 47 LEADERS AGREE ON FREE TRADE FOR THE PACIFIC...... 47 HUMAN RIGHTS FORGOTTEN IN RACE FOR TRADE? ...... 47 US AND INDONESIA ANNOUNCE $40 BILLION IN JOINT COMMERCIAL PROJECTS...... 48 CHINA, INDONESIA DEFEND RECORD...... 48

U.S. GOVERNMENT STATEMENTS ...... 49 PRE-APEC WHITE HOUSE BRIEFING...... 49 CLINTON FOREIGN POLICY...... 49 CLINTON LEAVES MANILA ...... 49 FREE TRADE MEETING FIGHTS SHY OF FREEDOM ...... 50 CLINTON BILATERAL MEETINGS...... 51 CLINTON NEWS CONFERENCE IN THE U.S. AMBASSADOR’S RESIDENCE...... 51 CLINTON URGES GREATER FREEDOM FOR EAST TIMOR ...... 51 BACKGROUND BRIEFING ON PRESIDENT’S MEETING WITH PRESIDENT OF INDONESIA...... 52 CLINTON-SUHARTO BILATERAL MEETING ...... 55 SUHARTO, CLINTON DISCUSS EAST TIMOR...... 55 CLINTON WARNS SUHARTO ON RIGHTS ...... 56 VOA: CLINTON SAYS HUMAN RIGHTS LIMIT U.S.-INDONESIAN RELATIONS ...... 56 CLINTON RIGHTS MESSAGE UNDERMINED ...... 56 CLINTON: BUSINESS & HUMAN RIGHTS ARE SEPARATE ISSUES ...... 57 CLINTON ASSERTS HUMAN RIGHTS ...... 57 VOA: U.S. PROMOTES INDONESIAN HUMAN RIGHTS ...... 57

EVENTS IN EAST TIMOR...... 58 SPECIAL STATUTE FOR EAST TIMOR ...... 58 SALESIAN BISHOP IN THE FOREFRONT TO DEFEND HUMAN RIGHTS ...... 58 YOUTHS RAMPAGE IN DILI ...... 59 BBC ON DILI AND JAKARTA EVENTS...... 59 VOA: TIMORESE UNREST...... 60 FRETILIN SAYS VIOLENCE IN EAST TIMOR BIGGEST SINCE 1975 ...... 60 FOUR REPORTED KILLED IN DILI ...... 60 TIMORESE RIOT AS APEC MEETS ...... 60 PROTEST MARS START OF SUMMIT...... 61 ARRESTS BEGIN ...... 61 DOMINGOS SOARES INTERVIEWED BY BCET ...... 62 SITUATION UPDATE ...... 62 VOA: TIMOR UNREST...... 62 UPDATE ON DILI & JAKARTA ...... 63 RIOT-HIT EAST TIMOR CAPITAL RETURNING TO NORMAL...... 63 EAST TIMOR PROTESTS UPDATE...... 63 ARRESTS IN DILI ...... 64 EAST TIMOR CAPITAL HIT BY FRESH UNREST...... 65 ORDER RETURNS TO INDONESIA...... 67 TIMOR ‘NORMAL,’ ‘NOT PERFECT’ ...... 68 UNIVERSITY FAILS TO OPEN ...... 68 ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP CRITICIZES REPRESSION IN EAST TIMOR ...... 68 TIMORESE WORRY WORLD WILL NOW FORGET THEM...... 69 VOA FROM EAST TIMOR: VOICES OF DISCONTEN T...... 70 Page 4 East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994.

LAND OF THE MAUHU...... 71 YEARNING FOR FREEDOM...... 71 INDONESIA TO PROSECUTE TIMORESE FOR ROLE IN RIOTS ...... 72 RENEWED CLASHES AT UNTIM...... 72 POLICE CHIEF SAYS MORE TROUBLE LIKELY ...... 73 INDONESIA FAKES PRO-INDONESIA PROTEST IN DILI ...... 73 ENFORCED “SHOW OF SUPPORT” AT GUNPOINT...... 73 EAST TIMOR POLICE ARREST FOUR DEMONSTRATORS ...... 73 MAU HUNO ARRESTED ...... 74 TIMOR UNREST ‘MASTERMIND’ ARRESTED...... 74 INDONESIA TO RELEASE EAST TIMOR DETAINEES...... 74

XANANA ON THE JOB ...... 75 XANANA’S STORY - WRITTEN BY HIMSELF...... 75 EAST TIMOR’S XANANA APPEALS TO CLINTON FOR HELP ...... 80 TEXT OF XANANA LETTER TO CLINTON...... 81 U.S. TIMORESE LEADER APPEALS TO CLINTON FOR HELP...... 82 XANANA SENDS MESSAGE FROM PRISON...... 82 UN ENVOYS TO SEE XANANA...... 83

JOURNALISTS HARASSED IN INDONESIA AND EAST TIMOR...... 83 THE PRESS UNDER SIEGE: CENSORSHIP IN INDONESIA...... 83 I.F.J. CONDEMNS ABUSE OF MEDIA RIGHTS ...... 84 U.S. JOURNALISTS DETAINED WHILE TRYING TO ENTER EAST TIMOR ...... 84 GOODMAN AND NAIRN EN ROUTE HOME AFTER VISITING EAST TIMOR...... 86 SUITED TO A Q&A...... 86 AUSTRALIAN TO BE DEPORTED FROM EAST TIMOR...... 86 INDONESIA BARS FOREI GN REPORTERS IN EAST TIMOR ...... 87 BRIEF OPEN WINDOW CLOSING...... 88 JOURNALISTS EXPELLED FROM EAST TIMOR ...... 88 FIFTH JOURNALIST EXPELLED FROM TIMOR...... 88 MEDIA-INDONESIA: CLOUDY FORECAST FOR PRESS FREEDOM ...... 89

EVENTS IN INDONESIA...... 89 TIMORESE STUDENTS IN BALI SUFFER REPRISALS ...... 89 INDONESIA JAILS LABOUR BOSS, U.S. EXPRESSES REGRET...... 90 SENSITIVE INDONESIA CALLED IN THE P.R. EXPERTS ...... 91 INDONESIA’S MULTI-ETHNIC PRIDE ...... 91 INDONESIAN ACTIVISTS FEAR POST-APEC CLAMPDOWN...... 92 EAST TIMOR STUDENTS IN BANDUNG PERSECUTED...... 92 INDONESIAN PROGRESSIVES SUPPORT EAST TIMORESE...... 92

ABILIO ARAUJO TO MEET SUHARTO ...... 93 ABILIO ARAUJO CRITICAL OF DURÃO BARROSO ...... 93 THERE SHOULD BE DIALOGUE WITH ALL EAST TIMOR ANTI-INTEGRATION GROUPS —XIMENES...... 93 INDONESIA’S SUHARTO TO MEET EX-TIMOR LEADER ...... 94 MEETING BETWEEN FRIENDS...... 94 PIJAR STATEMENT ON EAST TIMOR TALKS ...... 95 EXILED FRETILIN MEMBERS TO MEET WITH SUHARTO SOON ...... 95 THERE’S NO POINT HAVING DIALOGUE WITH ARAUJO ...... 96

U.S. EDITORIALS AND OP-EDS...... 97 WHY NO INDONESIAN DEMOCRACY? ...... 97 East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. Page 5

A CLINTON MISSION IN JAKARTA ...... 97 ATROCITIES ARE BAD FOR BUSINESS...... 97 END INDONESIA’S IMPERIALIST RULE ...... 98 INDONESIA’S EMBARRASSMENT...... 99 A WORD FOR JUSTICE AT INDONESIA’S TRADE SUMMIT...... 99 U.S. CAN HELP FREE EAST TIMOR ...... 100 GRUBBY LITTLE SECRET ...... 100 VOA: U.S. EDITORIALS ON INDONESIAN HUMAN RIGHTS...... 101 INDONESIA’S PEBBLE...... 101 INDONESIA’S OPPORTUNITY LOST...... 102 RIGHTS AND WRONGS IN INDONESIA...... 102

POST-APEC REPORTS ...... 103 EAST TIMOR ANNEXATION NOT RECOGNISED BY U.N...... 103 SOME THINGS LINGER: TIMOR PROTESTS OUTLAST APEC SUMMIT (FEER) ...... 103 EAST TIMOR RISES UP ...... 104 REPORTS ON EAST TIMOR NOT YET NEUTRAL...... 105

EVENTS IN THE UK AND IRELAND ...... 106 MP NICHOLLS DEFENDS JAKARTA AGAIN ...... 106 PASS NOTES NO. 520: PRESIDENT SUHARTO ...... 107 A TERRIBLE INJUSTICE BY THE INDONESIAN ARMY ...... 107 MAGUIRE TO ANNOUNCE NOBEL PRIZE NOMINEE ...... 108 DUBLIN PICKET TO MARK EAST TIMOR KILLINGS ...... 108 UK IN SECRET £2 BILLION ARMS BID...... 108 MAKING A KILLING WITH BRITISH AID...... 109 MPS PLAN ATTACK ON HURD OVER AID...... 111 LONDON DEMONSTRATION ...... 111 HAWK AIRCRAFT ARE BEING USED IN EAST TIMOR ...... 111 PICKET AT US EMBASSY, DUBLIN ...... 112 HORTA: BRITISH GOVERNMENT COMPLICIT IN GENOCIDE...... 112 EASTERN FIST...... 113 SEND RIGHTS MONITORS TO EAST TIMOR NOW...... 113 STOP THE HAWK DEAL INFO ...... 114 MINISTER PLEDGES PROBE ON INDONESIA PLANES ...... 115 PURCHASE OF TANKS FROM THE UK BEING PROCESSED ...... 115 PATRICK NICHOLLS WRITES TO THE GUARDIAN...... 115

EVENTS IN PORTUGAL...... 117 SWIMMING FOR TIMOR - DAY OF SOLIDARITY...... 117 TROJAN HORSE (U.S. AMBASSADOR IN LISBON)...... 117 CDPM APPEALS TO SOARES...... 117 TIMORESE CALL FOR UN INTERVENTION ...... 118 “THE INVISIBLE FRIEND” CAMPAIGN...... 118

EVENTS IN EUROPE...... 120 UN REGISTER ON ARMS: INDONESIA...... 120 PICKET AT INDONESIAN EMBASSY IN NETHERLANDS ...... 120 EAST TIMORESE TAKE INDONESIA’S MADRID EMBASSY ...... 121 EU PARLIAMENTARIANS WANT AID TO JAKARTA TO END...... 121 A ROW ABOUT FINNISH ARMS TRADE TO INDONESIA...... 122 INDONESIA SEEKING WEAPONS FROM BRITAIN, GERMANY...... 122 SAINT MERRI EXHIBITION IN PARIS ...... 123 Page 6 East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994.

EU PROTESTS AGAINST JAILING OF UNION LEADER...... 123

EVENTS IN AFRICA AND ASIA ...... 123 STATEMENT BY ARCHBISHOP DESMOND TUTU ...... 123 MURAYAMA LEFT EAST TIMOR UP TO KONO...... 124 TIMORESE MEET WITH JAPAN FOREIGN MINISTRY...... 124

TIMOR GAP OIL LEGALITIES...... 124 WORLD COURT TO OPEN TIMOR GAP CASE IN JANUARY...... 124 AUSTRALIA TO BECOME LARGEST SEA EMPIRE WITH OCEAN CLAIM...... 124 WHY WE WILL LOSE TIMOR ACTION: EX-JUDGE...... 124 PROTEST PLANNED AGAINST THEFT OF EAST TIMOR’S OIL...... 125

EVENTS IN AUSTRALIA AND AOTEAROA...... 125 UPDATE ON ET SEMINAR SERIES AT NORTHERN TERRITORY UNIVERSITY ...... 125 VOA: NEW ZEALAND MPS CONDEMNATION ON HUMAN RIGHTS ...... 126 THOUSANDS RALLY FOR A FREE EAST TIMOR ...... 126 DILI MARTYRS REMEMBERED...... 128 SEA FLARE THROWN IN PROTEST...... 128 EVANS: EAST TIMOR TROOPS OUT NEXT YEAR ...... 128 DILI MURDERS OUR CREDIBILITY ...... 129 NO PEACE IN EAST TIMOR...... 129 KEATING SAYS WILL NOT LOWER FLAG ON HUMAN RIGHTS ...... 130 LABOUR (ALP) SHAMED BY EAST TIMOR INDEPENDENCE STRUGGLE ...... 130 AUSTRALIAN ACTIONS FOR EAST TIMOR ...... 130 UPCOMING CONFERENCE: PEACEMAKING INITIATIVES FOR EAST TIMOR...... 130

EVENTS IN CANADA...... 131 TIMORESE SEEKS ASYLUM IN CANADA ...... 131 CANADIAN GOVERNMENT TO RAISE TIMOR AT APEC ...... 131 CANADA URGED TO LINK TRADE WITH HUMAN RIGHTS AT APEC ...... 131 1991 LETTER FROM JEAN CHRÉTIEN ...... 132 ETAN/CANADA LETTER TO CHRÉTIEN ...... 132 NOV. 12 ACTION IN OTTAWA ...... 133 RIOTS SEND ANGRY MESSAGE TO ASIA-PACIFI C SUMMIT ...... 134 INDONESIA DESERVES CRITICISM; CHRÉTIEN SHOULD RAISE HUMAN-RIGHTS CONCERNS ...... 134 PM IGNORES RIOTING, SIGNS TRADE DEALS ...... 134 NEW CANADIAN BUSINESS INITIATIVES IN INDONESIA...... 135 CANADIAN PM BALANCES HUMAN RIGHTS, $1B IN TRADE...... 135 ETAN: CANADA SELLS ITS SOUL – FOR $1 BILLION ...... 136 CANADIAN EDITORIAL OPINION ...... 136

EVENTS IN THE UNITED STATES...... 137 CIA ADMITS BACKING SUHARTO REGIME ...... 137 WHERE DID HUFFINGTON’S FORTUNE COME FROM?...... 138 INTERCHURCH SERVICE REMEMBERS CURRENT STRUGGLE IN EAST TIMOR ...... 138 ACTION ALERT FROM THE EAST TIMOR ACTION NETWORK/US...... 139 U.S. ACTIVISTS SUPPORT EMBASSY DEMONSTRATORS ...... 140 TIMOR NETWORK SAYS CLINTON STATEMENT REPRESENTS A STEP FORWARD ...... 141 US CONGRESSMEN SUPPORT EMBASSY STUDENTS ...... 141 SEVEN ARRESTED IN PROTESTS IN SAN FRANCISCO AND WASHINGTON ...... 142 ACTION UPDATE FROM THE EAST TIMOR ACTION NETWORK...... 144 ACTIVITY IN LOS ANGELES ...... 145 East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. Page 7

FEINGOLD WRITES CLINTON ...... 146 UPCOMING NEW YORK EAST TIMOR EVENTS ...... 146 US ASSURES RI OF MORE ARMS SALES ...... 146

RESOURCES...... 146 BOOK ON XANANA ...... 146 TECHNOLOGY FOR THE RESISTANCE...... 146 CHOMSKY DOCUMENTARY AVAILABLE ON VIDEO ...... 147 DANISH MAGAZINE...... 147 APCET VIDEO AVAILABLE...... 147 PROGRAM ON EAST TIMOR AVAILABLE FOR PUBLIC RADIO STATIONS ...... 147 REVIEW OF RECENT BOOKS ON EAST TIMOR...... 147 INDONESIAN GOVERNMEN T ON THE COMPUTER NETS ...... 153

of donor countries eager to take advantage of and association now without doing any PRE-APEC BACKGROUND growing markets co-exist with a strong, damage, and perhaps even enhancing, its principled stance on human rights? If the economic performance. answer is yes, it is clear that no government Asian NGOs were also increasingly chal- HUMAN RIGHTS has quite figured out how. lenging the notion of “growth with equity” IN THE APEC REGION: 1994 Development, Equity and Worker Rights by pointing to growing income disparities and corruption and to the many losers in the The World Bank has praised the “miracle Report from Human Rights Watch/Asia, development process: indigenous peoples, economies” of the APEC region – Japan, November 1994. Vol. 6, No.13. [Excerpt: urban squatters, and in some cases, indus- Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Introduction and Indonesia sections only] trial workers. China, Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia – Worker rights, indeed, may soon become for delivering “growth with equity.” In INTRODUCTION the biggest human rights issue in Asia for 1994, however, non-governmental organiza- Many of the eighteen countries making several reasons. The economic strategies of tions (NGOs) in Asia were asking probing up the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation many East Asian countries involve the use questions about how that growth was (APEC) group are coming to the 1994 sum- of low labor costs as an incentive to foreign achieved and how equitable it really was. mit in Jakarta with impressive economic investors. Worker demands underscore the Many specialists on the region argued that growth rates and poor human rights records. social transformation and dislocations taking the sometimes unpopular decisions neces- The Asia-Pacific region more than any other place in Asia: the flow of workers from rural sary to achieve rapid growth in countries has generated a debate about the relationship areas into cities, the declining place of agri- such as South Korea, Taiwan or Indonesia between economic development and human culture in the GNP of many countries, the could only have been made by strong central rights: is economic development a prerequi- changing role of women (especially with the governments able to resist the pressures of site for political liberalization, as some peo- importance of women workers in key ex- outside interest groups, and that political ple suggest the experience of South Korea port-oriented industries such as garments, stability had been essential. The implication and Taiwan has shown, or does economic shoes, toys and electronics); and the interna- was that full respect for the full panoply of growth further legitimize authoritarian gov- tionalization of markets in the region. political and civil rights in a place like China ernments, as might be asserted in the case of The issue is also highly charged politi- was not only unrealistic, it might also be Singapore and Indonesia? Does growth lead cally. Asian governments argue that labor undesirable. But the experience of many of to greater demands from a growing middle rights are a disguised protectionist tool used the APEC countries shows that suppression class for empowerment and individual by the North against the South, at the same of political rights has too often been accom- rights, as in Thailand, or to intensified re- time that many NGOs in the region see the panied by the kind of widespread political pression to head off those demands, as in light of workers as symbolic of the collusion arrests, torture and summary executions that China? The simple answer is that there is no between their governments and the West in characterized the Park Chung Hee and Chun generalization about the impact of economic the interests of more profits. Concern over Doo Hwan years in Korea or the first two growth on human rights that is applicable worker rights in Asia has become a major decades of the New Order in Indonesia. across the region. But as the entries in this issue for labor lobbies in developed coun- Repression in the name of stability can be a report covering a selection of APEC coun- tries, and in the U.S., there are more eco- cancer, spreading quickly from emergency tries illustrate, there is certainly no evidence nomic sanctions written into law for viola- decrees to the establishment of an extensive to suggest that economic growth by itself is tion of labor rights than perhaps for any internal security network and assaults on any guarantor of human rights protection. other single kind of abuse. bodily integrity. Once in place, authoritarian That fact suggests that outside pressure on Worker rights is not only a question of institutions are very difficult to remove, and abusive governments is still very much wages and working conditions, although it might well be that earlier moves toward needed, but therein lies a crucial policy di- those are among the key issues that led to dismantling those institutions would have lemma, brought out most starkly by the over 10,000 strikes and work stoppages in produced greater economic gains for Korea, debate in the United States over extending China in 1993 by the government’s own or that the current government in Indonesia Most Favored Nation (MFN) trading status admission, or the tens of thousands of could lift controls on freedom of expression to China: can the “commercial diplomacy” workers out on the streets of Medan, North Page 8 East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994.

Sumatra in April 1994. Some degree of free- The same governments who turn a blind ness to foreign ideas and technology – and dom of association is essential, so that eye toward the ill-treatment of guest work- foreign financing. Singapore’s Lee Kuan workers have the ability to negotiate the ers in their country show more concern for Yew was Western-trained; so were many of terms of their employment. That ability their nationals working abroad. Many of the the most important policy-makers of every may be key to the subsistence and survival Burmese workers in Thailand face a range of East Asian country except perhaps China that Asian governments insist is their top abuses ranging from forced labor to physical and Vietnam. Their countries have shown no priority. The fire at the Kader toy factory in abuse and extortion in immigration detention objection to Western aid or development Thailand in May 1993 or at the toy factory centers – abuses in which Thai officials are experts, their institutes receive generous in Shenzhen that killed 84 women in No- directly involved. But when some of the grants from the same donors who fund the vember 1993 or at the textile factory in over 53,000 Thai workers in Japan each NGOs. Why funding for NGOs should be Fuzhou that killed 61 the following Decem- year who overstay their visas are arrested or subversive when grants to government agen- ber might all have been prevented had the abused, the Thai government actively inter- cies and academic institutions are not is workers had some ability to organize and venes to urge the Japanese government to something of a mystery. present grievances. The tight controls on grant the workers a right to stay and protect Despite the efforts of some governments freedom of association, combined with them from abuse. in the APEC region to reject human rights mounting grievances, also mean that Asian Asian Responses to Human Rights criticism, many at the same time have been governments are in many cases creating a responsive to domestic and international In part because of the nature of the issues pressure cooker with the potential to cause pressure for improvements, thereby tacitly development has raised, and in part because far greater damage in the future than relaxing acknowledging the legitimacy of the issue or of the international attention to the issue, the controls would do now. the validity of the concerns. there is now a growing constituency within Growing regional ties have given labor is- In China, there are projects underway in the APEC region, both non-governmental sues a higher profile for several reasons. It is the Institute of Law of the Chinese Acad- and governmental, for more attention to widely accepted premise that some of the emy of Social Sciences and other academic human rights. International pressure is in- worst working conditions in Asia are in institutions to understand international hu- creasingly a reflection not merely of West- plants set up with Asian capital, from Hong man rights law and how it applies to China, ern values but of the demands of Asians on Kong, Taiwan or Korea in particular. The and some lively debates on constitutional- their own governments. While the huge ex- disastrous fire in Fuzhou in December 1993 ism taking place within the legal community. pansion of NGOs in the 1980s in East and took place at a Taiwanese-owned firm, and (These efforts, which are serious, stand in Southeast Asia, particularly the latter, can one of the big strikes in Indonesia in 1993 sharp contrast to the sham “non- be traced in part to the availability of funds was at a Korean-owned electronics firm. It governmental” institution that the govern- from donor countries, the roots of the NGO raises the question as to whether those ment set up in 1993. Called the Chinese movement in Asia are deep. The largest Asian governments, like Japan and Korea, Society for the Study of Human Rights, it human rights organizations in the region with an explicit commitment to upholding seems to have been created for the sole pur- emerged as responses to political crack- human rights across borders, have any influ- pose of attending international NGO confer- downs in their own countries, when their ence or will to exert influence over the prac- ences to promote the government view- colleagues were subject to arrest and deten- tices of their own investors. It also gives rise point.) tion. This was true in Korea in the mid- to complacency among Western corpora- In June 1993, President Soeharto of In- 1970s, the Philippines after Marcos’s decla- tions, particularly American ones, who donesia formed a national human rights ration of martial law in 1972, the formation point with pride to the workplace condi- commission that proved to be more inde- of the Legal Aid Institute in 1971 in Indone- tions in their own joint ventures and plants pendent than expected. A year later it has sia and the emergence of Thai human rights and compare them favorably with those set become a lightning rod for complaints of organizations after the coup in 1973. The up by their Asian counterparts. But growing abuse from all over Indonesia, even if it first human rights organization, short-lived, worker discontent is likely to have effects remains powerless to do much more than to appear in China was in 1979 at the begin- that go beyond a single plant, and it is publicize the complaints. A bill to set up a ning of the Democracy Wall period. To surely in the interests of the international similar commission in Thailand is currently think that concern over political and civil corporate community to address worker pending in the Thai parliament. rights is a Western conceit is to do an enor- rights issues that go beyond the workplace. The countries making up the Association mous disservice to the efforts of many Tensions over international labor flows of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN, in- Asians to oppose abuse of state power in a have created major diplomatic incidents and cluding Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, the period before support for NGOs became a fueled regional tensions. Labor shortages in Philippines, Singapore and Brunei) have Western vogue. The “Asian concept of hu- the more developed countries of the region been discussing the past few years the set- man rights,” stressing economic develop- have exerted a strong pull on workers from ting up of either a bureau of human rights ment over political rights and collective poor countries: some 200,000 to 400,000 within the ASEAN secretariat or an Eminent duties over individual freedoms, is largely a Burmese are working in Thailand while Persons Delegation composed of people self-serving construct of Asian governments Thais themselves seek work in Taiwan, from the region that would be able to take that has been widely rejected by Asian hu- Japan and the Gulf countries. Indonesians quick action, of a quiet, diplomatic sort, in man rights activists. constitute most of the 430,000 legal and case of a major human rights violation in a The accusation by Asian governments 200,000 illegal foreign workers in Malaysia, member country. The problem of any such that NGOs are a channel for introducing doing everything from domestic work to governmental initiative, however, was dem- foreign values because of their reliance on rubber-tapping. Taiwan has 61,000 foreign onstrated by Indonesian bullying of the foreign funds is hypocrisy in the extreme. It workers according to the Interior Ministry, Philippines and Thai governments to pre- is true that indigenous funding for NGOs is but church sources there put the total of vent the holding of conferences on East almost non-existent. But the economic legal and illegal workers at closer to 200,000, Timor in Manila and Bangkok respectively growth of East Asia has been due in part, mostly from the Philippines, Thailand, Ma- in mid-1994 and the Thai government’s according to the World Bank, to its open- laysia and Indonesia. willingness in September 1994 to bow to East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. Page 9

Malaysian pressure for the arrest and de- cal will to end abuses is not going to be will also become more imperative than ever portation of a Malaysian Muslim leader and persuaded by polite diplomatic appeals that the United States become a party to all his followers on spurious grounds (see en- alone. major treaties, including the International tries on Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, · Long-term institutional development, Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural below). particularly in the field of law, can be Rights which it has signed but never ratified. Japan’s response to the debate over hu- productive but it cannot not address It remains the only major developed country man rights has been different. Its own hu- problems such as torture or arbitrary de- which is not a party.) man rights practices have not, for the most tention, where immediate action is neces- A U.N.-based strategy will not remove part, been the subject of much international sary. There can also be serious ethical di- the need for a strong bilateral human rights scrutiny, although human rights groups lemmas about providing aid to an abusive policy on the part of individual govern- within Japan and abroad have raised con- government designed to halt practices ments. That policy may increasingly have to cerns about its treatment of the Korean that the government has shown no inter- be in partnership with the private sector, minority, foreign workers and refugees, and est in addressing. and it will require strong commitment and the failure to consider individual compensa- The economic importance of the APEC leadership from respective heads of state, tion to victims of abuse during the Second region to industrialized countries, and the and, like multilateral strategies, a combina- World War. Japanese detention procedures, linkages between foreign economic policy tion of pressure and incentives. If human prison conditions and use of the death pen- and domestic well-being, means that the rights policy becomes the de facto responsi- alty have also come in for censure. domestic consensus in the first world behind bility of ministries of commerce or industry, But like South Korea and the Philippines, a forceful human rights policy is harder to it will be doomed from the start. it has rejected many elements of the “Asian build. A market-driven foreign policy, on concept of human rights” in favor of a more INDONESIA the other hand, seems to have the inevitable Indonesia’s policy of “openness,” char- universalist interpretation that acknowl- effect of marginalizing human rights con- edges human rights as an issue transcending acterized by a freer press, greater tolerance cerns. of demonstrations, increased visibility of international boundaries. Its acceptance of A new approach may lie in combining U.N. standards on human rights, combined non-governmental organizations and open strong bilateral initiatives with building a discussion of previously taboo subjects, with its economic clout as the largest donor human rights strategy firmly anchored in the in the region, should make it a logical partner came to an abrupt end during the year with United Nations system of human rights the closing of three well-known news publi- of other developed countries in a campaign protection. That system includes numerous to press for human rights improvements in cations in June. The closures, weeks before international treaties, the most important of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Asia. Concern that Japan cannot be an effec- which are the International Covenant on tive human rights advocate because of the (APEC) summit, served to draw interna- Civil and Political Rights and the Interna- tional attention back to a pattern of abuse legacy of horrific wartime atrocities is tional Covenant on Economic, Social and voiced more often by Japanese officials than that the policy of “openness” had temporar- Cultural Rights, as well as several special- ily obscured. by human rights activists and victims in the ized mechanisms dealing with torture, sum- region, many of whom would welcome That pattern was characterized by mili- mary executions, freedom of expression and tary intervention in virtually all aspects of greater Japanese pressure on their govern- others issues. Many of these are already ments. Indonesian public life and by the arbitrary well-known to Asian governments. At the exercise of authority by President Soeharto, The Policy Response invitation of the Indonesian government, the well into his fifth term as President and Since it is clear that human rights abuses Special Rapporteur on Torture and the Sp e- looking increasingly likely to stay in office in the APEC region will not go away with cial Rapporteur on Summary and Arbitrary for life. More and more, however, the Presi- economic growth, the challenge is how to Executions have visited East Timor in 1991 dent and senior army officers were at odds, respond to them. The international commu- and 1994 respectively. The Working Group with Soeharto’s championing of the power- nity clearly has not yet found an effective on Disappearances, another U.N. body, has ful Minister of Research and Technology, answer. The U.S. in particular has lost been to the Philippines, and the Working B.J. Habibie, a major sore point with the credibility as a human rights advocate with Group on Arbitrary Detention visited Viet- military as Habibie increasingly took on the delinkage of MFN and human rights in nam for three weeks in November 1994. The defense procurement functions and worked China after two years of strong rhetoric. Special Rapporteur on Religious Intolerance on turning an organization of Muslim intel- The Clinton administration also suspended a was scheduled to visit China, also in No- lectuals into a vehicle to build a political review of labor rights practices in Indonesia, vember. base for the President and himself. (The partly in order to pave the way for a har- The International Labor Organization has immediate cause of the press closures was a monious reception for President Clinton at also developed standards and conventions series of articles in one of the banned maga- the APEC summit. While Australia, Canada, for the protection of worker rights and in zines about Habibie’s controversial decision, and many European governments include some cases has sent “direct contact mis- without the military’s knowledge, to pur- human rights language in their aid agree- sions” to discuss with governments how to chase thirty-nine ships of the former East ments and American law conditions certain better protect human rights. Such a mission German navy.) Neither the military nor the trade benefits on respect for worker rights visited Indonesia in November 1993. President was accountable to the Indonesian and human rights more generally, applica- The recommendations of these various public for their actions, and therein lay one tion of these provisions tends to be token at groups and individuals can form the basis of of the key factors in ongoing human rights best. Thus far, the chosen alternatives have a multilateral advocacy strategy, but it will abuses been ineffective: require time, resources and coordination. It In addition to restrictions on freedom of · Quiet diplomacy or “dialogue” in the will also require a commitment by govern- expression and curbs on dissent, the abuses absence of credible pressure does not ments to use a combination of constructive included denial of worker rights, especially work, as the U.S. experience with China and punitive measures to press for imple- the ability to form independent trade un- attests. A government without the politi- mentation of these recommendations. ( It ions; harassment and intimidation of non- Page 10 East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. governmental organizations and professional Home Affairs in February, and as of No- sity, in Salatiga, Central Java. Dr. Arief associations; forcible dispersal of peaceful vember, it had not yet been promulgated, Budiman, 50, a Harvard-trained sociologist demonstrations and other legitimate exer- although many believed the government was and professor of development studies at cises of freedom of assembly; and torture. waiting until after the APEC meeting to do Satya Wacana Christian University in The issue of worker rights came to a head so. The decree appeared to be aimed at Salatiga, was sacked, effective October 31, with a massive workers’ rally on April 14 many of the most outspoken human rights ostensibly for “making unauthorized com- and 15 in Medan, North Sumatra, where and environmental organizations including ments that damaged the good name” of the workers poured into the streets demanding the Legal Aid Institute and WALHI. The university. Budiman was outspoken on higher wages and the right to organize, and latter, an environmental organization, everything from human rights to political the subsequent trials of its alleged organizers brought a lawsuit against President Soeharto succession in Indonesia to the need for de- in October and November. The rally was the in September in the Jakarta administrative mocracy on campus. Dr. George Aditjondro, culmination of months of wildcat strikes and court, alleging that he had allowed Minister who holds a Ph.D. in education, was inten- turned into anti-Chinese violence on the Habibie to take a no-interest loan from sively interrogated by police in the central second day, with Chinese-owned shops funds meant for reforestation in order to Javanese city of Yogyakarta in October. He vandalized and one ethnic Chinese busi- support the development of Habibie’s air- was suspected of having insulted govern- nessman reported as killed; although his craft manufacturing company. mental authorities for humorous remarks he death was initially reported as a lynching, an The travails of an independent journalists made about the political power structure in autopsy showed that he died of a stroke association, Aliansi Jurnalis Independen or Indonesia during a university seminar on after his car was set upon by angry workers. AJI, were also indicative of controls on August 11. He had also been repeatedly The violence appeared to have been insti- freedom of association. Most professional criticized by officials for his work on East gated by typed flyers distributed by mili- organizations in Indonesia are government- Timor, suggesting that the death toll in the tary-backed thugs. backed or run and have no interest in chal- 1991 Dili massacre was far higher than ac- Hundreds of workers and labor organiz- lenging government policies. The officially- knowledged. ers were arrested in connection with both recognized journalists organization, Per- Torture by both the military and police, the rally and several subsequent strikes in satuan Wartawan Indonesia or PWI (Indo- who are also part of the armed forces, con- North Sumatra, and they were tried more nesian Journalists Association), was no tinued to be a serious problem. One promi- quickly than usual, apparently to try to exception. The closure of two magazines, nent case publicized during the year in- defuse worker grievances before the APEC Tempo and Editor, and a tabloid newspaper, volved members of one faction of a church conference. Most workers accused of dam- DeTik, on June 21, however, led outraged dispute in North Sumatra who were se- aging property were sentenced to relatively journalists and editors, many of them from verely tortured in the district military com- lenient terms of three or four months in the banned publications, to set up AJI on mand of Tarutung, North Tapanuli, after prison. Independent labor organizers ac- August 8. In what became known as the their arrest on May 12. They were arrested, cused of incitement were treated more Sirna Galih Declaration after the place where in violation of their right to freedom of as- harshly. Mochtar Pakpahan, leader of the it was announced, the journalists rejected sembly, on suspicion of having conducted a independent labor union called Serikat Bu- “all kinds of interference, intimidation, cen- secret meeting to discuss church affairs; a ruh Sejahtera Indonesia or SBSI, was sen- sorship and media bans which deny freedom month afterwards, two were still hospital- tenced to three years in prison in November of speech and open access to information.” ized as a result of the torture they suffered. – long enough to keep him out of circulation The Ministry of Information then began to Torture was also a major issue at the trial of during the national parliamentary elections harass AJI members, saying the organization eight civilians and one military officer ac- in 1997. Several other labor organizers, in- was not recognized, suggesting to their edi- cused in the May 1993 slaying of a labor cluding two activists from Medan named tors that they be fired and stating that ac- organizer named Marsinah, whose murder Janes Hutahean and Parlin Manihuruk, were cess to important meetings like APEC became the most notorious human rights on trial as of early November. HRW/Asia would be restricted to PWI members. On cases of the decade. At the trials in Surabaya believed all those charged with incitement October 31, Andreas Harsono, a prominent and Sidoarjo, East Java, between the months were arrested in violation of their right to AJI member and journalist from the English- of March and July 1994, all of the civilians freedom of association. language Jakarta Post was sacked, on vague alleged that they had been tortured during In an effort to dampen domestic and in- charges of misconduct. the nineteen-day period in October 1993 ternational criticism of worker rights, espe- Two of the publications closed down in that they had been held in incommunicado cially with the threat of American economic June attempted unsuccessfully to re-open detention by the intelligence unit of the East sanctions looming large (see below), the under other names and with a new editorial Java division of the army. Indonesian government announced a series staff. The editor of DeTik, Eros Djarot, tried The army also stepped up an anti-crime of labor reforms in January and raised the to publish a look-alike tabloid called Sim- campaign that appeared to involve the extra- minimum wage. It also entered into an poni on October 3, but it was shut down judicial execution of criminal suspects, when agreement with the International Labor Or- after one day, in part on the grounds that it launched Operasi Bersih or Operation ganization which many local labor activists journalists who were not PWI members Clean-Up in April. The Jakarta police com- saw as merely serving to strengthen the were involved in its publication. The staff of mander gave the upcoming APEC meeting as government-recognized union. Tempo loyal to the former editors tried to one reason for the draconian measures. At Freedom of association was also at stake obtain a new license for a Tempo look-alike least thirteen suspected criminals were shot with the drafting of a presidential decree on called Berita, but as of November, their dead in the first month of the operation. NGOs that would tighten government con- chances of doing so looked slim. East Timor, the territory invaded by In- trol of their activities and make it possible Academic freedom became a major issue donesia in 1975 and unlawfully annexed as for them to be dissolved if they were judged late in the year with the military interroga- its twenty-seventh province in 1976, con- to have engaged in actions detrimental to tion and dismissal respectively of two noted tinued to be the site of major human rights undefined “national interests.” The draft activist professors from a small Christian abuses, as the government tried to prevent decree was circulated by the Ministry of university, Satya Wacana Christian Univer- any expression of pro-independence senti- East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. Page 11 ment or dissatisfaction with Indonesian vember 1991, on which Indonesian troops reforms announced by the Indonesian gov- administration. At the same time, there were opened fire, leading to the “Dili massacre.” ernment in January were sufficient to war- some signs of movement on the question of Indonesian sensitivities over East Timor rant a decision to “suspend but not termi- East Timor’s political status. A “reconcilia- led to an effort to export controls on free- nate” its review of labor rights practices. tion meeting” took place in England from dom of expression and assembly to The legal reforms in question, however, September 27 to September 29 between neighboring countries. In May, the Indone- which included revoking a decree which East Timorese working with the Indonesian sian government tried to stop a conference allowed military intervention in labor dis- government and East Timorese exiles, who on East Timor from being held in Manila; putes; allowing workers to negotiate collec- for the most part, however, were not sup- after canceling joint venture contracts with tive bargaining agreements at the workplace porters of the largest resistance organiza- Philippine companies and engaging in other level; restructuring the single government- tion, the Maubere National Resistance heavy-handed tactics, it succeeded in per- recognized union; and raising the minimum Council (CNRM). A CNRM leader, José suading President Ramos to ban foreigners wage, had little effect in practice on abuses Ramos Horta, met with Indonesian foreign from attending the four day Asia-Pacific of worker rights. In late August, the minister Ali Alatas in New York on October Conference on East Timor (APCET). Simi- USTR’s office visited Indonesia to assess 7 for further talks, although Indonesia said lar pressure was exerted on Malaysia in worker rights again, and despite the fact that the talks did not constitute negotiations. June and on Thailand in July to stop meet- key labor organizers were under arrest in In East Timor itself, tight controls on the ings or demonstrations in support of East Medan and that military intervention in freedoms of expression, association and Timor. labor disputes continued to be routine, the assembly remained in place, and while dis- Some human rights lawyers were arrested Clinton Administration showed no signs of appearances and extrajudicial executions during the year. Maiyasyak Djohan, a law- reviving the pressure. were increasingly rare, there was no pro- yer with an organization called the Indone- Indonesian pressure on the Philippines gress on accounting for past cases. (The sian Institute for Children’s Advocacy over the East Timor conference in May U.N. Human Rights Commission’s Special (Lembaga Advokasi Anak Indonesia) was provoked especially strong reactions in Rapporteur on Summary and Arbitrary arrested in September in connection with the France, where one of the invitees denied a Executions visited East Timor at the invita- April worker unrest in Medan, apparently visa to attend was Danielle Mitterand, wife tion of the Indonesian government in July.) because of information given to him during of the French president. Several delegations Two demonstrations were forcibly bro- confidential conversations with his clients of parliamentarians visited East Timor dur- ken up by the military. On April 14, a small who had been involved in earlier strikes. He ing the year, from Britain, Sweden, New group of East Timorese held a pro- was expected to be tried on charges of in- Zealand and Japan. In November, the Japa- independence demonstration in front of the citement in November. A lawyer named nese parliamentarians, who had visited in hotel in Dili, the capital of East Timor, Munir from the Legal Aid Institute’s Sura- August, urged Prime Minister Murayama to where a delegation of foreign journalists was baya (East Java) branch was arrested and raise the issue of human rights in East Timor staying. They were briefly detained, then briefly detained on August 19 in Malang, during his bilateral meeting with President released until after the journalists had de- East Java, for advising workers on how to Soeharto at the APEC meeting in Jakarta; parted. In early May, eleven young men pursue legal claims for unfair dismissal. He they also criticized the use of Japanese de- were arrested in connection with the demon- was accused of holding a meeting without a velopment aid to monitor shortwave trans- stration, and six were eventually charged and permit. mission in East Timor. tried. The heaviest sentence was given to As the summit meeting of the Asia- The newspaper closures in June gener- Pedro de Fatima, three years and six months Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) or- ated widespread, but muted, international for “spreading hatred toward the govern- ganization approached, human rights activ- criticism. Australian Prime Minister Gareth ment of Indonesia.” ists from the Legal Aid Institute and other Evans called it “a very disappointing devel- On July 14, a march of students from the organizations found themselves under con- opment indeed.” The initial American re- University of East Timor to the local par- stant surveillance by military intelligence. sponse was to express “regret.” A some- liament to protest the behavior of Indone- International Response what stronger statement, buried in para- sian soldiers and perceived religious insults graphs of praise for economic achievements, International concern over worker rights had just gotten underway when it was forci- was included in the U.S. delegation’s state- and East Timor was more than matched by bly dispersed by the military. The military ment at the annual meeting in July of the the increasing tendencies of developed coun- blamed the students for initiating the vio- Consultative Group on Indonesia (CGI), the tries to see Indonesia as an emerging regional lence by throwing stones at security forces, countries and international lending institu- power and attractive market. The latter view but it was contradicted by the university’s tions which provide Indonesia with devel- began to prevail in the United States, after a rector, a Javanese named Bratasudarma, who opment aid. relatively tough stance on human rights saw developments unfold and said soldiers A debate ensued in both Europe and the during the Clinton administration’s first two had led the attack. United States over arms sales to Indonesia. years led to increasing pressures from Peaceful supporters of independence In a report submitted to the Senate Foreign sources ranging from the business commu- continued to be arrested. On May 19, an Operations Subcommittee on June 16, the nity to the Australian government, to take a East Timorese theological student named U.S. government was urged to “carefully more constructive approach. José Antonio Neves was arrested in Malang, consider progress in addressing human rights The American reversal on labor rights East Java, while posting a letter from the concerns” prior to approving licenses to sell was a case in point. After having given the East Timorese guerrilla leader Konis Santana military equipment. The Clinton Admini- Indonesian government eight months in July to supporters attending a conference in Ma- stration adopted a new policy on Indonesia 1993 to improve its labor rights policies or nila. His trial was ongoing in November. ceasing both sales and the granting of li- face a cut-off of tariff benefits under the Dozens of East Timorese remained in prison censes for export of small arms and other Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) for their non-violent role in organizing or crowd control items. The report suggested program, the U.S. Trade Representative’s participating in a funeral procession in No- that certain human rights conditions be met office decided in February that the legal before the sales or licensing was resumed. Page 12 East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994.

The Administration opposed the proposal, Just last month, the Wall Street Journal Amnesty in its report accuses Jakarta of and the Indonesian government said it would carried a front-page article which praised targeting individual human rights activists rather buy arms elsewhere than accept con- economic progress made by the Southeast and academics for arbitrary arrest, and, in ditions. On August 1, Congress agreed on Asian nation under Suharto’s 27-year rule. some cases torturing them. wording that arms sales and export licensing But the paper also noted what it called Su- It notes, in particular, the case of Dr. to Indonesia could only take place if the harto’s “tight autocracy” in which “soldiers George Aditjondro, a prominent academic President could report that the Indonesian and the rich still hold sway.” who was arrested twice last month on government was reducing its military pres- The closure by the government of three charges of “insulting a government authority ence in East Timor, complying with the popular publications and a crackdown or body” which carries a maximum 18- recommendations made by the U.N. Human against independent labour union leaders month prison sentence. Rights Commission in a resolution on East over the past year have attracted an unusual It also cites the cases of four men ar- Timor in March 1993 and working to ad- amount of publicity. rested in September – including a law stu- vance the U.N. Secretary General’s efforts But the biggest bilateral rights problem dent, a lawyer, a human rights activist, and to resolve the political status of the terri- between the United States and Indonesia has an artist – who were detained by security tory. centered on East Timor, the former Portu- forces in Jakarta and tortured over two days guese territory invaded and annexed by In- and nights before being released. AMNESTY SHINES donesia in the mid-1970s. Human Rights Amnesty also notes the better-known SPOTLIGHT ON JAKARTA groups like Amnesty have since charged that case of an independent trade union leader, as much as a third of the Timorese popula- Dr. Muchtar Pakpahan, and at least 10 other Washington, Nov. 3 (IPS) - Less than tion was wiped out after the invasion. labour activists, arrested in connection with two weeks before the summit of Asia- Earlier this year, Congress banned the labour unrest in North Sumatra last April. Pacific leaders in Bogor, Indonesia, Am- supply of U.S.-made helicopters and Amnesty says no evidence has been pre- nesty International is accusing Jakarta of counter-insurgency weapons to Indonesia. It sented that justifies the charges of “incite- cracking down on opposition and socially had earlier forbidden the use by Indonesia of ment” with which they were charged and marginal groups. any aid money to gain military training from which carry a maximum six-year prison The London-based human rights group the United States. sentence. Thursday released a 39-page report which Most recently, Washington has ex- says the government of President Suharto pressed concern about the government’s ON EVE OF ASIAN SUMMIT, has used a six-month-old anti-crime cam- encouragement of Indonesians from other HUMAN RIGHTS GROUPS paign called ‘Operation Cleansing’ to harass islands to migrate to East Timor. its critics and labour activists. Asked about current U.S. policy towards ASSAIL ABUSES IN “In an apparent attempt to suppress dis- Indonesia this week, Assistant Secretary of INDONESIA sent in the run-up to APEC (Asia Pacific State for Asia Winston Lord noted all of Economic Cooperation) meeting, the gov- these problems and insisted that both Presi- by William Branigin, Washington Post For- ernment has launched a concerted attack on dent Bill Clinton and Secretary of State eign Service freedom of the press, freedom of assembly Warren Christopher will raise the issues MANILA/Nov. 3 – As Indonesia pre- and freedom of association,” the report with Suharto and other Indonesian officials pares to host President Clinton and 17 other charges. during the APEC meetings. leaders at an Asia-Pacific summit, interna- Amnesty’s broadside follows a similar “We would hope that the East Timor tional human rights and labor groups are report issued last week by Human Rights situation would be eased in terms of (Indo- calling attention to what they say is a pat- Watch/Asia, formerly known as Asia nesia’s) military presence and the amount of tern of abuses from one end of the world’s Watch. access for outsiders and respect for local largest archipelago to the other. The New York-based group accused Ja- culture,” he said. U.S. congressmen have joined labor and karta of “tightening controls on non- “I’d rather not get more into that internal human rights activists in urging Clinton and governmental organisations (NGOs) and the affair, (but) I’d just say that we hope this other leaders to press Indonesian President press and taking harsh anti-crime measures situation will improve, and it will be a sub- Suharto to end a crackdown on independent involving what appeared to be extra-judicial ject on the agenda.” labor unions and peaceful dissidents. But executions of suspected criminals.” Lord also said Washington hoped “that human rights and labor issues are not on the It said all of these efforts appeared in- the Indonesians in their own self-interest agenda for the Nov. 15 summit of the Asia- tended “to ensure that no incidents, organi- will take liberalizing measures in their soci- Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) fo- sations, or individuals ‘blacked the good ety – whether it’s treatment of the press or rum. name’ of Indonesia prior to or during the East Timor or journalists or NGOs (non- In a report issued today, the London- APEC summit.” governmental organisations) or labour issues based group Amnesty International charged The APEC summit will bring leaders of – both as an end in itself, but also to create a that “the human rights situation in Indonesia 17 nations – including China, Japan, and the positive atmosphere for the APEC meet- has deteriorated in the run-up to the APEC United States – to Indonesia to discuss the ings, and allow Indonesia ...to show its best summit.” It said an anti-crime campaign that easing intra-regional restraints on trade and face.” began in April “has broadened in recent investment. But he stressed that human rights must months to affect government critics, labor The meeting is focusing unprecedented be seen as only part of a wide-ranging rela- activists (and) a variety of socially marginal attention on Indonesia, the world’s fourth tionship whose “positive elements” include groups.” most populous nation with which Washing- economic growth, the bilateral military rela- Amnesty International expressed concern ton has traditionally had major strategic and tionship, Jakarta’s role in U.N. peacekeep- that the pre-summit crackdown had led to trade ties. ing and its “moderate leadership of the Non- “serious human rights violations,” including Aligned Movement.” the arbitrary arrest and reported torture of political dissidents, the “unfair trial” and East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. Page 13 imprisonment of labor activists and the tified as a “prisoner of conscience” by Am- WorldNet dialogue beamed from Washing- “unlawful execution of alleged criminals.” nesty International, and his case has been ton here yesterday evening. Hundreds of street vendors, squatters and taken up by several U.S. congressmen, who Lord contended that the decision to raise prostitutes also have been arrested since the have urged revocation of trade privileges for such issues should not be surprising since sweep began with the deployment of more Indonesia under the Generalized System of the US remains consistent in its approach than 15,000 soldiers and police in Jakarta, Preferences. Arrested in Jakarta in August, towards Indonesia. Amnesty said. Pakpahan faces up to six years in jail if con- President Clinton, to be accompanied by The charges followed a scathing 126-page victed. a large delegation which will include Hillary report in September in which Amnesty With more than 188 million people, In- Clinton and Secretary of State Warren blamed Suharto’s government for “human donesia ranks as the world’s fourth-most- Christopher, is expected to arrive here on 13 rights violations on a staggering scale” over populous country. Its natural resources and November to begin the longest visit to Indo- the last three decades. Although most hu- abundant supply of cheap labor have helped nesia by any American president. The four- man rights reporting on Indonesia has fo- attract foreign investment and spur robust day stay here marks a very rare occurrence cused on East Timor, the former Portuguese economic growth. But low wages have fu- because the US president seldom stays in colony that was annexed by Indonesia in eled labor unrest, which the government is any one country for more than two days. 1976, government counterinsurgency opera- increasingly hard pressed to contain. Following the Bogor meeting, Clinton tions in the provinces of Aceh and Irian In one notorious case in May 1993, a 25- will make a one-day state visit where he will Jaya, as well as political repression on is- year-old watch factory worker and labor hold bilateral talks with Suharto. lands in between, have contributed to a organizer named Marsinah was abducted, Though preferring to stress the various “pattern of systematic human rights viola- tortured, raped and killed after a strike in areas of ‘positive ‘ cooperation between tions,” Amnesty said. East Java. Authorities blamed nine civilian Jakarta and Washington, Lord acknowledged The government angrily rejected that as- factory officials and one local military offi- that ‘we also have problems in the human sessment, accusing the group of engaging in cer, but human rights groups charged that rights area.’ Nevertheless he noted the talks “counterproductive political campaigns” the civilians were tortured into confessing will be conducted in a highly amiable man- against Indonesia. At a government work- and that higher-level military men were in- ner. shop on human rights last month, Suharto volved. ‘These are issues consistently discussed said certain “excesses” may occur as part of Amnesty International also blames the with Indonesia in a spirit of friendship and the development process and must be reme- Indonesian military for the deaths of 2,000 mutual respect,’ he said. died, but he said Indonesia could not blindly civilians in the north Sumatran province of Throughout the hour-long satellite inter- follow Western human rights precepts that Aceh during operations to suppress an view, Lord consistently exalted Suharto for do not conform to “our national ideology.” armed separatist group between 1989 and his leadership in many fields from the econ- Independent Indonesian human rights cam- 1993. In the eastern province of Irian Jaya, omy to regional security to APEC, but not paigners said they were excluded from the “hundreds of people have been extrajudi- human rights. conference. cially executed” over the last 15 years in Commenting further on the specific con- In a joint letter last week, 76 members of crushing an independence movement, Am- cerns the US would like to bring up with the U.S. House of Representatives urged nesty says. Indonesia, Lord cited the recent closure of a Clinton to use the APEC forum to “demon- As part of government efforts to number of publications and East Timor as strate that ... we will not tolerate flagrant “cleanse” Jakarta for the APEC meetings, among them. violations of internationally recognized Amnesty International says, dozens of al- ‘We hope our Indonesian friends can workers’ rights.” leged criminals have been shot in police make progress on some of these difficult Earlier, the Brussels-based International custody in recent months. Police have typi- issues which are problems not just for us Confederation of Free Trade Unions accused cally said that the suspects were trying to but also for other countries as well,’ Lord the government of trying to crush independ- attack officers or escape when they were remarked ent unions through trials of labor activists. killed, although some were wearing hand- The government says only one officially cuffs. SUMMIT LIGHT SPILLS OVER sponsored union is authorized to represent ON TO EAST TIMOR workers. CLINTON SET TO DISCUSS So far, at least 55 people have been put HUMAN RIGHTS on trial on charges of inciting a strike in the INDONESIA IS BRACED FOR WORLD north Sumatran town of Medan in April. Jakarta Post, 5 Nov. 1994. Abridged. [Lead ATTENTION ON ITS ANNEXED More than 40 have received sentences of up item on front page.] TERRITORY. to a year in jail. The strike resulted in a US President Clinton and Indonesia’s Financial Times, 8 November 1994. By: week of riots that involved as many as Manuela Saragosa 20,000 workers and left three persons dead, President Suharto will wrestle with human including a factory owner. rights and labour issues when the US head On All Souls Day at the Santa Cruz On Monday, Medan labor leader Amosi of state makes a one-day state visit here cemetery in the East Timor capital of Dili next week. Assistant Secretary of State for Talambanua was sentenced to 15 months in last week, people paid tribute, in the Roman prison for having encouraged workers to East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Winston Catholic tradition, to their deceased family demand higher pay and set up their own Lord said yesterday and apart from bilateral and friends. Near the chapel a large group union. issues on economic and security affairs, the gathered and, led by a local priest, remem- Among those currently on trial is issue of human rights and freedom will also bered up to 200 independence demonstra- Muchtar Pakpahan, 41, the chairman of feature in discussion between the two presi- tors who were massacred there by Indone- Indonesia’s largest independent union, who dents. sian soldiers three years ago. was more than a thousand miles away at the ‘We will discuss human rights, workers Further recollections of the massacre, of- time of the Medan strike. He has been iden- rights problems,’ Lord said during a live ficial admission of which was slow to Page 14 East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. emerge at the time, are the sort of thing the Meanwhile the military makes clear it has “We will discuss the human rights prob- Indonesian government hopes will not take no plans to leave. ‘If we leave there will be lem, workers rights, recent closing of some the gloss off its hosting of the Asia Pacific more conflict,’ says East Timor’s military magazines and East Timor issues,” said Economic Cooperation summit next week. commander, Col. Kiki Syahnakri. However, Winston Lord, the U.S. assistant Secretary President Suharto’s government, notori- he claims the number of armed guerrillas is of State. ously sensitive about its annexation of the dwindling - there are only 188 poorly- The APEC summit is the latest attempt former Portuguese colony it invaded in equipped Fretilin fighters left in the moun- by Indonesia, the world’s fourth most 1975, is hoping to win new international tains, he says. populous nation, to show it is ready to play respect from the summit, due to be attended One East Timorese official says rape and a larger part in world affairs. by representatives of 17 states. murder by the military and police are daily But trouble remains with East Timor, a However, US President Bill Clinton and occurrences in many parts of the region. former Portuguese colony that Indonesia others will be under pressure to raise human Many of these cases, he says, go unreported invaded in 1975 and annexed a year later. rights issues at the summit, and at least and the perpetrators are not brought to trial. Although Jakarta insists its hand-picked some attention is bound to be focused on ‘We are really suffering here,’ he says. representatives in East Timor chose to align East Timor. Clashes between mainly Moslem Indone- with Indonesia, the United Nations has East Timor was abandoned by its colo- sians, who are given incentives to move to never recognized the move. nial administrators in 1975 when the region East Timor, and Roman Catholic East A wave of correspondents are already ar- was plunged into civil war. Indonesia in- Timorese are common. Recently, two army riving in Dili, the capital of East Timor, for vaded because, the government claims, the officers were found guilty by a military the third anniversary of the Nov. 12 massa- civil war in the territory, which borders court of desecrating the sacrament in a cre of scores of unarmed civilians by Indo- Indonesian West Timor, ‘threatened seri- Catholic church and discharged. nesian soldiers. ... ously to disrupt the national development The animosity is made worse by rising Once dependent on oil and natural gas and reconstruction efforts in which Indone- unemployment. The East Timor Provincial exports for two-thirds of its foreign ex- sia was engaged.’ Capital Investment Coordinating Board says change earnings, Indonesia now is a center East Timor was declared Indonesia’s there were 16,308 unemployed people in for textiles, shoes and other manufactured 27th province in 1976, defying resolutions the province in August 1993, but independ- exports. Gross national product expanded at passed by the United Nations which does ent sources say the figure is much higher. better than 6 percent on average over the not recognise Jakarta’s sovereignty over the There are complaints that all the best jobs last 10 years and average annual income territory. go to outsiders. East Timorese say they doubled to $700 per person. Sensitive to foreign criticism, Indonesian have little control over their region’s econ- This growth has a dark side, however. officials are keen to point out that the region omy. The plantation and processing of cof- Critics fault the authoritarian nature of a receives more government development fee, the main cash crop, is dominated by the government that was propped up in its funds, per head, than any other. Under Por- military, although a monopoly on produc- early years by the military. tuguese rule the region’s infra-structure and tion was lifted earlier this year. Washington has warned that trade privi- facilities were negligible. Today there are Indonesian rule has increased the level of leges might stop unless the rights of the schools, a university, roads, bridges, health distrust among the population. Plain-clothed country’s 76 million workers are recognized. clinics, telecommunications facilities and intelligence officers are ubiquitous. ‘I don’t On Tuesday, it criticized the conviction of a electricity. Water supply is still a problem. even know whether my brother or sister is top union leader blamed for violence during However, says an East Timorese profes- spying on me,’ says an East Timorese pro- a labor strike. sional, ‘we never cried for development. We fessional who complains that Indonesian Muchtar Pakpahan, the chairman of In- cried for freedom.’ rule has sowed an atmosphere of fear among donesia’s largest independent union, was Freedom is not on offer - a referendum is the population. sentenced to three years in jail for violence ruled out - but the Indonesian government In the absence of a referendum, and with in Medan last April that left three people has taken some steps to find a solution. Mr. a continuing large military presence in East dead and nearly 200 shops and factories Ali Alatas, foreign minister, met earlier this Timor, Indonesia’s rule in the region will damaged. year, under United Nations auspices, with continue to attract criticism in the region. Indonesia does not recognize any trade the leader-in-exile of the Fretilin independ- The APEC summit next week is likely to be union except the one controlled by the gov- ence group, Mr. Ramos Horta, and with Mr. seen by some as an occasion for that criti- erning Golkar party. Abilio Araujo, another former leader-in-exile cism to be loudly voiced. “We believe that (Pakpahan) should not who was ousted from the exiled movement be held accountable for unintended violence by opponents last year. INDONESIA RIGHTS in connection with protests over legitimate More recently President Suharto an- RECORD WATCH labor demands,” the U.S. statement said. nounced he would meet Mr. Araujo al- In that riot, a Chinese factory owner was though they would not discuss the status of AP, 9 Nov. 94. Abridged beaten to death.... the territory. The concept of a free press also remains There has also been talk of granting Jakarta, Indonesia (AP) – With President a distant dream. Two magazines and a Clinton likely to bring up human rights is- autonomy or special status to East Timor newspaper were banned in June, and foreign but it is not clear what this means and sues during a visit next week, Indonesia is publications critical of the government have statements have been non-committal. East bracing for a rare burst of outside scrutiny. been delayed or withheld. Timorese are quick to point out that the About 2,000 reporters and media people Suharto says his country is poised for north Sumatran province of Aceh and the are expected in Jakarta when Clinton and economic takeoff, and as chairman of APEC, sultanate of YogJakarta in central Java are President Suharto meet Nov. 16, the day he is pushing for free trade. also accorded special status, but that this after a summit of the 17-member Asia- Yet despite promises of economic re- has not made any difference to the way the Pacific Economic Cooperation forum. form, non-tariff barriers – including lucrative regions are governed. East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. Page 15 monopolies tied to Suharto’s children – are In a statement just before he left for Asia, “It is obvious that the Indonesian gov- the norm, according to Western diplomats. the president said he will use his meetings in ernment wants to eliminate the free labour In his latest state-of-the-nation speech, Indonesia “to talk about the advance of movement,” Boudewijn Jonckheere of the Suharto called for political openness, but human rights, worker rights and democratic Brussels-based ICFTU, said. with restraint. values. We must continue to pursue this The ICFTU and the U.S. based human “Openness does not mean unlimited path with patience, persistence and deter- rights organisation Human Rights freedom, or worse still, the freedom to be mination.” Watch/Asia have both said the trial and hostile, to pit one party against another,” he Last week, Assistant Secretary of State subsequent sentence was unjust and have said. Winston Lord said human rights, although a called on President Clinton to raise the issue serious issue, is but one component of U.S. with Indonesian President Suharto. INDONESIA RIGHTS ties with Indonesia. Clinton will be among several government ABUSE CITED He said Indonesia has been a persistent leaders attending next week’s Asia-Pacific opponent of Islamic extremism and has been Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit. It AP, 11 Nov. 94 a voice for moderation in Third World fo- will be chaired by Indonesian President rums. He also said Indonesia has been at the Suharto, who is currently holding the APEC WASHINGTON (AP) – As they pre- forefront of efforts to achieve peace in presidency. pare to play host to next week’s 18-nation Cambodia and elsewhere in Asia. APEC includes the Association of South- Asia-Pacific summit, Indonesian authorities But rights groups contend that repression east Asian Nations (ASEAN) – Brunei, are committing widespread human rights in Indonesia transcends other considera- Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, Ma- violations while trying to curb street crime tions. A report issued in September by Am- laysia and Singapore – along with Australia, and worker unrest, watchdog groups say. nesty International USA charged that Indo- the United States, Canada, New Zealand, President Clinton, setting out for Asia on nesia’s human rights record has been dismal China, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Friday, promised to raise the rights issue since the accession to power of President Korea, Papua New Guinea and Mexico. with Indonesian officials. Suharto in 1965. Chile becomes a full-fledged member on Recent reports by Amnesty International Since then, it said, “hundreds of thou- Saturday. and Human Rights Watch-Asia highlighted a sands of people have been killed, prisoners Human Rights Watch/Asia further urged government effort under way since April to have been routinely and sometimes fatally Clinton “to withdraw tariff benefits under rid Jakarta of “economic and political crimi- tortured and thousands have languished in the General System of Preferences (GSP) nals” to ensure an orderly environment for jails after show trials – all in the name of unless Indonesia made progress toward the summit. stability and order.” improving respect for internationally recog- The Amnesty International report alleged For almost two decades, Indonesia has nised labour rights.” that dissidents have been subjected to arbi- been a frequent target of rights groups be- Executive director of Human Rights trary arrest and sometimes torture. A crack- cause of its invasion, conquest and annexa- Watch/Asia Sidney Jones said: “By locking down on labor activists and workers has tion of East Timor, a former Portuguese up an effective organiser, the Indonesian included unfair trials and arbitrary impris- colony. The perception of heavy-handed government may think it is going to prevent onment, it said. There also have been in- Indonesian rule in East Timor prompted labour unrest from the upcoming APEC stances of unlawful execution of alleged Congress to impose limited military sanc- meeting through to the next elections in criminals, the report contended. tions against Indonesia earlier this year. Indonesia in 1997.” The report by Human Rights Watch-Asia Edward Masters, a former U.S. ambassa- Jonckheere said the ICFTU has written criticized the shutdown of three journals dor to Indonesia, said the progress Indonesia several letters to President Suharto protest- this summer along with a government effort has brought to East Timor often is ignored. ing against the trial and subsequent convic- to prevent nongovernmental organizations in “Despite its mistakes, Indonesia has tion of Pakpahan. But the protest letters Indonesia from voicing dissent. done more to develop the barren, infertile remained unanswered. “Pakpahan was not An earlier study by the same group region than Portugal did in four centuries,” even in Medan during the riots,” said Jonck- charged that Indonesia “remains a country heere, who has visited Indonesia earlier this characterized by arbitrary exercise of power year. at all levels of government.” CLINTON URGED TO PUT PRESSURE ON JAKARTA The April rally, which had been planned The government acknowledges that sol- as a peaceful demonstration, turned violent. diers have been used to rid the capital of By Bob Mantiri Human rights groups say the violence was criminals, but it adamantly denies that any- instigated by paid thugs. one has been killed or that any human rights BRUSSELS, Nov. 10 (IPS) - The Interna- Human rights Watch/Asia said all the have been violated. tional Confederation of Free Trade Unions trade unionists had been doing was exercis- And, in an apparent effort to mute criti- (ICFTU) Thursday made an appeal to U.S. ing their legitimate rights of freedom of as- cism of labor practices, the government President Bill Clinton to use next week’s sembly and association, and it accused the promised on Friday to intensify enforce- APEC summit to put pressure on the Ja- Indonesian government of using the trials as ment of safety laws and to prosecute of- karta regime to set free a jailed Indonesian a pretext for destroying Pakpahan’s SBSI fenders, among other measures. labour leader. independent labor union and silencing labour U.S. Trade Representative Mickey Kan- Mokhtar Pakpahan, leader of the inde- activists. tor, in Jakarta for the summit, called the pendent trade union Serikat Buruh Sejathera Three other labour organisers, not linked announcement a step in the right direction Indonesia (SBSI) or Prosperous Workers to SBSI, are still on trial for incitement in but said more must be done. Union of Indonesia was earlier this year Medan. They are: Janes Hutahean, Parlin Clinton has been under fire from human convicted and sentenced to three years im- Manihuruk and Maiyasyak Djohan. All are rights groups for not confronting Indonesian prisonment for inciting protester in a mass expected to be sentenced before the APEC authorities more aggressively on rights is- workers’ rally in Medan, in North Sumatra meetings begin. sues. last Apr. 14 and 15. Page 16 East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994.

Jones said the reaction of the U.S. gov- Siti Musdalifah, general secretary of the ers and 118 journalists saying they had been ernment to the Pakpahan sentence would be besieged Indonesia Labour Welfare Union deprived of information by the ban on the a test of whether the Clinton Administration (SBSI), said she was summoned by military weeklies. was willing to follow through with tough intelligence on Friday and told not to “take But most remained cautious. Eros Djarot, rhetoric on worker rights or back down, as it action” during the APEC meetings, which editor of one banned magazine, said he was did on China and the Most Favoured Na- wind up with a November 15 summit. losing patience after its successor was held tions status issue – the latter in the interests The SBSI, whose leader Muchtar Pakpa- under indefinite suspension on procedural of good commercial relations. han was jailed for three years on Monday grounds. “If U.S. special trade negotiator Mickey for his alleged role in worker protests, has “The arrogance of these authorities Kantor, who will be with Clinton in Jakarta, said it will not confront the government should come to an end. We have been pa- does not renounce a resumption of the GSP, publicly during the meetings, which climax tient for a long time. We don’t intend to be U.S. credibility in Asia on human rights in a summit in the town of Bogor. “We critical of the government but we love our issues is going to hit rock-bottom,” Jones know the risk is high if we do. Maybe they country,” he said of efforts to publish – and said. will kill SBSI openly if we stage any pro- keep open – a political magazine. A spokesman of the Indonesian embassy tests,” said one SBSI official. in Brussels said that the Indonesian govern- The mood prevails elsewhere in Indone- JAKARTA UNEASY UNDER ment next week will send a high-ranking sia’s disparate dissident movement. Long MEDIA GLARE official of the Department of Manpower to used to the carrot-and-big-stick tactics of Brussels and other European capitals, who Suharto, most admit to being cowed by a By Johanna Son will put Indonesia’s case. renewed crackdown signalled by the closure He added that Indonesia has an officially of three weeklies in June. Jakarta, Nov. 11 (IPS) - Indonesia has recognised trade union called the SPSI “and Other newspapers were warned into line. tried to use the flood of foreign dignitaries it would be better for the SBSI to join it for Other sources of discontent, including la- attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Coop- the sake of the interest of the Indonesian bour, students and people in East Timor, eration (APEC) meetings to boost its inter- labourers.” have found themselves either jailed or bul- national standing, but the world’s fourth But according to the ICFTU, the gov- lied into silence. most populous nation is finding itself the ernment sponsored SPSI is towing the gov- At least 70 labour activists, including focus of much unwanted attention as well. ernment line which is against strikes, higher SBSI leader Muchtar Pakpahan, have been Indonesia has tried to propel itself into wages and the right to freedom of assembly. jailed for their alleged roles in April riots in the limelight in recent years by heading the “With this policy, the Indonesian govern- the town of Medan. Australia and the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) and now ment wants to please foreign investors,” United States have joined human rights APEC, eagerly showing off its booming Jonckheere said. groups in complaining about the sentences. economy and success in drastically reducing “It’s a kind of fear. Not only that, it is a poverty despite having 190 million people. sense of futility because even the press is no But the country has come under close DISSENT JUST A RUMBLE AS scrutiny in the run-up to the APEC meet- SUHARTO BANGS APEC longer free to tell the truth,” said Goenawan, who hopes to host a party on Sunday to ings that began this week, and Jakarta has GONG launch a collection of his articles, entitled been feeling the pressure regarding its re- “Sidelines.” cords on human rights and labour. Reuter, 11 Nov. 1994. By Jeremy Wagstaff While delegates and hundreds of foreign On Thursday, Australian Foreign Minis- Jakarta – President Suharto beat Indone- journalists here for APEC are unlikely to see ter Gareth Evans told his Indonesian coun- sia’s traditional gong on Friday to herald a much evidence of such fear, this may be no terpart Ali Alatas that the country’s human hoped-for new free trade era, confident there accident. Not even subtle signs of defiance rights situation remained “poor.” would be no discordant notes from a hardy remain. And Winston Lord, U.S. assistant Secre- but muted opposition. Posters welcoming APEC delegates to tary of State for East Asian and Pacific Af- So far, at least, he has been proved right. Jakarta, put up by the independent journal- fairs, says U.S. President Bill Clinton will Worn down by months, if not years, of ist association AJI, have been torn down. raise the issues when he meets with Indone- intimidation, racked by internal divisions An exhibition of photographs illustrating the sian leader Suharto next week. and a sense of the futility of challenging government’s moves against dissent has also A summit of the leaders of the APEC nearly three decades of Suharto rule, Indo- been disbanded, dissidents said. member economies takes place Nov. 15. nesia’s dissidents have been noticeable by Dissident hopes that Western countries Jakarta has been studiously ignoring their recent silence. represented in APEC – the United States, comments like that of the Australian and They said plans for demonstrations dur- Canada, New Zealand and Australia – might U.S. officials, and instead stressing its suc- ing two weeks of Asia-Pacific Economic take up the cudgel on their behalf appear to cesses. On Thursday, it unveiled the first Cooperation (APEC) meetings had been have faded. locally designed and built airliner, hailing it ditched, largely because of thinly veiled Diplomats said President Clinton, who as a symbol of a developing country’s leap government threats. arrives on Sunday and will stay on after the into the arena of high technology. An elaborate show marked the unveiling “Firstly, it’s true that the so-called pro- APEC meeting, was unlikely to accede to democracy movement is fragmented. It al- requests to meet leading activists, although of the 50-seater N-250 commuter plane ways has been. Secondly, security measures Washington has said it will raise human before hundreds of reporters in Bandung, taken by the government have succeeded in rights as an issue during his visit. West Java. Research and Technology Minis- intimidating potential disturbances from But some dissent remained. East ter B J Habibie, also the chief proponent of happening,” said Goenawan Mohamad, Timorese students vowed to publicize their the plane project, said a U.S. firm has al- editor of the recently banned Tempo maga- territory’s struggle for independence. Law- ready ordered 10 planes while eight are be- zine. yers on Friday lodged a suit against the ing reserved for a European company. government on behalf of nearly 1,000 read- East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. Page 17

He added that a joint venture would be East Timor, critics say his moves are just fit has accrued to Indonesia as a whole,” it formed in the United States for the plane’s part of efforts to brush up Indonesia’s im- said. 100 million dollar assembly plant there, age because of APEC. “Moreover, the bitterness of the East with U.S. giant General Electric asking for East Timor was annexed by Indonesia in Timorese toward Indonesia appears as 10 percent ownership. 1976, a move that has yet to be recognised strong as ever, as demonstrated by the In fact, the plane project has had steep by the United Nations. Suharto has recently popularity of the sporadic protests and costs, and has already used up 650 million said he was willing to talk to exiled (resistance group) Fretilin’s continued dollars in state funds, including a controver- Timorese activists. popularity. sial loan from the country’s reforestation New Zealand Foreign Minister Don “However, Indonesia stands to gain from funds. McKinnon, for his part, told Alatas that the the exploitation of the Timorese oilfields, The APEC meetings are being used by situation in East Timor has improved based though it is still too early to calculate the different groups to say what otherwise on the report of a group of New Zealand returns these will produce.” could not or would not be read by thou- legislators who visited the disputed territory Australia, on the other hand, has had sands of delegates and members of the for- recently. some political fallout over its stand on East eign press. Timor, but has largely escaped any major Evans had a long list ready during his COST OF CONFLICT: economic or political damage from it. meeting with Alatas, singling out Jakarta’s REPORT SAYS FUTURE The Saferworld report said the conflict in closure of three outspoken publications in East Timor had cost Australia in terms of June, the imprisonment of a labour activist, GRIM FOR EAST TIMOR bearing the costs of caring for up to 5,000 continued military presence in East Timor East Timorese refugees. Karen Noack, AAP Nov. 17, 1994 and the government’s ‘clean-up operation’ “It has also made a grant of $A250,000 in for the APEC meetings. LONDON – The future was grim for the relief assistance for East Timor, implying The Indonesian press had been enjoying indigenous people of East Timor who were the recognition of Indonesian sovereignty increasing freedom until June, when Jakarta unlikely to share in benefits from the eco- and effectively undercutting attempts by revoked the publishing licenses of the nomic development of the region, an interna- international organisations, such as the In- weekly magazines Tempo, DeTik and Editor tional report has found. ternational Red Cross, to gain access to the for allegedly writing on issues “injurious to The Cost of Conflict, published today by territory,” it said. national interests.” the UK-based foreign affairs think-tank But it said the cost of care of refugees Meanwhile, the U.S.-based Human Saferworld, looked at the price of conflict to was far outweighed by the potential returns Rights Asia released a statement saying the people in seven trouble spots around the from the oilfields to be developed in the three-year jail term for labour activist Muk- world, including East Timor. Timor Sea. htar Pakpahan was too “stiff” and was For the East Timorese people, the report “The Australian government has had a meant to kill Indonesia’s labour movement. found, the destruction of their identity after fuller, more accurate knowledge of the East Evans cited the same case Thursday, and their nation was annexed by Indonesia in Timor situation than any other industrial the Indonesian Observer in its editorial said 1975, and the mass murder and massive nation with the result that, to some extent, the sentence was “completely out of touch human rights abuses which followed, ap- other governments and other members of the with reality and constitute an affront to the pears almost total. UN have tended to look to Australia for sense of justice of many people.” It said the people remain traumatized, guidance,” the report said. Human Rights Asia has asked the Clinton alienated and unhealthy by Indonesian stan- government to resume its review of Indone- dards, and unconvinced by the considerable AI: HUMAN RIGHTS investment Jakarta has injected. sia’s labour practices, saying workers’ rights VIOLATIONS CONTINUE should not take the backseat to economic “While East Timor has shown some im- concerns. provement in its economic development, it THREE YEARS AFTER SANTA In 1993, Washington had threatened to is unclear the extent to which the indigenous CRUZ MASSACRE withdraw Jakarta’s trade privileges unless population is benefiting,” the Cost of Con- Indonesia improved its labour rights record flict said. From Amnesty International, 12 Nov. and allow the formation of independent “Moreover, it is questionable as to Three years after the Santa Cruz massa- trade unions. whether future development of resources cre in Dili, human rights violations have A 1993 report by the U.S. State Depart- such as minerals and oil will ever benefit the continued unabated in East Timor belying ment said Indonesia practiced extrajudicial population. Indonesian government claims that the mas- arrests and detention. It also said there were “With only a tiny percentage of the sacre was an aberration and that it has taken many cases of torture of those in custody, population reaching tertiary education, and a significant measures to improve the situa- the use of excessively violent techniques in quarter of these never finding employment, tion since 1991. dealing with suspected criminals and ignor- the future indeed appears grim for the in- The violations form part of a broader ing legal safeguards against arbitrary arrest digenous population of East Timor.” pattern evident over many years in Indone- and detention. The report also said there had been little sia and East Timor and Amnesty Interna- These days, observers here say the Indo- benefit so far for Indonesia, which had in- tional is urging governments now gathering nesian government’s clean-up operation for curred heavy costs in its annexation of the in Jakarta and Bogor for the Asia Pacific the APEC meetings has been extended from former Portuguese colony. Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, to tidying up the streets and buildings in the “East Timor is more heavily subsidized raise long-standing human rights concerns in capital and the resort town of Bogor, where than any of Indonesia’s provinces, and East Timor and Indonesia during the meet- the conferences are being held, to cracking while enormous profits have accrued to ings. down on those critical of the government. Indonesia’s ruling elite through the activities Peaceful advocates of East Timor’s inde- And while Suharto appears to have taken of military monopolies, little concrete bene- pendence continue to be at risk of torture a more conciliatory position on the issue of and ill-treatment, arbitrary detention, unfair Page 18 East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. trial, and long-term imprisonment. Despite to appeal are guaranteed under Indonesia’s The students, looking frightened and repeated government claims that access to Code of Criminal Procedure. tense, unfurled banners and posters inside the territory is unrestricted, East Timorese And while the judicial system continues the compound calling on Indonesia to stop who speak with or pass information to for- to be used to imprison the government’s ‘genocide’ in the troubled territory. eign delegations are at risk; and the govern- peaceful opponents, those responsible for The embassy is across a large park [Mer- ment continues to deny Amnesty Interna- past human rights violations in East Timor deka Square, Medan Merdeka] from the tional permission to visit. have yet to be brought to justice. presidential palace and about three kms While new violations continue, the gov- In October, a military court sentenced from the conference centre where hundreds ernment has failed to clarify the fate of most two Indonesian soldiers, Privates Bakhrul of APEC officials from all over Asia and the of the estimated 270 killed and 200 “disap- Alum and Nurcahyo, to prison terms of 28 Pacific are meeting. peared” in the wake of the Santa Cruz mas- and 20 months respectively, for desecrating Security was light when the students ar- sacre. With few exceptions, those responsi- a Catholic Church in Dili on 28 June this rived outside the embassy, but dozens of ble for past violations have not been brought year. However, military personnel who beat riot police with shields and sticks swooped to justice. and arbitrarily detained demonstrators pro- onto the scene when the embassy was in- Hundreds of pro-independence activists testing on 14 July against the incident in the vaded. have been detained for brief periods in the church, have yet to be held to account. The students sat inside the compound past year, and several have been formally The Indonesian Government claims to and negotiated with Indonesian police and charged for their peaceful political activities. have conducted a full investigation into the embassy officials. José Antonio Neves, a leading pro- 14 July incident, but details of such an in- The riot police were at first allowed into independence activist and a student at a vestigation have not been forthcoming. the compound but left when an embassy theological institute in Malang, East Java, However, Amnesty International has been official told them: ‘I don’t want anyone to was arrested on 19 May 1994. He is cur- able to clarify the fate of some of those do anything.’ rently on trial for seeking East Timorese reportedly arrested and ill-treated. Irawan Abidin, Indonesian Foreign Min- independence and for distributing informa- It has confirmed that dozens of protes- istry spokesman, said he had no knowledge tion about human rights violations and po- tors were beaten and twenty two people of the incident but was check and would litical developments in East Timor abroad were detained during the demonstration. Of issue a statement later. and is charged under Article 106 which car- the 15 people arrested on 14 July, all but ries a life sentence. one were believed to have been released EAST TIMORESE WORKERS’ If convicted José Neves would be re- without charge by 16 July. One of the dem- AND STUDENTS’ PETITION garded as a prisoner of conscience and onstrators, Jaime Martins, remained in de- would join some 30 other East Timorese tention until 14 October but it is not known TO PRESIDENT CLINTON prisoners of conscience currently serving whether he has been charged. The fate of Original Document, 12 November sentences up to life imprisonment. Mateus Afonso, reportedly arrested and The government has invited foreign jour- publicly beaten by security forces on 23 The Honourable President of the United nalists in Indonesia for APEC to travel to July after admitting that he was one of the States of America, Mr. Bill Clinton East Timor. However, East Timorese who organisers of the 14 July demonstration, On behalf of the East Timorese student speak with foreign journalists are vulnerable remains unclear. and worker communities, we come to you to official reprisals and sometimes become today, Mr. President, to present the follow- victims of human rights violations. ing petition. Eleven young men who staged a small SIT-IN AT U.S. EMBASSY It is our wish, on this occasion of the peaceful demonstration in Dili during a visit IN JAKARTA Third Anniversary of the massacre of 12 by foreign journalists in April 1994 were November 1991, to remind the world that subsequently arrested. Six have now been demands for a serious and independent in- tried and sentenced to terms of between 20 EAST TIMORESE vestigation of the Santa Cruz slayings have months and two years. Amnesty Interna- INVADE U.S. EMBASSY gone unheeded purely and simply as a result tional considers all of those sentenced to be of the West’s economic relations with Ja- prisoners of conscience. Upon sentencing Reuter, 12 November 1994. Abridged karta and that a systematic violation of hu- three of the six, a spokesman for the Dili [Our information is that the demonstrators man rights in the form of the repression of court told the press that they were found students, persecution, intimidation, deten- guilty of “expressing anti-Indonesia senti- consist of East Timorese workers as well as students. – TAPOL] tion and torture continue in East Timor to ments in front of the public on April 14.” this day. Faced with increasing international and Jakarta – More than twenty East Given that we are rapidly approaching domestic criticism of its human rights re- Timorese students carrying banners and the year 2000, set as the time limit for the cord, the Indonesian Government has chanting ‘Free East Timor’ invaded US em- total eradication of all forms of colonialism claimed that it abides by the rule of law. bassy grounds in Jakarta on Saturday, de- and oppression of Peoples; However, the trial of the six peaceful dem- manding President Bill Clinton push to free Given that under your Administration, onstrators mentioned above did not conform jailed guerrilla leader Xanana Gusmão. the United States has proven once again to to international fair trial standards or even to Clinton was due in Jakarta on Sunday for the world its moral responsibility in relation Indonesian law. the APEC summit on Tuesday. to the defence of the universal principles of None of the six were accompanied by le- The students clambered out of taxis and freedom, justice and peace with the suc- gal counsel, either during interrogation or scampered over the 2.6 metre iron fence into cesses it has achieved in the difficult Middle during their trial. Defence lawyers have also the embassy compound before security East peace process, in the prevention of a expressed concern that they were not ac- guards could stop them. second invasion of Kuwait by Iraq and your corded proper facilities to appeal their sen- ‘We are calling for the release of our lead- tences. Access to legal counsel and the right ers,’ one of the students told reporters. East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. Page 19 government’s support of the restoration of case which constitutes a flagrant violation of and are now very elderly and incapacitated, democracy in Haiti; universal principles and of International as well as the release of trade union leader We wish to remind you, Mr. President, Law. Muchtar Pakpahan and the many other of the 19 year old conflict in East Timor. Jakarta, 12 November 1994 union activists and workers who have been It is our hope that, in an effort to redress With the highest consideration, jailed this year in Medan and Pematang the error of President Ford who, during his On behalf of East Timorese students, Siantar, North Sumatra. stay in Indonesia just days prior to the fate- On behalf of East Timorese workers, Yours sincerely, ful day of 7 December 1975, gave the green Here are the names and place/date of Carmel Budiardjo light to Indonesia’s military invasion and birth of the demonstrators who are from [Note – this is the first of hundreds of letters occupation of East Timor, you will be pre- Jakarta. to the U.S. government from groups and pared to make use of the great moral stature Duarte Freitas* Lospalos, individuals all over the world; almost none achieved by the United States of America 6.VII.1972 of them are included in East Timor Docu- through its condemnation of the violation of Calisto D. Sarmento Manatuto, ments.] the fundamental rights of human beings and 9.XI.1965 peoples to make the following demands of Germano F. Gomes Dili, 1.VII.1972 TIMORESE PROTESTERS President Suharto: Boaventura Abilio Moreira Manatuto, 1. The release of East Timorese Resistance SAY THEY WONT QUIT 1965 Leader, Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão, and Angelo Menotti Soares Baucau, 1969 U.S. EMBASSY of all East Timorese political prisoners. Valerio José Trinidade Lospalos, 1972** 2. That the President of Indonesia, who has Reuter, 12 November 1994. By Jeremy Wag- Antonio Ramos Same staff. Abridged stated his preparedness to engage in dia- Luciano Valentino Conceicao Lospalos logue with anti-integration elements, Egas Dias Monteiro* Lospalos, 23 yrs old Jakarta – Banner-waving East Timorese agree to the participation in such talks of Hermenegildo Lopes students invaded the US embassy com- the true representatives of the People of Camacho Hector Lopes Lospalos pound in Jakarta Saturday to demand Presi- East Timor, including members of the Antonio da Dilva Sarmento Soibada, 1974 dent Clinton’s support to free jailed guerrilla four components of the Resistance: the Luis Maria Lopes Maubisse, 15.IX.67 leader. US officials told them to leave but East Timorese Church, CNRM, UDT * Signatories on behalf of workers they vowed to stay till their demands were and Fretilin. ** Arrested after being interviewed by Reuters met. 3. That Jakarta grant access to an independ- Twenty-nine young men seeking the re- ent and impartial mission with the aim of TAPOL SUPPORTS lease of Xanana Gusmão clambered over the conducting a serious investigation into 2.6 metre railings into the embassy parking the Santa Cruz massacre. EMBASSY OCCUPIERS lot where they squatted nervously saying they would go on hunger strike until they The Jakarta regime fails to acknowledge TAPOL, the Indonesia Human Rights Cam- met US Secretary of State Warren Christo- the universal nature of Human Rights, argu- paign, has sent the following letter to Presi- pher. ing that cultural considerations and those of dent Clinton in Jakarta: ‘America is the only superpower in the a socio-economic nature must be taken into 12 November 1994 world. We think the Americans can use their account. It is this understanding of Human influence to save the situation in East Rights which the regime relies upon to jus- To President Bill Clinton Timor,’ one demonstrator shouted. tify its violation of the same in Indonesia. US Embassy, Jakarta. Fax: 62-21 386 2259 Christopher is here for ministerial meet- We therefore appeal to you, Mr. President, Dear President Clinton, ings to prepare for a summit of the 18- to remind President Suharto, TAPOL, the Indonesia Human Rights member APEC forum next week. Clinton 1. of the existence of elderly and incapaci- Campaign, calls on you to instruct your arrives Sunday. tated Indonesian political prisoners who Embassy in Jakarta to give protection to the Embassy officials at first said the stu- should, as a matter of urgency, be granted more than two dozen East Timorese who dents could stay as long as they wished but amnesty; are now inside the embassy premises. three hours later ordered them out by the 2. of the existence of Indonesian political We call on you to use your considerable end of the day. prisoners who after 30 years in jail con- influence with President Suharto to release ‘We will escort you to the front gate but tinue to face the death penalty. the East Timorese leader, Xanana Gusmão, you must leave today,’ security chief Bruce Finally, we appeal to you to exert pres- and all East Timorese political prisoners Tully said. sure upon Jakarta, being held by the Indonesian authorities, and Christopher who pledged to raise con- 1. to recognise the right of Indonesian to press him to enter into negotiations about cerns about East Timor with Indonesian workers to organise, to assemble and to the future of the territory with all the com- authorities, said the US would not move freedom of expression, ponents of the East Timorese resistance, forcefully against the protesters. 2. to free union leaders Muchtar Pakpahan The Catholic Church, the CNRM, the UDT ‘We have no plans to throw them out,’ and Amosi whose “crimes” are their de- and Fretilin. The US government should also he told reporters before rushing to Manila to fence of the rights of Indonesian workers. press for an immediate, independent and link with Clinton. ‘We are dealing with the We firmly believe that the ethical con- impartial mission to go to East Timor with situation with sympathy and understanding, cerns which have guided America’s foreign the aim of conducting a serious investigation as well as firmness.’ policy in relation to other countries ext end into the Santa Cruz massacre which oc- He said the US was seeking assurances also to Indonesia, and thus we deposit great curred three years ago today. from the Indonesian government about hope in the decisive influence which the We also urge that you take up with treatment of the protesters ‘when and if United States of America is able to bring to President Suharto the question of the imme- they leave.’ bear in realizing a solution to the East Timor diate release for those political prisoners The students – including one who had who have been held for nearly thirty years scaled the iron spikes in full view of the Page 20 East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. police to join the initial wave of 28 – gave Reports say about 20-Timorese students When the tropical night fell, nine hours no sign they would back down. climbed over the fence at the embassy be- after the occupation began, the protesters ‘We will not leave till our demands are fore surprised security guards could stop huddled in a group for Catholic prayers met,’ one told reporters through the railings. them early Saturday. before the arrival of an Indonesian delegation Several hundred police, some with auto- Once inside they unfurled banners con- hoping to persuade them to leave the com- matic weapons, took up positions outside demning what they call genocide in the for- pound. The students gave no sign they the compound. mer Portuguese colony, and demanding the would back down and the officials, including The demonstration was a major embar- release of jailed East Timorese independence ambassador at large Lopez da Cruz, left rassment to President Suharto as he pre- leader, José Xanana Gusmão. empty-handed 20 minutes later. pared to welcome leaders representing half Dozens of helmeted riot police arrived on Plainclothes security officers mingled of the world’s population.... He wanted to the scene, but reports say they left as em- with uniformed police outside the embassy. keep Indonesia’s human rights record off the bassy officials and police negotiated with Several hundred more, some with automatic agenda of some 2,000 journalists covering the students. weapons, were stationed a few streets the event. A US embassy spokeswoman had no away. Foreign Minister Ali Alatas said ‘there is immediate comment about the incident, but ... (the protest) was another potential not much value’ to the protest which he said said a statement was being prepared. embarrassment for Clinton, already reeling was clearly staged to embarrass the govern- The student action was in open defiance from a mauling in mid-term congressional ment before its APEC partners. of Indonesian government security measures elections. Human rights activists have ac- ..... for the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation cused him of putting commerce before more The students ... told reporters forty forum (APEC) meeting in Jakarta. humanitarian concerns. friends had been arrested on their way to The demonstration came on the third an- participate in the protest. niversary of the 1991 incident in which STUDENTS SETTLE DOWN Indonesian troops opened fire on a funeral FOR FIRST NIGHT AUSTRALIAN TV COVERAGE procession killing at least 50-people in the OF EMBASSY SIT-IN East Timor capital – Dili. Voice of America, 11/12/94. By Dan Robin- Timorese independence groups have son, Jakarta Nov. 12, Australia urged President Clinton to raise the East Timor issue during talks with President Intro: In a protest timed to coincide with Australia’s SBS has been giving extensive Suharto. the arrival of Asia Pacific leaders in Indone- coverage of the East Timorese sit-in at the sia, a group of East Timorese demonstrators US embassy. The footage shows the remains inside the US Embassy compound Timorese inside the railings and some of TIMORESE BED DOWN AT in Jakarta. VOA’s Dan Robinson reports them have been identified by friends abroad. EMBASSY the protesters are demanding the release of a The inscriptions on the banners are in jailed Timorese independence leader and English, Portuguese and Indonesia. Some Reuter, 12 November 1994. By Jeremy Wag- want the United States to use its influence read: staff. Extracts only, containing new bits of with Indonesia on the East Timor issue: In English: ‘Participation of Xanana information Twenty-nine students climbed over a Gusmão in conversations about East Timor’ East Timorese students demanding U.S. fence surrounding the US embassy com- ‘East Timor is a natural member of President Bill Clinton’s support for the pound early Saturday. Refusing appeals APEC’ release of their guerrilla hero invaded U.S. from US officials to leave, they later settled ‘Stop free genocide in East Timor’ embassy grounds in Jakarta on Saturday and down for the night. ‘We need freedom’ refused to leave until their demands were Their demands include the release of In Portuguese: ‘No to London reconcilia- met. jailed East Timor independence leader, tion (talks)’ The protesters rejected guarantees of safe Xanana Gusmão. In shouted remarks to ‘Viva Timor Leste, Vive CNRM, Viva passage if they left the embassy, their reporters, a spokesman for the group said Falintil’ spokesman Domingos Sarmento Alves said. they insisted on delivering a written appeal In Indonesian: ‘For peace in East Timor, “We did not come here for guarantees to President Clinton to press the Indonesian free CNRM leader Xanana’ (Some words in that we could leave the embassy freely. We government on the East Timor issue. this one could not be seen clearly came to demand the release of Xanana Gus- Before departing Jakarta for the Philip- mão,” Alves, a 30 year-old student of an pines Saturday, Secretary of State Warren VOA: TIMORESE east Java university, told reporters through Christopher said the United States under- DEMONSTRATE AT US the embassy gates. stands the concerns of the students. He said With their protest threatening Clinton US officials had received certain assurances EMBASSY with some acute political embarrassment from Indonesian authorities: when he arrives here on Sunday for a high “We have no plans, to use your Voice of America, 11/12/94. By Dan Robin- profile summit, U.S. officials had asked the phrase not mine, throw them out. We son, Jakarta 29 students to leave by the end of the day. have been consulting with the Indone- Intro: In Indonesia’s capital – Jakarta – a ...... sian authorities and have been assured number of East Timorese dissidents have there will be no retribution taken. But staged a demonstration at the US embassy. An embassy official told Reuters the In- donesian government had given assurances we foresee a good outcome of this, and VOA’s Dan Robinson reports the demon- we are going to be dealing with it with stration occurred as ministers from the Asia there would be no arrests or reprisals if the demonstrators left the compound, and that a good deal of sensitivity and under- Pacific Economic Cooperation forum standing.” (APEC) were concluding talks in Jakarta. these promises had been relayed to the stu- dents. As night fell, a mediation effort by an In- donesian government official (ambassador at East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. Page 21 large Lopez da Cruz) had failed to resolve “We have no intention to embar- other Pacific Rim nations are scheduled to the impasse. rass the Indonesian government, no meet. Police were positioned around the em- not at all. But what we are trying to “We are ready to face any risk,” said bassy compound, along with local and for- do is to show the world we have suf- Dominggus Sarmento Alves, a spokesman eign journalists. fered for 19 years, and no one cares for the East Timorese in the embassy Indonesian authorities took extensive about us, that is why. Especially the grounds. “We prefer to die inside here rather precautions against just this kind of demon- governments, maybe the parliaments than die outside.” stration. Thousands of police and security can talk, but most of the western gov- As the demonstration inside the embassy personnel have been deployed during the ernments they forgot about us.” parking lot entered its second day, wit- APEC gatherings in Jakarta. At the same A young man, Mr. Sarmento Alves says nesses said hundreds of East Timorese time, journalists have been allowed an un- his group turned down an offer by US am- youths rampaged through the island prov- precedented degree of access, including open bassador to Indonesia Robert Barry to meet ince’s capital, Dili, throwing stones at riot travel to East Timor. with him as a representative of President police and chanting slogans demanding inde- Indonesia’s Foreign Minister Ali Alatas Clinton. pendence and the release of Xanana Gus- Saturday dismissed the demonstrators as In Jakarta Saturday, Secretary Christo- mão, the jailed leader of the Fretilin armed misdirected and described the demonstration pher said US officials would not push the resistance group. as a public stunt aimed at embarrassing the group out, and Indonesian authorities had “Viva Gusmão, Viva Clinton,” chanted government during APEC. given assurances they would not be harmed the East Timorese. US officials say East Timor and human if they leave. He said human rights issues An official of the National Commission rights issues will be discussed in bilateral and East Timor will be raised in bilateral on Human Rights in Jakarta quoted contacts talks. But human rights groups accuse talks with Indonesia. in Dili as saying one of the demonstrators Washington of caring more about US eco- But, the protesters – who say they was killed and two were injured during riot- nomic interests with Indonesia and other planned their demonstration only within the ing Saturday and Sunday. Asian countries than human rights. last week – call Indonesian government as- American Embassy spokeswoman Pam- Saturday was also the third anniversary surances untrustworthy. They have vowed ela Smith told UPI the 29 East Timorese of the 1991 shooting of pro-independence to stay put, as Indonesian riot police carry- inside the embassy compound had been activists in East Timor by Indonesian ing rattan sticks, and security agents, remain given water by U.S. officials but had refused troops in which at least 57 people were positioned outside. medical attention. killed. Meanwhile, there were conflicting re- Two of the East Timorese were injured ports about clashes Sunday in the East as they climbed over the sharp metal spikes DEMONSTRATORS STILL Timor capital, Dili. that surround the sprawling, high-security AT EMBASSY The reports, quoting witnesses, say sev- embassy compound. eral-hundred people rioted and clashed with “They have asked to meet President Voice of America, 11/13/94. By Dan Robin- police who responded with teargas. The Clinton or Secretary of State (Warren) son, Jakarta incident appears to have been sparked by Christopher when they arrive,” Smith said. some kind of racial dispute in Dili. “We have told them they can meet with the Intro: As Asia Pacific leaders gather in Before the clash there were reports of at president’s representative, the U.S. ambas- Indonesia for a summit, two incidents have least one smaller, peaceful demonstration by sador to Indonesia, but they have not re- diverted attention from economic issues to activists marking the third-anniversary of plied yet.” the issue of East Timor. In Jakarta, a group the shooting of pro-independence demon- On Saturday Christopher said the U.S. of Timorese independence activists remains strators by Indonesian troops in 1991. had no plans to expel the East Timorese inside the US embassy compound, while in from the embassy. East Timor there were reports of violent Smith said the U.S. government “had not clashes between security forces and demon- EAST TIMORESE ACTIVISTS ASK TO MEET PRESIDENT put a deadline on their departure.” strators. VOA’s Dan Robinson reports from Alves told reporters standing outside the Jakarta. CLINTON gates of the embassy that the activists had For a second day, 29 East Timorese pro- decided to enter the embassy grounds after by Sukino Harisumarto testers remained inside an area of the US some of the group’s members were arrested embassy compound, succeeding for the Jakarta, Nov. 13 (UPI) – Twenty-nine by Jakarta police. moment in stealing the spotlight from the East Timorese activists holed up in the Police said about 36 East Timorese stu- Asia Pacific leaders arriving in Jakarta. American Embassy in Jakarta have asked to dents were questioned but all of them had The demonstrators climbed over the meet with U.S. President Bill Clinton, who been freed by Sunday morning. spiked iron fence Saturday, and announced is scheduled to arrive in Indonesia on Sun- their demands: freedom for Xanana Gusmão, day, an American official said. CLINTON FACES RIGHTS the Timorese independence leader serving a The East Timorese, who climbed a high 20-year jail sentence, a government dialogue metal fence into the embassy compound SIDESHOW AT ASIAN PACIFIC with all groups in the Timorese resistance, Saturday, held posters Sunday demanding SUMMIT and withdrawal of Indonesian military the withdrawal of Indonesian troops from forces from East Timor. their homeland, which has been under Ja- by Paul Iredale (Reuter) But as the leader of the group, Domingos karta’s rule since 1975. Jakarta, Nov. 13, 1994 – A group of tired Sarmento Alves, explained the main demand The embassy demonstration threatened East Timorese students put up a defiant is to meet directly with President Bill Clin- to overshadow the Asia Pacific Economic stand in U.S. embassy grounds on Sunday ton, or Secretary of State Warren Christo- Cooperation (APEC) forum this week in for their guerrilla leader hero, posing prob- pher, to urge them to use America’s influ- Jakarta, where Clinton and the leaders of 17 lems for U.S. President Bill Clinton as he ence on the East Timor issue: headed here for a trade summit. Page 22 East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994.

Clinton was due in Jakarta on Sunday “This afternoon, (US) officers wanted to testify to the sense of fear among the mainly night from the Philippines for the Asia- transport us to the Vatican embassy. I don’t Christian population. In every street in Dili Pacific trade summit, facing the prospect the know why but I rejected that,” he said. there is an army post with a dozen troops embassy student stakeout would switch the He added that the 29 had also turned to keep an eye on security in the vicinity. focus onto human rights issues. down a meeting with Ambassador Robert People look round fearfully before they Scores of heavily armed riot police circled Barry before Clinton was scheduled to ar- speak. A handful of students who staged a the embassy, across a park from the presi- rive. demonstration were jailed for 22 months; in dential palace and three kilometres (two “We think this is perhaps a good idea the past, they would have been tortured and miles) from a conference centre where offi- that we have to consider but we think it probably killed. cials of the 18-member Asia-Pacific Eco- more effective to deliver (our) petition to There are vivid memories of the massacre nomic Cooperation (APEC) forum have Mr. Christopher or Mr. Clinton.” at the Santa Cruz cemetery three years ago, been preparing for Tuesday’s summit. The embassy demonstration coupled in which between 150 and 200 people were On Sunday morning, 24 hours after the with an outbreak of rioting in the East killed when Indonesian troops opened fire students invaded the embassy grounds, the Timorese capital of Dili on Sunday that left on a peaceful demonstration, the hunted nearby park looked like it does on any Sun- as many as four dead, has seriously embar- down the survivors. José Ramos Horta, who day. Children played with balloons, people rassed Indonesia, hosting an informal sum- represents the unified East Timorese free- walked through the area, and hundreds of mit of the 18-member APEC in nearby Bo- dom movement abroad - the internal wing, others cycled through it. gor on Tuesday. whose leader, Xanana Gusmão, is in a Ja- The embassy incident and its eventual Alves, speaking to journalists through the karta jail serving a 20-year term, is still con- outcome in normally authoritarian Indonesia tall, spiked embassy fence, said he wanted ducting a low-level insurgency - says he threatened to distract attention from the to urge Clinton to act as mediator between wants self-determination for the Timorese, a central aim of Clinton’s visit – to lend sup- Jakarta and the East Timorese resistance, withdrawal from the territory of Indonesian port to ambitious plans for an Asian-Pacific just like the White House had done between troops to be supervised by the United Na- free trade area by 2020. Israel and the PLO. tions, and the release of political prisoners. For Clinton, already harassed by severe As night fell, police erected a large Coca- For its part, Indonesia says that the mid-term election defeats for his Democratic Cola advertisement on the fence in a bid to Timorese chose integration (presumably this party in both houses of Congress, the pro- prevent communication between journalists is a reference to the fact the Timorese once test could be an embarrassment to his hu- and Alves. voted in local elections) and that the rebels man rights stance. represent the views of a small minority of A police spokesman said 36 other East ‘WE LIVE LIKE IN HELL HERE its population. A total of 200,000 East Timorese who had intended to join the inva- – THE WHOLE OF EAST Timorese, a third of the population, have sion had been held at a Jakarta railway sta- died since the Indonesian invasion, most in tion. He said they would not be charged, but TIMOR IS JUST A JAIL’ the late 1970s. would be sent back home after questioning. The United Nations has never accepted The Times (London), 14 November 1994. But an official said there would be no di- the Indonesian takeover and still regards By: James Pringle in Jakarta rect meeting with Christopher, nor with Portugal, the former colonial power, as the Clinton when he arrived. Domingos Sarmento Alves was one of 29 administering power, although it abandoned “There will be no direct meeting but if East Timorese protestors who scaled the the territory a year after the 1974 Lisbon you compose a statement we will pass it on steel fence round the United States Embassy coup. to them,” he said. in Jakarta on Saturday night and remained The most powerful of the original East Christopher, who pledged to raise con- there yesterday, demanding justice for the Timorese liberation movements, Fretilin, cerns about East Timor with Indonesian people of the former Portuguese colony. had a strong left-wing tilt. It is still widely authorities, said the United States would not He shouted through the embassy railings believed here that the former American move forcefully against the protesters. to reporters: “We live like in hell in East President Ford and Secretary of State Henry Timor. The whole of East Timor is just a Kissinger gave the nod for the invasion in EMBASSY FAILS jail.” 1975. “Vietnam had just fallen to the Com- Protestors’ rhetoric is often inflated, but TO CLEAR COMPOUND munists, and Washington was worried about not this time. East Timor has the look and a domino effect,” a diplomat in Jakarta said. AFP, 13 November 1994. By Jim Dalla- feel of a rundown tropical gulag. Hundreds Fretilin itself did not help matters, with Giacoma. Abridged of demonstrators clashed yesterday with its left-wing rhetoric and its attacks on other President Suharto’s security forces in Dili, liberation groups. There was a bloody strug- Jakarta – The US invoked the Vatican in the tiny East Timorese capital, 1,200 miles gle for power, giving some justification, in a failed last-ditch attempt Sunday to per- east of Jakarta. The riots were in defiance of Jakarta’s eyes, for the invasion “to restore suade two dozen East Timorese protesters heavy-handed Indonesian methods of rule order.” But now the Timorese exile groups to quit the embassy compound here before by fear and coercion. are more or less unified, East Timor is on US President Bill Clinton’s scheduled ar- East Timor was invaded by Indonesia in the international agenda and Indonesia’s rived for an Asia-Pacific summit. 1975 and annexed the next year. “Arbitrary record of human rights abuses is hampering Domingus Sarmento Alves, a spokesman arrests and torture of suspected government its efforts to improve its international repu- for the young demonstrators who climbed critics have been routine in Indonesia and tation. into the embassy’s car park on Saturday and East Timor for years,” Amnesty Interna- drew international attention to their cause, tional said in a report in September. “There said the group stood by their demand to has been a dramatic escalation in this kind of meet Clinton personally, and threatened to harassment and intimidation.” launch a hunger strike if this was not met. As one of the few Western corespon- dents to visit East Timor recently, I can East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. Page 23

TWENTY-NINE TAKE Meanwhile, two US journalists trying to RIGHTS PROTESTS enter East Timor without permission have REFUGE IN EMBASSY LOT been arrested by Indonesian police. UNDERCUT INDONESIA’S AP, 14 Nov. 94 US officials and other APEC delegates STANDING AT ASIA-PAC IFIC have said the issue of East Timor and human FORUM Jakarta, Indonesia (AP) – Domingos rights in Indonesia will not be raised during Alves grasped the steel bars of the fence the one-day APEC summit tomorrow. New York Times, Nov. 14. By Andrew Pol- that surrounds the U.S. Embassy. “This event is not the forum to discuss it,” lack “I’m free when I’m inside here,” he said said Mr. Ali Alatas, Indonesia’s foreign of the parking lot that has been his home for Photo caption: Youths protesting Indone- minister, said. sia’s human rights record set fire to a mo- three days. “Out there, I’m in prison,” However, Mr. Clinton is expected to dis- Alves is one of 29 college students who torcycle yesterday during rioting in Dili, the cuss it with President Suharto during his provincial capital of East Timor, hours be- jumped the 8-foot-high embassy fence Sat- official visit after the summit. urday to highlight the plight of East Timor – fore President Clinton arrived in Jakarta for In Dili at the weekend, East Timorese a summit meeting. a former Portuguese colony invaded by demonstrators took to the streets shouting Indonesia in 1975 and annexed the following political slogans. According to eyewitness Jakarta, Indonesia, Nov. 13 — Distur- year. reports relayed to Australian officials, one bances in East Timor today and a two-day- They have stayed in the parking lot ever East Timorese was killed by an Indonesian old sit-in at the United States Embassy here since, hoping that President Clinton, in Ja- but there were no deaths in the protest. have moved Indonesia’s human rights record karta for a trade summit, will support their At the US embassy, East Timorese pro- into the spotlight at a meeting of leaders of calls for independence. testors are demanding that the Indonesian the Asia-Pacific region. The students have little with them be- government hold a referendum in East President Suharto has been hoping to call sides the clothes they wear. The tropical Timor, which was invaded by Indonesia in attention to Indonesia’s economic progress sun bakes the asphalt on which they sit 1975 and annexed a year later. and enhance its international standing as during the day and sleep at night. The embassy says it has been in contact host of the meeting, at which the leaders of “The embassy gives us rice to eat and with Indonesian authorities about the situa- 18 nations are expected to issue a declara- water to drink. But nothing else,” Alves tion. “We’ve been consulting with the Indo- tion setting them on the path toward free shouted through the bars Monday to jour- nesian authorities and been assured that trade by the year 2020. But the presence of nalists, who are kept five yards back by there will be no retribution taken,” said Mr. world leaders and hundreds of journalists police barriers. Warren Christopher, the US Secretary of has increased the risk that the Indonesian The parking lot is uncomfortable, but it’s State, in Jakarta on Saturday. Government would receive unwanted atten- officially American soil and provides them Reports indicate that the situation in Dili tion for its suppression of labor movements, sanctuary from local authorities. has calmed down but the sit-in by protest- its censorship of the press, and its invasion Two dozen uniformed police stand watch ers could go on for days. and annexation of East Timor, a former Por- outside the fence, prevented by international tuguese colony. law from making arrests. Security agents in Photo caption: East Timorese riot police This month also happens to be the third civilian clothes loiter nearby. charge protesters in the streets of Dili anniversary of a violent crackdown in which The students want Indonesia to grant yesterday (AP) Indonesian troops gunned down scores of self-determination to East Timor and free demonstrators in Dili, the capital of East rebel leader Xanana Gusmão, who was cap- TIMORESE IN U.S. EMBASSY Timor. Hundreds of young people rampaged tured in 1992 and is serving a 20-year prison “WANT ASYLUM IN LISBON” through the streets there today, breaking sentence. windows and setting cars on fire. Occasionally the students chant slogans. Lisbon, Nov. 14 (Reuter) - A group of 29 “It was chaotic,” Maj. Laedan Simbolon, Sometimes they hold up anti-Indonesian East Timorese protesters staging a demon- an East Timor military spokesman, told banners. Mostly they sit and wait. stration inside the grounds of the U.S. em- Reuters. “Up to 1,000 youths armed with bassy in Indonesia want asylum in Portugal, sticks, iron rods and stones were smashing EAS T TIMOR PROTESTS the Portuguese news agency LUSA said on shops, burning cars and hitting policeman.” EMBARRASS INDONESIA Monday. The United States Embassy here had no A Portuguese foreign ministry spokes- comment on today’s events in East Timor, Financial Times (London), Nov. 14, 1994. man declined to comment on the report. saying it did not have enough information on By Manuela Saragosa One of them, Domingos Sarmento Alves, what had occurred. told a LUSA correspondent in Jakarta: “If At the sit-in at the embassy, about 30 The issue of East Timor is threatening to we do not manage to deliver our petition, we demonstrators prepared to spend their sec- take the gloss off Indonesia’s hosting of the will seek political asylum.” ond night in the parking lot after having Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation sum- “We want to go to Portugal because ac- scaled a fence into the compound Saturday mit, after rioting shook the East Timorese cording to international law we are Portu- morning. The demonstrators, described as capital, Dili, this weekend and a group of guese...we ask the Portuguese government to East Timorese students, are demanding that East Timorese demonstrators climbed into be prepared for this eventuality,” he added. the Indonesian Government release the im- the US embassy compound. prisoned leader of a guerrilla movement About 30 East Timorese protesters have fighting for East Timor independence. They been in the compound since Saturday morn- are also demanding to meet President Clin- ing and are demanding to speak to President ton and Secretary of State Warren Christo- Bill Clinton, who arrived in the Indonesian pher, an embassy spokesman said. [Sic: capital last night. They actually asked to meet with Clinton or Christopher.] But such a meeting is “out of Page 24 East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. the question,” he said. The embassy has, But critics say the Clinton Administra- that the disturbances had died down by however, offered to have Ambassador tion’s “commercial diplomacy” is merely a midday. Robert L. Barry meet with the protesters choice of economics over human rights. Previous, unauthorized protests in Dili and convey their message to the President, Human Rights Watch/Asia is to issue a often have been harshly repressed. Major an offer the demonstrators have not ac- report on Monday saying that the Asia- Simbolon indicated that on this occasion cepted. Pacific region is marked by “impressive security forces had kept a low profile and The Indonesian Government has tried to economic growth rates and poor human said that no arrests had been made or shots play down both incidents. Willy A. rights records,” and that the commercial fired. But he warned that if there was any Karamoy, a spokesman for the Indonesia diplomacy policy is pushing human rights further action, troublemakers would be ar- Department of Information, said in an inter- concerns to the sidelines. rested. view tonight that unrest in East Timor re- Major Simbolon said he did not know sulted from unemployment rather than from ASIA SUMMIT CLOUDED BY what had triggered the unrest, but residents a desire for independence. TENSIONS IN EAST TIMOR said several hundred demonstrators had During the Portuguese colonization, Mr. taken to the streets to mark the anniversary Karamoy said, there was only one high of scores of Timorese by Indonesian sol- school. After Indonesia took over in 1975, RIOTS ERUPT IN PROVINCE, AND diers during a demonstration three years ago. he continued, “we thought to support those PROTESTERS OCCUPY U.S. Others were protesting the killing of a people, to make those people clever, we EMBASSY IN JAKARTA Timorese man by an Indonesian, apparently built a lot of schools.” But that just pro- International Herald Tribune, Nov. 14, in a trade dispute on Saturday, they said. duced a large group of educated people with 1994, front page. By Michael Richardson Protesters said that they planned to bury no job opportunities, since there is no in- the man at Dili’s Santa Cruz cemetery on dustry in East Timor, he said. Picture caption: East Timorese demonstra- Monday after a procession that would pass “I think the Portuguese were right,” Mr. tors who occupied the U.S. embassy in Ja- by the office of the East Timor governor. A Karamoy said. “Build one school and let karta taking a rest from their protests Sun- similar funeral procession to the cemetery everyone else be poor.” day after storming the compound a day ear- three years ago led to the killings that tar- Mr. Christopher said on Saturday that lier. nished Indonesia’s human rights image. President Clinton would raise the issue of Jakarta – Rioting erupted in Indonesian- The U.S. Secretary of State, Warren M. human rights in talks this week with Presi- occupied East Timor, and Timorese protest- Christopher, said that Washington under- dent Suharto at the meeting of the Asia- ers occupying a section of the U.S. embassy stood the concern of the Timorese students Pacific Economic Cooperation forum. grounds here were refusing to leave Sunday occupying the embassy compound. “I don’t believe there’s been a single only hours before President Bill Clinton They were making a number of demands, meeting I’ve had with the Indonesians where arrived for an Asia-Pacific summit meeting. including U.S. intervention to secure the those issues were not raised,” Mr. Christo- The incidents ensured that human rights release of the Timorese resistance leader pher said at a news briefing here. “But we would remain on the agenda over the next Xanana Gusmão, who is serving a 20-year put it in the context of a very healthy posi- few days despite the U.S. administration’s prison term for actions against the state of tive relationship with Indonesia.” hope of focusing on market-opening meas- Indonesia and illegal possession of firearms. But President Clinton is not expected to ures in the region to create more jobs for Mr. Christopher said that the United make human rights an issue at the meeting, Americans. States would, as in the past, be “raising which is supposed to be devoted to eco- The riots in the capital of East Timor, questions” about East Timor in bilateral nomic affairs among officials from the fo- Dili, and the invasion of the embassy meetings with Indonesian officials during a rum’s 18 members, Australia, the United grounds in Jakarta by a group of about 30 state visit Mr. Clinton will make on States, Canada, Mexico, Japan, China, Hong Timorese students reflect continuing ten- Wednesday after the APEC meeting. Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Indonesia, sions over the status of the former Portu- But the secretary emphasized that Amer- Brunei, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singa- guese colony invaded by Indonesia in 1975 ica had much in common with Indonesia, pore, Thailand, Papua New Guinea, New and annexed the following year. including important trade, security and eco- Zealand and Chile. Washington has in the The takeover of East Timor by Indonesia nomic interests. last year toned down its calls for human has not been recognised by the United Na- “So we will raise the questions as we rights in an effort to establish better eco- tions or the United States. have in the past, at about the same level of nomic relations with the booming nations of Analysts said that the embassy occupa- intensity as we have in the past,” Mr. East Asia. tion, which began Saturday, and the unrest Christopher said. In a speech today to the Pacific Basin in Dili that flared on Sunday were intended The U.S. embassy said Sunday that de- Economic Council, a group of businessmen, by Timorese opposed to Indonesian control spite assurances to the demonstrators from Secretary of Commerce Ronald H. Brown to attract international attention as leaders several senior Indonesian officials that there said that forging economic and business ties from the United States and 17 other mem- would be no arrests or retaliation as a result is a better way of improving human rights bers of APED, the Asia-Pacific Economic of their action, the group was still refusing than the “feel-good policy” of holding a Cooperation forum, gathered in Indonesia to leave the compound. press conference and making bellicose for an informal summit meeting Tuesday in Foreign minister Ali Alatas said that the statements, something that he said accom- the city of Bogor. Timorese in the embassy were “simply plished nothing. Indonesian and American officials sought trying to embarrass” Indonesia. “We are using commercial engagement to to play down the trouble. Mr. Clinton and other senior administra- pursue non-economic goals as well as eco- Major Laedan Simbolon, the Indonesian tion officials have made it clear in recent nomic goals around the world,” Mr. Brown military spokesman in East Timor, said that days that the United States wants to con- said. protesters rampaged through Dili on Sun- centrate on expanding its economic and day, smashing shops, burning cars and commercial ties with Indonesia and other throwing rocks at the police. But he added APEC members to take advantage of the East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. Page 25 rapid economic growth in the Asia-Pacific happened to focus on “the other side” of The East Timor issue and other human- region. Suharto’s APEC show, with mentions of rights matters turned into an unexpected Washington hopes the Bogor summit the banned newspapers, the lives of people public-relations headache for Mr. Clinton meeting will produce agreement on working in the slums and the fact that they are being and his host, President Suharto. The White toward free and open trade and investment kept out of sight, as well as the East Timor House had hoped this trip would raise the in the region by 2020. problem as personified by the youths in the president’s sagging political fortunes and In a speech Thursday setting the tone for Embassy grounds. A couple of not too sub- focuses attention on the central role that his visit to Asia, Mr. Clinton asserted that tle references to Suharto’s “top down” style economics plays in his foreign policy. U.S. economic engagement would help im- and self aggrandizing APEC goals were re- He denied suggestions he was backing prove human rights. freshing. away from human-rights concerns in press- “I don’t think we have to choose be- So far the only reference in the press to ing for more trade with Asia. He said he had tween increasing trade and fostering human Japan raising the East Timor issue was a raised the issue pointedly in a meeting with rights and open societies,” he said. “Experi- short item in the Mainichi Shimbun of Nov. President Jiang Zemin of China, a session ence shows us over and over again that 13 datelined Nov. 12 from Jakarta, under the that U.S. officials said emphasized trade and commerce can promote cooperation, that title: Foreign Minister Kono Expresses security issues. more prosperity helps to open societies to Hope for an “East Timor” Settlement to the “We made it absolutely clear,” Mr. Clin- the world.” Indonesian Foreign Minister. It says that ton said, “that in order for the United But a new report on human rights in the Kono, in a meeting with Alatas on the after- States’ relationship to China to fully flower, APEC region by Human Rights Watch/Asia, noon of the 12th expressed appreciation for there had to be progress on all fronts.” the New York-based advocacy group, says Alatas meeting with (Timorese) opposed to International human-rights groups have that commercial diplomacy in the Asia- integration and said he hoped to see a peace- repeatedly condemned what they say is Pacific region is pushing human rights con- ful settlement of the issue. Alatas, after harsh repression of pro-independence cerns to the sidelines. stating that “I think that something has to moves in the majority Roman Catholic terri- be done to get understanding on this issue,” tory in Timor, including the 1991 killings of TWENTY NINE EAST TIMOR said, “Most information is coming from some 50 demonstrators in Dili by Indone- YOUTHS REQUEST people critical of integration. I’d like Japa- sian troops. nese Diet members to form their opinions The 29 protesters submitted a petition to ASYLUM IN THE U.S. based on what they actually see with their embassy officials Monday calling for the own eyes.” release of about 100 East Timorese arrested Author: Kanazawa Katsuaki. Nihon Keizai Since we in Japan expected that Kono over the weekend here and in Dili. They also Shimbun (Japan’s main financial daily). would only raise the issue at the end of demanded the release of the jailed resistance November 15, 1994. Translated from Japa- APEC, I would surmise that the Embassy leader, José Xanana Gusmão, so he could nese, slightly abridged incident created the push for Kono to bring take part in talks with Jakarta authorities. The twenty nine East Timor youths, up the issue earlier. They also demanded that the U.S. gov- continuing since the 12th their sit-in in the ernment help them obtain political asylum grounds of the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta, EMBASSY SIT-IN FORCES in Portugal. requested on the 14th political asylum in the ISSUE OF HUMAN RIGHTS Mr. Clinton said U.S. officials had dis- U.S. cussed with Indonesian authorities and had The same day the Indonesian government International Herald Tribune, Nov. 15, received assurances that none of the demon- said they were free to seek political asylum 1994, front page. From dispatches strators would be arrested. or to leave the embassy, so now attention is At a news conference in the garden of the focused on how the U.S. will act. Photo caption on page 4: An Indonesian U.S. ambassador’s residence, Mr. Clinton The East Timor youths called on the In- security officer trying to block a camera at said he would “use whatever influence I donesian government to release Xanana the APEC summit center in Jakarta as two have in positive way” to press for human Gusmão, the former commander of Revolu- American journalists, Amy Goodman and rights reforms in China and in Indonesia. tionary Front of an Independent East Timor Allan Nairn, sought to organize a press Mr. Clinton also voiced sympathy for (Fretilin), and asked to meet with U.S. conference about civil rights demonstrators the students who had scaled the fence of the President Clinton who is in Jakarta. The in Dili, the capital of East Timor. embassy and were occupying the embassy’s embassy offered to convey their requests to Jakarta – President Bill Clinton was grounds. the president but the youths refused! dragged into the delicate issue of Indonesia’s Mr. Clinton said that the United States human-rights record Monday when students had “no problem” with the occupation, and NOTE FROM JEAN INGLIS ON from East Timor, who have been holding a that he felt “comfortable” with an Indone- JAPANESE TV AND PRES S sit-in at the U.S. Embassy, called for Ameri- sian assurance that no retribution would be COVERAGE OF JAKARTA AND DILI can help in obtaining political asylum. exercised. INCIDENTS: The sit-in, which began Saturday, coin- Secretary of State Warren M. Christo- Both the Embassy sit-in and the Dili cided with the first full day of Mr. Clinton’s pher went further, saying in a television demo-riot have been covered with photos in visit to attend a summit meeting here of the interview Monday that the protest was “an the case of the newspapers and on the spot 18-nation Asia-Pacific Economic Coopera- opportunity to make our case for human footage in the case of TV. Except for the tion forum. rights here in Indonesia.” above news piece, the contents are the same Protesters here and in the East Timor “We have been talking to the Indonesians as has been reported in the news posted on capital, Dili, are trying to use the summit about East Timor for a long time,” he said. reg.easttimor meeting to draw international attention to In Lisbon, Prime Minister Anibal Cavaco Last night I was only able to watch two the situation in their home, a former Portu- Silva said his government was willing to of the “in depth” (haha) feature type live guese colony that Jakarta occupied in 1975 offer asylum to the 29 East Timorese, but coverage news programs from Jakarta. Both and annexed in 1976. he also pressed Mr. Clinton to take a Page 26 East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. tougher line on the East Timor issue with in the capital of East Timor, a former Portu- “We love the Indonesian people, but we Jakarta. guese colony, with President Suharto on will not accept the Indonesian regime,” said “We hope the situation in East Timor Monday. Dominggus Sarmento Alves, spokesman for arouses firmer action by the international In Lisbon, Portuguese President Mario the protesters at the embassy. “It is time for community,” he said. Soares appealed to Clinton to intervene on us to determine our own future.” The Indonesian state secretary, behalf of East Timorese dissidents. A student at East Timor University said Murdiono, said Monday that Jakarta had no Members of an Indonesian-appointed troops and riot police manned most of Dili’s objections to anyone seeking asylum in Human Rights Commission said after talks main intersections Tuesday. another country and pledged that no action with the students at the U.S. embassy that “It’s tense like yesterday,” the student would be taken against the protesters if they eight would leave if they could be assured said in a telephone interview. “Most of the left the embassy grounds. they would not be arrested. students support (the protesters) at the Demonstrations in Dili to mark the 1991 The students told reporters Indonesian U.S. Embassy in Jakarta.” shootings turned violent over the weekend intelligence had threatened them with death with some 1,000 youths rioting in the city. if they left the embassy. TIMORESE PROTESTERS More that 500 university students and They also said they were no longer firm STILL HOLED UP young Timorese attended another protest in their demand to meet Clinton or Secretary rally in Dili on Monday that was largely of State Warren Christopher but would Jakarta, Indonesia (Nov. 15, Reuter) - peaceful. accept talks instead with President Suharto East Timorese youths bedded down for a In another incident Monday that embar- or his foreign minister, Ali Alatas. fourth night Tuesday in a corner of the U.S. rassed Indonesian authorities, two Western Defiantly, they threatened “harder steps” Embassy in Jakarta after putting their inde- journalists were grabbed by security officers if their demands were not met, but said pendence cause firmly on the agenda of as they tried to organize a news conference these might include a request for political President Clinton. on East Timor at the summit center in Ja- asylum. While potentially awkward, that After four days of protest at the em- karta. was unlikely to shake Indonesia’s tough bassy and three of anti-Indonesian unrest in The security men released the two, Alan authorities, who appeared to be largely ig- the East Timor capital Dili, Clinton said he Nairn and Amy Goodman, after other jour- noring the protest. would raise the issue of East Timor with nalists swarmed around them. “This is just a small problem. We are a President Suharto during his state visit big country,” State Secretary Murdiono, a Wednesday. U.S. JAKARTA EMBASSY close aide to Suharto, told reporters on Activists said they were increasingly PROTESTERS PONDER Monday. concerned about the fate of the 29 and sev- eral dozen other Timorese, including about OPTIONS EAST TIMOR STANDOFF IN 35 detained on their way to the embassy by Lewa Pardomuan (Reuter) DILI AND JAKARTA protest. They said the 35 had not been seen by Jakarta, Nov. 15 – As Indonesian police by Sukino Harisumarto, UPI family or friends since the police picked cracked down on East Timorese rioters, Jakarta, Nov. 15 – While U.S. President them up. Police said they had released them student squatters at the U.S. embassy in and sent them home to East Java. Jakarta split over how best to continue a Bill Clinton met with the leaders of 17 Pa- cific powers Tuesday, East Timorese pro- The activists said they knew of seven in protest that has cast a shadow over a sum- military custody and several more on the mit of Asia-Pacific nations. testers were locked in a tense standoff with Indonesian and American authorities. run. The occupation of the embassy parking In Dili, police said 16 people were in de- lot by 29 East Timorese students was enter- “The situation is very bad today,” said a Catholic priest in the East Timor capital of tention after the worst anti-government and ing its fourth day on Tuesday with divisions ethnic demonstrations in years. appearing between the tired and bedraggled Dili. “There is a demonstration going on at youths. the university and many troops are in the Clinton, in Indonesia for the summit of streets.” INDONESIA SAYS TIMORESE the 18-member Asia-Pacific Economic Co- The priest, in a telephone interview from FREE TO LEAVE COUNTRY operation (APEC) forum, told reporters on the office of Bishop Filipe Ximenes Belo in Monday the authorities had assured him the Dili, 1,250 miles (2,000 km) east of Jakarta, By Muklis Ali students would not be punished. said “five or six” East Timorese had been Jakarta, Nov. 16 (Reuter) - Indonesia said “We have been assured there will be no killed since the rioting began in Dili last on Wednesday it was willing to allow 29 retribution against them in exercising their Saturday. East Timorese, holed up in the U.S. em- political expression,” he said. “The trouble is continuing,” he said. bassy compound in Jakarta for five days, to “I feel comfortable the commitment we “The troops have taken many prisoners.” leave the country. have received will be honoured.” He said 20 East Timorese youths had But the youths said seeking asylum over- The United States, he added, “had no taken refuge in Dili’s main Catholic church seas was only one of several options, and problem with these young people coming because they feared being rounded up by they still hoped U.S. President Bill Clinton and expressing their views in our embassy Indonesian army and police patrols. would heed their calls to press Indonesia grounds, and we’ve talked with them and East Timor University was closed Tues- into releasing their guerrilla hero Xanana worked with them.” day and administrators said they did not Gusmão. An Indonesian military spokesman in Ja- expect it to reopen until next Monday. “They’re free to leave the country when- karta was quoted by national radio as saying All public transport in Dili was sus- ever they like, if they want to,” foreign min- the situation in Dili was returning to normal. pended, while banks and most private busi- istry spokesman Irawan Abidin said. Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien nesses were closed. The 29, exhausted after five days under raised the embassy incident and the rioting the tropical sun, were pleased by Clinton’s East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. Page 27 action in raising the issue of their troubled By the end of the trip neither Christo- Timorese are considering an offer by Portu- territory, invaded in 1975 by the Indone- pher nor Clinton had visited the students. gal to grant them political asylum: sians after the Portuguese left and annexed “We will stay inside here until Xanana In the words of embassy spokeswoman the next year, during a state visit. has been released. This is our main struggle,” Pamela Smith, US officials discussed the “I truly appreciate the statement given Alves told reporters from inside the fence, possibility of the group’s departure for by President Clinton but we want to see adding that “seeking political asylum is only Portugal, as offered by the government in concrete steps to solve the problem of East one of our demands.” Lisbon. Timor,” Domingos Sarmento Alves, Meanwhile, East Timorese governor José The statement says the Indonesian gov- spokesman of the students, told journalists Osorio Soares condemned foreign journalists ernment has indicated it would facilitate the through the embassy railings. visiting the region for what he called “un- exit of the group from Indonesia. If the The Clinton team had initially sought to fair” reports. group accepts, US officials would work play down lingering human rights issues Soares denied reports of alleged killings with appropriate international organizations during the state visit, limiting discussions to and other humans rights abuses. “In fact a to ensure a smooth departure and transit. a formal session with the government- such notion are not true,” he said. appointed human rights commission. Soares said the rioting that took place last UNWELCOME GUEST AT His deputy Winston Lord held a brief Saturday was purely criminal, and had only SUHARTO’S PARTY lunch with a handful of local activists. Oth- served to provoke a group which favors the ers turned down the invitation because they “resumption of descent in the province.” By Johanna Son did not think it was a serious forum for Indonesia’s human rights groups ex- rights issues. pressed concern over the temporary occupa- Jakarta, Nov. 17 (IPS) - The issue of East Those that did attend said Lord and other tion of the U.S. Embassy ground and the Timor was not supposed to rear its head U.S. officials with him seemed to be only rioting in Dili, saying as long as the prob- this week, at least not while Indonesia was going through the motions of discussing lems in East Timor are not taken seriously, playing host to the Asia-Pacific Economic human rights. the situation could worsen. Cooperation (APEC) meetings and to for- “Everyone was in a hurry, and there did “The people of East Timor should par- eign leaders on state visits here. not seem to be any point. It was as if he ticipate in its right of self determination, as a But much like an unwanted guest, it was not really interested,” said Goenawan leading principle,” the rights groups said in a nagged, elbowed and forced its way into the Mohamad, writer and editor of the banned statement. limelight. For a time, it threatened to steal Tempo magazine. The groups have offered to facilitate a the thunder away from Indonesia’s well- The 29 dissidents said they were still dialogue with the anti-integration East prepared APEC party. considering accepting asylum in Portugal, Timorese, “but our good intentions were Unfortunately for Jakarta, the APEC Timor’s former colonial ruler. Portugal is rejected by the employees of the embassy meetings that attracted thousands of foreign still recognised by the United Nations as and the security officials of Indonesia.” journalists and officials from 18 Asia-Pacific Timor’s administrative authority and has economies coincided with the third anniver- said it is ready to take them. sary of Indonesian troops’ massacre of pro- US EMBASSY DISCUSSES testers in East Timor’s capital of Dili on “This is one alternative. It’s not a prior- ASYLUM WITH ity. A priority is to seek the release of Nov. 12, 1991. Xanana,” Alves said. EAST TIMORESE And while the last of Jakarta’s honoured The local representative of the Interna- guests including U.S. President Bill Clinton Jakarta, Nov. 17 (Reuter) - U.S. embassy tional Committee of the Red Cross here, have begun taking their leave, Indonesia officials on Thursday discussed an offer of Henri Fournier, said he had not been con- remains under media glare as governments asylum in Portugal with a group of 29 East tacted about any asylum bid. and activists watch what it will do next Timorese holed up in the embassy com- about East Timor and its people. pound since Saturday, a U.S. spokeswoman The fate of 29 East Timorese who scaled EAST TIMOR PROTEST said. the fences of the U.S. embassy last Saturday CONTINUES AT US Pamela Smith said the East Timorese, and are still staging a sit-in is of immediate EMBASSY who occupied a corner of the embassy car concern, although Jakarta has said it is will- park in hopes of meeting President Clinton ing to allow them to seek asylum in Portu- Jakarta, Nov. 17 (UPI) – East Timorese during his visit here, were considering the gal. activists holed up on the U.S. Embassy offer. Indonesia has said it would allow NGO sources say at least four East grounds in Jakarta for the sixth straight day them to leave. Timorese who tried to join them remain in said Thursday they have not decided what “Embassy officials discussed with the detention here. The sit-in was supposed to their next step will be if their demands are group the possibility of their departure for have more than 70 participants, but only 29 not met. Portugal as offered by the government of got in the U.S. embassy compound. “No, we have yet to decide on further Portugal...they’re thinking about it now,” Riots had also broken out in the East steps,” said Dominggus Sarmento Alves, the she said. Timorese capital of Dili on the week-end, leader of the 29 pro-independence demon- and human rights groups say up to 120 strators. VOICE OF AMERICA, 11/17/94. BY people have been hauled off to jail there. In addition to requesting a meeting with DAN ROBINSON, JAKARTA East Timor, a Portuguese colony for either U.S. President Bill Clinton or State Intro: US embassy officials in Jakarta more than 400 years, was annexed by Indo- Secretary Warren Christopher, the pro- have met again with 29 East Timorese who nesia as its 27th province in 1976, but a independence youths are demanding the have staged a week-long protest inside the resistance movement is still fighting integra- release of jailed East Timor resistance leader embassy compound in the Indonesian capi- tion. The United Nations has yet to recog- Xanana Gusmão. tal. VOA’s Dan Robinson reports the nise Indonesia’s sovereignty in the territory. Page 28 East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994.

Clinton himself said at a press conference Suharto brushed off the query: “If I were to Sarmento said two U.S. officials spent here, “The people of East Timor should answer that, I’d need much more time than I five hours interviewing each of them about have more say over their affairs.” In a 90- have now.” the asylum offer and taking their names and minute meeting with Indonesian President Still, even governments sympathetic to addresses. Suharto Wednesday, he raised the issues of the plight of the East Timorese have been On Friday, the government said it was military presence in East Timor, the No- unable to snub Indonesia and the lucrative unnecessary for the 29 dissidents to seek vember 1991 massacre and autonomy of the business opportunities it offers. asylum as they would not be arrested if territory. On Wednesday, U.S. firms signed 17 they came out of the embassy compound. U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christo- business contracts worth 40 billion dollars, But “they are free to leave the country if pher also met with Indonesia’s National including a 35 billion dollar deal between they wish and if any country is willing to Commission on Human Rights. He noted state-owned Pertamina and an affiliate of receive them,” a release issued by the For- that U.S.-Indonesia ties “can never reach its Exxon Corp. for a natural gas liquefaction eign Office said. highest level if the people of the U.S. don’t project off Natuna. have confidence that there is an effort here The same day, Clinton defended U.S. ties STATEMENT BY THE to respect the human rights of all citizens.” with Indonesia: “We reject the notion that MINISTRY OF FOREIGN The U.S. cut off military training assis- increasing economic ties and trade under- tance to Indonesia after the Dili incident. It mines the human rights agenda. We believe AFFAIRS OF INDONESIA has noted limited troop reductions and they advance together.” The following is the statement by the Minis- “greater, but not full” access to East Timor Australian Foreign Minister Gareth Ev- try of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of In- by visitors. ans also raised the issue of human rights in a donesia concerning the demonstration in Indeed, two U.S. newsmen who wit- meeting with Alatas last week. But Austra- Jakarta and the incident in Dili, East Timor, nessed the 1991 massacre in which more lia has since signed a 5.5 billion dollar con- issued in Jakarta on 18 Nov. 1994: than 150 peaceful demonstrators were killed tract for coal supply and handling of an East were stopped from reaching East Timor Java power plant, the largest private sector “The demonstration in Jakarta which was Saturday because Indonesian officials said contract involving Australian interests in timed to coincide with the holding of the they did not give “prior notice.” Indonesia. 1994 APEC Leaders’ Meeting clearly con- In the run-up to the APEC meetings, Ja- Evans says the rights of the East stituted a provocation intended to embarrass karta had adopted a more conciliatory atti- Timorese could be best protected by the de the Government of Indonesia at a time when tude toward East Timor. jure recognition of the area’s integration into it was engrossed in an activity that was vital Foreign Minister Ali Alatas met with Indonesia and encouraging Jakarta to re- to regional and global stability and prosper- pro-independence East Timorese in Octo- spond, not by “beating our guns and beating ity. The action by the demonstrators was an ber, while President Suharto says he is will- the wind to no discernible purpose.” unfortunate attempt to distract attention ing to meet with East Timorese leaders. Canberra recognised Indonesia’s annexa- away from the important achievements of Suharto’s daughter has also put up a friend- tion of East Timor in 1979. Australian offi- the APEC ministerial meetings. Their action ship society with East Timorese. cials say a drawdown in military personnel and the attendant publicity based on false But activists here and abroad have re- is expected in 1995, but analysts say mili- reports that the Government of Portugal mained unimpressed. Says a local activist, tary and intelligence officials in East Timor always tries to disseminate, serves nothing who requested anonymity: “People here are now move around in plainclothes. to resolve the East Timor issue. not easily convinced. We have to see what In this case the Indonesian Government happens after the APEC summit. What TIMORESE REJECT ASYLUM would like to emphasize that contrary to happens in this case (East Timorese pro- reports made by elements of the interna- tests) should tell us something.” (AP) Nov. 18 1994 tional press and further disseminated by the Peter van Tujil of the International NGO Jakarta, Indonesia - Twenty-nine East Government of Portugal, there were no riots Forum on Indonesian Development said the Timorese dissidents camped inside the U.S. in Dili. What happened was an outbreak of emergence of the East Timor issue during Embassy grounds since last week rejected violence as a result of a quarrel of a personal APEC meetings show it remains Indonesia’s Friday an offer of asylum in Portugal and nature between traders, one from Sulawesi exposed flank despite its economic growth insisted on the release of a jailed resistance and one from East Timor, which caused the and success in luring foreign investments. leader. death of a person. A small group of people, “This is something that will continue to “We came here not for asylum but for the however, have tried to foist the incident as a be an enormous obstacle” to Indonesia’s release of José Alexander Gusmão,” said political demonstration. efforts to boost its international profile as a Domingos Sarmento, a spokesman for the Moreover, it is not true that 41 people, major voice in the developing world, Van men who climbed the embassy gates on as claimed by the Portuguese Government, Tujil said. Saturday and have refused to leave since were detained after the demonstration in That view has been echoed by the media then. Jakarta. The actual number of demonstrators in Indonesia’s neighbours, with Bangkok’s Gusmão “is the only person who can is 36 and since they had no money for food Nation newspaper saying this week: “If represent us to deal with the Indonesian and shelter, they were provided with food and drinks as well as a bus to take them Indonesia wants to emerge on equal terms government for the independence of East with the world’s most powerful economies, Timor,” Sarmento told reporters standing back to East Java were they are resident. it has to adhere to international norms of outside the embassy’s fence. As to the 29 demonstrators who are now human rights.” On Thursday, the U.S. Embassy had of- in the US Embassy compound, it would be But the Indonesian government may not fered the protesters help in leaving for Por- absolutely unnecessary for them to seek so easily play by other people’s rules. tugal, which has already agreed to take them asylum as they are not being persecuted and Pressed by a New York Times reporter on in. the Indonesian Government has given assur- how Indonesia would handle East Timor ances that they will not be arrested. They after the 18 APEC leaders met in Bogor, are free to leave the country if they so wish East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. Page 29 and to any country that is willing to receive his meeting with Mr. Clinton. according to resistance in East Timor itself. Are not these them. Indonesian reports he rejected any increased facts enough basis to involve the people’s In the face of such agitation and propa- autonomy for East Timor. The soldiers resistance in direct negotiations under the ganda activities, the Government of Indone- there were on “development work.” auspices of the UN, through the persons of sia will not be distracted from its work in As the Americans packed their bags, the the most charismatic of East Timor’s lead- international forums and its development Timorese demonstrators were still sitting in ers, Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão and his com- efforts in East Timor. the embassy car park. Their rather hopeful rades?” Indonesia remains committed to achieving demands for a meeting with Bill Clinton and Asked what he thought the embassy oc- an internationally acceptable settlement to for the release of the jailed Timorese leader, cupation had achieved, Sarkeke said that the East Timor problem. Under the auspices Xanana Gusmão, had not been met. Indone- they key thing so far was to show that re- of the UN Secretary-General, we are en- sia has promised they will not be punished sistance to the occupation was continuing. gaged in a dialogue with Portugal in a com- for their actions. But a similar promise was “We want the world to know that the resis- mon search for such a solution which we made in the aftermath of demonstrations in tance continues. Long before APEC, we had believe can only be achieved through dia- Dili in April, and the protestors were sub- the idea that this was a good time to make logue, negotiations and confidence-building sequently jailed for 20 months. The em- that clear to the world.” measures and not through publicity stunts bassy demonstrators are now considering an Independence that Indonesia’s detractors have consis- offer of asylum in Portugal. Santana, another East Timorese student tently resorted to.” joining the fight in Jakarta, scoffed at Aus- ‘TO THE LAST tralian foreign minister Gareth Evans’ TIMOR’S OPPORTUNITY DROP OF BLOOD’ statement that Indonesia was considering The Economist, 19 November 1994 reducing troop numbers. “The Australian By Max Lane, Green Left, Nov. 20 government only ever listens to Indonesia. Jakarta – The skeletons in Indonesia’s According to Sarkeke, one of the East There has never been any evidence that closet rattled noisily throughout the APEC Timorese students in Jakarta who did not Indonesia’s so-called troop withdrawals summit. The weekend before the summit make it over the fence into the US Embassy have ever really taken place. And we don’t was the third anniversary of the massacre in on November 12, the sit-in protest there is want this autonomy people talk about ei- Dili, when Indonesian soldiers in East Timor aimed at getting Indonesia out of East ther; we want full independence.” shot dead scores of demonstrators. To mark Timor. “We want our independence, we will As I was talking to Santana, a voice inter- the event, 29 Timorese who seek independ- not stop fighting until we get independ- rupted: “More news from Dili. A 14-year- ence for the former Portuguese colony ence,” he told me over the phone from Ja- old boy, beaten up during a demonstration climbed the fence into the grounds of the karta. of 300 students on the Dili university cam- American embassy in Jakarta and sat there “Our compatriots are demanding, and we pus, died in hospital on November 15. throughout the summit. The summit meeting demand, that US President Clinton tell Fighting broke out when the students re- also took place against a backdrop of the President Suharto to release the East fused the military’s order to disperse.” most serious civil disturbances in Dili since Timorese resistance leader Kay Rala Xanana “This is why we are fighting,” said the massacre. With the world’s press watch- Gusmão and all East Timorese political Santana, “because all we get is torture and ing, the Indonesian armed forces were unable prisoners, and that the Indonesian president oppression from the Indonesian army; that to use their customary brutality against the talk to the true representatives of the people is the reality. And we will fight to the last stone-throwers on the streets of Dili or the of East Timor, including the East Timor drop of blood.” slogan-shouting students at East Timor’s church, CNRM, UDT and Fretilin. The East Timorese students said that university. “Our compatriots are demanding to see they also want Clinton to remind Suharto The demonstrations, both in Dili and in President Clinton or [US Secretary of State] about the fate of several elderly, long- Jakarta, served their purpose. International Christopher Warren so that they can pre- serving Indonesian political prisoners, some television coverage of the summit was jux- sent these demands directly. They have of whom have been under the death sentence taposed with pictures from East Timor and turned down an offer to see the ambassa- for over 30 years. They have also asked him the American embassy compound. At dor.” to exert pressure on Jakarta to recognise the APEC’s closing press conference, President The students also read out part of a right of Indonesian workers to organise and Suharto of Indonesia, who is not used to statement they had written to be taken by to free imprisoned labour union leaders. taking unscripted questions from journalists, an Indonesian delegation to an Australian The East Timorese students came from was visibly discomforted by a question trade union conference being held in Perth. several universities and cities in Bali and about East Timor. Bill Clinton raised human They said that after two decades of suffer- Java. Ninety students left the East Javanese rights in his meeting with Mr. Suharto. War- ing, “We have never received a serious re- city of Surabaya for Jakarta in two separate ren Christopher, the American Secretary of sponse from our fellow humankind, and groups late on the evening of November 11. State, even appeared to welcome the em- most especially not from those with power While waiting at the Jakarta railway sta- bassy protest, remarking that it was “an from the big nations, who are caught up in tion, one East Timorese was arrested by an opportunity for us to make our case for the race to focus on economic issues, ignor- officer of Army Intelligence. The remainder human rights here in Indonesia.” ing our basic and essential human rights. attempted to disperse, but other security What will happen in East Timor now “The mass killings on November 12, forces were able to arrest 41 people. Thirty- that the APEC show has moved on is uncer- 1991, at the Santa Cruz cemetery in Dili, six of these were sent back to the regional tain. In recent months the Indonesians have were hidden by the authorities in this coun- police headquarters in East Java. It is held meetings with exiled East Timorese try until exposed by the younger generation strongly feared that the other five are being leaders, whom they had previously dis- of the Maubere people. But the struggle is held under tight security at the Body for the missed as unrepresentative terrorists. Mr. continuing with the current actions by our Coordination of National Stability (Bakor- Suharto appears to have conceded little in intellectuals in Jakarta and the courageous stanas). Page 30 East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994.

Other students proceeded to the US Em- On November 17, the military intensified allowing anyone to visit Armindo except bassy in taxis and attempted to climb over house-to-house “inspections” and started to hospital staff and two US embassy officials. the fence when they arrived. One was ar- arrest “vocal” East Timorese. Abilio said he was questioned Sunday rested and taken to Gambir District police Other measures taken by the occupation night by one of the ten plainclothes police- station and beaten. Several others who were forces to avoid more demonstrations have men posted outside Armindo’s cubicle. He not able to get in escaped on a passing bus included forcing the family of Mario Vin- said the policeman asked him if he still and regrouped. During the day, three more cente to hold his funeral in Bobonaro, a wanted to fight for independence. students attempted to get over the fence: town 50 km from Dili, so as to avoid any “I told him I have not changed my posi- one got in, one was arrested, and one es- funeral processions that might turn into tion to demand the release of Gusmão and caped. demonstrations. Sources also report that the fight for independence of East Timor,” A number of other students have gath- ceremony for Vincente was not able to be Abilio told AP. ered in Jakarta to provide backup to those in carried out in accord with local customs. A hospital official said Armindo may be the embassy, although barricades now pre- suffering from typhus, a tropical disease vent direct communication, and to help in- PROTESTER HOSPITALIZED marked by high fever and headaches, trans- vestigate what happened to the 36 students mitted by unclean water and food. sent back to East Java. After being taken AP, 11/20. Abridged. Another five protesters are suffering back to Surabaya in a military-escorted bus, Jakarta, Nov. 20, – Two East Timorese from fever and stomach aches. They are not they were released. However, news received protesters left the U.S. Embassy Sunday, allowed to use the embassy toilets and were by GLW on November 17 confirmed that leaving 27 colleagues to continue their 8- using plastic bags to dispose of body wastes they had been re-arrested. day-old demonstration demanding that In- Dili donesia release a jailed rebel leader. EAST TIMORESE EMBASSY In Dili, the situation has also been tense One of the two had suffered a neck injury PROTEST TO CLIMAX ON since November 12. Pro-independence dem- when the protesters scaled a 8-foot fence to TUESDAY onstrations took place on November 13 and enter the embassy grounds on Nov. 12, said 14. More than 1000 students protested on Domingos Sarmento, a spokesman for the AFP, 21 November 1994. Abridged November 13, following riots sparked by group. The other was accompanying him to seek treatment, he added. Jakarta – 29 East Timorese who occupied the killing of an East Timorese youth, Mario the US embassy compound in Jakarta will Vincente, in a fight with a Makassarese “We called embassy officials and told them that one of our friends was seriously announce Tuesday whether they will seek market trader. asylum abroad, their spokesman said Mon- The protest itself began when scores of ill. We decided to let the embassy take our friend to the hospital after the embassy gave day. students and youth staged a pro- “We have made a deal and everyone independence demonstration. Reports from us a guarantee that nothing would happen to him,” Domingos said. agrees,” the spokesman, Dominggus Sar- Dili say that the Indonesian military at- mento Alves told reporters through the tempted to disperse the demonstrations He said he did not know where the in- jured protester, identified only as Armindo, compound fence, adding he hoped journal- with tear gas, but that the demonstrators ists would be admitted into the compound fought back. 26, was taken, but added that five other protesters were suffering from fever and to hear the official announcement. There are also reports of the Fretilin flag “We have made a decision and we will being raised in a number of towns. stomach aches. An embassy vehicle was seen taking reveal it tomorrow.” He refused to say On November 14, a further demonstra- whether the decision entailed accepting an tion took place on the University of East Armindo to a private hospital. “Our condition is unhealthy. We have no offer of asylum from Portugal or staying in Timor campus after three university stu- Indonesia dents were arrested by Army Company permission to use the embassy toilet. We 744. Clashes took place at the demonstra- use only plastic. We sleep on the ground tion between students and riot police. Stu- without blankets in the cold night and rain,” EMBASSY TIMORESE OPT dents refused to obey orders to leave the Domingos said. FOR PORTUGAL campus, and once again fighting took place. POLICEMEN GUARD INJURED EAST As of November 16, GLW’s sources Reuter, 22 November 1994. By Lewa state that 230 students were being held in TIMORESE IN HOSPITAL Paromuan, Abridged Dili police headquarters. There are also re- AP, 21 November 1994. Abridged Jakarta – East Timorese students holed ports of people being held in safe houses in Jakarta – Plainclothes policemen on up in the U.S. embassy in Jakarta for the Dili and in Viqueque and Colmera. Fifty Monday guarded an East Timorese dissident past 10 days said on Tuesday they would students are in Wirahusada Army Hospital who was injured while taking part in a pro- accept asylum in Portugal because they in Dili. independence demonstration. were afraid for their safety in Indonesia. Five East Timorese are confirmed killed, Arminto Freitas Fernandes, 26, was hos- A spokesman for the 29 youths, Domin- although only one body has been returned to pitalised Sunday for cuts on the neck when gos Sarmento Alves, told reporters through the family. A 14-year-old boy was reported he scaled the fence of the US embassy along the embassy fence that their documents beaten by soldiers on November 14 and died with 28 others on 12 Nov. to dramatize were being processed. He was not sure by of his injuries on November 15. their demands. whom and did not know when they would A de facto curfew operates in many areas Abilion Moreda (sp?), a protester who leave. as a result of the many Indonesian troops on accompanied Armindo to the hospital, said “It’s a hard decision for us because we the streets. Shops and offices are only he feared for their safety because of animos- want to go back to East Timor. But based slowly starting to re-open. ity between the Indonesian security forces on our experience here, where Indonesian and East Timorese. He said police were not intelligence officers have continually been East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. Page 31 threatening us, we feel we should leave (In- EMBASSY TIMORESE MAY LEAVE had them asylum earlier. It was not immedi- donesia),” he said. WEDNESDAY ately clear, however, how and when they The 29 scaled the embassy fence on No- will leave for Portugal. vember 12 to demand the release of their AFP and Portuguese TV, 22 November The U.S. Embassy Tuesday was prepar- hero Xanana Gusmão. They also requested a 1994. Dateline: Jakarta and Lisbon ing the travel documents for the protesters meeting with U.S. President Bill Clinton or Abridged with the ICRC. other senior U.S. officials then in Jakarta. According to Portuguese TV, the 29 Abilio said most of the protesters are Neither demand has been granted, but Timorese who protested at the US embassy “tramps,” perhaps two or three are students their action dominated media coverage of a in Jakarta will leave Jakarta Wednesday for but they never attended the class. meeting of regional leaders gathering in Ja- Portugal. The TV’s correspondent in Jakarta “Most of them are laborers who didn’t karta. The East Timorese capital was also said the group’s spokesman accused the make it at school, got frustrated and then swept by a week of rioting and pro- Indonesians of intimidation after extra secu- escaped to the cheap world of politics “ independence protests. rity forces surrounded the building when it Abilio said. Alves said that the group had decided to was heard they would be leaving. The few student who took part in the opt for asylum in Portugal as the best way Sarmento said the group would only demonstration are acting irresponsibly be- of continuing their movement for the re- leave if one of their number was back from cause they have got an opportunity to leased of Xanana and wider peace talks be- hospital. study but instead turned their back on the tween East Timorese guerrillas and Jakarta. “They will be leaving tomorrow and will nation he added. (The Jakarta Post). Portugal, which ruled East Timor until a be accompanied as far as Lisbon by the few months before the Indonesian invasion International Red Cross,” the television EAST TIMORESE in 1975, has agreed to take the 29 youths. added. PROTESTERS LEAVE Indonesia has said it would allow them to Meanwhile, according to Antara in Ja- leave, and the United States has said it will karta, Jakarta Police chief, Major-General EMBASSY FOR EXILE help process their papers. Hindarto has said one of the 29 is wanted Reuter, 24 Nov. 1994. By Jeremy Wagstaff Two were ferried to hospital at the by the police for alleged involvement in a weekend for treatment of injuries inflicted murder in Jakarta earlier this year. He identi- Jakarta – twenty-nine East Timorese during their dramatic invasion of the em- fied the person as ‘LML’ and said the police protesters ended a 12-day sit-in at the U.S. bassy compound in central Jakarta. Five had asked the US embassy to hand him over Embassy on Thursday and left for exile in others fell sick. so that he could be prosecuted along with Portugal, hours after students clashed with The group has been unnerved by what other Timorese suspects. security forces in the East Timor capital. members say has been a barrage of insults But the group’s spokesperson denied Witnesses said the 29 youths, whose in- and threats by more than a dozen plain- that anyone had been involved in a murder. vasion and occupation of the embassy car- clothes intelligence agents patrolling the There was no immediate reaction from the park in Jakarta had grabbed headlines during compound outside the fence. embassy. a visit to Indonesia by U.S. President Clin- Alves said that he and his comrades were The case stemmed from a brawl between ton and other leaders, left the embassy in a also confused by apparently conflicting some East Timorese and an off-duty Indo- red cross bus. statements by Indonesian authorities about nesian soldier in civilian clothes Their departure came as calm returned to their fate if they were to leave the embassy East Timor’s university in Dili following the compound. EAST TIMOR GOVERNOR latest in a string of clashes between students “Some have said we were free to go, APOLOGIZED and security forces, witnesses said. some have said we would be arrested. We do The security forces had barricaded hun- not know what will happen if we try to Posted anonymously by the Indonesian Con- dreds of students and staff inside the cam- resume our lives in Indonesia or East sulate in San Francisco pus in the capital Dili after East Timorese Timor,” he said. protesters showered police with stones, East Timor Governor Abilio José Osorio Armed Forces chief General Feisal Tan- witnesses said. Soares Tuesday (Nov. 22) apologized to the jung said on Saturday the 29 would be wel- Helder da Costa, director of planning, de- nation for the behavior of a group of East comed if they left the embassy. velopment and external relations at the uni- Timorese who staged a protest at the Activists say several dozen other versity, said the students returned home American Embassy. Timorese who tried to join the protest have later after their representatives held talks “On behalf of the people of East Timor, I been missing for more than a week. The with local military commander Colonel Kiki apologize to the nation, and to President military has denied any arrests. Syahnakri. Soeharto, because their behaviour has Alves said that since Portugal is recog- “The military told the university not to tainted the nation,” Abilio told reporters nised by the United Nations as East hold any more demonstrations at the univer- after meeting with the head of state at the Timor’s administering authority they would sity compound. The students have all gone State Place. leave Indonesia as Portuguese citizens. Lis- home and we hope that tomorrow the aca- “At a time when we are hosting an inter- bon has no diplomatic relations with Indo- demic activities will resume,” he said. national event, they should have upheld the nesia. The fresh clashes on Thursday were good name of Indonesia,” he said. Portugal last year gave asylum to seven sparked by the appearance of what students The other 28 were still at the embassy’s Timorese who sought refuge in the Jakarta believed were plainclothes security officers parking lot as of Tuesday though a solution embassies of Finland and Sweden, although on campus. seemed imminent. The student have an- the process took several months. The U.S. Angry students stoned nearby houses nounced that they want to go to Portugal. embassy was not immediately available for and security forces, who replied with sev- The group’s spokesman said they were comment. eral rounds of tear gas, effectively blockad- going to Portugal not as asylum seekers but ing more than 400 students and staff inside as Portuguese citizen. Portugal had offered Page 32 East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. the campus. At least one security official · They were given no water for two days. Nations. The territory has been the subject was injured by flying stones, witnesses said. After that, they were only given white of numerous accusations of human rights A delegation of students who tried to ne- rice twice a day and nothing else – barely violations by the Indonesian military. gotiate with officials was punched and enough to prevent starvation. As the protesters left the embassy com- kicked by riot police, da Costa said. · They were given no shelter from the rain plex, calm was reported returning to the Indonesia has said it will prosecute 30 and other weather. university campus in Dili, the capital of East Timorese for their alleged involvement East Timor. Security forces fired tear gas on · They were repeatedly exposed to death in last week’s riots and protests. threats and other taunts from the hun- the campus grounds Thursday after stu- Amnesty International said in a state- dreds of Indonesian military personnel dents pelted police with stones. ment made available on Thursday it was just outside the Embassy fence. Dili has been in turmoil for two weeks, concerned about the fate of nearly 200 stu- with frequent and violent clashes between dents involved in the Jakarta and Dili pro- · American officials strongly urged them to Timorese protesters and Indonesian security tests. leave the compound, using a range of forces. Most Timorese are Roman Catholic, Timorese sources said that of at least 35 psychological pressure tactics. while the Indonesians are predominantly youths rounded up in Jakarta at the time of As American citizens, we find these ac- Muslim. the embassy protest, most if not all had not tions abhorrent, totally opposite to the The Indonesian government announced been seen since – despite official claims that statements of the President and the Secre- Thursday that 30 Timorese arrested during they had been released. tary of State. the unrest will be brought to trial for their The protesters at the embassy, whose involvement in the disturbances. November 12 invasion led to the round-up TWENTY-NINE IN EXILE The London-based human rights group of dozens of Timorese across Indonesia, left AFTER PROTEST ENDS Amnesty International said in a statement the compound with the help of embassy that it was concerned about the fate of 200 staff and the international committee of the Los Angeles Times, Friday, November 25, demonstrators reported missing in East red cross. 1994. By Charles P. Wallace Timor in the past two weeks. They had been given new clothes, and Singapore–After holding out for nearly [Article is accompanied by an AP photo waved to reporters as they left, watched two weeks on the grounds of the U.S. Em- showing Red Cross bus carrying protestors warily by Indonesian police. They were due bassy in Jakarta, 29 protesters from the leaving the US Embassy compound.] to leave for Europe later on Thursday. disputed territory of East Timor left Indo- The official Antara news agency quoted nesia on Thursday for political exile in Por- INDONESIAN “SPIES” foreign minister Ali Alatas as reiterating tugal. Expresso, 26 November 1994. Translated Jakarta’s promise to allow the 29 to leave, “Our political decision is to let them go,” from Portuguese despite one of them being wanted on murder Foreign Minister Ali Abdullah Alatas said, charges. according to the official Antara news Lisbon – Two alleged Indonesian Gov- “Our political decision is to let them all agency. The government had earlier hinted ernment spies were at Lisbon airport yes- go,” he said. that one of the group might be detained in a terday awaiting the arrival of the 29 murder investigation. Timorese who, on 12th November, peace- ETAN/US PROTESTS U.S. The bedraggled protestors were given fully occupied the US Embassy in Jakarta. GOVERNMENT HYPOCRISY new clothes at the embassy and then taken Half an hour before the activists from East in a Red Cross bus to the airport for the Timor left the plane, the two men, who Media Advisory from the East Timor Action flight to Lisbon. As they left the embassy refused to speak to journalists, were waiting Network/US, November 25, 1994 grounds, the protesters waved at journalists around the arrival area. The 29 brave East Timorese who scaled outside. The 29 young Timorese, shouting long the fence of the U.S. Embassy compound in The group brought worldwide attention live Xanana Gusmão and the Portuguese Jakarta are now in Lisbon, after spending to their cause by scaling an iron fence out- Government and carrying red and white more than 10 days in a parking lot at the side the embassy on Nov. 12 as political carnations, were met by a battalion of re- embassy. Their courageous and inspired leaders from Asia and America were arriving porters. However, they preferred not to action riveted world attention on the situa- in Jakarta to hold regional trade talks. make any statements at the airport, and to tion of their compatriots in East Timor, who The demonstrators, who remained in a await the press conference organised for have endured nearly 19 years of Indonesian parking lot adjacent to the main embassy, Monday, which will also be attended by the invasion, occupation, and genocide. asked for a meeting with President Clinton representative of the Maubere Resistance High U.S. officials, including President or Secretary of State Warren Christopher to National Council, Ramos Horta. The Bill Clinton and Secretary of State Warren press their demands for the freedom of José spokesman for the group, Domingos Alves, Christopher promised the East Timorese (Xanana) Gusmão, leader of the East Timor just said that it had been “very difficult to and the media that they 29 could stay in the independence movement, who is serving a leave Jakarta” because they feared that their compound as long as they wanted to, and 20-year prison term. families remaining in East Timor would would not be pressured to leave. Neverthe- While no senior U.S. officials met with suffer reprisals. less, U.S. personnel cruelly and deliberately the group, Christopher said Clinton raised In the meantime, the Portuguese Foreign made their visitors as uncomfortable as pos- the East Timor issue in his talks with Indo- Ministry stated that the Government “sa- sible, and made it clear to them that they nesian President Suharto. But there was no luted the courage and determination” of the were unwelcome. Although we are relieved progress reported in efforts to find a politi- young men in their battle for East Timor’s and gratified that the 29 have arrived safely cal solution to the problem. self-determination. In a communiqué dis- in Lisbon, their treatment at the hands of East Timor is a former Portuguese colony tributed late in the day, the Foreign Minis- American government personnel was that was seized by Indonesia in 1976 [sic], try expressed its hope that “respect for abominable: an annexation never accepted by the United fundamental human rights and freedoms of East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. Page 33 those imprisoned and detained during the in connection with the 12 November pro- 12 November, and about 30 others who recent events in Jakarta and East Timor tests. It urges the authorities to work to- evaded arrest, remained unclear on 23 No- would also accompany the Indonesian Gov- gether with non-governmental human rights vember. Some were believed to have gone ernment’s consent to the departure of the organizations, and foreign governments with into hiding after being released, but there is occupiers of the US Embassy.” Durão Bar- diplomatic representatives in Jakarta, to: concern that some may still be in custody roso has expressed his readiness to receive · promptly clarify the name and fate of all either in Jakarta or in East Java. Police and the 29 Timorese. those detained, however briefly, by its military authorities have denied having any security forces in connection with the 12 of the group in custody. AI: UPDATE ON 12 November protests. Notwithstanding official denials, Am- NOVEMBER PROTESTS · clarify the precise charges to be brought nesty International remains concerned for against those detained in Jakarta and Dili the safety of those detained, however Amnesty International, 24 Nov. 1994 in connection with the protests and un- briefly, in connection with the 12 November rest. protest. It calls on the Indonesian authori- ties to cooperate with the National Human INTRODUCTION · release immediately and unconditionally In a report published on 15 November, anyone detained solely for their non- Rights Commissions and non-governmental Amnesty International expressed concern violent political activities or beliefs. human rights organizations in clarifying their identities and their current whereabouts. for the safety and fair treatment of 29 East · conduct prompt and impartial investiga- Timorese who entered the US Embassy Police authorities in Jakarta and East Java tions into all reports of ill-treatment, tor- continue to claim that all of those detained grounds in Jakarta on 12 November, and ture, and arbitrary detention, and ensure some 35 others reportedly detained by In- on 12 November have been released and that those believed responsible are permitted to return to the towns in East donesian security forces in Jakarta in con- brought to justice. nection with the protest.(1) It also ex- Java - including Malang, Kediri and Jember - Amnesty International welcomes indica- pressed concern for the safety of at least 16 where they lived. On 21 November police tions that Indonesia’s National Human East Timorese detained following three days authorities in East Java said: “We just re- Rights Commission is undertaking investiga- of rioting and clashes with security forces in corded their identity and then let them tions into the fate of those arrested in con- Dili, the capital of East Timor, between 12 go"(4) As of 23 November ten East nection with the 12 November protests in and 15 November. Timorese were known to have returned Jakarta and Dili. In the interest of allaying After ten days in the US Embassy com- home to Malang, but they remained in hid- anxiety and uncertainty about their fate, it pound, the group of 29 decided on 21 No- ing for fear of arrest. The whereabouts of urges that the results of any such inquiry vember to accept the Portuguese Govern- some 30 others who went to Jakarta from promptly be made public. ment’s offer of asylum, and they were ex- Malang remained a mystery. And of some 20 who went to Jakarta from the towns of pected to leave Indonesia within a few days. 1. THE JAKARTA PROTEST Kediri and Jember, none were known to The whereabouts of some 35 others de- Twenty-nine East Timorese who entered tained by security forces on 12 November have returned home by 23 November. A the US Embassy compound in Jakarta on 12 lawyer from the Surabaya, East Java, office remains uncertain. Several were reported to November decided on 21 November to ac- have gone into hiding after being released, of Indonesia’s premier rights organization, cept the Portuguese Government’s offer of the Legal Aid Institute (LBH), said on 21 but there is concern that some at least re- political asylum. While noting that the 29 main in custody, either in Jakarta or in East November: “Their fate is not clear. The had not entered the embassy to seek asy- police always refuse to comment.”(5) Java. There is also uncertainty about the lum, Amnesty International welcomes the number, identity and whereabouts of those Significantly, police statements about the measures taken to date in facilitating the East Timorese detainees appear to refer detained in Dili since 12 November. Accord- group’s safe departure from Indonesia.(2) ing to official sources 30 East Timorese only to those who came to Jakarta from The decision to accept asylum appeared East Java for the protest. Yet at least some were being held and facing trial as of 23 to be based in part on fear of retribution November. Amnesty International has ob- of those detained on 12 November are be- from Indonesian authorities. Announcing the lieved to have been residents of Jakarta. It is tained a list of some 125 people reportedly decision, the group’s spokesperson, Fer- detained between 12 and 14 November, and unlikely that they would have been returned nando Sarmento Alves, said: to East Java, and so concern remains that is seeking clarification of their whereabouts. “It’s a hard decision for us because In view of clear evidence that some protest- they may still be in custody somewhere in we want to go back to East Timor. Jakarta, possibly at the regional military ers were badly ill-treated in Dili, there is But based on our experience here, concern for the safety of all those still in intelligence headquarters, Bakorstanasda. where Indonesian intelligence officers Military authorities have categorically custody. Finally, Amnesty International is have continually been threatening us, concerned that some of those detained in denied that there were any arrests at all in we feel we should leave (Indone- Jakarta, and have told independent observ- connection with the protests and unrest sia).(3)” may be tried and imprisoned for their non- ers who have gone to Bakorstanasda head- An additional consideration was the fact quarters in search of the detainees that they violent political activities or beliefs. that some of them were suffering from ill- Amnesty International welcomes the ef- are not there. On 21 November, an unnamed health. Two of the 29 had left the embassy military source dismissed Amnesty Interna- forts to date of all parties involved - in par- on 20 November to receive medical atten- ticular the International Committee of the tional’s concern that some might still be in tion, and several others were reported to be detention as “baseless.”(6) However, Am- Red Cross (ICRC), and the governments of ill after ten days living in a parking lot with Portugal, the United States and Indonesia - nesty International remains concerned that only rudimentary sleeping and sanitary some may be held at Bakorstanasda head- in facilitating the safe departure of the 29 facilities. East Timorese from Indonesia. It notes, quarters, or other military facilities in the however, that the Government of Indonesia The Fate of the Detained Jakarta area. has additional human rights responsibilities The whereabouts of some 35 East Amnesty International also remains con- Timorese reportedly detained in Jakarta on cerned for the safety of a number of East Page 34 East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994.

Timorese summoned by military authorities tioning. It was not known whether any were 22 November, four journalists had been in Bandung, West Java, and possibly other held after questioning. Describing the pat- deported on the grounds that they did not cities in Indonesia in the aftermath of the 12 tern of arrests, East Timor’s Catholic have proper credentials; and a Japanese November protest. Commenting on the Bishop, Carlos Felipe Ximenes Belo, said television crew was under investigation, military action against East Timorese, the “The military soldiers entered the houses accused of encouraging East Timorese to Director of Indonesia’s Legal Aid Institute and arrested young people without any kind pose with their pro-independence banners. (LBH), Adnan Buyung Nasution said: of explanation.”(10) He added that those An Australian national, Andrew McNaugh- “It seems to be happening all over arrested had been beaten and that some had ton, was reportedly questioned for several (Indonesia). They are being sum- been hospitalized. hours about his links with pro-independence moned, interrogated, and asked to sign Violence erupted again in Dili on 18 No- groups, before being deported. Announcing statements denouncing the students vember as pro-independence protesters the decision on 19 November, Dili’s police (who entered the US Embassy).(7)” clashed with riot police and a group of pro- chief, Andreas Sugianto, said:” It is against Among those about whom there is con- Indonesian demonstrators in plainclothes. the law to conduct political activities in cern are three East Timorese students sum- The clash occurred in the vicinity of the other people’s countries...He was involved moned by military authorities in Bandung Catholic cathedral in Dili, where some 300- in local politics and was in the midst of the on 14 November and asked to sign a state- 400 East Timorese had gathered in the after- demonstration... We will be deporting him ment on behalf of their student’s organiza- noon for a Catholic mass, unexpectedly today"(13) tion (Impettu) condemning the actions of cancelled by police authorities. With riot Arrests in Dili the 29 who entered the US Embassy. The police surrounding the cathedral, and as a Uncertainty remains about the precise students reportedly refused to do so on the group of foreign journalists looked on, some number, identity and whereabouts of the grounds that Impettu is a non-political or- of the East Timorese brought out banners people detained since the start of the unrest ganization. Then, fearing possible retribu- and began to shout pro-independence slo- in Dili. Amnesty International is urging the tion from the military, the three fled to Ja- gans. Within moments fighting broke out as Indonesian authorities to clarify publicly the karta where together with a number of oth- men in plainclothes attacked the protesters identities of all those still detained, the place ers they sought refuge at the LBH. Accom- and threw their banners to the ground. At of their detention, and the charges against panied by LBH Director, Adnan Buyung least two men from the pro-Indonesian side, them. It is also calling on the authorities to Nasution, the students went to speak to a whose names are not yet known, were said release immediately anyone detained solely member of the National Human Rights to have been badly beaten by pro- for their non-violent political activities or Commission. Unfortunately, the Commis- independence protesters. beliefs. sion was unable to provide any concrete Some journalists who were at the scene On 15 November police authorities in solution to their problem, and so they re- said that the group of pro-Indonesian sup- East Timor said that of some 80 people turned to Bandung where they remained porters appeared to be working with the detained only 16 remained in custody. The fearful of retribution by the military. police, and suggested that the violence may following day the Armed Forces Com- have been deliberately provoked by mem- mander, General Feisal Tanjung, announced 2. UNREST IN DILI bers of this group.(11) They said that after that 27 were being held, and on 21 Novem- The pro-independence protests and at the protesters began to wave their banners, a ber the military commander in East Timor, times violent unrest in Dili, described in group of men in civilian clothes began to Colonel Kiki Syahnakri, revised the figure Amnesty International’s earlier report, con- throw rocks into the crowd, causing some again saying that 22 East Timorese were in tinued with only minor interruption until 18 injuries. One said that those throwing rocks custody.(14) On 23 November, East November.(8) Foreign journalists who wit- had been standing close to Indonesian riot Timor’s police chief, Andreas Sugianto, said nessed some of the violence first hand said police. Shortly after the hail of rocks began, 30 were being held, eight of whom had been that it appeared to have been deliberately riot police fired tear gas into the crowd, arrested the previous night.(15) provoked by men in plainclothes with the causing confusion and further injuries as Independent sources have claimed that knowledge of the police. hundreds of people ran for safety. Police the number detained is significantly higher, On 15 November, a group of some 300 authorities then ordered all foreign journal- and Amnesty International has obtained a university students clashed with security ists who had not already fled to leave the list of 125 people said to have been detained forces at Universitas Timor Timur cathedral compound. One journalist who between 12 and 14 November. Based on (UNTIM), after police tried to break up a was forced to leave described the scene: past experience, it is probable that many of pro-independence gathering there. The same “There were riot police everywhere those named on the list were released after day a group of some 50 high school students - with batons, shields and heavy hel- questioning. Amnesty International is mak- peacefully demonstrating near the Mahkota mets and they began to surround the ing the list available to independent observ- Hotel in Dili were reportedly surrounded by outside of the Cathedral. The last sight ers and human rights organizations in the police. About 20 students fled into Catholic we got looked like a standoff with hope that it may assist them in clarifying Diocese compound nearby, but the rest rioting continuing inside the cathedral the identity and whereabouts of all those were said to have been detained for ques- grounds - the police outside the detained. tioning at police headquarters, and some grounds.(12)” were reported to have been beaten. The stand-off ended peacefully some two Charges and Trials On 16 November, security forces began hours later. Following negotiations between Military and police officials have said to conduct house to house searches in Dili, Bishop Belo of Dili and the security forces, that those currently in detention are being reportedly arresting scores of people sus- those in the cathedral were assured that they held on suspicion of committing criminal pected of involvement in the unrest.(9) Ar- would suffer no retribution, and so returned acts, including arson and assault, in the rests were also reported in smaller towns. home. course of the unrest. Amnesty International Informed sources said that in three villages Indonesian military and police authorities does not condone such acts of violence and of Liquica - Maumeta, Dato and Lauhata - sought to blame foreigners, and particularly recognizes the duty of police authorities to all the young people were detained for ques- journalists, for provoking the trouble. As of bring those responsible to justice. However, East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. Page 35 it remains concerned that security forces the young man tried to explain the the Government of Portugal. After may have used the week-long violence as a case, assisted by us, to the officers. establishing that the 29 did wish to accept pretext to detain well-known pro- But from the first moment he did not the offer, US Embassy officials worked independence activists whether or not they have a single chance. After aggressive closely with the International Committee of committed criminal acts. verbal reactions by the soldiers he was the Red Cross (ICRC) to facilitate their safe This concern has been heightened by the taken by plainclothes agents and se- departure at the earliest possible date. claims of eyewitnesses that some of the verely beaten up and kicked by these A number of other governments have also violence may have been provoked by mem- terrible men, who really reacted in a spoken out about human rights issues and bers the security forces, or those working fascist manner. After eight to ten min- some have made efforts to establish the with them. Concern has also been height- utes we succeeded to pull our bleeding whereabouts of those still in detention. Am- ened by official statements, including one by companion out of the struggle and nesty International welcomes these initia- General Feisal Tanjung, to the effect that the bring him, followed by a stone- tives, and notes that such direct intervention unrest was provoked and exploited by pro- throwing gang of agents, to our hotel. may have helped to prevent human rights independence activists for political pur- There we informed a Swiss doctor violations. However, the danger of further poses.(16) Similar accusations have formed from the Red Cross, who is now tak- violations remains, and concrete measures the basis for the criminal prosecution and ing care of him.” are need to prevent them. Amnesty Interna- imprisonment of dozens of student activ- A correspondent for the British Broad- tional therefore urges governments with ists, human rights advocates, labour leaders, casting Corporation (BBC) who saw diplomatic representatives in Jakarta to and also East Timorese pro-independence Domingos as he arrived at the hotel, re- continue with their efforts in order to guar- protesters in the past year. ported that: antee the safety of others still detained in Excessive Force and Ill-treatment “He has blood streaming down his connection with the 12 November protests, back and one side of his face is so and to ensure that those detained solely for Indonesian security forces acted with swollen it’s unrecognizable. They their non-violent political activities or be- more restraint during the week of unrest in thrashed the living daylights out of liefs are immediately and unconditionally Dili than they had on previous occasions, him - he owes his life to the German released. such as the Santa Cruz massacre when up to crew who seized him and dragged him 270 peaceful protesters were killed. This away from the police as they were FOOTNOTES: was a welcome development which may in beating him.(17)” 1. The report is Indonesia & East Timor: The part be explained by the presence of foreign Dozens of people were known to have 12 November Protests, 15 November 1994 journalists and television crews. Neverthe- suffered minor injuries in the course of un- (ASA 21/53/94). less, there was clear evidence that members rest, and some had to be hospitalized. Given 2. The group’s concerns were detailed in a of the security forces had used excessive the clear evidence of ill-treatment in the case petition to US President Bill Clinton. A force in dealing with the protesters, in some of Domingos da Silva, it is likely that at copy of the petition is attached to this re- cases leading to serious injury. least some of those injuries were inflicted by port as the Appendix. A young East Timorese man, Domingos members of the security forces using exces- 3. Reuters, 22 November 1994. da Silva, who had assisted a German televi- sive force. This evidence further heightens 4. Reuters, 21 November 1994. sion crew was so severely beaten by plain- concern for the safety of those still in cus- 5. Reuters, 21 November 1994. clothes security officials that his face was tody. “unrecognizable.” The beating occurred 6. Reuters, 21 November 1994. 7. Reuters, 17 November 1994. when Domingos took the initiative of ex- 4. INTERNATIONAL RES PONSE 8. For details of the protests and unrest from plaining to military authorities why had The 12 November protests and arrests in 12 to 14 November, see Indonesia & East helped the German crew out of the chaos. A Jakarta and East Timor evoked unusual Timor: The 12 November Protests, 15 member of the German crew who directly public expressions of concern about human November 1994 (ASA 21/53/94). witnessed the beating, provided Amnesty rights by a number of governments, includ- 9. Reuters, 17 November 1994 International with the following account of ing Canada, Japan, Portugal and the United the incident: States. Some governments, notably the 10. New York Times, 22 November 1994. “After filming this event, we des- United States and Portugal, also took con- 11. BBC News Hour, 18 November 1994; SBS perately tried to get out...but this was crete measures to guarantee the safety of the TV (Australia), 18 November 1994. impossible because there was a fence 29 who had entered the US Embassy com- 12. SBS TV (Australia), 18 November 1994. around the cathedral and soldiers sur- pound. 13. Reuters, 19 and 21 November 1994. rounded the area. Our attempts were US Secretary of State, Warren Christo- 14. Radio Republic Indonesia, 16 November watched by a young Timorese, who pher, said President Clinton had raised hu- 1994; Reuters, 21 November 1994. offered to help us out of there are man rights issues “in firm and forceful 15. Reuters, 23 November 1994. bring us safely back to our hotel. His terms” in meeting with Suharto, adding that: 16. Kompas, 17 November 1994. only condition: ‘Let us, after calm is “The relationship between the 17. BBC World Service, News Hour, 18 No- restored, go together to the army United States and Indonesia can never vember 1994. headquarters and explain to the offi- reach its highest level if the people of 18. Reuters, 16.11.94 cers that I only helped you because of the United States don’t have confi- humanitarian and not political rea- dence that there is an effort here to re- APPENDIX sons.’ We discussed this request sev- spect the human rights of all the citi- Petition to US President Bill Clinton eral times and eventually agreed be- zens.(18)” from East Timorese Protesters at US cause the young man, who was terri- Later, US Government officials an- Embassy in Jakarta, 12 November 1994 bly scared that the secret police had nounced that they would consult with the [Included above] taken photographs of him, insisted. group of 29 to determine whether they We approached the headquarters and wished to accept the offer of asylum from Page 36 East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994.

APPENDIX List of People Reportedly Detained by Indonesian Security Forces in Dili and Vicinity, 12 to 14 November 1994 name age occupation residence 1. Olandino Pereira 50 farmer Tasi Tolu Dili Barat 2. Matias Lobato 17 student Lahane Barat RT I/RW II Dili3 3. Luciano da Costa 16 autotech Caicoli Rt 5/RK 2 Dili Barat 4. Afonso da Costa 28 “ Caicoli RT1/RK1 Dili Barat 5. Domingos de Deus 38 servant Lahane Brt.RT1/RW2 Dili Barat 6. Leonel Sarmento 46 soc.work Colmera RT6/RK2 Dili Barat 7. Adelino Sarmento 21 pastor Kaikoli RT1/RK1 Dili Barat 8. Inacio Soares 17 student Vilaverde RT2/RW2 Dili Barat 9. Cancio Ximenes 17 soc.work Bebonuk Comoro Dili Barat 10. José Pereira 20 helper Vilaverde RT3/RW2 Dili Barat 11. Manuel Salsinha 20 farmer Beto Timur Comoro Dili Barat 12. Celestino de Jesus 16 “ “ Cacaulidun Dili Barat 13. Vasco Lay 28 “ Caicoli RT2/RK2 Dili Barat 14. Sixto Maya 17 “ Maloa Bairo Pite Dili Barat 15. João Manuel 14 “ Lahane Barat Dili Barat 16. Armando Freitas 23 salesman Comoro Dili Barat 17. Paulo Bonifacio Soares 20 employer Vilaverde RT 18/RW9 Dili Barat 18. Armindo Barreto 15 “ RT3/RW2 Dili Barat 19. Ebet Melek N.Haran 21 helper Kp.Baru Comoro Dili Barat 20. Albano de Jesus 13 student RT1/RW2 Bairo Pite Dili Barat 21. Antonio Goncalves 13 farmer Comoro Dili Barat 22. Cristovao Mendes 18 student Comoro Dili Barat 23. Bernardo Almeida 22 soc.work Surik Mas fatumeta Dili Barat 24. Nelson de Sousa Gama 19 student Perumnas Bairo Pite,Dili Barat 25. Luis Pereira 23 salesman RT3/RW3 Fatuhada Dili Barat 26. José Soriano da Costa 30 soc.work Lahane Barat Dili Barat 27. Carlos Mali Ela 20 “ Vilaverde Dili Barat 28. Ahmad Jainudin 16 helper Fatuhada Dili Barat 29. Mario Soares 21 farmer Bairo Pite Dili Barat 30. Roberto Ximenes 18 helper Comoro Dili Barat 31. Domingos de Fatima 19 soc.work Manleuana Comoro Dili Barat 32. Casimiro da Costa 21 soc.work Rt4/RK2 Kaikoli Dili Barat 33. Claudio da Conceicao 15 student Fatuhada Dili Barat 34. Anito Soares 17 “ RT1/RW2 Bairo Pite Dili Barat 35. João Barreto 22 soc.work RT2/RK3 Beto Timur Dili Barat 36. Januario da Silva Belo 22 employer Lahane Brt. RT2/RW1 Dili Barat 37. Aleixo Soares 19 student Bairo Pite Dili Barat 38. Agustinho Soares 17 farmer Becora Dili Timur 39. Fernando Pereira 31 driver Kuluhun Dili Timur 40. Henrique Dias 16 student RT6/RK7 Santa Cruz Dili Timur 41. Nikodemus Tahu 39 salesman Quintal Bot Santa Cruz 42. Paulino Alves 20 soc.work Motaulun Becora Dili Timur East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. Page 37

43. Antonio Fernandes 20 coll.stud. Bemori Rt 16/RW14 Dili Timur 44. Olimpio Antonio da Silva 19 student Kuluhun RT2/RW1 Dili Timur 45. Orlando Dias 18 farmer Asrama 744 Becora Dili Timur 46. Constantinus Nahak 23 “ Kuluhun Dili Timur 47. Acacio da Silva 23 driver RT7/RW3 Audian Dili Timur 48. Mario de Jesus 13 soc.work Kuluhun Dili Timur 49. Antonio da Costa 23 farmer Bedois Raimean Dili Timur 50. Manuel Soares 30 soc.work. Bairo Economico Dili Timur 51. Silvestre da Costa 17 salesman Audian Dili Timur 52. Norberto de Carvalho 17 student RT2/RW1 Bidau Dili Timur 53. Agapito Baptista 19 autowork Akadiruhun Dili Timur 54. José Sabino 19 student Becora Dili Timur 55. Lino da Costa 20 autowork Akadiruhun Dili Timur 56. Bento Viegas 19 farmer RT3/RW2 Metinaro Dili Timur 57. Isolino da Costa P. 20 student Bekusi Bawah Becora Dili Timur 58. Luis Ximenes 26 farmer Kamea Dili Timur 59. José Lino Inacio 19 farmer RT3 Lahane Barat Dili Timur 60. João Silvestre 19 driver Quintal Bot StaCruz Dili Timur 61. José dos Santos 45 helper RT2/RW1 Santa Cruz Dili Timur 62. José de Almeida 18 helper Metiaut Dili Timur 63. Antonio da Costa 20 helper Taibessi Dili Timur 64. Clementino Lelo Mali 17 helper Restaurant Rindu Alam Dili 65. Afonso Amaral Freitas 19 student Audian Dili Timur 66. Lucio Neves de Araujo 21 soc.work Becora Dili Timur 67. Cesario Cabral 20 “ Bidau Dili Timur 68. Aleixo de Araujo Alves 14 salesman Atauro Dili Timur 69. Recardino Martins 18 student Bairo Economico RT3/RW3/RK1 70. Manuel Soares 16 soc.work Quintal Bot RT7 Dili Timur 71. Domingos de Jesus 16 student Mascarenhas Dili Barat 72. Humberto Moniz 17 soc.work Santa Cruz RT7 Dili Timur 73. Jacob da CRuz 21 soc.work Becora RT17 Dili Timur 74. Agustinho Menezes 15 “ Quintal BOt RT12 RK13 Dili 75. Felix Talo Mariano 21 soc.work Bedois RT17/RW7 Dili Timur 76. Edison Maia Freitas 20 soc.work Baucau Desa Garuay 77. Domingos Sousa 25 soc.work Motaulun RT19/RK7 Dili Timur 78. Juliano da Cruz 19 student Becora Motaulun RT6 Dili Tim. 79. Domingos Soares 17 student Bairo Pite RT7/RK1 DiliBarat 80. Raimundo Mariano 19 student Becora RT4/RW12 Dili Timur 81. Francisco Monteiro 19 autotech Viqueque 82. Agusto dos S.Soares 19 student Asrama SMAN4 Hera 83. Gabriel da Costa 17 soc.work Hudilaran RT1/RK4 84. Raimundo da Conceicao 24 soc.work Kp.Marinir RT1/RK4 85. Avelino Mesquita 18 soc.work Lahane Barat RT5/RK3 86. Sipriano da Conceicao 18 fisherman Kp.Marinir RT1/RK4 87. Elvis Pinheiro 25 soc.work Hudi Laran RT1/RK4 Page 38 East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994.

88. Francisco Soares 15 “ Manatutu 89. Francisco Paulo 18 soc.work Hudi Laran RT1/RK4 90. Antonio da Silva dos R. 21 soc.work Quintal Bot RT14/RK6 91. Eusebio Carvalho 24 soc.work Aimutin RT1/RW3 92. Mateus Inacio 18 student Quintal Bot RT7 93. Francisco de Deus 14 student Vila Verde RT7 93. João Sequeira 19 farmer Fatumetan RT1/RW11 94. Simao Fernandes 18 farmer Manleuana Comoro RT1 95. Joaquim da Silva P. 26 student Vila Verde RK10 96. Antonio Barros 24 soc.work Santa Cruz RT21/RK9 97. Sebastião S.Sarmento 15 student Perumnas Bairo PT Blok E 98. Francisco Pereira 20 soc.work Becora RT23/RK5 99. Yusuf Elo 19 soc.work B.Formosa RT3/RK2 100 Lourenco 19 soc.work B.Formosa RT3/RK2 101 Luis Castro 18 student P.Senggol Bidau 102 Antonio Joaquim 22 farmer idem 103 Armindo Mariano B. 29 sales P.Becora 104 João de Araujo 30 soc.work Asgor Fatumetan 105 Salvador Castro 23 sales P.Senggol Bidau 106 Mauricio da Costa 17 student Lpg.Pramuka 107 Jorge da Cruz 27 sales Asgor Fatumetan 108 Mateus Goncalves 23 soc.work Lpg.Pramuka 109 Amandio Tilman 28 soc.work Asgor Fatumetan 110 Agostinho Belo 19 student Kuluhun Dili Timur 111 Eduardo Maia 23 nurse Perumnas B.Pite 112 Antonio Fatima Lobo 21 soc.work idem 113 Francisco Ximenes 31 soc.work Ainaro 114 Anacleto Moniz 27 soc.work Lospalos 115 Marcelino da Costa 22 student Liquica 116 Nelson PEreira 19 student Comoro RT4/RK8 117 José Nilton da C.C. 20 student Becora RT13/RK3 118 João Paulo 29 soc.work B.Pite RT3/RK1 119 Tadeu J.da Silva 16 student B.Pite RT3/RK1 120 Avelino Correia Gajo 25 soc.work Fatuhada RT3/RW3 121 Juliano da Costa O. 18 farmer Vila Verde RT6 122 José Abril 17 student Taibessi Debaixo 123 Carlos kiik 16 student Kuluhun 124 Caetano da Silva 22 student Kuluhun 125 Rui Abel 25 farmer Ailoklaran B.Pite East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. Page 39

LET EAST TIMORESE INTERVIEWER: The group of students from East Timor who staged a sit-in at the MANY ARRESTED PROTESTORS EXPERIENCE American embassy in Jakarta say they IN JAKARTA EXILE: ALATAS are determined to continue their fight against Indonesian occupation of their Jakarta, Nov. 28 Kyodo territory. The group, who’ve now been AI: FEAR OF TORTURE FOR Indonesian Foreign Minister Ali Alatas granted refuge by Portugal, spent almost DETAINED PROTESTORS said Monday he expects 29 East Timorese two weeks inside the embassy in a protest students allowed to leave Jakarta last week to demand the release of Xanana Gus- News service 258/94 for political asylum in Portugal will find that mão, the leader of the Fretilin guerilla living in exile is not easy. movement which is fighting for the inde- AI index: ASA 21\wu 24/94 The 29 students left Jakarta for Lisbon pendence of East Timor. But, given that 12 November 1994 - for immediate release on Thursday after a 13-day stay on the the Portuguese [sic] authorities are still Indonesia and East Timor: fear of tor- grounds of the U.S. Embassy, dramatizing refusing to release Mr. Gusmão, I put it ture for detained pro-independence pro- their demand for independence for their to the students’ spokesman, Domingo testors and those still occupying U.S. territory. Sarmento on the line to Lisbon, that their Embassy grounds Alatas said the fate of the East Timorese protest had been unsuccessful. A group of East Timorese independence students will be similar to that of others SARMENTO: We [were] successful enough protestors arbitrarily detained by Indone- who asked the Swedish and Finnish embas- to the world, [in showing that] the people of sian security forces this morning could be in sies in Jakarta last year for political asylum East Timor are still suffering, that there is a danger of torture and ill-treatment, Amnesty and are now in Lisbon. small country in this part of the globe still International said. Publico, a Portuguese newspaper, re- suffers. The right of the people of East On the eve of United States (US) Presi- cently reported that the seven students say Timor to self-determination [has been] de- dent Bill Clinton’s arrival in Jakarta for the they have been deceived by the Portuguese nied for nineteen years. We want to remind Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) government, have no jobs and are living in the international community to pay atten- summit, and on the third anniversary of the poverty. tion to our case. I think we succeeded in this massacre of 270 people in East Timor, at Indonesia and Portugal are scheduled to part, even though we didn’t succeed in our least 35 East Timorese students have been hold a fourth round of talks under the su- demands, in releasing Xanana. detained and some 29 more remain inside the pervision of U.N. Secretary General US Embassy grounds in Jakarta. Amnesty Boutros Boutros-Ghali on Jan. 9, in Geneva. INTERVIEWER: Is the position of the resis- tance still that you wish to achieve auton- International has obtained a list of 66 names In another development, Indonesian po- of people who planned to take part in to- lice Monday arrested an East Timorese civil omy, and hold a referendum on the future of East Timor, or might you be prepared day’s demonstration at the US Embassy, servant suspected of leading protests in Dili, some of whom have been detained. East Timor, over the past two weeks. to accept a special status for East Timor within Indonesia? “The United States and other govern- “There is a strong indication he master- ments gathered in Indonesia for APEC minded the rallies,” said the head of the East SARMENTO: We reject a special status within Indonesia. Actually, we want to should take concrete action to ensure that Timor Police, Andreas Sugianto, refusing to none of those currently detained are tortured disclose the identity of the man. [pass?] through autonomy and then have a referendum for self-determination. or ill-treated, and that those inside the em- Indonesia took over East Timor in 1975 bassy compound will not be arbitrarily de- after Portugal withdrew its colonial admini- INTERVIEWER: Is the resistance still com- tained if and when they leave,” Amnesty stration, annexing it the following year. mitted to an armed struggle as a part of International said. The territory’s integration into Indonesia your opposition to Indonesian rule? Indonesian authorities have given assur- is not recognized by the U.N. SARMENTO: As long as there is a popular ances that the protesters in the embassy resistance, we are going to resist. The resis- grounds will not be harassed or arrested if BBC INTERVIEW WITH tance will never die. they leave. But given the long-standing pat- EMBASSY PROTESTORS INTERVIEWER: But it does seem that, nine- tern of torture and ill-treatment of East teen years after Indonesia occupied East Timorese activists by Indonesian security Interview with Domingos Sarmento Alves, Timor, they are showing no greater will- forces, Amnesty International urges the US spokesman for the 29 East Timorese stu- ingness to leave the territory. How are and other APEC governments not to simply dents who occupied the grounds of the U.S. you going to persuade them to change rely on such assurances. Embassy in Jakarta during the APEC sum- their minds? Since 1990 thousands of East Timorese, mit most of them young people, have been de- SARMENTO: If they will apply the con- tained without charge by military authorities “Newshour,” BBC World Service, 29 No- cepts of human rights and to fight for the vember 1994 for periods of a few days to several months rightness of human rights in the world, I for their real or alleged political activities. Transcriber’s note: I took some liberties think it will be possible to establish peace in Many of those detained have been held [shown in brackets] with Mr. Sarmento’s East Timor. incommunicado and tortured or ill-treated remarks to improve their readability, but by their captors to extract confessions or believe the final version captures his in- political intelligence. tended meaning. “Amnesty International’s fears that those detained could be tortured and ill- treated are heightened by reports that some of those detained this morning have been transferred from police custody to a military Page 40 East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. detention centre, where pro-democracy tained four men in Jakarta for releasing bal- TAPOL urged the Clinton Administration activists have been tortured in the recent loons with pro-democracy messages and to pay special attention to the fate of these past,” the organization said. subjected them to torture, including electric forty East Timorese. We suggest that other Amnesty International is urging the US shocks, beatings and death threats, at Ba- solidarity groups also take action on their and other governments present at APEC to korstanasda headquarters under the supervi- behalf take concrete steps to ensure that those sion of high-ranking military intelligence currently in detention and those in the com- officers. INFID LETTERS ON EAS T pound are protected from human rights The detention of the students occurs TIMORESE STUDENTS violations. In particular, the organization against a backdrop of serious human rights calls on them to: violations against government critics, labour DETENTION Seek to visit those currently in detention, activists and socially marginalized groups in or ensure that they are visited by represen- the run-up to APEC. These concerns are INTERNATIONAL NGO FORUM ON tatives of the International Committee of the covered in the Amnesty International re- INDONESIAN DEVELOPMENT Red Cross or other independent parties; port, “Operation Cleansing": Human Rights Jl. Duren Tiga Selatan No. 15 Seek details of the charges laid against the and APEC, published in November 1994. Jakarta 12760 detainees; and Phone: 62-21-7995400 Ensure that all those detained are accom- CONCERN FOR FATE OF fax: 62-21-7941673 panied by lawyers of their own choice at FORTY EAST TIMORESE email: [email protected] every stage of the investigation, as required No: 112/INFID/1994 under Indonesian law. TAPOL Report, 13 November 1994 November 14, 1994 BACKGROUND: With attention focused on the twenty- General Banurusman Atmosumitro On the morning of 12 November, an es- nine East Timorese now spending their sec- Commander-in-Chief, Police Department of timated 30 East Timorese students at- ond night in the compound of the US em- Republic of Indonesia tempted to enter the US Embassy in Ja- bassy in Jakarta, the fate of the forty who karta. The group scaled the wall of the em- came to Jakarta from East Java intending to Dear General Banurusman: bassy grounds as police tried to prevent enter the embassy is of particular concern. In relation to the capture and deportation them. Once inside the embassy grounds, the They were apprehended as they alighted of 36 East Timorese students in Jakarta by students displayed banners in English and from a train in Jakarta and taken to the the Police on November 12, 1994, and sev- Portuguese calling for the US President to headquarters of Bakorstanasda, the military eral other East Timorese students who the use his influence to free East Timorese resis- security agency in Jakarta, and held there for police are still searching for, the Interna- tance leader Xanana Gusmão, currently several hours. tional NGO Forum on Indonesian Devel- serving a 20-year prison term. Our latest information is that five are still opment (INFID) expresses concerns about One student, Valerio José Trinidade, was under arrest: Aurelio Aries Tilman, Delio the mentioned incident. arrested by police outside the embassy Nunes, Francisco Onorio Sarmento, Samuel We strongly request the Police to take while being interviewed by a foreign journal- Leki and João Quintiliano. Their where- steps to guarantee the safety, the security ist prior to attempting to gain entry to the abouts are not known. When human rights and the tranquillity of the students. We also compound. His current location is not activist, J.C. Princen inquired about them request that the Police respect the rights of known nor are details of any charges against this morning at the Bakorstanasda headquar- the students as guaranteed by the “Kitab him. Amnesty International urges the US ters, all he was told was that no East Undang-Undang Hukum Acara Pidana” and other governments at APEC to seek Timorese were being held there. He told (KUHAP) (Code on Criminal Legal Proce- information about Valerio José Trinidade’s TAPOL he has no way of verifying this dure) and “Undang-undang Dasar 1945” whereabouts and details of charges against independently. (The Constitution of 1945) him. The other thirty-five have been returned Thank you for your attention to this At least 35 other students are believed to to East Java by truck under military escort. matter. have been detained at about 9am as they This clearly means that they have not been Yours Sincerely, arrived at a train station in Senen, East Ja- released and are likely to undergo intensive Vice Chairperson, INFID Steering Comm., karta, en route to the US Embassy. The interrogation accompanied by torture, once Abdul Hakim Garuda Nusantara group were originally held in police custody they return to East Java, at the hands of the but it is now believed they have been taken regional military command. As Poncke Prin- INFID Executive Secretary to the regional headquarters of the military cen stressed, out of sight of international Asmara Nababan Coordinating Agency for the Maintenance attention, the military in the regions are ––––- of National Stability, (Bakorstanasda) in likely to treat their captives with even November 14, 1994 Jakarta. Four of this group have been identi- greater severity. He said that the LBH was Major General A.M Hendro Priyono, Mili- fied as Francisco Honario, João Quintiliano, monitoring the situation closely and has tary Commander, Jakarta Raya Delio Nunes and Samuel Leke. There are alerted LBH-Surabaya to pay attention to reports that half of the students detained in their fate. Dear Major General Priyono: Senen have been released, but some 20 may They have obviously been removed from In relation to the capture and the deten- still be in detention and Amnesty Interna- Jakarta to reduce the pressure on the Su- tion of 4 East Timorese students on No- tional remains concerned for their safety harto regime, now facing one of the most vember 12,1994 in Jakarta and the report while in detention. embarrassing diplomatic fiascoes of Su- that the students are still detained in the The transfer of those detained to Bakor- harto’s thirty-year rule. military detention center of KODAM Ja- stanasda custody heightens concern about We in TAPOL feel that special attention karta Raya (Kramat V). They are: the possibility of torture and ill-treatment. needs to be devoted to these East Timorese. 1. Quintilianonetto Mok (Malang) In September this year, security forces de- In our letter to Warren Christopher today, 2. Fransisco Honorio (Malang) East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. Page 41

3. Samuel Leki (Malang) The disturbances were the first such inci- will come over the students and that they 4. Falerio ... (Jakarta) dents since three days of violent protests will be freed soon after an investigation.” International NGO Forum on Indonesian subsided Tuesday, the Indonesian occupied Development (INFID) strongly requests territory’s worst since troops shot dead RIGHTS GROUP URGES RELEASE that the Military Commander for Metro- more than 200 mourners at a Dili cemetery OF TIMORESE STUDENTS politan Jakarta immediately release the East in November 1991. New York (Reuter) 11/16 – An interna- Timorese students, because the capture and Indonesia invaded East Timor in 1975, tional human rights group has urged Indone- detention is contrary to the procedures for shortly after Portugal withdrew its colonial sia to release four East Timorese students the capture and detention as demanded by administration, and annexed the territory of allegedly arrested for planning to take part the Code of Criminal Legal Procedure (Kitab 750,000 people a year later. Over 200,000 in anti-government demonstrations during Undang-Undang Acara Pidana, KUHAP). are said to have died in Indonesian repres- the APEC trade summit. We also request that KODAM V Jaya sion since then. Human Rights Watch/Asia, in a prepared respect the rights of the students as guaran- Heads of state who attended the Asia- statement released Tuesday, also urged In- teed by the Code of Criminal Legal Proce- Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meet donesia to reveal the whereabouts of another dure (KUHAP) and the Constitution of in Bogor, Indonesia this week, including 40 people who were prevented from taking 1945 (Undang Undang Dasar 1945). U.S. President Bill Clinton, have pressed part in the demonstrations Saturday. Thank you for your attention to this Jakarta to release peaceful protesters Hu- The non-governmental watchdog group matter. man Rights Watch/Asia said. said it believed “the students were exercising Yours Sincerely, “It should also ensure that all those ar- their legitimate right to freedom of expres- rested in Dili for their role in a second, vio- sion and freedom of assembly, and as such RELEASE STUDENTS, lent demonstration on Sunday have immedi- should face no punishment for their ac- HUMAN RIGHTS GROUP ate access to humanitarian organisations and tions.” to legal counsel of their choice,” added the It urged that any people in military cus- TELLS JAKARTA group. tody “be immediately and unconditionally “Without such guarantees, any general By Bob Mantiri released.” expression of concern for human rights in Brussels, Nov. 18 (IPS) - The lobby East Timor will be meaningless,” it stated. AI: NOVEMBER 12 group Human Rights Watch-Asia is backing Human Rights Asia further urged Presi- a call by the International NGO forum on dent Clinton to place a call to East Timorese PROTESTERS IN Indonesian Development (INFID) for four bishop Carlos Ximenes Belo, in recognition DANGER OF TORTURE East Timorese students to be released from of the important role he and the Catholic military custody in Jakarta. church in East Timor have played in defend- Report from Amnesty International, 15 Nov. The Brussels office of the U.S.-based ing human rights. 1994 NGO said they also sought details on the Bishop Belo has been an outspoken critic The 12 November Protests whereabouts of some 40 others forcibly of Indonesia’s policies in East Timor and taken to East Java after the protests. It has enormous credibility both inside East Introduction urged the Indonesian government to “release Timor and abroad. At least a dozen peaceful East Timorese the 40 at once if they are still in detention.” “The U.S. embassy must guaranteed that independence protesters detained by Indo- INFID, a coalition of NGOs with inter- it will keep in close contact with the stu- nesian security forces in Jakarta since 12 ests in East Timor, said the four in Jakarta dents when they do leave, to ensure that the November could be in danger of torture and include three students who were studying in Indonesian government fulfills its commit- ill-treatment, and some may later be jailed as Malang, East Java – Quintiliahonetto Mok, ment,” an official of Human Rights Watch- prisoners of conscience. Twenty-nine pro- Francisco Honrio and Samuel Lekin. The Asia in Brussels said. testers who entered the US Embassy fourth was identified only as Valerio, from Human Rights Watch-Asia said that it grounds in Jakarta on 12 November, and Jakarta. has been informed that Indonesian editors remained there on 15 November, could face All were reportedly among those who and journalists have received warnings to a similar fate if they leave the embassy planned to take part in the demonstration keep coverage of the East Timorese demon- compound. Meanwhile, at least 16 and pos- still going on at the U.S. embassy compound strations to a minimum. sibly many more East Timorese detained in Jakarta. “Such restrictions are a violation of free- following three days of rioting and clashes “The students were exercising their le- dom of expression and increase suspicions with security forces in Dili, the capital of gitimate right to freedom of expression and that the government has something to hide. East Timor, between 12 and 15 November, freedom of assembly, and as such should Full, investigative reporting by a range of may also be in danger of torture and ill- face no punishment for their actions,” it different news publication of the demonstra- treatment. said. tions and arrests would ensure that all facts These concerns are based on a long- Hundreds of East Timorese chanting pro- come to light,” the official added. standing pattern of human rights violations independence slogans clashed with Indone- Heads of state should raise concerns by Indonesian security forces against East sian security forces and groups of civilians about curbs on the press during their bilat- Timorese pro-independence activists. Since Friday in renewed unrest in the Timorese eral meetings with Indonesian counterparts, 1990 thousands of East Timorese, most of capital of Dili, local media reported here. the organisation said. them young people, have been detained Some 500 East Timorese protesters gathered The Indonesian Embassy here refused to without charge by Indonesian military and around Dili cathedral compound in central give any comments on the demands of Hu- police authorities for periods of a few days Dili and clashed with Indonesian civilians man Rights Watch-Asia. But one official to several months for their real or alleged before security forces used tear gas to dis- however referred to “an earlier statement of political activities. Many of those detained perse the crowd. the foreign ministry in Jakarta that no harm have been held incommunicado and tortured or ill-treated by their captors to extract con- Page 42 East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. fessions or political intelligence. At least 30 participation in peace talks, and to support later be tried and sentenced to prison terms East Timorese are currently serving prison a referendum on the political future of East for their peaceful political activities. sentences of up to life imprisonment for Timor. In a written statement, the protest- Some 35 East Timorese, most of them their non-violent pro-independence activi- ers said that they were seeking a meeting students from Surabaya and Malang, East ties. with President Clinton, who arrived in Ja- Java, were reportedly detained in the early Amnesty International’s concern for the karta in the evening of 13 November, and morning hours of 12 November in East Ja- safety and fair treatment of those recently with Secretary of State Warren Christopher, karta, before reaching the US Embassy. A detained has been heightened by the state- to discuss their political and human rights number of this group were reportedly re- ments of Indonesian military and govern- concerns. leased after questioning the same day, but ment officials in the days after the embassy Following early statements that the 29 some were still thought to be in detention as occupation. The authorities have accused would be encouraged to leave, officials at the of 15 November, including: Francisco Hono- the protesters of attempting to tarnish the US embassy clarified that the group would rio Sarmento, and Samuel Leki, both univer- government’s name and to win popularity be permitted to stay, and provided them sity student from Malang; and [João] Quin- by staging their demonstration during a with some food and other facilities. Speak- tiliano Mario Neto Mok, aged 27. meeting of heads of government of the Asia ing to journalists on 14 November, President According to reports, members of this Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Clinton said the US government .”..had no group were originally held in police custody countries. On 13 November, the military problem with these young people coming before being taken to the regional headquar- commander for Greater Jakarta, Major Gen- and expressing their views in our embassy ters of the military Coordinating Agency for eral Hendropriyono, accused the East grounds, and we’ve talked with them and the Maintenance of National Stability (Ba- Timorese protesters of being insufficiently worked with them.”(2) However, by the end korstanasda) in Jakarta. These reports “patriotic,” saying: “They...do not have any of the day on Tuesday 15 November, the heightened Amnesty International’s concern patriotism at all and they do not have any protesters had not met the President. The about the possibility of torture and ill- shame when their country is holding an group apparently rejected offers of a meet- treatment. In September this year, security international event."(1) In the past, such ing with the US Ambassador, and said that forces detained four men in Jakarta for re- accusations have been sufficient grounds for if their request to meet the President were leasing balloons with pro-democracy mes- the trial and imprisonment of peaceful East not met they might be forced to ask for sages and subjected them to torture, includ- Timorese protesters. For example, East political asylum. A spokesman for the ing electric shocks, beatings and death Timorese accused of “tarnishing the coun- group, Fernando Sarmento Alves, told re- threats, at Bakorstanasda headquarters un- try’s image” by staging peaceful demonstra- porters: “We are going to take harder steps der the supervision of high-ranking military tions after the 1991 Santa Cruz massacre, if there are no positive developments, in- intelligence officers. are now serving sentences of up to life im- cluding consideration of political asy- Military authorities told a member of the prisonment. lum.”(3) Later reports suggested that the National Human Rights Commission, and The recent protests and arrests occurred group might be prepared to accept a meeting another independent observer who visited on the eve of United States (US) President with Indonesian President Suharto or Minis- Bakorstanasda on 13 November, that no Bill Clinton’s arrival in Jakarta for the ter of Foreign Affairs, Ali Alatas, as an al- East Timorese were detained there, and that APEC summit, and on the third anniversary ternative. those from East Java had been sent back of the Santa Cruz massacre in which some Members of Indonesia’s government- home. On 15 November, police officials 270 people were killed by security forces in appointed National Human Rights Commis- announced that 69 East Timorese had been East Timor. They also occurred against the sion who visited the group at the embassy sent back to their homes in East Java and backdrop of serious human rights violations compound on 13 November, said that eight released. against Indonesian government critics, la- of the 29 had said they would leave the However, independent human rights bour activists and socially marginalized embassy if they received guarantees that monitors reported that as of 8am on 15 groups in the run-up to APEC, documented they would not be arrested. However, the November, or three days after they were in the Amnesty International report, Indo- Commission reportedly failed to obtain such detained, none of those who had been de- nesia: “Operation Cleansing"- Human guarantees, and all 29 protesters remained in tained had returned to their homes in East Rights and APEC, published in November the compound at the end of the day on 15 Java, and that the whereabouts of most 1994. November. remained unknown.(4) On 15 November, a Arrests in Jakarta and Other Cities police spokesperson in Jakarta reportedly 1. THE 12 NOVEMBER PROTEST admitted that: “We don’t know where they Between 35 and 50 East Timorese are re- On the morning of 12 November, some are."(5) The uncertainty about their where- ported to have been detained in Jakarta 30 East Timorese students attempted to abouts heightened concern that they might shortly before and after the embassy pro- enter the US Embassy in Jakarta. The group in fact still be in custody either in Jakarta or test, but the exact number, identity and scaled the fence surrounding the embassy in East Java. Independent human rights whereabouts of those detained is still un- grounds as police tried to prevent them. monitors suggested that they might still be clear. As of 15 November, local human Amnesty International has obtained a list of in the custody of police in Surabaya rights monitors and relatives had been able 66 names of people who planned to take (POLDA Jawa Timur) or Malang. to identify only about a dozen of them by part in the demonstration, but only 29 man- One of those known to have been de- name, and uncertainty remained about where aged to enter. At least 35 others were re- tained on 12 November was Valerio José they were being held. ported to have been detained before entering Trinidade, an East Timorese worker who Amnesty International is concerned that, or reaching the embassy. lives in Jakarta. He was arrested by riot because of this uncertainty, those still in Once inside the embassy grounds, the 29 police outside the US Embassy while being police or military custody could be denied students displayed banners in English and interviewed by a foreign journalist prior to access to lawyers and subjected to torture or Portuguese calling for the US President to attempting to gain entry to the compound. ill-treatment. It is also concerned that those seek the release of East Timorese resistance His current whereabouts are not known nor regarded as the political “ring-leaders” may leader, Xanana Gusmão, to push for his are details of any charges against him. As he East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. Page 43 is a resident of Jakarta, he would not have and 15 November has resulted in a number demonstrated for nearly three hours, while been sent to East Java with the others, and of deaths, the destruction of property, and police and army surrounded the campus. No so is probably in police or military custody scores of arrests. Amnesty International violence was reported. in central Jakarta. does not condone these acts of violence and Arrests and Casualties in East Timor Security forces are also said to have ar- it recognizes the right of police authorities Police authorities said on 14 November rested at least 11, and possibly more, East to detain and bring to justice those respon- that they had arrested some 80 people in Timorese workers and students from their sible. Nevertheless, it is concerned that connection with the unrest and announced homes in various parts of Jakarta on and those detained may be ill-treated or tortured, that those detained would be charged with after 12 November. The reasons for their and that the authorities may use the violence criminal offences. Speaking to journalists, arrest, and the place of their detention, were as a pretext to arrest and imprison non- Police Chief Andreas Sugianto said: “They not known as of 15 November. However, it violent pro-independence activists. have been burning and throwing stones. is likely that they have been held because of The unrest was apparently triggered by These are criminal activities. We have ar- their real or suspected links with those who the murder of an East Timorese trader, rested them because of these activities and entered the embassy. Although these re- Mario Vicente, following a dispute with a we will charge them in court."(7) The fol- ports could not be confirmed, East Timorese trader from the island of Sulawesi, at the lowing day, the police announced that all reported to have been detained in Jakarta Becora market in Dili on 12 November. but eleven of the 80 had been released after include people named as: Armindo Lopes, Within an hour hundreds of East Timorese questioning; the number in detention was Alberto, Paul, Armando, Elias, Eduardo, had congregated to protest against the kill- revised to 16 later in the day.(8) However, Fidelis, Albertino, Avelino Tilman, José ing, but the protest quickly degenerated into in keeping with past practice, the military Caiola da Sousa, and Nelson Eduardo dos violence, leading to the destruction of shops, authorities did not clarify how many people Santos. houses, and vehicles. The unrest continued were held in military custody, so the total Amnesty International has also received into the early hours of the morning and number detained was unclear. reports that East Timorese in other cities, erupted again the following day. According Independent sources claimed that, as of including Bandung, West Java, and Den- to one report, early on 13 November, a 15 November, the number detained was pasar, Bali, have been summoned by mili- group of some 40 demonstrators marched to closer to 250, with about 100 arrested in the tary authorities though not necessarily de- the Mahkota Hotel where they displayed Colmera area, 80 in the vicinity of Santa tained. Among those summoned are three banners with messages like “Free East Cruz, and at least 70 held following the university students in Bandung: Nelson E.S. Timor” and shouted pro-independence slo- clash at the university on 14 November. The Martin, a student at Universitas Pajajaran; gans. There were unconfirmed reports that a sources did not know where the detainees Homen Gastao, a student at the Bandung crowd gathered in the Lecidere quarter of were being held, and the number reportedly Institute of Technology; and Lito Tilman. Dili, to lower the Indonesian flag and replace held could not be confirmed. They were reportedly taken from their it with the flag of East Timor’s resistance Police authorities said on 14 November homes by soldiers of the West Java Regional movement. that there had been no deaths during the Military Command (KODAM III/Siliwangi) Police and military authorities reported three days of unrest and rioting, but that at about 2pm on 14 November. Human that crowds attacked the homes and shops some people had been injured. Reports from rights activists said the three had been taken of non-Timorese migrants in various parts independent sources, still unconfirmed, said to the KODAM headquarters, where they of the city, including Audian, Balide, Be- that three East Timorese had been stabbed had been asked to signed a statement, on cora, Bidau Santana, Colmera, Kuluhun, to death by Indonesian soldiers or intelli- behalf of an East Timorese students’ organi- Manleuana, and Santa Cruz. Describing the gence operatives. One of those allegedly zation, denouncing the actions of the group unrest, Police Chief Andreas Sugianti said: killed was Fernando (alias Nando), originally that had entered the US Embassy. Similar “The mob was wild. They were running of Suai, but a resident of Kuluhun, Dili. He incidents have been reported from Den- after the police and throwing stones at them. was reported to have been killed in Kuluhun pasar, Bali, where according to unconfirmed If we were not wearing helmets, we might by a member of Battalion 745 on 13 No- reports, scores of East Timorese students have been injured as well."(6) At the mar- vember. Two other men, who are said to have been summoned for questioning by ketplace in Colmera, crowds reportedly have taken part in the unrest but whose military authorities since 12 November. clashed with police and Mobile Brigade names are not yet known, were reported to Two students, Horacio Gonçalves da Costa, forces. Security forces managed to disperse have been killed on the same day in the La- and Tede Branco, are said to have been de- the crowds with tear gas, then as night fell clubar and Santa Cruz quarters of Dili. tained by the military, but it was not known soldiers reportedly began to carry out wide- whether they remained in custody. spread arrests. 3. INTERNATIONAL Amnesty International is urging the In- The violence flared again on 14 Novem- RESPONSIBILITIES donesian authorities to clarify the identity ber. In one incident some 600 protesting International reaction to the occupation of all those detained in connection with the East Timorese students hurled stones at riot of the US Embassy and the unrest in Dili, 12 November protests, the place of their police in the vicinity of the University of has demonstrated a degree of genuine con- detention, and the precise reasons for their East Timor in Dili. According to another cern on the part of several governments arrest. It is also calling on other governments report, angry demonstrators attacked the about the political and human rights situa- to assist in obtaining such clarification, and Hotel Turismo in Dili, breaking windows tion in East Timor. Secretary of State War- to take concrete measures to ensure that and destroying property. Disturbances as ren Christopher told journalists on 13 No- those detained are neither ill-treated nor well as pro-independence demonstrations vember that the US Government would raise jailed as prisoners of conscience. were also reported from areas outside Dili, its human rights concerns in meetings with including Baucau, Ermera, Lospalos, Ma- 2. UNREST IN EAST TIMOR Indonesian officials, a promise reiterated by liana, and Manatuto. On 15 November, a President Clinton on 15 November one day Widespread unrest and at times violent further pro-independence protest was re- clashes with security forces in Dili and before his bilateral meeting with President ported at the University of East Timor. Suharto.(9) Canada’s Prime Minister, Jean smaller towns of East Timor between 12 According to reports, some 300 students Page 44 East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994.

Chrétien, told journalists that he had raised diplomatic representatives in Jakarta, to the recent developments in Jakarta and East ensure that none of those currently detained APEC ECONOMICS Timor during a meeting with Indonesian are tortured or ill-treated, and that those President Suharto. In an apparent departure inside the US Embassy compound will not from past practice, the Government of Ja- be arbitrarily detained if they leave. More APEC: WHAT’S AT STAK E IN pan announced on 13 November that Indo- concretely, Amnesty International calls on JAKARTA MEETING? nesia’s human rights record in East Timor governments to: would be taken into account in future delib- · Facilitate the safe passage out of Indone- Green Left, Nov. 13 erations about development aid to Indone- sia, of those East Timorese who wish to The Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation sia. take up the offer of asylum by the Gov- (APEC) summit, meeting on November 15 Such expressions of concerns and prom- ernment of Portugal. in Jakarta, will be discussing proposals for ises of future action are welcome. However, · Seek clarification about the identity and the removal of all barriers to free trade be- in Amnesty International’s view, they do whereabouts of all those detained in In- tween the 16 participating countries by not guarantee the safety and fair treatment donesia and East Timor in connection 2020, and possibly by 2010 for the devel- of those currently detained unless they are with the 12 November protests. oped countries of the group. JENNIFER backed by immediate and concrete measures. · Visit those currently in detention, or THOMPSON of Green Left Weekly spoke As of 15 November, there was little indica- ensure that they are visited by represen- to Dr. WALDEN BELLO, a senior analyst tion that the US, Canadian, Japanese or any tatives of the International Committee of at the Institute for Food and Development other governments had taken any concrete the Red Cross or other independent par- Policy (Food First) in California, currently action to secure the safety of those cur- ties; touring Australia for Community Aid rently at risk. Abroad. One apparent exception was the Gov- · Seek precise details of the charges laid against the detainees, and urge that all Question: Could you comment on how Asian ernment of Portugal, though its options economies will be affected generally by were necessarily limited by the fact that it those detained solely for their non- violent activities or beliefs are released these APEC proposals of trade liberaliza- has no diplomatic mission in Jakarta. On 14 tion? November the Prime Minister announced immediately and unconditionally. that Portugal would grant political asylum · Ensure that all those detained are accom- It’s fairly clear that many of the Asia Pacific to the 29 still within the embassy com- panied by lawyers of their own choice at countries are very wary about this free trade pound, an offer they were said to be consid- every stage of the investigation, as re- vision or bloc that the United States and ering seriously. The President of Portugal quired under Indonesian and international Australia have been pushing in the Pacific. I called on the US Government to ensure that law. think that although Australia was initially those still in custody were humanely treated · Ensure that all detainees are granted regu- seen as the father or mother of APEC, in- and accompanied by lawyers, and to seek lar and unhindered access to their rela- creasingly the United States has taken it clarification of the charges to be brought tives and to medical professionals. over and really pushed very hard to estab- against them.(10) lish a regional bloc that would be governed · Seek clarification of the circumstances by free trade. The response of the US Government to leading to the death of Mario Vicente in these suggestions was somewhat disap- What people have seen APEC as, in the Dili on 12 November, and further infor- Pacific, is the Americans pushing their eco- pointing. Officials gave no indication that mation about the alleged killings of three the government intended to take any direct nomic interests via the free trade agenda. other East Timorese by military forces That sort of agenda is meant mainly to sup- measures to ensure the safety of those de- on 13 November. tained in Jakarta, Dili or elsewhere. It was port the re-penetration of the region by also unclear whether it would facilitate the Footnotes: American corporate capital and by Ameri- safe passage to Portugal of the 29 East 1. Reuters, 13 November 1994. can goods so that the United States can gain Timorese in the embassy compound. In fact, 2. Reuters, 14 November 1994. a pre-eminence that it lost in the 1970s and statements by President Clinton suggested 3. Reuters, 14 November 1994. 1980s. There is a fear that US capital, par- that the US Government might instead en- 4. Amnesty International has obtained a list ticularly in services, will become very big courage the East Timorese to leave the em- of 12 East Timorese from Malang who and that there would be a displacement ef- bassy. Speaking in Jakarta President Clinton were not arrested and who are currently in fect by US goods and especially that agricul- said that the US Government had received hiding. ture would be dominated by US products. and accepted assurances from the Indone- 5. Reuters, 15 November 1994. This free trade agenda carries a lot of sian government that the 29 would not be 6. Reuters, 14 November 1994. ideological implications that might lead to punished if they left the embassy: 7. Reuters, 14 November 1994. the dismantling of particular relationships, “We have been assured there will 8. Reuters, 15 November 1994. many protectionist, that were created be- be no retribution against them in exer- 9. Reuters, 15 November 1994. tween Asian business and governments. cising their political expression....I feel 10. Reuters, 14 November 1994. They fear that this rhetoric will dismantle comfortable the commitment we have 11. Reuters, 14 November 1994. these mechanisms that have been responsi- received will be honoured."(11) ble for their growth. Given the long-standing pattern of tor- Question: Your work has dealt with social ture and ill-treatment of East Timorese ac- and environmental problems in Asian tivists by Indonesian security forces, Am- countries. Can you describe some of these nesty International is concerned that such and their causes? assurances alone do not provide an adequate Generally the problem has been the devel- guarantee of the safety of those inside the opment model that has been followed in the embassy compound. It therefore urges the Asia Pacific. It is not a free trade model but United States, and other governments with East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. Page 45 a very close relationship between govern- American capital to become a major invest- the Philippines are more concerned about ment and business that’s built around the ment and trading presence again in the Asia things like GATT, because GATT is in its state guidance of growth and protectionism Pacific. The Americans are behind GATT final stages of ratification. There’s a much of the domestic economy. precisely because it opens up the Asia Pa- more critical movement in the Philippines While there have been some positive as- cific economies to them. around GATT than you have in Australia. pects to this model, it has had a lot of nega- Among the more important provisions of A number of community groups, grass- tive consequences, including the decline of GATT are those around intellectual prop- roots groups and alternative groups in Indo- agriculture. Agriculture in Korea and Taiwan erty rights; that serves principally the inter- nesia and the Philippines and throughout the are on their last legs at this point. This is ests of American corporations to check the region are trying to establish a different because agriculture has been used to fuel the cloning and unauthorized borrowing of their design for trade that would counter the growth of manufacturing industry through a technology by Asian firms. APEC vision. Many of the groups are con- transfer of resources from agriculture to GATT also has a very strong services cerned with human rights and governments industry. agreement which requires that countries give using APEC to legitimize their human rights You’ve had universal ecological degrada- American and other foreign companies ex- and political records. Resistance is more on tion from Korea to Taiwan to Thailand, actly the same treatment in those industries how do you unmask the Suharto govern- where the first stage of growth was based on as is given to local investors. So GATT ment and prevent it from using APEC to the export of natural resources. This now basically would have a very strong role in clean its bloody record. makes the environmental problems of mas- reasserting US corporate and trade presence sive industrial pollution, and the third prob- in the Asia Pacific. VOA: APEC MINISTERS lem is increasing inequality of income. Question: There doesn’t seem to be general END TALKS The top 10-15% of these countries have agreement amongst the participating cornered a larger part of the income than countries. Indonesia only recently has Voice of America, 11/12/94. By Dan Robin- they did 20 or 25 years ago. The strengthen- thrown its support behind the process, son, Jakarta ing of political repression, particularly in and Malaysia is opposing it outright. Can Intro: Ministers from the Asia and Pa- countries like Singapore and Indonesia, goes you talk about some of the differences? against the notion that the income pie in- cific region have ended two days of talks in creases and that will mitigate class conflict. I wouldn’t put too much on Indonesia’s role Jakarta with a joint statement supporting That’s not happening. here. There’s a lot of protectionist senti- steps leading to free trade in their region. At the same time, in many of these coun- ment in Indonesia, and Suharto’s just stick- However, as VOA’s Dan Robinson reports, tries many people are starting to feel that ing up for free trade because basically he’s officials of the 18-member Asia Pacific eco- they have a very fragile industrialisation hosting it plus he has this idea about his nomic cooperation forum (APEC) left the process. They see the ecological devastation hosting APEC enshrining him as a big leader. issue of setting a specific timetable for a and that maybe this is buying present Basically I think Indonesia’s much more new free trade plan to APEC leaders who growth at the expense of future generations. protectionist than free trader at this point, meet outside Jakarta on Tuesday: I think there is this sense in Taiwan particu- and after this conference I doubt that you’ll Indonesian coordinating minister for in- larly that super-industrialisation has ren- have the Indonesians pushing for APEC to dustries, Hartato, told a closing news con- dered the island unlivable, which continues become a free trade area beyond just rheto- ference it would be up to APEC leaders to to be manifested in high emigration from ric. decide exactly how to pursue the vision of Taiwan to Australia, the US and Canada. Malaysia of course is very much against free trade into the next century. A lack of confidence in the future of the it, but everybody is except Australia, the However, the ministers did endorse sev- economy is pervasive in this region. There’s US, Canada, Mexico and maybe Chile. Most eral steps aimed at trade liberalization. also a sense that industrialisation is not of the Asia Pacific countries, although they They agreed on a set of voluntary in- guaranteed because of the massive techno- do not articulate it as much as Mahathir, vestment principles to ease the flow of capi- logical dependence on Japan. Describing really want to slow down the process. They tal throughout the region. There were also many of these economies, one could say want to have a regional consultative forum, declarations on the importance of the pri- that it’s been very difficult for them to but they don’t want to start putting down vate sector as the main source of economic graduate from being merely labour-intensive the rules of free trade. growth, and the need to develop human assembly platforms for Japanese compo- I think that the most significant block to resources. nents using Japanese technology. The Tai- APEC is not the Malaysians; it’s the Japa- Secretary of State Warren Christopher wanese and the Koreans have woken up and nese. They really have a very different de- said the United States strongly backs Indo- said: Whoa, we are now more technologi- sign: they have integrated the region through nesian President Suharto’s call for free trade cally dependent on Japan than when we investment as opposed to trade, and APEC and expects Tuesday’s leaders summit to began our industrialisation process 25 years will not serve their interests. They’re quiet build upon what was achieved in Seattle last ago. and would much rather quietly sabotage the year: Over the last few years, one very impor- whole thing; they’ll leave the railing to per- “We want to sustain the momen- tant thing has been the regionalization of the sons such as Mahathir. tum begun at Blake island, continued in Bogor; momentum toward a Pacific Japanese economy. The economies of the Question: There hasn’t been a lot in the region have in many ways become integrated Australian press about opposition to the community of shared values, shared around the needs of the Japanese economy. proposals being put forward from com- prosperity and shared security inter- ests. I feel the momentum is building Question: How do you think this process munity and worker groups. Can you comment on that type of opposition? in APEC to make it a more and more relates to GATT? significant organization. I think we Asia Pacific elites have been using busi- I don’t think there has been that much grass- will pool our strength and come to- ness mechanisms that are to a great degree roots opposition to APEC because the op- gether in this region.” protectionist. GATT will make it easier for position has mainly been undertaken by business and government elites. Groups in Page 46 East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994.

US commerce Secretary Ron Brown said he delinked the issue of renewal of China’s Commenting on the East Timorese sit-in, US economic interests are bound up in the Most Favoured Nation trading status with the South China Morning Post said: “Hi- future of the Asia-Pacific region: human rights in that country. jacking a summit aimed at promoting re- “APEC gives us a vehicle to ad- The move was welcomed in most parts gional economic cooperation can only work vance the commercial interests of all of of Asia – especially authoritarian over- to undermine the good that APEC can our nations and that is why we are so achievers like Singapore, Malaysia, Indone- achieve and there is no doubt that freer trade pleased with the results of our discus- sia and China. within the region will benefit Asian coun- sions.” Hong Kong, which lobbied hard for re- tries and their people.” APEC leaders are already arriving in Ja- taining the preferential trade status for “Attempts to foist such a linkage on to karta for Tuesday’s summit. President Clin- China’s exports to the United States despite APEC, or any other regional forum, is ton arrives Sunday after a stop in the Phil- its fight with Beijing on political freedom doomed to failure,” it added. ippines. after 1997, was ecstatic. Another strong advocate of Pacific rim There have already been a number of pre- Europe, which is watching APEC keenly, free trade is Singapore which takes a dim summit bilateral meetings. Saturday’s news has seen the economic potentials of the view of groups trying to politicize it. Singa- conference was dominated by other non- world’s fastest-growing region. It agreed porean leaders see their country as a perfect APEC subjects, including US trade dis- with South-east Asian foreign ministers at a example of the model that works: sacrifice agreements with China, China-Taiwan rela- recent meeting in Karlsruhe not to let differ- some personal freedoms for the common tions, and the new world trade organization. ences over human rights affect two-way good. Secretary of State Christopher said the trade. Politics has also crept in with countries United States favors China’s membership in Human rights advocates are dismayed like Indonesia and Malaysia trying to use GATT on what he called an appropriate and that Clinton himself has come to Indonesia APEC as a prestige issue. Indonesian Presi- feasible basis. with a concrete economic agenda. And while dent Suharto, current chairman of the Non- President Clinton meets China’s Presi- the U.S. president has said he will discuss Aligned Movement (NAM), Saturday por- dent Jiang Zemin next week. In translated human rights in his one-on-one talks with trayed APEC as a North-South cooperation remarks, China’s foreign minister Qian other APEC leaders, activists say Clinton is in action. Qichen predicted the talks would lead to willing to give issues such as East Timor and Malaysian premier Mahathir Mohamad further progress in relations: labour rights only lip service. who boycotted the first APEC summit in “I believe the meeting between Analysts say this explains the desperate Seattle is still miffed that his proposal for a presidents Jiang Zemin and Clinton attempt by East Timorese dissidents to use non-Caucasian East Asian Economic Caucus will be constructive and encouraging, the glare of international media during the (EAEC) was superseded by APEC. He is and I believe following the summit APEC summit to publicize their cause. the only APEC leader to openly oppose the meeting, the relations between China Sidney Jones of the U.S.-based Human APEC free trade zone proposal, even from and the United States will make fur- Rights Watch/Asia says the Indonesian the very start. ther progress.” government has “shot itself in the foot” in Said the Singapore Straits Times, in a The only hold out against a move toward the run-up to the summit by clamping down barb that may have been aimed at Malaysia: a free trade area was Malaysia. That coun- on the press, labour activists and on East “The APEC forum has been sidetracked into try’s trade minister insisted her government Timorese rebels. being a proxy battleground over which to was not the only one taking that position. “At least some of the visitors in Jakarta wrest concessions or to prove nationalistic this week may begin to wonder whether manhood.” APEC: POLITICS legitimacy brought about by economic de- But analysts say even Malaysia in the GATECRASHING ON velopment is beginning to wear thin,” writes end will sign a document that will spell out a Jones. commitment to free trade. There is no rea- ECONOMIC SUMMIT The attempt by East Timorese activists son not to: Malaysia like other countries in to use APEC to highlight their cause has the region are moving toward tariff-free By Kunda Dixit been widely criticised by the official press trade on their own. SINGAPORE, Nov. 14 (IPS) - Countries in most East Asian countries except Thai- Says Singapore’s Minister of Trade and on both sides of the Pacific have been trying land and the Philippines. Industry Yeo Cheow Tong: “Investment to use their summit in Indonesia this week One notable exception is Hong Kong’s flows in the Asia Pacific will continue to to concentrate on economic and not political South China Morning Post, which wrote a grow with or without (APEC).” freedom, but try as they might politics seem scathing editorial over the weekend titled to creep back in. ‘Wrong Time, Wrong Place’ saying the East ASIA-PACIFIC COUNTRIES The most vivid reminder that freedom is Timorese were “misguided.” NEAR AGREEMENT ON more important than free trade for some in Western conservative academics and col- East Asia has been the high-profile protest umnists in the region have found common TRADE sit-in by East Timorese in the U.S. embassy cause with the autocratic architects of East By Andrew Pollack. Front page news article, in Jakarta timed with the summit of the Asia’s economic miracle to argue once more The New York Times, Nov. 15. Only a few Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) that free trade and economic reforms auto- paragraphs near the end of long article are forum. matically lead to greater political freedom. excerpted: The second APEC summit comes at the Before flying out to Indonesia, Clinton end of a year which has seen the beginnings gave a speech that echoed this line on ‘con- Despite Indonesia’s efforts to show off of a convergence between the eastern and structive engagement,’ which human rights its economic progress, the summit has also western rims of the Pacific on human rights groups say will strengthen the argument of focused attention on the Government’s and democracy. countries like Vietnam, China and Burma to press censorship, suppression of labor In May, U.S. President Bill Clinton indi- keep restrictions on dissidents. movements and continuing protests over its cated that the bottom line was money when East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. Page 47 annexation of the former Portuguese colony LEADERS AGREE ON FREE Bogor, we have set the course and the direc- of East Timor in 1975. tion of a future cooperation in the Asia Pa- Nearly 90 protesters were reported ar- TRADE FOR THE PACIFIC cific area in particular and in the world in rested in clashes with security forces in East NY Times 11/16/94, by Elaine Sciolino. general,” he said. Timor on Monday, the second day of dis- Abridged. Clinton defined the success of the meet- turbances. Meanwhile, 29 East Timorese ing in terms of what was in it for America, students, protesting Indonesia’s policies BOGOR, Indonesia - Leaders of 18 Pa- predicting that relaxing trade barriers would continued the sit-in they began on Saturday cific Rim nations emerged Tuesday from a open new markets, make American goods morning at the grounds of the American grand colonial-era palace to extol the bene- and services more competitive, encourage embassy in Jakarta. fits of open markets and investment in the sales abroad and create jobs at home. On Monday, two American journalists dynamic Pacific region and to move towards who had been arrested trying to enter East creating the largest free trade zone in the HUMAN RIGHTS world by the year 2020. Timor tried to distribute leaflets in the Asia- FORGOTTEN IN RACE FOR Pacific conference press center announcing The leaders, whose nations represent that they were holding a news conference. more than half of the world’s economic TRADE? Security guards swarmed and tried to take output, ended a day of free-wheeling talks By Mario Dujisin away the leaflets, in front of the interna- with a “declaration of common resolve” that tional press. went far beyond the vague vision of their LISBON, Nov. 16 (IPS) - East Timorese meeting in an Indian long house on a wind- resistance leader José Ramos-Horta, de- U.S. SIGNS DEALS AND swept island near Seattle just a year ago. manded Wednesday that the U.S. take a Both President Suharto of Indonesia, the stronger lead in resolving the continuing PRESSES RIGHTS WITH host, and President Clinton said that the crisis in East Timor, occupied by and later INDONESIA gathering Tuesday furthered the goals of the annexed by Indonesia 19 years ago. group, which includes countries from four Ramos-Horta told reporters here that By Brian Bain continents with per capita incomes ranging U.S. President Bill Clinton take direct con- Jakarta, Nov. 16 (Reuter) - Indonesia, from less than $1,000 to $30,000. trol over the issue from the U.S. State De- host of the landmark Bogor trade summit, But the victory was undercut by three partment, which he said was “infested with signed business deals worth more than $40 days of demonstrations in Dili, the capital pro-Indonesian bureaucrats.” billion with the United States on Wednes- of East Timor, a former Portuguese colony On Wednesday Indonesia said it was day even as President Bill Clinton warned annexed by Indonesia. Clinton said Tuesday willing to allow 29 East Timorese protest- host President Suharto over human rights. that the people of East Timor deserved ers, holed up in the U.S. embassy com- Suharto was basking in the afterglow of more basic rights, and that he would raise pound in Jakarta for five days, to seek asy- the Asia-Pacific summit – seen as a crown- human rights issues in his meeting with lum in Portugal. Lisbon is still formally ing achievement of his 27 years in power – Suharto on Wednesday. recognised by the United Nations as when Clinton cautioned that Indonesia’s “The people of East Timor should have Timor’s administrative authority and is says rights record could be a limiting factor in ties more say over their own affairs,” Clinton it will accept them. with the United States. said. But the youths said seeking asylum over- Clinton, on a one-day state visit after the Neither Clinton nor Secretary of State seas was only one of several options, and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Warren Christopher would meet with the they still wanted Clinton to back their call summit set free trade in the region by 2020 students who have been protesting at the on Indonesia to release Timorese guerrilla as its goal, raised the rights issue “in firm U.S. embassy since Saturday. An embassy leader Xanana Gusmão. and forceful terms... he also made it clear statement said other officials continue to The embassy standoff and three days of that human rights could be a limiting factor” “maintain contact” with them and provide rioting in East Timor’s capital Dili, 2,000 in relations. That report from Secretary of them with rice, water and medical treatment. kilometres from Jakarta, have undermined State Warren Christopher on the Clinton- Although Indonesian authorities prom- the image of Indonesia’s iron ruler President Suharto talks did not affect the clinching ised not to seek retribution the squatters Suharto and his showpiece Asia-Pacific elsewhere in Jakarta of 17 deals totaling requested asylum in Portugal on Tuesday, summit this week. more than $40 billion between corporate and it was granted. They said that they In Lisbon Ramos-Horta said the Dili pro- America and booming Indonesia. would not leave the embassy grounds until tests and the occupation of the embassy The top deal by far was the sealing of a Clinton left. demonstrated that “contrary to what the natural gas project between Esso Indonesia, Christopher is to meet with Indonesia’s Jakarta regime claims, the Timorese do not local arm of U.S. oil giant Exxon Corp., and official human rights organization on support the annexation.” Indonesia’s state-run oil company. Wednesday, a group of both legitimate hu- He appealed for more commitment “from Human rights and commerce have fought man rights campaigners and mouthpieces for countries which have influence in Indonesia, for centre stage since last Saturday when, as the government. but whose human rights policy is deter- APEC officials finalised plans for the Bogor The issue of human rights is so sensitive mined by economic interests.” summit, a band of 29 East Timorese dissi- that journalists were instructed at a news Clinton stayed on in Jakarta after the dents invaded U.S. embassy grounds de- conference in Bogor with Suharto to pose summit for a state visit after telling a press manding Clinton’s help in securing the re- only questions relating to the economic conference that his view was that the people lease of their guerrilla leader hero. They forum. When asked how he planned to re- of East Timor should have more say over remained camped out in a car park on solve the problem of East Timor, Suharto their own affairs. Wednesday, exhausted but defiantly refus- said there no time to answer the question. He also told Suharto when they met ing to budge. Suharto, who has maintained authoritar- Wednesday that Indonesia’s record on hu- ian rule over the country for nearly four man rights could limit ties with Washington. decades, kept the spotlight on trade. “In Page 48 East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994.

Despite this Indonesia signed 17 business ony, but demands that Jakarta in turn re- Clinton’s meeting with Suharto in the deals worth over 40 billion dollars with U.S. spect the territorial integrity of Timor as an opulent Jakarta Palace showed how resis- corporations Wednesday. They included a ex-Portuguese colony.” tant foreign leaders can be when the presi- giant natural gas project linking U.S. energy Dili itself was reported quiet but tense on dent of the United States comes in and sug- giant Exxon’s local affiliate Esso Indonesia Wednesday. The rioting over three days was gests - however gently - how things should and Indonesia’s own state oil company and whipped up by news that an Indonesian be done. telecoms deals with Motorola and AT&T. immigrant had killed an East Timorese trader And the differences among Clinton’s Meanwhile Clinton’s team turned down in a market brawl. Cabinet officials as they sought to explain meetings with human rights groups except Human rights groups said up to 120 their messages underscored the tension be- Jakarta’s own approved Human Rights people had been jailed since the Dili unrest tween the administration’s stated desire to Commission. Assistant U.S. Secretary of began Sunday. Another 27 people had been export American values and the need to State Winston Lord did meet with some arrested in Jakarta, added Indonesian offi- export American goods. local activists for a lunch that was boy- cials. Meeting for more than an hour after a cotted by some activists who described the summit conference of 18 leaders from Pa- meeting as a purely token effort. US AND INDONESIA cific Rim countries, Clinton told Suharto Amnesty International says that one ANNOUNCE $40 BILLION IN that his treatment of his people would in- third of East Timor’s 650,000 inhabitants hibit ties between the United States and have died as a result of the occupation since JOINT COMMERCIAL Indonesia and rob him of the chance to 1975. Saturday also marked the third anni- PROJECTS flourish as a world leader, Secretary of State versary of the killing of over 200 Timorese Warren Christopher said. protesters by Indonesian forces in Dili. by Elaine Sciolino, NY Times 11/17/94 Christopher told reporters before meeting Ramos-Horta cited Germany, France, Jakarta, Indonesia - The United States with Indonesia’s government-appointed Britain, Spain, Holland, Italy and Denmark and Indonesia on Wednesday announced human rights organization that Clinton had as states with “large interests” in Indonesia, $40 billion in joint projects over the next raised human rights “in firm and forceful like the U.S., Japan and Australia. But, he decade, even as President Clinton warned terms.” added, “press and public opinion oblige President Suharto that the relationship be- “The relationship between the United them not to go on concealing repression.” tween the two countries would never reach States and Indonesia can never reach the Speaking in Jakarta, Clinton told a meet- its full potential unless he treated his people highest levels if the people of the United ing of 700 businessmen that “aggressive better. States don’t have confidence that there is an commercial diplomacy” designed to win At almost the same time that Clinton was effort here to respect the human rights of all contracts for U.S. firms did not undermine chiding the Indonesian leader for his coun- the citizens,” Christopher said. his commitment to human rights. try’s inadequate human rights record, Com- Suharto, who has ruled the vast archipel- Clinton said he raised the rights issue “in merce Secretary Ron Brown was witnessing ago with an authoritarian grip since the mid- every private meeting I’ve had not only in the signing of 15 business deals that are part 1960s, apparently was not moved. this region but around the world.” of the administration’s campaign of com- When Clinton praised Suharto’s dialogue However U.S.-based group Human mercial diplomacy and will mean jobs for with the people of East Timor, the former Rights Watch-Asia said earlier this week Americans. Portuguese territory annexed by Indonesia that the rush to share in the economic boom By far the largest project is a $35 billion two decades ago, but said they needed more in the Asia-Pacific region had pushed human arrangement between Exxon and Pertamina, autonomy, Suharto balked, administration rights issues to the sidelines. the Indonesian state oil company, to de- officials said. “Many of the 18 countries making up the velop a huge offshore natural gas field. “He believes that the Indonesian govern- Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Since May, when the administration dis- ment is dealing with the issue fairly,” a sen- group are coming to the 1994 summit in carded its policy of linking preferential trade ior administration official said. Jakarta with impressive economic growth benefits to China with an improvement in Over all, Suharto’s remarks on human rates and poor human rights records,” it its human rights performance, the admini- rights, the official added, “were along the concluded in a report released for the sum- stration has argued that the best way to lines that have been previously expressed mit. spread democracy and improve the way a by the Indonesian government.” The group wondered if ‘commercial di- country treats its citizens is through eco- Another senior official said: “Suharto plomacy’ can co-exist with principles of nomics. didn’t back down one inch. He gave well human rights. “If the answer is yes,” it In his photo session with Suharto earlier rehearsed answers that he is used to repeat- added, “it is clear that no government has in the day, Clinton was stone faced, but in a ing.” quite figured out how.” speech to American and Pacific businessmen But Ramos-Horta was optimistic about he did not disguise his glee at the news of CHINA, INDONESIA possible dialogue with Jakarta, based on a the business deals. DEFEND RECORD 10 year peace plan which calls for “immedi- “I know that there is increasing wealth in ate demilitarisation of Timor verified by the Indonesia and throughout Asia, but where I AP, Nov. 18, 1994 U.N., free elections for a Territorial Assem- come from $40 billion is still real money - Jakarta, Indonesia – China and Indonesia, bly, and a referendum on self- and we’re grateful for the business,” he said. determination.” under U.S. scrutiny for human rights viola- The audience applauded. tions, said Friday that charges against them He stressed that such a calendar should Indeed, two cultural divides over human not be interpreted as “separatist” or “put- by the West were unfair. rights in Indonesia were on display Presidents Jiang Zemin and Indonesia’s ting in question the territorial integrity of Wednesday: one between Clinton and Su- Indonesia,” he said. President Suharto shared the view during a harto, the other between the foreign and meeting that focused on economic issues, “The resistance respects the territorial in- economic policies of the United States tegrity of Indonesia as a former Dutch col- East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. Page 49

Chinese Presidential spokesman Chen Jian tion, restricted our arms sale policy so that summit will set a goal for free trade in the said. we do not sell to Indonesia small arms or region. VOA White House correspondent Some industrialized nations “are using other munitions or things that could possi- Deborah Tate, who is travelling with the the question of human rights and environ- bly be used in connection with human rights President, reports Mr. Clinton will also ment as an excuse to restrict development in abuses. We have cosponsored, in the United raise the issue of human rights with the the developing nations,” Chen told report- Nations Human Rights Commission, for the leaders of Indonesia and China. ers. first time, a resolution raising concerns At a news conference at the conclusion of He said the two presidents described the about East Timor. This has come up in his day-long visit to Manila, President Clin- attitude “as unfair, not reflecting the reality every meeting that not only the President ton said he would discuss the human rights and not conducive to economic development had with Suharto – President Suharto – back situation in Indonesia and China with those in the developing nations.” in Japan in ‘93, but every other meeting countries’ leaders. that’s taken place between Secretary Chris- Mr. Clinton holds a bi-lateral meeting topher and the foreign minister. with Chinese President Jiang Zemin, and U.S. GOVERNMENT So it’s something we press persistently and will hold talks with Indonesian President STATEMENTS try to promote as much progress as possi- Suharto during a state visit Wednesday. ble. “it is an important interest of the United States. We are engaging these PRE-APEC WHITE HOUSE CLINTON FOREIGN POLICY countries in many, many areas across a broad range of areas. Human rights is BRIEFING Voice of America, 11/13/94. By David Bor- particularly important, particularly Background briefing by senior administra- gida, Manila now. It will be a point of discussion in those bi-lateral meetings.” tion officials. November 8, 1994, White Intro: President Clinton says his admini- Human rights groups have criticized In- House Briefing Room. [Excerpts] stration’s foreign policy is not going to be donesia and China for – what they describe weakened by Republican control of the next Q What specific human rights concerns will as – a pattern of human-rights violations. US congress. US officials traveling with the the President raise with Suharto? Rights groups, disappointed by Mr. Clin- president on his Asia trip are reassuring ton’s decision in may to retain trade privi- SENIOR ADMINISTRATION regional officials there will be no abrupt leges for China, despite reports of human- OFFICIAL: First of all, let me put it in changes in US policies. From Manila, White rights abuses, are concerned he will offer overall context. Our relationship with Indo- House correspondent David Borgida re- similar treatment to Indonesia. nesia in many respects is a strong one. In- ports. Two days before Mr. Clinton’s visit to donesia is an important country; it’s one of At a news conference winding up his Jakarta, East Timorese students entered US growing economic importance; the largest visit to the Philippines, President Clinton embassy grounds in Jakarta to protest al- Muslim country in the world. And Suharto assured regional leaders there is no reason to leged human rights violations by the Indone- himself has exercised constructive leadership believe his policies will be reversed or sian government in East Timor. in the (inaudible) movement – issues like changed dramatically by Republican control Protesters say they plan further demon- Cambodia, even on North Korea. of the next congress. strations during President Clinton’s three- But we do obviously have concerns about a “I do not expect it to have any im- day visit to the Indonesian capital. process of opening and liberalization which pact on our foreign policy. The repub- During the APEC summit, Mr. Clinton seems to have receded. And the President, lican House and Senate leaders and I hopes regional leaders will set a goal for free I’m sure, with Suharto, will raise concerns spoke, as you know, before I came – trade and investment by the year 2020. about issues of press freedom and worker they expressed support for this trip The president begins his visit to Jakarta rights and questions involving rights of the and for our policy generally. But the with a series of bi-lateral meetings with the people in East Timor. I think all of those foreign policies I have pursued – leaders of China, japan, Australia and south will come up in the meeting. particularly the mission I am on now Korea. The talks are expected to focus on with regard to APEC – have enjoyed Q Is there – to follow up on that, is there security matters, especially the US agree- broad bi-partisan support.” any carrot and stick here? I mean, as ment with north Korea to freeze and dis- Earlier, an administration spokesman said with China now, has human rights been mantle Pyongyang’s nuclear program. there is strong interest by Asian leaders on relegated to a totally different sphere in Security issues topped Mr. Clinton’s the impact of last week’s mid-term elec- terms of our negotiations and dealings agenda Sunday in the Philippines. He ex- tions. with countries like Indonesia, China and pressed continued US commitment to the President Clinton said he is going to In- other places that have human rights Philippines and the region’s security. donesia to attend the Asian-Pacific Eco- problems? The president also pledged to increase nomic Cooperation meeting in an effort to US business interest in the Philippines. The SENIOR ADMINISTRATION continue to break down barriers to trade and United States is already the largest investor OFFICIAL: Now, there’s a premise hidden investment. in there about China, which I can come back in that country. to. We continue to be concerned about hu- Philippine President Ramos assured man rights in China and pursue and promote CLINTON LEAVES MANILA President Clinton the Philippines would respect for human rights, and will do so in Voice of America, 11/13/94. By Deborah continue to support US and UN peacekeep- the meeting with President Jiang. Tate, Manila ing missions around the world. We have, where appropriate, taken actions Intro: President Clinton heads to Indone- with respect to Indonesia that we thought sia for an economic meeting with Asian and would be constructive. We have, for exam- Pacific leaders following a one-day visit to ple, compared to the previous administra- the Philippines. Mr. Clinton hopes the Page 50 East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994.

CLINTON ARRIVES IN JAKARTA The demonstration marked the third an- Aditjondro, has been interrogated over al- Voice of America, 11/13/94. By Dan Robin- niversary of a massacre in an East Timorese leged offensive remarks about the govern- son, Jakarta cemetery when Indonesian troops shot ment. down scores of unarmed protestors object- The Jakarta equivalents of Time and Intro: President Clinton has arrived in Ja- ing to Jakarta’s brutal annexation and occu- Newsweek magazines remain closed, their karta, Indonesia to attend a summit of Asia - pation of the former Portuguese coffee col- licenses having been withdrawn following a Pacific leaders this week. VOA’s Dan Rob- ony in 1975. series of articles investigating rifts within inson reports Mr. Clinton arrived in a capi- In a smuggled letter, Xanana Gusmão, the the Cabinet. Members of a new unsanc- tal marked by tight security and a continuing jailed resistance leader, appealed on Friday tioned journalists’ association are having protest at the US embassy by East for President Clinton to raise the fate of trouble obtaining permission to cover Timorese students demanding to meet him. East Timor after he arrives in Jakarta this APEC. Jakarta has probably never seen this kind evening. In East Timor, the former Portuguese of security – thousands of police and mili- In preparation for the Asia-Pacific Eco- coffee colony where up to 200,000 have tary deployed through this city of at least nomic Co-operation (APEC) jamboree, In- died since annexation. Here Jakarta is show- eight million. donesia has been sprucing up its scruffy ing small signs of flexibility as ideas of Authorities have gone to extremes to streets, but not its tarnished humanitarian greater autonomy for the territory are guarantee Mr. Clinton’s safety and that of record. Thousands of beggars, orphans, floated, although it is unclear whether the other heads of state and government here for noodle vendors, prostitutes, transvestites suggestions are genuine or merely palliatives the Asia Pacific economic summit. and suspected crooks have been rounded up for international opinion. In a massive operation, streets have been in the capital in ‘ Operation Cleansing.’ But Indonesia’s veteran President Suharto cleared of beggars, prostitutes, and vendors. the crackdown is not just limited to the sees Tuesday’s summit, at the Bogor Presi- A two-day holiday was declared beginning streets. dential palace near Jakarta, as the crowning Monday to reduce traffic congestion. Jailed trade union leaders, intimidated glory of his transition to world statesman. Mr. Clinton would like to concentrate on academics, harassed journalists, the sup- Already chairman of the Non-Aligned the main theme of his visit – the creation of pression of East Timor: they are the sort of Movement, he is now hosting the leaders of free trade in the Asia-Pacific region. issues over which a victorious Mr. Clinton the fastest-growing economic region. As he arrived, however, a group of East promised to do battle with Asia when he Although his government maintains tight Timorese students were refusing to give up took office two years ago. control at home, there is pressure from the a protest inside the US Embassy compound But it is a subdued and humiliated Presi- growing middle-class for greater political aimed at focusing attention on the East dent who arrives in Jakarta tonight. His freedoms. Suharto gave some ground last Timor problem. priority is to use his trip to Asia to jump- year, then clamped down amid an unprece- One of their key demands is to see Mr. start his stalled domestic programme, hold- dented bout of public protests and open Clinton personally. But that is something ing up an aggressive free-trade policy as a media reporting. US and Indonesian officials say will not means to create new jobs back home. His foreign minister, Mr. Ali Alatas, has happen. So while key concerns on personal liber- defended the country from charges by some ties will be raised in private one-to-one Western governments and pressure groups FREE TRADE MEETING meetings with the Indonesians and Chinese, that the world’s fourth most populous na- FIGHTS SHY OF FREEDOM analysts predict the US will not force a tion is guilty of widespread abuses of per- showdown. sonal freedoms. The Sunday Telegraph, 13 November 1994. Indeed, the all-smiles visit to China this “Our human rights concept is not indi- By Philip Sherwell in Jakarta summer by Ron Brown, US commerce sec- vidualistic, but relies more on the interests Article accompanied by colour photograph retary, was a signal that Washington has of the community, the nation and the state, by Susumu Takahashi encaptioned: “Police already backed away fro earlier attempts to which cannot be overlooked,” he has said. pull a demonstrator away from the US em- link trade and personal liberty in its dealings It is the convenient clarion call of regimes bassy in Jakarta.” General comment - The with authoritarian regimes. across East Asia, from the soft-authoritarian Sunday Telegraph, with its stablemate, The The Clinton administration has also twice governments of Singapore and Malaysia to Daily Telegraph,(both owned by Conrad postponed a review on extending Indonesian the repressive rulers of China and Burma. Black) is the flag-carrier of the British Right. trading privileges, which it had threatened to But for now, Mr. Clinton appears willing It is, therefore good, that it carries this story end if labour rights were not improved. Lit- to go along with the Asian consensus that in such detail - Jonathan, BCET tle wonder then that the Indonesians are APEC is not a forum for such discussions. feeling so confident of riding out any criti- When the words ‘free,’ ‘open’ and ‘lib- CLINTON TO AVOID SUMMIT cism that only last week they jailed eral’ are mentioned, it will be purely in the Muchtar Pakpahan, the leader of the coun- context of economics, as the Pacific Rim CLASH OVER INDONESIAN try’s unofficial trade union, for three years. leaders discuss the creation of the world’s ‘REPRESSION.’ He was found guilty of masterminding most significant free trade agreement. Baton-wielding Indonesian riot police workers’ riots in the city of Medan last What will not be on the agenda is the were ordered out of the American embassy April. Pakpahan denied any involvement in thorny concept of democracy. In the 80- compound by an irate US official yesterday. the violence which erupted in the wake of page report drafted by the APEC advisory They were chasing East Timorese resis- strikes his union had co-ordinated. The sen- body headed by the prominent American tance demonstrators who had scaled spiked tence was strongly criticised by the US economist Fred Bergsten, the word does not fences to enter the site. The high-profile Embassy. appear once. protest was just the sort of confrontation Indonesian academics have also been tar- which the Indonesians had feared would mar gets. A leading government critic, Dr. Arief their staging of the prestigious Pacific Rim Budiman, was sacked last month as a poli- economic summit. tics professor, while another, Mr. George East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. Page 51

CLINTON BILATERAL President Clinton says he has been as- CLINTON URGES GREATER sured by the Indonesian government there MEETINGS will be no retribution against the demonstra- FREEDOM FOR EAST TIMOR Voice of America, 11/14/94. By Borgida, tors. He says he is comfortable that com- By Gene Gibbons mitment would be honored. Jakarta Jakarta, Nov. 15 (Reuter) - President Intro: President Clinton – following a se- CLINTON NEWS Clinton on Tuesday publicly pressed Indo- ries of bilateral meetings with Asian leaders nesia to ease its grip on East Timor, inject- in Indonesia – is defending his pursuit of CONFERENCE IN THE U.S. ing a contentious note into a trade-related world trade liberalization and his commit- AMBASSADOR’S RESIDENCE visit and talks he will hold with host Presi- ment to human rights. His comments came a dent Suharto. day before the Asian-Pacific Economic Co- Excerpts 11/14/94 At a wide-ranging news conference that operation meeting officially begins. From Q Mr. President, as you know, some stu- followed an agreement at the Asia-Pacific Jakarta, White House correspondent David dents have taken over – or have occupied Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit to Borgida reports. the parking lot of the U.S. Embassy here create the world’s largest free trade zone by In this steamy Asian capital, far from and are calling for the release of one of 2020, Clinton also said last week’s U.S. Washington, you would think the president the leaders of the Timor human rights political upheaval will not cause him to shift might get a brief respite from his recent movement. They’ve asked to meet with focus from domestic to foreign policy. Clin- political woes as he focuses on opening you, sir. Has there been any contact be- ton’s comments on East Timor came at an regional trade markets. After all, he had just tween your entourage and these students? especially sensitive time, as a band of 29 met with the Chinese president, the Japa- And how do you feel about their de- students from the former Portuguese colony nese prime minister, the Australian prime mands? embarrassed the Indonesian government minister, and the south Korean president. during the APEC summit with a sit-in at the But during a late afternoon news confer- PRESIDENT CLINTON: Well, first, the U.S. embassy here. ence here, the president learned once again whole issue of East Timor has been of a Asked if he believed that Indonesian that domestic politics follows him, every- concern to the United States, at least since troops should withdraw and allow East where. I’ve been president. I’ve talked about it in Timor self-rule, Clinton reaffirmed Washing- He found himself explaining with some the campaign of 1992. And we have raised it ton’s position “that the people of East force why he had come here to attend the in our conversations with Indonesian lead- Timor should have more say over their own APEC meeting – seeking a commitment ers, and we will continue to do so. The con- local affairs. from the 18 gathered leaders to set a date text of the they’ve had insofar as I know certain for opening regional trade markets. them, have occurred in an appropriate way CLINTON PRESS CONFERENCE “All these meetings today reinforced through our embassy there. But this is an TRANSCRIPT my belief that the United States is issue which is a part of our dialogue with Jakarta Hilton, November 15, 1994, 7:10 strong in the Asian-Pacific region, that the Indonesians, and it should be. pm. Only portions dealing with East Timor we are getting stronger in this region, ... and/or human rights are included. and that in so doing we are strengthen- Q Mr. President, the students – the protes- THE PRESIDENT: Good evening – or ing Americans – economically and in tors at the embassy are demonstrating in good morning, to the people who are watch- terms of our security. In short, we’re the best nonviolent American tradition, ing this back in America. (Laughter.) At our moving in the right direction, this is a and we’re all going to move on, but meeting in Bogor today, the Asian Pacific good investment, we need to make the they’re going to still be here and have to leaders pledged to achieve free and fair trade most of it.” face the justice system. Are you going to and investment between our nations by the The president also found himself re- send any signal to the Indonesian gov- year 2020, with the industrialized countries sponding to critics who say his advocacy of ernment this week that we’re worried reaching this goal by 2010. This agreement human rights has been less than passionate. about how they’ll be treated after we’re is good news for the countries of this region, Mr. Clinton – who last year severed the US all gone? and especially good news for the United link between trade and human rights with States and our workers. China – discussed human rights with Chi- PRESIDENT CLINTON: We’ve already I want to thank President Soeharto for nese President Jiang Zemin and said further done that, and we’ve already said that we hosting for hosting this meeting and for his progress in the relationship would depend had no problem with these young people leadership in crafting the agreement. ... on human rights progress. coming and expressing their views in our (first question:) But – with demonstrators at the US em- embassy grounds, that we’ve talked with bassy here protesting Indonesia’s alleged them, we’ve worked with them. And we Q Mr. President, as you know, nearly two human rights abuses in East Timor – he was have been assured that there will be no retri- decades ago, the Portuguese withdrew asked about the human rights situation here bution against them for exercising their po- from East Timor, and the Indonesian in Indonesia, frequently a target of human- litical expression and bringing their concerns military moved in. Sir, do you feel East rights monitors. to us. We have been assured of that, and I Timor deserves self-rule, and tomorrow “I have met with President Suharto feel comfortable that the commitment we’ve when you meet with President Soeharto, before – I have met with these other received will be honored. will you ask him to withdraw his troops leaders before – wherever there is a and allow East Timor to pursue democ- clear human-rights problem I have tried ratic elections? to address it and will continue to do so THE PRESIDENT: The position of the and use whatever influence we can in a United States and the position that I have positive way.” held since 1991, since long before I held this office, is that the people of East Timor Page 52 East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. should have more say over their own local stronger dialogue with the leaders in East Q Did the President ask Soeharto to speed affairs. I have already spoken with President Timor about their being given more influence up the withdrawal of military troops from Soeharto about this in the past in our per- over their own local affairs, which is, of East Timor, and to move more swiftly in sonal meetings, and it will come up again in course, the American position of some long- a more determinate fashion toward our discussion tomorrow. ... standing, and also, that there has been a autonomy? drawdown in Indonesian troops in East SENIOR ADMINISTRATION BACKGROUND BRIEFING ON Timor. OFFICIAL: I think in welcoming the actions PRESIDENT’S MEETING They had discussed for a few minutes, I they have taken so far, the President was guess, the situation at the embassy. And the WITH PRESIDENT OF implicitly encouraging that process to con- President said to President Soeharto, as he tinue as rapidly as possible. INDONESIA said publicly, that we welcomed the assur- ances of the Indonesian government that Q He didn’t ask specifically, the way Evans November 16, 1994, 12:40 P.M. there would be no recriminations against the did the other night? SENIOR ADMINISTRATION SENIOR ADMINISTRATION people from East Timor at the embassy if OFFICIAL: I think it was implicit rather OFFICIAL: Let me just first of all give you they leave peacefully. And I understand the than explicit. a readout on the bilateral meeting this morn- talks are still going on between our embassy ing between the two Presidents, and then and those people. Q Secretary Christopher has said that the just a few words on all of the – well, the Q On the demonstrators at the embassy, are relationship between the United States whole trip so far together and what has there any developments in the efforts to and Indonesia could not reach – what struck me. And then we can do a few ques- get them to leave peacefully? And what leverage do we have over Indonesia to tions, until they get tough, and then I’ll would be – how important would you raise human rights offenses? move on and get some lunch. view it if Indonesia did not keep its com- SENIOR ADMINISTRATION The two Presidents met this morning, I mitment that there would be no OFFICIAL: Did you hear the question? would guess, for something over an hour in recriminations? Is this something that Secretary Christopher, you said, said – the smaller meeting. President Clinton was could threaten our relationship with when was this? This morning – that our accompanied by Secretary Christopher and Indonesia if they were subject to arrest or relationship could only – what was the Stanley Roth of the NSC staff and myself – other steps? word? a senior administration official. They, as I SENIOR ADMINISTRATION Q Could not reach its full potential— said, met for, I’d say, something over an OFFICIAL: I’m not aware as of an hour or hour and then met in the expanded bilateral SENIOR ADMINISTRATION two ago of any new developments, but the OFFICIAL: Could not reach its full poten- meeting. last I heard was an hour or two ago. And, as The meeting covered essentially five is- tial without continued progress on human I said, the President reiterated to President rights. I agree with Secretary Christopher. sues. The first was a discussion of the part- Soeharto that we did welcome their assur- nership – growing partnership – between ances that there would not be such recrimi- Q In real terms, what leverage do we the United States and Indonesia on interna- nations. So he has stated that now both have— tional issues. The President spoke at some publicly and privately. SENIOR ADMINISTRATION length about how struck he was by the lead- Q Is it our assumption that as soon as we OFFICIAL: What leverage do we have in ership role that President Soeharto played in leave, they’re going to leave? As soon as real terms? The President emphasized this putting together the APEC meeting and we leave the country, they’re going to morning what I think – I mean, obviously, bringing it to a successful conclusion. leave the embassy? we have a very wide-ranging bilateral rela- Indonesia is the fourth largest nation in tionship that, in general terms, prospers the world, the largest Muslim nation, the SENIOR ADMINISTRATION best as they make progress on human rights leader of the nonaligned movement; and the OFFICIAL: We just don’t know, and I can’t without specific linkages, rather as with President emphasized how the United speak for them. China. States and Indonesia working together can Q On labor rights, did Soeharto bring up But the President emphasize this morn- make a very powerful difference on various the American review under GSP and ask ing what I think is an important point, and international issues, as has been seen in the when it’s going to be finished that is that Indonesia has a tremendous po- last couple of days. ... SENIOR ADMINISTRATION tential in international leadership and that There was then a rather lengthy discus- OFFICIAL: No, he did not. it’s making progress on human rights will sion of human rights and the situation in reinforce that international leadership as East Timor. The President spoke of the Q Did the President or anybody bring up the suppression of publications in Indonesia? well. issue both in its own terms and its impor- I don’t think I have to run through with tance to Indonesia’s international leadership SENIOR ADMINISTRATION you the various bilateral things that we’ve position. ... OFFICIAL: Yes, the President did refer to, been doing on human rights, including the [the first few questions were on East Timor:] in his discussion of human rights, the ques- fact that now the President has raised it tion of the magazines as one of the issues twice at each of his meetings with President Q What was President Soeharto’s response that he raised. on the subject of East Timor? Soeharto. We raised it in almost every bilat- Q What was Soeharto’s response? eral meeting we have had. We sponsored last SENIOR ADMINISTRATION year for the first time a resolution on human OFFICIAL: He stated that he believes that SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: I don’t think he addressed that rights in the International Human Rights the Indonesian government is dealing with Commission. We don’t sell weapons to the issue fairly. The President welcomed the issues specifically in his general remarks on human rights, which were along the lines Indonesia that could be used for repression. facts that the Indonesian government has Secretary Christopher met this morning entered in in recent weeks, has entered into a that have been previously expressed by the Indonesian government. with the Indonesian Human Rights Com- East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. Page 53 mission, which I don’t have a readout on Both Secretary Christopher and Secre- Timor, similar to the way it was discussed – yet. It just took place. I think my colleague tary Brown had some comments on the as your previous briefer indicated. will have a readout on that – are you going record at a photo opportunity at the begin- In general, this commission – there were to do that now? Do you want to come now ning, and there was pool coverage of that, so about nine members of the 15-member and do it? you might want to pick up some of the commission present. The meeting on their Q When did the meeting with the NGOs get quotes on that. side was conducted by the deputy chair of elevated from the DCM lunch to a joint– But the Secretary opened the discussion the commission, itself. We’ve got some of by reviewing sort of five key human rights the names, I think, on a list back there. But SENIOR ADMINISTRATION issues that we have been concerned about. this was Dr. Miriam Budiardjo, who is the OFFICIAL: Yesterday or the day before. Some of them have already come up in the deputy chairman. The chairman of the But let me – I think yesterday or the day background briefing you have just had. The commission happens to be out of the coun- before. My colleague could tell you. three – sure, my colleague is going to inter- try. Q And what was the thought process – view. The members of the commission reflected SENIOR ADMINISTRATION ... views that I would say ranged from being OFFICIAL: When did the meeting with the [A different] SENIOR STATE very aggressively activist, human rights NGOs get elevated to Win’s [Winston Lord, DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Let me pick oriented, affiliated with the nongovernmen- Asst. Sec’y of State for Asia] level? I think up. Secretary Christopher outlined sort of tal community, to those who had repre- it was yesterday. I think yesterday. Do you five issues that have been occurring in our sented views that I think were very familiar want to come and – human rights discussion with the govern- and very well rehearsed, because they Q Could I ask another question? Did the ment of Indonesia, some of which, as sounded a lot like the responses that we President raise specific individuals, like you’ve heard from your previous briefer frequently receive from the government of the recent conviction of the labor unionist, came up in the President’s meeting with Indonesia when we raise these human rights Pakpahan? President Soeharto. The Secretary discussed issues. with the Commission members the closing Secretary Christopher also had with him SENIOR ADMINISTRATION of the three magazines in June, what the Congressman Norm Manetta [sic, actually OFFICIAL: He raised labor rights generally, prospects were for reopening, several of the it’s Mineta], and at an interesting point in but not the specific case. But we have spo- Commission members indicated that they the meeting, he called on Congressman ken – as you know the State Department had been stressing to government officials Manetta to present a view from the Ameri- issued a statement on it. We’ve spoken within Indonesia that the magazines should can Congress. And Congressman Manetta about that many times. be opened. was very forceful in saying that within the Q So human rights was the dominant issue He addressed labor leaders that continue United States Congress there is very great at this bilateral? to be arrested and imprisoned and raised concern about human rights issues in Indo- SENIOR ADMINISTRATION specifically the case of SBSI leader Pakpa- nesia, and that help from the United States OFFICIAL: I’d say that it – I’m not sure han. Third, they talked at some great length Congress is much more difficult to achieve if that it was the dominant issue. In terms of about a decree that is under consideration by the people of the United States do not see the amount of time in the meeting, I’d say the government of Indonesia that would that human rights issues are being dealt with that the discussion of APEC and the poten- effectively thwart some of the activities of effectively in Indonesia. tial for the United States and Indonesia to nongovernmental organizations that are Secretary Christopher, at that point, said work together on various international is- active – a decree that is under consideration maybe that will provide some good ammuni- sues like North Korea and human rights had by the government of Indonesia that would tion to the members of this commission as about equal time. effectively thwart some of the activity of they raise human rights concerns in the in- ternal deliberations of their own govern- SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT human rights nongovernmental organizations ment. OFFICIAL: Okay, let me just do so – I’ll be that are active here in Indonesia that would In general, the conversation was about on background as a senior State Department press human rights issues. things like, do you have staff; how do you official. I’ll run through very quickly the There is a great deal of concern within the report within your own government to hour and fifteen minute meeting that Secre- human rights community here in Indonesia higher authorities; do you issue written tary Christopher just held with – Secretary about the effect that that decree might have reports – which, as it turns out, that they Christopher and Secretary Brown just held on their operational activity. The Secretary do; do you make recommendations on hu- with the Indonesian Human Rights Com- – both Secretaries asked a lot of questions man rights concerns to your own govern- mission. about how this Commission was reviewing ment, which they do; how much do you Just a little bit of background to start. that decree, whether they’re having an op- think these recommendations are taken seri- This is a commission that was established in portunity to make contributions to the legis- ously within the government? There was June of 1993 by the government of Indone- lative discussions within the Indonesian various opinions on that. Some suggested sia and is made up of people who come government about the decree. One Commis- that they did have weight; others saying that from academic walks of life, some who are sion member indicated that they apparently they were not quite so sure. NGO activists, some who are business lead- are going much slower now on the promul- And I guess to wrap up, I would say that ers. It is sort of a broad membership se- gation of this decree, and he believed it was Secretary Christopher, as a result of the lected by the Indonesian government to because the Commission and others had meeting, felt encouraged by several things. address formally questions of human rights. been raising criticisms about this decree. One that they are making written recom- This is the group by which the United Fourth, they discussed Operation mendations and a written report within the States government has a formal bilateral Cleanup, as it’s called, which has been a government of Indonesia; that they do have dialogue of human rights issues with the recent effort by the government of Indonesia staffing; that they appear to have an ongoing Indonesian government. to round up dissidents and detain them; and, last, they discussed at some length East structure that is capable of raising human rights issues; and that the members of the Page 54 East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. commission who were there realized that believe that the reinforce each other, I think enough here that the press here is free to they themselves cannot just be window that was a persuasive argument; and there cover? For example, will their report be dressing for discussions of human rights seems to be great interest in that point. released to the public? issues within the Indonesian government – Q Did they have any specific requests of SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT that they need to be in a position to be true Christopher or Brown or the U.S. gov- OFFICIAL: Yes. They have a written re- advocates on human rights issues. ernment, and did either make any specific port, they have a staff; although they ex- But as a caveat, I would say that the Sec- commitments to this commission? pressed some concern themselves about a retary also felt that it was not clear what SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT desire for more staff so they could do more real influence this commission could have as reporting, and they do have a written report. they address human rights concerns. And he OFFICIAL: No, they weren’t – this is a group that was more – I describe them as They have access to the media here, but as noted to the members in concluding that the you know from the issue that we raised American people, if they see that this com- briefing the two secretaries on their work. We had, frankly, more questions for them concerning the magazines, that the ability to mission really can lead to real changes in the have a full and open dialogue on these issues human rights climate in Indonesia, we’ll than they asked of us. They were interested in the administration’s overall philosophy within the context of the press here is have some greater confidence that this com- somewhat problematic. mission is an avenue by which the Indone- on human rights, but they did not make sian government is getting more serious specific requests of us. They were very Q Were you given a sense from the commis- about human rights concerns. If things don’t keen on knowing how much we were going sion members – they actually acknowl- change, if there’s no real change in the real- to press these issues, and they listened very edge and felt that this was a real serious ity of the conditions that many face, then carefully at the beginning during the photo problem that they had to deal with, or did the commission itself will not prove to be opportunity when both Secretary Brown they kind of gloss it over? effective. and Secretary Christopher indicated that SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT That’s a pretty good rundown. I would human rights issues had been a vigorous part OFFICIAL: Well, I mean, there were those say – the Secretary, as you’ll see in the of the discussion that President Clinton had who clearly have a perspective that’s much remarks he made at the beginning of the with President Soeharto today. more in tune with the government’s thinking meeting, has also instructed Assistant Secre- Q Did Soeharto request suggestion on how who are members of this commission, and tary Winston Lord and representatives of the U.S. might be more helpful on the there are those who sounded like they were the National Security Council and the Na- human rights issue? much more vigorous advocates of the con- tional Economic Council to meet with repre- SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT cerns of a lot of the nongovernmental groups sentatives of a much wider range of nongov- OFFICIAL: They really didn’t raise that that work on human rights here. It was a ernmental organization activists. And that kind of concern. This, to me, didn’t seem to range of opinion, but they seemed genuinely meeting, I believe, is going on now. It’s an be the type of crowd that would do that. committed to the notion that they are re- opportunity for us to hear more directly My suspicion is that we’ll hear a lot more sponsible for pressing these issues within from those who are sort of on the front lines of that from some of the NGO groups that the formal structure of the Indonesian gov- of the fight for greater human rights in Indo- Assistant Secretary Lord is meeting with ernment. They take that role seriously, and nesia. And both Secretary Brown and Secre- now. they understand that in a sense, they are on tary Christopher will be getting a report on the line. If there’s no improvement in the Q Did the Deputy Chairman lend to discus- human rights conditions within Indonesia that meeting later on this afternoon. sions, is that correct? Q Do the human rights activists seem to and they know that they will suffer some SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT lack of prestige, then that’s a point, frankly, think President Clinton was doing a OFFICIAL: Yes – knock on the issue of human rights dur- that we made to them. ing his visit here? Q Where was the Chairman? Q Don’t you think it would undermine the SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT group’s effectiveness that the President OFFICIAL: I think – within this group, OFFICIAL: He’s out of the country appar- has a relative on it? these members of this commission, of which ently SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT I would say one was clearly a person who is Q Is the United States at all uncomfortable OFFICIAL: The question was, does it un- a nongovernmental organization activist, by with both the President and the Secretary dermine the effectiveness of the commission and large the other members are academi- of State leaving Indonesia while this dem- that the group has a relative of the Presi- cians, there are some businesspeople, peo- onstration continues at the Embassy? dent, and there was an individual named ple who are within the human rights com- SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT Soeharto on the commission that – that munity in Indonesia, not all of them are OFFICIAL: No, we believe that the Ambas- person is no relation to President Soeharto. what I would describe as being activists. sador who’s directed his embassy staff to be Q Did the commission give Christopher any That’s really the meeting that’s taking place in close contact with this group has done a idea whether the human rights situation now. But those who are clearly appreciated very good job. We will certainly be letting in Indonesia is getting better or worse, or the Clinton administration’s work on these the demonstrators know that the subject of about the same? issues. They were interested in many of the most concern to them – East Timor – was SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT questions you’re interested in – what type raised extensively in a variety of these meet- OFFICIAL: Well, they reviewed, as I men- of linkages are there between commercial ings today, and we hope they will be satis- tioned, five very specific concerns that we activity and our pressing of human rights. fied that the United States government has had, which is an indicator that things are not And I believe that the presence of Secretary pressed their concern at the highest level satisfactory. In fact, there had been rela- Brown at this meeting, who was very per- with the Indonesian government. tively more openness, more discussion of suasive in saying that we advance our com- Q You mentioned the questions about the human rights concerns earlier in 1993, and mercial economic interests hand in hand there has been some troubling events that with our human rights concerns because we effectiveness of the commission itself. Are the commission’s activities transparent were reviewed by our side in our discus- East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. Page 55 sions, particularly during this period preced- The senior US official says the two lead- ment’s rule over East Timor during talks ing the APEC conference here. ers discussed this for a few minutes. He Wednesday with U.S. President Bill Clin- But as a general assessment, the general notes President Suharto told President Clin- ton, claiming pro-independence protesters assessment is one that they offered up in ton the Indonesian government believes it is seeking asylum at the U.S. embassy “do not the report that they issued. dealing with the situation fairly. President understand” Jakarta’s integration policy. Q Could you just fold together your assess- Clinton – according to the US official – again During the fifth day of a sit-in by 29 East ment, all these activities that we’ve been welcomed President Suharto’s assurance the Timorese activists at the U.S. Embassy in hearing about today and over the last protesters would not face any retribution. Jakarta, Indonesia’s State Secretary couple of days in meetings with China Still, Secretary of State Warren Christo- Murdiono said Suharto had told Clinton that against the charge by Asia Watch that the pher says the bilateral relationship will not the 19-year occupation of East Timor by administration has capitulated to com- reach its full potential until the human-rights Indonesian troops had improved the human mercial diplomacy. Could you just tell us situation here improves. rights situation in the remote half-island. what all of this – what the message be- But, the senior official pointed out the Murdiono – Suharto’s closest adviser, hind all this is? human-rights situation here did not domi- briefed reporters after a 90-minute meeting nate the talks. Considerable time was spent between the Indonesian president and Clin- SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT discussing the just-concluded APEC meeting ton. OFFICIAL: Well, it’s clear from the briefing and what the official calls Indonesia’s “tre- “These young people do not understand that you just had on President Clinton’s mendous potential” in cooperating with the the process of integration of East Timor into meetings today and from what you’ve heard United States in international issues. Indonesia,” Suharto was quoted as saying. from those of us who have been reviewing a “They also have no experience to compare lot of the additional bilateral discussions FOLLOW-UP how the East Timorese people lived under that have occurred within the context of Voice of America, Nov. 15. By David Bor- the Portuguese colonial rule.” APEC, the human rights is a very serious gida, Jakarta In the East Timor capital of Dili a Catho- substantive element of our foreign policy, Intro: On the last full day of his Asian lic priest reported that after four days of and that it works in tandem with our effort rioting things appeared calm, but police to promote and identify the economic inter- trip, President Clinton has met with Indone- sian President Soeharto at the presidential were conducting house-to-house searches ests of Americans abroad. for youths suspected to have taken part in One reason why we place these human palace in Jakarta. At the top of their agenda – East Timor and the agreement by APEC the violence. rights and democracy issues so high on our The priest said suspects were being foreign policy agenda is because they rein- leaders to open markets for advanced coun- tries by the year 2010, for developing coun- pulled from their homes and beaten by po- force our effort to expand our own economic lice. “This is very scary,” he said in a tele- opportunities abroad. We believe that socie- tries by 2020. White House correspondent David Borgida is traveling with the Presi- phone interview given on condition of ano- ties that are liberalizing their economies will nymity. do so more successfully if they take into dent. President Clinton was welcomed at the He said 20 young East Timorese men account the individual liberty, human rights, who had taken refuge in a downtown church freedom of choice of their citizens. presidential palace for a round of bilateral talks with President Soeharto. The dress had been escorted to their homes by priests In fact, they reinforce one another, as I because they feared being rounded up and said earlier. So it would be as highly incor- was formal – unlike Tuesday’s APEC meet- ing, south of here. There were no batik beaten by army and police patrols. rect to say that we opt for a commercial Murdiono said Suharto gave Clinton a de- diplomacy strategy versus raising human shirts. It was strictly business attire. And the mood of the talks was strictly tailed explanation of East Timor’s integra- rights because, frankly, the two of them tion with Indonesia, arguing that human cannot work without each other. business too, as President Clinton expressed his concern about the human-rights situation rights and the standard of living had im- here. Also, there is the continued protest at proved steadily since Jakarta invaded the CLINTON-SUHARTO the US embassy by demonstrators from former Portuguese colony in 1975. BILATERAL MEETING East Timor. They want self-rule. President Suharto also reportedly told Clinton Ja- Clinton said Tuesday he is sympathetic. karta’s version of the so-called Dili massacre VOA, Nov. 15. By David Borgida, Jakarta “The position of the United States on Nov. 12, 1991, which the Indonesian Intro: President Clinton and Indonesian and the position that I have held since president blamed on pro-independence agi- President Suharto have concluded their bi- 1991 – since long before I held this of- tators. lateral meeting in Jakarta – focusing on hu- fice – is that the people of East Timor In regard to the continued Indonesian man rights and on cooperation on interna- should have more say over their own military presence in East Timor, Suharto tional issues. The meeting came as President local affairs.” told Clinton the troops were mainly engaged Clinton was concluding his Asian trip built The two leaders will also discuss how the in development projects to improve the around the APEC summit and preparing for APEC agreement will help their respective lives of the islanders. a few days of rest in Hawaii. White House economies. Government officials said seven army correspondent David Borgida reports. Then, for President Clinton, it is on to battalions are stationed in East Timor to The one-hour meeting at the Presidential Hawaii later for a brief rest. deal with development programs as well as Palace included what a senior US official an estimated 187 pro-independence Fretilin called a “lengthy” discussion of Indonesia’s SUHARTO, CLINTON guerrillas. Murdiono said Clinton asked Suharto human-rights record – including its 19-year DISCUSS EAST TIMOR occupation of East Timor. About 30 pro- about the revocation of the publishing li- testers continue to occupy an area of the US By Sukino Harisumarto censes of three popular news magazines. embassy compound here, refusing to leave, “What was banned was not the people’s in protest over Indonesia’s policies in East Jakarta, Nov. 16 (UPI) – Indonesian right to express their views,” Suharto was Timor. President Suharto defended his govern- quoted as telling Clinton. “The revocation of Page 56 East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. publishing licenses was based on existing their full potential unless the Indonesian labor rights. We think there is nothing laws.” government respects human rights. Ron incompatible between commercial en- Pemstein reports from Jakarta, American gagement and demonstration of con- CLINTON WARNS SUHARTO officials held further consultations with cern for human rights or labor rights. ON RIGHTS Indonesians on human rights. Just the opposite is true. We believe President Clinton has received assurances that it is a complimentary strategy, in By Carol Giacomo from Indonesian President Suharto govern- our judgment, we have a much-better ment troops will be drawn down in East chance of having a positive impact on Jakarta, Nov. 16 (Reuter) - U.S. Presi- Timor, where demonstrations have been human rights and worker rights if we dent Bill Clinton warned President Suharto taken place against government control and are commercially engaged than we on Wednesday that Indonesia’s human human right abuses. US officials say Presi- would have if we were commercially rights record could be a limiting factor in ties dent Clinton welcomed that assurance, as disengaged.” between the two countries, Secretary of well as President Suharto’s promise to allow In the meeting at the ambassador’s resi- State Warren Christopher said. residents of East Timor more influence over dence, visiting US Congressman Norman Clinton, on a state visit to Indonesia after their affairs. Mineta – chairman of the Congressional the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Students from East Timor – protesting Asia-Pacific Americans Caucus – told the (APEC) summit, and Suharto spent about Indonesian control – continue their occupa- Indonesian Human Rights Commission half of their bilateral talks on Wednesday tion of the American embassy grounds for support for Indonesian interests in the discussing the rights issue, senior U.S. offi- the fifth straight day. President Clinton American Congress will suffer if the Ameri- cials said. thanked President Suharto for his govern- can people do not see progress in human “President Clinton raised the issue in ment’s assurances the students will not be rights here. firm and forceful terms,” Christopher told harmed if they leave the embassy com- reporters before meeting Indonesia’s gov- pound. ernment-appointed human rights commis- CLINTON RIGHTS Later, at the American ambassador’s MESSAGE UNDERMINED sion. residence here, the US Secretary of State and Clinton “said he thought the United the Secretary of Commerce met with 24 By Sid Balman Jr. States and Indonesia had an opportunity to members of Indonesia’s quasi-governmental provide world leadership,” Christopher said. Human-Rights Commission. Those mem- Jakarta, Nov. 16, UPI - Attempting to “He also made it clear that human rights bers – many of them appointed by the gov- deflect criticism that the United States has could be a limiting factor.” ernment – listen to citizen’s complaints and gone soft on human rights, U.S. President He added: “The relationship between the make recommendations to the government. Bill Clinton on Wednesday threatened to United States and Indonesia can never reach A State Department official says Secre- limit a blossoming economic relationship its highest level if the people of the United tary of State Warren Christopher brought with Indonesia unless President Suharto States don’t have confidence that there is an up five issues of concern to the United improved treatment of his citizens, U.S. effort here to respect the human rights of all States. They are the cancellation of news- officials said. the citizens.” paper licenses; the arrest of labor leaders; a But Clinton’s message was undermined Despite the rhetoric, the administration decree restricting non-governmental organi- by his and Secretary of State Warren Chris- sent a mixed message on rights, refusing a zations; the “cleansing” operation in Jakarta topher’s refusal to meet with private human top-level meeting with rights advocacy that cleared opposition figures before the rights groups or with 29 students from East groups and stressing the importance of APEC summit meeting and rights abuses in Timor who have been holed up in the U.S. commercial engagement with Indonesia. East Timor. Embassy here since jumping the fence earlier Christopher stressed “human rights is a Following that meeting, state department this week. fundamental part of American foreign pol- official Winston Lord met representatives of Clinton’s message was eroded further by icy” and said he hoped the meeting would 20 non-governmental organizations –ranging the way in which it was delivered. Clinton help “advance the cause of human rights in from human-rights organizations to con- and Suharto made no public statement either Indonesia.” sumer and environmental groups. One before or after their meeting as is usually the Requests by the protesters at the em- group, the Indonesian Legal Aid Society, case during a state visit. Instead, Clinton bassy and rights groups to meet with Clin- boycotted Mr. Lord’s meeting, desiring a relied on Christopher, who along with ton and Christopher were denied. more formal appointment with American Commerce Secretary Ron Brown met briefly A senior U.S. official said it was “proba- leaders. with representatives of a government- bly not a good precedent” to allow the stu- Secretary of State Christopher told re- sponsored human rights group, to carry the dents to “force a meeting with the president porters he believes the human-rights com- message. or the Secretary of State by scaling the wall mission is the more appropriate body for “President Clinton (told Suharto) that he of the embassy.” senior US officials to meet with. Secretary thought the United States and Indonesia of Commerce Ron Brown took part in that have an opportunity to provide world lead- VOA: CLINTON SAYS HUMAN meeting at the Ambassador’s residence, as ership,” Christopher told reporters prior to the meeting. “But he also made it clear that RIGHTS LIMIT U.S.- he did in the president’s meeting with Presi- criticism in the human rights field could have INDONESIAN RELATIONS dent Suharto. Secretary Brown told report- ers there is no contradiction between Ameri- a limiting factor. “The relationship between the United States and Indonesia can never Voice of America, 11/16/94, Jakarta. By Ron can economic interests here and its interest reach the highest levels if the people of the Pemstein in promoting human rights. United States don’t have confidence that Intro: President Clinton has told Indone- “Our strategy of commercial en- gagement, we believe, is the most- there is an effort here to respect the human sian President Suharto relations between the rights of all the citizens,” Christopher said. United States and Indonesia cannot reach effective strategy to have a positive impact on issues like human rights and East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. Page 57

Clinton, speaking later in the day to ministration was not serious about human palace, then talked to a group of U.S. and business leaders, brought up the question of rights. Asian business people. whether his global trade strategies under- “He (Clinton) didn’t give time to debate Secretary of State Warren Christopher, mine human rights, but he did not mention and discuss seriously with the people who meanwhile, met with a human rights com- the East Timor situation specifically. have been these last 20 years struggling for mission appointed by the Indonesian gov- “And I have said many times, and I will democratization and human rights in Indo- ernment, while other U.S. officials held a say again, I think it supports our commit- nesia. It seems he wants only to speak with partly boycotted meeting with local human ment to human rights throughout the the government,” Adnan Buyung Nasution rights groups. world,” Clinton said. of the Legal Aid Foundation, told Reuters. Human rights have cast a shadow over “At the same time, we remain convinced “These project signings are diverse in na- the summit because of violent demonstra- that strengthening the ties of trade among ture but have one thing in common: they tions in the disputed territory of East Timor nations can help to break down chains of show marked progress for American export- and a five-day sit-in by Timorese students repression; that as societies become more ers pursuing business opportunities in In- at the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta. Clinton open economically, they also become more donesia,” Brown said. “What we are here to raised the Timor issue with his Indonesian open politically.” celebrate are major commercial achieve- hosts but failed to win any agreements to “It’s a complementary strategy,” Brown ments.” end the embassy protest. told reporters. “We have a much better Clinton said Asia’s burgeoning markets A former Portuguese colony 1,200 miles chance of having a positive impact on hu- will be a force for democratization. east of Jakarta, East Timor was annexed by man rights if we are commercially engaged “Throughout this region we will see as Indonesia in the 1970s and has been the site than we would have if we were not commer- markets expand and contact across borders of frequent clashes between the predomi- cially engaged.” and among people multiply, the roots of an nantly Catholic population and Indonesian U.S. officials, who refused to be named, open society will grow and strengthen, and troops, who are mainly Muslim. said Suharto told Clinton that “he believed will contribute to development, not instabil- the Indonesian government is dealing with ity,” Clinton said. VOA: U.S. PROMOTES the issue fairly.” “More Asians will learn that the more INDONESIAN HUMAN RIGHTS Clinton and Suharto have been hounded free and educated people are, the more they by questions from reporters about Indone- are able to be creative.” Editorial, Voice of America, Nov. 23, 1994 sia’s human rights record. Suharto became so impatient with the barrage of inquiries The Voice of America presents differing CLINTON ASSERTS points of view on a wide variety of issues. that he dismissed a reporter’s question HUMAN RIGHTS about it Tuesday by saying he did “not have Next, an editorial expressing the policies of time” to respond. the United States Government. BUT SOFT APPROACH APPEARS TO President Bill Clinton recently joined REFLECT PRIORITY ON PUSHING seventeen other leaders in Indonesia for a CLINTON: BUSINESS & meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Coop- HUMAN RIGHTS ARE THROUGH TRADE DEALS eration forum. In addition to multilateral SEPARATE ISSUES Gannett Westchester Newspapers, Nov. 17, talks, Mr. Clinton and Secretary of State 1994. From the Los Angeles Times. Warren Christopher met on a bilateral basis by Bill Tarrant, Reuter Jakarta, Indonesia - President Clinton with their counterparts from other Asia- Jakarta, Indonesia (Nov. 16) – President yesterday pressed Indonesia to clean up its Pacific countries, including Indonesia. These Bill Clinton said on Wednesday his aggres- human-rights record, but without setting talks dealt not only with trade but also with sive commercial diplomacy aimed at winning deadlines or demanding remedies that could human rights. contracts for American business abroad was disrupt ties with the world’s fourth largest The U.S. has long had a good relationship not undermining his commitment to human country. with Indonesia. But Mr. Christopher made rights. Fresh from a summit with leaders of 17 it clear that relations “can never reach the He was speaking to some 700 business- Pacific Rim nations, Clinton said that his highest levels if the people of the United men in Jakarta after his Commerce Secretary administration would pursue improved hu- States don’t have confidence that there is an Ron Brown witnessed contract signings man rights “with conviction and without effort [in Indonesia] to respect the human between the United States and Indonesia apology.” But while Clinton and his lieuten- rights of all the citizens.” Among other worth $40 billion. ants urged better treatment of ethnic minori- things, the U.S. is concerned about abuses in But earlier in the day, a number of Indo- ties, journalists and labor activist, they the Indonesian province of East Timor. nesian rights activists boycotted an informal largely left it to the Indonesians to find their Three years ago, Indonesian soldiers fired meeting between senior U.S. officials and way to such a goal. on demonstrators in Dili, the East Timor non-government groups. The softer approach appeared to reflect capital. Scores of people were killed, and Clinton said he has brought up rights “in the administration’s determination to assign many others are still unaccounted for. Last every private meeting I’ve had not only in a high priority to trade deals while avoiding week, demonstrations were held in East this region but around the world.” costly confrontations over human rights. Timor, and many people were arrested. “As societies become more open eco- Last May, the administration decided to Over the years, the U.S. has urged the Indo- nomically, they tend to become more open drop linkage between trade benefits and nesian government to respect the rights of politically,” he said. human rights in its relations with China. the people of East Timor. As President In Jakarta on Wednesday, a letter signed Under renewed pressure from advocacy Clinton said, they “should have more say by leading human rights groups, invited to a groups and Congress, Clinton laid out his over their own affairs.” reception hosted by Assistant Secretary of human rights goals in a meeting with Indo- Another problem in Indonesia is lack of State Winston Lord, said the Clinton ad- nesian President Suharto at his Merdeka respect for worker rights. The government recently imposed prison sentences on a Page 58 East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. number of labor leaders, including Muchtar “I have been in favour of this idea for a and his own clergy in East Timor itself, not Pakpahan, the head of Indonesia’s largest long time and now, thank God, its beginning to mention others in the international arena. independent labor organization. The U.S. to gain support from both Timorese and The East Timorese population today is deplores these unwarranted prison sen- Indonesian governmental authorities,” said 800,000. At least 200,000 people are esti- tences. Mr. Pakpahan should not be held Ximenes Belo. The prelate added, however, mated to have perished as a consequence of accountable for unintended violence in con- that this does not mean that he has re- the Indonesian invasion and occupation nection with legitimate labor protests. The nounced self-determination for East Timor. between December 1975 and the end of U.S. is also concerned about restrictions on Catholic Church support 1979. The United Nations has condemned the Indonesian press. In June, the govern- the August 1975 (sic) invasion and Jakarta’s The Catholic Church, meanwhile, has in- ment shut down three influential magazines. illegal annexation of the territory in July dicated that it is prepared to give its backing The U.S. has urged the Indonesian govern- 1976. to “talks between all the parties” in the ment to respect freedom of the press and lift There are 674,000 Catholics and 72 negotiations for Belo’s proposed “special its ban on the magazines. priests to take care of their pastoral needs. statute.” On Thursday, during a seminar, in As President Clinton stressed, the U.S. In the territory there are 42 Salesians and 14 which the ICRC took part, the Bishop of “will continue to promote human rights novices in 7 houses and 15 Daughters of Dili explained the “Church’s point of view” with conviction and without apology.” He Mary Help of Christians in two houses. to the Indonesian officials posted to East said the U.S. Rejects the “notion that in- In a February 1989 letter to then United Timor. creased economic ties in trade and partner- Nations Secretary General Perez de Cuellar, The Apostolic Nuncio in Jakarta, Piero ships undermine our human rights agenda. Bishop Belo underlined the need for action Sambi, said that “the Church is stimulating We believe,” said President Clinton, that by the world body, in the form of a genuine the dialogue between all concerned, since it “they advance together.” and democratic process of decolonization, in is through dialogue that what is best for the Anncr: That was an editorial expressing the form of a UN sponsored referendum, people of East Timor and for Indonesia will the policies of the United States govern- that could bring to an end the tragedy that be achieved.” ment. If you would like to be heard on this has beset East Timor since 1975. “We are issue, please write to editorials, voice of dying as a nation and as a people,” Belo America, Washington, DC, 20547, USA. SALESIAN BISHOP IN THE said. 5 Cardinals, 32 Archbishops and 1,359 You may also send us a fax at (202)619- FOREFRONT TO DEFEND other Church leaders signed the letter. 1043. Your comments may be used on the HUMAN RIGHTS Later in 1989 during the October visit of air. Pope John Paul II to East Timor, Bishop WIDE SUPPORT FOR BIS HOP BELO Belo overcame myriad diplomatic problems ONE OF THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE to acquaint the Pope with the true situation EVENTS IN EAST TIMOR CANDIDATES in the territory. Amongst those who have publicly supported Bishop Belo are the ANSMag (this is the ‘in-house’ journal of the United States Bishops Conference (24 July Salesian Order to which Belo belongs), No- SPECIAL STATUTE 1994), the Bishops Conference of England vember 1994 FOR EAST TIMOR and Wales, Cardinal Clancy and Bishop DILI, East Timor (ANS) - Things do not Hilton Deakin from Australia, Cardinal Sin Diario de Noticias, 29 October 1994. Trans- go well for human rights in the island of East of Manila, Bishop Soma of Japan and lated from Portuguese, Abridged Timor. People still get killed and new vic- Bishop Paul Moore, a retired US Protestant Lisbon – Ximenes Belo is negotiating a tims continue to be added to the list of Bishop. He has received similar statements “special statute” for East Timor. He says, 200,000 caused by the Indonesian occupa- of support from the Catholic Bishops Con- however, that he will not give up his fight tion. It was an almost forgotten land, until ferences of Ireland, Belgium, France, Ger- for the territory’s self-determination. the Salesian bishop gave them a forceful many, Switzerland, Japan, Portugal, Austra- The Apostolic Administrator of Dili, voice. lia, the Philippines, Canada, the Nether- Mnsgr. Ximenes Belo, announced yesterday Fr. Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo, a 35- lands. Others include Papua New Guinea that, together with other Timorese and the year-old (sic) native, was appointed Apos- and Solomon Islands Catholic Commission Indonesian Government, he is attempting to tolic Administrator to the diocese of Dili in for Justice, Peace and Development; Euro- define a “special statute” for East Timor. East Timor, May 1983. He was made pean Christian Consultation on East Timor; In an interview with France Press, Dili’s Bishop in 1988. Initially considered as a Christians in Solidarity with East Timor Bishop stated that “a special statute consti- collaborator, he confounded his critics by (Australia), East Timor Ireland Solidarity tutes the best solution at the moment, and acting as an articulate and effective voice for Campaign and several groups. we are all discussing this: the Indonesian those suffering under the heel of Indonesian The Portuguese government backs the Government, the army, and I myself, with oppression. Bishop and the Irish government is very other Timorese leaders and the people in Bishop Belo accomplished this hard task, supportive. “He has received statements of general.” in part, by striking a careful but uneasy support from the U.S. Congress and Although Belo said it was too early to balance between an array of often irreconcil- friendly support from top levels of the Clin- able interests: the Holy See, the Indonesian talk about the content of this “special stat- ton administration here in Washington,” ute,” he said “we must discuss it in detail Catholic Church, the Indonesian govern- says a Belo-supporter from Maryland, and together.” ment, army, security forces and other offi- USA. “As for the rest, they make meaning- During the summer, East Timor’s Gover- cial groups and agencies, the armed resis- less statements about ‘silent diplomacy’ and nor, Abilio Osorio, who favours Indonesian tance to Indonesian rule in East Timor, do nothing except make large profits from occupation, spoke in support of a “special young people of East Timor in confronta- trade with the Indonesians,” laments a statute” for the territory, but never gave tion with the Indonesian authority, East spokesman for the London based British details of its content. Timorese collaborating with Indonesian rule, Coalition for East Timor. East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. Page 59

“I would like to recommend Bishop Belo sian riot police closed off main streets in “We are being watched by the army all of East Timor for the 1994 Nobel Peace Dili, the agency said. the time,” said one activist who spoke on Prize,” writes Democrat member of US Dissidents, mostly speaking on condition condition of anonymity. Congress from Ohio, Tony P. Hall. “Since of anonymity, had said they were afraid a my election to the United States House of protest might provoke a military crack- BBC ON DILI AND Representatives in 1979, I have followed the down. JAKARTA EVENTS tragic events in East Timor closely. Having “Nobody can speak. No one can demon- met Bishop Belo, I believe that he is a tre- strate. People feel the pressure of the mili- BBC World Service, Nov. 13th, 1300 hrs mendously inspiring spiritual and moral tary all the time,” Belo, the bishop, said GMT. summarized. leader, comparable to the Dalai Lama and Saturday. others who have received recognition from Indonesian security forces have arrested the Nobel Committee,” affirmed the Con- YOUTHS RAMPAGE IN EAST TIMOR 70 pro-independence demonstrators in Dili. gressman in his 25 January 1994 letter to Associated Press, Nov. 13, 1994. Update to Troops had used tear gas to disperse about the Nobel Committee of the Norwegian earlier article, abridged. 1,000 demonstrators who had thrown Parliament. stones and caused widespread damage in Thousands of East Timorese rampaged protest at the deaths of at least 3 people in through the streets of Dili on Sunday, loot- violence between East Timorese and Indo- YOUTHS RAMPAGE IN DILI ing shops, burning cars and smashing win- nesian migrants. About 30 East Timorese dows in protests against Indonesian rule. AP, Nov. 12, 1994 [abridged] students continue to occupy the grounds of Irawan Abidin, director of information at the US Embassy in Jakarta demanding the DILI, Indonesia (sic) – Hundreds of an- the Indonesian Foreign Ministry, said he release of Xanana Gusmão. gry youths clashed with riot police and understood the violence stemmed from a Antarik Saiwan (?) from AFP is in Dili. It rampaged through Dili early Sunday, de- brawl in a Dili market on Saturday that re- is apparently quiet now but he told me what manding independence for East Timor. portedly left three dead. had happened earlier As demonstrators spread throughout Dili A chronic source of friction is the feeling “There were two public events - burning debris, stoning police and breaking among East Timorese that Indonesians are the first one in the morning in front of store windows, hundreds of riot police cor- moving in, taking over businesses and jobs. Bishop Belo’s house. Shortly after the doned off the city, East Timor’s capital. The riot followed a small, peaceful pa- mass was over a group of 40-50 young The demonstrations began after a 7 a.m. rade Sunday. demanding independence for East Timorese showed banners to for- Mass led by Bishop Carlos Belo, spiritual East Timor, a former Portuguese colony eign journalists & a picture of Xanana leader of East Timor’s Roman Catholic ma- annexed by Indonesia. Gusmão. They shouted ‘Viva East jority. About 30 Timorese youths displayed The peaceful demonstrators in Dili called Timor,’ ‘Viva Vaticano,’ ‘Viva Bill banners and chanted in Portuguese “Viva on Clinton to help the people of East Clinton’ and things like that. Clinton” and “Free Timor,” said Associated Timor, which was invaded by Indonesia in “A couple of hours after that Press photographer Jeff Widener. 1975 as Portugal pulled out and annexed the event, more than 1,000 young East About three hours after Sunday’s early- following year. The United Nations never Timorese occupied a street in the mid- morning rally at a Roman Catholic church, recognized the annexation, although the dle of Dili and vandalized most shops hundreds of youths rampaged through Dili. United States has. and houses along the street which is At one point, about 150 Indonesian riot “Clinton must help East Timor. We want mostly owned by non-local mer- police charged a large group of protesters, human rights and independence,” said one chants” but turned and fled when the youths stoned protester who spoke on the condition of them and beat them with clubs. anonymity. Demonstrators carried anti- Did the security forces use violence to stop About two miles away, at least 300 Indonesian banners and the flag of the out- the protest? youths overran the Turismo Hotel, where lawed Fretilin rebel group, and demanded No - at first it is only riot police armed with many foreign reporters were staying. The the release of Fretilin’s jailed leader. shields and rattan poles. But some 40 of protesters, armed with clubs and sticks, Their protest followed an early morning them were driven away by the demonstra- screamed, threw rocks and made off with Mass of about 700 worshipers conducted tors. They just ran away & saved their lives bottles of beer and other items. They lit a by East Timor’s Roman Catholic bishop, - because the demonstrators were getting car afire outside. Carlos Filipe Belo, at his residence on Dili’s wild. On Saturday in Jakarta – 1,500 miles palm-fringed waterfront. Evaristo dos Santos is a student who west of Dili – 29 student protesters scaled The massacre anniversary passed with- didn’t make it into the embassy but who an 8-foot fence wire to enter the U.S. Em- out incident in Dili on Saturday. Only a few also managed to avoid arrest and he is now bassy grounds. police and no soldiers were on the streets in hiding. Here is how he outlined student The incident angered Indonesia’s gov- where it appeared to be business as usual. demands: ernment, which hoped the summit would Commemoration of the massacre was lim- ‘We did not come to Jakarta just to allow the country to shake off its poor hu- ited to small and low-key church services. request political asylum from the man rights image. “It was obviously de- Few people visited Santa Cruz cemetery. Americans. We want to show the in- signed to embarrass us,” said Foreign Minis- ternational community that the strug- ter Ali Alatas. [From an earlier story:] gle of the East Timorese still exists. We want the Indonesian government Also Saturday, one Timorese was East Timor’s recently appointed military to release our leader Xanana Gusmão stabbed to death by a group of Indonesians commander Col. Kiki Syahnakri admitted in and we want a referendum on self de- and two Indonesian youths were killed in an interview that the army had made heavy- termination.’ retaliation in Dili, the Portuguese news handed mistakes in the past, but laughed at agency LUSA reported. Afterward, Indone- accusations of regular human rights abuses. BBC’s Jonathon Head summarizes various reports: Page 60 East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994.

Demonstrators are reported to have attacked FRETILIN SAYS FOUR REPORTED main hotel where foreign journalists were staying. Some of students who were ar- VIOLENCE IN EAST TIMOR KILLED IN DILI rested before getting into embassy had come BIGGEST SINCE 1975 Portuguese radio, 13 November 1994 from as far afield Surabaya & Malang. by Gordon Feeney, AAP, Nov. 13, 1994 [The report of four dead is also given in the Was this a major security lapse by the Indo- following AFP story from Jakarta.] nesian Govt.? Darwin – This weekend’s rioting in East Timor was the biggest violent uprising since Violence in East Timor spread from the Perhaps not - the Indonesian authorities did the 1975 Indonesian invasion and was set to capital Dili to other towns tonight as four manage to arrest many of the students be- re-ignite any moment, the resistance group people were confirmed dead, Portuguese fore they got into the embassy. It seems Fretilin said tonight. radio RDP reported, quoting what it de- that only students who got into the em- “The police and armed forces are still scribed as reliable sources. bassy were the students based in Jakarta driving around town making arrests and Indonesian riot police were brought into who knew their way around. It seems the intimidating people,” Darwin-based Fretilin Dili to control pro-independence demonstra- rest were arrested and we hear that some of representative Alfredo Ferreira said. tions there, the radio said. them may have been trucked off in military “The situation is not calm. It is very It said at least four people were killed as trucks to East Java. Some of the students tense. At any moment the situation can young people demonstrating in the streets also say that there might be about 20 more explode again,” he said. clashed with police. The number of protest- students that they cannot account for but A funeral of one East Timorese man ers was increasing and the demonstrations who may still be in custody. killed in clashes with Indonesian authorities were becoming violent, it said. at the weekend was due to be held tomor- The radio’s correspondent in Australia VOA: TIMORESE UNREST row or Tuesday “and could well cause more said “guerrillas” were trying to take control trouble,” Mr. Ferreira said. Voice of America, 11/13/94. By Dan Robin- of the main streets in the town of Baucau. “At the moment there is no clear indica- son, Jakarta He added that demonstrators had burned tion of how many people have been de- Indonesian flags in Baucau, Manatuto, Er- Intro: The East Timor capital – Dili – is tained because of the chaos - and frankly I mera and Maliana and replaced them with reported tense following violent clashes think they’re too scared to give many details rebel Fretilin flags between security forces and demonstrators. by telephone.” VOA’s Dan Robinson is monitoring reports Mr. Ferreira said information received in TIMORESE RIOT from Jakarta where, East Timorese inde- Darwin late tonight was that more Indone- pendence protesters remain inside the com- sian police and soldiers had been used in the AS APEC MEETS pound of the American embassy demanding weekend crackdowns than during the so- The Sydney Morning Herald, 14th Novem- US help in pressuring Indonesia. called Dili massacre in 1991. ber 1994. By Lindsay Murdoch Reports reaching Jakarta contain conflict- “This is the biggest violent uprising since ing accounts of what caused the violence, the invasion. Even in 1991 people marched Jakarta, Sunday: Thousands of East but it appears to have been sparked by a peacefully in the lead-up to the massacre. Timorese rioted in the streets of Dili today, racially-motivated incident in Dili. Reports “But this is a major act of defiance to the deeply embarrassing Indonesia as it pre- also conflict as to the number of people Indonesian authorities,” he said. pared to host a landmark economic summit involved, ranging from several-hundred to Third anniversary demonstrations, of key Asia and Pacific leaders. one thousand. planned to be peaceful, had boiled over into And in Jakarta, the Indonesian capital, Witnesses said protesters ran through the open defiance and violence, with the Fretilin East Timorese protesters were hold up to- streets breaking windows and throwing flag flown in several parts of East Timor, night inside the United States Embassy, rocks, bricks and bottles at riot police who Mr. Ferreira said. creating an immediate diplomatic headache responded with teargas. Dili police officials Two sources in East Timor had con- for the United States President, Mr. Clin- – reached by telephone – said they restored firmed that one East Timor man had been ton, who is arriving here with Indonesia order. killed in clashes with police, and there were seeking to downplay issues such as human The violence followed a peaceful demon- unconfirmed reports of a further two deaths, rights and focus world attention on regional stration Saturday – the third anniversary of he said. trade. the shooting of pro-independence activists Mr. Ferreira said many Indonesian Rioters in Dili were reported to have in 1991 by the Indonesian military. houses and shops had been burnt in sections looted shops, burnt and smashed cars and Meanwhile, in Jakarta 29 Timorese stu- of Dili. shouted anti-government slogans only hours dents remained inside the US embassy com- The Associated Press and Agence before national leaders, including Mr. Clin- pound for a second day. They are demand- France-Presse reported clashes between ton, China’s President, Mr. Jiang Zemin, ing to see President Bill Clinton or Secretary around 1,000 rioters and police, after a ram- and the Prime Minister Mr. Keating, began of State Warren Christopher about the situa- page in which shop windows were smashed arriving in Jakarta. tion in East Timor. and cars were burnt. On Tuesday, President Soeharto of Indo- Mr. Clinton arrives late Sunday to attend Mr. Ferreira said he understood the nesia is due to host the Asia Pacific Eco- the summit of Asia-Pacific leaders Tuesday shops targeted in the rampage were owned nomic Co-operation(APEC) summit, which near Jakarta. by people from Java and Sulawesi, not by will consider an ambitious plan for free trade East Timorese. across the region by 2020. In Jakarta, 29 East Timorese protesters were refusing tonight to leave the grounds of the US Embassy after invading the building yesterday. East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. Page 61

The stand-off will force Mr. Clinton to ernment “while we are busy with the APEC The unrest brought political and human confront difficult human rights issues imme- meeting.” rights concerns, often thrust to the side by diately. The rioting in Dili, capital of East Timor, the region’s governments as their young He has pledged to raise human and labour came a day after the third anniversary of the economies boom, on to centre stage. rights when he meets Mr. Soeharto on Santa Cruz massacre, during which Indone- Japan, usually reticent about pressing Wednesday, despite the view held by many sian security forces killed scores of unarmed other Asian countries on human rights, said Asian governments that other nation should protesters. Indonesia’s record would be taken into ac- not interfere in another country’s internal There are deep racial tensions in the town count in Tokyo’s next aid package. affairs. of 30,000 people, with the predominantly “Japan will consider aid on the basis of US officials have said the talks with Mr. Catholic East Timorese unhappy about the our... guideline on checking arms exports, Soeharto will include repression in East presence of Muslim merchants from Indo- human rights, promotion of democracy and Timor, the former Portuguese colony in- nesian provinces. environment,” Japanese officials quoted vaded by Indonesia in 1975. Witnesses said hundreds of soldiers and Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama as But Indonesian officials say Mr. Clinton police condoned off the town as the demon- telling Indonesian President Suharto. risks alienating Mr. Soeharto, who adamant strations spread. The unrest in the province’s capital of Western powers should not link trade and During one demonstration youth shouted Dili was “chaotic,” according to East Timor economic issues with human rights in devel- “Viva Bill Clinton.” military spokesman Major Laedan Sim- opment countries. A demonstrator was quoted as saying: bolon. Mr. Soeharto’s enthusiasm will be crucial “Clinton must help East Timor. We want “Up to 1000 youths armed with sticks, in persuading Malaysia’s Prime Minister, human rights and independence.” iron rods and stones were smashing shops, Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, to agree to APEC Demonstrators armed with clubs, rocks burning cars and hitting policemen,” Major free trade plan. and bottles stoned police and soldiers, who Simbolon said. Malaysia remains the country most used teargas to disperse the crowds. Residents said hundreds of young people strongly opposed to setting a free trade At the height of the violence, about 150 protesting against rule from Jakarta marched deadline during a meeting of ministers of the riot police charged the protesters, but fled in Dili’s central market place on the anniver- 18 member APEC forum. when youths stoned and beat them with sary of the killing of up to 200 demonstra- Analysts say the East Timor protests are clubs, journalists in Dili reported. tors by soldiers in the tiny territory three a public relations disaster for Indonesia, The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Senator years ago. which has for months conducted a campaign Evans, who is in Jakarta, quoted an inde- A second and bigger demonstration took to silence critics and arrests potential trou- pendent source as saying the Indonesian place over yesterday’s killing of a Timorese blemakers during the APEC talks. security forces were more tolerant than they by an Indonesian trader. The campaign was condemned by human had been in the past in their handling of the In Jakarta, 2000 km away, 29 defiant rights groups, which accused Indonesian trouble. He said the violence appeared to East Timorese students maintained their authorities of the violating civil liberties and have been triggered by cultural and racial occupation of a car park in the US Embassy executing criminals, Jakarta denied the issues. Senator Evans said it seemed nobody compound. claims. was killed as a result of the police or mili- Demanding the release of their jailed guer- The protesters at the US Embassy have tary’s handling of the demonstrations. illa hero Xanana Gusmão, the students, who asked to meet Mr. Clinton and the US Sec- In meetings with Indonesian Ministers had scaled an embassy fence yesterday, said retary of State, Mr. Warren Christopher since arriving in Jakarta, Senator Evans has they would stay until they could meet Mr. who is also in Jakarta for the APEC meet- pressed Australia’s concerns about East Clinton or US Secretary of State Warren ing. Timor. Christopher. The protesters’ demands include the re- He said today these include that Indone- Timorese activists allege widespread hu- lease from jail of the East Timor guerrilla sia cut back its troops in East Timor and man rights abuses over many years in the leader José Xanana Gusmão and granting give some degree of autonomy to the former Portuguese colony, annexed by In- East Timor autonomy from Jakarta. Timorese people. “It is an issue that is very donesia in 1976. A protester said tonight he and 28 others much alive in the Indonesian administra- The United Nations does not recognise would stay in the Embassy compound until tion.” Indonesian rule there. their demands were met. He said they had The protests are sure to be embarrassing been given water but no food. PROTEST MARS both to Indonesia, which had hoped the The man said the demonstrators felt dis- START OF SUMMIT APEC meeting would help its world image, appointed with Australia. “Not the people, and to Mr. Clinton, who has try to steer a the Government,” he said. “They help In- Daily Telegraph Mirror, Sydney, 14 Nov. pragmatic middle course in foreign policy donesia to violate human rights in East between human rights concerns and com- Timor. We hope other Western governments East Timorese unrest today threatened to merce. stop this and remind Australia it is wrong to steal the limelight as President Clinton and Mr. Clinton supports plans for an Asia- recognise the invasion.” other Asia-Pacific leaders prepared for a Pacific free trade area by 2020. summit to create the world’s largest free Mr. Christopher said he would raise East trade zone. Timor with the Indonesian authorities and ARRESTS BEGIN that the protesters would not be ejected As heads of government from the Asia- from the Embassy. “We have no plans to Pacific Economic Co-operation forum fo- Extracted and abridged from AP, 14 Nov. cused on trade in the 21st century, protest- thrown them out,” he said. (DILI, Indonesia) The Indonesian mili- The protest angered Indonesia’s Foreign ers rioted in East Timor and students from the restive province made a defiant stand in tary said it had arrested 87 demonstrators in Minister, Mr. Ali Alatas, who said it was troubled East Timor as armed troops and contrived to embarrass the Indonesian Gov- the US Embassy in Jakarta. Page 62 East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. police confronted pro-independence pro- DOMINGOS SOARES ABRI told them today, in no uncertain testers for a second day Monday. terms, that if the funeral is to take place in Witnesses rejected the military’s arrest INTERVIEWED BY BCET Dili, and there is to be a massacre, Mario figure, saying about 150 people had been In a telephone interview tonight (14 No- Vicente’s family will be held responsible for taken into custody. vember 1994, 2430 hrs. GMT), Fr. Domin- the massacre. They said some had been hurt in small gos A Soares called for East Timorese inde- Yesterday, Sunday, at 4 PM, Indonesian clashes with security personnel but exact pendence. troops launched an assault in Audian to injury figures were not immediately avail- He said that Dili (where he is at present) capture and terrorise people. The number of able. was calm. When asked about the causes of people arrested is yet to be known. Maj. Gen. Adang Ruciana, eastern Indo- the riots, he said’ It is not necessary [ i.e. Comparing to the weekend, today the nesia’s military commander, said the major- the riots against the transmigrants], inde- military is patrolling the entire city with ity of those arrested would be released after pendence is the problem.’ guns everywhere. Reinforcements arrived questioning. He spoke out against US support for in- from the nearby towns in the East of Dili, Col. Kiki Syanakri, East Timor’s military tegration: ‘The US is important,’ he said, such as Liquica and Ermera. No protests commander, described the situation as tense. ‘they supported the integration. Now they occurred in other parts of East Timor, ex- He said the military would concentrate on must do something.’ cept in the capital, Dili. capturing ring leaders of the protest. Fr. Domingos was very laid back con- The second killing took place in Bidau, Military presence ubiquitous cerning the recent wave of arrests in occu- after the burning of the Passar Senggol- Bidau, the local market where transmigrants Witnesses said several hundred security pied East Timor: ‘It is normal,’ he said, control every single business. The protest- personnel were guarding government build- ‘They always arrest people.’ ers moved away from the market before the ings in the provincial capital, Dili, where I asked him about reports that Hawk air- military arrived. The military raided houses, rioting broke out Sunday. craft had recently been used in East Timor: filled them with tear gas, and ended up kill- Others said the bloodied body of an in- ‘I do not know about this,’ he said, ‘I have ing this young man by stabbing him with a digenous Timorese man, apparently killed in not been there.’ knife. The identity of this person has not Sunday’s clash, was found lying in a street He thanked the international community been released, and it is believed that his early Monday. for their solidarity: ‘ Keep working. Do not body has been taken away by the Red However, the military said it knew of no let East Timor fade away.’ Cross. He is said to be originally from La- casualties. clubar. The third person killed is known as Police were blocking entrances to the SITUATION UPDATE Nando (short for Fernando) and originally city’s university to stop outsiders from from Suai, and resident of Kuluhum-Dili. joining a campus demonstration by about From ETRA, Nov. 15, information obtained 500 students who oppose Indonesian rule of this afternoon (Sydney time) from Dili: Comment: Taking into account that for all the former Portuguese colony. practical purpose Dili is a big prison, APEC 1. This morning, Monday, (14.11.94) at 10 has become a window letting a light of hope Police were guarding the house of the ter- AM, Indonesian troops raided Santa ritory’s spiritual leader, Roman Catholic - the media - coming through. The Timorese Cruz and arrested 80 (eighty) people. youth used this opportunity to alert the world Bishop Carlos Belo, a strident critic of In- The same action was taken in Kolomera- donesia who has called for calm. about the tragedy of their people. And they Dili, approximately at the same time, succeeded! Clinton on Human Rights where about 100 people were arrested. In (Jakarta) President Clinton on Monday the university campus of Kaikoli, many VOA: TIMOR UNREST pressed for additional human rights im- people were also arrested but the source provements in China. could not put a number to it; the arrested Voice of America, 11/15/94, by Dan Robin- At a news conference in the garden of the people were taken in a military truck son, Jakarta U.S. ambassador’s residence, Clinton said he (UNIMOG, as it was known by the Por- would “use whatever influence I have in a tuguese), and taken to military prisons in Intro: As APEC leaders near the end of positive way” to press for human rights Dili for interrogation. their summit, demonstrations continue in the East Timor capital, Dili. And, a sit-in reform, both in China and Indonesia. 2. Number of dead confirmed He denied suggestions he was backing protest by Timorese students at the US away from human rights concerns in press- Three people have been killed. One was embassy in Jakarta is in its fourth day. ing for more trade with Asia and said he Mario Vicente, 28 years of age, resident of VOA’s Dan Robinson is monitoring these raised the issue pointedly in a face-to-face Audian-Dili, and originally from Bobonaro. events from Jakarta: meeting with Chinese President Jiang Zemin Mario Vicente is the uncle of a soccer player Reports say several hundred students – a session that U.S. officials said mostly who escaped from Darwin in June 1991, demonstrated at the university in Dili, emphasized trade and security issues. while representing Indonesia in a soccer shouting pro-independence slogans and “The United States, perhaps more than match in Darwin. Julio do Rego actually waving banners. Police sealed off the univer- any other country in the world, consistently lived in the same house as Mario Vicente. sity campus, creating an uneasy standoff. Dili has been hit by three days of riots and regularly raises human rights issues,” The relatives of Mario Vicente, including his Clinton said before the formal opening of wife/widow, are today under extreme pres- and protests sparked both by local ethnic the 18-nation Asian Pacific Economic Co- sure by officials of ABRI to take his body tensions and efforts by pro-independence operation forum (APEC). to Bobonaro to be buried. According to our forces to draw attention to their cause dur- source, ABRI and INTEL are scared of a ing APEC. phenomenon similar to the funeral of Se- Meanwhile, 29 Timorese students who bastião Gomes, on 28 October 1991, which jumped over an iron fence into a section of led to the infamous massacre of Santa Cruz. the US embassy compound last Saturday The family is resisting this pressure, and continued their protest. They have been East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. Page 63 demanding to see President Clinton to dis- He said 20 East Timorese youths had migrant killed an East Timorese trader in a cuss the East Timor problem. taken refuge in Dili’s main Catholic church market brawl. Reports Monday said Portugal offered to because they feared being rounded up by While a semblance of normality reap- grant them political asylum. Indonesian army and police patrols. peared on Wednesday, residents said under- The US based human rights group, Asia East Timor university was closed Tues- lying problems remained. Watch has expressed concern about the day and administrators said they did not “The murder of the trader seemed to be a well-being of the protesters in Jakarta and expect it to re-open till next Monday. All catalyst in bringing to the surface the under- Timorese arrested in the wake of the distur- public transport in Dili was suspended lying resentment of East Timorese,” Helder bances in Dili. while banks and most private businesses da Costa, director of planning, development were closed. and external relations at the university, told UPDATE ON DILI & JAKARTA A student at the university said troops Reuters. and riot police manned most of Dili’s main “Things are beginning to settle down, but AFP and UPI, 15 Nov. 1994. Abridged inter-sections Tuesday. the university will be shut until next Mon- [ Timorese sources in Dili said late this “It’s tense, like yesterday,” the student day,” da Costa said. The campus was the afternoon that 230 people had been arrested said in a phone interview. “Most of the scene of anti-government demonstrations on and about fifty people were in hospital.] students support (the protestors) at the US Tuesday. embassy in Jakarta.” Students said up to 120 people had been AFP, Dili – Some 300 students protest- (In Jakarta) US embassy officials said arrested since the Dili unrest began on Sun- ing Indonesian rule over East Timor demon- they had no plans to evict the East day. In Jakarta, armed forces chief General strated here for the third day running on Timorese but neither Clinton nor Christo- Feisal Tanjung said 27 people had been Tuesday as an Asia-Pacific summit began pher were expected to visit the embassy. detained in the past few days and would be near Jakarta. “We love the Indonesian people but we charged with criminal behaviour. Closely watched by riot police and armed will not accept the Indonesian regime,” said Da Costa welcomed Clinton’s promise to troopers, the students chanted anti- Dominggus Sarmento Alves, spokesman for raise the issue of East Timor with President Indonesian slogans and carried banners read- the 29 at the embassy. “It is time for us to Suharto but said there was a greater need for ing ‘Viva Xanana’ in support of jailed leader determine our own future.” freedom of speech and activity in East Xanana Gusmão. AFP, Jakarta Timor. Riot police with plastic shields stood He also warned that a growing influx of 29 East Timorese in the US embassy de- guard on the streets outside the university immigrants from nearby Indonesian islands nied claims that some of them wanted to campus but there was no violence and the was pushing aside the local population, abandon the protest. “No-one wants to students dispersed peacefully. which he said was not business-minded. leave. We have come here with one voice to Disturbances in Dili over the weekend, “There should be a withdrawal of troops seek Xanana’s release,” their spokesman which claimed at least one life (according to and also a check on immigrants. East Alves told reporters. AFP, see other extracts from UPI), coupled Timorese are historically not good in com- One placard carried by a protester read: with a sit-in by East Timorese protesters at merce, so we have these immigrants come to “It is time to admit your defeat in East the US embassy in Jakarta has seriously Dili and take over the economy,” he said. Timor.” The poster was made from a pizza embarrassed Jakarta. Students outside the university gates in box salvaged from the embassy garbage bin. Dili military chief Colonel Sugianto An- central Dili welcomed Clinton’s remarks. Alves said that although he realised that he dreas maintained that the situation had They went further than diplomats had ex- and the other protesters were “in great dan- calmed in the East Timorese capital “but we pected, but students felt he could have done ger” the group would accept an offer of have 600 security men in the city to take more. asylum by Portugal “only if there is no way care of any problems,” he said. He said that “He should have emphasised human out.” 69 of the 83 young Timorese arrested on rights violations and the need for East Portuguese Prime Minister Cavaco Silva Sunday would be released on Tuesday. The Timorese to determine their own future,” said in Lisbon that his government was will- remaining 14 suspected of masterminding one student said. the disturbances were being held for further ing to grant asylum to all 29 in the US em- questioning. bassy and had informed Washington. “We Most shops here were closed with peo- hope the situation in East Timor arouses EAST TIMOR PROTESTS ple staying off the streets. firmer action by the international commu- UPDATE nity,” he said. UPI, Jakarta From CNRM Darwin, November 16 While Clinton met with the leaders of 17 On 15 November in the morning more Asia Pacific nations, East Timorese protest- RIOT-HIT EAST TIMOR CAPITAL RETURNING TO than 600 students from UNTIM – East ers were locked in an intense stand-off with Timor University – staged a demonstration Indonesian and US authorities. NORMAL inside the campus. They carried pro- “The situation is very bad today,” said a by K.T. Arasu independence banners, chanted “Viva Timor Catholic priest in Dili. “There is a demon- Leste! Viva Xanana!” and anti-Indonesian stration going on at the university and many DILI, East Timor, Nov. 16 (Reuter) - slogans. troops are on the streets.” East Timor’s capital Dili was quiet but Indonesian military and riot police cor- The priest, in a phone interview from tense on Wednesday after three days of doned off the University to prevent other Bishop Belo’s office, said “five or six East unrest, with shops reopening, cars and Timorese from joining the protesters and at Timorese have been killed since the rioting buses back on the streets and student gangs the same time waiting eagerly for the stu- began last Saturday.” “The trouble is con- prowling outside the closed university. dents to come out so they could arrest them. tinuing,” he said. “The troops have taken The unprecedented rioting over three Meanwhile, a group of secondary stu- many prisoners.” days was whipped up by news that an im- dents from SMEA Dili marched toward the Page 64 East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994.

University to support their fellow unconscious many times. After this ‘royal’ and others believed to have taken part in the Timorese. When they arrived near Mahkota treatment, the Intel reinstated him again as demonstrations at East Timor university. Hotel (former Hotel Timor built by Stanley their agent. George continued with his un- The demonstrators had gathered to mark the Hoo), two trucks loaded with riot police changed ‘double service’ until two days ago. third anniversary of a massacre of pro- surrounded them. Many fled, 20 managed to Please advise the media, friends, sup- democracy protesters by the Indonesian escape into the Catholic Diocese compound, porters to ring SGI in Dili to demand for army in 1991. and about 30 were arrested. The latter were George’s safety. SGI-DILI-COLMERA ph: Jeffrey Robinson, an Amnesty Interna- taken to Polwil, the police headquarters, +62-390-21248 tional researcher in London, says more than after being beaten, kicked and punched. The Four other people were arrested on 13/11 100 people have been detained within the foreign journalists witnesses these barbaric and so far have not returned home: past week. acts and filmed them. The International Red 1. Crimildo Fatima, age 20, resident of “The latest news we have from Dili Cross staff in Dili took the injured to the Taibesse is the names of 125 people detained Military Hospital for treatment. 2. Ricardino, age 18, resident of Taibesse between the 12th and 14th of Novem- The police followed the 20 students who 3. Augusto Pinheiro, age 20, resident of ber. Names of others arrested in recent escaped into the Diocese compound but Taibesse days have yet to come in, but we have were stopped short at the entrance by the heard of house-to-house searches con- priests, who told them they were not wel- 4. Manuel da Silva, age 40, resident of Cai- ducted in the area of Dili, but also in come inside the compound. They stood coli some outlying towns, such as Liquica. guard at the entrance for about one hour and Other interesting developments emerged In some cases, all of the young men in left when the foreign journalists arrived to since the 12 November protests. Informa- a neighborhood have been picked up; film the event and to interview the students. tion from Dili from various sources suggests in others it has been more selective.” The priests called the ICRC staff to me- that Ahmad Alkatiri, the brother of Mari A spokesman for the Indonesian em- diate with the military commander to allow Alkatiri, had gathered a number of former bassy in Washington (Hupudio Supardi) the boys to go home without retribution. Timorese prisoners at his home. Their confirmed that some arrests had been made Once a verbal guarantee was given by the names are as follows: in Dili, but said none of those detained had military, the priests drove the boys home Antonio Gouveia, Alberto Almeida, taken part in the campus demonstration. He one by one, but not before their names and Nuno da Costa, Abel Cabral, Abesi, Duarte, said 89 arrests had been made in connection addresses were written down by the ICRC Marito Mota, Filomeno Araujo, Luis Con- with a riot that broke out on November 12th so as to check their whereabouts later on. ceicao, Armindo, Gil, José Luis, Vasco Go- between competing merchants in Dili. He Arrests in Dili continue. It is very hard to mes, Luis, Joaquim, José Manuel, An- said one man was killed in the two day dis- compile a concrete list of names in the pre- astacio. turbance, and several shops were burned. sent circumstances. The main reason is after The motive of Ahmad’s gesture is unclear He would not comment on the amnesty the arrests the military send the people back as there are contradictory reports about it. report. home then re-arrest them the following day. Some say that Ahmad is collaborating with Amnesty researcher Jeffrey Robinson This exercise continues. Also because ar- the military and using the boys to spy on says only about 25 people have been ac- rests are made mainly at night time, many their fellow Timorese protestors. Others counted for by the police in Dili. He says are taken away to other places inside East say he is giving them shelter and protection. there has been no word on the whereabouts Timor, thus making it difficult to follow up. Advise the media, friends and supporters to of the other detainees. It will take many days to find out the real ring Ahmad Alkatiri in Dili on +62-390- “The real concern is for those who number of people arrested. 2107 may have been picked up by military Nevertheless some names have been con- Labut Melo, Gui Campos, João Campos forces who have not announced any firmed. and Manuel Boavida, the most infamous numbers and traditionally do not make 1) George Tailalak. Was arrested on the Timorese spies for the Indonesian military, known the whereabouts of those de- night of 14/11, released later the same night were seen roaring through the streets of Dili tained. So those are the ones we are and re-arrested on 15/11 at 3:00 a.m. in military uniforms, helping Intel to pick really worried about.” George has a very interesting background. up protestors from their homes at night International attention has been focused He is an orphan whose parents died during time. on Indonesia’s human rights record during the War [not clear which war]. He is the Also advise the media and those con- the just-completed APEC summit in Ja- nephew of Abilio Araujo. He was brought cerned to ring the Indonesian military com- karta. A group of East Timorese students up along with his sister by Alianca Araujo, mander on +62-390-21699 or Dili Military have staged a protest inside the US embassy Abilio’s sister. Hospital on +62-390-21442/22702 compound, and President Clinton raised the George was forced to work as an agent to East Timor issue in his talks with President the local military intelligence, known as SGI. ARRESTS IN DILI Suharto. By that time Xanana was hiding in George’s family home. George did a good job in help- Voice of America, 11/17/94. By John Pitman, INDONESIA CRACKS DOWN ON ing Xanana’s movements around Dili, Washington TIMOR PROTESTERS helped by his knowledge of military intelli- Intro: An international human rights Reuter, 17 November 1994. By K.T. Arasu gence “secrets.” Many times he drove group says Indonesian security forces in Dili, East Timor – Indonesian security Xanana around Dili himself since he knew East Timor have arrested more than 100 forces made house-to-house searches and all the intel posts and their daily activities. people suspected of taking part in pro- arrested scores of East Timor protesters When Xanana was captured in George’s democracy demonstrations in the capital, after days of unrest in the territory, resi- family home, George fell from grace. He was Dili, earlier this week. VOA’s John Pitman dents and officials said on Thursday. tortured beyond imagination. Hung naked has more. In Jakarta, East Timor students squatting from the ceiling, his fingernails pulled out, Amnesty International says police and in a corner of the U.S. embassy compound he was tortured in many ways until he fell military units targeted suspected dissidents East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. Page 65 were defiant in their demands for the release Dili’s outspoken Roman Catholic Bishop A crowd of several dozen Indonesian ci- of their jailed guerrilla leader hero. Carlos Belo on Thursday called on the mili- vilians outside the cathedral gate then began But they looked increasingly vulnerable tary not to use force in investigating the pelting the East Timorese crowd with rocks as plain-clothes security officers outnum- unrest. and stones over a seven-foot (two-metre) bered a dwindling posse of reporters out- “Solve all and every question with a sin- wall. side. cere heart and without force,” Belo said in Police fired tear gas on the mob, wit- Indonesia has reacted with public re- an open letter to East Timorese. nesses said. straint over both incidents, but according to Life in Dili returned to normal on Thurs- Parishioners arriving to attend mass took Amnesty International and other human day, as more shops – many of them dam- shelter inside the cathedral. Some were hit rights groups it was acting behind the scenes aged during the riots – reopened for business by stones. to round up scores of Timorese after the and public transport returned to the streets. Troops protected a large number of for- protests. Security presence was lower, but police still eign journalists who were caught in a hail of “Amnesty is urging the Indonesian au- stood guard at Dili’s university. stones. The journalists were returned to thorities to clarify the identity of all those The university, scene of at least one pro- their hotels and told not to go outside. detained in connection with the November independence protest, has been shut for Witnesses said Dili remained tense on 12 protests, the place of their detention, and most of this week and will reopen on Mon- Friday, with security forces ringing the ca- the precise reasons for their arrest,” it said day. thedral where several hundred protesters in a statement obtained in Dili on Thursday. The university students’ military corps and parishioners took shelter. Gangs roamed The 29 East Timorese holed up on the were seen turning away students who the streets outside. U.S. embassy grounds said they still wanted showed up at the campus. Indonesian police earlier accused foreign guerrilla leader Xanana Gusmão released and media, including a Japanese film crew, of asylum for themselves in Portugal, which EAST TIMOR CAPITAL fanning unrest in East Timor. They warned ruled East Timor until 1975. Portugal has HIT BY FRESH UNREST some 40 journalists in the territory to cover offered to take them in, and Indonesia has the earlier unrest that they should toe the said they can leave. by K.T. Arasu, Reuter, Nov. 18, 1994. [from line. London-based Amnesty said that as of several stories] “We have rules, don’t make us use Tuesday, some 250 people had been them,” Colonel Sugianto Andreas told the rounded up, but added it had not confirmed DILI, East Timor – Several hundred East reporters. “Foreign journalists should not do the figure. It said scores of Timorese youths Timorese chanting pro-independence slo- anything to create a situation that is not in several Indonesian cities allegedly linked gans clashed with Indonesian civilians and peaceful, otherwise I will be forced to use to the embassy protest had been summoned security forces on Friday in the latest out- the rules.” by police, detained or had disappeared. break of unrest in the capital Dili, witnesses The past week’s riots in Dili, some of Amnesty said it feared many faced tor- said. them racially motivated, have been unprece- ture or harsh treatment. East Timorese protesters gathered around dented. Hundreds of youths have, in sepa- Officials denied any round-ups outside the cathedral compound in central Dili at- rate incidents, stoned police, ransacked East Timor. But officials in the territory tacked two men believed to be Indonesians, shops and called for independence from vowed to find those responsible for the Dili kicking and beating them before police inter- Indonesia. protests, sparked by racial tension and long- vened. Officials on Thursday said they were simmering resentment over Indonesia’s 19- Some 500 youths then clashed with a conducting house-to-house searches in East year old rule of the territory after invading group of Indonesian civilians throwing Timor for those involved in the protests. and annexing it. rocks, some of which hit foreign journalists. Amnesty International said up to 250 may “They burnt shops, cars and stoned Police and security forces fired several can- have been detained in the territory as of other vehicles. Anyone found committing isters of tear gas to disperse the crowd. November 15. criminal activity will be punished in accor- “Indonesians are our enemy. Viva (long Andreas said 22 of the 131 people ar- dance with the law,” East Timor Governor live) Xanana, viva East Timor,” said one rested in East Timor were still being held. Abilio Soares told a news conference late on youth as he kicked one of the Indonesians. In Jakarta, the youths holed up in the Wednesday. It was the first such incident since three U.S. embassy since Saturday said they were Students and residents said that at least days of protests subsided on Tuesday. Po- considering an offer of asylum from Portu- 120 youths had been rounded up since the lice have blamed “unscrupulous elements” gal. They still demanded the release of protests, which subsided on Wednesday, for the unrest, the territory’s worst since Xanana Gusmão. began. They said some had been tortured. troops shot dead more than 200 mourners at They said scores of intelligence agents Police said some 80 people had been de- a Dili cemetery in November 1991. outside the embassy gates had been taunting tained, but they denied accusations of beat- A Reuter correspondent who witnessed them, threatening to cut their throats. ing them. the incident said the youths gathered outside “We are tired and hungry, but not com- The Dili unrest and the Timorese stu- the Roman Catholic cathedral in Dili, pulling plaining. This is to tell the world that some- dents’ dramatic invasion of the U.S. em- out East Timorese banners and shouting and thing is wrong in East Timor,” said spokes- screaming pro-independence slogans. bassy during a ministers’ and leaders’ meet- man Domingos Sarmento Alves. ing of the Asia Pacific Economic Coopera- They turned on the two Indonesians, The United States has offered to speed tion (APEC) forum has swung the spotlight beating them with sticks and chasing them up the asylum process, but the 29 said they on to remote East Timor. around the cathedral compound, he said. were still afraid of being captured by secu- President Clinton has called for greater One collapsed and the other was dragged rity forces before they reached safety. autonomy for East Timor, and warned away by the mob. The Foreign Ministry denied on Friday President Suharto during Wednesday’s state “As one was led away the other tried to that any riots had taken place in Dili, blam- visit that human rights could be a limiting walk, but as he did so he was continually ing the violence on a traders’ quarrel, and factor in bilateral ties. whacked,” the correspondent said. Page 66 East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. dismissed the embassy protest as “agita- The violence erupted after the disputed MASSIVE DEMONSTRATION IN DILI tion.” territory’s spiritual leader, Catholic Bishop SBS TV political reporter Alan Sunderland “In the face of such agitation and propa- Carlos Belo, a strident critic of Indonesia’s in Dili Nov. 18th, 8.20 pm (in Sydney). ganda activities, the government of Indone- annexation of East Timor, canceled a sched- sia will not be distracted from its work in uled late-afternoon mass. We’ve just heard that a massive riot is international forums and its development More than 500 people, including stu- underway in Dili when at least 100 East work in East Timor,” the statement said. dents and families with smartly dressed Timor youths unfurled banners and clashes Indonesian police on Friday accused a children, had gathered for the service. with police outside the Catholic Cathedral. Japanese film crew of fanning unrest in East There was no reason given for calling the Alan Sunderland: Timor and warned other foreign journalists mass off, but rumors had swept Dili that a There was a mass scheduled here in Dili to toe the line in the riot-hit territory. demonstration would be held. about 1 hour ago. There’s been talk all week Dili police chief Colonel Sugianto An- After clergy announced the cancellation, that the simmering resentment in the streets dreas told a news conference he did not some in the crowd shouted anti-government would finally result in a demonstration at expect further protests after this week’s slogans and waved protest banners for about the mass. At lunchtime today, the police unprecedented rioting, but foreign journal- 20 minutes. decided without consulting anyone to cancel ists in the former Portuguese colony must Some teen-age boys and young men, ap- the mass. When we arrived at the Cathedral not instigate further unrest. parently students, attacked and clubbed in Dili, there were probably 3-400 East He was referring to an allegation, denied several others in the crowd, accusing their Timorese, mostly young men outside the by the Japanese Broadcasting Corporation victims of being government spies. church. They were standing around silently (NHK), that one of the television com- The victims were beaten until they were for about half an hour - the media were there pany’s journalists gave protesting students bloody and bruised. Some escaped after filming. Then all of a sudden, without warn- banners to unfurl. foreign journalists intervened. ing, groups of them, out of nowhere, “We have rules, don’t make us use Several of the journalists, from Australia, brought out Fretilin banners and starting them,” he told about 40 foreign journalists in the United States, Canada, Sweden and yelling Fretilin slogans. East Timor to cover the series of violent France, were themselves punched and Now, immediately that happened, people protests that broke out last Saturday. slapped. in the crowd, who were obviously Indone- “Foreign journalists should not do any- An apparently pro-Indonesian crowd of sian supporters and who had obviously thing that can create a situation that is not several hundred people gathered outside the been put there by the police began attacking peaceful,” he added. “Otherwise I will be churchyard and hurled rocks and bottles those who’d lifted up the banners - they forced to use the rules.” over a wall into the grounds. were torn to the ground and immediately the In Dili, Andreas said an NHK journalist Truckloads of about 100 helmeted riot few Western media who were there were had given the students at Dili university a police arrived carrying batons and riot caught up in a running series of battles, us- banner to unfurl before filming on November shields. They hurled several tear-gas canis- ing fists and kickings and beatings as the 15. ters over the wall. two sides fought each other. There were “The journalist gave the banner to the The crowd in the cathedral began to dis- people with numchuckas (sp ?) and there students who spread the banner before they perse, but as they left the gates, many were were at least 2 people that the Western began shooting,” Andreas said. “We hope attacked by the crowd outside. journalists tried to shepherd to safety be- you don’t do the same.” Several dozen people escaped by running cause we were very concerned that they A spokesman for NHK Sydney corre- through the church and out a back door. were going to be beaten to death by the spondent Nobuhiro Habuto, who was in The exact number of injuries was not Fretilin supporters. Dili during the alleged incident, denied this, immediately available. There were no appar- Now at the height of all of this, the police saying a banner was thrust into his hands ent deaths. who had surrounded the outside of the which he later threw away. Police Col. Sugianto Andreas said 22 church grounds & there were a large number “It’s nonsense,” said the spokeswoman. people were being held for questioning over of Indonesian supporters also outside - “He is angry that the claims have been made the incident Sunday, which he said was suddenly there was a hail of enormous rocks and he has no idea why they made them.” triggered by the murder of an East Timorese thrown in and we were caught right in the market vendor by a man from another is- EAST TIMOR PROTEST TURNS middle of the rock throwing. There were land, Sulawesi, on Saturday night. rocks hitting people, people falling to the VIOLENT Earlier Friday, police in East Timor ac- ground and then at that point the tear gas. (AP) Nov. 18 1994 cused a Japanese television news crew of The police began firing tear gas into the instigating a political protest, an accusation DILI, Indonesia - Pro-independence group. There was chaos - there were hun- the network denied. demonstrators in East Timor bloodily beat dreds of people running everywhere. We Andreas told a news conference the crew men they accused of being government spies were all caught up in the middle of it -a cou- distributed anti-Indonesian posters and Friday at the capital’s Roman Catholic ca- ple of the cameraman received minor injuries banners to university students and asked thedral. and were pushed and kicked and some were them to demonstrate outside the campus of The demonstrators were then attacked by hit by the flying rocks - I was nearly struck East Timor University on Tuesday. an apparently pro-Indonesian crowd as they by some of them - I ran as fast as I could NHK spokesman Koichiro Shoda, speak- tried to leave the church grounds after riot out of the way and that stage the police then ing in Tokyo, said the accusation had “noth- police intervened, firing tear gas. shepherded all of the Western media out - or ing to do with reality.” The NHK corre- Indonesia’s annexation of East Timor in rather yelled and screamed and forced us out spondent on the scene said nothing of the 1976 has divided the territory into groups of the cathedral grounds, sort happened, Shoda said. that support and bitterly oppose Indonesian The situation now is that all of the West- rule. ern media have been basically pushed and chased back from the streets around the East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. Page 67

Cathedral. I can tell you that the protestors hotel. He has blood streaming down his back steps of the Cathedral and broke into fren- a few minutes ago were still inside the Ca- and one side of his face is so swollen it’s zied chanting calling for independence and thedral grounds. unrecognizable. the release of the imprisoned East Timorese There were riot police everywhere - with They thrashed the living daylights out of resistance leader, Xanana Gusmão. Sud- batons, shields and heavy helmets and they him - he owes his life to the German crew denly, rocks and stones were hurled at them, began to surround the outside of the Cathe- who seized him and dragged him away from by men in plain clothes, apparently police dral. The last sight we got looked like a the police as they were beating him. They agents, who had waited on the street nearby. standoff with rioting continuing inside the dragged him back here. As the demonstrators scattered, riot police Cathedral grounds - the police outside the Now if the Indonesians mete out that moved in, firing tear gas grenades, backed up grounds . kind of violence to people who were not by troops. For about two hours there was a But I must stress two things - firstly that involved in the demonstration, one can only tense stand)off. The demonstrators grouped since we have left the area a few minutes ago too readily imagine what they do to people on the Cathedral steps, the police and we have no idea what the police intend to who were. troops outside. But then, after the mediation do, whether they intend to move in and take HJ: You said that plainclothes police actually of the Roman Catholic Bishop of Dili, and some stronger action. We are desperately provoked the violence by throwing rocks assurances from the local police and army trying to find out and let me stress that ? chiefs that there would be no retribution, these are events that happened less than 30 they were allowed to leave. But that’s no minutes ago. This is the worse violence on PS: That is what I said and that is what guarantee that they won’t be punished later. the streets of Dili since the Santa Cruz mas- happened - they were obviously ready be- After a similar demonstration in April a sacre. cause the numbers of rocks that suddenly number of protesters were given 20 month came flying over and one landed very close jail terms BBC ON DILI DEMONSTRATION to me - these were quite big rocks, if they The potential for violence was shown BBC World Service ‘News hour,’ Nov. 18. hit people they did quite a lot of damage - graphically by what happened to a Phillip Short in Dili; Hugh Pricer-Jones in but the numbers of rocks that came can only Timorese bystander who helped a German London. have come in those numbers if a supply of camera crew back to their hotel. those was ready and that people being ready PS: The demonstration started on the Fearing that the police might have seen to throw them. him with them and that he’d later be accused steps of the Cathedral - it was really be- I say plain clothes police - of course I cause there was supposed to be a special of having been a demonstrator himself, he can’t prove that - but these were people in asked the Germans to go with him to a po- mass commemorating Christian martyrs plain clothes who had been waiting around which was cancelled at the last moment. lice post so he could explain what had hap- with the police and its rather hard to believe pened. When they arrived, special unit offi- Several hundred young people gathered and that they were anything else but plain at a pre-arranged signal they unfurled ban- cers set on him and beat him so severely clothes police, who let of this volley of that half his face became an unrecognizable ners - there was frenzied chanting, calling for rocks, without provocation, without the independence for East Timor & for the re- mass of bruises. He escaped only because demonstrators having done anything and the Germans forcibly dragged him away lease of Xanana Gusmão & an end to what that’s what turned the whole thing violent. they called Indonesia’s illegal annexation of with them to safety. East Timor. ADDENDUM: For some hours afterwards, no local doc- The demonstration was peaceful until, A later report adds that police sur- tor would come to treat him because they suddenly, from the road that runs around rounded the Cathedral for 2 hours. After were too frightened of being involved. the Cathedral grounds, there was a volley of negotiations by Bishop Belo with the police rocks thrown by plain clothes police. This and army they were allowed to go home ORDER RETURNS TO was the provocation which turned the whole with promises of no retribution. Most left INDONESIA thing violent. and went home. Squads of riot police in full riot gear came The rock throwing started when students AP Nov. 19, 1994 up - they had obviously been waiting just found a person that they thought was an Dili, Indonesia – Order returned to the close by. Tear gas grenades were fired & informer and started to march him out of the capital of East Timor Saturday after a dem- then the army moved in reinforcements. Cathedral grounds. Phillip Short adds that onstration exploded into a battle among pro- HJ: I gather that a young Timorese acting after he was chased away from the Cathe- and anti-Indonesian groups and riot police. as interpreter for a German film crew & dral, he and another journalist made their East Timor police chief Col. Sugianto therefore not a demonstrator was at- back to their hotel through back lanes - peo- Andreas said between 60 and 100 anti- tacked by policemen ? ple hid them in their houses when they government protesters were cornered by thought the troops were coming and they police Friday on the grounds of the Roman PS: The police handled this extremely badly. thought they might take away our pictures, A young man came up to the German crew Catholic Cathedral, which are surrounded by and helped them find their way back to the SECOND ADDENDUM: high walls. They were allowed to leave after media- hotel. When they got there he was worried Philip Short reporting from Dili that the police might have seen him and tion by Bishop Carlos Belo, a traditional thought that he was somehow involved with There has been another violent confronta- Timorese chief and Red Cross officials. the demonstration - so he said to them, tion between Indonesian security forces and Andreas said no arrests were made after ‘Please will you come with me and I’ll ex- several hundred pro-independence demon- the protesters promised to end a week-long plain that I was simply helping you.” So strators in Dili, the main town of East series of demonstrations. with some reluctance they agreed and went Timor. It was the second such protest in Pro-government supporters, many of with him. As soon as he started explaining less than a week. whom appeared to be settlers from other plain clothes special branch people came The confrontation began when several parts of Indonesia, gathered outside the and beat him. He’s just come back to the hundred youths unfurled banners on the Page 68 East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. cathedral and threw rocks and bottles at the tary journalists have added to tensions in rights groups that have long condemned demonstrators. Dili. Two photographers for the associated what they say is repression in East Timor, a At least two local men were badly beaten press were ordered out Monday, along with former Portuguese colony that was invaded by anti-Indonesian demonstrators, who reporter-photographers for Reuter and by Indonesia in 1975 and annexed the fol- accused them of being government infor- WTN. The government says they were not lowing year. mants. on a previously approved list. The Bishop, who heads the most power- Exact numbers of injuries were not avail- Journalists have not been banned form ful institution outside of the Government in able. Dili, however reporters say they are now this predominantly Roman Catholic area, required to obtain written permits with spoke as the capital city quietly began its TIMOR ‘NORMAL,’ stays reported to be limited to two days. work week after a week of sporadic protests ‘NOT PERFECT’ and rioting. UNIVERSITY FAILS TO OPEN The events last week called the world’s Voice of America, 11/21/94. By Dan Robin- attention to East Timor while President son, Dili Voice of America, 11/21/94. By Dan Robin- Clinton and other leaders were gathered in son, Dili, East Timor Jakarta, Indonesia’s capital, for a Pacific Intro: Authorities in East Timor have de- region economic conference. fended their handling of recent unrest and Intro: The university of the East Timor capital, Dili, failed to open Monday, more The protesters are calling for independ- repeated allegations foreign media reports ence for East Timor. have exaggerated the extent of problems than one week after it was closed in the wake of unrest. Meanwhile, as VOA’s Dan Bishop Belo, 46, who is popular and well there. VOA’s Dan Robinson reports the respected here, has been walking a tightrope comments by the military commander in Robinson reports, military authorities have defended their handling of disturbances that for the last week, people who know him Dili came as authorities continued a clamp say. A native of East Timor and a fervent down on foreign journalists going to East were triggered by local ethnic problems but also mixed with demonstrations against opponent of its annexation, he has been Timor. under pressure from the government of In- In an interview with VOA and two other Indonesian rule. University officials say classes did not donesia and has been trying to restore calm. foreign journalists, East Timor military In his sermon on Sunday, and in a pas- commander Colonel Kiki Syahnakri de- resume as previously announced after con- sultations with Indonesian authorities. The toral letter last week, he appealed for re- scribes the situation in Dili as 95 percent straint. But on Monday morning, he vented back to normal. He says riots last week university was closed amid riots caused by ethnic tensions as well as demonstrations at his frustration at the government and said it were the result of ethnic tensions. However, was an act of courage for East Timorese he says political forces opposing East the campus and elsewhere against Indone- sian rule. Those demonstrations coincided in people to speak up. Timor’s integration with Indonesia took Some people here, and some human advantage of the disturbances to stir up part with the summit of Asia Pacific leaders, hosted by Indonesia. rights groups abroad, say Indonesia has further trouble. become more restrained in the last year. Various reports last week by human- In an interview Monday the East Timor military commander, Colonel Kiki Syahna- People no longer suddenly disappear. Po- rights groups and Dili residents said as lice confronting protesters use shields and many as 120 people were rounded up in kri, reiterated allegations that foreign journalists reporting on recent events made tear gas but not guns. And the International house-to-house searches after the rioting. Committee of the Red Cross has access to Colonel Syahnakri denies such searches took problems worse. Foreign journalists now in Dili are under constant surveillance. Four prisoners. place. He says 22 people charged with But when asked about these develop- criminal acts, such as burning houses or had to leave Monday because authorities said they lacked proper permits. ments, and whether the Government has looting, remain in custody and describe this changed, Belo replied: “They are the same – as a police matter. ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP the same attitude.” The military official also denies reports Col. Kiki Syahnakri, the military com- of human-rights violations in East Timor – CRITICIZES REPRESSION mander in East Timor, said in an interview saying overseas Timorese activists groups IN EAST TIMOR on Monday that the people arrested last are spreading what he calls false informa- week were not political protesters but rather tion. However, echoing recent statements by By Andrew Pollack, The New York Times, “criminals” who had engaged in a separate government officials in Jakarta, he acknowl- 11/22/94 ethnic clash on Nov. 13 and had vandalized edges that, in his words, human rights in the shops of non-Timorese. East Timor are not 100 percent perfect. He Dili, Indonesia, Nov. 21 – About 135 East Timorese protesters against Indonesian The commander said that in general, what says more remains to be done. has been reported about human rights As the colonel was speaking, students at rule were arrested last week, and many of them were taken from their homes and abuses in East Timor is a “big lie,” and that the nearby university of East Timor waited he had re-emphasized to soldiers last week for classes to resume. Authorities shut the beaten by security forces, the religious leader of East Timor said on today. that they should show restraint. campus last week, after demonstrations Bishop Belo conceded that ethnic ten- opposing Indonesian rule. Classes did not “The military soldiers entered the houses and arrested young people without any kind sions and unemployment have contributed resume Monday. University officials gave to the unrest, and he condemned Timorese no immediate explanation and a visit by of explanation,” Bishop Carlos Felipe Xi- menes Belo said in an interview. All of those who engaged in the vandalism. foreign journalists caused obvious concern But the Bishop said that the fundamental among military security officials around the arrested were beaten, and two or three were hospitalized, he said. Twenty-two were still problem is the lack of political self- campus. determination. The solution, he said, would Dili remains calm, but authorities con- being held, he said. The police have ac- knowledged 80 or so arrests. be a vote on independence. He said he could tinue a clampdown on foreign-media access not predict the results, saying that there are to East Timor amid complaints by the mili- Bishop Belo’s comments are likely to give new ammunition to overseas human East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. Page 69

Timorese who favor integration with Indo- A guerrilla movement for independence oners to check on their treatment. People nesia. has dissipated to 189 people bearing 103 here say Col. Kiki Syahnakri, the military The Bishop said that Clinton did not go weapons, the Indonesian military com- commander, is accessible and reasonable. far enough in his meeting with President mander here The movement’s leader, José Since October 1993, the number of Suharto of Indonesia about East Timor. Alexandre (Xanana) Gusmão, was captured troops here has been reduced by about “He should be more direct,” the bishop in 1992 and is serving a 20-year prison sen- 1,300, said Colonel Kiki, as he is usually said. “He should say they should withdraw tence. called. There is one combat battalion with from East Timor.” There have been some proposals to give 800 troops, and seven civil battalions, with East Timor greater autonomy, but President about 4,500 soldiers, that are ostensibly TIMORESE WORRY WORLD Suharto of Indonesia has said this will not engaged in public works projects. WILL NOW FORGET THEM happen. The commander said in an interview that Some East Timorese have come to accept reports of human rights abuses were exag- New York Times, Monday, Nov. 28, 1994. being part of Indonesia, which has done gerated. “Human rights here are not per- By Andrew Pollack more to modernize East Timor during its 19 fect,” he said. “But what’s been reported years of control than Portugal did in more now is a big lie.” DILI, East Timor, Nov. 22 - This seems than four centuries. He and other Indonesian officials main- like a sleepy place, a dirt-poor region that “We now have the clash between the tain that the anti-Indonesian protesters are the Asian economic miracle has left behind. Timorese community itself,” said Bishop few. He also said the protests were egged on Goats and pigs wander along the roads. Carlos Felipe Ximenes Belo, perhaps the by journalists eager for a story. Vendors in the open-air markets stack their most influential person in the predomi- “Daily life is 95 percent back to normal,” potatoes and peppers in neat piles on the nantly Roman Catholic province. the commander said. ground and snatch naps in the shade. Chil- With people afraid to speak freely, it is But it is clear that it is not. A row of dren and adults alike greet the relatively rare difficult to tell how widespread the antago- stores remained boarded up near where East Western visitor with “Hello Mister,” which nism toward Indonesia is. A referendum, Timorese had burned and vandalized busi- seems to be as much English as people which might answer the question, is unlikely nesses belonging to non-Timorese. The uni- know. to take place soon. Indonesia considers the versity, closed after the protests, had been “To the normal visitor who spends a case for Timorese independence closed and scheduled to reopen Monday but was then couple of days here, it’s not obvious that has vigorously suppressed dissent. Soldiers shut for three more days. there’s something going on,” a resident said. and policemen are everywhere, and visiting East Timor, with a population of “But if you stay a little longer, you see reporters are watched closely. 800,000, occupies half of an island that is there is this resentment.” “We are afraid,” said a student at the about the size of the Netherlands. It is The resentment is to the repressive rule University of East Timor. “Around here closer to northwestern Australia than it is to of East Timor by Indonesia, which invaded there are many spies.” Jakarta, which is about 1,300 miles to the the former Portuguese colony in 1975 and Human rights groups say thousands of west, and its climate is drier than the lush annexed it the next year. Last week, that people have been killed since Indonesia took tropics of Bali. resentment erupted into protests and rioting over in 1976. Hundreds of people have sud- Portuguese explorers in search of spices that coincided with the-visit to Indonesia of denly disappeared. Torture has become first came to this part of the world in the President Clinton and leaders of other Pa- commonplace. early 1500’s and took over. But in 1975, cific Rim nations for an economic confer- “After interrogation, people were tor- after a military coup in Portugal, the Portu- ence. tured and beaten and brought to trial and guese abruptly pulled out of East Timor. For those who want independence from condemned without a just and formal trial,” Various political parties formed in East Indonesia, the protests here, and a sit-in by Bishop Belo, said in an interview. Timor, and a civil war broke out, with an East Timorese students at the American At the University of East Timor, the re- avowedly Marxist party seeming to gain the Embassy in Jakarta, represented a rare op- sentment toward Indonesia is clearly dis- upper hand. On Dec. 7, 1975, Indonesia portunity to bring their plight to the world’s cernible. “All of the people here have a invaded East Timor, saying it was necessary attention. strong desire for freedom,” a student said. to restore order and to avoid having a Com- “At least they got the message that “If they make a referendum, that would be munist movement on its borders. something happened here,” said Armindo proof.” The next year, Indonesia made East Maia, vice rector of the University of East Last week, the military and the police, Timor its 27th province. The Indonesian Timor. “It’s not as the Indonesians have mindful of the foreign press, acted with Government said the annexation was in been painting. There’s something wrong some restraint, people here said. But they response to a request by the East Timorese here.” said there were abuses nevertheless. themselves, as expressed by an assembly But now that an uneasy calm is settling Bishop Belo said 135 people had been ar- established by the provisional government back in East Timor, there is a concern that rested after three days of protests and riots, that took charge after the invasion. But pro- outsiders will again forget. And as dozens of many of them dragged from their homes and independence people say this expression of foreign reporters who have visited here in beaten. But all but 22 were quickly released. public sentiment was a sham. the last two weeks leave, people are worried Still, those concerned with human rights Australia and some Southeast Asian na- that protesters will see retribution from the say the abuses have become fewer since a tions now recognize East Timor as part of police and the military. massacre in November 1991, when Indone- Indonesia. But the United Nations still rec- Achieving independence, in the short sian troops opened fire on protesters, killing ognizes Portugal as having jurisdiction. The term at least, seems a long shot. While there at least 50 and possibly more than 200 peo- United States does not contest the integra- is international pressure on Indonesia to ple. tion of East Timor into Indonesia, but main- improve its human rights record in East Cases of people suddenly disappearing tains that there was no act of self- Timor, there is less pressure to make the have become rare. The International Com- determination before the annexation. region independent. mittee of the Red Cross has access to pris- Page 70 East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994.

Indonesia, which has 190 million people dary to freedom. “Is it a social problem, a “We hope so that the international and stretches more than 3,000 miles from religious problem?” said Mr. Maia, the uni- community can help us – especially end to end, is made up of diverse ethnic versity vice rector. “No, it’s a political for people of East Timor to get free- groups. Granting independence to East problem.” dom, to get liberty.” Timor, some Indonesian officials say, would –- Earlier the same day, Indonesia’s military set off other independence movements that commander in Dili – Colonel Kiki Syahnakri could destabilize the entire country. Photo captions: – tells journalists groups opposing integra- Indonesian officials maintain that the un- [Map:] In Dili, protesters seeking East tion are actually quite small. He denies alle- rest here is caused by unemployment, by Timor’s independence from Indonesia fear gations of human-rights abuses. ethnic clashes between Timorese and non- official retribution. He says there are now only 189 actual Timorese, or by religious tension between A Roman Catholic priest gave Commun- East Timorese guerrilla fighters, limited to a East Timor, which is mostly Roman Catho- ion to East Timorese during Sunday Mass in few areas in the hills. Indeed, authorities lic, and the rest of Indonesia, which is pre- Dili on Nov. 20. East Timor, which is showed journalists an old guerrilla captured dominantly Muslim. Such other tensions do mostly Catholic was invaded by Indonesia, in a recent clash who is receiving medical exist and can become the spark of violence. which is predominantly Muslim, in 1975. care in a Dili hospital. But the anger almost always spills over into Timorese political refugees chanted slo- Whatever the official estimates of pro- political protest. gans after arriving in Lisbon on Friday. independence sentiment and strength, au- The riots last week were set off by the They had been holed up in the American thorities clearly have a problem. Despite killing of an East Timorese man by a trader Embassy in Jakarta protesting Indonesia’s development efforts, the authorities appear from another island after a quarrel in the annexation of East Timor before they were to have failed to win the hearts and minds of marketplace. granted permission to leave the country. East Timorese. East Timor is the smallest and poorest of Pull quote: “Calm returns to East Timor, This is underscored during our visit to the 27 provinces in Indonesia. Per capita but resentment and fear remain.” the university. Closed for nearly two weeks income is only $120 a year, compared with after recent unrest, it continues to be a more than $600 for Indonesia as a whole, Comment from Charlie Scheiner, ETAN/US: flashpoint for demonstrations. said Florentino Sarmento, former director of This is perhaps the longest news article the During our visit, tension fills the air. The the East Timor Association for Develop- New York Times has run on East Timor military accuses journalists of stirring up ment and Progress. since 1975. Yet the history between 1975 and trouble in Dili. Students and officials are Indonesia says the poor economy is not 1994 skipped over, with no mention of the afraid to talk for fear of being seen by sol- for lack of trying. The central Government 200,000 killed or the close partnership be- diers outside the campus or by informers has poured by far more investment per cap- tween the U.S. and Indonesia. within. ita into East Timor than into any other Since when is an Indonesian military com- Helder da Costa – director of planning province. All agree that Indonesia has done mander an “accessible and reasonable,” let and development – says the university was far more economically than the Portuguese, alone accurate, source of information? closed to prevent what he calls troublemak- for whom East Timor was a neglected trad- ers, from mixing with the students who ing post of interest mainly for its rich. cof- How many East Timorese has he arrested in nonetheless see foreign media as a way to fee plantations. the six days between when this article was voice aspirations for greater freedom: According to the Indonesian Govern- written and when it was printed? “The accusations are basically ment, when the Portuguese left in 1974, Letters to the Editor, anyone? coming from the military authorities there were only 12.5 miles of paved roads in here. But, as a Timorese I perceive East Timor, all in the capital, Dili. There VOA FROM EAST TIMOR: this is the right moment for the young were only 47 elementary schools and only VOICES OF DISCONTENT people to express themselves because one high school, and 80 percent of the they have lived under such extreme population was illiterate. Voice of America, 11/23/94. Background circumstances for the last 18 years. The problem is that almost all the huge report by Dan Robinson, Dili, East Timor The young people here know already, investment, amounting to $48.5 million in Intro: In a series of reports, VOA corre- they have anticipated, it (East Timor) 1993 alone, has gone into the public sector. spondent Dan Robinson has been painting a has been in the news, if the foreign There is still no industry here. More than 80 picture of the social and political situation in journalists come to East Timor, so it is percent of the people are farmers. The next East Timor, which has been under Indone- the right moment for them. Also, the biggest contributor to local economic output sian control since 1976. The issue of East students or young people perceive is the military, followed by construction. Timor was raised by President Clinton in these journalists might express the as- What economic activity there is, his talks with Indonesian President Suharto pirations of the Timorese people that Timorese complain, seems to be dominated in Jakarta. In his latest report, correspon- something has gone wrong in East by people who have come from other parts dent Robinson says – although the East Timor for the last 18 years.” of Indonesia. By some estimates, more than Timorese recognize improvements under Mr. Da Costa and other local observers 100,000 of the 800,000 people in East Indonesian rule – they yearn for more con- say Indonesian authorities have learned from Timor are outsiders from other parts of trol over their own future: past mistakes – notably the 1991 shooting Indonesia. Even jobs with the government, At the university of East Timor in Dili, a of mourners at a funeral at nearby Santa one of the biggest employers on the island, student active in the pro-independence Cruz cemetery. do not go to Timorese. movement speaks cautiously to two journal- Today, police and military carry no “When there are 15 places in one gov- ists. He talks about aspirations for freedom weapons and use shields and tear gas to ernment office, they receive 3 to 4 and what he calls spreading violations of respond to rock-throwing demonstrators. Timorese,” Bishop Belo said. human rights by Indonesia’s military: East Timor military commander Colonel But those who argue for East Timorese Kiki Syahnakri says he frequently reminds independence say such concerns are secon- his soldiers not to use unnecessary force. East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. Page 71

When there is trouble, including arrests, nesian authorities say they have tightened we are committed to talk to you no matter Mr. Da Costa says authorities work with the discipline of military forces stationed in what. officials of the university, the church and East Timor. Bishop Carlos Belo plays a key role in the local international red cross representa- But – facing continued opposition from efforts to prevent social, economic and po- tive: political forces opposing East Timor’s inte- litical tensions from turning to violence in “If there are any arrests or clashes gration – a seemingly-extensive intelligence Dili. But he too speaks out strongly against between the young people and the network appears to be in place to monitor informer tactics: military officers, the military are co- dissident forces, as well as foreign journal- “Sometimes, we must talk in order operative and give the international red ists. to be heard, to be make these things cross or university management or to Bishop Carlos Belo – outspoken critic of known abroad. If there is total silence, civilian leaders, the priests, they can Indonesian rule – does not hesitate to con- we – all of us –, will go to die in this go to the military barracks or military demn the security tactics which he says are climate of oppression.” headquarters to check those who are the worst aspect of Indonesia’s current During a Sunday mass in which a foreign arrested, beaten up, or captured so policy in East Timor: television crew and VOA were present, I am they can have a look.” “This is now the main problem in told there were likely quite a few informers But, despite the effort at image im- East Timor, no? Everywhere, there are there as the bishop delivered his homily provement by Indonesian authorities, it is informers – in the church, in the urging peace. clear that a great many Timorese still yearn school, in the government offices, in Despite the warning, one Timorese for an arrangement that would give them – if the streets, in the markets. So, it is the comes up to me and says – in a strong voice not outright independence – a greater say in likes of the Gestapo.” heard by all: you are welcome, please talk to their own affairs. Helder da Costa is head of planning, de- the Timorese and we tell you our true feel- velopment and ext ernal relations at the uni- ings. LAND OF THE MAUHU versity of East Timor. An outspoken critic of Indonesian rule, he must also deal with YEARNING FOR FREEDOM Voice of America, 11/23/94. Background military authorities. report by Dan Robinson, Dili, East Timor Mr. Da Costa says there is a greater need Voice of America, 11/23/94 background intro: residents of the East Timor capital, for freedom of speech and expression in report by Dan Robinson, Dili, East Timor Dili, say Indonesian authorities have been East Timor, and – despite a few improve- Intro: Recently thrust back into the head- trying to improve their image in recent years ments – the security apparatus hangs heavy lines because of ethnic problems and dem- – especially after the 1991 killings of over people’s heads: onstrations against Indonesian rule, East Timorese by Indonesian troops. In Novem- “Whatever the political status here, Timor remains a troubled place. Indonesia ber, Indonesian authorities allowed greater for them (Timorese people) they has ruled out a referendum to allow East foreign media access to East Timor, in a really need freedom, so they can freely Timorese to decide their own political fu- move to demonstrate more openness during go everywhere. Because here, as a ture, but is taking part in three-way talks meetings of Asia-Pacific leaders. However – matter of fact as you gentlemen have with the United Nations and Portugal – set as VOA’s Dan Robinson reports – Dili experienced yourselves, whenever you to resume in January. In the first of several remains a place of suspicion and fear in go you are followed by guests – you reports, VOA correspondent Dan Robinson which people are afraid to speak out about know intelligence. So that causes tells us East Timorese people are trying to their problems, frustrations and hopes for many people here great antipathy, keep their cultural and religious identity – the future: they feel less enthusiasm to partici- despite growing social and economic frustra- pate in the development process. If tion and a continuing desire to be free of Portuguese music actuality in and under they do participate, I would say they In a restaurant set amid palm trees off a Indonesian rule: participate passively not actively as it It is 5:30 in the morning in Dili. Already, dirt road in Dili, Portuguese music blares should be.” from a stereo. As a first-time visitor, I have about one thousand Timorese have gathered The security tactics can be both annoying for an outdoor mass at the residence of come here with other journalists to meet and amusing. At the Tourismo hotel on some residents to talk about East Timor. Catholic Bishop Carlos Belo: Dili’s beautiful sea-front, journalists wave Bishop Belo is the most-influential figure But a few minutes later, a police car ar- to informers sitting under palm trees. Taxi rives outside and its occupants – carrying in East Timor today. Speaking in Tetun – drivers are assigned to keep track of journal- the lingua franca of East Timor that sounds portable transceivers – take up seats at a ists. One assumes phone calls – even those nearby table. very much like Portuguese – he urges people using a home country direct line in the lobby not to resort to violence, after three days of Earlier in the day, taking a walk along the – are monitored. Dili waterfront, I notice I am being followed ethnically-based riots. In fact, surveillance begins even before ar- The riots were sparked by a dispute in by at least one person. And, on a visit to the rival in Dili. Security officials monitor the university – then closed because of on-going which a Timorese was killed by an immi- travel of journalists all the way from Den- grant from Sulawesi. East Timorese have tensions – students warn me about they call pasar, in Bali. Upon leaving Dili – whether Mauhu – informers. become increasingly angry over an influx of by choice or by order – the security system On the surface, Dili appears a serene outsiders seen to be taking opportunities makes sure one has actually climbed on the away from local people. place: the kind of unspoiled tropical para- plane. dise that would be attractive to tourists. In Crowds ran through the streets burning Indonesian authorities maintain the intel- and looting – bringing on almost inevitably reality, for Timorese and visitors who are ligence network is actually quite small. alert to this kind of thing, it can be a jolting the latest round of political demonstrations Timorese describe this as absurd and say against Indonesian rule. experience. they are fed up. In the words of one resi- Shocked by international reaction to the dent: we are scared to speak up, but who 1991 killings at Santa Cruz cemetery, Indo- else but journalists will raise these issues. So Page 72 East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994.

In a VOA interview, Bishop Belo says Carlos Belo and Indonesia’s local military tion. The Reuter report quoted witnesses as the church delivers messages of morality, authorities are in a difficult spot. saying Thursday’s demonstration was non-violence and tolerance: sparked by the appearance on the campus “Our role is to preach the gospel INDONESIA TO of what appeared to be plain clothed secu- and about the human, social situation PROSECUTE TIMORESE rity officers. this concrete situation in East Timor The clash is the latest in two weeks of we can only preach about peace, jus- FOR ROLE IN RIOTS demonstrations and clashes in Dili – the tice and reconciliation and avoid starv- worst violence in the territory since troops Seattle Times, Nov. 23 ing and have good relations with eve- killed scores of protesters at a cemetery in rybody. Even sometimes there are po- Dili, East Timor – Indonesia said today it Dili in November, 1991. litical dimensions, but especially the would prosecute 30 East Timorese for their The current protests in East Timor began moral, spiritual voice.” alleged involvement in riots and pro- on the eve of the summit meeting of leaders Nineteen ninety five will be the 20th an- independence protests that swept the trou- of the 18 countries in the Asia Pacific eco- niversary of Portugal’s departure from East bled territory last week. nomic cooperation forum in Jakarta. In that Timor, which Indonesia annexed the follow- Indonesia’s hopes of presenting an open city, more than two thousand kilometers to ing year, after intervening in a civil war. image at this month’s meeting of regional the west of East Timor, 29 East Timorese According to human-rights groups, Indo- leaders in Jakarta were dashed by a sit-in at dissidents who have been camping out in the nesian rule has been a disaster for East the U.S. Embassy and protests in Dili that grounds of the US embassy since November Timor, resulting in the deaths of some 200 were broadcast by the world’s media. 12th, were preparing to leave Thursday for thousand people. The annexation has never President Suharto said all East Timorese Portugal, where they have been offered asy- been accepted by the United Nations, which were welcome to leave for Portugal, the lum. still recognizes Portugal as the administering territory’s former colonial ruler, including 29 The protesters scaled the embassy fence. power. youths staging a protest in the U.S. Em- They demanded the release of the jailed Indonesia believes it saved East Timor bassy compound in Jakarta. leader of the East Timorese independence from disaster. Key spokesmen such as for- “The more who wish to go, we will be movement. Portugal abandoned East Timor eign minister Ali Alatas say Portugal left its grateful,” the official Antara news agency in 1975. Indonesia annexed the territory the former colony in ruins. As Jakarta sees it, quoted Suharto as telling a foundation of following year. integration has raised – albeit more slowly independence veterans today. Several clashes in East Timor earlier this than other parts of this vast archipelago – Dili has been swept by unprecedented ri- year were sparked by religious incidents. the living standards of East Timorese. ots in the past 10 days, some ignited by East Timor is largely Catholic while the rest Indeed, this steamy tropical town, sur- racial tensions and some by political oppo- of Indonesia is mostly Muslim. rounded by hills, shows signs of the devel- sition to Indonesian rule in the territory. opment realized under Indonesian control. HUNDREDS BARRICADED INSIDE Schools and hospitals have been built. Main RENEWED CLASHES EAST TIMOR UNIVERSITY CAMPUS streets are paved, although dirt roads are AT UNTIM Seattle Times, Nov. 24 still common in many areas. There are pub- Dili, Indonesia – security forces barri- lic telephones – although many are out of Voice of America, 11/24/94. By David But- caded hundreds of students and staff mem- order. ler, Bangkok bers inside their university campus today Dili’s former Portuguese identity is also Intro: In East Timor, the former Portu- after a clash between East Timorese pro- still to be seen – an old Portuguese church, guese colony annexed by Indonesia 18 years testers and riot police, witnesses said. statues, cannons pointing toward the sea. ago, there were more clashes Thursday be- Helder da Costa, director of planning, de- Along the waterfront a gentle breeze – the tween students and security forces. As velopment and external relations at the uni- only relief from stifling heat and humidity David butler reports from our southeast versity, said riot police had attacked a dele- common this time of year. Asia bureau, hundreds of students were shut gation of 10 students who tried to leave the As the sun begins to set, children shout in by the security forces in their university campus to negotiate with the security offi- as they splash in the calm ocean waters in Dili, the provincial capital. cers. dotted with the rusting hulks of old ferry Thursday’s trouble began when a group “we can’t go out. Even our delegation boats. A man carries a bamboo pole brim- of about one hundred protesters waving cannot,” he said by telephone. “the campus ming with squid and fish tied with palm banners calling for East Timorese independ- is being surrounded by security forces.” leaves. ence, clashed with riot police near the uni- Military spokesmen were not available For the most part, Dili has gotten back to versity. Students stoned a police post and for comment. business, with shops re-opened after the nearby houses. Earlier at least 100 East Timorese stu- riots. But a drive around town reveals a Baton-swinging police responded with dents clashed with security forces on the number of businesses and houses burned or several rounds of tear gas, forcing the pro- campus of the territory’s university. Wit- boarded up. On one street corner, a woman testers back inside the campus. The police nesses said at least one officer was injured. picks through charred ruins. then sealed off the university, trapping It was the latest in two weeks of violent Despite its charm, Dili has gone through about 400 students and administrators in- protests, most of them triggered by rising one of its worst times in recent memory. side. tension between East Timorese and Indone- Amid smoldering resentment of Indonesian Helder da Costa, director of planning, de- sian forces which have ruled the territory rule, social tensions have pushed above the velopment and external relations at the uni- since 1975. surface. versity told the British news agency Reuter With memories of the 1991 killings of by telephone that the police had attacked a East Timorese by Indonesian troops in delegation of 10 students trying to leave the Santa Cruz cemetery still fresh, Bishop campus to negotiate an end to the confronta- East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. Page 73

POLICE CHIEF SAYS MORE the campus. At least one security official Australians for a Free East Timor (AFFET); was injured by flying stones, witnesses said. Rob Wesley-Smith TROUBLE LIKELY Amnesty International said in a state- Reuter, 25 November 1994. Abridged ment made available on Thursday it was ENFORCED “SHOW OF concerned about the fate of nearly 200 stu- Dili – East Timor’s police chief said on dents involved in the Jakarta and Dili pro- SUPPORT” AT GUNPOINT Friday he expected further trouble from tests. TAPOL report, Nov. 27 opponents of Indonesian rule in the former Timorese sources said that of at least 35 Portuguese colony and warned of a tough youths rounded up in Jakarta at the time of According to information received in police response. the embassy protest, most if not all had not Australia late on Saturday, 26 November, “There will be more disturbances by anti- been seen since – despite official claims they the following farce was enacted in Dili on integration elements. Police will take firm had been released. that day. This is clearly intended to make action if they disturb the peace,” Colonel the people of East Timor “pay for” the Andreas Sugianto told reporters in the capi- INDONESIA FAKES PRO- outstanding feat of the 29 East Timorese at tal Dili. the US embassy in Jakarta and the series of Sugianto’s warning followed clashes be- INDONESIA PROTEST IN DILI demonstrations and protests that occurred tween students and riot police at Dili’s East Statement released in Darwin by the new in Dili during the week commencing 12 No- Timor university on Thursday, hours before coalition “Joint Movement for Self- vember 1994 which so powerfully exposed 29 East Timorese protesters ended a 12-day Determination Referendum for East Timor” Jakarta’s claims that resistance to its occu- sit-in at the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta and left 25 Nov. 1994 pation is supported by only a “handful” of for exile in Portugal. people: It also came ahead of the 19th anniver- Important and urgent information re- Population from all districts (expected to sary on Monday of a declaration of inde- ceived tonight from East Timor indicates be 3,000 from each district) were forced to pendence by anti-Indonesia Fretilin guerril- that the Indonesian security apparatus in go to Dili to show support for integration in las. Dili is taking a new fraudulent action against a public protest which started this morning Sugianto made no mention of the Fretilin the population. (8 am Dili time) and ended at about 2 pm anniversary but urged East Timorese to The people will be forced to openly indi- Dili time. report to the police any disturbance that cate their support for integration or not. The military used sticks to beat Timorese took place in Dili or the surrounding areas. Of course such a “poll” would have no protesting against this farce, and the situa- Anetu, a spokesman for Fretilin leader credibility with the rest of the world...would tion has not return to normal as yet (late Konis Santana denied the guerrilla group it?? Saturday night). was behind last week’s demonstrations, and We remember that Australian govern- instead accused the Indonesian government ments apparently have accepted similar EAST TIMOR POLICE of staging them. Indonesian staged and forced “polls” in Dili “A clandestine government group lead by 31/5/76, and West Papua in 1969, where the ARREST FOUR a former government parliamentarian is re- results, at Indonesian gunpoint, allegedly DEMONSTRATORS sponsible for the demonstrations,” he told favoured integration with Indonesia in both Reuters late on Thursday. cases. Reuter, 28 November 1994. Abridged “Fretilin did not carry out the demonstra- The real result is seen by the continued Dili – A handful of East Timorese dem- tions, including the one at the cathedral (in resistance to Indonesian rule by the whole onstrators disrupted a 20,000-strong pro- Dili). We have no intention of disturbing populations to this day. Indonesia gathering on Saturday, minutes Catholics. The church is a sacred place,” he We demand that Governments around the after a senior official warned that firm action said. world condemn such further violations of would be taken against protesters. Indonesia has said it would prosecute 30 the dignity of the people of East Timor. Ten pro-independence demonstrators East Timorese for their alleged involvement In particular, the Australian government caused panic at the gathering outside Gover- in last week’s riots and protests. and foreign minister Evans bear heavy re- nor Abilio Soares’ office by hurling plastic A spokesman at East Timor university sponsibility for the Indonesians taking his bottles into the crowd, sending many fleeing said on Friday classes had resumed and advice. On Monday this week, in response for cover. some 600 students were taking their exami- to the call in Sydney by noted Indonesian “Police who were present at the gathering nations at the campus. human rights activist Dr. George Aditjondro gave chase and arrested four of the demon- “The situation is very much under con- for a free and fair referendum on self- strators. The others managed to run away,” trol now. I had a talk with the students this determination for East Timor, Evans stated one witness said. He said no one was in- morning and urged them to remain calm and that Australia only support a poll if in fact jured. not get emotional,” Armindo Maia, the uni- the result was predetermined that East A military official confirmed the incident versity’s vice-rector for student affairs told Timorese be forced to accept this brutal but gave no details. Reuters. occupation by the Indonesian military. The crowd included, among others, the Maia said police were no longer stationed Indonesian Campaign for a Referendum for territory’s military commander Kiki Syah- outside the campus and that Thursday’s Self-Determination for East Timor; nakri, police chief Andreas Sugianto and clashes were, according to students, sparked Dr. George Aditjondro senior government officials. by the presence of plainclothes police near East Timor National Council of Resistance It was the one of the largest gatherings in the campus. (CNRM); José Gusmão recent years to reiterate support for East Angry students stoned nearby houses Timorese Democratic Union (UDT); Timor’s integration with Indonesia, which and security forces, who replied with sev- Flavia Pires invaded the former Portuguese colony in eral rounds of tear gas, effectively blockad- 1975 and annexed it the following year. ing more than 400 students and staff inside Page 74 East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994.

The East Timor capital Dili has been Despite fear of further unrest on the 19th Mr. Ramos-Horta added that he had al- rocked by a string of pro-independence anniversary of East Timor’s aborted declara- ready held a private three hour meeting with demonstrations over the past two weeks in tion of independence, police said the capital the Indonesian Foreign Minister, Mr. Ali which some 150 people were arrested. Po- was quiet today, with no signs of protests. Alatas, “for the first time in 19 years,” on lice said most had been released. “We arrested the man (on Sunday night) October 6. Governor Soares told the gathering just and he is still under questioning,” said the He welcomed the reported decision by before the demonstrators acted that firm chief of the East Timor police, Colonel An- the United States Congress to stop training action would be taken against government dreas Sugianto. Indonesian Army officers and to stop deliv- officers and students who opposed integra- Colonel Sugianto declined to reveal the eries of F-5 aircraft and light arms to Ja- tion with Indonesia. man’s identity and to which government karta. “Students who carried out activities office he belonged but said the public ser- Jakarta was severely embarrassed by against the integration would be sacked from vant would face charges of “conducting anti-Indonesian demonstrations in East their schools. Government officials who political activities against the republic.” Timor and the occupation of the US Em- opposed the government would also be Colonel Sugianto said there was a strong bassy in Jakarta by young East Timorese sacked,” Soares said. indication that the man masterminded the for two weeks at the recent Asia-Pacific “Parents should not regret if their chil- riots, adding that 30 other men were also Economic Co-operation forum summit. dren are sacked from schools or universities under arrest for their alleged involvement in because I have lately seen activities oppos- the incident. INDONESIA TO RELEASE ing the government,” he told the gathering. Police earlier said that the men would EAST TIMOR DETAINEES Timorese youths have been at the van- face prosecution. The 30 included four dem- guard of fresh protests against Indonesian onstrators who disrupted a 20,000-strong Reuter, 29 November 1994. Dateline: Ja- rule in East Timor, which is not recognised pro Indonesia gathering on Saturday, Colo- karta Abridged, by the United Nations. nel Sugianto said. Students at the East Timor university in Dili has been rocked by a string of pro- Indonesia’s army said on Tuesday it Dili have staged at least three demonstra- independence demonstrations which were would release 30 youths arrested after two tions in the last two weeks. followed by riots in which youths set fire to weeks of unrest in the troubled territory, On Thursday 400 angry students clashed a market and ransacked dozens of shops. despite earlier plans to prosecute the detain- with police, who fired several rounds of tear Colonel Sugianto said police would not ees. gas after they were stoned. The clash, ac- tolerate any more riots, adding that two The statement was made a few hours be- cording to students, was sparked by the battalions of police had arrived in Dili to fore foreign minister Ali Alatas said in Ja- presence of plainclothes police near the prevent any chaos in the capital. “They are karta that Indonesia intended to go ahead campus. ready to take to the streets any time,” he with U.N.-brokered talks to explore a com- said. prehensive solution of the 19-year old con- flict. MAU HUNO ARRESTED Governor Abilio Soares said on Saturday that firm action would be taken against gov- “I remind you that in the latest meeting RDP Radio, Lisbon, 28 November 1994 ernment officers and students who opposed in Geneva, it was said that there was a pos- integration with Indonesia. sibility that we would start to talk about a A former head of the East Timorese re- comprehensive settlement. In what form, let sistance Fretilin has been arrested, Portu- Timorese youth have been at the van- guard of fresh protests against Indonesian us see,” Alatas told reporters after meeting guese radio RDP reported today, quoting an President Suharto. announcement by the organisation. rule in East Timor. Meanwhile, in Geneva, a Timorese op- He did not elaborate. The radio said Mau Huno, who is cur- Indonesia has endured an embarrassing rently secretary of Fretilin’s executive, was position leader said the UN Secretary- General, Dr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali would month of protests by East Timorese in the arrested in Dili on Friday. former Portuguese colonial capital of Dili Fretilin said that in April last year, Mau send a special envoy to East Timor. Mr. José Ramos Horta said Dr. Boutros- and in Jakarta. Police earlier said they would Huno was arrested but not charged and that go ahead with prosecuting 30 youths de- he was subjected to frequent questioning Ghali’s decision was a sign of concern about the situation in East Timor, which was in- tained during the Dili protests. following his release. He has been living in Human rights groups and exiles say more Dili. vaded by Indonesia in 1975 and annexed a year later. than 200 East Timorese may still be in de- The organisation also reported that four tention in Dili, and another 20 or more miss- East Timorese students were being held at Mr. Ramos Horta said the envoy was likely to be Mr. Francis Vendrell, a UN ing after round-ups in several Javanese cit- the headquarters of the secret police in Ja- ies. karta, the radio said official with responsibility for the eastern Asia Pacific region, who is expected to leave During the incidents, some fired by racial antagonism and some by deep-seated re- TIMOR UNREST Lisbon on December 5 for Jakarta and then for Dili. sentment of Indonesian rule, youths set fire ‘MASTERMIND’ ARRESTED The UN Human Rights Commission is to a market and ransacked dozens of shops. Indonesian forces have dominated Timorese also set to examine the human rights situa- The Sydney Morning Herald 29 November tion in Indonesia at a meeting this week in life since their 1975 invasion. 1994. By Reuter, Agence France-Presse Geneva. “We will soon release the men and return Dili, Monday, Indonesian police have ar- Portuguese and Indonesian Foreign minis- them to their respective homes,” East Timor rested an East Timorese public servant ters will attend a meeting on East Timor military commander Colonel Kiki Syahnakri whom they suspect is the mastermind be- under UN auspices on January 10, and Mr. told reporters. It was not clear why the hind unrest that has rocked the trouble terri- Ramos-Horta said he hoped to meet both military decided to release the alleged riot- tory over the past two weeks. men privately then. ers. East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. Page 75

Syahnakri said that the government tion jobs and work as a civil servant, until managed to land himself a job in Dili, and he would continue to detain a civil servant the “fright” of 25 April 1974, which led him was to be our chance... to break away from arrested on Sunday night on suspicion of to emigrate to Australia - a move from that small world and, according to my fa- masterminding the protests. He identified which he was dissuaded at the last minute ther, become a good Portuguese. My father the man as Matias, an employee of the local by his politically active friends. Then fol- had accumulated “the benefits of civiliza- office of the ministry of health. lows a description, full of hitherto unpub- tion” which, although not many, had, none- “We believe he is not the only man in the lished data, of the most controversial chap- theless, allowed him to have several chil- case,” he said. ter in East Timor’s recent history: the hesi- dren, and clothe and educate them all. Police, fearing further unrest, earlier tation over choice of political camp, the civil By nature I was already a rebel, and the shipped in two extra battalions and warned war of August 1975, the acts of vengeance, beatings of my education were just passing they would not tolerate any more riots. the inebriation with power, the obsession pain. My father had a part time job as in- Officials said Dili had been quiet but tense with betrayal that gradually possessed Fre- spector in Mr. Ricardo’s cheese and butter since Saturday. tilin leaders, the temptation to give up, sick- factory. A happy childhood, full of pre- Indonesia’s Alatas, who has as foreign ness, arduous marches eastwards which just sents... godparents and godchildren... and minister faced the brunt of international four guerrillas survived, dissidence (“my the schoolmaster. My father discussed the concern over Jakarta’s human rights record brothers were abandoning me”), the tough Development Plan with his own circle of in East Timor, said he would go ahead with political apprenticeship by the light of friends... In the town, where there were few talks on the issue with his Portuguese coun- beeswax candles. In his description of how “assimilated” Timorese, he spoke of Salazar terpart in Geneva on January 9. José Alexandre Gusmão became Kay Rala as if he had actually met him in Soibada. I It would be the latest round of talks Xanana Gusmão, Commander of the Falintil admired my father, at the time. He bought a sponsored by Boutros Boutros-Ghali, secre- and mythical figure of the Resistance, the horse and off he went to some elections or tary-general of the United Nations which 47-year-old Timorese leader presents him- other in Viqueque. He was not political, he still recognises Lisbon as the administering self as a kind of Fernao Mendes Pinto anti- had become an “assimilated” Timorese, and power in Timor. hero. He writes in Portuguese, the language tried to sever the links between his children Indonesia’s leader Suharto has agreed to of his childhood to which this son of an and a barefoot culture. My father was not meet Abilio de Araujo, sacked as leader of “assimilated” schoolmaster (who “spoke of proud (...) the exile resistance movement. Alatas said Salazar as if he had met him in Soibada”) is My father belongs to a specific link in no date had been set for the meeting and still faithful today, like so many his compa- the chain of East Timor’s colonial presence. ruled out including José Ramos-Horta, who triots, who brandish the language of Camoes At a particular time, the post war period, a now heads the exile movement. and the Catholic faith like battle-axes in their handful of schoolmasters, earning a pittance, “Why should we give him (Horta) a fight against the occupation of their native aided colonial power to recultivate a nation chance to meet our president. It is enough he country by Indonesia. The long text (ex- and, imperceptibly, reinforce the domination meet me at one time,” he said. Alatas met cerpts of which Publico publishes today), of cross and sword, side by side with the Ramos-Horta in New York on October 7 for was sent a few days ago to Portugal, and feudal authority. the first time. constitutes two chapters of the book Many is the time I witnessed prisoners “Timor-Leste: Um Povo, Uma Patria” at the administrative post being whipped as (East Timor: One People, One Fatherland), they groaned on the pebbled ground, out in XANANA ON THE JOB which is to be launched by Editora Colibri the scorching sun with feet shackled. Some- on 17th November at 18.00 hrs. at Lisbon’s times, escaping with the sons of the “li- Timor Centre (Espaco por Timor). urais,” school friends, I also saw orderlies or XANANA’S STORY - Childhood local people setting off in search parties, or returning with the “band” bringing back WRITTEN BY HIMSELF I was born in Manatuto. May mother bloodied offenders who had not shown up said it was either on the night of 20th or in Publico (Special Feature Supplement), 16 for the forced labour on the roads, or the the early hours of 21st June, in the scorch- Nov. 1994. Translated from Portuguese obligatory service as manual labourer in the ing heat that matures the rice in the paddies. homes of the colonialists, Chinese, and the NOTE FROM THE CDPM (Maubere Peo- By then, my sister Felismina, born two “assimilated” Timorese. ple’s Rights Commission), Lisbon: Today, years earlier, was probably enjoying the 17 November, at the Timor Centre in Lis- delights of other children, in the warm after- “You are going to the seminary!” bon, the launch of Xanana Gusmão’s auto- noons of a coastal village: an earthen bowl of One day, when I got home from school, I biography will be taking place. To mark the steaming chicken soup, with locust from the saw my mother weeping inconsolably. My occasion, following is the translated excerpt plains at harvest time, or with “balchao,” or uncle, the telephonist - and possibly my from the book, entitled “East Timor: One with seafood preserves whose aroma of only hope of a future, because he owned a People, One Fatherland,” published by the algae would waft even into a child’s dreams, house in Dili where I could have stayed newspaper “Publico” in a supplement. amid stories of crocodiles and shrieks of while continuing my studies - had died. Some friends asked him for background fright at the sticky touch of dead octopus. After taking my 4th year exams, my worried for a biography. Xanana Gusmão offered Father the schoolmaster father father, who wanted his only son (there were seven of us) to be someone, said there was them the story of his life, up to the time he My father subscribed to (or received) no alternative: “You are going to the semi- became Commander of the Timorese resis- Catholic magazines, “Flama,” “Noticias de nary!” But I did not want to be a priest. I tance movement in 1981. In his prison cell Portugal” and others. He used to read, he had never seen a Timorese priest and the in Cipinang, where he serves a 20-year sen- really used to love reading. And I started to white priests frightened me, and I hated tence, he compiled memories of his child- read with him... little tales. My mother used them for beating us so much at school. But I hood in Manatuto and Ossu, adolescent to tell stories about the Japanese occupa- had to go along with it. (...) years in the seminary and later at Dili sec- tion, about my grandparents, and my uncle, ondary school, the hardships of construc- a brother of hers, a telephonist who had Page 76 East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994.

Just as in primary school, I was not a Because I was native? Only he knew and was a confusion of aspirations put forward diligent secondary school student. The only he knows. by small circles, but they were gradually nightly saying of the rosary, and constant “Whites out” smothered as Fretilin gained ground. UDT novenas and prayers ... used to send me to clung with all its might to the traditional It was usual for people starting a family sleep! I remember that I never got over 13 authorities, which had already lost the pres- to gradually leave behind the chat out in the marks (and rarely got that for behaviour) at tige stubbornly being attributed to them street, and spend more time at home. How- the seminary. I was never allowed to join still. The civil servants were not arguing the ever, a certain Justino Mota, along with a (even if I had wanted to) the Sons of Mary. future of Timor, they were more concerned few others, always had time for talking... I took my revenge when I left the seminary about the possibility of having to live with- and grumbling. Another group of young by stealing one of the big ribbons reserved out money, and most of them joined up people also started to gather outside, and for the heavenly-minded, usually earned one with UDT. To be a civil servant meant hav- they could usually be found in the avenue, or two years before going on to the larger ing social status. For some, it just meant deep in society gossip. The Chinese and seminary in Macau. maintaining the social status the family al- their smiling diplomacy and envelopes, ready had. For many, it meant promotion to The first rebellion bosses and their integrity and professional a secure life, money every month, a promise My mother saved some money, so I was abilities or otherwise, governors and their of a pension and, who knows, the reward of able to return to Dili the following year to policies, taxes and prices, the “terrorism” in some nice holidays, that not everyone gets. try night classes at the secondary school Africa, day to day life in the civil service, The weak and unproductive civil service there and look for work. However, my 3 etc., were all topics they liked to discuss. did not have much choice really! A few years at the seminary were not recognised as The simplistic wish that the whites would frustrated and racist individuals went over being equivalent to 3 years of secondary go away was also spoken about, but with- to Apodeti! school since there were considerable differ- out the slightest thought to anything beyond ences in the studies in both places. I should that. Contemptible freedom have started again in the first year... but The fright of 25 April Violence was triggered... action! I in- there were other needs to consider... In the wardly struggled between getting involved 25th April 1974 came along. Paradoxi- morning I did typing in the health service. In and keeping to the sidelines of it all. I opted cally, I was frightened. Independence? 1964, after a year’s practice and over 6 for the latter. How? That Timorese elite was no elite, but months of work without pay, there were It was not that I did not want to join in, rather a bunch of civil servants who, in their vacancies for 15 office workers. I was confi- but I could see that the situation could eas- everyday conversations, sinned by saying dent. I managed to get 12th place, but they ily run completely out of hand. Lari Sina “for all intents and purposes” and “consid- only took on four! insulted colonialism, while protesting about ering that....” I was surprised at the feverish The first of life’s disappointments!... the delays in getting paid. I tried to point enthusiasm of many of my friends and col- The first feelings of rebellion! Why should out the contradictions of such attitudes. I leagues. I heard about RH (Ramos-Horta - women, mestizos, and sons of important was no longer greeted with closed fists. I today Xanana Gusmão’s spokesman) who people get preferential treatment? was a “UDT infiltrator.” My friends had begun to make speeches in public. He Many of my colleagues, after one year at avoided me... eventually, I identified myself was not an idol, but I admired his courage, the seminary, joined the CSM. Not for me politically, in writing, and once again was and his image of “official” non-conformist though, I did not want to be a soldier. I went greeted, and could greet others, with closed had made him well-known and respected. back to Manatuto. fist! That freedom of choice crippled my abil- At first, friends and colleagues in the Free ticket ity to think straight. I opted for the easiest UDT continued to raise their hands and That difficult youth was not all without solution - to get out. I did not even want to greet me. Then came indifference, and, fi- its brighter side... My passion for sport imagine those people running Timor. I left nally, it became obvious that we were avoid- helped me to acquire a “passport” to all the for Australia, to find work and save up ing each other. This really was not what I social events and parties. The Union was some money, perhaps to return some day. had wanted. UDT parents, Apodeti uncles, known as the “indigenous property” of Thanks for the beer Fretilin children. What contemptible free- stray players, drunks, and “koremetan,” and I sympathised with Fretilin, but I was dom this was! was effectively a free ticket into any wed- overwhelmed by worry about a future in the ding party or birthday dance in any Fretilin, the only way hands of our incapacity. However, I gradu- neighbourhood... and we were smiled upon... I made a conscious decision, on 20 May ally started to give way to my colleagues’ to the strains of Abril Metan’s eloquent 1975, in spite of my elders shedding tears continuous “attacks” upon me. Chico (Fran- violin, that delighted in seeing old couples and crying “ukun rasik an.” If I wanted to cisco) Lopes (then leader of UDT, currently return to the time of their youth, in the fight for my homeland, there was only one adviser to President Suharto) tried to per- midst of a different restless youth that was way to do so: to join Fretilin! I never had a suade me to join UDT. I thanked him for the busy stealing away their daughters at the membership card, and never asked if my lunch and beers we had at Hotel Baucau. dances, and throwing vengeful punches after friends had. I followed the political devel- the parties. Confusion opments of the situation and of the parties. Emilia I went to Moniz da Maia, as an appren- I came to no conclusions; I was troubled. tice electrical mechanic. My work mates In 1970, I got married in a registry office, UDT’s coup were all Fretilin. after insulting the priests. Ever since 1968, (...) Night of 10 August. Without realiz- The political climate was now unpleas- Emilia had been forbidden by her father to ing it, the OPS (Organizacao Popular de ant. Hopes were dramatized by the exodus continue our courtship. In 1969, he made Seguranca, Popular Security Organisation) of the colonists, an army of long-haired her leave her home. Inexplicable... because I had begun to trust me. It must have been soldiers crossed with “revolutionaries,” the was just a soldier? Because I was poor? nearly 19.00 hours. I received a message weakness of the government, dissatisfaction, from the OPS: Alarico (A. Fernandes, who and the general climate of instability. There East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. Page 77 was to become Minister of Information and, had brought my father, Emilia and the chil- politics of quarrels, telling tales on each later, surrender to the Indonesians) was in dren to see me. We hardly had time to em- other, casting the first stone, of fists doing contact with Ponciano about an army upris- brace... the lookout came to warn us: the talking, arrests, arming oneself, respond- ing, and UDT was going to arrest our lead- “Trucks full of UDT soldiers are coming!” ing with violence. ers. They were on their way, and members I told everyone to disperse. Two trucks Palapaco was being pounded by mortar of the CC (Fretilin’s Central Committee) stopped. Maggiolo (Gouveia, Lieutenant- fire. “Our side are now in Sang Tai Hoo and were in danger. Colonel and Chief of Dili Police) stepped Casa Vitoria,” “our side has occupied the We ran. We set up security along the down, brandishing a whip and sending docks;” I picked up and transmitted infor- road side. On the corner opposite the Santa sparks of anger into the air. Mouzinho (Ce- mation to Sahe. (..) Cruz cemetery, hooded figures were already sar) shouted hysterically, while he beat a Vengeance and corruption emerging: Nicolau (N. Lobato, Fretilin’s boy who dared to linger there. There were Alarico and, later, Hermenegildo were real Vice-Chairman), Mari Alkatiri (today Fre- three of us, including Chico Horta. Maggi- executioners. Frenzied thirst for vengeance. tilin’s leader outside Timor), Carapinha, olo, eyes bloodshot, fumed: “Lower that That hurt so much. Hata, and others. Alarico jumped over into flag! Take down that rag!” Motionless, I Just once, I went to visit the prisoners. the cemetery and fired a shot as he fell. We looked at him. João (Carrascalao) came over: Mouzinho was despondent, beaten. He rushed over to the headquarters. A quick “Gusmão, take down the flag!” “Take it asked me to look for his gold chain and give meeting of the CC members present. Mari down yourself, if you want to. This is our it to his mother. Maggiolo (who, with other told me that UDT was planning a coup for headquarters, and we have a right to hoist prisoners, was executed by Fretilin in Aileu that very same night, and that the CC mem- our flag here,” I replied. He took it down, after the invasion) was quiet but sure of bers would have leave the city. and the three of us were ordered into the himself. I felt sorry for him but, at the same Beyond Becora, we heard shots being trucks. time, admired his attitude of still wanting to fired, and megaphones announcing the (...) Maggiolo (who had announced on the assert that he was who he was. Now, he “revolutionary anti-communist coup.” It radio that he had left the Portuguese army was a different Maggiolo to the one I’d seen came as no surprise to me. It was simply and joined UDT in order to “save Timor”) before, the frenzied Maggiolo, intoxicated the logical and natural consequence... of that dragged our Fretilin flag along the road. with political hysteria. There he was, calm, politics. That was all I knew. In Palapaco, “the armed forces of Cap- head hung low, silent, perhaps feeling supe- The weapons the CC had for protection: tain Lino” (another Portuguese army officer rior to his lamenting comrades. a handgun, a hunting rifle, and two bombs who joined UDT) were being acclaimed... Fernando Luz embraced me. Trans- made by the fishermen of Bidau. A tempo- That was UDT... All familiar faces! The formed. “Gusmão, I didn’t kill anyone, I rary base: Mota Ulun. One line of commu- important ones and a retinue of assimilated never gave orders to beat anyone. My hands nications, lookouts with fragile bamboo Timorese... I was lucky to pass by unno- are clean, I did my duty... you understand!” bows and arrows... Nicolau, Carvarino, ticed because, as I entered the building Years later, in Lospalos, they told me that Hata, Mari, Alarico Carapinha, etc. where my comrades were being held as pris- he had even apologized for arresting... peo- The short, bald Staff Officer appeared oners, I wasn’t punched as most of them ple! ruminating threats. I looked at Venancio and had been. Why is it that politics makes people be- the army baker. They were calm. Guido and Friends, from UDT, came to ask if I come obsessed with crime, and gives them Rogerio (R. Lobato, brother of Nicolau, later needed anything. Many waved to me from such an appetite for violence? (...) Minister of Defence, and currently in Portu- outside. A big consolation... from politics An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. gal, where he is a supporter reconciliation which we had not managed to avoid. I my- Dili became this threat. In the interior too, led by Abilio Araujo) were there too. Then self despised my brother-in-law when I saw eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth... and it followed a quick interrogation, and a Portu- him armed. It was hard to admit that we had saddened us, because it threatened danger. A guese officer and Rogerio painted a picture come to this! state of war, painful, uncontrollable! Mem- of the future for me: “The problem is com- (...) As Fretilin’s forces advanced, the bers of the CC with three, four cars, trips to munism!” “But I am not a communist!” UDT leaders became increasingly nervous. the beach with girlfriends. I saw box loads of “Some Fretilin leaders are! And Indonesia Maggiolo’s red eyes were popping out of “555” in Filomeno Paixao’s house. I took a will not allow that, and will invade Timor.” his head as he came in, growling threats, packet and left despondently (...) “We will respond to the war.” “But you beating the air with his whip. “Look at this. (...) Xavier (X. Amaral, Fretilin leader, will be alone. Yes, you will have a few That Arab Mari says he’s going to destroy first chairman of the self-proclaimed De- weapons, but you won’t last for long. You Dili... and build houses with “palapa"“ He mocratic Republic of East Timor, later im- won’t have any spare parts, or ammuni- was ranting, perhaps frustrated, perhaps prisoned for “treason,” currently in Indone- tion!” “Then we’ll use sticks and stones if regretting the biggest blunder he had made in sia, a supporter of integration) was (not) the necessary,” I answered. He laughed, and said his life. Some of us implored: “I am not chairman, he was just symbolic, like a flame “If you meet up with the leadership of Fre- communist, I don’t know anything.” when it has not completely extinguished, tilin, tell them that they had better talk with The festive atmosphere, elation and and stubbornly stays alight but doesn’t UDT.” shouts of victory of the first few days after shine! The sergeants were not satisfied. The (...) The dawn of a restless Sunday. As my arrival, gradually waned and disappeared military was distancing itself. The militias on previous days, the pervading calm tried altogether. Outside, signs of any movement were almost out of control and wanted to to suffocate us with uncertainty. We hoisted were sporadic and fleeting. impose rules. Rogerio Lobato was too the Fretilin flag and the Foho Ramelau (Fre- We were deployed cleaning the latrines. proud, and the PM turned into an elite. tilin anthem alluding to Timor’s highest We had to clean up UDT’s shit with our It must be the same in all coup d’état mountain) was comforting to hear, and mo- hands, with bugs crawling up our arms. situations in third world countries. Excesses, mentarily allayed our fears. I was shouting Many, the same familiar faces. Some friends corruption/privilege-seeking by politicians, helplessly at some soldiers from the de- apologized to me. Some had apprehension, discontent within the army, social disorder, tachment “Give us weapons...,” when I was or shame, or sometimes fear written all over and uncontrolled paramilitary forces. told I had visitors. I ran out. Pedro Melo their faces. What contemptible politics! The Page 78 East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994.

Portugal is not coming back ing the bank’s residences... satisfied with Mao and MRPP There was general mobilization to defend independence! May 1977. Meeting in Laline. Xavier, the fatherland which had finally become “While members of the FCC are driving summoned several times, did not want to be free. Free from whom? No one knew for around in their cars, and off to the beach there. He was quite happy in his kingdom, sure. From Portugal? From capitalism, im- with girls, doing nothing, my soldiers are without any meetings. It was an historic perialism? From colonialism? Or... from dying at the border,” shouted Rogerio Lo- occasion because Marxism was acclaimed. itself? bato during a meeting held just after inde- There were changes: Domingos Ribeiro, What had seemed might vanish, re- pendence! Although there was an element of João Bosco, Nascimento, seemed sincere emerged in force, but it was apprehension truth in what he said, he shouldn’t have about their political changeover. During that that dominated the feelings of the people as generalized in that way. And I remembered meeting, at which Nicolau and Joaquim Nas- a whole, because the real war was beginning, getting a new car, taken from a Chinese indi- cimento gave their coffee plantations over to and it was calling their children to arms. vidual by Leopoldo, which I exchanged two the State, Hermenegildo Alves, an incorrigi- I was in charge of producing the paper days later as I felt uneasy about driving it. ble drunk, said: “Any day now, the State “Timor-Leste” which, understandably, re- Instead, I asked for an old vehicle that had will get my wife’s gold earrings too.” In the vealed the shortcomings and was, necessar- belonged to the colonial government. intervals at meetings, Eduardo dos Anjos, ily, responding to a specific political situa- (...) Some days later, a message arrived. the inveterate Bohemian with whom I spent tion, in which a liberation movement that The first government was being formed. a good part of my youth in Dili, beer- was too young and, perhaps, immature, had There were some new Ministers among us. drinking and partying, was still the attrac- come out the winner. Congratulations were tenuous expressions tion, telling endless anti-revolutionary A victory that had been too easy... and of solidarity. The atmosphere suddenly jokes... which didn’t amuse the DOPI (De- easily won success always has its draw- became heavier. “You, a Minister?,” An- partment of Political and Ideological Orien- backs. (...) tunes asked Sahe, Sera Key and Kruma in tation) in the slightest. (...) Portugal did not want to come back. I surprise. “Just let me touch the backside of Sera Key tried hard to demonstrate he realised then, for the first time, that the a Minister!,” he joked. There was a general was a political theorist. He debated. In fact, decolonisation process was just a way of feeling of disbelief, and that we were not he was the only one who livened up the playing for time. What I also had not under- quite ready to make our fatherland inde- meeting, until all the CPs (political commis- stood before was that we had been hurled pendent. That was a constant worry to me. sars) were told to sit around the same table into the pit of independence. What for UDT Indonesian invasion and organise the meeting. There was no had been a headache, the precious escudo... We were awoken in Lois on 7 December more debate. for purchases, for me became of vital impor- by a strange incessant rumbling noise. It In late 1976, I had managed to get hold of tance to the life of the country... which had must have been about 3.30 or 4.00 in the the Thoughts of Chairman Mao, the only come to a halt, groaning in blood, its back- morning. Heavy military aircraft were pass- personal property I carried around with me. ward tranquillity of Sunday markets in the ing overhead, flying in an easterly direction, I read, and reread, trying to understand his interior, and the many shops of Dili... now following the coastline. simple way of describing such complex closed, looted, broken into... because they That afternoon, we were told to go to the things. I tried emulate Sera Key, but not in were seen as the product of colonialism, Command. “Indonesian paratroops have order to debate. Through Mao’s explana- imperialism, the exploitation of one man by landed in Dili,” Hermenegildo told us. A tions, I tried to gain better understanding, another. Once, Emilia returned from at- general silence ... the begged questions to because it was hard to spend hour after hour tempts to put some order into the Education which there were no answers. The following listening to dissertations on unknown con- Services, and told me: “So many colleagues, day, we were off in the old Land Rover cepts and glean anything from it. Hata asked relatives of CC members, have special cards through Railaco to Balibar, where Combat me: “Where did you read all that?” “Don’t and they go to the shops and just pick up Management was located, with Nicolau in think, Xanana, that we are all well-versed in cloth, and clothing...” command. Whenever the Meriam and naval theory. In Lisbon, I spent most of my time Independence disturbed artillery allowed us to poke our heads out with the MRPP painting slogans on walls...!” I was called one afternoon. We were at over a hill or out from behind a tree, we the home of Xavier Amaral. A few members would look towards Dili. Revolutionary morality of the CC, among them Nicolau, Hata, Mari. Sebastião Sarmento tried to aim at the (...) A resolution was passed allowing in- There was a need to make a unilateral decla- ships anchored in the port. Eduardo dos dividuals, under certain conditions, to marry ration of independence and it would be made Anjos brought out a huge pair of powerful twice. Sera Key asked me to accompany the following afternoon. binoculars. What we witnessed throughout him to Cribas, where his wife’s family lived. (...) If there was any joy, it was hidden in those days was pillage. Bombardment “Are you going to get married?,” he asked our hearts. It was a treasure that was hard to weapons vomited flames over Dili’s hillside, me. In Soibada, Laka and Solan, places full share. On people’s faces, fear, reflecting the while cargo ships emptied the customhouse of young women, they had tried to change seriousness of the situation, and nobody of its contents. They were loaded up with our attitudes towards free love. I had a seri- asked about the future. They all had their vehicles, load upon load, the cranes filled up ous talk about this with Sahe and Wewe, my feet firmly on the... grounds of the palace! those metal Indonesian bellies! very dear friends whom I shall always re- I filmed the act. Roger East (the Austra- An interminable line of people streamed member. And if, in the region where I was lian journalist working for Fretilin, who was upwards. I saw no fear in their exhaustion. I working, I managed to earn the trust of the killed by the Indonesians on the very day of saw resignation in their eyes, and anguish elders and people on all levels, it was due to the invasion, 7 December 1975) asked if he that must have been torturing their souls... the puritanism that Sahe and Wewe taught could launch it in Australia, but, stupidly, I but they smiled, as if that might somehow me to practice. said no. It was mine, a treasure, stolen from relieve their suffering. (...) “No. Before the meeting I received a let- the future of our fatherland, a future in dan- ter from Emilia,” I replied. “I am not getting ger... with “whores” from Colmera occupy- married either,” said Sera Key! A tough and East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. Page 79 prolonged war... was ahead of us, we real- “treason” so as to stop confessions being We arrived to the Iliomar area. Only ised that. extracted by infliction of pain. “Aibubur” (a kind of eucalyptus)!!! When (...) We all moved on to Unidade 1. Solan “But this is a problem that concerns na- we got back we had less than ten “kuan” went because he was “fataluku” and wanted tional security,” he said. Alfonso Savio was (kind of white sweet potato) tubers to show to be in his familiar surroundings again. Sera arrested. All the members of the former PL for our unfruitful search. Commander Zei Key and Txay went to say their good-byes. were called to Unit 2 headquarters in Mate- Moto, who had tried to hunt for something, Three nights in a row of modern dancing, at bian. Then Adao Amaral, José dos Santos, had come back with a “hudi kain” (banana the headquarters. I was somewhat put out Pedro Sanches, Gil Fernandes, Raul dos tree stalk). Removing it from the black water by this because, at my previous headquar- Santos, Victor Gandara were all arrested. in my plate, I said to the Commander “We ters, I had never allowed such a thing. Sera Key, Ma’Huno and Txay were con- are all going to die if we carry on eating this Dances were only allowed on national days, ducting the questioning. On the third day, I mush that even pigs wouldn’t eat.” He and in places where there was a population. could let it go on no longer, and asked them looked at me pouring away the contents of From Sahe I had learned discipline and self- to stop the interrogations for a meeting of my plate, swallowed up the remains of that sacrifice, and to avoid behaviour that might the four CC members. black water tinged with purple, smiling, and end up in a marriage. Activists bent on going “I do not approve of this violence. I find winked his eye. around the villages, choosing modern rather it unacceptable that a member of the CC (...) In Iliomar (after confirmation came than traditional dance were punished. (...) inflict torture in this way... and that Adao through that the Resistance leader Nicolau (...) I did get married in 1978. The deci- Amaral and José dos Santos die under tor- Lobato had been killed in combat, on the last sion to face a long tough war had been taken. ture. Just look at the physical and mental day of 1978) the structural bases for an Would I be capable of keeping up the Puri- state of Pedro Sanches. When he is in pain organised resistance were established, in an tanism which I prided myself on (because it he says yes. Afterwards, he admits that he intimate bond between guerrillas and the had been an important factor in gaining po- said yes because he could not stand the pain people of the towns temporarily occupied. litical trust) in a region... as difficult as my any longer. I will not allow this to happen It was also decided that I would go as far previous area of activities had been? here in my unit. Take them and kill them in as I could to try to contact some member of No, that wasn’t my motive! In the mean- your own unit!” the FCC. The sector was left in the hands of time, Ma’Huno (who succeeded Xanana Sera Key’s decisions had never been Ma’Huno, while Kilik and Bere Malay Laka after the latter’s arrest, and is currently questioned before. He looked at me, dumb- took command of the forces. Another jour- living in East Timor, apparently resigned to founded. The meeting was interrupted. ney to the west of Matebian. Six weeks of Indonesian occupation) was left to take care The long march... kidney pain and daily fighting. I couldn’t sit of his baby, after his wife died. down, couldn’t stay standing up, and I (...) I returned to the west of Matebian, couldn’t bear to lie down. I used to roll Betrayal and punishment climbing the hill. Sad silence, desolation, around on the ground as if possessed. How I Sera Key told me about the atrocities grass spreading its cover over short-cuts and cried! Many is the time I wanted to commit committed in Aikurus. At first, he was hor- paths, struggling to smother the cabbages suicide. I couldn’t stand that terrible pain, rified, but later convinced himself of the and potatoes, the only sign a human hand that horrible discomfort. I used to drink need for “revolutionary violence.” All kinds had ever been there. Every ridge, every huge amounts of tea made from leaves, peel- of torture was practiced; burning coals were stone, every brook and tree had witnessed ings, and roots. laid on top of people’s stomachs, and they such tremendous suffering. The seven of us The sympathy in the eyes of my warri- were left to rot... I could not believe my marched on in silence. All the scenes of past ors offended me. I would avoid the ineffec- ears. Sera Key changed: he accepted it and months rushed back into mind. We could tiveness of their words. I tried all possible was convinced of the need for it. feel the voices of the dead, the same voices and imaginary cures. I put up with hot tins “You know your men. You know the that cause that sensation of respect felt and boiling steam from tubers and leaves situation in your sector. The most appro- when entering a “lulik” house! Matebian heating my anus...The explanation was that priate decision must be made by you alone.” was our Big Home. The fine rain and thick I was suffering from a “woman’s sickness.” And I reminded him of the Aquiles affair, mist made us sweat beneath our uniforms. Vanquished, beaten, I carried that “cure” the violence used in the Baucau region, and (...) I ordered Commander Olo Gari to go around in a “asa liki” (pouch). Not that I how I had arrested a certain Adelino Car- to the centres to see if there was any sign of really believed that steaming remedy would valho, Fernando Sousa and some leaders resistance. I took some officers and a com- enter through the intestines and warm up (liurais) from Uatu Karbau. I reminded him pany back east to take part in a meeting on the kidneys!... I knew that I just needed to of the three individuals from Iliomar, also the reorganisation of the forces. believe in something in order to keep on involved in the Aquiles case, who, after Marching and fighting in the rain. I was going... being arrested in Baguia, were sent to Uatu already unwell, physically weak. By the In May 1980, I went to the mid-eastern Karbau to await their return to Iliomar. time we reached south of Legu Mau we had region with 60 armed men. I gradually got Francisco Hornay and his two companions run out of food. On the third day, two pla- better along the way... A difficult march. cried as they begged not to be handed over toons deserted. The others looked at me, The forces west of Matebian, where there to the PL, as they would be killed. I con- waiting for an order to turn back, clearly not was still a lot of food, were not prepared to tacted the Secretary of the Iliomar zone prepared to put up with hunger and marches withstand hunger and fatigue. (today a Commander) and insisted that the through unknown areas. I asked for five Often, at nightfall, I would leave them three should not be ill-treated before being volunteers, and the six of us carried on down by some riverbank, because they re- turned over to some member of the CC. On marching. I was the only one who knew the fused to carry on to spend the night in a the other side of the Uatu Karbau/Iliomar terrain. All around, the countryside had higher place. Only the “fatalukus,” disci- border, the three men were beaten and killed. changed, so different to when there had been plined men, hand-picked by Dinis Carvalho, I told him I disliked vengeance and that, in people living there with their plots, animals, would follow me without a word of protest. the region I superintended, I would go in houses, villages. I have bawled them out so many times, at person to attend cases of “reaction” and meetings, showing them the way back. Then Page 80 East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. they’re too embarrassed to talk to me. As Then I explained to him that I was prepared EAST TIMOR’S XANANA soon as things are back to normal, the com- to be a militant but not a member of the plaining and lamenting starts again... CC... I wasn’t ready! APPEALS TO CLINTON FOR And towards leadership Now, I still wasn’t ready. But I had a HELP duty to fulfill: to carry on the work of my The old men embraced me and cried! predecessors. I could not conceive of liberat- November 11, 1994 REUTERS “Son, carry on the fight! Don’t ever surren- ing our fatherland without liberating our Jakarta – Jailed East Timorese leader der! You are our only hope!” The guerrillas people. This was the prime objective! Xanana Gusmão has appealed to U.S. Presi- were moved by this, and swore to die for I spent my nights studying by the light dent Bill Clinton for help, asking him in a the homeland. After that, they were an ex- of candles made from the wax of those letter received in Jakarta on Friday to raise ample of abnegation, discipline, sincerity Timorese bees that, once, had been intro- the Timor issue in meetings with Indonesian and solidarity to all the Falintil! They were duced to me as “our forces” by the “luliks” President Suharto. all killed. Right now, there are only three or of Sananain, where we used to gather before Xanana, 18 months into a 20-year sen- four survivors out of that group, which we attacking Manatuto (where we were chased tence for his role in guerrilla resistance to baptized the National Unification Detach- out by tanks and mortar fire). I found those Indonesian rule, wrote in a three-page letter ment. beehives on the same branches as before. to Clinton that while he was grateful for Back in Remexio, Lo’o Susu continued (...) Security was perfect. The total si- Washington’s past attention to East Timor, south towards the border areas with his half. lence was a sign of solidarity from my war- the United States could do more. I stayed with the other half. I needed to riors, who understood that if their “big “I come to you now to appeal for your prepare myself for the Conference on Reor- brother” was tearing at his hair, it was be- support in raising with President Suharto on ganisation of the Fight, planned for between cause he was finding it hard to understand the occasion of the APEC summit the need October and December. some concept or other; if he cried it was for Jakarta to display greater political After gathering more information sup- because he was asking himself “why did it goodwill in addressing the problem,” he plied by Dili, I decided to take up leader- all come to this"; if he asked for stronger wrote on November 1. ship. Ma’Huno was more senior, a founding coffee, it was because he wanted to spend Timorese exiles said the letter was to be member of the ASDT. But I knew him well the whole night studying; if he was up and delivered to the White House before Clin- and thought it would be irresponsible to walking around, it was because he was tired; ton’s departure for Asia on Friday. agree that he should lead the fight because he if he asked for cigarettes, it was because he Clinton is due in Jakarta for a summit of was a veteran. had smoked all his own... Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders I called Holly and Ko’o Susu. I explained “Why must it be me?” I did so much on Sunday after a stopover in Manila. He the issues to them, asked for their views, wish that at least one other member of the will make a state visit after the meeting. and pointed out my reservations. “You can CC was alive on the two borders (...) Xanana, until his capture in late 1992, led count on us to help in whatever way we a ragged band of guerrillas opposing Indone- can.” They gave me their hands, and I In prison, 13 years later sia’s invasion of the territory. Since then he squeezed them tightly as I felt the heavy Ma’Huno arrived with the second col- has been a thorn in Indonesia’s side as a burden of responsibility on my shoulders. umn of officers. His salute took me by sur- symbol of East Timor’s plight and a focus (...) I became the “Commander of the prise. In a few months I had forgotten what of international concern. Fight” to all my warriors. For them, my he was like! At night, or in between my Xanana, 47, said that Indonesia’s eco- decisions, and even just my words, took on attempts to organise my thoughts about our nomic and strategic value had allowed it to a new importance, becoming “the Com- revolutionary process and our war, I would become a non-permanent member of the mander of the Fight’s decisions” and “the go and spend some time with the personnel U.N. Security Council next year despite Commander of the Fight says.” And they who, with one exception (Mau Hodu) were failing to honour U.N. resolutions calling for did their duty, those brave selfless compan- all from the far east. it to withdraw from East Timor. ions, knowing that they had been born to die I was saddened by their completely “It is this same importance which has al- under my command for their fatherland. changed attitude towards me! My brothers lowed Indonesia to assume the role of host I took stock of the revolutionary process. were abandoning me. My companions were of the forthcoming APEC summit and which At the meeting of the political committee in keeping me at a distance! I cried as I talked now stands in the way of a successful solu- Aikurus, Hata took on responsibility for the to them, and asked them please not to spoil tion to the East Timor problem being ideological training of the FCC members, me, not to let power to go to my head, not found,” he wrote from his Jakarta cell. and I so much wanted to be involved... I to plant the seed of ambition in my soul, remembered the nightly talks Sahe and I and not to kindle pride in my spirit, and used to have in Makadike/Uatu Lari, in Au- satisfaction at being leader and Commander gust 1977, when he would help me out with of the Falintil. political theory, and we would prepare for In March 1981, the I National Confer- the time when a revolutionary party would ence on Reorganisation of the Country. be formed. We would be Maoists. At least Today, in Cipinang, 13 years later, I am still they were Maoists, and considered the CPs learning with the same fighting spirit, with of the Soviet Union and Western Europe all the same will to win, and with the same social-imperialists. Sahe also admired the awareness that I am just serving my father- “purity” of the Albanian revolution and the land. internationalist militancy of the Cuban revo- Cipinang, 30 September 1994 lution. He asked me that night: “Would you KAY RALA XANANA GUSMÃO agree join the party?” My ideas still mud- dled, I said no. He looked at me, shocked: “Xanana, I never expected this from you!” East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. Page 81

TEXT OF XANANA LETTER TO persisting in denying their people their most second invasion of Kuwait by Iraq has CLINTON fundamental rights. proved more than adequately to the world We denounce the aberrant philosophical that it will not tolerate flagrant violations of Original Document, Nov. 11, 1994 belief of authoritarian regimes, specifically International Law. Since last year marked 18 Full text of the letter from imprisoned East those holding power in Asia, such as Indo- years of Indonesia’s military occupation of Timorese resistance leader Xanana Gusmão nesia, China, Iran, Iraq, Myanmar, according East Timor, the USA has, under your ad- to President Bill Clinton. It was delivered to to which it is argued the Human Rights, ministration, taken a much firmer stand in the White House by the Portuguese Embassy freedom and democracy are relative in nature its refusal to allow the transfer of F-5 air- in Washington on November 10, in advance and must necessarily accommodate consid- craft from Jordan to Indonesia, prohibiting of President Clinton’s departure for an eco- erations of local culture. Such a philosophy the sale of small, non-lethal weapons, halt- nomic conference in Indonesia and bilateral is nothing more than the expression of a ing the military training of Indonesian offi- meetings with several heads of state, includ- feudal mentality of domination and servi- cers under the IMET scheme, acting upon ing President Suharto. tude on the one hand, and ideological alien- the resolution supported by your govern- The three-page handwritten letter was in ation on the other. ment and passed in favour of East Timor at English. The universality of problems affecting the Geneva Human Rights Commission. our planet centres upon human beings, a In addition, we are immensely apprecia- CNRM - FALINTIL global sense of their existence, of their fears, tive of the pronouncements of Secretary of The Honourable President of the United of their suffering, of their will and of their State, Warren Christopher, and of the Assis- States of America struggles for survival. The universality of tant Secretary for East Asia, Mr. Winston Dear President Clinton, though which makes man an intelligent actor Lord, both of whom have raised the problem capable of seeking solutions for all human- of East Timor with Indonesian Foreign Min- It is my honour to present to you my ity, prevails over the spiritual, emotional ister Ali Alatas and other Indonesian offi- warmest compliments. and psychological postulates characterizing cials. In an era in which the International man in terms of socio-economic materialism. We are profoundly grateful for the atten- Community has renewed its faith in and is Such regimes justify making the distinction tion and concern you displayed in address- making new efforts towards achieving a between those two facts by pointing to the ing the issue of East Timor with President more just and equitable world in which material unpreparedness of their citizens Suharto at the “Group of Seven” summit in peace and justice are the backbone of the which in turn is defined as a specific cultural July 1993 in Japan, and at the APEC sum- freedom of individuals, societies and peo- trait of these countries. mit in Seattle in November of the same year. ples. Civil and political rights are an insepara- We believe, Mr. President, that justice will In an era in which humankind expects ble part of the nature of humankind in its always be the motor for action and that from its world leaders a decisive vision as- continuing struggle to understand the precise freedom and democracy will continue to be piring to a future of progress, based upon meaning of its existence, its relations with the mainstay of US Foreign Policy, as has the parameters of conservation of our planet others and role within society. been amply demonstrated by your govern- and of cooperation and friendship among the Any spurt of economic or social progress ment’s support of the restoration of democ- people of the world; recorded by nations such as Indonesia is the racy in Haiti. We recognise fully the importance of the fruit of the repression of the Indonesian Honourable President, moral authority which the USA commands people themselves, and a consequence of the East Timor continues to be a territory and must continue to command in the inter- priority which is granted to the physical and under the responsibility of the International ests of guaranteeing world peace and in de- material aspects of development, so ap- Community. The good offices of the Secre- fence of the universal standards of freedom plauded by western governments, but for tary General of the United Nations have and justice. Mr. President, under your ad- which the people pay such a high price. been engaged with a view to reaching a solu- ministration, the United States continues to There can be no justice at the socio- tion to the problem. honour the democratic traditions of a great economic level without respect for the civil In the sequence of peace processes which nation, whose successes in international and political rights of the people and Indo- are occurring as a logical consequence of politics speak for themselves. The process nesia is a real and living example of the con- dialogue, the case of East Timor in turn of peace in the Middle East which has ended ceptual arbitrariness of regimes built on the faces a dialogue process and it is our desire irreconcilable antagonisms, permitting the strength of repression. to bring to an end the 19 years of suffering Arabs and the Jews to construct a climate of It is a great shame that western nations of the Maubere People. However, Jakarta, trust and the promise of peace and coopera- or, more precisely the countries of the as ever, is wishing to impose its own law, tion, attests to the great and unsurpassable North, continue to allow the regimes of the its own definition of values, upon the world, efforts your government has made in re- South, advocating cultural differences to just as Iraq did and has attempted again in sponse to the American nation’s historical deny universal Human Rights standards in relation to Kuwait. A clear parallel exists in obligation to assure the people of the world favour of economic development and at the the basic facts between the invasion and that the end of the Cold War is truly the expense of the lives of imprisoned and mur- military occupation of East Timor by Indo- beginnings of acceptance of democracy and dered workers, of the appropriation of farm nesian forces and Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait. of peace on our planet. lands, of the repression of Youth and any However, one colossal difference exists: one Nevertheless, in this era of rapid techno- form of opposition, of the abolition of free- section of the international community sup- logical advances which are rendering the dom of the press. ported Indonesia’s policy, whilst Baghdad world a smaller and less mysterious, human Honourable President, was taught a lesson for violating Interna- life unfortunately continues to be without We are profoundly grateful for the initia- tional Law. value in many parts of the world, where tives taken by your administration to re- Jakarta has been difficult in its handling peace is threatened by interests which vio- mind Indonesia that cases of systematic of the East Timor question. The economic, late universal principles and where ideologi- violations of human rights in East Timor are military and, therefore, political importance cal elites are usurping political power and unacceptable to the USA which in averting a of Indonesia in South-East Asia and the Page 82 East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994.

Pacific region has allowed it to become to- In a letter sent to Clinton Thursday by it never says anything about self- day a member of the UN Security Council, the Portuguese Embassy in Washington, determination.” in spite of its failure to honour the resolu- Xanana appeals for support “in raising with But Xanana compliments Clinton for tions passed in relation to East Timor by (Indonesian) President Suharto...the need for other actions that display a more critical this organ of the UN. It is this same impor- Jakarta to display greater political good- handling of Jakarta. These include its refusal tance which has allowed Indonesia to as- will.” to transfer F5 aircraft from Jordan to Indo- sume the role of host of the forthcoming The letter comes on the eve of Clinton’s nesia, a prohibition against the sale of small APEC summit and which now stands in the arrival in Indonesia to attend the meeting of arms to Jakarta and Washington’s support way of a successful solution to the East the 18 Pacific Rim nations of the Asian- for a 1993 resolution on East Timor at the Timor problem being found. Jakarta has Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) fo- U.N. Human Rights Commission. shown itself to be intransigent in its attitude rum, which is to begin Nov. 15 in the Indo- A U.S. activist, speaking on condition of to the substance of the problem, whilst nesian town of Bogor. anonymity, said Xanana’s praise gave the Minister Ali Alatas continues to focus his Xanana, the commander of the Timorese administration more credit than it deserved efforts upon drawing attention from the resistance army called FALINTIL, asked for several actions which it only performed need for a plebiscite for the people of the Clinton to support the Timorese people’s under pressure from the U.S. Congress. territory. bid for political self-determination in his Pinto argued that what East Timor needs CNRM, which I represent, has proposed bilateral talks with Suharto next week. now is firm public support from Washing- a solution, in the form of a three-phase “We believe that the U.S. is capable of ton for self-determination, and approval by Peace Plan which will permit a climate of contributing decisively to the search for a Clinton of the recent Indonesia-Portugal political stability, both within the territory solution to the East Timor problem, encour- talks backed by the United Nations to re- and in relation to Indonesia, ahead of a refer- aging the Jakarta regime to engage in dialogue solve the crisis. endum to be conducted under international with the Resistance,” Xanana wrote in the But he conceded it is probable that the supervision. letter made public Friday. APEC Summit may instead boost Jakarta’s Allow me to remind you, Mr. President, Calling it a “great shame,” he complained image by giving it an opportunity to show of the existence of another striking parallel that “the countries of the North continue to off what it claims are human rights advances between the Gaza and West Bank Auton- allow the regimes of the South, advocating both in East Timor and within Indonesia omy Plan and CNRM’s own plan which cultural differences, to deny universal hu- itself. aims at achieving a just and internationally man rights standards in favour of economic So far, of the nations attending the sum- acceptable solution to the East Timor prob- development,” at the expense of many lives. mit, only Canada, New Zealand, Japan and lem. If, with the influence and laudable ef- Activists here believe the letter, written the United States have promised to bring up forts of your government, Israel and Pales- in English and sent from Xanana’s cell in Timorese concerns at Bogor. tine have come to an understanding that it is Jakarta’s Cipinang Prison where he has been But Pinto added, “I don’t think Indonesia time to lay down their weapons and to make jailed since 1992, may truly anger the Su- will be successful” at refurbishing its inter- Peace, bringing to an end a case defined as harto government with its detailed plea for national image “because the situation in East intractable and characterized by a wide range assistance to Clinton. Timor has not approved.” of complexities, we believe that the USA is Clinton has already promised Portuguese capable of contributing decisively to the Prime Minister Anibal Cavaco Silva that he XANANA SENDS MESSAGE search for a solution to the East Timor will discuss East Timor privately with Su- FROM PRISON problem, encouraging the Jakarta regime to harto, although he has resisted the idea of engage in dialogue with the Resistance. bringing the subject up in public at the By Max Lane, Green Left, Nov. 20 I come to you now to appeal for your APEC Summit. support in raising with President Suharto, The resistance movement led by Xanana “November 12 reflected the tenacity of on the occasion of the APEC summit, the has continued to fight for East Timor’s in- the struggle for freedom and justice. No- need for Jakarta to display greater political dependence, which the Pacific island state vember 12 was the sound of the trumpet of goodwill in addressing the problem, ac- had nearly attained from Portugal when Timorese youth announcing to the world knowledging the essence of the problem and Indonesia invaded it in 1975. their revolt against the denial of fundamental the legal and political status of the territory One year later, Jakarta annexed East rights of the East Timorese people. Novem- of which the United Nations continued to Timor and executed a brutal crackdown in ber 12 was the sound of the trumpet an- recognise Portugal as the administering which some 200,000 people – about a third nouncing our repudiation of the complicity power. of the nation’s population at independence of the Western countries in the systematic With the highest consideration, – were killed. violation of human rights in the territory. On the behalf of CNRM, Recent indications from Washington sig- November 12 also stressed the willingness Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão, Commander of nal that the United States, which barely of the Maubere people to reach a negotiated Falintil recognised those massacres, remains deeply solution, and appealed to the international community not to forget its responsibilities Cipinang Prison, Jakarta, 1 Nov. 1994 committed to Jakarta. Clinton’s visit to Suharto and a recently aborted attempt to ...” These words opened a message from U.S. TIMORESE LEADER APPEALS provide military training to Indonesian sol- Xanana Gusmão smuggled from Cipinang TO CLINTON FOR HELP diers have drawn criticism from supporters of the Timorese. prison on the occasion of the third anniver- by Farhan Haq Constâncio Pinto, a student activist who sary of the 1991 demonstration and massa- UNITED NATIONS, Nov. 11 (IPS) - organised a protest crushed violently by cre at Santa Cruz cemetery in Dili. Xanana Gusmão, the imprisoned leader of Indonesian troops three years ago, told IPS Xanana’s statement repeated the East East Timor’s resistance movement, is ap- the Clinton administration “is deeply con- Timorese resistance’s appeal to the United pealing to U.S. President Bill Clinton to cerned with the human rights situation, but Nations to “embrace its responsibilities press Indonesia to address the Timor crisis. regarding the juridical and legal status of the East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. Page 83 territory in tune with the Security Council but “Only East Timor remains in its place, Timorese activist José Ramos-Horta who and General Assembly resolutions.” The submerging in its geographic fate,” said Mr. Alatas met once in New York. UN does not recognise Indonesia’s occupa- Xanana, commenting perhaps on East The Indonesian government says it plans tion but recognises Portugal as the adminis- Timor’s oil, “the prime condition which has to hold a conference on East Timor. How- tering power. caused it to sink in the complexities of eco- ever, foreign ministry spokesman Irawan The statement also appealed to Portugal nomic relations, which turned it into an Abidin says no date has been set. “not to ease its historical, juridical, political unpleasant question for Western hypocrisy, and cultural responsibilities demanded by its so well portrayed in the film Death of a own Constitution.” Nation.” JOURNALISTS Xanana called on Indonesia to “recognise HARASSED IN INDONESIA the seriousness of the problem, the need for UN ENVOYS TO SEE XAN ANA dialogue and the need to respect the sub- AND EAST TIMOR stance of the problem.” He appealed to the Voice of America, 11/30/94. By Yenni “international community” to influence Djhidin, Jakarta THE PRESS UNDER SIEGE: Jakarta towards finding a just and lasting Intro: Two special United Nations en- solution. voys were scheduled to meet Wednesday CENSORSHIP IN INDONESIA Referring to recent meetings between In- with jailed East Timorese rebel leader Report from ARTICLE 19, The International donesian representatives and pro-Indonesian Xanana Gusmão. The envoys – Francesc Centre Against Censorship, Lancaster Timorese led by Abilio Araujo, Xanana Vendrell and Tamrat Samuel – held talks in House, 33 Islington High Street, London N1 noted that even Bishop Belo classified Jakarta before leaving on a fact-finding trip 9LH, UK. Tel: 071 278 9292 Fax: 071 713 Araujo as a “businessman.” Xanana went on to the East Timor capital, Dili. From Ja- 1356. November, 1994 to reveal the extent of Indonesian financing karta, Yenni Djahidin filed this report: of Araujo’s recent travels in the US. Mean- Indonesia’s foreign ministry says the two [Excerpt, East Timor section only] while, Xanana noted, Indonesian parliamen- UN officials would meet with the jailed In East Timor, Suara Timor Timur, the tarian Salvador Ximenes had clarified the Timorese rebel leader – serving a 20-year jail only licensed newspaper in the territory, concept of the East Timorese resistance as sentence on charges of inciting rebellion has been subjected to more direct intimida- comprising the church of East Timor, UDT, against Indonesian rule. tion for failing to toe the government or Fretilin and CNRM, without whose partici- The meeting was expected to take place military line. In July a vehicle belonging to pation no solution could be reached. Wednesday, before the UN officials de- the newspaper was set on fire outside its Referring to a meeting in New York be- parted for Dili where they are scheduled to offices in Dili. Reporters working for the tween Indonesian foreign minister Ali Alatas hold talks with East Timorese leaders – newspaper said the incident represented and the East Timor Resistance Diplomatic including Governor Abilio Soares and merely the latest act of intimidation faced Coordination Commission, comprising Catholic Bishop Carlos Belo. by the staff since the daily began publishing CNRM special representative José Ramos Indonesia and Portugal have been partici- in February 1993. [Jakarta Post, 15 July Horta, Fretilin and UDT, Xanana expressed pating in talks, under the auspices of UN 1994.] Suara Timor Timur has printed arti- uncertainty as to whether this initiative was Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali cles on a number of sensitive subjects, in- just “occasional rhetoric aimed at easing the focusing on the future of East Timor. cluding demonstrations by pro- criticisms against the violation of human The next round is scheduled to take place independence East Timorese. One of its rights in Indonesia, and, moreover, in East January ninth in Geneva, when Indonesian journalists, Carolus Irawan Saptono, has Timor, or whether it signals serious political Foreign Minister Ali Alatas meets his Por- recently been forced to leave his position good will” on the part of Indonesia. tuguese counterpart, José Manuel Durão and work for another part of the newspaper Xanana went on to say the East Barroso. group on Java because he was deemed by Timorese would welcome any such “coura- After his meeting with the UN envoys on the military to be too sympathetic to pro- geous gesture” by Suharto. “We firmly be- Tuesday, Mr. Alatas said he hopes the talks independence groups in the territory. Other lieve that it will take more years of suffering will move the parties a step closer toward a journalists working for Suara Timor Timur from our people before such an apparent comprehensive settlement to the East Timor have received anonymous letters warning show of good will becomes a reality.” problem. them about their reporting of certain issues. Xanana also called for the unconditional So far, the Indonesian government has Foreign publications, which must all re- release of all East Timorese political prison- ruled out a referendum in East Timor on ceive approval from the Information Minis- ers. He lamented that “For all that is taking Indonesian rule, and says independence for try prior to distribution, are also not im- place now, to the extent that even President the former colony is out of the question. mune to sanctions. Journals which contain Suharto declares his readiness to talk to Mr. Alatas Tuesday recalled Indonesian articles regarded by the Indonesian govern- ‘anti-integration’ personalities,” East President Suharto has agreed to meet former ment as politically sensitive may face tem- Timorese are being “imprisoned, tortured Indonesian rebel leader Abilio Araujo – con- porary bans on domestic circulation or de- and sentenced to imprisonment, and more sidered by Jakarta to represent conciliatory lays in distribution. In addition, foreign than 100 are buried in common pits ...” East Timorese abroad. journalists have been restricted in their ac- Xanana ended his statement with words A former president of the Revolutionary cess to counter-insurgency areas, in particu- of appreciation for the legal action against an Front For An Independent East Timor: Mr. lar East Timor. Journalists who do visit East Indonesian general taken in a US court by Araujo headed a Timorese exile group in Timor are kept under close surveillance the mother of Kamal, the New Zealander talks in London last October with a group of throughout their stay, thereby clearly inhib- killed at the Santa Cruz massacre. Timorese supporting Indonesian rule. iting their activities. Some journalists have He listed the succession of military Mr. Alatas Tuesday ruled out talks with been denied entry into Indonesia after pub- commanders in East Timor, saying that anyone who – in his words – still dreams for lishing articles critical of government policy, some were less assassins than others, “but an independent East Timor, including all are assassins.” The commanders change, Page 84 East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. while others have had visa renewals denied which was formed recently in the aftermath others. Amy Goodman is News Director of or, infrequently, have been expelled. of a Government crackdown on investigative WBAI Pacifica Radio in New York. Earlier journalism. this year, they won the prestigious DuPont- I.F.J. CONDEMNS “The independent journalists of Indone- Columbia award for their coverage of the ABUSE OF MEDIA RIGHTS sia are not isolated and will not be left at the 1991 massacre. mercy of the Government and their friends UPDATE ON THE DETENTION OF Original document, 12 November 1994 in the media,” said Aidan White. “We shall mount an international campaign to ensure ALLAN NAIRN & AMY GOODMAN The International Federation of Journal- that all media and journalists of the world Nov. 12, 9 pm. Report from John Miller ists, the world’s largest organisation of jour- fully appreciate the limits of freedom being nalists, with more than 350,000 members in A call was received from Allan Nairn at imposed by the Indonesian state.” 11 PM EST Saturday November 12. He and 89 countries, today accused the Indonesian Letters of protest from IFJ member un- Government of “scandalous disregard” for Amy Goodman are now being held at the ions in many parts of the world are being Kupang Military Base Komando (sp?) #161 democracy following actions against journal- delivered to the Indonesian embassies to ists, trade unionists and defenders of human in Kupang. They have been told they are coincide with the opening of the APEC under arrest and their passports have been rights. summit In a statement issued today to coincide taken from them by a Lt. Col. Sakur of mili- with the opening of the Asian and Pacific tary intelligence. They have also been told (APEC) summit of heads of states which U.S. JOURNALISTS that a senior military intelligence official is meets in Jakarta on November 15, the IFJ DETAINED WHILE TRYING on his way from Jakarta to question them. accused the Indonesian Government of TO ENTER EAST TIMOR Lt. Col. Sakur said his orders came from a launching a “public relations smokescreen” Mario, as senior intelligence official in Ja- to draw attention away from the country’s From John Miller, ETAN/US, Nov. 12. karta. continuous disregard for human rights. Nairn said that when they were originally On November 12, Journalists Allan Nairn brought to the military base they tried to The IFJ has written to President Suharto and Amy Goodman were arrested as they asking him to guarantee the rights of the leave and were physically restrained. A attempted to cross into East Timor at phone was also ripped from their hands IFJ’s member organisation, the Indonesian Atambua. The pair were told that they were (sic) Journalists Association, to allow inde- when they tried to make calls. They eventu- being detained on orders from Dili and were ally allowed to make a call to the U.S. Em- pendent media to circulate freely, and to lift sent back to the military base in Kupang. all restrictions on the freedom of association bassy and have made some other calls as The Indonesian military’s refusal to al- well. for journalists and other groups of workers. low them to enter East Timor comes exactly The IFJ has also asked the President to Nairn also said that one officer – when 3 years after they were forced to flee Dili they said that they were told East Timor release the chairman and founder of Indone- after being severely beaten while covering sia’s largest independent trade union, the was open for journalists – told them that the 1991 Dili massacre. On November 12, “East Timor is open but not for you.” When Indonesian Prosperous Trade Union (SBSI), 1991, at least 271 people were killed when Muchtar Pakpahan, who was jailed for three asked what he meant, he said his mouth was Indonesian troops fired on a peaceful dem- closed; it was a secret. years on November 7 because of activities onstration at the Santa Cruz cemetery in to organise some of the poorest workers in Prior to this they were being held in a Dili. nearby hotel, and the U.S. Embassy had said the country. According to a phone call from Nairn, “We have seen in the past few weeks a it was an immigration matter, not a military they were detained at 11 am on Saturday one, and that they would be released to scandalous disregard for democracy on the November 12 (local time) by Lt. Gabriel part of the Indonesian authorities,” said cover the APEC conference. Manek, who said he had orders to detain the They have been detained 16 hours so far. Aidan White, IFJ General Secretary. two journalists. Lt. Manek said these orders He said independent media had been Nairn said the phone number at the base is came from Capt. Soronto of Korem, the 62-391-220-60. closed down, professional journalists had military command in Dili. been victimized and beaten up, and an effort The border post had their names on a TWO U.S. JOURNALISTS BARRED to form an independent association of jour- card and they were brought to the local mili- Associated Press, Nov. 13. Abridged. nalists was being threatened by the authori- tary base when they were asked to enter ties. East Timor. Jakarta – Two American journalists say “Freedom of association and freedom of Nairn believes that their movements were they have been barred from entering East expression are not makeweights in the strug- being watched carefully. The orders to de- Timor, despite Indonesia’s insistence that gle for democracy; they are the core liberties tain them arrived in Atambua as they were the troubled province is open to foreign upon which a free society depends,” said on a 6 am flight from Jakarta to Denpasar. correspondents. Aidan White. Nairn and Goodman’s passports are be- Indonesia said they failed to notify au- “It is unacceptable for Indonesia’s lead- ing held, and they were to be sent back to thorities in advance, unlike other journalists ers to draw attention away from the sys- the military base in Kupang, West Timor. who were allowed into East Timor. tematic abuse of human rights within the Nairn said that when they applied for East Timor Action Network of the country through an elaborate public rela- their visas to go to Indonesia they were told United States, an advocacy group, said Sun- tions smokescreen,” he said. “The countries that East Timor was open and that anyone day it was telephoned by Amy Goodman meeting at the APEC summit should take can go. The Jakarta Post recently cited the and Allan Nairn, who said they were ar- careful note of the violations of press free- fact that the pair had been granted visas as a rested at the border between East and West dom and of workers’ rights which are now sign of openness on the part of the Indone- Timor on Saturday and their passports taking place.” sian government. seized. The IFJ has admitted into membership Allan Nairn is a freelance journalist who In 1991 the two New Yorkers witnessed the Association of Independent Journalists writes for the New Yorker, the Nation and a government massacre in East Timor. They East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. Page 85 were severely beaten and forced to flee. NAIRN/GOODMAN FREED US embassy which is trying to get them to Their reports helped to highlight Indonesian From ETAN/US, Nov. 13, 1994 leave. The Indonesian military and police human rights abuses, and they were banned holding big sticks, are standing right outside from returning to the country. After 20 hours in custody, Nairn and and they would clearly be in terrible danger But as Indonesia prepared to host a Goodman were freed and allowed to return if they were put out. to Jakarta. They will stay there and cover week-long gathering of Pacific rim nations, it BBC: What’s the embassy’s policy towards the APEC meeting, summit, and surrounding made a gesture of openness by declaring that these people? any journalist could visit East Timor, events, and then see if they are allowed to including Goodman and Nairn. return to East Timor. Both are in good AN: The embassy has said that they want “They’re making this grand show of health and spirits, if a bit tired (Allan has to them out and they’re clearly putting pres- openness by allowing these banned journal- ask everyone he speaks with on the phone sure on them to leave and it’s not clear how ists back in,” said John Miller, spokesman what time it is where we are, and then what far they will go, whether they will take se- of the East Timor Action Network, in an day it is where he is!). curity forces and physically expel them. The embassy has raised that prospect al- interview from New York. “Then their true ALLAN NAIRN INTERVIEWED BY BBC nature came out.” though they haven’t said it specifically. Indonesian Foreign Ministry spokesman BBC World Service, Newshour, 9pm, 13 November 1994 INDONESIAN SECURITY SWOOP AS Irawan Abidin said he believed the two were AMERICAN JOURNALISTS CALL detained because they failed to register the I spoke to Allan Nairn on his arrival back NEWS CONFERENCE trip with authorities. He said this was a in Jakarta just a short time ago. I asked him formality required of journalists traveling to for his version of what had happened. ETAN, Nov. 14, 1994 East Timor during the Asia Pacific Eco- AN: Well it seemed the Indonesian intelli- Jakarta – Two US journalists who told nomic Cooperation meetings. [Earlier, gence had us under surveillance. We were on the world about the East Timor massacre Abidin had said “I don’t understand why a bus from western Timor into East Timor three years ago were grabbed by security they were detained, there should not be any and we were pulled off the bus in Atambua, officers as they tried Monday to organize a problem.”] at the frontier with East Timor and in fact news conference at the APEC center in Ja- Col. Kiki Syanakri, military commander one of the people who was involved during karta. of East Timor, confirmed he had detained the long period we were being questioned at Allan Nairn and Amy Goodman had ear- the journalists, saying they attempted to intelligence headquarters said, “East Timor lier been arrested by Indonesian intelligence enter the province illegally. is open but not for you.” men and detained for 20 hours as they tried Miller said the two reported that an In- BBC: Did you have the correct documenta- to enter East Timor to mark the third anni- donesian official at the border showed them tion? versary on November 12 of the massacre in a card with their names on it, and said he which they say 200 people were killed. AN: We had been blacklisted after the mas- was instructed to detain them. Miller did The two, who had been officially accred- sacre because of the fact that we reported on not know whether the journalists had regis- ited by Jakarta as correspondents to the the massacre. But then for APEC, the Indo- tered for the trip. APEC meetings, returned to Jakarta from nesian government announced that those on The two were being held in their hotel Kupang in West Timor to organize a news the blacklist would be allowed in and in fact Sunday, Miller said. He said Nairn reported conference. we got all the necessary journalist visas, and that the journalists apparently were in no But as they distributed leaflets announc- were told we could go into East Timor with danger. [Comment: it was not “their” hotel, ing a time for the conference, they were no problem. But then, when we tried, we as it was in Kupang, which was not on their grabbed by APEC security officers, but were arrested. voluntary itinerary.] freed as fellow journalists swarmed around The U.S. embassy issued a statement BBC: You clearly have good contacts in them. saying: “We urged the Indonesian govern- Indonesia. What is your understanding Correspondents and cameras immediately ment not to detain the journalists, but to about the morale of the protesters inside surrounded the pair, as security people tried permit them to cover all APEC events for the American embassy? to block cameras. The media protested and which they received credentials.” AN: We just talked to them a few minutes asked Nairn and Goodman what they had It said it was told they were not being de- ago inside the embassy and they’re anxious planned to say. The impromptu press con- tained, and that an Indonesian immigration about what is happening in Dili now, having ference then ensued. The gathering lasted official was going to the site to resolve the heard the reports from there. They’re very about one hour. case. determined to stay and they’re specifically They then went ahead with their confer- Goodman represents the non-profit putting the focus on US policy and on ence amid a scrummage of reporters, once WBAI Pacifica Radio in New York, and President Clinton, calling on Clinton to again throwing attention off the APEC con- Nairn is on assignment for Vanity Fair come out in favour of self-determination for ference and on to Indonesia’s human rights magazine of New York. East Timor and for enforcement of the UN record. Security Council resolutions which call on Nairn told reporters that he and Good- Indonesia to withdraw their troops from man were arrested by Indonesian military East Timor. intelligence as they tried to cross the border BBC: Does it look to you as though the pro- from West Timor into East Timor last week. testers are fixing to stay for quite some “We just got back last night after being time? held by military intelligence and decided to day to have a press conference to tell other AN: Yes, it does. They appear very deter- journalists what happened to us,” said mined. They said they hadn’t gotten food Nairn. for a while though they got some late today, and they’re under a lot of pressure from the Page 86 East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994.

“We were passing out these leaflets when emboldened to continue their struggle for Through his interpreter, Suharto said it Indonesian security came up to us. They independence in a more open an active way would take too much time to answer that started pulling us and other journalists ar- than they have before. question. rived.” The pair will arrive in New York Goodman said they had not come to In- Wednesday afternoon, and will hold an air- AUSTRALIAN TO BE donesia to create a problem. port press conference. DEPORTED FROM “The problem was created by the Indo- Their visit to East Timor was undetected nesian security that is surrounding us,” she by the authorities, and they left on their EAST TIMOR said. “We were simply going to speak to the own schedule and power, as virtually all by K.T. Arasu, Reuter. Nov. 19, 1994 journalists who were asking us questions other foreign journalists in East Timor were about what happened to us.” being forced out or ordered to leave. Dili, East Timor – An Australian was to After it was over one Indonesian journal- Both are based in New York. Amy be deported from East Timor on Saturday ist in a warning told them “you are going to Goodman is the News Director of WBAI- after one of the biggest pro-independence pay for that.” Pacifica Radio, and Allan Nairn, a free-lance protests since a massacre by Indonesian writer, was on assignment for Vanity Fair authorities in 1991. ALLAN NAIRN AND AMY magazine. Dili police chief Colonel Sugianto An- GOODMAN STOPPED AGAIN dreas said Andrew Naughtan, (sic, actually 11 pm New York time, Nov. 15, 1994 SUITED TO A Q&A McNaughton) from Darwin in Australia’s Northern Territory, would be deported for Journalists Allan Nairn and Amy Good- INDONESIAN LEADER REQUIRES becoming involved in local politics and tak- man were again prevented from entering ing part in Friday’s demonstration outside East Timor. THAT ATTIRE — AND QUESTIONS — BE LESS THAN REVEALING Dili’s cathedral. They were forced off a through flight Andreas said Dili was calm with business from Jakarta to Dili, with a stop in Den- by Thomas W. Lippman (Washington Post, returning to normal after being rocked this pasar, Bali. At Denpasar, they were taken Nov. 16, 1994) week by a series of violent demonstrations away from the other passengers. Police Now, how to keep those well-dressed that refocused world attention on the Portu- officer Monir, who took them off the plane, reporters from asking questions that might guese colony Indonesia invaded in 1975 and said he was acting on orders from high up in embarrass the host - about human rights, annexed a year later. the military. Although they were briefly say, or Indonesia’s human rights record in “He (Naughtan) was involved in local physically restrained by the police, they East Timor? Easy. Issue an order. politics and was in the midst of the demon- managed to break away and get to the depar- In a memo to all delegations at the 18- stration yesterday. We will be deporting ture lounge. member Asia-Pacific Economic Conference him today,” Andreas told Reuters. They were physically prevented from forum (APEC), the Indonesian Foreign Min- Naughtan, among those seeking shelter in reboarding the plane as it left for Dili. One istry set down the rules for Suharto’s only the cathedral and entered the territory on a hour later (11:20 am Wednesday), they were encounter with the foreign press: tourist visa, said the East Timorese sang again prevented from boarding a second “Upon conclusion of the leaders’ delib- hymns to try and ease the tension. plane to Dili. erations, President Suharto will hold a 30- “The situation inside the cathedral was Although they are not under arrest, it minute press conference. Questions should very tense. Everyone was scared because we was made very clear to them that they can be asked in English and addressed to the kept hearing loud noises outside the church. travel anywhere in Indonesia except East chairman only, not to any of the other lead- The East Timorese began singing hymns and Timor. They are no longer trying to visit ers. In his capacity as APEC chair, Presi- praying as they waited,” he told Reuters. East Timor, and will return to Jakarta today dent Suharto would like to take questions It was unclear on Saturday evening or tomorrow. only with respect to the APEC process. whether Naughtan, who entered East Timor “The chairman will field only seven ques- on a tourist visa, had already been deported. GOODMAN AND NAIRN EN tions from the press corps. Each of the main Meanwhile, 29 East Timorese youths ROUTE HOME AFTER geographic areas represented in APEC will marked the start of their second week holed VISITING EAST TIMOR be entitled to ask one question. The break- up in the U.S. embassy compound in Ja- down of questions has been determined as karta.... ETAN report, Nov. 22, 1994 follows: the host country (1), North Amer- In Jakarta, Indonesia’s Armed Forces ica, the United States and Canada (1), Latin Commander General Feisal Tanjung said on Journalists Allan Nairn and Amy Good- America (1), Europe (1), Japan (1), China Saturday the authorities would welcome the man are on their way home after 10 days in (1) and ASEAN (the Association of South- protesters if they left the compound. Indonesia and East Timor. Although they east Asian Nations) excluding Indonesia (1), Andreas said police would not arrest any were arrested en route to East Timor on for a total of seven questions. Pool heads East Timorese involved in Friday’s fresh November 12, and forcibly removed from a should determine ahead of time how these protest in Dili. He said they had pledged to plane headed there on the 15, Goodman and questions will be allocated.” cease demonstrating. Nairn were able to enter East Timor cov- It almost worked. All but one of the “We are not arresting them even though ertly and spent several days there. questions were bland, about “positive en- they were doing criminal acts and breaking This was their third trip to the territory hancement of the North-South dialogue” and the law,” he said. since 1990, and the described the level of such. The deportation order came amid fresh police and military surveillance and threats The exception came from a New York accusations from security officials that for- as much higher than ever before. But, in a Times correspondent who asked Suharto eign journalists were fanning unrest in East phone call from Singapore, Nairn said that a how he plans to resolve the East Timor Timor. threshold has been crossed, and that the issue “once and for all.” people of East Timor are energized and East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. Page 87

Dili’s military spokesman Major Laedan The protesters, most of them East He cited the case of a Japanese television Simbolon said there were signs foreign jour- Timorese students who have been attending reporter who has been accused by the Indo- nalists helped ignite the protest. schools on the islands of Java and Bali, nesian police of giving an anti-Government “There are indications that some foreign scaled over the U.S. embassy fences Nov. banner to East Timorese students and urging journalists engaged in actions outside their 12, and have been camped in the parking lot them to unfurl it for the cameras. The re- journalistic function. They deliberately ever since. porter has denied the charge. linked up with the protesters,” he was By Saturday, the demonstrators had not A spokeswoman for Amnesty Interna- quoted by the Antara news agency on Sat- yet decided what their next step would be. tional, Estrellita Jones, said by telephone urday as saying. Dominggus Sarmento Alves, the leader of from Washington today that the move to bar This follows allegations on Friday by In- the 29 pro-independence demonstrators, foreign reporters “is certainly most omi- donesian police that a Japanese film crew said the group did not go to the embassy nous.” Without their presence, she said, the had stirred up trouble. The police warned grounds “for asylum but to demand the security forces would feel that they have foreign journalists to toe the line in the riot- release of Xanana.” “carte blanche” to detain and torture dissi- hit territory. The foreign ministry denied that a politi- dents. ––––––––- cal riot had taken place in Dili, the provin- “We’re already hearing reports of door- According the AFP, however, cial capital of East Timor and it blamed the to-door searches and that people are being McNaughtan was found “being beaten by recent violence on a traders’ quarrel. picked up and ill-treated or tortured,” she several East Timorese youths who opposed “In face of agitation and propaganda ac- said. the presence of foreign journalists in East tivities, the government of Indonesia will For years, foreign reporters have been Timor,” according to immigration official, not be distracted from its work in interna- barred from visiting East Timor without Yohannes Triswoyo in Dili, who told AFP tional forums and its development work in special passes, which are given only spo- he would be deported later Saturday to Bali. East Timor,” the statement said. radically and usually after a long delay. But He added that McNaughtan who arrived the Indonesian Government lifted most of in East Timor on a two-month tourist visa INDONESIA BARS FOREIGN the restrictions during the Asia-Pacific meet- on 16 November, had suffered no injuries. REPORTERS IN EAST TIMOR ing, saying it wanted to demonstrate its Meanwhile, East Timor police chief An- commitment to openness. dreas Sugianto blamed foreign journalists for New York Times, November 20, 1994. By The Indonesian Foreign Ministry has fueling protests in the enclave (sic). He Philip Shenon said the initial protests were not prompted added that they were investigating a foreign by anti-Government sentiment, insisting DENPASAR, Indonesia, Nov. 19 – As instead that they started as a result of a journalists found in possession of eight anti- the police struggled to restore order in East Indonesian banners in his bag. “It is against violent quarrel between a group of traders - Timor after the largest anti-Government one from East Timor, one from the Indone- the law to conduct political activities in demonstrations in years, the Indonesian other people’s countries,” he said. sian island of Sulawesi - in which an East Government said today that it would tem- Timorese man died. [Comment: It seems the security authorities porarily bar foreign reporters from visiting “A small group of people have tried to are looking for excuses to exclude all foreign the disputed province. foist off the incident as a political demon- journalists, perhaps on the specious The move alarmed human rights groups, stration,” the Foreign Ministry said in a grounds that they are unable to safeguard which have warned of a new, violent crack- statement. “Indonesia remains committed to them physically. According to one report, down on dissidents in East Timor, a former achieving an internationally acceptable set- there were 35 foreign journalists in Dili on Portuguese colony that was invaded by tlement to the East Timor problem.” Friday when the latest demonstration took Indonesia in 1975 and later annexed. In Jakarta, the Indonesian capital, 29 East place. – TAPOL] Order was restored today in Dili, the Timorese students remained today in the ––––––––––––- East Timor capital, after a week of demon- parking lot of the United States Embassy. strations that embarrassed the Indonesian They scaled the walls of the embassy last INDONESIA TO DEPORT Government as it played host to a meeting Saturday to demand the release of the jailed AUSTRALIAN PROTESTER of Asia-Pacific leaders, including President resistance leader José Alexandre Gusmão. Clinton, who raised the issue of human Jakarta, Nov. 19 (UPI) – They have so far rejected an offer of asylum rights abuses in East Timor in a meeting in Portugal. A priest at the Dili cathedral said rioting with President Suharto. in the East Timor capital, was reported to The Foreign Ministry said Friday that On Friday, hundreds of anti-Government the demonstrators “are free to leave the have died down by Saturday, after hundreds protesters took to the streets in Dili in a of pro-independence demonstrators Friday country if they so wish and if any country noisy demonstration that turned violent is willing to receive them.” beat two men who they accused of being when the protesters encountered a small “stooges” for the Indonesian government. group of stone-throwing Government sup- –––––––––––– A statement issued by the foreign minis- porters, most of them Indonesians from Letter to the Editor, New York Times, try Friday stated that Indonesia would con- other parts of the country who had settled Nov. 20 tinue searching for an internationally accept- in East Timor. At least two people were able solution to the East Timor dispute, but reported seriously wounded. Justice for East Timor it also accused Portugal of trying to derail A Government official said the move to To the Editor: peace efforts. ban foreign journalists was motivated by a Re “Anti-Indonesia Protest at U.S. Em- The statement reassured that the protes- concern that some of the reporters now in bassy” (news article, Nov. 13): tors staging a sit-in at the U.S. embassy East Timor were inciting the demonstrators. The issue of our embassy’s security is compound will not be arrested, adding that “The journalists are acting in an unjour- not the story here, but Indonesia’s docu- they are free to leave the country if they so nalistic way,” said the official, speaking on mented slaughter, torture and starvation of wish. condition that he not be identified. Page 88 East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994.

200,000 people in East Timor since 1975, seem to have sparked the disturbances. But, Jeff Widener and Craig Fuji; Reuters pho- one-third of its population. a number of demonstrations by anti- tographer Jonathan Drake; and Australian The reason behind the demonstration by integration protesters raised tension. Simon Beardsell, a cameraman with the East Timorese students is the genocide vis- Because of foreign media coverage of WTN television news agency. ited on their people by the Indonesians with both events, authorities have been making it He said 38 of the 55 journalists who ap- the tacit approval of and aid from the West, harder for journalists to travel to East plied for permissions to cover East Timor including the United States. Timor, and are keeping a close watch on the had so far visited the province, where gov- It is to be hoped that the United States movements of those already in Dili. ernment troops have been often accused of would exert real pressure on Indonesia to Indeed, despite receiving specific verbal human rights abuses while curbing the pro end its horrific annexation, but we are left permission in Jakarta the voice of America independence movement, when dozens of with “Washington has been cautious about was told after arrival in Dili to be prepared protesters were killed. calling too much attention to human rights in for – as officials put it – problems that Hoping to improve its rights image, In- order to maintain economic ties.” could force VOA’s departure the next day. donesia invited foreign journalists to visit As for Indonesian “assurances” that Written permission to remain was later East Timor after they reported on the Asia- “there will be no reprisals against the stu- granted. Pacific Economic Cooperation forum meet- dents after they leave the embassy Nobody wants a recurrence of last ings earlier this month...... grounds,” it would be interesting to follow week’s disturbances in Dili. They are de- up a year from now. If history is a guide, scribed by residents as the worst in several COMMENT FROM CHARLIE some or all may be dead. years, as local disputes led to a number of SCHEINER, ETAN/US: ANNE MILLER houses and shops being burned or stoned. Note the inconsistency between the two New York, Nov. 13, 1994 But, officials have taken to accusing foreign Indonesian claims: journalists of stirring up trouble – an allega- 1) The rioting is not political, but due to BRIEF OPEN WINDOW tion foreign reporters here firmly reject. ethnic tension. CLOSING Surveillance, nothing new for those famil- 2) The rioting is exacerbated by the pres- iar with Dili, is accompanied by subtle pres- ence of foreign journalists. Voice of America, 11/20/94 by Dan Robin- sures. Local officials ask repeatedly when Of course, if the unrest were caused by son, Dili, East Timor journalists are due to leave. people wanting to get the world’s attention Aside from the occasional shout on the to their situation, it would make sense to Intro: After a brief period of openness street of “free East Timor,” few people have demonstrations only if there was coinciding with meetings of Asia-Pacific wish to be seen speaking to foreign media somebody who didn’t know the situation leaders in Indonesia, authorities have once for fear of being spotted by government (i.e. foreigners) there again tightened restrictions on foreign jour- officials. This makes true feelings about to see them. So in a sense, Indonesia is nalists trying to visit East Timor. The clamp recent events difficult to gage. correct. If they keep all the journalists out, down follows incidents last week in the East The attention focused on Dili since last the unrest might cease – or it might escalate Timor capital – Dili – which Indonesian week has led one key figure in the commu- into a full-scale revolution. authorities allege were made worse by the nity to stop speaking to foreign journalists. In either case, the reprisals and repres- presence of foreign media. From Dili, After Sunday mass, including a sermon in sion could be truly horrifying, but we on the VOA’s Dan Robinson reports about shut- Portuguese, the outspoken Dili bishop Car- outside wouldn’t know about it. So please ting of the open window in East Timor. los Belo waved away journalists seeking his urge whatever media you have contact with Weeks before the high visibility meetings views of East Timor – saying he had no time to fight the press ban, both openly and by of the Asia Pacific economic cooperation to talk. sending reporters and observers to East group, Indonesian authorities announced Timor with or without permits. there would be an unprecedented degree of JOURNALISTS EXPELLED The “ethnic tension” claim deserves fur- access to the country, including East Timor. ther examination. The unfortunate killing of Indonesia’s information minister Harmoko FROM EAST TIMOR a Timorese customer by an immigrant from said in September Jakarta had – in his words The China Post, Nov. 22, 1994. Sulawesi last week is an example of how – nothing to hide with regard to East Timor. cheaply East Timorese lives are held by He said reports by foreign journalists could Dili, Indonesia, Nov. 21, AP - The Gov- Indonesians. To call the response – which help counter false accounts about East ernment on Monday ordered four Western was both to this incident and to 19 years of Timor, as long as they were based on what journalists to leave the troubled province of invasion, genocide, repression and occupa- he called the facts. East Timor, where they were covering pro- tion – “ethnic tension” is to label all anti- Several-thousand foreign journalists de- independence demonstrations. colonial revolutions – from South Africa to scended on Indonesia for APEC. Many took The journalists did not have the required the Dutch East Indies – as being caused only the government at its word when it said work permits to be in the area unlike dozens by ethnic friction. This would include the those wanting to travel to remote East of other journalists reporting on the events U.S. civil right movement, which was in part Timor would be allowed to do so. But, as during the past 10 days, said Johanes Sri a response to lynchings and other examples APEC leaders arrived in Jakarta for their Triswoyo, head of the immigration office in of “ethnic tension.” summit, two events occurred leading to Dili, the provincial capital. what officials now acknowledge as a reversal In a rare show of openness this month, of the previous open policy for East Timor. Indonesia issued work permits to foreign FIFTH JOURNALIST First, there was the sit-in protest by 29 journalists to cover East Timor, a former EXPELLED FROM TIMOR East Timorese students at the US embassy Portuguese province that Jakarta annexed in in Jakarta at an embarrassing time for the 1976. AFP, 22 November 1994. Abridged Indonesian government. Then riots broke Triswoyo said the journalists told to Jakarta – Indonesia has expelled a fifth out in Dili. Local-ethnic tensions or disputes leave are Associated Press photographers journalist from East Timor Tuesday, bring- East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. Page 89 ing the tally of expulsions to five in two June, agrees. He says, “That was only a ber baron Mohamad Hasan, who is known days of tightening media access. brief spell.” for his ties to Jakarta officials. The French journalist, named as a senior To survive in different types of weather, Media insiders say Manpower Minister producer with Associated Press TV, Fran- Indonesia’s press has its own list of do’s Abdul Latief is about to be granted a licence çois Touron, arrived in Dili Monday after- and don’ts – a system some have hit as self- for a new publication, this time to take the noon but was ordered to leave less than 24 censorship. Taboo topics include direct place of Editor, which was shut down in hours later because he did not have the criticism of President Suharto and his fam- June. And there is talk that Information proper permit. ily, a policy one writer likened to the off- Minister Harmoko may put up another “He was warned by the Information De- limits rule some countries have of their publication. partment not to go without permission,” the monarchies. Media veterans say press freedom in In- army’s spokesperson Major Simbolon told Journalists also instinctively check out donesia will take “a long, long time” to AFP by phone from Dili. people or firms behind stories “to see if emerge. But they are optimistic that young there is someone maybe close to the gov- reporters who had protested the June clo- MEDIA-INDONESIA: CLOUDY ernment whose role cannot be mentioned,” sures and now formed an independent media FORECAST FOR PRESS explained one reporter. group called Alliance of Independent Jour- At times, newspapers report on sensitive nalists may help hasten the pace. FREEDOM issues not when they break out, but when government responds. By Johanna Son For example, when the environment EVENTS IN INDONESIA Jakarta, Nov. 22 (IPS) - Being a journalist group WALHI sued Suharto in August for in Indonesia requires not only a knack for diverting 190 million dollars in reforestation writing, but also the ability to read the shifts funds to a state aircraft project, local papers TIMORESE STUDENTS IN in government policy. carried little or no mention of the suit. But BALI SUFFER REPRISAL S Indeed, in a country where the govern- they reported on the rare challenge to Su- ment has lately been alternately blowing hot harto’s powers when his lawyers asked a Publico, 29 Oct. By J. Trigo de Negreiros. and cold over restrictions on the local media, local court to throw out charges. Translated from Portuguese. Abridged journalists pride themselves for being much Still, some dailies try reporting on sensi- Lisbon – The Federal Court of Boston in like weather forecasters who scan the skies tive topics by having academics write in a the US recently sentenced an Indonesian for signs of changes in the climate. “theoretical manner” for the opinion pages. General to pay 14 million dollars to the “Now the weather is good,” quipped a A few journalists explain the govern- mother of a young New Zealander, in com- local journalist during the recent Asia-Pacific ment’s hawk-eyed monitoring on the local pensation for her son’s murder during the Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings press as an attempt to instill order in a rela- Santa Cruz massacre in November 1991. here, explaining why local newspapers tively young republic of more than 180 The General, Sintong Panjaitan, moved to freely reported events like the East million people who belong to 300 ethnic Boston after the massacre. When he learned Timorese students who scaled the U.S. em- groups and speak 200 languages. of the court proceedings initiated against bassy walls and foreign leaders’ criticism of Writers who are appointed editors need him in September 1992, he fled to Jakarta, Indonesia’s human rights records. the confirmation of the government, which where he took up employment as adviser to Unlike in the past, when little about East also reserves the right to revoke publication the Minister of Industry and Technology. Timor was said in media, the East Timorese licenses if the newspaper or magazine is The court action, brought under the Protec- protests were carried fairly prominently in “irresponsible.” tion for Victims of Torture Bill, went ahead local papers, and even landed on the front Many have resigned themselves to ac- in his absence. pages of some. cepting that serious, critical and investiga- As soon as the news of the court ruling But few journalists interpret the recent tive journalism on sensitive matters – reached Bali, the island from which Panjai- improved weather as the onset of more including the uncertainties that Suharto’s tan commanded the Indonesian military openness in Indonesia, where the press is succession bring – can be taken up only the region in which East Timor was situated, the kept on a short leash. Just last June, Jakarta foreign press. soldiers who served under him went out into revoked the licenses of three outspoken “It is very difficult, you know,” says one the streets and mobilized the local people publications and recently put a stop to a senior editor. “You may thing that things against Timorese university students resi- new magazine that looked suspiciously like have changed, but one you make a mistake – dent there. one of those that had been shut down. what happened to Tempo and the others is 20-year-old Nene Lobato, João Candido According to Philippine Press Institute stark proof of how the weather can change and José Bento, both 29-years-old, were the associate director Vergel Santos, the com- suddenly.” main victims of the beatings, which occurred mon perception is that “the Philippine Media analysts here say the government yesterday afternoon. The three students press is free, the Thai press is free enough, tends to keep an even tighter watch on Ba- were taken to hospital, but were soon re- the Malaysian press could use more free- hasa papers, which have greater reach than moved by a group of fellow students who dom, Indonesia is losing what little freedom the English language publications. feared that worse might happen to them and Singapore and Brunei are not free at all.” They also note that big business with while in the hospital. “We are a bit braver during this APEC close ties to the government as well as offi- According to reports received yesterday meeting because so much international atten- cials themselves are applying for publishing by Public from a Resistance source, the tion is focused here,” said one senior re- licenses, if not already churning out their Timorese university student community porter last week. “But after this, we will own papers. (about 200) fears more violence over the probably be more careful.” The new magazine Gatra, for instance, is next few days. The fact that Bali has tradi- Gunawan Muhamad, chief editor of the said to be aimed at replacing Tempo and tionally been a base for RENETIL, the hard-hitting Tempo magazine that was included some of the old magazine’s Timorese underground network’s student among the publications forced to close in staffers. But Gatra is partly owned by tim- Page 90 East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. front, could also contribute to a further their alleged role in April’s rioting, comes on in Medan as a signal to workers that inde- flare-up of violence. the eve of a meeting of the Asia-Pacific Eco- pendent ... In Boston, lawyers from the Constitu- nomic Cooperation (APEC) forum in Ja- tional Rights Center who assisted plaintiff karta and nearby Bogor. INDEPENDENT UNION LEADER Helen Todd in her legal action against Gen- The climax of the 10-day meeting, which RECEIVES THREE YEAR PRISON eral Panjaitan, are investigating how to bring starts on Tuesday, will be an informal sum- SENTENCE about the payment of the 14 million dollars mit of the group’s leaders, including Presi- Amnesty International International Secre- compensation. They could ask the US Ad- dent Clinton and his counterparts from tariat, 1 Easton Street London WC1X 8DJ ministration to channel some of the money China and Japan. United Kingdom. 8 November 1994 destined to fund the cooperation programme Three presiding judges, who took turns with the Indonesian armed forces to Helen reading from a 100-page judgment, said On Monday the leader of the independ- Todd. She has already publicly announced Pakpahan had incited workers to strike and ent trade union, the Indonesian Prosperous her intention to give the “voiceless” mothers stage protests that led to the riots in which Workers’ Union (SBSI), Muchtar Pakpahan, of the Timorese victims of the Santa Cruz one person died. was found guilty of “incitement” and sen- massacre whatever compensation money “The court sentences you to three years tenced to three years in jail. Pakpahan has she eventually receives. in jail,” chief Judge Victor Napipulah told indicated he will appeal the decision. Meanwhile, the Indonesian Government Pakpahan before a hushed courtroom. The verdict and sentence come in the expressed its “surprise” at the Boston Prosecutors had demanded four of a maxi- week that Indonesia hosts the Asia Pacific Court’s ruling on Sintong Panjaitan. “The mum six year sentence. Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings in Boston Court never notified us about the Pakpahan, who heads the effectively ille- Jakarta and Bogor – where Amnesty Inter- trial,” said a Foreign Ministry spokesperson gal Indonesia Welfare Labour Union, or national has urged participating governments in Jakarta, adding that the Suharto Govern- SBSI, remained composed during the trial as to consider the issue of human rights in ment would have sent a representative to hundreds of security officials ringed the meetings with the Indonesian Government. the US, had it known what was going on. colonial court building. There were no re- The charges against Pakpahan and 10 Panjaitan’s reaction to the verdict was to ports of incidents. other labour leaders and activists are linked laugh, and describe the trial as a joke. Pakpahan said he would appeal the deci- to widespread labour unrest in Medan in sion. April this year which included violent inci- The sentencing follows a months-long dents. Amnesty International believes how- INDONESIA JAILS ever that the charges were intended to in- LABOUR BOSS, crackdown on Indonesia’s disparate labour movement in the wake of the April riots. timidate activists and labour organisations U.S. EXPRESSES REGRET Most senior SBSI figures are now in jail, from carrying out their peaceful activities in along with many activists working among support of labour rights – activities which MEDAN, Indonesia, Nov. 7 (Reuter) - the country’s 80-million workforce. have increased in recent years. The prosecu- An Indonesian court sentenced prominent Indonesia has defended its actions, saying tion did not allege that Pakpahan had urged labour boss Muchtar Pakpahan to three that Pakpahan and others were criminals others to commit acts of violence. Amnesty years in jail on Monday after convicting him who had disrupted stability and triggered a International considers Muchtar Pakpahan of inciting violence. hemorrhaging of foreign investment from the to be a prisoner of conscience. The 10 oth- The sentence, handed down one day be- area. ers charged with “incitement” may also be fore the start in Jakarta of a major interna- Pakpahan’s own organisation was quick prisoners of conscience, held solely for non- tional meeting due to be attended next week to condemn the sentence, along with the violent activities. by U.S. President Bill Clinton, drew quick Brussels-based International Confederation Pakpahan was tried under Articles 160 condemnation. of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU). and 161 of the Indonesian Criminal Code. The United States, through its Jakarta “The sentence has been engineered to Article 160 prescribes a maximum of six embassy, regretted the sentence. The Brus- break down the SBSI. But they will not be years’ imprisonment for inciting others to sels-based international trade union confed- successful,” Tohap Simanungkalit, a senior disobey a government order or to break the eration alleged the decision was “engi- figure in the SBSI, told Reuters. law, and Article 161 prescribes a maximum neered.” “There is a wind of change through Indo- of four years in jail for distributing written Pakpahan was jailed for three years after nesia. Even if they jail so many activists, so materials which do the same. Of the 10 oth- the court in Medan, northern Sumatra, many labour (people), still there will be ers, six have already received sentences rang- found him guilty of inciting worker violence more struggling for a more democratic life,” ing from five to 15 months in jail. which swept the area in April. he added. Amnesty International is also concerned Human rights groups have accused the An official of the ICFTU, who had one at the way in which Pakpahan’s trial was government of trying to crush his fledgling of its representatives covering some of the conducted. Defence lawyers were not pro- union. eight-week trial, said the sentence proved vided with a copy of his interrogation depo- The U.S. embassy statement said the that Indonesia was out to crush any signs of sition, as required under the Indonesian sentence would be “one element” in deciding union activity. Code of Criminal Procedure, there were whether to suspend trading privileges He said by telephone from Brussels that restrictions on prison visits while he was granted to Indonesia. the ICFTU, which comprises 174 affiliates awaiting trial and the defence were given “The U.S. government regrets Mr. Pak- in 124 countries, would hold a meeting next limited time to prepare for the case. After pahan’s conviction. We believe that he month to discuss among other matters what being refused permission to bring expert should not be held accountable for unin- steps to take over Indonesia’s actions. witnesses before the court, Pakpahan’s tended violence in connection with protests “Indonesia confirms what the ICFTU has lawyers walked out of the trial. over legitimate labour demands,” it said. been saying all along, namely that the SBSI There has already been considerable in- The sentencing of Pakpahan, one of more has been submitted to a series of mock trials ternational criticism of the sentence, includ- than 70 workers and activists charged for ing from the USA Government and the In- East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. Page 91 ternational Confederation of Free Trade rights, human rights abuses and first family economy and shaky democracy – with two Unions (ICFTU). SBSI officials have stated corruption and nepotism. American scholars. that the sentence “was engineered to break It even warned the government to avoid The continuing protests and military down the SBSI.” The Indonesian Govern- action in the lead-up to APEC that would crackdown in East Timor have focused in- ment has defended the decision stating that incur negative media coverage. ternational attention on Indonesia’s human Pakpahan and the other labour leaders on The government took the advice to heart rights practices. They are largely judged trial were “criminals who had disrupted – in part. It gave foreign journalists informa- unacceptable. The regime of President Su- stability and triggered a hemorrhaging of tion kits, with T-shirts and calendars, which harto, now 73, is viewed by many as too foreign investment.” (Reuters 7.11.94). try to explain its side of “negative stories.” repressive and too long in office. For further details of the current labour But the government completely ignored At the same time, under this less than trials and other human rights violations in Robinson Lake Sawyer Miller in avoiding perfect democracy, Indonesia has achieved the run-up to APEC, please refer to Indone- action that may draw foreign media fire. one of the fastest rates of economic growth sia: “Operation Cleansing: Human Rights Last Monday it sentenced labour leader in the world – an average 6½% a year. This and APEC,” AI Index: ASA 21/50/94, No- Muchtar Pakpahan to three years in jail. has lifted millions out of poverty and vember 1994. Last month it sacked a prominent U.S.- greatly increased health and literacy. trained academic. In the opinion of many, it has also helped SENSITIVE INDONESIA Journalists are under constant pressure bind together the far flung 13-thousand is- CALLED IN THE not to report sensitive political issues. Ac- lands with their ethnic and religious mix that tivists and human rights lawyers have been make up Indonesia. Robert Hefner, profes- P.R. EXPERTS under constant surveillance in the run-up to sor of anthropology at Boston university APEC. and assistant director of the institute for the by Dean Yates (Reuter), Nov. 13, 1994 The report urges the government to focus study of economic culture, says Indonesians Jakarta – For almost three decades the on its economic success story – which no see themselves as the last great remaining world has associated mainly Moslem Indo- one denies – and its process of nation- multi-ethnic society. It’s a matter of pride: nesia with East Timor, human rights abuses, building in trying to unite an archipelago of “They have something that the So- its mercurial first President Sukarno and the diverse cultural, ethnic and linguistic charac- viet Union never did achieve; that is, resort island Bali. The sprawling archipelago teristics. they have at least the beginnings, the under the iron grip of President Suharto has It said the government should highlight solid foundation for a national culture. an image problem. the leadership of Indonesia, and especially There are regional tensions, but Indo- This was illustrated again on Saturday Suharto, in various forums such as the 111- nesia has achieved a shared national when 29 East Timorese youths focused member Non-Aligned Movement which language, which virtually the entire world attention on the troubled territory of Suharto chairs, the Association of Southeast young generation of Indonesians East Timor after invading the compound of Asian Nations (ASEAN) and now APEC. speaks. That’s an extraordinary ac- the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta, demanding the The report even gives the government complishment in a world in which lan- release of a jailed guerilla leader. some tips in dealing with the U.S. media. guage differences have frequently been Demonstrations in the East Timor capital “(The U.S.) media is overly interested in politicized and have been the basis for Dili turned up the spotlight. any bad news or conflict, whether about the severe political conflict.” But, according to a 39-page report titled summit, about Indonesia, or about Clinton- Unity, says professor Hefner, exists with “Indonesia/APEC 1991 Communications Suharto relations,” it said. diversity. While the central government in Plan” from a U.S.-based public relations “The media is eager to be critical of U.S. Jakarta exercises often stifling control, as in firm, Indonesia always knew it had an image and Clinton policies and actions... therefore, East Timor, local culture continues to flour- problem. the media is also eager to be critical of other ish in most places. The report, obtained by Reuters, care- government actions and policies,” it added. Benedict Anderson, professor of gov- fully outlines how the government should The names and titles of senior journalists ernment at Cornell university, says Indone- face an onslaught of foreign journalists, es- working for influential U.S. media organisa- sia differs from other developing countries pecially from the United States, at the cur- tions are also listed. in that not many of its citizens choose to rent Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation In two decades, Suharto’s Indonesia has emigrate because of attachment to homeland: (APEC) forum meetings. reduced poverty, lowered its birth rates and “This tells you something. You can “With the U.S and international media, it raised living standards. Perhaps convincing a imagine (former Philippines President will not be possible to eliminate negative sometimes skeptical foreign media is still Ferdinand) Marcos settling down stories about Indonesia,” said the September one of the greatest challenges that lie ahead. happily in New York with Mrs. Mar- report prepared by Robinson Lake Sawyer cos. It’s very hard to imagine Suharto, Miller. INDONESIA’S who has only a high school education, “The objective of this programme is to MULTI-ETHNIC PRIDE and his wife – not much better – set- create a balanced (and therefore more fa- tling down anywhere in the long run vourable) picture that accurately reflects Voice of America background report, except back home. They’re really Indonesia,” it added. 11/15/94. By Ed Warner, Washington home people.” Sources said the government paid Robin- Professor Anderson says Indonesia’s son Lake Sawyer Miller more than $500,000 Intro: While the leaders of the Asian- biggest problem may be the discontent of for the report and additional material to be Pacific countries met in Jakarta, violence the Muslim majority, which objects to the given to journalists during the summit. disturbed ever troubled East Timor, thus dominance of Chinese and other groups in The report starkly points out the nega- demonstrating the strains in the vast archi- business and politics: tive stories for Indonesia; trouble in East pelago of Indonesia. VOA’s Ed Warner “Although the country is nomi- Timor, lack of press freedom, government discussed Indonesia’s prospects – its strong nally 90% Muslim, actually the Mus- authoritarianism, suppression of worker lims have never had real political Page 92 East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994.

power in Indonesia, and they’re feel- least 15 East Timorese students in Bandung INDONESIAN ing this. I think the thing that is a bit are afraid of persecution after refusing to worrying about the future is the pos- issue a statement before the local parliament PROGRESSIVES SUPPORT sibility not so much of ethnic conflict (DPRD, West Java) condemning the actions EAST TIMORESE but of conflict between committed of their compatriots at the US embassy in Muslims and everybody else.” Jakarta. By Max Lane, Green Left, Nov. 20 Professor Hefner says Muslim practices The students are studying at Pajajaran Indonesia’s largest independent national in Indonesia differ from those in the middle University Bandung and the Bandung Insti- student organisation, Students in Solidarity east, where political strife is endemic along tute of Technology (UTB) and are members with Democracy for Indonesia (SSDI), is- with anti-western attitudes dating back to of the Timorese students organisation, Im- sued a statement on November 13 in sup- the crusades. He believes there’s a tradition pettu. port of the 29 students occupying the US of tolerance in Indonesia: On November 11 (sic), three Timorese Embassy compound. SSDI activists have “The most prominent people and students were summoned at night to the HQ been in contact with the East Timorese and the most prominent movements in In- of the Siliwangi military command of West providing support. donesia in Islam are remarkable for the Java at Jalan Sumatra, Bandung and ques- The SSDI statement criticised recent dip- verve with which they declare their al- tioned about their attitude to the Timorese lomatic initiatives of the Suharto govern- legiance to principles of democracy, protest at the US embassy. Later, early next ment, including talks with pro-independence human rights and religious tolerance morning, two other students were sum- forces outside East Timor, as no more than and pluralism. In my opinion, they’re moned. They were asked to consult their maneuvers aimed at reducing pressure on not just doing that for strategic rea- colleagues. Indonesia prior to the APEC summit meet- sons. Those attitudes reflect genuinely The harassment has continued since then. ing. There were no steps being taken to held values on the part of the majority The military authorities in Bandung appar- solve the problem, the statement said; in- of Muslims in Indonesia.” ently already had a statement ready to stead there was more loss of lives among the Professor Hefner expects tolerance to be counter the Timorese US embassy action to East Timorese people. sustained as long as the economy continues be presented to the local parliament during Among the SSDI’s demands on the Indo- to grow. In that event, he says, Islam in the APEC days. The Timorese students nesian government were the holding of a Indonesia could set an example for Muslims replied that they wanted to be left in peace democratic referendum of the East Timorese in other parts of the world. because they were students and do not wish people under the supervision of the UN and to be involved in politics since Impettu is a other relevant international bodies, the free- INDONESIAN ACTIVISTS non-political organisation. (An Impettu ing of Xanana Gusmão and freedom for FEAR POST-APEC statement, issued before the military sum- national and international human rights or- mons, agreed with this, and was read out for ganisations and the foreign and local press to CLAMPDOWN the RN broadcast.) report without restrictions or needing per- In an interview with RN, however, they mission. By John Owen-Davies appreciated the right to free expression of The SSDI statement, signed by Secre- Jakarta, Nov. 15 (Reuter) - Indonesian their compatriots in Jakarta who are de- tary-General Tri Fajar Marhaeni Dewi and activists fear increased government pressure manding the release of the jailed East international relations officer Bimo Nu- after East Timorese protests diverted atten- Timorese leader, Xanana Gusmão. After all, groho, called for the struggle for the inde- tion from this week’s showcase Asia-Pacific they said, the (Indonesian) government has pendence of East Timor and for democracy talks, activists and diplomats said on Tues- already recognised the existence of ‘anti- in Indonesia to be more integrated. day. integrasi,’ referring apparently to President Other Indonesian groups have also been “There might be a clampdown on NGOs Suharto’s recent statement that he is ready defending the East Timorese, including the (Non-Governmental Organisations). There to meet with ‘Timorese abroad.’ Joint Committee for the Defence of East are rumours about it happening after Failing to achieve their aim, the authori- Timor and the Indonesian Legal Aid Insti- APEC,” leading human rights activist Adnan ties started to threaten the students with tute (LBH). Eight East Timorese students Buyung Nasution, of the Legal Aid Founda- arrest. The students decided to contact the have taken refuge in the LBH headquarters. tion, told Reuters. Bandung chapter of the Legal Aid Institute, LBH has issued a statement condemning the “The protests in Dili and Jakarta have LBH, and travelled to Jakarta to seek pro- government’s use of violence in dealing with been a profound embarrassment,” one activ- tection from the government-sponsored dissent in Indonesia. ist said. human rights commission, Komnas-HAM. A delegation from Indonesia’s new pro- A foreign diplomat said: “I think if there However, they were disappointed as the gressive national workers’ organisation, is going to be a post-APEC clampdown on Komnas-HAM, instead of offering them Indonesian Workers Struggle Centre (PPBI), NGOs, which is possible, it will apply to protection, questioned them on their atti- is now in Perth attending the Indian Ocean the whole country, not just to East Timor.” tude to ‘integrasi.’ They later met with the Trade Union Conference and has brought a director of the YLBHI, Buyung Nasution, statement from the East Timorese national- EAST TIMOR STUDENTS IN but since the YLBHI could not provide ists in Jakarta appealing for support in Aus- BAN DUNG PERSECUTED them with hiding places, they returned to tralia. The PPBI will present the statement Bandung last Thursday. to the conference and ask it to support the Radio Netherlands, 16 and 19 Nov. 1994 Asked what they are going to do next, East Timorese. While international media spotlight fol- they said they did not yet know, adding that PPBI general secretary Dita Sari will lowing the APEC summit has turned to the they were ready (sudah siap) to face the speak in support of freedom for East Timor Timorese sit-in at the US embassy in Ja- consequences from the local authorities. together with John Pilger and East Timorese karta and a new wave of protests in Dili, They said they would not exclude steps to community leaders in Sydney on December East Timorese elsewhere are in danger. At seek asylum ‘from any country.’ 2. East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. Page 93

party’s Central Council in August last in Expresso, that he has set up in business ABILIO ARAUJO TO MEET year), it was the Resistance faction that he with Lopes da Cruz. SUHARTO leads which eventually managed to make While the “reconciliation meetings” are some headway with the Indonesian authori- dependent on “signs of good will” coming ties. He recalled it was only after the Lon- from Indonesia, Abilio Araujo says that he ABILIO ARAUJO CRITICAL OF don “reconciliation meeting” that the seven now awaits the green light for a meeting DURÃO BARROSO students, persecuted by the Indonesian with Suharto. He has already met “several army, were allowed to leave for Portugal, times” with the President’s daughter, and Expresso, 22 October 1994. By Mario Ro- and that a group of Timorese living in Por- believes that “the change of regime will balo. Translated from Portuguese tugal were allowed to visit East Timor in come from that family, and now it is time to April last year. What the Indonesians got in show that he is a “credible leader.” Lisbon – The Timorese leader, baffled by exchange was last May’s pilgrimage to Portugal’s “unbending position,” disagrees Fatima by 50 integrationists led by Su- with Foreign Office actions. THERE SHOULD BE harto’s ambassador. DIALOGUE WITH ALL EAST Abilio Araujo has little faith in the suc- He denies the accusations, leveled at him cess of the “cross meetings” held earlier this by the Resistance generally, that he has TIMOR ANTI-INTEGRATION month under the auspices of the UN Secre- “yielded” to the Indonesians. In the last GROUPS —XIMENES tary General. He would like to see “trade edition of Expresso, Ramos Horta accused channels” opened with East Timor, as a way him of getting “finance” from Indonesia for Kompas, 5 November 1994. of “maintaining Portugal’s cultural influ- the “reconciliation meetings.” ence” in the territory. Jakarta – President Suharto’s readiness to “I pay my own travel expenses,” Araujo meet the East Timor community overseas Describing the “cross meetings” as being stated. Referring to the reports about him “still-born” (i.e. non-starters), Abilio Araujo who are known to be anti-integration should being driven around in a car belonging to the be seen as a positive step towards resolving said he could not foresee “any chance of Indonesian diplomatic corps when he met talks between Durão Barroso and Lopes da the East Timor question. Such a meeting with Alatas in New York, he said that, be- should be held with all anti-integration Cruz, because of Portugal’s unbending posi- cause of the 3-hour delay in the flight from tion.” His criticism is based on the fact that groups, including the informal leaders in Rome, “it was necessary to arrive at the East Timor. the Portuguese Foreign Minister “under- hotel in time, so that the Minister would rated” his meeting on 4 October with Presi- This is the opinion of Salvador Ximenes, receive Ramos Horta.” With regard to the member of Commission II of Parliament, in dent Suharto’s itinerant ambassador by meeting with the Indonesian Foreign Minis- pointing out that it had only been important an interview with Kompas Friday. ter, he said there had been “no giving way,” Salvador said the government should take in so far that it had made possible the and even points out that he was received as Alatas-Horta meeting, held two days later. follow-up action after any such meetings so a representative of a section of the Timorese that the move makes a positive contribution “The Portuguese Government should not community opposed to integration. express views on the importance of to the resolution of the East Timor question. Timorese representatives. To do so is to The desire to be “a credible leader” “If all that happens are meetings without a attempt to determine the result of self- He went on to say that during the meet- clear concept, it could be counter- determination,” said Abilio Araujo. This is ing he reiterated what the last “reconciliation productive,” he said. the first time a Timorese leader has ever meeting” demanded of the Indonesian ad- He said that President Suharto’s readi- criticised Portuguese diplomacy on the ministration: demilitarisation of the terri- ness to meet anti-integration groups could Timor issue in such a vehement manner. tory, release of political prisoners, an end to be used by anti-integration groups for their own propaganda purposes. Ramos Horta’s accusations the wave of transmigration of Indonesians to East Timor, “Timorization” of the admini- All groups Abilio Araujo, who, with Francisco stration, and the introduction in schools of Lopes da Cruz, promoted the “reconcilia- He stressed that President Suharto’s Tetum and Portuguese History, “even as an readiness to meet with anti-integration tion meetings,” also complained that Portu- optional subject.” Abilio Araujo stressed gal did not agree to the first “reconciliation groups should relate to all groups outside as that “there will be no further reconciliation well as inside. meeting” (which took place on the outskirts meetings as long as there is no sign that of London on 15 and 16 December 1993) These remarks of Salvador are in tune Indonesia agrees to these demands.” with what Bishop Belo said in an interview being held in Lisbon, as he himself had sug- If the UN is promoting “cross meetings,” gested to Cavaco Silva’s government. He with the BBC Friday morning. Bishop Belo what is the point of “reconciliation meet- even suggested that President Suharto went on to argue that the Indonesian au- ings”? Araujo argues that “the aim is to thorities would then have agreed to Dili should have a meeting with President prevent - should the people opt for inde- Soares. being the venue for the second “reconcilia- pendence - the possibility that what is hap- tion meeting” (held in Wales in September), Salvador said that there were four anti- pening in Angola happens in Timor.” He integration groups abroad: the Ramos-Horta “which would have constituted a significant said that one way to narrow the gap be- concession by Jakarta, and a conquest for group based in Australia and Portugal, the tween fellow citizens was to make it possi- Abilio Araujo group based in Portugal, the the Timorese cause.” Furthermore, according ble for them to be culturally different, even to Araujo, such a move by Portugal would José Guterres and Mari Alkatiri group based in their eating habits. The achieve this, in Portugal and Mozambique and the João have underlined, in the eyes of the interna- Araujo is prepared to establish “trade chan- tional community, Portugal’s status as ad- Carrascalao group based in Australia and nels with Timorese citizens,” so that food- Portugal. He said that meeting only one of ministrating power of East Timor. stuffs such as salted cod, wine, etc. can be In the view of this Timorese leader, who the groups would not resolve the problem. sent into East Timor. However, he refutes In his interview with the BBC, Bishop continues to refer to himself as the Chair- Ramos Horta’s allegations, which appeared man of Fretilin, elected by the 1984 Con- Belo said that a meeting with Abilio Araujo gress (he was, in fact, expelled by the would not solve anything. “He doesn’t rep- Page 94 East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. resent the East Timor community, he’s just MEETING BETWEEN was either not involved in or actually against a businessman,” Belo told the BBC. the meetings, seen as a personal project of Salvador also expressed the opinion that FRIENDS Tutut Suharto (probably with his father’s it would be best to have meetings with all “Timor Leste” (monthly CDPM bulletin) blessing). the groups simultaneously, including also September 1994. Translated from Portu- Within the Timorese pro-integration elite informal leaders in East Timor such as guese. Abridged itself there are differences of opinion as to Bishop Belo. Belo certainly knows a great the scope and usefulness of these meetings. deal about the problems being confronted by The second “reconciliation” meeting held Some local administration employees, who the people of East Timor as people always in London brought few surprises. It did, attended the first meeting, stayed away (or take their problems to him, said Salvador however, reveal the position of the various were kept away) from the second. There has participants more clearly. been public criticism of the meetings, such INDONESIA’S SUHARTO TO Although, to the less attentive, it may as that from the DPR (People’s Representa- not have been obvious, a retrospective look MEET EX-TIMOR LEADER tive Assembly in Jakarta) member Salvador at events will show that Indonesia has been Ximenes who, although participating him- forced, over the past few years, to make Abridged. self, said he was in favour of the meeting significant concessions on the diplomatic being open to all Timorese sectors, including Jakarta, Nov. 8 (Reuter) - Indonesia’s front. First it was made to admit what it had anti-Indonesians. The absence of Father President Suharto will meet with Portugal- been denying for so long - that a conflict in Francisco Fernandes, present at the Decem- based East Timor figure Abilio de Araujo, East Timor actually existed; then, the not ber meeting, was also taken as a sign that the recently sacked as leader of the exile resis- exclusively internal nature of the conflict; Church was distancing itself from the proc- tance movement, an Indonesian official said later, the need for a negotiated solution, and ess. on Tuesday. finally, that the Timorese are, in fact, an But the status of the former Portuguese interested party in the negotiations. This is Indonesia’s trump cards colony, invaded by Indonesia in late 1975 remarkable progress, achieved at the ex- From the outset the Resistance totally re- and since annexed by Jakarta, will not be on pense, and through the sacrifice of the jected these meetings. In a message sent in the agenda, a senior official said. Timorese themselves. September to the Australian solidarity Suharto, due to host a meeting of regional Given the now inevitable entry of the movement, Xanana Gusmão reaffirmed this leaders including U.S. President Bill Clinton, Timorese into the negotiations process, one position, describing the meeting’s protago- struck a conciliatory note over East Timor of Indonesia’s current strategic priorities is nists as “Indonesian diplomacy’s trump last week when he said that he was willing to create interlocutors, who are apparently cards” and “Alatas’ egg of the garuda” to meet exiled East Timorese for talks. He on the Timorese side while sympathetic (mythological bird of Indonesian culture). did not say whom. towards Indonesia, and to make them credi- Ramos Horta, leader of the CNRM abroad, “The meeting will be held soon. He (de ble. The imprisonment of Commander also discredited the meeting, considering it a Araujo) will meet with the president based Xanana Gusmão, the undisputed leader of “non-event,” and harshly criticising any on his own will,” Indonesian envoy for East the Resistance who is, for the time being, possible UN presence. Timor Lopes da Cruz told a news confer- prevented from taking part in the process, However, the UN was there in London. ence. facilitated this maneuver. The promotion of The communiqué released by Boutros Ghali Da Cruz did not say when exactly the the “reconciliation” meetings serves the at the time clarified that the representative meeting would take place, adding that details purpose of providing “alternatives” that was there in observer capacity, that it was about the event were still being discussed. It may be useful to Indonesia in the future, and “the start of a series of consultations,” and would be the first such meeting since Indo- making those “alternatives” appear worthy that the Secretary General “intended to seek nesian forces invaded the former Portuguese of confidence to both public opinion and similar consultations with other Timorese colony in late 1975. political decision-makers. The former Fre- not present” at the meeting. The meeting would be reconciliatory in tilin leader, Abilio Araujo, plays an impor- In summary, the UN did not totally dis- which the political status of the troubled tant role in this scene. miss the meeting (as the Resistance would have liked), but neither did it consider the territory would not be discussed, da Cruz Internal contradictions said, adding it was not significant that meeting the ideal way to fulfill the require- Araujo or other exiles who might join the We are usually presented with the view ments of Point 8 of the Communiqué from meeting recognised Indonesian rule over that the Indonesian regime is an example of the Geneva Alatas/Barroso ministerial meet- Timor. solidity and monolithicism. Occasionally, ing of 6 May, which referred to intra- Araujo led the exile movement until last distinctions are made between the “hawks” Timorese talks, without any discrimination. year when he and his wife were ousted by (invariably the military) and the “doves” It seems that the UN has its own way of opponents. He has since held two rounds of (civilian sectors). In reality, however, the approaching the question. It remains to be talks with pro-Jakarta Timorese under In- question of East Timor has now cut through seen how it will manage this difficult proc- donesian sponsorship, including a round Indonesian society to such an extent that far ess of consultations in the future. more complex divisions are being revealed. with Da Cruz in Britain last month. Thanks for the invasion! Suharto said last week that such recon- It is possible, for example, that the venue chosen for the two meetings was not acci- The conclusions of the meeting itself are ciliation talks should be continued and that clearer than those of the previous one and more East Timorese need to be involved. dental, but rather linked to the fact that the Indonesian Ambassador to London is a erased any doubts about the position of the Other exiles have rejected the talks as a participants, especially the so-called “lead- sham. brother of the Minister of Technology, J. Habibie - a Suharto protégé and confidant, ers abroad.” In the midst of the final com- and possible candidate for presidential suc- muniqué’s rhetoric, there are references to cession. This would bear out the interpreta- the “tragic civil war of 1975” (the Indone- tion in certain circles that Minister Alatas sian invasion is described as “requested involvement”) and the “appreciation” and East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. Page 95

“encouragement” felt for Indonesia’s devel- people have been continuously violated by seriousness of the New Order government in opment policy and promotion of human denying them objective information about seeking a peaceful resolution to the question rights. what really happened in East Timor. of East Timor while at the same time paving There is no acknowledgment of the grav- As a result of the invasion and occupa- the way to the rehabilitation of the good ity of the human rights situation, no men- tion, it is estimated that there have been name of the Indonesian people. tion of the Santa Cruz massacre, and refer- hundreds of thousands of victims on both Clear support for the freedom of the ence to free access to the territory for ob- sides. Our tears as Indonesian citizens who people of East Timor does not mean con- servers, humanitarian and human rights or- are politically conscious and loyal to the doning separatism. On the contrary, it ganisations is simply omitted. Constitution are not only shed for the East means upholding the 1945 Constitution, On the other hand, pitiful appeals are Timorese martyrs who died during the inva- rejecting the possibility of yet more victims made to Jakarta for “special consideration” sion and occupation but also for the Indone- falling on both sides and paying tribute to to be given to local administration, and for sian soldiers who died in order to serve the the history of the independence struggle of studies which would contribute towards ambitions, suspicions and misunderstand- Indonesia from Sabang to Merauke. safeguarding cultural values introduced in ings of a small number of leaders of the New Jakarta, 9 November 1994 schools. Order with regard to the East Timorese Pusat Informasi dan Jaringan Aksi untuk When more daring “demands” are made, people. To this very day, nothing whatso- Reformasi they turn out to be distorted and flinching. ever is known about how many Indonesian Rachland Nashidik, Chairman For example, when the release of Timorese soldiers have died from the time of the inva- prisoners is requested, the term “rapid” sion up until the present stage of the occu- EXILED FRETILIN MEMBERS (which appears in the UN resolution ac- pation nor about the fate of the wives and TO MEET WITH cepted by Indonesia itself) has been omit- the children of the deceased. ted. A reduction to the military presence in In this context, your meeting, President SUHARTO SOON Timor is mentioned. This would be interest- Soeharto, with representatives of the East Jakarta Post, 10 Nov. Slightly abridged ing, except that the communiqué refers to Timorese resistance, is a belated first step “the continuation” of the current presence. that must be implemented by the New Or- Jakarta – A group of East Timorese in ex- (In a BBC interview that same week, the der government to rehabilitate and restore ile opposing the integration of their home- military commander of East Timor stated the reputation of the Indonesian people land with Indonesia will soon have a meeting that no reductions are planned.) whose 1945 Constitution recognises that with President Suharto to thank him for his “liberty is the right of all peoples and colo- efforts to develop the territory, an official PIJAR STATEMENT nialism should be eradicated from the earth said. F.X. Lopes da Cruz, Indonesia’s ambas- ON EAST TIMOR TALKS because it is in conflict with humanity and social justice.” sador-at-large for East Timor affairs, told Published in Kabar dari Pijar (News from The New Order government cannot con- reporters on Tuesday that the delegation Pijar) No. 18, November 1994: tinue with its futile and contradictory ef- consists of anti-integration Timorese based forts to convince the world that the East in Portugal. On plans for a meeting between Presi- Timorese people accepted “integrasi” with They will be led by Abilio Araujo, a dent Soeharto and representatives of the Indonesia of their own free will. East leader of the Fretilin movement which seeks resistance in East Timor. Timorese resistance to the New Order’s independence for East Timor, Lopes said. Araujo, who was the economics minister To His Excellency, President Soeharto, Bina occupation has been waged from the time of of the East Timor republic proclaimed by Graha, Jakarta the attack by ABRI, the Indonesian armed forces, up to the present day, 19 years later. Fretilin rebels, will probably be accompa- PIJAR (Pusat Informasi dan Jaringan The bloody tragedy of 12 November nied by Rogerio Lobato, Fretilin’s defence Aksi untuk Reformasi, Centre of Informa- 1991 at the Santa Cruz cemetery is proof minister, Lopes said. tion and Action Network for Reform) that the resistance of the East Timorese The announcement came only a few days warmly welcomes and supports the plan for people is these days being waged not only after President Suharto said he would be a meeting between President Soeharto, the in the interior but has spread among the pleased to meet with anti-integration East leader and the one responsible for the New common people in the occupied towns. Timorese wanting to contribute to the de- Order government, and representatives of We want you, President Soeharto, to velopment in the youngest province. the East Timorese resistance. We believe have a sincere and genuine meeting, and not Lopes said it was Araujo who had that it is important for the meeting to take just do something for the sake of improving (taken) the initiative to meet with the Presi- place on the basis of equality between the your image for short term objectives. We dent. two sides and in a spirit of paving the way feel that it is crucial that the representatives “The date has yet to be set because we to a just solution primarily for the people of of the East Timorese resistance invited to have to coordinate things with related par- East Timor, on a higher and more substan- the meeting should not only include Abilio ties such as our embassy in London and the tive level than a previous meeting that took Araujo and his group, but first and foremost Portugal-Indonesia Friendship Society,” he place last month in New York with Foreign the leadership of the CNRM - the side con- said. Minister Ali Alatas. sidered by the international community and The Society, chaired by President Su- The Indonesian people have been criti- recognised by the people of East Timor as harto’s eldest daughter Siti Hardiyanti cised and humiliated for years on the inter- legitimate representatives of the resistance Rukmana has twice held reconciliatory national arena because of the unconstitu- of the East Timorese. meetings in London with East Timorese tional act of the New Order government in The representatives of the East Timorese living in Portugal, including Araujo. invading and occupying East Timor. The resistance who participate as protagonists Lopes said the talks between Araujo and attack in 1975 was launched in secret behind will not only be the defining point of the Suharto would be strictly in the spirit of the backs of the Indonesian people; in the credibility of the meeting but first and fore- reconciliation and would refrain from touch- years since, the rights of the Indonesian most, it will serve as the measure of the ing on the province’s political status. Page 96 East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994.

East Timor integrated with Indonesia in think the only person the President should Mandela and then, after contesting the elec- 1976 by the UN has not recognised it. meet is Xanana Gusmão. The three repre- tions, to enter into a government that is lead Lopes said Araujo would speak in a per- sentatives who met Foreign Minister Alatas by Nelson Mandela. sonal capacity since Indonesia no longer in New York (the CNRM which was repre- Q: So? recognised the province’s former political sented by José Ramos-Horta, the UDT parties. which was represented by João Carrascalao A: This means that we should start holding He said that informal reconciliatory talks and Fretilin which was represented by José talks with the East Timor movement. We between pro- and anti-integration East Luis Guterres) all said that they were only should also start discussing the technicalities Timorese was expected to facilitate formal representatives and not the top leadership of the surrender of sovereignty. When the tripartite talks between Indonesia and Por- of what they referred to as the resistance Netherlands withdrew from Indonesia, this tugal under the auspices of the UN secre- movement. was preceded by a process of negotiation. These negotiations could be mediated by tary-general. Q: So, what do you mean? He said he was uncertain however someone with authority in East Timor like whether Araujo would visit East Timor A: There’s already been a meeting with José Bishop Belo. But don’t talk to an adven- though said Araujo would be welcome if he Ramos-Horta in New York and the meeting turer like Abilio Araujo as if he represents wishes to do so. between Lopes da Cruz and the Portuguese East Timor. This will only belittle the “He (Araujo) used to be one of the most Foreign Minister in Luxembourg. Now standing of the East Timorese. radical dissidents. His view changed after Abilio Araujo is going to meet the President Q: But it isn’t possible any more to grant watching a video film about East Timor and in Jakarta. This is only evading the core them freedom... (he) realised that the Indonesian government issue, namely, that we have to acknowledge that a number of East Timorese want to be A: Freedom is not something that is granted; are sincerely helping the people,” Lopes it’s something that has to be fought for. A said free. We can only know how many by hold- ing a referendum. Indonesia should not be- referendum is the way to do it, as is recog- have like Morocco which has persistently nised internationally. THERE’S NO POINT HAVING boycotted a referendum in the Western Sa- Did people in Afghanistan ever think that DIALOGUE WITH ARAUJO hara. the Russians would withdraw? Did people ever imagine that the Americans would The following interview of George Junus Q: So, what do you think should happen? withdraw from South Korea? The longer we Aditjondro was published in the weekly A: Indonesia should get back to its own hold out there, the more unpopular we be- magazine, Sinar, on 19 November 1994: Constitution. I always stand by the Pream- come not only with the East Timorese but ble of the Constitution: ‘Independence is the also internationally. Q: What is your opinion of the President’s right of all peoples and therefore, colonial- willingness to enter into dialogue with Q: But the version up to now has been that ism should be eradicated from the earth.’ they want to stay with us. East Timorese anti-integrationists? The challenge for Indonesia is to put the A: This is a positive development following spirit of the Constitution into practice here A: If that assumption is right, we shouldn’t Foreign Minister Ali Alatas’ meeting with in our part of the world. be afraid to hold a referendum. If it’s true the East Timorese leaders. I don’t like to When people were dealing with inde- that the East Timorese want to stay with refer to them as anti-integration leaders. I pendence in Namibia, we gave our support. Indonesia, the Indonesian government prefer to describe them as leaders of the We supported the anti-apartheid movement shouldn’t be afraid of a referendum. East Timor movement. It is much better for by helping Nelson Mandela. But on the Q: Would that resolve the question? us to give them a positive designation rather other hand, we have given Xanana Gusmão A: After the way we have treated the East than calling them anti-integration. The inte- the ‘Nelson Mandela treatment’ by throw- Timorese during the past twenty years, I gration that was favoured by Apodeti has ing him into jail. see the process of annexing East Timor as never happened in East Timor. Integration These are double standards. We were having been far more traumatic than in the according to whom? There’s a big difference born out of the independence struggle and case of Irian Jaya. between what Indonesia wants and what the we should not crush the desire of others to For instance, from the start, we did not East Timorese want. The East Timorese be free even though they are only a small recognise the economic structures in East clearly don’t want such a huge concentration nation. Timor. Anyone with escudos, the Portu- of troops there. Q: So what should happen now? guese currency, found that their money Q: Do you regard the term anti-integration A: I think a good beginning has been made. became worthless. This didn’t happen in as objectionable? Alatas has met Ramos-Horta and his col- Irian Jaya. The Dutch guilder was converti- A: Well, there’s never been any integration, leagues in New York and Lopes da Cruz has ble into rupiahs so that people didn’t feel so what is there be ‘anti’ about? I prefer to said that the President wants to meet the cheated. talk about the East Timor movement. It’s leaders of the East Timor movement. I In Irian Jaya, we recognised the system like the Non-Bloc Movement. That doesn’t would like to call on the President to follow of education that had been pioneered by the consist of individuals, it’s a movement. the example of de Clerk in South Africa by missionaries and also the Dutch government. The East Timor movement has its lead- freeing Xanana Gusmão who is recognised That didn’t happen in East Timor. Irian was ers. I think it’s a great mistake to regard internationally as the leader of the East not forced to become part of Indonesia by Abilio Araujo as a representative of the East Timor movement. our sending thirty battalions. Take a look at the autobiographies of Benny Murdani, Timor movement. He was expelled from Just see: the European Parliament has given Fretilin because he engaged in secret diplo- Soesilo Sudarman and Yoga Sugama. They him an award that’s something like the No- all explain how the troops were used. macy with Ali Alatas without the approval bel Peace Prize. The UN Association in of his party. Australia have given him their Human Q: Just suppose there were to be a referen- It’s quite wrong to see Abilio Araujo as a Rights Award. It was a magnanimous ges- dum and the majority were to opt for leader who should meet the President. I ture on the part of de Clerk to free Nelson staying with Indonesia - say, 60:40. East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. Page 97

Would the 40 percent want to recognise have been swept up. In the last year, Indo- Henry Kissinger - and since the horror con- the result? nesia has tiptoed up to, and then fled from, tinues, the letter from the senators and a A: That’s a hypothetical question. I doubt a limited experiment in political “openness.” similar letter from House members ex- whether 60 per cent would want to stay Its return to a more repressive leadership pressed an appropriate American desire to with Indonesia. They already know so much style was marked by the banning of three make up for past complicity in Jakarta’s about Indonesia. For instance, would it be unintimidated publications last June. colonization of East Timor. more efficient for them to use all the oil Whatever rationale for hard-line rule was As the lawmakers suggest, Clinton from the Timor Gap to develop East Timor invoked in more parlous times, there can be should urge Suharto not only to cease the or, if they were part of Indonesia, to have no good justification for President Suharto’s torturing and killing of Timorese but to be- part of the proceeds deposited with the reversion to authoritarian type now. gin serious negotiations, under UN auspices, centre and then have to ask for a share? It Growth has created a middle class that is with the aim of ending Indonesia’s occupa- would be far better for the East Timorese to demanding the political privileges appropri- tion of East Timor. There have been pro use their resources to develop their country. ate to a modernizing society. The banned forma talks between Jakarta and Portugal, And people from West Timor would be able papers were offering a check on official the former colonial master of East Timor, to find jobs there. conduct and corruption – a high value in a and another set of such talks is scheduled If East Timor were to become independ- country whose parliament is mostly a rub- for January. Thus far these talks have ac- ent and prosperous, this would have a posi- ber stamp. The papers were also giving complished nothing. Unless they produce a tive influence on its neighbours. And the voice to Indonesia’s newly threatened “non- genuine commitment to Indonesian with- money would result in great abundance and government organizations.” These constitute drawal, they will amount to little more than prosperity. the makings of a bottom-up civil society – dilatory conversations between the present again, a high value in a country where au- and past colonizers of a people not allowed Q: Are you saying that a referendum will not thority is commonly asserted from the top to determine their own fate. solve the question? down. If Clinton wishes to undertake a diplo- A: A referendum is the first step towards The United States provided the secret matic process leading to the decolonization solving the question. But before we get to support in the name of anti-communism of East Timor, he should seek Japan’s assis- that first step, there must be the willingness that then-Gen. Suharto used to muscle aside tance. Like the United States, Japan has to enter into dialogue, a willingness to hold President Sukarno in the 1960s. Later Wash- guilt to live down in regard to East Timor. negotiations between the Indonesian gov- ington enabled Indonesia, which it saw as a The Japanese also share with the United ernment and the top leadership of the East strategic partner, to illegally swallow the States an interest in cultivating a stable Asia Timor movement former Portuguese colony of East Timor, unstained by the horrors of colonialism. which it holds and represses to this day. Their past closeness adds an edge of obliga- U.S. EDITORIALS ATROCITIES ARE tion to the plain American interest in seeing BAD FOR BUSINESS AND OP-EDS an important and friendly Asian country swing onto a democratic path. President Ending the Rape of East Timor Should Clinton, his Asian eye so far on commerce, Top the Agenda With Indonesia WHY NO INDONESIAN has a chance to show he understands. Washington Post, Sunday Nov. 13, 1994 DEMOCRACY? Op-ed by Paul Moore Jr. A CLINTON MISSION Editorial, Washington Post, Nov. 5, 1994 When Bill Clinton visits Indonesia this IN JAKARTA week and meets with President Suharto in a It has become the practice – and a good Editorial, Boston Globe, Nov. 12, 1994 state visit after the APEC conference, East one – for the human rights groups to piggy- Timor will be high on the agenda. Clinton back on summits and big international con- “East Timor remains a place where arbi- has a unique opportunity to lay the ferences to press their special cause. Right trary detention and torture are routine and groundwork for a diplomatic victory that now the focus is on the Asia-Pacific Eco- where basic freedoms of expression, associa- could solve an enduring human rights crisis nomic Cooperation (APEC) meeting about tion and assembly are nonexistent.” at the same time that it removes a sore point to open in Indonesia. Its military-chosen This description of Indonesian human in our relations with the most populous government sees a prime opportunity to rights abuses in East Timor appeared in a country in Southeast Asia. A just settlement show off economic growth and foreign pol- recent report by Human Rights Watch Asia of the long-running occupation of the former icy stability. President Suharto may hope and was quoted in a letter to President Clin- Portuguese colony of East Timor is in the the economic declarations coming out of ton initiated by Sen. Claiborne Pell of Rhode best interests of Indonesia and the United Bogor will lend him the statesmanlike glow Island, the outgoing Democratic chairman of States. his predecessor Sukarno took on as a father the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Clinton might be pushing against an open of the nonaligned movement at Bandung in and Republican Sen. Malcolm Wallop of door: Western diplomats say that Suharto, 1965. It is the right moment for the thou- Wyoming and signed by 30 senators. looking at his place in history, may want to sands of officials and onlookers to ask about The senators asked Clinton, politely but find a solution to the morass in East Timor. the price that has been paid for the progress firmly, to raise the issue of Indonesian re- In 1991 the Indonesian government was claimed. pression on East Timor when he meets with deeply embarrassed by British TV footage, In fact, Indonesia has committed what Indonesia’s President Suharto this Wednes- shown worldwide, in which its army was Amnesty International calls a “pattern of day during the Asia-Pacific Economic Co- seen massacring Timorese students. Helping systematic human rights violations” over the operation summit in Jakarta. Because the to resolve this thorny issue could highlight years. The calling of the Bogor conference Timorese have suffered genocidal horror Clinton’s talent for leadership and media- may have aggravated the offense: Independ- since Indonesia invaded in 1975 - after re- tion. It could end up being the kind of for- ent labor unions and peaceful dissidents ceiving the green light from Gerald Ford and Page 98 East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. eign policy breakthrough that Clinton Belo, revealed the palpable level of fear in An expansionist Indonesia, vast archipel- helped facilitate in Northern Ireland. the territory. He said absolutely nothing for ago nation, invaded and annexed the While East Timor could not be more dis- the first 10 minutes; when he did finally talk neighboring former Portuguese colony in tant from the United States - it is located off he sought assurances that we would did not 1975. Since then, 200,000 people – out of a the northern coast of Australia - the U.S. feel in danger. Later, he told me he was population of 700,000 – have died as a re- responsibility for its suffering is not. In- afraid that he would be assassinated. Since sult of the fighting and of famine. deed, the last state visit by a U.S. president then, this quiet bishop, cut from the same The United Nations considers Portugal to the Indonesian capital came in December mold as Archbishop Desmond Tutu of the legal sovereign in East Timor. Mr. Clin- 1975, on the eve of Indonesia’s invasion of South Africa, has been forced into the role ton should make it clear that he is ready to East Timor. On that trip President Ford was of prophet against oppression. He calls for cooperate with Secretary General Boutros accompanied by Secretary of State Henry withdrawal of Indonesian troops and auton- Boutros-Ghali, who is overseeing talks on Kissinger. omy and, eventually, a U.N.-supervised East Timor between Indonesia and Portugal. “Kissinger and Ford knew from U.S. in- referendum on the territory’s political fu- The U.N. talks, initiated in 1983, long made telligence of Indonesia’s planned action (in ture. no progress because of Indonesian stone- East Timor), which violated the laws gov- At present, Indonesian military pride is walling, but recent pressure has led Presi- erning its purchase of American arms,” ac- at stake: having invested so much effort dent Suharto to declare that he is willing to cording to an authoritative 1992 biography there, how to admit failure? Nonetheless, meet with pro-independence leaders. of Kissinger by Walter Isaacson. “But . . . some top-ranking officers have begun to United States involvement in the problem the administration did nothing to stop the debate the issue. There is also the question would be appropriate, for the Truman Ad- invasion,” which proved to be “shockingly of the military’s investments in East ministration brokered the 1949 Round Table brutal.” Most estimates place the number of Timor’s natural wealth such as high-grade agreements by which the Netherlands ac- dead as a consequence of the Indonesian coffee, marble, rare sandalwood and, not knowledged the sovereignty of Indonesia, occupation of East Timor between 100,000 least, oil. which was proclaimed in 1945. and more than 200,000, or as much as a Until the past few weeks, the Indonesian In 1995, Indonesians will celebrate the third of the population. government has been intransigent as ever on 50th anniversary of the proclamation of Indonesia has been helpful to the United East Timor. In early October, perhaps influ- their independence, while the East Timorese States in many ways and the commercial enced by the imminent APEC summit, For- mourn the 20th anniversary of the occupa- opportunities between the two countries are eign Minister Ali Alatas extended the velvet tion. great. East Timor is a clear-cut case where glove of diplomacy by meeting for the first For nearly 20 years, Jakarta has tried to the United States, working with allies like time in New York with diplomatic represen- outdo its own former colonial rulers, the Japan, needs to develop a carefully cali- tatives of the East Timorese resistance Dutch. Using far more ruthless methods, its brated set of policies informed by the prin- movement. military has gained control of most of East ciple that decency and long-term commercial But there is still the iron fist. Aside from Timor without ending armed resistance; it interests are not antagonistic. the continuing imprisonment of top leaders has captured José Alexandre Gusmão The Clinton administration has already of East Timor’s resistance and the torture (known as Xanana), leader of the nationalist taken some action on East Timor, including and abuse of numerous others, one current guerrillas, and sentenced him to 20 years. In positive votes on strong resolutions at the case exemplifies Jakarta’s stance. José An- addition, imitating Dutch colonial policy in U.N. Human Rights Commission and a ban tonio Neves, a theology student, is now on Indonesia, Jakarta has poured in funds to on certain small arms that could be used by trial a few hundred miles from where the build schools and roads while appointing Indonesian forces in East Timor. Clinton APEC summit will be held, facing a sentence some East Timorese to administrative posi- also raised the issue with Suharto when they of 20 years to life in prison. A key offense: tions. met in July 1993 in Tokyo and encouraged sending a fax from a commercial establish- Still, Indonesia’s goal of political legiti- U.N. talks later that year. Congressional ment on the island of Java for the leader of macy in East Timor is further off than ever. Republicans, including staunch conserva- East Timor’s guerrilla movement - hardly a Like The Hague, Jakarta has discovered that tives like Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.) and Mal- crime worthy of a life behind bars. the mix of development, schooling and re- colm Wallop (R-Wyo.), have also been call- Clinton has a chance to reverse the pression only deepens and widens the na- ing on the Indonesian government to ease its American legacy of 1975. He and our other tionalist tide it opposes. grip on East Timor and accept U.N.- Asian economic partners can negotiate not This is why a frustrated President Su- sponsored mediation. just another business deal, but take a major harto has referred to East Timor as “a pim- The allure of huge new markets in Asia step toward advancing American principles ple on Indonesia’s face” and Foreign Minis- should not tempt the Clinton administration of justice and human rights. ter Ali Alatas calls it “gravel in our shoes.” into softening its stand. Indonesian settlers Paul Moore was the Episcopal bishop of East Timor’s nationalists recognize that are pouring into the East Timor; a morally New York from 1972 to 1989. Jakarta cannot be defeated militarily. questionable birth control program has been What is needed is a new Round Table put into effect by the same Indonesian army END INDONESIA’S conference for a peaceful transition to inde- that has decimated the population since the pendence. Though successive U.S. admini- mid-1970s. The word genocide can be accu- IMPERIALIST RULE strations have enjoyed close relations with rately used. Jakarta, all have refused to concede that it By Benedict R. Anderson. The New York In 1989, I visited East Timor when the has legal sovereignty over East Timor. The Times op-ed Sunday, November 13, 1994 territory was open to travelers for the first U.S. also objects to human rights abuses in time; it was the most repressive place I had ITHACA, N.Y. – When President Clin- Indonesia: on the eve of Mr. Clinton’s trip, ever encountered - and I’d been to South ton visits Indonesia for the Asia-Pacific Jakarta is trying Muchtar Pakpahan, chair- Africa, Nicaragua and the former Soviet Economic Cooperation forum this week, he man of the independent All Indonesian La- bloc. My first meeting with East Timor’s should call for independence for East Timor. bor Federation, on trumped-up charges of Roman Catholic Bishop, Carlos Ximenes subversion. East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. Page 99

In the Congress, where a broad bipartisan sian Government has maintained a huge Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation confer- group has long expressed deep concern military presence, encouraged migration of ence this week, he should not overlook the about the chronic human rights abuses in new residents from Java to swamp the na- haunting situation in East Timor. East Timor, there is growing awareness that tive population, punished peaceful dissent It is normally extremely difficult to focus they are the inevitable consequence of a and restricted access by outsiders. public awareness on the former Portuguese colonial situation that only a political In bilateral talks after the summit, Mr. colony near Australia, which was invaded agreement will resolve. Clinton is expected to raise the issue of East by Indonesia in 1975. Perhaps one-third or Since the international uproar over the Timor with President Suharto of Indonesia. more of a population of 700,000 have per- massacre of November 1991, in which per- It is not the only human rights issue he ished as a consequence of a harsh Indonesian haps 200 unarmed East Timorese were should raise. Equally important are repres- occupation. But President Clinton’s trip, gunned down at a rally for independence in sion of the trade union movement and op- which includes a state visit in Jakarta on full view of foreign journalists, Indonesian pressive policies elsewhere, notably Irian Wednesday, provides a unique opportunity intellectuals and students have become in- Jaya, Aceh and North Sumatra. Muchtar to highlight a tragedy that refuses to go creasingly bold in sympathizing with East Pakpahan, chairman of the Independent All away. Timor’s resistance. Indonesian Labor Federation, was sentenced Nov. 12 marked the third anniversary of The massacre, at Dili, East Timor’s capi- to three years in jail on flimsy subversion the massacre at Santa Cruz cemetery in Dili, tal, damaged Indonesia’s international repu- charges last week. the capital of East Timor, where Indonesian tation. (On Oct. 28, a Federal court in Bos- Given Indonesia’s authoritarian tradition troops killed hundreds of mourners and ton awarded $14 million to the mother of a and its aspirations for world respect, Mr. demonstrators at a funeral commemoration – 19-year-old human rights observer who was Clinton can make some reasonable demands a scene recorded by a journalist from British slain. She had sued the general responsible in his meeting with President Suharto. The television. These shocking images were seen for the massacre, who had gone to Harvard first priority should be to insure the safety by millions of people throughout the world. to study but fled the United States when the of the students inside the embassy com- Immediately thereafter, a 26-year-old case was filed against him.) For the first pound and other students still at risk. East Timorese student, Fernando Araujo, time since 1975, there is now open debate He can ask that Jakarta drastically scale tried to contact Amnesty International to among Indonesian officials, some even call- down its military presence in East Timor. provide them with information about the ing for a total reappraisal. He can push for more local control and un- Santa Cruz massacre. For this and other In 1949, the Netherlands had to give up a restricted access by journalists and both nonviolent acts, Araujo received a nine-year vast colony it had ruled for centuries. To- international and domestic human rights prison sentence. day, Indonesia must relinquish a territory organizations, and an end to human rights Araujo was also charged with having dis- the size of New Jersey it has ruled for less violations such as arbitrary detention and cussions on how to bring East Timor to the than two decades. President Clinton can torture, forced birth control measures and attention of the international community. help make this possible. violent repression of peaceful dissent. Still another charge involved sending a letter Benedict R. Anderson, professor of interna- A final and helpful gesture would be to to former President Bush likening the Indo- tional studies at Cornell, edits the journal make contact with Dili’s Roman Catholic nesian occupation of East Timor to the Iraqi Indonesia. Bishop, Filipe Belo, who has spoken out invasion of Kuwait – not an inaccurate courageously in defense of the Timorese comparison, but a dangerous one to make in INDONESIA’S people a t considerable personal risk. Indonesia. Indonesia is not a monolith. The recent It is also perilous for courageous Indone- EMBARRASSMENT meeting between Indonesia’s Foreign Minis- sians who dare to speak out on the East ter, Ali Alatas, and the East Timorese op- Timor situation. Last month, I attended an Editorial, New York Times, Nov. 15, 1994 position leader José Ramos Horta is cause international conference in Portugal with Dr. Indonesia is the world’s fourth most for hope. All these issues are the subject of George Aditjondro, a respected scholar and populous country. It is a diverse society, intense debate within the country, and many environmentalist who has done firsthand rich in both culture and natural resources Indonesians understand the danger they studies on the Timor situation. and eager to take a respected place in the pose to its international standing. President The last night of the conference, Aditjon- community of nations. So it is appropriate Suharto must be encouraged to listen to dro received a summons from the Indonesian that the Indonesian city of Bogor is hosting those voices. police for interrogation about comments he the informal summit of the newly formed made during a university panel discussion Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation alliance. A WORD FOR JUSTICE AT on the future of Indonesian politics. Am- However, Indonesia’s image has been INDONESIA’S TRADE nesty International believes that this was an marred by the perennially embarrassing attempt by authorities to punish Aditjondro issue of East Timor, the former Portuguese SUMMIT for his criticism of government policy on colony it invaded in 1975 and forcibly an- human rights and environmental concerns in nexed. Anticipating world attention on the HUMAN RIGHTS: CLINTON’S VISIT Indonesia and East Timor. In recent weeks, summit, 29 East Timorese students entered COULD SHED LIGHT ON THE Aditjondro has been interrogated for many the U.S. Embassy grounds in Jakarta on GENOCIDAL OCCUPATION OF EAST hours by police about the university panel Saturday and have refused to move. Rioting discussion. After one five-hour session, he in Dili, the capital of East Timor, broke out TIMOR. became ill. over the weekend after the alleged killing of By Mairead Corrigan Maguire. Op-ed, Los President Clinton should intervene with an East Timorese merchant by Indonesian Angeles Times, November 13, 1994. Indonesian authorities with the aim of soldiers. ensuring that such harassment is ended and By some estimates, 200,000 people died that Araujo be released. in the 1975 invasion, roughly a third of East When President Clinton meets with President Suharto of Indonesia during the These two courageous individuals are Timor’s population. Since then the Indone- only the tip of the iceberg. People further Page 100 East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. down in society, lacking international net- Catholic Church sources have detailed the officials respond that this is unintentional. works of support, suffer much worse. grim results of this policy, which may have But East Timor’s church and other observ- I have had my own experience with the cost the lives of 200,000 people - one-third ers call this a well-planned government pol- lengths Jakarta will go to muzzle criticism. of East Timor’s population. Repression icy. It pressured allies in the region, such as the continues. As I write, a theology student on The bishop calls for genuine withdrawal Philippines, to prevent a conference on East trial faces 20 years to life in prison for of- of Indonesian troops to help create peaceful Timor from taking place in June. Upon arri- fenses that include sending a fax for the conditions, so that a free election under val in Manila for the conference, after 18 leader of East Timor’s armed resistance. United Nations supervision may be held. hours of travel, I was summarily deported Three years ago, Indonesian troops The fear is that traditionalist US policymak- by the Philippine authorities, under obvious opened fire on unarmed mourners at the ers, anxious to avoid offending Indonesia’s pressure from Jakarta. Santa Cruz Cemetery in East Timor, killing military rulers, will downplay East Timor. The Catholic Bishop of East Timor, Car- and wounding hundreds. An investigation As in 1975, this could embolden Jakarta and los Ximenes Belo, has inspired me as he conducted in 1993-94 by the British journal- convince it that public relations gestures, speaks out courageously for truth, justice ist who filmed the 1991 massacre concluded, not concrete change, are sufficient. and in defense of human rights in spite of on the basis of reports compiled by East Clinton must not let that happen. It nec- death threats. The bishop is trying to find Timor’s church, that at least 500 people essary, the president and his top advisers ways to end the conflict through support vanished, including those shot at Santa should overrule career bureaucrats who in- for dialogue under the auspices of the Cruz. The church and others insist that herited an inhuman policy from Kissinger. United Nations, in accordance with the many of the wounded were deliberately Arnold S. Kohen is a journalist. principles of international law, He deserves murdered. the backing of the United States. As we The mother of the sole foreigner killed at GRUBBY LITTLE SECRET have learned in my home country of North- Santa Cruz Cemetery brought a lawsuit ern Ireland, it is only through all-inclusive against the Indonesian general in command WHAT’S MORE IMPORTANT: dialogue and the cessation of all violence of East Timor, and on Oct. 27 was awarded SAVING A LIFE OR MAKING A BUCK? that we can begin to solve our problems $14 million in damages by a federal judge in together. Boston. The decision, handed down here Editorial, USA Today, Nov. 15, 1994. [USA because in 1992 the general had resided in Today is the largest-circulation paper in the Mairead Corrigan Maguire is co-founder of United States.] the Northern Ireland Community of the the area, is an example of what happens Peace People and shared the Nobel Peace when the brutality of the occupation is sub- At the Asia-Pacific Economic Coopera- Prize in 1976. jected to a real legal system. tion forum this week in Indonesia, the buck The Clinton administration has taken comes first. Indeed, even some of President U.S. CAN HELP some positive measures on the issue, such Clinton’s advisers want him to soft-pedal as providing unprecedented US support for touchy human rights issues. And so far, he’s FREE EAST TIMOR resolutions in the UN Human Rights Com- been all too silent at least in public. mission, and limiting sales of certain kinds The reason is as simple as it is grubby: Op-ed, Boston Globe, Nov. 14, 1994. By of lethal weapons to Indonesia. US con- The Pacific Rim offers a huge market for Arnold S. Kohen gressmen from both parties have long sup- U.S. goods and services. Discussing human WASHINGTON - When President Clin- ported the cause of East Timor. rights could upset potential trading partners, ton meets with President Suharto of Indone- But them is a less attractive side to the many of which have human rights records sia after the Asia-Pacific Economic Coop- US policy: the strong tendency of some that would make Adolf Hitler grin. eration summit on Wednesday, he should career State Department officials to act as Take, for example, the host, Indonesia. take action to reverse a policy that has advocates for the Indonesian government’s It unlawfully took over the island of East caused great suffering in the former Portu- point of view on East Timor. Timor 18 years ago and slaughtered 200,000 guese colony of East Timor. Unlike the The Catholic bishop of East Timor, Car- of that island’s 700,000 people. When a conflicts in Haiti, Bosnia and Somalia, East los Ximenes Belo, recently told me about conference was planned to talk about Timor does not require American troops or the Timorese fear of the Indonesian govern- abuses, Indonesia threatened trade sanctions military threats. ment’s aggressive birth-control policy – a against the host country, the Philippines, to Instead, a timely diplomatic reminder policy that is viewed benignly by US State kill it, When newspapers investigated from the United States, working with Japan, Department experts on the region. For good abuses, they were closed. could give substance to negotiations under- or ill, the views of these mid-level officials One can only applaud the courage of the way at the United Nations. This Clinton can often determines American policy on a day- 29 East Timor protesters who climbed the help provide. to-day basis. U.S. Embassy fence in Jakarta and of the Clinton’s visit to Jakarta is the first by Whatever the merits of this program in hundreds of other East Timorese who took an American president since the fateful 1975 the Florida-sized Indonesian island of Java, to the streets to attract world attention. trip by President Ford and Secretary of where there are more than 100 million peo- Yet APEC negotiators prefer news about State Henry Kissinger, who departed a scant ple, East Timor, the size of New Jersey, a possible free-trade area among all Pacific 12 hours before Indonesia invaded East was under-populated even before the 1975 nations. Timor. Kissinger did not object to the Indo- invasion. Eerily, the birth-control program is Just imagine that. And look at some of nesian assault on East Timor, which was enforced by the same Indonesian army that the partners: carried out mainly with American weapons. decimated East Timor’s population in the > The murderous regime of Myanmar, The record suggests that this stance embold- first place. formerly Burma, which massacred pro- ened the Indonesian leadership, which oth- Belo also worries that the massive influx democracy demonstrators. erwise may have thought twice about the of Indonesian settlers appears designed – as > Cambodia’s government and opposition international consequences of what was, and in Tibet – to marginalize the East Timorese Khmer Rouge, both of which kill civilians remains, an illegal invasion. in their own country. State Department East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. Page 101

and attack ethnic Vietnamese who’ve workers have tried to develop an ac- cations last June. ... The banned pa- lived within Cambodia for centuries. tive labor and human-rights move- pers were offering a check on official > China, whose government continues to ment. But with the president and the conduct and corruption – a high value jail political dissidents and rape Tibet. military behind them, Indonesian em- in a country whose parliament is Trade is important. And trade sanctions ployers do not take protest lightly. mostly a rubber stamp. [end opt]...the are usually awkward tools for transforming The army is routinely deployed to United States provided the secret another nation’s behavior. break up strikes...... Free trade cannot support in the name of anti- Clinton found that out when he at- prosper where people are not free po- communism that then-general Suharto tempted to tie trade with China to an im- litically. By dodging the human rights used to muscle aside President Su- proving human rights record. China said issue, President Clinton and the other karno in the 1960s. Later Washington forget it; faced with losing markets to others leaders meeting in Jakarta this week enabled Indonesia, which it saw as a and influence in China, Clinton backed are scuttling their economic goals.” strategic partner, to illegally swallow down. The New York Times has some specific the former Portuguese colony of East But while trade sanctions rarely make suggestions for what might be accomplished Timor, which it holds and represses to sense, neither does granting special trade in talks between President Clinton and this day. Their past closeness adds an favors to countries that deny people basic President Suharto. edge of obligation to the plain Ameri- rights. Nor is silence acceptable when con- “He [Mr. Clinton] can ask that Ja- can interest in seeing an important and fronted with rights abuses. karta drastically scale down its mili- friendly Asian country swing onto a President Clinton should tell potential tary presence in East Timor. He can democratic path.” trading partners in Asia exactly what the push for more local control and unre- And finally, a column from The Boston U.S. stands for - and what it will not stand stricted access by journalists and both Globe by Arnold Kohen, who has recently still for. They can’t deny human rights and international and domestic human returned from a trip to East Timor, and who expect gifts in return. rights organizations, and an end to tries to give the conflict a historical prospec- Favors or silence, however profitable, human rights violations such as arbi- tive. only make the U.S. complicit in murder. trary detention and torture, forced “[President] Clinton’s visit to Ja- birth control measures and violent re- karta is the first by an American pression of peaceful dissent. ... All president since the fateful 1975 trip VOA: U.S. EDITORIALS ON these issues are the subject of intense by President Ford and Secretary of INDONESIAN HUMAN RIGHTS debate within the country, and many State henry Kissinger, who departed a Indonesians understand the danger scant 12 hours before Indonesia in- U.S. Opinion roundup, Nov. 16. By Andrew they pose to its international standing. vaded East Timor. [Mr.] Kissinger did N. Guthrie, Washington President Suharto must be encouraged not object to the Indonesian assault on This week’s Asian Pacific Economic to listen to those voices.” East Timor, which was carried out Conference summit in Indonesia has focused The Boston Globe takes its criticism one mainly with American weapons. The considerable editorial attention on the Su- step farther. record suggests that this stance em- harto government and its questionable hu- “‘East Timor remains a place boldened the Indonesian leadership, man rights record. In addition to comment- where arbitrary detention and torture which otherwise may have thought ing on the achievements of the conference, are routine and where basic freedoms twice about the international conse- several American newspapers are question- of expression, association and assem- quences of what was, and remains, an ing why more was not done to tie trade bly are nonexistent.’ this description illegal invasion...... The fear is that concessions to human and civil rights in of Indonesian human rights abuses in traditionalist US policy makers, anx- Indonesia, along with Indonesian-occupied East Timor appeared in a recent report ious to avoid offending Indonesia’s East Timor, and elsewhere in Asia. Now, by human rights watch Asia and was military rulers, will downplay East here is ___ with a sampling of comments in quoted in a letter to President Clinton Timor. As in 1975, this could em- today’s US opinion roundup. initiated by Senator Claiborne Pell ... bolden Jakarta and convince it that We begin our cross-section of US edito- The outgoing democratic chairman of public relations gestures, not concrete rial opinion with a Scripps Howard news the senate foreign relations committee change, are sufficient. [Mr.] Clinton service column from The Dallas Morning ... And signed by 30 senators. ... As must not let that happen. If necessary, News, filed by the Singapore journalist Jon the lawmakers suggest, [President] the president and his top advisers Chua. Now a resident of Illinois, Mr. Chua Clinton should urge Suharto not only should overrule career bureaucrats says a real lack of human rights progress has to cease the torturing and killing of who inherited an inhuman policy from marred Indonesia’s “economic miracle.” Timorese but to begin serious negotia- [Secretary] Kissinger.” “Indonesia illustrates why free tions, under UN auspices, with the With that commentary by journalist Ar- trade requires an open society. Su- aim of ending Indonesia’s occupation nold Kohen, writing in The Boston Globe, harto, the former general turned presi- of East Timor.” we conclude this sampling of US editorial dent, has ruled Indonesia with an iron The Washington Post says due to Ameri- opinion on the human rights situation in hand since the late 1960s and forbids can involvement in the past with Indonesia, Indonesia and East Timor. dissent at all levels. His military has this country holds an obligation to try to brutally crushed political movements improve the situation now. INDONESIA’S PEBBLE opposed to his dictatorial rule. More “In the last year, Indonesia has tip- than 200,000 people died as a result of toed up to, and then fled from, a lim- Editorial, Wall Street Journal, 17 Nov. Indonesia’s invasion and annexation of ited experiment in political ‘open- That pebble in President Suharto’s shoe independent East Timor in 1975. ness.’ its return to a more repressive has been making itself felt again. On Sunday Struggling to live with a minimum leadership style was marked by the night, just before Bill and Hillary Clinton wage of two dollars a day, Indonesian banning of three unintimidated publi- Page 102 East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. were to arrive, about 30 East Timorese the wind suggest that Jakarta is trying to No doubt powerful Indonesia can hang scaled the U.S. Embassy fence in Jakarta. scale back its military commitment in East on to tiny East Timor indefinitely. Indone- Several hundred of their brethren back in Timor and to open channels to Portugal, the sia’s friends should ask it why it would Dili went on a rampage, smashing cars and Catholic church and the Timorese. At this want to. That would be inconvenient for the shops. point, these may be little more than fum- United States, which announced $40 billion It doesn’t seem at all clear that this will blings. But if Mr. Suharto eventually con- worth of deals with Jakarta during Mr. Clin- mar Mr. Suharto’s APEC success, though it cludes that getting rid of the East Timor ton’s trip. It would be the right thing to do. certainly has captured the attention of the albatross is a necessary step on the road to media swarm that has descended on Jakarta. modernity, we could only applaud him. RIGHTS AND WRONGS IN But it does raise anew the question of INDONESIA whether Indonesia would be better off shak- INDONESIA’S ing out the pebble, for its own sake as well OPPORTUNITY LOST Editorial, The Boston Globe, Nov. 25,1994 as East Timor’s. At the Asian economic conference in Ja- The world was a different kind of mess Editorial, The Washington Post. Nov. 24 when Mr. Suharto sent in the troops in karta, President Clinton kept a promise to 1975. Then it seemed the lesser of two evils What an astonishing performance by the raise the issue of human rights abuses on what with the likelihood that the Soviet military-run government of Indonesia. Here East Timor with Indonesia’s President Su- Union would try to exploit whatever insta- it had, in the big Asia Pacific economic harto. Clinton also welcomed 29 East bility was left in the wake of the retreating summit earlier this month, a marvelous oc- Timorese who came onto the grounds of the Portuguese empire. Since then, it has be- casion to showcase its formidable economic US Embassy in Jakarta to protest Indone- come a point of Indonesia’s national honor and social achievements as a modernizing sia’s annexation of their land in 1976 – an to make a success of “integration.” If Indo- Muslim state. But it acted in a way that left annexation still not recognized by the nesian troops were to march out again, the a lingering impression of an uptight police United Nations. argument goes, it would invite other separa- regime. Clinton’s expressions of solicitude for tist brushfires and then a great polyglot This result, contrary to the Suharto gov- the people of East Timor were commend- nation could self-destruct. ernment’s intentions and interests, flowed able, but Suharto’s regime has since demon- With due respect for a troubled, some- principally from the issue of East Timor. strated that its brutal treatment of the times bloody past, this may give too little That’s the former Portuguese colony that Timorese has not changed. credit to the past 30 years. Even a great Indonesia annexed just as it was going inde- Indonesia must not be allowed to draw a number of Timorese have all along favored pendent in 1975. The Indonesians thought curtain over occupied East Timor, where, in integration with their big, prosperous that, by their huge repressions conducted the aftermath of peaceful demonstrations, neighbor, though they have hardly been out of international view, they could turn a young people are being hunted and tortured ardent in expressing their support. The pro- quick snatch into an accomplished fact. by Suharto’s army and security forces. ponents of Timorese nationalism have the They failed to anticipate the pressures that The leader of the Catholic Church in East advantage of being passionate, of course, could be generated by a network of activists Timor, Bishop Carlos Felipe Ximenes Belo, and the young in particular aren’t inclined to working in a context of growing international told The New York Times that in recent be tempered by practicalities. So while some awareness of human rights. This is how an days Indonesian soldiers have “entered form of quasi-autonomy granted by Jakarta obscure half-island territory like East Timor, houses and arrested young people without might quell the independence urge, it also which few could locate on a map, finds a any kind of explanation.” All those arrested might not. And then East Timor would con- place on the global political agenda. were beaten, Bishop Belo said, and some tinue to get in the way of more important To greet President Clinton and other were beaten so badly they had to he hospi- business. world figures arriving for the recent eco- talized. For it seems clear that if Indonesia’s pro- nomic summit, students and others organ- The dragnet and beatings followed a vio- gress is to continue, it needs to loosen up. ized demonstrations in Jakarta and in East lent attack on peaceful demonstrators that a The army must begin to move aside politi- Timor. The authorities responded with re- BBC reporter described as a police provoca- cally so civilian interests can contest more straint while their guests were still in coun- tion. Speaking from Dili, the capital of East openly to set the agenda, and Jakarta must try and, it is now reported, with ferocity Timor, the BBC’s Phillip Short reported relax its centralizing hold over the economy once they departed. This is the latest show Monday: “The demonstration was peaceful to spur development and allay the legitimate of retrograde conduct by a country that until, suddenly, from the road that runs gripes of the provinces. There isn’t much yearns to be hailed for its place on the cut- around the cathedral grounds, there was a disagreement among civilian experts on these ting edge of enlightenment in the Pacific. volley of rocks thrown by plainclothes po- points. Like American presidents before him, Bill lice. This was the provocation that turned Some in the military, though, frequently Clinton categorizes East Timor as a human the whole thing violent.” use the old Soviet Union as an analogy to rights issue and urges Indonesian attention Suharto’s regime has made the prepos- emphasize the country’s potential to frac- to it on that basis. But it is not simply a terous claim that foreign journalists incited ture and thus the need for the military to human rights issue. The United Nations has Timorese to protest the occupation that ruled, and every impartial analyst has wiped out an estimated 200,000 of the stay on top of politics. We doubt that many in the ABRI, as the armed forces are called, agreed, that the invading Indonesians never 700,000 people who lived in East Timor in really want to be likened to the Red Army, permitted the people of East Timor a valid 1975. Ominously, Jakarta has begun to ex- which was an army of occupation. act of self-determination. Instead, the former pel foreign journalists from East Timor, as it Mr. Suharto certainly knows that his leg- Dutch colony simply grabbed the former did after the 1975 invasion. acy won’t be made by a successful APEC Portuguese colony. Its witting patron in this Clinton should demand that journalists summit or a happy ending for East Timor, act of colonialism was the United States, not be expelled and that a sufficient number but by bequeathing Indonesia a stable, which valued Indonesia’s weight in the Cold of human rights monitors he allowed into prosperous future. Some recent straws on War’s geopolitical scales. East Timor to protect the Timorese. East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. Page 103

East Timorese abandoned, or were forced to Java, another 80-90 Timorese were report- POST-APEC REPORTS leave, their homes during the fighting. edly rounded up for questioning. On November 12, 1991, Indonesian The protesters had swarmed over the troops killed up to 200 unarmed demonstra- embassy fence in an action that guaranteed EAST TIMOR ANNEXATION tors, marching to the grave of a Timorese Timor would be at centre-stage throughout NOT RECOGNISED BY U.N. activist killed by troops several weeks ear- the summit. Among their original demands lier. was a meeting with American President Bill By Bill Tarrant, Reuter, Nov. 18, 1994 An Indonesian commission of inquiry on Clinton and the release of Timor resistance Jakarta – Indonesia invaded mainly Ro- December 26, 1991, revised the official toll leader Xanana Gusmão from prison in Ja- man Catholic East Timor on December 7, from 19 to “about 50” and said the demon- karta. 1975, after civil war broke out in the spice strators acted belligerently and displayed In Dili, military authorities blamed visit- island following an abrupt withdrawal by liberation banners. ing foreign journalists for sparking an inci- Portuguese colonial authorities. Armed Forces Commander Try Sutrisno, dent on November 18 in which a group of Indonesian troops, landing at Dili harbour now Indonesia’s vice-president, told parlia- Indonesians threw stones at about 150 from 20 naval ships, toppled the leftist ment in Jakarta a day after the killings: Timorese demonstrators outside Dili Cathe- Fretilin party which had established a de “These ill-bred people have to be shot...and dral. A week earlier, riots had broken out in facto government and issued a proclamation we will shoot them.” the provincial capital after a native Timorese of independence. On November 20, 1992, Indonesia cap- was knifed to death in a quarrel with a Su- Human rights groups said up to a third of tured Fretilin leader Xanana Gusmão. He lawesi trader. the population, or about 200,000 people, was sentenced to life imprisonment on During bilateral talks with Clinton fol- died during the invasion and subsequent charges of rebellion and possession of fire- lowing the APEC meeting, President Su- fighting and famine in the territory. arms in May of 1993. The sentence was harto is said to have rejected suggestions The invasion took place days after a visit later commuted to 20 years. that East Timor might be given a special by U.S. President Gerald Ford. Indonesia’s Last Saturday, third anniversary of the administrative status. This proposal had President Suharto said shortly afterwards he massacre, 29 East Timorese students been mooted as a way of resolving an issue could not tolerate “a Cuba in our backyard.” climbed the railings of the U.S. embassy in that far from fading from the headlines now The Portuguese set up a trading outpost Jakarta and began a sit-in to demand Gus- seems to be moving back to prominence. on the eastern half of the island of Timor – mão’s release. Analysts reserve judgment. They note which straddles a shipping route between Anti-Indonesian demonstrations broke that, as much as Clinton wanted to encour- Australia and the huge island of New Guinea out on Sunday in East Timor and continued age the process of reconciliation that seems – early in the 16th century. until Tuesday, embarrassing President Su- to have emerged in recent months, Suharto They found the island a plentiful source harto as he hosted 18 Asia Pacific leaders at wouldn’t want to be seen as bowing to of sandalwood, prized for its aroma and an economic summit in Bogor. They flared United States pressure by disclosing a medicinal oil. up again on Friday, with police firing tear change in policy. significantly, in a rare A division of the island in the latter half gas at up to 500 protesters. meeting with foreign reporters some days of the 19th century gave Portugal the east later, Indonesia’s armed-forces commander, while Holland, the colonial power in the rest SOME THINGS LINGER: Gen. Feisal Tanjung, declined to comment of the old East Indies islands, was given the TIMOR PROTESTS OUTLAST on the autonomy question. remainder. Clinton was reportedly “firm and force- Japanese and Australian troops fought APEC SUMMIT (FEER) ful” in addressing human-rights concerns during his hour-long meeting with Suharto. fierce battles on the Portuguese half of the Far Eastern Economic Review, 1 December Still, at a press conference and again during a island during World War Two, in which up 1994. By John McBeth in Jakarta to 60,000 East Timorese were killed. The speech to American businessmen and mem- Allies feared Japan would use the island as a The APEC dignitaries went home, the bers of Suharto’s cabinet, he signalled a shift base to launch an invasion of Australia. Timorese protesters occupying the Ameri- in approach that has not gone unnoticed. After the war, Portugal rehabilitated the can Embassy accepted political refuge in “We remain convinced,” he said, “that coffee and sandalwood plantations but Portugal...but, for Indonesia, the East Timor strengthening the ties of trade among nations largely left the island undeveloped. issue refuses to go away. can help to break down the chains of repres- After a military coup toppled the Salazar The Portuguese colony it annexed in sion.” dictatorship in Portugal in April 1974, the 1976 was the scene of further disturbances Indeed, the Americans were chortling new leftist government sought to discard the as delegates left Jakarta following the Asia- over the signing of 17 agreements and remnants of the Portuguese empire. It hast- Pacific Economic Cooperation forum. In the memorandums covering US$40 billion in ily withdrew from the colony, sparking civil capital, meanwhile, the embassy hold-outs U.S.-Indonesia investments. war. said on November 22 they had agreed to be For their part, Indonesian human-rights Indonesia declared East Timor its 27th “repatriated.” They and the Portuguese activists made few friends by boycotting a province on July 17, 1976, after pushing avoided using the word “asylum” so as not lunch with Winston Lord, the American Fretilin insurgents into the hills. The United to imply recognition of the annexation. assistant Secretary of State, after they had Nations has never recognised the takeover The 29 protesters, one of them hospital- been refused a meeting with Secretary of and has called for talks between Indonesia ised, are part of a 78-strong group that had State Warren Christopher. Lord, an influen- and Portugal and a referendum in the terri- planned to take part in the occupation. tial player in Asian affairs, is said to have tory. Western diplomats say they are still worried been furious. Fretilin guerrillas mounted regular attacks about the well-being of at least 40 who were on Indonesian troops for years after the detained before the occupation began on invasion from their hideouts in the moun- November 11; the Indonesian authorities tainous interior. Up to 80 percent of the say this group has been released. In East Page 104 East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994.

EAST TIMOR RISES UP few years. Suharto craves respectability and nels. “After the years of silence, Bishop the East Timorese know that, if they fail to Carlos Belo told me recently on the tele- John Pilger, New Statesman and Society, push now, the regime’s transmigration and phone from Dili, “We still can’t quite be- 25.11.1994 birth control policies will erode their major- lieve it. The young are very aware of it. A sustained uprising has engulfed Dili, ity in their own country. What distinguishes When foreign delegations come, young peo- the capital of East Timor. For the first time revolt today is that it is ed by the very ple take incredible risks; but now they know since November 1991, when more than 200 young people whom the Indonesians were people on the outside are listening... peaceful demonstrators were shot by Indo- convinced they had “socialized.” It also cuts This is not to say that the resistance can nesian troops, young East Timorese have against the collusive cynicism of the brokers win militarily. But Jakarta’s anxiety to rid staged a series of audacious demonstrations. and barkers of western power who dismiss itself of “the pebble in our shoe” is being At the time of writing, there has been one a the rights of ‘shirt-pocket countries’ as expressed in increasingly desperate acts. day for a week, in which crowds have irrelevant to “globalization” (imperialism). According to the guerrilla leader, Konis beaten back riot police. Scores have been Above all, it reveals the great worth of in- Santana, heavy bombing has resumed and “arrested"; several are reported killed, ternational solidarity. since the beginning of August British- though this is unconfirmed. Like black South Africa before it, East supplied Hawk and American supplied At the same time, 27 East Timorese con- Timor now commands a worldwide move- Bronco aircraft have attacked the eastern tinue to occupy the grounds of the Ameri- ment. Of course, the network of exiles and region, mounting an average of six sorties a can embassy in Jakarta, calling on President foreign groups has been there for many day. Clinton, who was in Indonesia last week for years, with the resistance “foreign minister” “Some of these raids,” says Ramos APEC (the Pacific trade conference), to José Ramos-Horta travelling tirelessly be- Horta, “seemed to be almost random with- demand the release of Xanana Gusmão, the tween the UN, Europe and Australia, and out the pilot aiming specifically at guerrilla imprisoned resistance leader. The East with Noam Chomsky, Arnie Kohen and targets, but at any remote hamlet. On 23 Timorese scaled the embassy’s 20-foot Charlie Scheiner in the US, Tom Hyland in September, in the area between Kelikai and spiked railings. As a spectacle of incorrigible Ireland, the remarkable Carmel Budiardjo in Baguia, a missile [fired by a Hawk] de- bravery, the silhouette of a slight young man Britain, and Agio Pereira, Gil Scrine and stroyed a group of six houses. There were poised defiantly on the spikes joins the many others in Australia and Portugal. no survivors observed among some 30 in- memory of those who stood against tanks in Soon after the invasion in 1975, East habitants, mainly women and children. Be- Tiananmen Square. Timor was assigned to media oblivion. Until cause there are no large concentrations of Clinton did speak up for them, perhaps Max Stahl’s film of the 1991 massacre in resistance forces, the Hawks are used to the first American president to raise the Dili was shown, hardly anyone had heard of intimidate villagers with low-flying and subject of East Timor with the dictator, it. Stanford’s in Covent Garden, reputedly target practice.” Suharto. He said he told Suharto to “loosen the best map shop in the world, could not The controversy over whether or not the the ties” with the Portuguese colony that find a proper map of it for me. All that has Hawks have been used in East Timor has Indonesia seized in 1975 and has since oc- changed in a very short time. The death of a been manufactured, says Mark Higson, the cupied in defiance of ten United Nations third of the population - a “moderate” esti- former Foreign Office official who gave resolutions, and at a cost of 200,000 lives. mate according to the Indonesian academic evidence to the Scott inquiry. “Far from But then Clinton and his entourage were George Aditjondro - and the suffering and them being mere trainers,” he said, “every- gone, having received assurances” that the heroism of the survivors have become a body [at the Foreign Office] knows they are protestors would not be harmed if they left touchstone for those in the west who are no for offensive purposes” and that pretending the embassy. longer prepared to accept the indecency of otherwise “is the same fiction we main- It can be safely assumed that these “as- their governments’ complicity. tained over arms to Iraq.” surances” are as worthless as those given to There is certainly something about the The issue of the Hawks has two burning the British government that British Aero- East Timorese experience that moves peo- fuses for the British government In the wake space Hawk aircraft would not be used for ple. Wherever my film, Death of a Nation, of the High Court’s ruling that Foreign Sec- “repression” in East Timor. Certainly, the has been shown, often on home-recorded retary Douglas Hurd acted unlawfully in the Jakarta police have assiduously videotaped videos, audiences have been in the hundreds Pergau dam affair, an even bigger aid-for- every protester inside the embassy, and and more. German television has yet to arms scandal beckons, involving 2-billion nothing has been heard of 40 others who show it; but the film’s informal distribution worth of arms sold to Indonesia, principally were caught before they reached the gates. has already reached a national audience. Hawks. That the Hawks have been terroriz- What is so stirring about these events is When Death of a Nation was originally ing a region which the UN Security Council that a resistance which, until recently, most broadcast, British Telecom recorded 1,000 regards as illegally occupied means that the people knew nothing about, now has much calls per minute to the Helpline number British government is in violation of the UN of the world watching. And perhaps many shown at the end of the programme. Follow- Charter and UN resolutions, giving grounds of the journalists who came to Indonesia for ing its showing in Ireland and New Zealand. for action against it at the World Court. the APEC circus, and have at last directed East Timor became a national issue, with a In fact, Hawk “trainers,” loaded with their cameras and pack instincts at East parliamentary majority in both countries missiles, cluster bombs and cannon pods, Timor, should ask themselves where they calling for justice. I asked Dick Spring, the have been deployed in East Timor since have been until now. (And is it not time that Irish foreign minister, why this was so. August 1983, when the Indonesians broke a the Guardian correspondent dropped refer- “Whenever the Irish speak about suffering three-month ceasefire. According to Agence ence to the “remarkable successes,” eco- of this kind,” he said, ‘we preface our re- France Presse, 20,000 troops were used in nomic or otherwise, of one of the century’s marks with ‘historically speaking.’ East that offensive. Two Hawks were used regu- most barbarous regimes?) Timor has all the ingredients we understand: larly in the Ainaro-Maubisse triangle, the In my reckoning, East Timor will have it touches us deeply.” Lauten-Los Palos-Tutuala corridor and the freedom, or a large measure of it, within a This wave of support has reached East Matebian mountain range. Eyewitnesses, Timor through radio and clandestine chan- whose evidence has been dismissed as “spu- East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. Page 105 rious” by the Foreign Office, have grown ess in the Portuguese colonies of Angola, Fretilin forces would have massacred the used to the distinctive shape of the British Mozambique and East Timor. followers of UDT and Apodeti. aircraft attacking them, in the same way that While analysts, local and foreign, have It was in these circumstances that Indo- the people of Kent came to recognise types certain vested interests in pursuing a par- nesia was forced to intervene and fight a of German aircraft in their skies. ticular line, what cannot be denied, and what bloody war to bring the country to peace. The Foreign Office and the Indonesians history bears out, is that the East Timor No war anywhere, limited or total, is have collaborated for years to keep East problem arose from the sheer irresponsibil- pleasant. The Americans found this out in Timor out of the news. A London based ity of a colonial power, Portugal. Vietnam, Lebanon, Somalia and Kuwait. In Indonesian “journalist,” Dino Patti Djalal, After 400 years of rule, which kept the the same way, the military conflict in East writing in the servile Jakarta Post, derided colony one of the most backward pieces of Timor, or what is left of it, has never been the evidence of the East Timorese in my territory in Southeast Asia, Lisbon decided pleasant. The question is, which policy is film who witnessed British aircraft in action. to decolonize East Timor. one going to uphold on the basis of what “The locals,” he wrote, “still have difficulty In this effort, it sought Jakarta’s coopera- moral values ? The irresponsible behavior of identifying models of automobile [sic] let tion. Lisbon’s dilemma was that in East the Portuguese as a colonial power that led alone jets.” Such is the almost racist con- Timor there were three different political to the East Timor problem, or the Indone- tempt the Jakarta elite has for the East parties, formed immediately following the sian effort to bring about peace and devel- Timorese. Unbeknown to the Post’s Eng- April 1974 coup in Lisbon. One, Fretilin, opment in the country ? This could be de- lish-language readers, this man is not a cor- wanted independence. Another, Apodeti, bated for a long time to come. respondent at all, but third secretary at the wanted independence through integration What the ASEAN countries have decided Indonesian embassy in London and son of with Indonesia. The third, UDT, was unsure is that Indonesia was forced to undertake an the director of political affairs in Jakarta. what to do. unpleasant mission, and that it has done Much of his material is supplied by the FO. Jakarta’s position was simple; it sup- well. The support Jakarta has been receiving The other day I received a letter from the ported the decolonization of East Timor but from the ASEAN countries in the United daughter of a former cabinet minister in a preferred that Lisbon provide the same op- Nations or other forums emerges from the Labour government. She described the kind portunity to all three parties. If this was fact that the ASEAN countries are aware of institutional lying “that my father hated” done, Jakarta would accept the final deci- East Timor would have been far worse off and which, she wrote, allows British gov- sion. without Indonesian intervention. No ernments to deceive friends and enemies Unfortunately, something which Portugal ASEAN country would have endorsed a alike, as well as the people of this country. and the majority of western journalists pre- “Cuba” on Indonesia’s doorstep. Their This “culture of lying,” as Mark Higson fer to ignore, Lisbon reneged on this under- stance is not so different from that of the described it to the Scott inquiry, may be standing. United States, which has penalized Castro losing its currency as scandals consume this Instead of being fair to all three parties, all these years. government, many of them linked to arms Lisbon, under a leftist regime, sided with the The West enjoys picking up issues re- deals with tyrants. And there is now on the Fretilin, a small left-wing party formed by lated to human rights, which countries else- TV news, belatedly, the rebellion of a peo- young people who had studied in Portugal. where can understand because this is part of ple against whom British lies and British Fretilin also contained many elements of the the western cultural ethos. The problem, weapons have been used, year upon year, dreaded colonial army. from the ASEAN point of view, however, is and who are serving notice that they intend UDT, which consisted mostly of gov- the totality of the issue. to remain memorable until independence is ernment officials and the traditional elite, It is in this context, that the statement on theirs. remained undecided on where it stood. East Timor, made by Singapore’s Prime Apodeti, on the other hand, was made up of Minister, Goh Chok Tong, prior to the Bo- REPORTS ON EAST TIMOR East Timorese freedom fighters, who had a gor conference, becomes understandable. In NOT YET NEUTRAL clear vision of where they were going. They the words of Goh, the problem was “media were kept on the defensive, with many lead- hype.” In his view, one should look at Indo- The Jakarta Post Nov. 29, 1994. By Bilveer ers exiled or executed. nesia from the broader perspective of its Singh, a senior lecturer in political science at Lisbon’s support of Fretilin led the other achievements rather than nit-picking. the National University of Singapore. two parties to revolt against it and hence, American society is not the same as what its the outbreak of the civil war. various cults represent. In the same way, This article has been distributed widely by Lisbon’s failure to be even-handed and its East Timor is not what the media makes it the Indonesian Dept. of Foreign Affairs. unabashed backing of the Fretilin were the out to be, sensationalists as they are. The Even though the East Timor issue is principal causes of the initial bloodshed in country has an obvious law and order prob- closely connected to Portugal’s domestic East Timor following the Lisbon coup. This lem and, as is the case anywhere else, force politics, the western media prefers to ignore policy greatly shaped the course of events has to be resorted to at times. it. Journalists seldom ask what really caused thereafter. When Goh was asked to comment on the the problem. This is something that is conveniently ig- East Timor issue, the western media was This has been seen repeatedly over the nored by most analysts and observers very busy with what it dubbed “East Timor last 20 years, in particular whenever a flare- whose every efforts seems to be focused on Revisited,” brought about by the presence up breaks out in East Timor, be it on Nov. reinterpreting history, if not rewriting it. of 29 East Timorese youths in the com- 12, 1991, or on Nov. 12, 1994, just before What is worse, at the peak of the civil pound of the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta, and the APEC leaders conference. war, the Portuguese colonialists packed and the street riots in Dili, where one person The roots of this phenomenon date back fled, leaving the East Timorese to fight it died in inter-ethnic clashes between the to April 25, 1974, when a military coup in out. If no force had intervened (a similar Bugis originating from South Sulawesi and Lisbon, Portugal, overthrew the Caetano case was India’s intervention in East Paki- East Timorese. In response Goh said: “We regime, kicking off the decolonization proc- stan in 1971, when the Pakistani Army was have to look at Indonesia as a country and brutalizing the Bengalis), the well-armed Page 106 East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. look at the achievements of the Indonesian apologist propaganda is often more appro- control their own political dynamics, to government over the last 28 years.” priate for places like the NY Times or Time determine the fate of their lives, their re- He felt that “if we were to do an objec- magazine. However Bilveer brings up some sources, their social development. Indone- tive study, we must come to the conclusion interesting points that need addressing! : sia... you have shown your intolerance for that President Soeharto has brought much 1) Bilveer states that Portugal is to blame deviation, for independence, for anything prosperity for the people.” He also felt that for the historical dynamic that has led to not Jakartian for decades... and Bilveer counter to the western media’s habit of “civil war” (a term he uses in contrast to Singh, please do not insult our intelligence combing for trouble-spots, “we should not many of those in and outside of East Timor with your modernist, western-oriented bab- focus on one particular dot, but should fo- on the issue of whether this is a war or a ble. I get enough of that via the corporate cus on the total picture, the achievements of rebellion). media here in the U.S. Indonesia.” He points his scholarly finger at Fretilin My apologies to any of those who I Indonesia, in Goh’s assessment, “has as the principal root of this evil. Ironically it might have offended. I simply thought it been united for the last 28 years, its per was the Fretilin party that did not seek necessary to respond to Bilveer’s article in capita has gone up by five or six times. That “integration” with the superior economic an emotional manner. is remarkable.” and military force in Indonesia. They were Thanks for reading. Thus, when one analyses that totality of the true seekers of independence. He, how- Paul Slusher the Indonesian situation, the problem in ever, refers to Apodeti as the party that East Timor pales into insignificance. sought “independence through integration More important, what is often missed is with Indonesia.” Excuse me but is Bilveer EVENTS IN THE UK that the majority of the East Timorese are at getting paid by the Indonesian government? AND IRELAND home with their integration with Indonesia. Did the person who put his ridiculous arti- Integration has brought about prosperity cle on the net get paid too?? Please explain which they had not seen for more than 400 to me how East Timor could possibly be MP NICHOLLS DEFENDS years. “independent” when it is to be absorbed In many ways, East Timor has had far into the national atmosphere of Indonesia JAKARTA AGAIN more development aid and infrastructure (?) (-a country that tries very hard to Letter to the Editor, The Times of London, 8 pumped into it than has gone into West assimilate it’s island populations for the November 1994 Irian, a territory integrated into Indonesia in purpose of natural resource extraction 1962. The result, if anything, is that some (profit) and for political control. From Mr. Patrick Nicholls, MP for Tein- sort of an envy factor is emerging between 2)"Integration has brought prosperity bridge (Conservative) the two territories. which they [East Timor] had not seen for Sir, The Reverend P.W.H. Davies (letter, It is in this context, that the East Timor more than 400 years” November 2) cites Bishop Belo, leader of issue should be assessed and analyzed. Hahahahaha. Excuse me while I attempt the Roman Catholic Church in East Timor, Every country has problems, as can be to stop laughing at such a blatant modernist as saying that the apparent improvements in seen in Germany, which is feeling the weight and western perspective!! What indeed has the human rights situation there, resulting of the burden of its recent unification. Yet, Indonesia’s occupation and blatant politi- from a reduction of the uniformed military the media focus on that country is not on its cal/economic control over East Timor presence on the streets, “disguises a blatant racism; rather, various justifications brought those residents of East Timor? Why worsening of conditions.” for its people’s actions and policies are are hundreds of young people revolting? Although the bishop, in a taped interview forwarded. Elsewhere, as in the case of East Just brat kids perhaps? Sorry folks, but with a third party (Jonathan Humphries’ Timor, condemnations is in vogue. Indonesia, with the help of Bilveer Singh, is letter, October 11), claimed that any im- While all agree that there are problems in simply rationalizing its colonization of a provements were only slight, the other non- East Timor, the media, with its negative, one region that had been colonized previously. government sources to whom my delegation sided reporting, has done more injustice than Indonesia is a country that has, not from the All-Party Anglo-Indonesian Par- justice for the East Timorese. Instead of unlike many “western” nations, attempted liamentary Group spoke during our recent feeding the false expectations of a small to spread its political and economic power visit, put it higher than that. When we asked group of East Timorese, the media should be base by expanding its realm of influence. the bishop what, practically speaking, was forward looking and talk of undertaking Assimilation, economic restructuring, priva- the way forward, he said he thought that it change within the constitutional framework tization of community (or “unclaimed”) probably lay in the exploration of special of Indonesia. land, the export of natural resources, appro- status for East Timor within Indonesia. The peace and development achieved in priation of profits by foreign corporations Bernard Levin’s attack (“Stop excusing East Timor should be appreciated rather and Indonesian insiders (gov’t and mili- tyranny,” October 25) heaped vulgar and than sidelined as a footnote. In the post- tary)... the list goes on and on. It is ironic venomous abuse on someone he has never Cold War era, East Timor deserves sensible that Bilveer Singh accuses the world of see- met on a subject which he does not appear and sensitive treatment from the West, ing the issue of East Timor through the eyes to know. There is no need for me to draw rather than sensationalism that is not serv- of a western perspective... ironically it is he, attention in any detail, yet again, to the ing, and never will serve, anyone’s interests. who has been educated to believe that mod- wholly unsubstantiated casualty figures in ernizing is good, bringing technology to the East Timor since 1975; even those most RESPONSE TO BILVEER SINGH “natives” is progressive, and economic opposed to the government whom my dele- Hello SEASCAL readers. I am compelled growth is some sort of natural, universal gation met freely admitted that they are to respond, if only briefly, to the recent law... it is his western eyes that refuses to completely unreliable. article that was posted on the see the real issue. What do the people in Mr. Levin implies that the group was not SEASCALINFO line. I found the appear- East Timor want? They want (or at least all-party because no Labour MP was pre- ance of Bilveer Singh’s article somewhat enough do so that the issue should be ad- sent. The group’s vice-chairman, the Labour surprising, in the sense that such blatant dressed seriously) to be independent, to MP David Young, had accepted the invita- East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. Page 107 tion, only declining at a later stage because (typical mid-life crisis time for ambitious tary repression by Indonesia which human of constituency obligations. The second brigadier-general’s who find themselves rights groups claim has seen the killing of Labour MP, who had originally expressed conveniently commanding army strategic more than 200,000 Timorese - a quarter of an interest in going, was also unable to ac- reserves). the population - since 1975. cept. Which produced: His famous Year of Grief at the inexplicable loss of one of the We were able to raise the subject of hu- Scouring Dangerously. Led forces in sup- friendliest and gifted people I have had the man rights with everyone, from the Presi- posed counter-coup (October 1965) against privilege to know, became deep anger. dent downwards. Everyone we met, includ- supposed communist coup against Presi- I did everything I could to publicize the ing the dissidents and Bishop Belo, made dent-for-life Sukarno. Went on to supervise atrocity. I managed to get extracts from his the point that they were pleased that we the greatest bloody autumn-to-spring clean- Timor diaries published here and in Portu- had come to Indonesia to see for ourselves. ing of all time, massacring at least 500,000 gal. I stood in front of the Indonesian em- Mr. Levin concludes that he can do noth- pinkos. bassy at Grosvenor Square holding placards ing but write words. He could do better than Hell for the carpets. But at least he saved and staring bitterly at its grand facade. But that. He could look at all the evidence, in- the Prez-for-Life’s bacon: Er, actually he no one who could make a real difference stead of accepting uncritically every cal- stashed the old megalomaniac tidily under wanted to know. It seemed to me that the umny heaped on Indonesia. He could try to house arrest, and set up his ‘New Order’ to publicity sparked by the massacre had understand something of the history of the end corruption, oppression and national achieved little more than to embarrass the country about which he writes and finally bankruptcy. By March 1968 those nasty Indonesian government. he could reflect on whether the cause he red stains were gone and this modest Java- But three years to the month of Kamal seeks to advance is best served by dashing nese son of the soil was President. Not for Bamadhaj’s death, a court decision has ef- off articles of such bias and bile. life, mind you, just ever since. fectively put the credibility of American law Yours faithfully, What a guy!: Yet he’s content to be just behind the words of condemnation since PATRICK NICHOLLS, MP plain ‘babak’ (father) of the nation. Politics, heaped on Indonesia by governments, hu- House of Commons, November 3 he says, should take place in a family-like man rights groups and ordinary individuals atmosphere. all over the globe. General Sintong Panjaitan, PASS NOTES NO. 520: The First Family does its bit? And how. who was in charge of the army in East PRESIDENT SUHARTO Wife Tien and most of the six kids work Timor at the time of the massacre, has been hard at income redistribution schemes. In- ordered by a US federal court to pay $14 The Guardian, 10 November 1994 laws and cronies help, too. million in punitive damages and for causing But wait, what about the killings in that pain and suffering to my family. For those who don’t know Pass Notes is a place he annexed in 1975-76, East Timor? My stepmother and Kamal’s estate are regular Guardian feature. It is a satirical What do UN human rights investigators unlikely to see the money. The general, now and irreverent, though often tellingly accu- know about getting out that really stubborn a senior adviser to the Indonesian Minister rate, sketch of a person in the news, in the pro-independence grime? of Technology, was not in court and report- form of a dialogue. Most likely to say: ‘Scrubba-dub-dub, edly rejects the accusations. He has no as- Age: 73 three troublemakers in a tub. Hush-a, hush- sets in the US, and as long as he stays out of Occupation: President of 13,700 islands a, they all fall down.’ the country he is beyond the law. and 180 million people making up (not al- Least likely to say: ‘I’ve had enough.’ But the real significance for me, and I ways voluntarily) the giant petro-Muslim hope for every other person aware of the state of Indonesia. A TERRIBLE INJUSTICE BY profound misery forced on the Timorese Claim to fame: Uncontested holder of THE INDONESIAN ARMY people by the Indonesians, is that my Best Little Housekeeper in the South Seas stepmother, Helen, has won a symbolic award. Letter to the Guardian (UK), From: James victory whose value cannot be counted in A handy chap with a Hoover then?: And Gibbons. 10 November 1994 dollar notes. his grateful people obviously agree! His There are thousands of Timorese mothers ‘New Order’ government is almost 30 years Almost exactly three years ago I heard who would dearly love to do what she did, old. my stepbrother had been shot by the Indo- but cannot. Now each of them knows that in Latest sanitation coup: Has been a busy- nesian army, during a peaceful demonstra- the eyes of an impartial observer and repre- bee disinfecting Jakarta for the Asia Pacific tion in East Timor. sentative of American law, they have suf- Economic Cooperation summit next Tues- My parents were visiting me in London fered, and continue to suffer, a terrible injus- day so Bill Clinton et al aren’t troubled by at the time. For a few hours there was hope tice at the hands of the Indonesian army. unsightly litter. that 20-year-old Kamal, a political science It cannot bring their children back, but it He calls it: ‘Operation Cleansing.’ student in Sydney, Australia, had survived. is a step towards weakening Jakarta’s Jealous human rights groups who never But after seeing them off at Heathrow, I deathly grip on their would-be nation. learned that Indonesian soldiers had left him wash as white call it: A crackdown involving James Gibbons, London W12 arbitrary political arrests and hit-squad kill- to bleed to death in the street after shooting ings. him at close range. Come, I won’t hear a word said against A Red Cross worker found him feebly him: Funny, neither will he. Closed three waving his New Zealand passport. It was gutsy little weeklies this year for their can- too late when they got him to hospital. His dor about elite pocket-lining. body joined those of more than 200 people Sigmund Freud asks: Unt ven did zis in- killed when troops opened fire on the de- terest in order first manivest itself? fenceless crowd in Dili, the island’s capital. Pass Notes answers: Age 19, when he In the weeks that followed I also learned joined the army, becoming obsessive at 44 that his death was part of a pattern of mili- Page 108 East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994.

MAGUIRE TO ANNOUNCE DUBLIN PICKET TO MAR K the 35-mile toll road between Jakarta and Bandung with a company owned by Su- NOBEL PRIZE NOMINEE EAST TIMOR KILLINGS harto’s daughter, Tutut. Irish Times, 11 Nov. 1994 A new arms row will cause acute embar- East Timor Massacre To Be Marked At rassment for Indonesia on the arrival of US Belfast City Hall Bobo, Liam O’Maonlai of the Hot House President Bill Clinton in Jakarta today for a The Peace People, Belfast, Northern Ireland. Flowers, the Nobel peace prize winner regional summit. Suharto has worked hard to News Release, Nov. 10 Mairead Maguire and Archbishop Desmond keep human rights off the agenda at the Tutu are among a list of personalities who Mairead Maguire of the Peace People to- Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation forum, have recorded messages of sympathy for day (Saturday 10 November) announced which starts on Tuesday. East Timor, to mark the third anniversary of that she has written to the Nobel Committee Last night 29 East Timorese bedded the killing of more than 270 civilians by in Oslo to nominate Bishop Carlos Belo of down in the grounds of the US embassy in Indonesian troops at a cemetery in the capi- East Timor for the 1995 Nobel Peace Prize. Jakarta in protest at Indonesia’s occupation tal, Dili. Mrs. Maguire was speaking at a special of East Timor, in which a third of the popu- The messages will be broadcast tomor- press conference in Belfast City Hall - or- lation was killed, promising to stay until the row at a benefit concert in Portugal, which ganised by the Peace People, Amnesty In- East Timorese leader, Xanana Gusmão, was was the former colonial power in East ternational and the East Timor Solidarity released from prison. Timor, and the concert may be shown at a Campaign to mark the third anniversary of It emerged last month that British Aero- later date on MTV. the Santa Cruz cemetery in Dili, the East space will sell Indonesia 16 new Hawk jets, In Dublin, each of the state’s main politi- Timorese capital. in addition to 24 announced in 1993. Also cal parties will take part in a picket tomor- Mrs. Maguire, in her nomination letter to the Observer can reveal that Britain is work- row outside the British embassy to mark the the Nobel Committee, commended Bishop ing hard to reach agreement on a huge range killings and to protest at the continuing sale Belo - who has been the leader of the Roman of other military equipment. According to of British arms to Indonesia, which has Catholic Church on the island for the last sources in London and Jakarta, Indonesia’s occupied East Timor, an island 400 miles ten years - for “his courageous spiritual and ‘shopping list’ includes armoured personnel north of Australia since 1975 moral leadership of the East Timorese peo- carriers, medium-range ballistic and air- A Fianna Fail MEP Niall Andrews, a La- ple in these days of deep sorrow caused by defence missiles and naval patrol vessels, bour MP Joe Costello, Liz McManus MP. the brutality of the Indonesian invasion and together with the construction of a big new Of the Democratic Left, Fine Gael MP Nora aggression. Bishop Belo has inspired me as naval base at Bandar Lumpung, Sumatra. Owen, Michael McDowell MP. Of the he speaks out courageously for truth and Britain is understood to be ready to meet all Progressive Democrats and Green Party MP justice in spite of death threats.” these requests, as well as pushing to train Trevor Sargent will address the picket. She continued, “I think the Nobel Prize is Indonesian troops denied access to US train- Members of the East Timor Ireland Soli- at its best and most effective when given to ing programmes because of the human rights darity Campaign will begin an overnight vigil people who, in the spirit of King and Gan- issue. at 5.p.m. outside the embassy. dhian nonviolence, work at great personal On a visit to Jakarta last month, Field risk to uphold human rights and democracy. Marshall Sir Peter Inge revealed that Indo- They give light in a dark world where pov- UK IN SECRET nesia was close to signing a contract for erty, violence and cruelty dehumanizes so £2 BILLION ARMS BID British-made Scorpion light tanks. Local many people.” sources say Indonesia is interested in buying Mrs. Maguire, who was joint winner of The Observer, 13 November 1994. By: Mi- up to 140 Scorpions, which are suitable for the 1976 Nobel Peace Prize has been a tire- chael Durham in Jakarta and Hugh use in rugged terrain. General Feisal Tan- less campaigner on behalf of the people of O’Shaughnessy in London jung, head of the Indonesian armed forces, East Timor. Earlier this year the Northern said further arms purchases from Britain Aid money goes to Indonesian regime were ‘likely.’ Irish peace and human rights activist was despite massacres the subject of a Philippine Presidential ban- Sources say that a Memorandum of Un- ning order and was subsequently deported Exclusive derstanding between the two governments is from the Philippines while attempting to Britain is assembling a huge arms deal being prepared, with British Aerospace attend an international conference on East with Indonesia, in defiance of international named as lead contractor, although this is Timor. calls for a weapons embargo because of the denied by both the Ministry of Defence and The small South East Asian island was country’s appalling human rights record. BAe. invaded and annexed by Indonesia in 1975 The secret deal is worth an estimated £2 Paul Beaver, a specialist in South East after Portugal ceded its colonial control. billion. Coming soon after renewed pledges Asia and editor of ‘Jane’s Sentinel,’ a de- Since the invasion over 200,000 people - a of British aid, it has added weight to reports fence publication, said: “There is every third of the total population - has died at the that Britain is conducting aid-for-arms di- indication that Indonesia will enter into a hands of the Indonesian military. plomacy with Indonesia. British military significant Memorandum of Understanding with the UK for major defence systems. Contact Patrick Corrigan at the Peace Peo- equipment sold to Indonesia in earlier deals Indonesia is always on the look-out for ple (0232 663465) for any further informa- has been used to suppress bloody uprisings technology transfer from the West and any tion. The Peace People is a Northern Irish in East Timor. deal will almost certainly involve a degree of peace movement dedicated to nonviolence The Observer has also learnt that more barter, such as mineral or logging conces- and human rights at home and abroad. than £16 million of British aid money has been promised for a road project which will sions. In Thatcher’s day Malaysia was financially benefit the family of Indonesia’s number one. Now it’s Indonesia.” dictator, General Suharto. Trafalgar House, a Allegations that Britain has used its over- British construction company, is building seas aid budget to clinch a deal follow last week’s High Court judgment against Doug- East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. Page 109 las Hurd, the Foreign Secretary, over the pound gas power station. It was ordered by billion pounds, to supply all those needs. Pergau dam affair in Malaysia. The World the Indonesian Government and will be paid That country is Britain. Development Movement, which mounted for by British aid. There is good reason to believe that In- the successful court action, said there was Britain says it will be just another aid donesia’s arms-buying offensive began in ‘compelling evidence’ of a link between aid project. But to skeptics the Samarinda the mid-Eighties, at about the same time that and arms in Indonesia. “It is painfully clear Power Station is already another Pergau Margaret Thatcher was clinching a deal with that British Ministers see aid as one more Dam - a colossal white elephant and, alleg- Malaysia which later became notorious as bargaining chip when arms negotiations edly, a massive ‘sweetener’ to the Indone- the Pergau aid-for-arms affair. reach a sticky point,” said Harriet Lamb, the sian Government. She went to Indonesia in 1985 and fell in movement’s campaign officer. Its real purpose, they claim, is to pro- love with the place. As she recounts in her The movement also claimed that sales of mote a behind-the-scenes deal between the memoirs: “It was on the final day of my 80 British-made Vickers tanks to Nigeria’s two countries. And there is one class of stay in Indonesia that I realised that I had repressive regime had been negotiated in goods above all that Britain is desperate to become an internationally known figure... 1990. British aid to Nigeria rose from £6.3m sell to Indonesia: arms. As I got off the aeroplane I was met by girls in 1988-89 to £67.7m in 1989-90, but the As in neighbouring Malaysia (and re- throwing rose petals on the ground in front Overseas Development Administration vealed earlier this year in the Pergau Dam of me and then all they way from the airport denied there was a link. affair), British aid, trade, arms and corrup- by crowds five to six deep along the road Stephen Byers, the Labour MP for Wall- tion are inextricably linked in President Su- crying ‘Tacher, Tacher.’” send, who has asked questions in Parliament harto’s Indonesia. The arms-buying effort picked up mo- about British aid projects in Indonesia, said The world’s fourth largest nation, with mentum in the early Nineties, as Indonesia he would raise the Indonesian affair in the 180 million people - and potentially one of began to make headway with companies Commons. “This would appear to be a re- Asia’s richest - Indonesia is desperate to such as British Aerospace. Today it has peat of the Pergau dam affair where aid, update its armed forces. Its army is ill- become imperative for it to be in place be- arms and trade are interlinked, contrary to disciplined and poorly equipped. Its navy, fore next year’s celebrations of 50 years of the Government’s own rules. I will be seek- with 13,700 islands to watch over, is in a independence from Dutch colonial rule. One ing a clear statement from the Foreign Secre- pitiful state. Its airforce, while growing, is Jakarta defence source said: “Yes, the Indo- tary.” embryonic. nesians are buying fast. They are keen to get For years, Indonesia has acquired bits their hands on lots of shiny new kit in time MAKING A KILLING and pieces on the world market, including for the independence parades. And we are WITH BRITISH AID British-made jets and armour. Last year it ready to let them have it.” acquired 37 second-hand east German war- But on what terms? According to groups The Observer, 13 November ships; one nearly sank in the Bay of Biscay. that monitor relations between the two But there is one powerful reason why countries, Britain and Indonesia have been Michael Durham in Jakarta reports on Indonesia has trouble buying modern arms conducting covert aid-for-arms diplomacy the power plant project which has more in the West: its human rights record. Since over the past three years. Indonesia’s inter- potential to embarrass the British Govern- 1967, when Suharto was installed as Presi- est in buying weapons has been matched ment than the Pergau Dam fiasco dent, Indonesia has not been a democracy. only by Britain’s generosity in giving aid - [This long and important article is accom- It is a dictatorship supported by ruthless notably to Samarinda Power Station. panied by one of Steve Cox’s photos of the violence. In Jakarta and Sumatran villages, Compared with some poorer countries, Santa Cruz massacre, under which is the foreign-made tanks and armoured personnel Indonesia has always scored well in the aid caption: “Collateral damage: The massacre carriers have been used to crush dissent. stakes, despite its appalling human rights of civilians in East Timor has failed to blunt And in 1975, President Suharto’s tanks record. Since 1980, Britain’s aid to Tanza- the British appetite for arms deals linked to rolled into East Timor, an inoffensive island nia, the world’s second poorest country, has aid.”] nation formerly ruled by Portugal. Up to remained at a constant low. Aid to Indone- The main street of Samarinda, East Kali- 200,000 East Timorese, a third of the popu- sia, which is far from impoverished, has mantan, in what used to be known as Bor- lation, died in the war that followed. shot up. It began rising spectacularly in neo. It is a typically Asian riverside vista. In 1991, several hundred young people 1991. This was the year that arms-aid di- Warehouses, shipping agencies and cheap were killed in East Timor’s capital, Dili, plomacy really took off, according to groups hotels range along the waterfront, next to an when the army opened fire on a peaceful such as the World Development Movement, enormous mosque. Opposite longboats and demonstration. Since then, many countries, which on Thursday won a High Court case cargo ships ply the Mahakam River and its including the |United States, have tightened against Douglas Hurd, the Foreign Secretary, muddy delta. arms sales embargoes on Indonesia. over aid to Malaysia. Few tourists reach this sweaty, provin- But Indonesia’s army, and its energetic In June 1991, Dr. Habibie, a favourite of cial outpost in the Indonesian jungle. Lately, Minister for Research and Technology, Dr. General Suharto and a key in the country’s however, Samarinda has begun to see more Rudy Habibie, have responded by trying to nascent aerospace industry, visited London. visitors. Even in the remote backwoods, buy from Europe. According to defence He is believed to have held talks with Alan there is business. Logging, gold prospecting sources, the Indonesians have been shop- Clark, the then Minister for Defence Pro- and coal mining have all taken off, usually ping in European capitals for jet fighters, curement, and visited John Major. During backed by Western money. light tanks and armoured personnel carriers, the visit, he reached an outline agreement to Factories, sawmills and smelters have light artillery, ballistic and air defence mis- buy Hawk aircraft from British Aerospace, sprouted. But the next Western-backed siles, naval patrol vessels and a brand-new fitted with Rolls-Royce engines. The Indo- project promises to be more controversial naval base at Bandar Lampung in Sumatra. nesians had already bought several dozen than most. On a patch of virgin jungle, One European country has taken the lead Hawks during the Eighties. Fitted with mis- Rolls-Royce, the British engineering com- in negotiating a deal, worth an estimated two siles, they were used to attack East pany, will shortly start work on a 60 million Timorese villages. Page 110 East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994.

But it was not to be a straightforward Rolls-Royce insists the technology is 31, and Titik, 29 - have carved up many deal. Negotiations over the new Hawks tried and tested. But within the power in- other aspects of economic life, from banking evidently proved difficult and dragged on for dustry it is regarded as nothing short of and film distribution to plastics manufacture two years without a firm agreement. experimental, unproved in such an extreme and internal air flights. Britain turned up the pressure. In Sep- climate and allegedly unsuited to a remote Over coffee at a Jakarta hotel owned by tember 1992, the first of many high-profile location. Tutut, one journalist commented: “The trade delegations left for Indonesia, led by a Gatot Prawiro, a manager in a Jakarta children are a big problem. They’re greedy. government minister, Lord Strathclyde. In company in the power generation field, said: They are trying to get into everything, and January last year, Richard Needham, the “It is very unusual. But Rolls-Royce were one day that will be a big headache. When Trade Minister, was in Jakarta promising in on the project very strongly. Dr. Habibie this blows up it will make the Marcos fam- that Britain could become Indonesia’s gate- was behind them, because they are coming ily look like child’s play.” way to Europe. He has been back four more in with the technology for him.” “They have got their hands stuck to eve- times since then. There are other complaints about Sama- rything,” said a diplomat. “You can’t do Negotiations were clearly progressing be- rinda’s value. Thinly populated Kalimantan, anything in this country without a brown hind the scenes. Two months later, in like some other parts of Indonesia, already envelope. Most of it goes to one of the chil- March 1993, Norman Lamont, then Chan- has too much electricity. It lacks transmis- dren. Everything becomes much more ex- cellor of the Exchequer, promised a big in- sion lines. And, quite apart from displacing pensive because of the add-ons, and that is crease in export credit for Indonesia. But the more of Kalimantan’s indigenous Dayak even more true of defence deals where the key that appeared to unlock the negotiations people, the project will, in the long-term, sums are so much higher.” came in April 1993, when Douglas Hurd, help speed the deforestation and pollution Aberson Sihaloho, an outspoken opposi- visiting Jakarta, remarked that aid did not of one of South-East Asia’s last remaining tion MP, explained angrily: “Everything have to be dependent on human rights. He rainforests. As Tapol, a London-based hu- depends on the President. Foreign investors announced a 65 million pounds concessional man rights group, has pointed out, that will who want to make business here have to loan for a new power station at Samarinda. benefit nobody more than the international make their approach as effective as possible, It was by far the biggest aid donation to logging and mining companies. so they take local partners with direct ac- Indonesia for 20 years. One of the biggest factories to use Sama- cess to the highest authority. Those local A week later, Dr. Habibie was talking rinda’s power will be the Kelian Gold Mine, agents are usually companies belonging to wildly and publicly in Jakarta of buying a on a tributary near the town. Kelian has the First Family.” hundred planes from Britain. Two months already been involved in a pollution scandal Scores of British companies, building after that - after two more ministerial visits and clear-felling of rainforest, which has everything from power stations and bridges from Britain - British Aerospace formally forced the relocation of 400 Dayak families. to chemical plants, have effectively gone announced that Indonesia had ordered 24 It is largely owned by CRA, an Australian into forced partnership with one or other of aircraft, an order worth 500 million pounds company, and the British mining giant RTZ. Suharto’s children. “The local company and hundreds of jobs in Britain. The Kaltima Prima Coalmine, jointly owned doesn’t do anything. It just gets commis- If the 65 million pounds aid for the Sama- by CRA and BP, has been the subject of sion. How much depends on the price for rinda Power Station was the price of secur- similar complaints. the contract. That means that everything ing the Hawk deal for Britain, a cynic might Most of the big logging done by the Ka- here costs twice as much,” Sihaloho said. argue it was money well spent. But is it limanis Group, owned by Bob Hasan, a In at least one case, large sums of British even justified in terms of aid - as a project close friend of Suharto. For like most other aid money are involved. Last month Trafal- which supposedly benefits the economy of large ventures in Indonesia, Samarinda will gar House, the British conglomerate and a an emerging nation? help to support Indonesia’s ruling elite - the large contributor to the Conservative party, Samarinda will not be Indonesia’s biggest relative, business associates and cronies of a reached an outline deal to build a 35-mile toll power station. At 60 megawatts, it is a dictator who has amassed one of the world’s road from Cikampek, near Jakarta, to comparatively modest proposal in a remote largest personal fortunes. Padalaran, near Bandung. It will cost an part of Indonesia’s gold-and-coal belt in east The greed and nepotism of Indonesia’s estimated 400 million pounds. Britain has Kalimantan. But several aspects of the pro- ‘First Family’ is the stuff of legend. It is offered Indonesia 16.85 million pounds in ject have alarmed environmentalists and common knowledge in Jakarta that the Su- aid towards the road, an offer that has yet to other pressure groups. harto family and a few hangers-on have used be taken up, and has already given 1.7 mil- In July, it was announced that the con- their position to amass fabulous private lion pounds for technical studies. struction contract had been won by the wealth, on a scale probably even grander In a classic case of economic ‘cronyism,’ Rolls-Royce Industrial Power Group. Per- than the Marcos family in Manila. Suharto one of Trafalgar’s partners in the scheme is haps it is no coincidence that Rolls-Royce himself is thought to be worth 10 billion PT Citra Lamtoro Gung, the major company will supply all the engines for Indonesia’s pounds, with the rest of the family making controlled by Suharto’s daughter, Tutut, new Hawk jets and has a long-standing do with another 10 billion pounds. Hardly a who has a 30 per cent stake in the road. Last agreement with Indonesia to transfer tech- single large foreign investment has arrived week a spokesman for Trafalgar House de- nology in connection with civilian aircraft without the greasing of a Suharto palm. fended the arrangement. However, the deal engines. But more curious is the technology There is now evidence that British aid has raised eyebrows in the British commu- that Rolls-Royce will employ at Samarinda. money may be finding its way directly into nity in Jakarta. The company will install two gas turbines the First Family’s bank accounts. “There is definitely British aid money powered by RB211 engines, derived from Suharto and four of his six children con- going into projects with presidential family what it says is ‘ the world’s most reliable trol a large slice of the nation’s wealth. His connections,” one British aid worker said. aircraft engine.’ It is Roll-Royce’s first daughter, Tutut, 45, controls more than 60 “It is surprising that this being done so ob- power project in Indonesia, and the only companies, with near monopolies on every- viously. In the past, we have been very one using an aero-derived engine. thing from toll roads to broadcasting. Her careful not to allow British aid to get in- brothers - Sigit, 43, Bambang, 41, Tommy, East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. Page 111 volved with the First Family. I think it puss when he was 23 and it prospered nor Square. Some 200 people heard John shows that attitudes must be changing.” with profitable contracts with national- Pilger, Jeremy Corbyn MP, et al, denounce After six years of negotiations between ized companies. Today it is a conglomer- the Jakarta dictatorship. Trafalgar House and Indonesia, the toll road ate of transport, farming and petrochemi- In the evening, about 50 people turned deal was finally struck during the latest visit cals. up for a memorial service for the victims of to Jakarta in October by Needham. Only a the November 12 massacre: Bruce Kent few days earlier, the British Field Marshall, MPS PLAN ATTACK addressed this gathering. Sir Peter Inge, had met his Indonesian coun- And then, Sunday, and the world is on terpart, General Feisal Tanjung. Afterwards, ON HURD OVER AID fire - radio reports, CNN, email, people Tanjung was asked at a press conference if The Times (London), 14 Nov. 1994. By Ar- ‘phoning, all tell of the drama in the US Indonesia would be buying British arms. thur Leathley, Political Correspondent embassy compound and the riots on the “Yes, lots,” he replied. unsafe streets of Dili. The Observer, a major Douglas Hurd, the Foreign Secretary, will At the bottom of the article there is a map of UK Sunday paper, circulation about face a concerted assault this week over alle- Indonesia - East Timor, I am glad to say, is 500,000, reveals sleaze in British dealings gations that Britain’s aid budget is targeted shaded to differentiate it from Indonesia. with Indonesia. Taken with last week’s at countries buying British defence equip- There are photographs of Suharto and fam- court judgment against the UK Foreign Sec- ment. ily and some brief bio-data, which now fol- retary over the Pergau Dam, this is news Labour and Liberal Democrat leaders are lows - Jonathan indeed. gearing up for a fierce Commons debate on We are at a crisis point and, internation- Indonesia’s ‘First Family’: The Wealthy alleged aid-for-arms deals after new revela- ally, we must now act as we have never Connections tions surrounding defence contracts with acted before, push as we have never pushed. Suharto: Personal fortune of the 73-year-old Nigeria and Indonesia. For, it is my belief, that if we can mobilise, ruler was estimated at 10 billion pounds Mr. Hurd, accused by the High Court with substance, NOW, then the suffering of in 1989. His wife, Tien, the daughter of a last week of acting unlawfully in granting aid the martyred and forgotten people of East Javanese sultan, is known as Madame Fi- for the Pergau in Malaysia, will be pressed Timor can be ended soon. Fi, because she always wanted to go to explain in detail Britain’s arrangements We must all write; to our governments; fifty-fifty, demanding a half share in any for distributing overseas aid. we must ‘phone the US Jakarta embassy business deal she was associated with. Opposition MPs yesterday accused the (62-21-360-360); we must haunt our media, Tutut: Suharto’s eldest child at 45. She Government of overlooking some of the glean as much space as we can; nothing is combines money-making and jet-setting poorest countries but distributing aid to too little, nothing is insignificant. with love of politics. Her principal com- wealthier nations. Labour seized on reports Go for it. pany, Citra Lamtoro Gung, runs deeply that Indonesia, one of the main beneficiaries Jonathan Humphreys unpopular toll roads; other interests of British id, is planning a contract worth range through wood pulping, educational billions with Britain to buy planes, tanks HAWK AIRCRAFT ARE BEING and missiles. TV, radio, publishing and pharmaceuti- USED IN EAST TIMOR cals. She is vice-president of Golkar, the Robin Cook, Labour’s shadow Foreign party of government. Secretary, will lead the charge during a Sigit: The dictator’s eldest son is 43, and a Commons foreign affairs debate on Thurs- ALL BRITISH WEAPONS SALES TO partner with his younger brother, day. Mr. Cook said yesterday there was a INDONESIA MUST STOP Tommy, in the Humpuss Group, a huge disturbing pattern of big rises in aid to coun- TAPOL, the Indonesia Human Rights Cam- manufacturing and trading conglomerate. tries after they had placed big arms orders. paign, issued the following Press Release, His entrepreneurial drive is blunted by a Menzies Campbell, Liberal Democrat today, 14 November 1994 foreign affairs and defence spokesman, said: passion for gambling. He is a partner New evidence has come to light this eve- with BP in a giant polyethylene plant. “Far too many of these matters are decided behind closed doors with no proper parlia- ning that British manufactured Hawk war- Bambang: 41 and Suharto’s most successful mentary scrutiny or accountability.” planes are being used at present in East son in business. His firm, Nusantara, Sir David Steel, the former Liberal De- Timor in an all-out push by the forces of owns hotels, coal mines, property, paper mocrat foreign affairs spokesman who led occupation to end the armed resistance mills. He made a fortune out of a monop- demands for an inquiry into Pergau, said: there. oly on the import of plastics; he got a The record of arms sales to Indonesia is The revelation came from José Ramos- monopoly of the trade in oranges in Ka- quite indefensible.” He pointed out that half Horta, co-chair of the East Timor resistance limantan but lost money when his exces- of Britain’s European partners had banned movement, the CNRM, speaking from Lis- sive greed caused farmers to revolt. weapons sales to Indonesia because of its bon on Channel 4’s News at Seven today. Titik: Suharto’s second daughter, 36, is human rights record. He said that two types of aircraft, US- married to the commander of the Indone- supplied Broncos and UK-supplied Hawks, sian equivalent of the SS. She figures as LONDON DEMONSTRATION have been in use for several weeks in bom- one of the country’s biggest taxpayers. bardments across the country to destroy One of her companies has joined British Report from the British Coalition for East guerrilla bases. At least two Hawk aircraft investors in a 400 million pounds project Timor, 13 November 1994 have been used in the central region of the to build a mammoth cement works in country, he said, quoting information just 12 November was a dull, wet day, as received from the leader of the armed resis- Sumatra. most of them are, here in the hub of Empire. Tommy: Aged 31, he is in love with fast tance in the territory, Konis Santana. Wet it may have been, but outstanding Reports in the Indonesian press in the cars. His business interests are concen- the results. At midday, the coalitional Anti- trated in his Humpuss Group, one of In- past few weeks have indeed confirmed that Hawks campaign held a demo outside the the Indonesian army has been engaged in donesia’s biggest firms. He started Hum- Indonesian embassy in Mayfair’s Grosve- Page 112 East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. operations against the resistance, claiming Tom Hyland, co-ordinator of ETISC Clark that he does not care what ‘one set of the capture or killing of several members of commented; “President Clinton carries the foreigners are doing to another’ and that he the resistance. For its part, the resistance moral responsibility to use all the powers of cares more about the killing of animals (he is army, FALINTIL, has reported clashes in his office to end the illegal occupation of a vegetarian) than the killing of East which several Indonesian troops have been East Timor.” Timorese human beings reveals the underly- killed. More information Dublin 6233148 ing racism behind the official British attitude There have been past sightings of Hawks towards East Timor. Andrew Young, former in East Timor during the 1980s by East HORTA: US Ambassador to the UN, once said, ‘the Timorese. One witness stressed that the BRITISH GOVERNMENT British invented racism.’ Maybe he was population are well aware of the shape of right, judging from Allan Clark’s comments. the Hawk and the distinctive sound of its COMPLICIT IN GENOCIDE But official Britain has also invented hypoc- engine. risy, or at least perfected it, from the origi- Twenty Hawk aircraft were supplied to BRITISH FOREIGN OFFICE AND nal French, into a high form of statecraft. Indonesia by British Aerospace in the early DEFENCE ESTABLISHMENT ARE In 1992 at the UN Commission on Hu- 1980s. In June 1993, a deal worth 500 mil- GUILTY OF THE CRIME OF man Rights, the British delegation went out lion for the supply of 24 Hawks was an- of its way to exert pressure on Portugal, its nounced and last month, Chief of Defence GENOCIDE AGAINST THE PEOPLE oldest ally in the world (Portugal and the Staff, Sir Peter Inge, announced during a OF EAST TIMOR UK have a 600 year-old treaty alliance), to visit to Jakarta that a deal for a further 16 Statement from José Ramos-Horta, CNRM compromise on a resolution on Eat Timor. would soon be concluded. Indonesia has in Lisbon, via British Coalition for East The British chief of mission in Geneva even shown an interest in purchasing altogether Timor, Nov. 16. threatened to withdraw British sponsorship one hundred more Hawks. of the EU draft resolution if Portugal did not 1. ON BRITISH COMPLICITY AND TAPOL vigorously condemns the sup- acquiesce to British demands for a much HYPOCRISY ply of Hawks which is enabling the Indone- softer and absolutely useless one. The Brit- sian armed forces to continue its war of Statement on British arms sales to Indo- ish preferred not to require Indonesia to aggression against East Timor. It demands nesia by José Ramos-Horta, Special Repre- account for the more than 521 missing and the cessation of negotiations now under way sentative of the National Council of to call the massacre an ‘incident.’ As it to supply Indonesia with up to 2 billion Maubere Resistance - CNRM turned out, only the courage of the Portu- worth of weaponry. It calls on the British The 12 November 1991 cold-blooded guese Foreign Minister, José Durão Barroso, Government to halt all further sales of mili- murder of 271 East Timorese civilians at the who stood up to his arrogant ‘ally’ forced tary equipment to Indonesia and to enforce Santa Cruz cemetery, the killing the same the British to back down. an arms embargo against the military regime. day of 200 more as documented in Central TV’s ‘Death of a Nation,’ in The Sunday 2. ON THE USE OF HAWK AIRCRAFT For more information, contact Carmel IN EAST TIMOR Budiardjo or Liem Soei Liong on 081 771- Times, and major media around the world, I want to make it clear that Hawk ground 2904. and the recent uprisings in Dili and else- where in the occupied territory of East attack/’trainer’ aircraft fitted with missiles have been used in East Timor regularly since PICKET AT US EMBASSY, Timor, are only the tip of the iceberg of the East Timor struggle and tragedy. 1983. Hawk aircraft were first used in East DUBLIN Over 200,000 East Timorese have died Timor in the Summer of 1983, more pre- since the occupation in 1975. In fact we hear cisely in August 1983, when the then Indo- Press release from East Timor Ireland Soli- the death toll is much, much higher. Entire nesian armed forces chief, Gen. Benny darity Campaign, Nov. 15 villages have been wiped out. Entire tribes Murdani, announced a new military offen- As 29 East Timorese students continue of indigenous peoples have been obliterated. sive after a three-month ceasefire negotiated their sit-in the grounds of the United States This is genocide even in the context of the by Xanana Gusmão, Leader of the East embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia, the East narrow definition of the 1949 Geneva Con- Timorese Resistance and the East Timor Timor Ireland solidarity campaign will place vention on the Prevention and Punishment Indonesian army commander, Col. Pur- a solidarity picket consisting of 29 Irish of the crime of Genocide. wanto. The ceasefire was unilaterally broken citizens on the US embassy in Dublin. British complicity with the Indonesian by the Indonesians who though they could The picket will take place on Wednesday military dictatorship goes back almost 20 wipe out the resistance with the new aircraft 16 November between 1 p.m. And 2 p.m. years when two British journalists were they acquired. The East Timorese entered the US em- murdered at Balibo. The British Foreign The 1983 offensive involved 20,000 In- bassy to mark the third anniversary of the Office did everything to cover up the mur- donesian troops according to AFP, quoted Santa Cruz massacre in which the Indone- der of its own nationals. in the New York Times. Two Hawk aircraft sian army killed over 270 East Timorese. Ever since, the British Foreign Office has were used daily for almost six months. ETISC fears that the East Timorese may consistently engaged in a pattern of cover- Hundreds of civilians and guerrilla fighters face the fate as the mourners killed at the up, deceit, distortion, omission, half-truths were killed during that period. The Hawks, Santa Cruz cemetery and outright lies to protect its narrow selfish armed with missiles, were used in three main President Bill Clinton is in Indonesia to interests. areas of East Timor: in the Same-Ainaro- take part in the Asia Pacific Economic Con- A country that went to war in 1982 with Maubisse mountainous triangle in the centre ference. Prior to his election, President Clin- Argentina over the ‘right to self- of the country, in the Lauten-Lospalos- ton described the west’s response to the determination’ of some 2,000 colonial set- Tutuala corridor in the far east and in the genocidal occupation of East Timor by the tlers in Malvinas has done everything to Matebian mountain range between these Indonesian armed forces as “unconscion- suppress the same right of the East two. able.” Timorese people. The comments to John In 1983 the resistance forces operated in Pilger by former Defence Secretary Allan company sized units numbering 100 each or East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. Page 113 more. The Hawk aircraft were decisive in determination which is explicitly recog- administration has now adopted a more forcing their dispersal into much smaller nised in Security Council resolutions 384 emollient approach to the Timor question. units between 1983 and 1986. Together (1974) and 389 (1976). He has pointed repeatedly to the fact that with the Bronco aircraft and the French- ii. The UK Government is in violation of the Ali Alatas, his foreign minister, renowned supplied Allouette and Puma helicopters, UN Charter and international law by par- for describing the “twenty-seventh prov- Hawk aircraft were responsible for the death ticipating in the continuing violation of ince” as “like a sharp piece of gravel in our of hundreds of civilians between 1983 and the territorial integrity of East Timor, a shoes,” had talks in New York earlier this 1986. territory under Portuguese Administra- year with José Ramos-Horta, the exiled During the months of August and Sep- tion. Timorese leader. What he has failed to point tember 1994, two Hawk aircraft carried out out is that Mr. Alatas refused firmly to at least six bombing raids in the Eastern Grounds for action by Portugal against discuss the status of the territory with Mr. region of East Timor. Hawks and American the UK in the European Court of Human Ramos-Horta. supplied Broncos are stationed at the Bau- Rights General Suharto has said also that he cau airport built by the Portuguese in the i. East Timor is a non-self-governing terri- would consider “very soon” the grant of ‘60s and capable of receiving commercial tory under Portuguese administration. autonomy or special status to the Timorese. aircraft up to Boeing 707s. Since the inva- This is the accepted international legal He has failed to point out that what is sion of East Timor in 1975, the civilian air- status of East Timor. East Timorese are meant by autonomy in the lexicon of his port has been converted to a military base. by law citizens of Portugal and of the administration bears no relation to the con- In the last three months, Hawk aircraft European Union. cept as understood in a democratic society. have again been used extensively mostly in ii. The human rights violations perpetrated Senior spokesmen for his government have the eastern region with an average of six by the Indonesian security forces against stressed that “the autonomy in East Timor sorties a day, each bombing raid lasting ten the East Timorese are aided and abetted has to be the same as the autonomy in other minutes with the launching of two missiles by the British Government and other provinces.” each. members of the EU (Germany, France, The Timorese are not impressed by these Some of these raids seemed to be almost Spain and Italy) which provide arms to empty palliatives. Nor should others be. In random without the pilot aiming specifically Indonesia. the 18 years of their vassalage to Jakarta, at guerrilla targets but at any remote hamlet. For all of the above, the CNRM calls over 200,000 have been murdered by the On September 23 1993, at precisely 1115, upon the Government of Portugal to initiate Indonesian armed forces. The Timorese have in the area between Kelikai and Baguia, a legal action against the British Government witnessed also the illegal occupation of their missile hit a thatched roof house setting it in the International Court of Justice and the lands by some 100,000 Javanese, the impo- on fire and destroying the whole group of European Court of Human Rights. sition of an alien language and systematic impoverished houses. There were no survi- assaults on their culture and religion. Yet vors observed amongst some 30 inhabitants, while these measures are harshest in occu- mainly women and children in this typical EASTERN FIST pied East Timor, General Suharto’s govern- East Timorese hamlet. INDONESIAN CANNOT AFFORD AN ment has also abused its powers in the 26 Because there are no large concentrations other provinces of the unwieldy archipelago: OCCUPIED EAST TIMOR of Resistance forces (the resistance forces newspapers are banned arbitrarily, union operate in very small groups of half a dozen Editorial The Times (of London), 17 No- members are imprisoned and counter- or less and only rarely converge for a major vember 1994 insurgency campaigns in Aceh and Irian attack which may involve forces of up to Two occupations have this week stolen Jaya have led to a disconcerting pattern of 50), the Hawks are used to intimidate villag- the attention which President Suharto of human rights violations. ers with low flying and targeting practice on Indonesia had reserved for the Asia-Pacific It is the Timorese, however, who com- poor villages. Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum. The mand immediate attention. Their subjugation 3. CALL ON PORTUGAL TO TAKE first, an act of despair, is the occupation of only serves Jakarta ill. The cost to General THE UK TO THE INTERNATIONAL the grounds of the American Embassy in Suharto of holding Dili is more than merely COURT OF JUSTICE AND THE Jakarta by 29 Timorese students; the sec- financial; it is, most tellingly, a drain on the EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN ond, an occupation as old as some of the dwindling fund of good will which the Gen- RIGHTS protesting students are, is of East Timor eral has with his democratic allies in the itself, shackled to Indonesia since 1976 as western world. Indonesia cannot afford to The National Council of Maubere Resis- that country’s “twenty-seventh province.” persevere with an occupation which saps it tance calls on Portugal to take the British Given the guest list at the APEC forum, politically, retards its modernity and offers Government to the International Court of it was unlikely that human rights in occu- nothing but opprobrium in return Justice and the European Human Rights pied East Timor – or in Indonesia, for that Court on the following grounds: matter – would be accorded a prominent SEND RIGHTS MONITORS Grounds for action in the International place on the agenda. But, although the poli- TO EAST TIMOR NOW Court of Justice tics of trade prevailed in the end over the i. The UK Government is in violation of the politics of rights, “firm and forceful” criti- Press Release from BCET, Nov. 18, 1994 UN Charter and relevant Security Coun- cism has come from one quarter that should cil resolutions on the question of East matter most to General Suharto, the admini- The British Coalition for East Timor has Timor by providing economic, financial stration in Washington. written to Boutros Boutros-Ghali, Secretary and military assistance to Indonesia Recent riots by students in Dili, the capi- General of the United Nations, to ask that which enables it to pursue the war of ag- tal of occupied East Timor, suggest that the he send a team of human rights monitors to gression in East Timor. British support Timorese remain as alienated from Indonesia East Timor immediately. to Indonesia hinders the exercise of the as they ever were. General Suharto has The letter points out that the situation in right of the people of East Timor to self- sought to convince his critics abroad that his East Timor is increasingly volatile. There Page 114 East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. have been both riots and large demonstra- pect that soon there will be further, perhaps give reports from those actions initiated by tions over the past week, and protests very bloody, reprisals against those who Stop the Hawk Deal. against the Indonesian occupation of the have been demonstrating during and after the BAe BROUGH territory are continuing. Earlier today, a APEC summit. I am sure you are only too A vigil was held outside BAe Brough peaceful demonstration of several hundred well aware of the frequency of torture, ‘dis- where the wings for Hawks are made. About Timorese was attacked first by men, sus- appearance,’ and extrajudicial execution in 15 people braved the downpour to hold pected by foreign journalists on the scene of East Timor. Only the presence of independ- banners, placards and candles. being police agents, throwing rocks and ent foreign observers can protect the There were students from Hull Univer- stones; then by police and troops, who fired Timorese at this time. It is of the utmost sity Peace Group, local Quakers, members tear gas into the crowd. importance that the United Nations send of Hull Amnesty and some representatives “We expect that soon there will be fur- monitors right away, and that you exert from Hull Trades Union Council and from ther, perhaps very bloody, reprisals against pressure on the Indonesian government to the Manchester-based Stop the Hawk Deal. those who have been demonstrating during allow NGOs such as Amnesty International After the various media calls between and after the APEC summit,” the letter con- and Human Rights Watch access to the terri- 11am and 11:30am, we waited for the start tinues. “I am sure you are only too well tory. of the lunch-time rush of workers leaving aware of the frequency of torture, ‘disap- We are also afraid that the large number the site. Unfortunately, most left by car and pearance,’ and extrajudicial execution in East of journalists currently in East Timor could were very unreceptive to accepting one of Timor. Only the presence of independent soon be compelled to leave. We ask that you our delightful leaflets from our friendly dis- foreign observers can protect the Timorese press the Indonesian government to keep tributors. However, a few did take leaflets at this time. It is of the utmost importance the territory of East Timor open to journal- and were seen to read them as they drove that the United Nations send monitors right ists as well as to other international observ- away. We also learned that there were some away.” ers. BAe workers from the site who definitely The British Coalition for East Timor has Further, we are concerned for the fate of wanted to work on more socially-useful reports from within the country and from the twenty-nine Timorese students in the projects. Amnesty International indicating that hun- U.S. Embassy compound in Jakarta, and the During the debrief (and dry-out) in the dreds of Timorese are already under arrest, approximately fifty who were arrested in local pub, with the head of security noncha- and that Indonesian authorities are conduct- and near Jakarta this week. We ask you to lantly eating chips on a nearby table, there ing house-to-house searches in a “clean-up” continue to monitor their situation and to do was talk of the different groups working operation against anyone even faintly sus- all you can to ensure that they are not together, of a public meeting to discuss di- pected of being a dissident. We are also harmed. versification issues, and of acts of direct extremely concerned about the fate of the Thank you for your attention to this disarmament. All in all, it seems that the twenty-nine students in the U.S. Embassy matter. Please inform us of any action you head of security is going to have more on his compound in Jakarta, and the approximately may take. plate in the future than luke-warm chips! fifty arrested in and near Jakarta. In peace, All in all, a wet but successful day. “For a few days, the eyes of the world Maggie Helwig, have been on East Timor,” says Maggie British Coalition for East Timor WARTON Helwig, a spokesperson for the Coalition. –––––––––– After an intensive day of training and “But as soon as the journalists and the poli- To All Solidarity Groups planning on Nov. 11th, at which the major- ticians have left, we know there will be re- ity of activists for the 12th took part, about Please read the press release and the let- prisals against those Timorese who have 50 of us made the journey to BAe Warton ter, and send a similar letter from your or- taken such brave actions to express their for a rainy mass trespass. 5 affinity groups ganisation, as quickly as possible. It is really desire for self-determination. The world had planned to enter the site at different urgent to get international observers into owes it to these people not to abandon them times and places, starting with a women’s East Timor and to try to keep journalists to the hands of the military.” group who entered near the runway at there. Otherwise there could be an even For more information, contact: Maggie 10:15am. We planted 20 crosses, with more serious crackdown than is already Helwig, 071-252-7937 names of East Timorese killed 3 years ago in going on. –––––––––– the Santa Cruz massacre - the number of crosses was chosen to represent the 200,000 Dear Mr. Boutros-Ghali; STOP THE HAWK DEAL INFO killed since the invasion. We also planted Fax 1-212-963-4879. From Tricia via Michael Bane, 18 Nov. large white poppies with messages to BAe We ask you, as a matter of extreme ur- 1994 to “Stop the Hawk Deal” and to “Remem- gency, to send human rights monitors to ber the Santa Cruz massacre.” We also East Timor immediately. Here follows a summary of some actions planted daffodil bulbs in an attempt to con- As you are no doubt aware, the situation in the UK which have happened recently in vert the site to one with life and beauty. in East Timor at the moment is extremely protest at BAe’s intentions to sell Hawk After 15 minutes of planting and merriment volatile. There have been riots in the streets, ground attack aircraft to Indonesia. several Group 4 security and large demonstrations. Only a few hours SAT 12th NOV. - the 3rd anniversary of guards approached us and removed our ago, several hundred students protesting the Santa Cruz massacre in Dili when Indo- crosses and poppies. So we replanted them peacefully at the Cathedral in Dili were first nesian troops shot and killed over 270 again, while one of us read out East attacked with rocks and stones by men sus- peaceful protestors - marked the start of a Timorese testimonies about the day of the pected by foreign journalists of being police campaign to stop the Hawks leaving Britain Indonesian invasion. Eventually, we were all agents; then surrounded and tear-gassed by for Indonesia. Various groups, including escorted into a BAe bus and driven off the police and troops. Campaign Against Arms Trade, Pax Christi, site - no arrests. We have reports stating that several hun- ARROW, and Stop the Hawk Deal took The factory got much busier come mid- dred Timorese have been arrested. We ex- part in a national day of action. Below we day, with the 5 affinity groups, plus 2 or 3 East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. Page 115 other groups who’d just joined us for the Chris Mullin (Lab. Sunderland S.) PATRICK NICHOLLS WRITES day, all going over and under the fences: branded Indonesia as “an odious tyranny” BAe seemed to have decided to keep the and claimed a “huge arms deal” was being TO THE GUARDIAN day low profile, as everybody was escorted negotiated. The Guardian (London), Letters Page, No- off the site once inside, and nobody was Mr. Freeman denied knowledge of any vember 21 even threatened with arrest. We were flat- “huge arms deal” other than the already tered to have a helicopter buzzing around announced 1993 contract for supply of While the exchange of letters posted as re- overhead tracking our every move... further Hawk aircraft sponses to the topic was going on, Patrick In all, about 35 people went onto the Nicholls had to resign as vice-chairman of site, several going in 2, 3 or even 4 times. PURCHASE OF TANKS FROM the Conservative Party after an anti-EU rant in which he referred to the French as “a One group planted a large cross next to the THE UK BEING PROCESSED runway, others carried banners, and one nation of collaborators.” Given that Mr. Nicholls has set himself up as a sort of one- group at the end of the day entered some Kompas, 18 and 21 November 1994. man disinformation ministry for the Indone- buildings and offices where they left mes- Abridged sages for the workers to stop their murder- sian government, this is particularly ironic. Comment: Note that ABRI talks about the ous business. I see that John Pilger has once again suitability of the Scorpion for use in Indone- There was also a large vigil of 30 to 40 sought to impugn my integrity in leading an sia. This has nothing to do with Indonesia’s people outside the main gate between noon All-Party Delegation to Indonesia, while right of defence as argued by Ministry of and 1pm. when several press people turned grossly misrepresenting the Indonesian gov- Defence ministers, who always speak of up to report on the action. ernment (Letters, November 4). Indonesia’s right to defend itself as defined By 4:30pm, the remains of some wet and Of course, with Mr. Pilger for an enemy, in Article 51 of the UN Charter, in justifica- tired activists decided a good day had been who needs friends? There are, however, a tion for arms sales to Indonesia. had by all, and headed off home having left number of points that need to be made. the crosses and white poppies from the Jakarta – General Feisal, commander of Mr. Pilger criticised the delegation as not women’s group next to the main gate. the Indonesian armed forces, confirmed that being truly all party. In fact, the group’s Indonesia was purchasing a squadron of vice chairman, the Labour MP David Young, MINISTER PLEDGES PROBE Hawk aircraft from the UK as well as a had accepted the invitation, only declining at ON INDONESIA PLANES battalion of Scorpion light tanks. a late stage because of constituency obliga- He told a press conference that these tions. The second Labour MP, who had Press Association, 22 November 1994. By purchases would replace equipment that had originally expressed an interest in going, was Alison Little, Parliamentary Staff become obsolete. “This won’t increase the also unable to accept. Neither suggested that strength of the armed forces but is replace- their reason for not coming was that they London – Defence Procurement Minister ment for equipment we have been using for wished to boycott such a trip. Indeed why Roger Freeman pledged in the Commons to 30 to 40 years,” he said. should they? Taking part in the work of an investigate claims that British-built Hawk Major-General Bantu Hardjijo said the all party group does not imply uncritical aircraft were being used to bomb civilians in armed forces budget was relatively small, acceptance of the policy of a country’s East Timor. But he said at question time around Rp. 500 billion a year, accounting for government. that he could find “no evidence” to back the 6.9 per cent of the national budget, much Mr. Pilger repeats yet again the wholly allegations. smaller than in other countries. unsubstantiated claim that 200,000 people He told the House that over the last 20 He was not able to say how many tanks have died in East Timor, the clear implica- years assurances had been received from the would be purchased for a battalion. If the tion being that they have been killed by the Indonesian government that it would not use Scorpion is purchased, a battalion will Indonesian armed forces. the aircraft against civilians. amount to 50 tanks. [Kompas 21 Novem- The assertion that 200,000 Timorese Labour’s Jeremy Corbyn (Islington N.) ber] have been killed does not begin to stand up pressed: “Since the illegal occupation took to even the mildest examination. Quite sim- place of East Timor, over 200,000 East ––––––- ply no one knows the true figures. Even Mr. Timorese people have been killed by the Referring earlier to the Scorpion tanks, Pilger should know that in a civil war it is forces of the Indonesian government. Infor- during a press conference in Jakarta, General notoriously hard to come by reliable figures. mation has now been published by the Feisal said the deal to purchase the Scorpion There is no reliable census on the popula- Timorese people that Hawk aircraft are would be signed very soon. But the agree- tion as a whole. The extrapolations to arrive indeed being used to bomb them and their ment would not include the purchase of at 200,000 rely, in part, on the estimates of positions. Isn’t that evidence enough to more Rapier missiles. “liuraies,” village headmen, collated by the stop any further arms sales to this appalling He said that the Scorpion tank was ideal previous colonial administration. regime which has committed such a blood- for the natural conditions and field of com- Mr. Pilger also blames me for the way I bath against the Timorese people?” bat in Indonesia. He said that the tank is may have been quoted in the Indonesian Mr. Freeman: “The House would share very popular in the world market and its press by himself quoting selectively from with you the view that any repression of effectiveness has been proven in the Malvi- the Indonesian press! It has been my experi- the civil population in East Timor is to be nas and in the Middle East. [Kompas, 18 ence that it is difficult enough to be quoted regretted and representations have been November] accurately in the UK press where one has made to the government by the Foreign none of the problems of a different language Secretary, Douglas Hurd. As regards the and culture. I think I need say no more than allegations, if you would forward them to that. me for my personal attention, I will cer- I will not comment on Mr. Pilger’s sug- tainly investigate them.” gestion that I misrepresented what Bishop Belo said to me. [Note that Nicholls has Page 116 East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. finally worked out the correct spelling of months have demonstrated. In June, the Nicholls refutes. In the mid-1980s Indone- Belo’s name!] Others were there as well and Suharto government suppressed the coun- sian security forces killed around 4,000 I am not in the business of lying. try’s three major political weekly newspa- political opponents in Indonesia itself. In Mr. Pilger lambastes Indonesia’s parlia- pers. Last month, one of Indonesia’s leading Aceh province thousands more were killed mentary structures as being no more than a academics, George Aditjondro, was hauled in the late 1980s and 1990s. front for a brutal military regime etc. In a before the police in Yogyakarta and ques- Indonesian military officers have often great variety of ways, Indonesia is very tioned for 15 hours about a lecture he gave been quite open about their task of eliminat- different from the UK. It is therefore hardly criticising the anti-democratic political struc- ing opposition to the regime. The com- surprising that its structures of government tures under President Suharto’s New Order. mander in Aceh province – where the regime are different as well. The fact is that it Earlier this month, Muchtar Pakpahan, is fighting an insurgency with methods simi- works for Indonesia. It has raised, and con- leader of the SBSI, the country’s first inde- lar to those employed in East Timor – once tinued to raise, the condition of its people pendent trade union, was jailed for three noted that “If you find a terrorist, kill him. and has produced a degree of social stability years. His organisation of workers in de- There’s no need to investigate .. If they that even from someone like Mr. Pilger fence of their rights was described as “in- don’t do as you order them, shoot them on should command respect. citement.” Amnesty International’s just- the spot, or butcher them.” The commander Mr. Pilger’s thesis, in short, amounts to published report on Indonesia and East of the armed forces and Vice President, this. I and the other members of the group Timor makes a devastating attack on the General Try Sutrisno, recently commented are fools, knaves or liars as are diplomats, government of Indonesia for its suppression on the massacre of hundreds of protesters in dissidents if they disagree with him and of peace and rights of assembly, and ob- Dili, East Timor in November 1991: “In the when President Clinton said in Jakarta that serves that arbitrary killing and widespread end, they had to be shot. These ill-bred he was “comfortable that the commitment torture continues. people have to be shot ... and we will shoot he had received that there would be no retri- In his January 1992 report, the UN spe- them.” bution against the East Timorese occupying cial rapporteur on torture concluded that One need only consult the documents of a US parking lot would be honoured,” he too torture was common in East Timor. Amnesty International and other human had been duped. British policy towards Indonesia must rights organisations to discover the real na- In short, Mr. Pilger is right and everyone change dramatically: we must support self- ture of the Indonesian regime. Patrick else, as he might put it, can go to hell. determination for the people of East Timor Nicholls, however, appears to prefer to take Patrick Nicholls, MP and bring pressure to bear to end the contin- seriously President Clinton’s comment that (Con, Teignbridge) ued systematic violation of human rights. he was “comfortable” with a “commitment” Turning a blind eye to oppression, as Pat- from the Indonesian regime. The reality is BRITAIN’S DUTY TO HELP END rick Nicholls seeks to do, will contribute that the US has been a longstanding ally of, TORTURE AND KILLING IN EAST nothing to the quality of life of the Indone- and apologist for, Suharto; declassified TIMOR sian people. documents show that the CIA helped it Guardian, Letters Page November 23 Ann Clwyd MP, conduct the slaughters in the mid-1960s; US In his letter published on November 21, Shadow Foreign Minister arms helped Indonesia conduct the war in Tory MP Patrick Nicholls describes the East Timor; and basic diplomatic and eco- DEFINING DICTATORSHIP nomic support continues under the Clinton claim that 200,000 people died after the Guardian Letters Page November 23 Indonesian invasion of East Timor as administration. “wholly unsubstantiated.” Patrick Nicholls attacks John Pilger for Speaking recently at a banking conference But the head of the Catholic church in suggesting that 200,000 people have died in in the US, Clinton spoke of the economic East Timor from 1977 to 1983, Monsignor East Timor under Indonesian rule. Just how “opportunities” Indonesia presented to the Martinho da Costa Lopez, told the Irish many people does he claim have died, or US, at the same time as noting that the Times a few months after he was forced to does he deny the deaths of thousands? He country was a “partner” of the US. It fol- leave because of his outspoken denuncia- also describes Indonesia as a country with a lows that if Patrick Nicholls is prepared to tions of human rights violations: “Since the parliamentary system “that works for Indo- accept the word of the US president on Indonesian army invaded the country in nesia.” Would he please supply us with his Indonesia, he is also prepared to peddle the 1975, the population of 680,000 has been own definition of a brutal dictatorship? Indonesian regime’s own propaganda. reduced about 200,000. About 60,000 were Gerry Merriman, London SW15 Mark Curtis, London N6 killed and about 140,000 died as a result of NICHOLLS’ DELUSIONS THE JUDGMENT OF HISTORY starvation caused by economic disruption Guardian Letters Page, November 25 Guardian Letters Page, November 25 and inability to grow food.” Unlike apolo- gists for the Suharto regime, the church has Patrick Nicholls MP is under serious de- Contrary to the assertion by Patrick nothing to gain from inventing figures. Pat- lusions about the nature of the Indonesian Nicholls, there exist quite accurate census rick Nicholls shows himself to be an apolo- regime (Letters, November 21). The roots of figures for East Timor before the Indonesian gist when he says: “In a great variety of the Suharto military regime are criminal, invasion. These were compiled by the ways, Indonesia is very different from the having emerged in the mid-1960s following a Catholic Church and give a figure of 688,711 UK. It is therefore hardly surprising that its systematic campaign of mass slaughter of in 1974. Since we know that the population structures of government are different as political opponents in which at least was growing at an annual rate of 2.2 per well.” No one is suggesting that all struc- 500,000 people were killed. A decade later, cent, the figure for 1975 would have been tures of government must be identical: only the regime applied a similar military solution close to 700,000. Six years later, the Indone- that they should have in common a basic to a political problem by invading East sian government published statistics show- commitment to political and civil rights. Timor, an illegal and brutal act which has ing 567,000 inhabitants (including several Indonesia does not fulfill this obligation, resulted in at least 200,000 deaths according thousand Indonesian settlers) in the former as a number of events over the last six to the most reliable estimates which Mr. Portuguese colony. Even if we accept a halving of the annual growth rate due to the East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. Page 117 intensity of the fighting, that still leaves total distance between different points in spected, cannot limit itself to selfish defence 170,000 unaccounted for by 1981. Consid- East Timor, at which some of the most im- of mere national interests. ering that many more Timorese perished in portant acts of Maubere resistance to Indo- To be consistent the US cannot accept as the infamous “fence of legs” operations nesian occupation have taken place. a fait accompli the forced annexation of a launched by the Indonesian army to flush This Day of Solidarity, jointly organised territory by a foreign army, especially when out the remnants of the Fretilin guerrillas, a by the Grandola Swimming Club and Rep- such has been formally rejected by the in- total of 200,000 deaths would not seem con (Joint Representation of Timorese Re- ternational community. If Portugal main- wide of the mark. To this day the Timorese sistance), has the backing of the Assembly tains its statute of administrative power of component of the population still has not of the Republic’s Chairman, Mr. Barbosa de East Timor, then in terms of law and ethics, recovered to pre-1975 levels, one of the few Melo, the Bishop of Setubal, Mnsgr. a country which is putting itself forward as areas in the world to have experienced such Manuel Martins, and Dom Duarte Pio de guarantor of new international order (as the an absolute population loss. Braganca, who have all agreed to be on the US is doing) cannot recognise any legitimacy In his anxiety to whitewash Indonesian Commission of Honour. in Indonesia’s occupation. genocide, Mr. Nicholls proves himself a Other events have also been planned to What happened yesterday in Jakarta good deal less honest than Indonesian gov- run concurrently with the swimming on 12 (Timorese demonstrators entering the ernment officials themselves. Just over a November in Grandola, between 10 am and grounds of the US Embassy) constitutes an year after the invasion, Indonesian Foreign 6 pm. There will be a show, in which incident of very strong political significance. Minister, Adam Malik, boasted that “per- Timorese cultural groups, Alentejo choral It is not the first time that international haps 80,000 people might have been killed groups, and singer Carlos Quincas will be repercussions have resulted from a blow to [in East Timor] ... It was war ... Then what taking part, as well as various activities the heart of Indonesian power by the is the big fuss?” (Sydney Morning Herald, intended to spread information about East Timorese Resistance. However, it is the first April 5, 1977). More recently, the newly Timor, its people, and their struggle against time that a blow has been struck with such appointed Governor of East Timor, Abilio Indonesian occupation. accurate political timing and had such media Soares, admitted that “it was probably true” For further information, please contact: impact, coinciding with the APEC meeting. that between 100,000-200,000 people had Clube de Natacao de Grandola, telephone: In spite of the tragic difficulties experienced died as a direct result of the conflict in East (931) 224133, fax: 069 51292, or the Joint by the resistance in East Timor’s interior, Timor (Economist, April 23, 1994). Many Representation of Timorese Resistance: the proof that the flame of rebellion still of these perished in the bombing attacks in telephone (1)3977141. burns is this Trojan horse within the for- 1977-78 when napalm and chemical defoli- tress of the US and the dictatorship’s hypo- ants were used against civilian targets in the TROJAN HORSE (U.S. critical interests. Indirectly, however, Mrs. mountain areas, attacks which were made AMBASSADOR IN LISBON) Bagley has already been given an appropri- possible by Western-supplied counterinsur- ate response. gency aircraft now being replaced by British Publico Editorial, 13 Nov. By Vicente Jorge Hawk jets. Silva. Translated from Portuguese CDPM APPEALS TO SOAR ES When eventually a new generation of In- donesians comes to power in Jakarta and the Lisbon – The recently appointed US am- Publico, 14 November 1994. Translated Timorese are at last allowed to decide their bassador to Portugal, Elizabeth Frawley from Portuguese own future in a referendum denied them by Bagley, had the misfortune to commence her mandate here with a statement in which she Lisbon – The CDPM ( Commissao para Indonesian aggression and Western duplicity os Direitos do Povo Maubere ) appealed in the mid 1970s, it will be left to history to acknowledged Indonesian sovereignty over East Timor. The comment was made in yesterday to the President of the Republic judge the actions of Mr. Nicholls and his to “convey to US President Bill Clinton its friends. That judgment will not be kind. passing at a lunch at the American Club, and in fact all Mrs. Bagley did was to repeat concerns for the safety of the five Timorese (Dr.) Peter Carey, Tutor in Modern His- detained in Jakarta at the headquarters of tory, Trinity College, Oxford what is Washington’s official position on the matter, in spite of the current Admini- Bakorstanas, a security agency under mili- stration’s criticism of Jakarta’s human rights tary control, and for the 36 Timorese who were escorted yesterday from the Indone- EVENTS IN PORTUGAL record. In addition to being a gaffe not very friendly to the host country, the Ambassa- sian capital by the army.” dor’s statement was yet another sign of the The CDPM said that “following the peaceful occupation of the US Embassy in SWIMMING FOR TIMOR - political dilettantism which has dashed the hopes held in Bill Clinton’s presidency, and the Indonesian capital by a group of DAY OF SOLIDARITY explains the electoral defeat of the Democ- Timorese workers and students, 41 young rats this week. people from different parts of East Java CDPM (Maubere People’s Rights Commis- were taken away from the railway station sion), 4 Nov. Translated from Portuguese The US position on East Timor is an ex- ample of inconsistency and duplicity, espe- by security forces. Five were taken to the Lisbon – On 12 November, during a Day cially if we consider the much cited example headquarters of Bakorstanas.” The CDPM of Solidarity with East Timor organised to of Kuwait. The double standards used, ac- fears for their well-being given that “it is mark the third anniversary of the Santa Cruz cording to the particular US interests in- widely known that Indonesian security massacre, hundreds of people will be volved, to evaluate situations could be ex- forces routinely inflict both physical and swimming 227 kilometers at the Grandola plained by the narrow cynicism of “real- psychological torture on detainees.” municipal swimming pool. politik.” The problem is that the US is con- The Commission is equally concerned For eight hours, participants from sports stantly at pains to justify its positions mor- about the fate of the other 36 detainees, clubs from all over Portugal will swim con- ally and in the name of a new international taken out of Jakarta. For the CDPM, “the tinuously until they complete a total of 227 order which, to be effective, just and re- intentions of the authorities are clear: to kilometers. This distance is symbolic of the move them away from the attention of jour- Page 118 East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. nalists and foreign delegations currently in tal Dili, Indonesian troops were using force · make every possible effort to secure the the capital for the APEC summit, thereby to suppress protests inside East Timor. unconditional release of all Timorese po- alleviating pressure on Jakarta’s military “Confrontations are taking place out of litical prisoners; command, which can allege that to give in- the view of the international community. · ensure that Timorese representatives, formation or take action on this matter Civilians armed with sticks and stones are especially Xanana Gusmão, play a full would be to act outside its jurisdiction. In confronting Indonesian troops, and there part in the negotiations that are under- the meantime, the young Timorese detain- have been deaths,” Horta said. way, under the auspices of the UN. ees, isolated in different cities in East Java, Horta appealed to U.S. President Bill With our highest esteem, will be left entirely at the mercy of local Clinton to take his talks with Indonesian (signatures) military leaders.” President Suharto beyond the question of Note: The CDPM also appealed to the human rights abuses in East Timor. TIMOR PRESSURE GROUP URGES Portuguese Government to take all neces- “There is an opportunity to tackle the UN TO SEND ENVOY sary actions to ensure the safety and release wider East Timor problem. The first step of all the Timorese - Portuguese citizens must be the demilitarization of East Timor Reuter, Nov. 17, 1994 under international law - detained in the under UN supervision,” Horta said. Lisbon – An East Timor pressure group above incident, as well as those arrested on Thursday asked U.N. Secretary-General during incidents in Dili. URGENT APPEAL TO UN Boutros Boutros-Ghali to send an envoy From CDPM - Maubere People’s Rights urgently to East Timor to defuse the stand- PORTUGAL’S SOARES PRAISES Commission - Lisbon, 15 November 1994. off between pro-independence protesters CLINTON TIMORESE EFFORT Translated from Portuguese and Indonesia. PRAGUE, Nov. 16 (Reuter) - Portugal’s The CDPM and Peace is Possible in East “We call on Your Excellency to send a President Mario Soares on Wednesday Timor - with the backing of 44 organisa- special representative to East Timor ur- praised U.S. President Bill Clinton for pos- tions, including Portugal’s two largest labour gently and to rapidly establish a permanent sibly securing free passage from Indonesia unions (CGTP and UGT), academic associa- presence in the territory,” said a letter sent for dissident students from the former Por- tions, National Youth Committee, Free by the Lisbon-based Commission for the tuguese colony of East Timor. Xanana, Free Timor Committee, 12 Novem- Rights of the Timorese People. The Indonesian government said on ber Association, National Federation of The letter also called on Boutros-Ghali to Wednesday it would allow the 29 students Teachers, and various Christian movements press for the unconditional release of to leave the country after they staged a five- - are sending the following Urgent Appeal to Timorese political prisoners and to involve day sit-in at the U.S. Embassy compound in the UN Secretary General. The organisers of figures such as jailed guerrilla leader Xanana Jakarta to protest about Indonesia’s treat- this initiative hope to continue to gather Gusmão in U.N.-sponsored talks with In- ment of East Timorese. signatures for the appeal, from individuals donesia on the future of the former Portu- “If that news is correct, then I would say and organisations, until the end of Novem- guese colony. ‘Bravo President Clinton.’ He did what we ber. Gusmão’s spokesman in Portugal José were expecting,” Soares told a news confer- Ramos-Horta told daily Diario de Noticias His Excellency, Mr. Boutros Boutros Ghali, ence during a state visit to the Czech on Wednesday that the U.N. should estab- Secretary General of the United Nations Republic. lish a permanent presence in the half-island “The free world was waiting for a face- Your Excellency, north of Australia with a view to eventually to-face with the dictator whose name is The protests currently occurring in Ja- holding a referendum on its future. Suharto, and there is no doubt that Suharto karta, Dili and other places stem from a In Lisbon, a foreign ministry spokesman is a dictator,” Soares said. situation of intense and prolonged suffering. said Portugal would accept 29 East Timor Soares had written a personal letter to The demonstrators are expressing their un- students who have been holed up in the U.S. Clinton on Monday asking him to intercede equivocal repudiation of Indonesia’s occu- embassy compound in Jakarta since Satur- with the Indonesian authorities on behalf of pation, and the resoluteness of the Timorese day to demand the release of Gusmão. East Timorese dissidents. to fulfill their right to self-determination, “We are ready to carry out the repatria- recognised by the UN. They acclaim Xanana tion (of the students). The process is under TIMORESE CALL FOR Gusmão as their chief representative and way,” the spokesman said. He told Reuters that “like any other re- UN INTERVENTION demand the immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners. patriation” the government would pay the By BARRY HATTON Given the systematic practice of terror, costs of bringing the protesters to Portugal, and the Santa Cruz massacre perpetrated by which considers it is still the legal adminis- LISBON, Nov. 14 (UPI) – The leading trative power in East Timor. East Timorese resistance spokesman in exile Indonesia’s Armed Forces three years ago, it is feared that the conclusion of the APEC on Monday urged the United Nations to “THE INVISIBLE FRIEND” send a special envoy to the territory imme- Summit and exodus of the foreign journalists diately in an effort to cool mounting pro- will bring a new wave of even greater re- CAMPAIGN tests against Indonesian occupation of the pression to Timorese in both Timor and Press Release from Free Xanana, Free former Portuguese colony. Indonesia. We are, therefore, appealing to Your Ex- Timor Commission, Lisbon. 18 November “Only the presence of a UN special rep- 1994. Translated from Portuguese resentative in East Timor over the next 48 cellency, to : hours can calm down the people and cool · send, as a matter of urgency, a Special The Free Xanana, Free Timor Commis- the situation,” José Ramos Horta said on Representative to East Timor, and ar- sion will be marking the second anniversary Lisbon radio TSF. range for permanent UN representation of Commander Xanana Gusmão’s arrest by Horta said that apart from demonstra- in the territory; launching a campaign called “The Invisible tions in Jakarta and the East Timorese capi- Friend,” which aims to help Timorese po- East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. Page 119 litical prisoners. Dozens of secondary actions were also initiated, including the The idea is simply to write a letter to a schools scattered throughout the country are present “Invisible Friend” campaign. Timorese prisoner - even a few lines of en- to take part in the initiative by “adopting” The international status of the East couragement and support for a friend in a one of the Timorese prisoners on the list Timor issue has altered. On the diplomatic difficult situation. We are hoping for an supplied by the Commission. level, Indonesia has been forced to admit, enormous wave of letters to this group of During the 5-month campaign, which implicitly or explicitly, that Timor poses a prisoners from secondary schools, involv- starts on 20 November and finishes at the serious problem which cannot be resolved ing teachers and pupils, (with the backing of end of the second school term, pupils and by means of military action exclusively, but their school boards). their teachers will be sending letters to three whose settlement can only be reached One or more classes in each school will prisons (Cipinang, Semarang and Kupang), through negotiations, with the participation choose at least one prisoner, who they will in which the few Timorese prisoners whose of the Timorese and involvement of the adopt as their “Invisible Friend.” Care must imprisonment has been acknowledged by international community. be taken to vary the selection, so that, for Indonesia are currently being held. Even Thanks to the struggle of the Timorese, example, Xanana is not chosen by everyone. under Indonesian law, these Timorese have and pressure from public opinion (both It will be up to teachers to decide on the some rights, including the right to receive international and within Indonesia itself), “handle” to use; the initiative could be ap- correspondence. Given the Commission’s the way in which Indonesia is dealing within proached through subjects such as Geogra- past campaign experience (e.g. last year’s its own borders with the issue today is quite phy, Portuguese Language, History, Media postcards for Xanana, and the flowers sent different to its approach a few years ago. Studies, Politics, etc. on his birthday last June), it is safe to say Even though the repression persists openly The campaign will run nationwide. Doz- that some of the letters will probably reach and with impunity, today there are ens of schools throughout the country have their destination. Timorese who have been brought to trial and already been contacted. It will officially At least, the campaign will make the In- sentenced under Indonesian law, while for start on 20 November and last for five donesian prison authorities aware of how so many years prisoners were summarily months (to roughly around Easter holiday important the issue is in the eyes of public executed without any form of trial. time). So that pupils do not start to lose opinion, and thereby help to keep in check Even in Indonesia’s dictatorship, the interest, schools should ensure that their the arbitrariness and violence of the prison whereabouts of those prisoners are known mailings are organised during, for example, guards. Coordination with various Indone- and they have some, albeit theoretical, one or two weeks. They will also have to fit sian human rights NGOs has been estab- rights, such as to receive and send corre- in with other school activities. lished for the campaign and, in the future, spondence. Prison life is nonetheless harsh, Please let us know the name(s) of the this cooperation could extend to other kinds and prisoners are forced to put up with ill- Timorese you have “adopted,” and the of support (such as sending books, news- treatment, isolation, ill-health, very inade- date(s) chosen for your mailings. We need paper subscription costs, etc.) and include quate food, etc. Prison guards usually have this information for publicity purposes. Indonesian political prisoners too. to be bribed before they will do any kind of What do we hope the Campaign will The campaign is to be launched at Lis- “favour.” achieve? bon’s Timor Centre (in front of Portugal’s Aims of the Campaign Given the nature of the Indonesian prison parliament building) on 20 November. Be- Given the present situation, we think system, is it reasonable to expect that letters tween 15.00 and 19.00 hrs. The public will that the time is right to see just how willing sent by post will reach their destination? be able to choose prisoners for “adoption” the Indonesians are to make “concessions.” There is no definite answer to this ques- from the available lists. The main aims of “The Invisible Friend” tion. However, based on the experience of BACKGROUND TO THE “INVISIBLE campaign are to: previous campaigns (e.g. the November FRIEND” CAMPAIGN a) involve young people in a solidarity 1993 postcards to Xanana, and sending of It is unacceptable that a person may be learning exercise flowers on his birthday last June) we believe sentenced to life imprisonment solely for b) contribute towards practical improve- that there is a good chance letters will arrive. expressing his/her beliefs in a non-violent ments to the difficult conditions faced by A lot depends on the prevailing mood of the manner. However, this is precisely what prisoners prison authorities, but its success mostly happens in East Timor, where imprison- c) encourage establishment of links with depends on how far-reaching the campaign ment is not the worse fate that may befall an Indonesian society is, its duration, and how much coverage it receives. For this reason, publicizing the individual: many Timorese disappear with- d) help draw greater attention to the East out trace. At least in prison a person’s campaign is vital, not just through the media Timor issue: the media will be involved (schools themselves will be responsible for whereabouts are known and there is relative to give coverage to the campaign “security.” regional and local media coverage), but Given our special legal, political and his- How to adopt an “Invisible Friend” through the UN (the UN Information Centre torical ties with the Timorese, and the very The Free Xanana, Free Timor Commis- in Lisbon should be informed about the strong affective bonds between the two sion has drawn up the attached list of initiative). Our contacts with Indonesian peoples, we Portuguese are bound to seek Timorese political prisoners. They are all human rights NGOs ill also help to dissemi- the release of these unjustly treated human people about whom some reliable informa- nate news of the campaign throughout Indo- beings. The 20th November marks the sec- tion is available (e.g. name, name of prison, nesia itself. ond anniversary of Xanana Gusmão’s arrest, length of sentence, etc.) and which has been Whether or not letters are actually re- the event which led to the creation of the confirmed by the Indonesian authorities. ceived by the prisoners themselves, they Free Xanana, Free Timor Commission. For The campaign will focus on these few will still get to hear about the campaign, and the past two years, the Commission’s ac- “privileged” prisoners, because there is little this alone is bound to raise their spirits. tivities have focused on solidarity work or no information available on the other This kind of initiative always puts the In- with Timorese prisoners. Various public hundreds or thousands of cases. donesian authorities in an embarrassing Page 120 East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. spot, and inhibits the activities of prison Age and arrest date not known. Accused Age not known. Arrested 30 November authorities. of Fretilin membership. Sentenced to 17 1991. Accused of taking part in the Santa We realise how important feedback is, years imprisonment. Cruz demonstration. Sentenced to 9 years especially for the young people taking part. João Freitas da Camara imprisonment. Although we cannot make any promises, we 36-years-old. Arrested 19 November will try to obtain some response from the 1991. Accused of taking part, on 19 No- prisoners themselves. vember 1991, in a peaceful demonstration in EVENTS IN EUROPE Contact: Jakarta. Sentenced to 10 years imprison- Lena Santos ment. Commissao “Liberdade para Xanana, Liber- UN REGISTER ON ARMS: Kupang Prison : dade para Timor” INDONESIA address: LP Kupang Rua Pinheiro Chagas 77, 3:E Jl. Adicipto Penfui UN Register of Conventional Arms 1000 Lisboa, Portugal Kupang, NTT, Indonesia The UN-register of conventional arms is Tel. (1) 352 87 18l; Fax. (1) 353 40 09 Boby Xavier seen by the European Union as a way to LIST OF EAST TIMORES E POLITICAL 19-years-old. Arrested on 28 October decrease the tensions in the region of South- PRISONERS 1991. Accused of involvement in the Motael east Asia. Moreover it is the only way of decreasing this tension which the European Seventh December 1994 will mark the Church incident, in Dili on 28 October 1991. Commission proposed in the policy paper nineteenth anniversary of the invasion of Given a 2 year prison sentence. “Towards a new Asia strategy” they pub- East Timor. Carlos dos Santos Lemos lished at July 13, 1994. Therefore the need It is believed that about 200,000 30-years-old. Arrested 27 November to improve the register’s coverage and effi- Timorese (one third of the territory’s popu- 1991. Accused of taking part in the Santa ciency is essential and dialogue with many lation) died as a result of the war, starvation, Cruz protest. Sentenced to 8 years impris- of the Asian countries is going on, according massacres, torture and inhumane treatment onment. to the EC. The information is given by the suffered at the hands of the Indonesian oc- Bonifacio Magno Pereira countries themselves on a voluntary basis. cupation forces. The information about Indonesia for Thousands of Timorese have been im- 34-years-old. Arrested 11 November 1993 was not very encouraging in this re- prisoned over those 19 years, solely because 1991. Accused of being one of the organisers spect: they wanted their country to be independ- of the Santa Cruz demonstration. Sentenced UN Register of Conventional Arms: In- ent. Many had no trial at all. However, to 6 years imprisonment. donesia (A/49/352, page 27) Calendar year those who were tried were brought before Semarang Prison, Java : 1993 Date of Submission: 7 July 1994 military tribunals and/or courts at which address: LP Kelas I Almost no information is included, ex- they were given no opportunity to freely Semarang cept for one entry on 14 German warships: defend themselves against the charges Jawa Tengah, Indonesia 3 Parchim (Corvette), 2 Frosch (Landing against them. For many Timorese, just hav- Francisco Miranda Branco Ship Tank), 9 Condor (mine sweeper). ing taken part in the peaceful protest at This information is absolutely not com- Santa Cruz cemetery on 12 November 1991 40-years-old. Arrested on 6 December plete and not correct. For example: the ma- was enough reason to be given heavy prison 1991. Accused of being one of the organisers jor British sale of arms took place in June sentences. of the Santa Cruz protest. Sentenced to 15 1993 when British Aerospace was awarded The Timorese prisoners indicated below years imprisonment. a 500 million contract to sell 24 Hawk are being held in degrading conditions, far Jacinto das Neves Raimundo Alves fighter/trainers to Indonesia.” The only men- away from their families and friends. 33-years-old. Arrested in November tioned deal was about 14 instead of 39 Ger- Cipinang Prison, Jakarta : 1991. Accused of taking part in the Santa man ships. address: LP Cipinang Cruz protest. Sentenced to 10 years impris- Jl. Raya Bekasi Timur onment. PICKET AT INDONESIAN Jatinegara Filomeno da Silva Pereira EMBASSY IN NETHERLAN DS Jakarta Timur, Indonesia 33-years-old. Arrested November 1991. Xanana Gusmão Accused of taking part in the Santa Cruz Today, 16 November 1994, a demonstra- 48-years-old. Arrested on 20 November demonstration. Sentenced to 5 years and 8 tive picket-line was held in front of the In- 1992. Accused of rebellion and possession months imprisonment. donesian embassy (in The Hague, Holland) of firearms. Sentenced to life imprisonment. Juvencio de Jesus Martins. in support of the struggle in East Timor. One of the causes for this demonstration Sentence later commuted to 20 years. Age not known. Arrested November were the tumultuous reactions on the 1991. Accused of taking part in Santa Cruz Fernando Araujo American president visiting Jakarta. East demonstration. Sentenced to 6 years and 10 25-years-old. Arrested on 24 November Timorese people occupied the American months imprisonment. 1991. Accused of taking part, on 19 No- embassy in Jakarta, and in East Timor four vember 1991, in a peaceful protest in Ja- Gregorio da Cunha Saldanha people were killed during the peaceful third karta. Sentenced to 9 years imprisonment. 28-years-old. Arrested 24 November commemoration of the bloodbath in Dili. Albino Lourdes 1991. Accused of taking part in the Santa The demonstrators demanded the release Age and date of arrest not known. Ac- Cruz demonstration. Sentenced to life im- of all arrested people, as well as the release cused of belonging to Fretilin. Sentenced to prisonment. of the imprisoned leader of the East 17 years imprisonment. Saturnino da Costa Belo Timorese resistance-movement, Xanana Gusmão. Of course they also demanded the Marito Mario Nicolau dos Reis East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. Page 121 withdrawal of all Indonesian troops out of SPANISH POLICE ATTACK The students are now worried that their East Timor. TIMORESE identities could be revealed by the Spanish At the picket-line a representative of the authorities to the Indonesians. This could East Timorese resistance-movement, Mr. Publico, 19 November 1994. By Filipe San- result in reprisals against the students’ J.A. Dias, told the crowd about the most tos Costa, Translated from Portuguese. friends and relatives who are still in Timor. recent happenings. The bloodbath in Dili Lisbon – The 27 Timorese students who was also commemorated on Java, where the staged a protest on Thursday at the Indone- EU PARLIAMENTARIANS participants got into a lot of trouble with sian Embassy in Madrid are to ask the Por- WANT the Indonesian authorities. A speaker of the tuguese Foreign Ministry to request an ex- Purnama Organization demanded action planation from the Spanish authorities for AID TO JAKARTA TO END from the Dutch government on behalf of the the violent way in which the police cleared By Debra Percival independence of East Timor. A speaker of them out of the Embassy. For the same the Moluccan Youth Organization de- reason, the group of students, who were STRASBOURG, Nov. 17 (IPS) - A call manded amongst other things that President expressing solidarity with their compatriots for the suspension of European Union de- Suharto keeps his promise to initiate a dia- at the US embassy in Jakarta, are going to velopment aid to Indonesia and a ban on logue with representatives of the East lodge a complaint with the Spanish Em- arms sales to the country by European Un- Timorese people. bassy in our country. ion governments was made by European Participating organizations were the Pur- While in Oporto, Prime Minister Cavaco parliamentarians here Thursday. nama Organization, the Moluccan Youth Silva met with his Spanish counterpart, The measures should remain in place as Organization, Front Demokrasi Indonesia, Felipe Gonzalez, at the Iberian Summit, the long as the Indonesian government continues Papua-organizations and the East Timor 27 Timorese held a press conference to de- its illegal occupation of East Timor and Committee. nounce their treatment: “We never expected continues to repress the East Timorese (The loads of policemen and -women had that in a democratic country violence would people, read the resolution drafted by centre a quiet afternoon.) be used at the request of the Indonesian and left parliamentary groups – and subse- Ambassador,” said Celio Gusmão, a quently adopted by the whole assembly. EAST TIMORESE TAKE spokesman for the students, who had both But it is unlikely that EU policy makers wrists bandaged. – the European Commission which holds INDONESIA’S MADRID Many of the students, who are currently the development aid purse strings and the EMBASSY living in Portugal, backed up their story by 12 European governments – will follow the showing marks left on their bodies by “the parliament’s wishes. Information supplied by Rui D. Melo. This is brutal attack,” to which they fell victims in “We are waiting to see what events will based on television news that was only the Embassy gardens, far from the eyes of bring in East Timor,” European Commis- shown in Portugal and Spain, and is a journalists, who had meanwhile been moved sioner, Antonio Ruberti, told the chamber. summary of an RTP report. I don’t know the on. This is why the police violence subsided In July, EU foreign ministers issued a exact number of people involved nor can I as soon as the students reached the street, statement urging Indonesia to respect human say what happen to them. where there were witnesses - Esquerda rights and religious freedoms and to allow During the events in Dili and Jakarta per- Unida deputies, friends of the students, and non governmental organisations (NGOs) to formed by East Timor people, a group of Spanish journalists. But the precautions did operate freely in East Timor. East Timorese refugees in Portugal and not stop there. A Radio Nacional de España “This is the only way to create the nec- Spain joined and invaded the Indonesian journalist, who was in the middle of a live essary conditions to tie up with what the embassy in Madrid, Spain. (There is no radio broadcast on the incidents at the Em- United Nations is trying to do,” said Ruberti embassy in Portugal, as the two countries bassy, was “invited” to stop the broadcast, on Thursday. do not have diplomatic relations.) and a photographer’s negatives were confis- The resolution adopted by parliamentari- This group managed to enter the building cated by the authorities. ans condemned the behaviour of the Indone- itself before they could be stopped. They According to the young Timorese, the sian armed forces and security services in painted the walls with insulting messages to police operation, which included anti- East Timor. Indonesia (“Free Xanana,” etc.) and also terrorist and anti-riot forces, was out of all On the third anniversary of the Dili mas- with graffiti (mainly flags). This event man- proportion, considering that all they wanted sacre, it calls for self determination of the aged to wake up Spain for the East Timor was to meet with Suharto’s Ambassador, on East Timorese and the immediate release of problem. Spanish Prime Minister Gonzalez condition that journalists were present. The East Timor resistance leader, Xanana Gus- was asked by reporters about sales of war Ambassador would not agree to this condi- mão. material to Indonesia and he confirmed the tion. They were ordered to leave the prem- “Member states must stop military sup- selling. ises as they were “invading Indonesian terri- port and the European Union must suspend More from: [email protected] (João tory.” The Timorese were ready with their all actions as long as Indonesia is illegally Pedro Martins) answer: “You get Indonesia out of our terri- occupying and repressing East Timor,” said Portuguese liberal, Carlos Costa Neves dur- I have some more info, as I saw it on tory, and we’ll be out of here the next min- ute.” ing Thursday’s debate. TV... it seems the Spanish police used vio- Fellow Portuguese member of the United lence against the Timorese involved. The There were “four or five police for every Left, Sergio Ribeiro said: “The European Spanish PM was as the time in Portugal in one of us,” “I cannot understand why the parliament can no longer be accomplices to the “Cimeira Iberica” with the Portuguese Spanish police attacked us inside the Em- the Indonesian government in genocide.” PM, and he refused to discuss any action bassy,” said Celio Gusmão, adding that “the German green European parliamentarian, against Indonesia (I think the words were violation of human rights and the violence Wilfried Telkamper, deplored the 11-fold something like “business is business”). that is happening in Indonesia and Timor was mirrored in Spain.” increase in arms sales to Indonesia between 1992 and 1993. Page 122 East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994.

He said that Germany alone sold one bil- 1. Condemns once again the behaviour of withdrawn by the Minister for Forest and lion dollars worth between 1990-1993 – and the Indonesian armed forces and security Agricultural Affairs Mr. Mikko Pesölö (the Britain is allegedly linking development aid services and expresses its concern at the Center Party). His formal reason was to ask to arms sales. atmosphere obtaining in East Timor, with more explanations. Thursday’s resolution called on the the manifest and continuing refusal of the The companies are Vihtavuori oy (=stock European Union to take “firm and immedi- population to accept integration with Indo- company) which aims to export 200 000 ate measures” to solve the East Timor prob- nesia; blasters of the hand grenade and Nokia Tele- lem with negotiations between Indonesia, 2. Expresses its support for the people communications which aims to export Portugal and the East Timorese, leading to of East Timor and calls for the recognition measuring instruments for the aiming sys- “free and fair elections” in East Timor. of its right to self-determination and inde- tems of field artillery. The value of these The resolution also asks the European pendence, as well as for the release of orders is less then 20 million $US. Commission to “investigate fully the alleged Xanana Gusmão and all political prisoners; The decision of the licenses is secret and link between aid and arms from Britain and 3. Pledges its full support for the recom- therefore official information is not to be to propose a regulation that would prevent mendations to the Government of Indonesia obtained. But as far as we know the Minis- such linkage in future.” set out in the Amnesty International report ter for Defence Elisabeth Rehn did not want Telkamper says that an article in the entitled “Power and Impunity"; to give the license now it is public because it EU’s new Maastricht Treaty which reads 4. Urges the Council of the EU, under the may weaken her possibilities to be elected that the Commission can “take useful initia- CFSP, to take firm and immediate measures as the directing manager of the UN body tives to promote the coordination of devel- to help solve the problem, based on negotia- UNICEF. She was supported at her view- opment policies in member states and their tions, under the aegis of the UN, including point by the chair of her party, the minister development aid programmes,” empowers representatives of the East Timor resistance for Traffic Mr. Ole Norrback according to the Commission to carry out such an inves- movement and by means of a free and fair the decisions of the party. tigation. referendum, and calls on it to inform Parlia- Minister Mikko Pesala is ready to pro- ment of its actions; pose the decision to be made about the deal EU RESOLUTION ON EAST TIMOR 5. Urges the Member State governments only when the publicity hanging over the The European Parliament adopted the fol- to halt all military aid and arms sales to matter will not exist for to long. lowing resolution on East Timor on Novem- Indonesia, and urges the EU to suspend all It is quite generally estimated that the ber 17 1994: economic cooperation measures with the arms trade from Finland to Indonesia is Indonesian Government for as long as it connected to the Indonesian pulp and paper The European Parliament: persists with its illegal occupation and re- industry with which many Finnish compa- A. having regard to the violent repression pression; nies collaborate. The most well known of by the Indonesian army of occupation 6. Calls on the Commission to investigate the companies are Jaakko P Ahlström, against Timorese demonstrators who, in fully the alleged link between aid and arms Tampella, Outokumpu and Rauma Repola. Dili, were marking the anniversary of the from the Government of the United King- The arms transaction was yesterday put Santa Cruz massacre and fighting for self- dom and to propose a regulation that would forward at the parliament by MP Eila determination and for human rights, prevent such a linkage in future, as permit- Rimmi (The Left Union). The Minister for B. whereas the repressive measures re- ted under the EC Treaty (Title XVII, Article Foreign Trade Pertti Saloainen answered sulted in several deaths, with measures 130x), which allows the Commission to that similar type of export to Indonesia has needing to be taken to prevent further fatali- “take any useful initiative” to promote the been exercised also before. According to the ties, coordination of the development policies of minister the circumstances in Indonesia has C. having regard to the peaceful demon- the Member States and their development not been changed from those days. stration within the US Embassy by students aid programmes; protesting against Indonesia’s illegal occupa- 7. Calls on the members countries of the INDONESIA SEEKING tion of East Timor, APEC meeting in Jakarta to condemn Indo- WEAPONS FROM D. having regard to its previous resolu- nesia’s stance on Jakarta [note: this is tions on East Timor and on human rights clearly incorrect, presumably meant to say BRITAIN, GERMANY violations by the Indonesian dictatorship “stance on East Timor”] by John Owen-Davies, Reuter, Nov. 19. and Indonesia’s refusal to comply with the 8. Reiterates its view that a parliamen- relevant resolutions of the UN Security tary delegation should be sent to East Jakarta – Indonesia is negotiating with Council, Timor; Britain and Germany to buy arms and E. regretting the fact that the human 9. Instructs its President to forward this equipment to develop a modern military rights situation in Indonesia has been exac- resolution to the Council, the Commission, machine, senior armed forces officers said on erbated by ‘Operation Cleansing’ in the run- the UN Secretary General, the Governments Saturday. up to the Asia Pacific Economic Coopera- of Portugal and Indonesia, the member coun- “We are getting some procurements from tion (APEC) summit which ended yester- tries of APEC and to the unitary structures Europe, especially from Germany and Brit- day, of the Timorese resistance movement. ain,” Armed Forces (ABRI) Commander F. regretting the fact that some EU mem- General Feisal Tanjung told a news confer- ber states, especially the UK and Germany, A ROW ABOUT FINNISH ence for foreign reporters. are still selling arms to Indonesia, He said Indonesia was negotiating with G. whereas the Indonesian army plays a ARMS TRADE TO INDONESIA Germany but did not say for which kind of dominant role in suppressing the popula- From The Committee of 100, Helsinki, military vehicles. tions of East Timor, Aceh and Irian Jaya Finland, 18 November 1994 Talks with Britain were for 50 Scorpion and is at the same time a powerful political light tanks and more Hawk jets. force within Indonesian society, The licenses for the Finnish companies to Foreign military sources said orders for export arms to Indonesia were yesterday Scorpions, at a cost of $750,000 apiece, East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. Page 123 could eventually approach 100 and that of 8 panels and maps prepared by Agir pour federation for Trade Unions (ICFTU), Pak- Indonesia wanted a further 16 Hawks. Timor, supplemented by some other mate- pahan, was not in Medan during the riots. Indonesia last year ordered 24 Hawks – rial. Panels are thematic and show legended ICFTU said that with his imprisonment eight 100 Series, two-seater trainers and 16 photos and maps. The themes are: the government is trying to prevent his or- 200 Series, single-seat fighters at a total cost - The Indonesian army ganisation getting more support from the of $760 million from British Aerospace. - Transmigration millions of workers who are badly paid. “The basic concept is not to enlarge the - East Timor under the Indonesian yoke The German EU presidency in a state- force level but to develop a professional, - The East Timorese ment issued Tuesday during the meeting of effective and modern ABRI,” another senior - East Timor EU transport ministers said that “by virtue officer said. - an untitled “traditional” panel of Indonesia’s membership of the ILO, it Tanjung denied recent media reports that - The Church, the refuge has undertaken to give effect to the princi- the military was unhappy with 39 aging - Timor in the international context ples laid down in the ILO charter.” East German warships it bought in a deal Other posted material includes an Am- “Workers and employers organisations struck by civilian Research and Technology nesty leaflet on their current campaign, an shall have the right to draw up their consti- Minister Jusuf Habibie. article from “La Porte” of August 1993 tutions and rules, to elect their representa- “We think these ships are most suitable, entitled “On torture a Timor-Est,” the Four tives in full freedom, to organise their ad- given the geographic conditions of the Indo- Months campaign poster, featuring a blank ministration and activities and to formulate nesian archipelago. They are designed for television screen and the legend “Doit-on their programmes,” the statement said. short cruising. We are happy with them,” he voir des images insoutenables pour denoncer “The public authorities shall refrain from said. l’inacceptable?” and a poster on East Timor any interference which would restrict the ABRI, which includes national police, as a Vietnam film (see separate item). right or impede the lawful exercise of trade has a total force of 430,000 in a multi-ethnic A table with other material is unions,” it added. Indonesian population of 188 million, and (wo)manned every day from 4pm to 6pm The statement further said that workers covers an area stretching across 5,000 km by people from ACAT, Amnesty Interna- and employers organisations shall not be (3,125 miles) – the distance between New tional and Agir pour Timor. Material in- liable to be dissolved or suspended by any York and San Francisco. cludes: administrative authority. “Compared with the big population and AI: - the booklet “Une population sous The European Union appealed to the In- the vast territory, this figure can be consid- haute surveillance” donesian authorities to refrain from any ered the smallest in the world. - La Chronique, Nov. 1994 (the French restrictions of these rights and to take fur- “Conventionally, it is almost impossible section’s monthly, two articles on Indonesia ther steps towards establishing a “general (for ABRI) to perform its overall mission,” and East Timor this month) climate, including the freedom of expression, one of the senior officers said. - the booklet “Indonesien et Timor orien- in which labour organisations can work Foreign military sources say ABRI, tal: pres de trente ans d’impunité” freely and independently.” forged through fighting alongside civilians to ACAT: Courrier de l’ACAT Future EU members Sweden and Norway oust Dutch colonialists in the 1940s, has Peace is Possible in East Timor: backed the statement. suffered because of weak junior officers, poor military skills in the lower ranks and - Je suis Timorais questionable equipment maintenance. - Santa Cruz EVENTS IN - Apres Santa Cruz Britain and Australia, Indonesia’s south- AFRICA AND ASIA ern neighbour, are believed to be offering Agir pour Timor: some bulletins additional military training to fill gaps left Four Months campaign: some bulletins by a shift in United States’ policy. Book of Gabriel Defert: Timor-est, le STATEMENT BY ARCH- The U.S. Congress wants to link sales Genocide Oublié and training to Indonesia with the issue of BISHOP DESMOND TUTU human rights in East Timor, scene of fresh EU PROTESTS AGAINST ON THE NOVEMBER ANNIVERSARY rioting in the last few days. JAILING OF UNION LEADER OF THE SANTA CRUZ MASSACRE IN DILI, EAST TIMOR SAINT MERRI By Bob Mantiri Original document, 9 November 1994 EXHIBITION IN PARIS BRUSSELS, Nov. 22 (IPS) - The Euro- pean Union Tuesday criticised Indonesia for On March 21 1980, the atrocities of Bruno Kahn, Agir Pour Timor, Nov. 21 the jailing of a trade union leader in contra- Sharpeville happened. The world was out- Saint Merri church in Paris near Centre vention of the rules of the International raged and from that time on the world de- Georges Pompidou is a centrally-located Labour Organisation (ILO) – of which Indo- cided it had to do something and today parish, well-known among human rights nesia is a member. apartheid has ended. activists. An exhibition on East Timor is Muktar Pakpahan, who leads the unrec- On November 12, 1991, the outrage out- shown there from Nov. 11 to Nov. 27. This ognized trade union SBSI (Sejahtera Buru side the cemetery at Santa Cruz happened. exhibition, a project of the campaign “Four Serikat Indonesia), was sentenced to six The world must be outraged and the world Months for East Timor,” was first planned years imprisonment in Jakarta last October. must take action. for June before the CGI meeting, but could He was accused of having incited anti- East Timor must become free. not take place then for technical reasons. government demonstrations in Medan, The exhibition is now a project of Forum South Sumatra, last April, which was blood- Timor, supported by Amnesty International ily suppressed by the police. and ACAT (Action des Chrétiens pour But according to Amnesty International l’Abolition de la Torture). It consists mainly and the Brussels-based International Con- Page 124 East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994.

MURAYAMA LEFT EAST Mr. Faria avoided the bullets when the were allowed to go ahead. The public sit- troops opened fire because he was shaded tings, to hear both sides’ arguments in the TIMOR UP TO KONO by a tree, but he was beaten by a soldier. At case, are expected to last three weeks until Nov. 15 the hospital that he was taken to he wit- February 17, the International Court of nessed wounded being killed by being hit Justice said in a statement. At the press conference Japanese Prime with rocks or by being made to take a poi- Minister MURAYAMA Tomiichi gave in sonous substance. Mr. Faria said that he AUSTRALIA TO BECOME Jakarta before returning to Japan Tuesday was able to save himself by saying that he LARGEST SEA EMPIRE night a reporter from Time magazine asked had “infiltrated the demonstrators as a spy him if he had raised the issue of East Timor for (Indonesian) intelligence.” WITH OCEAN CLAIM with Suharto. Murayama said that the issue At the time of the incident Mr. João Dias Seattle Times, Nov. 10, “Around the World” had been raised at the level of the foreign (26) was working at that hospital and was section: ministers. His answer to the question, which ordered to administer pills to the wounded he began by mechanically mouthing the who had been brought in. He gave the pill to CANBERRA, Australia – In a move that “position of the Japanese Government on a person who then went into great pain, so may irk neighboring Indonesia, Australia the issue,” namely that Japan regards Indo- he became frightened and hid the pills. He plans to officially lay claim to a huge off- nesia as effectively governing the territory testified that most of the wounded who shore territory nearly twice the size of its and that Japan is watching the negotiations were given the pills by other hospital work- mainland. under the auspices of the UN Secretary ers died. Australia next week will claim economic General, was made in a guarded tone as if he At the foreign ministry the two met with sovereignty, under the 1982 United Nations had been strictly ordered by handlers from Ishida (second name may be Minoru or Convention on the Law of the Sea, to 5.7 the Foreign Ministry not to deviate from Makoto or other, Jean) and others of the million square miles of ocean and sea bed. what he had been trained to say. Second Southeast Asia affairs bureau. They This claim would give Australia the world’s asked that “the Japanese Government urge largest sea empire. TIMORESE MEET WITH the Indonesian Government to improve the The U.N. convention will divide up JAPAN FOREIGN MINISTRY human rights conditions and to begin talks about 35 percent of the world’s oceans aimed at independence for East Timor.” Mr. among 123 countries. The claims give exclu- My hat goes off not only to the 5 speaking Ishida said that he would “convey what we sive economic rights to everything in the tour “troupers,” but also to the folks in have heard to the relevant departments.” water, animate or inanimate, and everything Tokyo who got the ever-cautious Foreign in the sea bed below. Ministry to meet with João and Aviano. – Australia’s most contentious undersea Jean Inglis TIMOR GAP OIL border is with Indonesia, which is disputing Mainichi Shimbun, Nov. 26, 1994. Trans- LEGALITIES Australia’s claims north of Christmas Island lated from Japanese, Abridged. Reporter: and off the north coast of the mainland, Fujita which includes the oil-rich Timor Gap. WORLD COURT TO OPEN A photo shows the two Timorese evidently WHY WE WILL LOSE TIMOR entering the Foreign Ministry. Caption TIMOR GAP CASE IN ACTION: EX-JUDGE reads: “Mr. Faria (right) and Mr. Dias JANUARY visited the Foreign Ministry to testify about The Sydney Morning Herald, 15 November the massacre incident” The Hague, Nov. 7 (Reuter) - The Inter- 1994. By Debra Jobson national Court of Justice said on Monday it Titles: “People were killed with medi- would open public hearings on January 30, A retired judge believes Australia will cine at the hospital” 1995 into a challenge filed by Portugal lose its case when it argues in the Interna- ...Right after the ‘Santa Cruz Massacre’ against Australia over an oil exploration tional Court of Justice in January that Indo- Two East Timorese Give Testimony at agreement off the coast of East Timor. nesia has sovereignty over East Timor. the Foreign Ministry Portugal is challenging Australia’s right to As world attention returned to East Timor following weekend rioting in Dili, Five East Timorese are visiting Japan, in- conclude the Timor Gap treaty, signed in Mr. Ernest Lambert, a former Family Law cluding Mr. Aviano Faria (24) who survived 1989 with Indonesia, since the United Na- Court judge who has studied the vexed legal the ‘Santa Cruz Massacre Incident’ in East tions recognises Portugal, and not Indonesia, situation of East Timor at length, believes Timor in November 1991 when Indonesian as the ruling authority in East Timor... Australia does not have “much chance at all” troops opened fire on a crowd of people. The treaty, designed to exploit possible of proving to the court that the Timor Gap Concrete testimony was given that oil reserves in the 23,550 square mile treaty was valid. “wounded from the incident who were taken (37,680 sq. km) offshore Timor Gap area “I’d be a bit concerned if I were one of to the hospital were poisoned (a second between Australia and Indonesia, allows the petroleum companies that have taken up massacre).” Mr. Faria and another East Australia to prospect the area for oil and gas an option under the agreement,” Mr. Lam- Timorese visited the Foreign Ministry on for over 40 years. bert said. “Of course, Australia can thumb the 24th to tell about what happened at the Experts estimate potential oil reserves in its nose at a judgment of the International massacre. This was the first time that East the gap could be at least one billion barrels. Court of Justice, but whether Australian Timorese have visited the ministry to give Portugal, which filed its challenge in Feb- people would want to do that is another an account of the incident. Their testimony ruary 1991, said at the time that Australia question.” is likely to have an influence on the attitude had caused “particularly serious legal and Portugal had complained to the Interna- of the Japanese Government, which has moral damage to the people of East Timor tional Court that the agreements Australia hitherto been wishy washy on East Timor’s and to Portugal,” which would become “ma- entered into with Indonesia relating to mari- human rights issues. terial damage” if the exploration of resources East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. Page 125 time boundaries and access to oil resources world that more than 200,000 East bassador to Indonesia, the USA and Japan), in the Timor Gap were null and void. Timorese have been killed during nearly two Gerry van Klinken (Ph.D. candidate Griffith Mr. Lambert-who has been analyzing decades of Indonesian occupation. With the University) and Armindo Maia (first dep- East Timor’s position in international law expulsion and departure of all foreign jour- uty Rektor, East Timor University, Dili). since he retired in 1990 - said Australia nalists from East Timor, hundreds or thou- Attendance at the seminars has ranged from would have to argue against some firmly sands may be arrested and tortured in the 40 to 80, representing NTU academics and established legal principles. It must prove military crackdown which has already be- students, the local expatriate East Timorese that Indonesia validly gained sovereignty gun. community, local Indonesian students, fed- over East Timor before it invaded in De- “Indonesia has a knack for callous anni- eral and NT government officials and the cember 1975. versaries,” said Gordon Banner, coordinator general public. The United Nations has consistently re- of ETAN’s Texas chapter. “The APEC Each paper has been followed by up to jected Indonesia’s argument that a petition Conference was on the third anniversary of an hour of discussion. Highlights of these approved by a 37-member “People’s Rep- the Santa Cruz massacre, when Indonesian discussions have been resentative Assembly” constituted “a valid soldiers shot into a peaceful funeral proces- · the advantages and disadvantages of ET’s act of self determination” by the East sion, killing more than 250. And now they participation in the “rupiah” economy, Timorese to accept Indonesian sovereignty, are holding an energy conference 19 years to · the meanings and usefulness of the term Mr. Lambert said. the day after Indonesia invaded East Timor. “poor” when applied to contemporary East Timorese protesters in Darwin yes- The people of East Timor cannot forget that ET; terday removed and defaced a photograph of brutal invasion and the genocidal Indonesian · the meanings of “autonomy” and “special the Foreign Minister, Senator Evans, during military occupation that ensued, and neither region” in the context of the Republic of their angry occupation of the Department of will we.” Indonesia; Foreign Affairs office, writes Gay Alcorn. Among the topics to be discussed at the About 35 protesters called for Senator Energy Outlook Conference, which is spon- · the policy and impact of transmigration Evans to resign because he was “unable or sored by the Indonesian government and in ET, and more. unwilling to acknowledge the true extent of U.S. oil and mining companies, is East Future speakers in the series are Daniel the problem of East Timor.” Timor’s oil reserves, located beneath the Kameo and George Aditjondro (Satya In a statement of demands, the group also Timor Sea. The “Timor Gap” zone, between Wacana University), Hadi Susastro (CSIS) called Australia to withdraw its recognition East Timor and Australia, is one of the and Mario Saldanha (NTU). of East Timor as part of Indonesia and for a world’s largest undeveloped oil fields. Five The papers presented in the seminar se- royal commission to inquire into the role of years ago, Australia and Indonesia signed a ries will be published by the NTU’s Centre Australian parliamentarians and public in- treaty – currently being challenged by Por- for Southeast Asian Studies in mid 1995. structions in the invasion and its aftermath. tugal in the World Court – to divide it up, For further information about the series A spokesman for the protesters, Mr. and several companies are doing exploratory contact George Quinn [e-mail José Gusmão (a cousin of jailed resistance drilling, including Chevron, USX Marathon, [email protected]] or Mario leader Xanana Gusmão), said he had learnt and Oryx Energy. A few wells have already Saldanha [not yet on e-mail but you can fax on Sunday night that there was now a “mas- struck oil. Mario on 61-89-466897 or ring him on 61- sive build-up” Indonesian troops in East The East Timor Action Network was 89-466771] Timor, that 250 people had been arrested founded following the November 12, 1991 NOTES ON ARMINDO MAIA’S and that there was “ fear and terror massacre in Dili, East Timor’s capital. that there is to be another massacre.” ETAN/US supports self-determination and PAPER human rights for the people of East Timor NOTES (non-authorised) by Rob Wesley- PROTEST PLANNED in accordance with UN resolutions and in- Smith BRurSc. after the historic presentation AGAINST THEFT OF EAS T ternational law. ETAN/Texas is one of by East Timorese academic and vice-rector about a dozen local ETAN groups across of Dili University Armindo Maia on Novem- TIMOR’S OIL the United States. ber 3, 1994. On December 7, 1994, members of the (The papers should be published early East Timor Action Network (ETAN)/Texas 1995 by NTU East Timor Studies Project - and others will picket Houston’s Wyndham EVENTS IN AUSTRALIA tel: 61 89 466771; fax: 61 89 466897; con- Warwick hotel, the site of the “First Energy AND AOTEAROA tact: Mario Saldanha) Indonesia Outlook” conference. The peace- RURAL DEVELOPMENT IN EAST ful protest, highlighting Indonesian and Aus- tralian expropriation of East Timor’s oil UPDATE ON ET SEMINAR TIMOR: PAST, PRESENT AND resources, will begin at 8:30 am and last SERIES AT NORTHERN FUTURE. until after the lunch break. TERRITORY UNIVERSITY Summary of paper: East Timor recently came into public Rural development is NOT the same as awareness when 29 young East Timorese From George Quinn, Nov. 8. agricultural development, but is defined as: men climbed the fence of the U.S. Embassy Halfway point has now been reached in improving the living standards of the mass compound in Jakarta, upstaging the Asia the Northern Territory University’s current of the people living in rural areas and making Pacific Economic Cooperation forum which series of public seminars on the political this self-sustaining Portugal failed to de- had brought President Clinton and other economy of East Timor. Papers have now velop East Timor, and much visible signs heads of state to the Indonesian capital. been presented by Max Lane (editor of In- appeared only by the end of the 1960’s, Their 12-day protest, which kicked off sev- side Indonesia and translator of Pramoedya mainly in Education and Health. The Portu- eral days of unprecedented uprising in East Ananta Toer’s Bumi Manusia quartet), guese basically did not intervene with village Timor itself, reminded people around the Rawdon Dalrymple (former Australian am- life, whereas the Indonesian approach is to Page 126 East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. have soldiers everywhere in numbers. The and Armindo is more optimistic about this he left for Jakarta for the Asian-Pacific Eco- Indonesians define 3 periods after their oc- approach, it should work better than force. nomic Conference. cupation from December 1975: as October Someone asked where East Timor could The delegation visited East Timor last 1976 - March 77 “Restoration,” to March get development money if Indonesia did not week, at the invitation of the Indonesian 78 “Consolidation,” and to 1992 “Stabiliza- supply it. Mainly, “people need to com- government, after New Zealand legislators tion” (I think I got that right but it sounds mand their own lives.” Many have said signed a petition protesting alleged human- so ridiculous!) After 1980 they started pro- “take your developments back and let us be rights violations in the territory. grams in areas under their control, but also FREE.” Assets include Oil and Coffee, and The leader of the delegation – junior min- concentrated people in urban areas under José Gusmão stated that the profits from ister Roger McClay –says although the their control. This was very difficult for coffee exploitation can be seen in the new delegation had not recommended cutting off mountain people with loss of land, access, Christmas Island Casino. And there is tour- trade or withdrawing from military exercises animals and culture etc. Also migrants took ism. Mario Saldanha pointed that the critical with Indonesia the human rights imbalances land from which the East Timorese had been importance of how the available money is were obvious. Mr. McClay says it was excluded. Timorese have special relation- used. (I see lots of parallels with the Austra- difficult to talk to ordinary people in East ships with THEIR land, but this is not ac- lian Aboriginal development scenes.) An Timor who were constantly looking over to cepted by Indonesia. Their programs could appropriate land tenure scheme is still being their shoulders and never able to speak their not be implemented well due to their lack of developed. own minds. the Tetun language and cultural knowledge, PREVIOUS SPEAKER: some notes... The foreign minister Don McKinnon has so they recruit cadres, 2500 by 1995, but responded by promising to raise the mem- The speaker on the previous evening was the issue remained: how to increase bers’ concerns with the Indonesian govern- Gerry van Klinken, who compared the Ruth Timorese participation? With the intensive ment later this week when he’s in Jakarta McVey model of Separatism with the East military presence participation is from fear. for the APEC meeting. He’s due to meet the Timor reality, and found differences. Two After 18 -19 years of Indonesian occupa- Indonesian foreign minister Ali Alatas. decades of suffering has created nation wide tion, 70% of villages are classified as Mr. McKinnon says a constructive effort consciousness and unity, often well articu- “poor,” and should be entitled to special is needed in East Timor involving local peo- lated by Bishop Belo. East Timor is still the funds. But only a trickle trickles down. ple as well as the Indonesian authorities. poorest province, with no economic growth. Need more political will or soon East Timor But the delegation told him it would not be Need to look to the future to open meaning- will not belong to the native East Timorese. helpful for outsiders to attempt to impose a ful dialogue. Rudini insists there will be no solution. Discussion: special autonomy for East Timor. The Aus- He announced the New Zealand govern- Transmigrasi was often to lands aban- tralian role has been worse than doing noth- ment will give 100 thousand dollars to East doned at the time due to war. G. Aditjondro ing, so Evans should butt out. The term Timor to help improve conditions. He says has written about this. No compensation is “Conflict Resolution” does not appear to be the aid will go to church and non- paid. Many of the migrants in the rice grow- part of Australian foreign affairs vocabulary. government groups for small practical pro- ing Maliana area are now rather involved in “Reconciliation” is used by Indonesia and jects. business. There is no counting or control of supporters for bringing East Timor into the arrivals. Is there encouragement by the Gov- fold, and is a code word for the “London ernment for East Timorese to take positions talks, but José Gusmão emphasised that THOUSANDS RALLY FOR A of responsibility in Administration and reconciliation between East Timorese oc- FREE EAST TIMOR Business? Governor Abilio Osorio Soares curred in 1983 under the leadership of proposed that East Timorese predominate Xanana Gusmão. By Arun Pradhan, Green Left, Nov. 13 in the Public Service junior grades 1 and 11 The first two speakers in this series were Thousands of people rallied across Aus- but there has been no progress (others do Max Lane and previous Australian Ambas- tralia on November 12 to commemorate the not want to make way). After 1985 scholar- sador Dalrymple. The next two expected are killing of more than 300 peaceful protesters ship holders are not required to return to Daniel Kameo and George Aditjondro both in Dili three years ago. Protesters in 11 cit- Dili. There is massive unemployment in- due on November 24, 94. The NTU and Dr. ies showed that they would not accept the cluding 30-40 East Timorese graduates George Quinn are to be congratulated for Australian government’s support for the without jobs. Question about how the thou- this focus on East Timor at last. In my view Suharto regime’s occupation of East Timor. sands of troops fit in, and does the Catholic it has been a long time coming, but it must In Sydney, Sujatha Fernandes and Holly Church tend to support a culture of depend- continue and expand. Doel report that 1000 people attended a ency? There are East Timorese battalions march and rally which met outside St (744 and 745), but these are not fully VOA: NEW ZEALAND MPS Mary’s Cathedral, where a mass had been trusted by the Indonesians. There are lots of CONDEMNATION ON HUMAN held for those killed in the Dili massacre. other troops with mixed origins. The Catho- After street theatre from the East lic Church is very conservative, and in gen- RIGHTS Timorese Cultural Centre and music from eral has not been so interested in the social Voice of America, 11/9/94. By Trevor Henry, the Solidarity Choir, Harold Moucho of problems of poverty, though some priests Fretilin described the impact of the invasion. Wellington have been, and a lot of effort in education Besides the outright killing of more than one including rural, and of course resources are Intro: A New Zealand parliament delega- third of the East Timorese population, he limited. Development so far has been physi- tion to East Timor has unanimously con- pointed to the forced sterilisation programs, cal with roads bridges and schools, and now demned Indonesia’s handling of human systematic rape, torture and political assas- it must be the human resources. People are rights in the former Portuguese colony. sinations and imprisonments that continue traumatized. AIDAB is trying to design its Trevor henry reports from Wellington the to occur. Thanking the Australian people for rural development program with the people delegation made its views known to New their solidarity, Moucho told the crowd, “to Zealand foreign minister Don McKinnon, as Aksi, AETA and Resistance, your solidarity East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. Page 127 will be written in the books of the East drums and waving placards and East worker, expressed solidarity and called on Timor struggle.” Timorese flags as they marched to the Indo- workers to unite in struggle. Sam Lazzaro from Resistance and Alico nesian Consulate. A line of police and The theme of union solidarity was also Santos from Fretilin Youth addressed the wooden barriers met the protesters, denying taken up by Paul Noak from the AFMEU. role of young people in the struggle. Laz- them access even to the footpath adjacent to He said “the struggle here is the same as in zaro spoke about what young people in the fence. Indonesia ... increased labour market deregu- Australia can give to the struggle, since they When a delegation attempted to deliver a lation here is like the situation in the Third are not tied to the past and don’t have illu- letter protesting against the Indonesian inva- World where workers are able to be ex- sions in the Labor Party. She encouraged sion and ongoing atrocities in East Timor, ploited.” Noak also spoke about Gough people to become active in the solidarity they were blocked by police. The delegation Whitlam, as the idol of the Labor Party left, campaign by joining groups such as Resis- refused an offer by police to deliver the who gave permission to the Indonesian in- tance. letter on their behalf. José Gusmão ex- vasion. Other speakers included Helio Tavares plained that this was because they didn’t Andrew Hall from Aksi described the from UDT, Linda Pillay from the Australian like seeing Australians playing a role sub- importance of linking struggles within Indo- East Timor Association and Max Lane from servient to the Indonesian regime. nesia for independent trade unions and po- Aksi (Indonesian Solidarity Action). The The evening of November 12 was marked litical activity or a free press. He stressed rally concluded with a message from Xanana by a mass at St Mary’s Church in Darwin. the need to campaign against all who op- Gusmão, who said, “The struggle continues Russel Goldflam from Friends of East press the people of East Timor - whether on every front ... to resist is to win.” Timor in Alice Springs reports that more Suharto, the Indonesian military or the ALP After the rally about 80 people went to than 100 people gathered there, with many and ACTU. The movement should seek to the Resistance Centre for an emotional toast East Timorese coming from as far as War- force the Australian government to with- given by Brian Deluz from UDT and Harold burton. Lea Dee Almeida, women’s officer draw recognition of the Indonesian annexa- Moucho. for Fretilin NSW, addressed the crowd be- tion, to recognise the resistance organisa- Ben Reed writes that more than 1000 fore a wreath-laying ceremony. The names tions as legitimate representatives of the people gathered at Melbourne’s city square. of 373 people killed in the massacre were East Timorese people, and to end all defence Speakers included Abel Guterres of CNRM. read out, followed by prayers from Catholic cooperation with Indonesia. Street theatre after the speakers graphically and Anglican priests. A speaker from Campaign for an Inde- recreated the events of Dili and highlighted “Stop the killing, stop the treaty, free pendent East Timor, the main organisers of Gareth Evans’ complicity in covering up the East Timor now!,” declared a demonstration the day, spoke of Australia’s shameful greed massacre. of 400 people in Brisbane, reports Nick for East Timor oil, and compared the situa- The protesters then marched to the Ga- Everett. The demonstration started with a tion in East Timor with that of Kuwait and ruda airlines office, where speakers from rally at King George Square. Participants the Gulf War. UDT, Fretilin, AETA and Aksi called for heard speeches from Aksi, Resistance and Thanks was given to Australians for their ongoing support and solidarity. the Catholic Church, as well as a speech and support to the East Timorese, with particu- People in Perth may have been surprised performance by the East Timorese commu- lar thanks given to Green Left Weekly and to see a plane flying over the city carrying nity. Resistance for their role. the message, “Indonesia out of East Timor, Communications union Secretary Ian In Canberra, according to Sam Wain- freedom now!.” Some 800 people continued MacLean described the debate on East wright, a lively Green Left Weekly East this demand, rallying at All Saints Chapel Timor at the recent ALP National Confer- Timor Freedom Now Dinner was attended and marching through the streets to Forrest ence and read out the policy unanimously by 70 people. Speakers included Bill Tully Place. adopted at this conference. Other speakers from CIET, Reihana Mohideen from the Anthony Benbow reports that protesters noted the absence of any reference to self- Democratic Socialist Party and Alison Dellit held crosses representing the hundreds of determination in this policy. An Aksi from Resistance. people killed in Dili. The marchers initially speaker described successive Australian Karen Fry and Catherine Wardley in remained silent out of respect for those who governments supporting the Indonesian Newcastle report that 30 people attended a had died before people broke out into chants regime. candlelight vigil, organised by the Asian such as “Free East Timor, no blood for oil!” The rally, led by the East Timorese, International Solidarity Network, on No- and “shame, Evans, shame.” stopped in the Queen Street mall for street vember 11. Speakers included members of Gordon Macintosh, former ALP senator theatre and more speakers, gaining a positive Amnesty International, Resistance and and representative of Friends of East Timor, response from passers-by. It then pro- AISN. Christabel Chamarette from the WA Greens ceeded to Albert Park, where participants A similar vigil was organised in Hobart and several East Timorese in exile addressed were entertained by local performers and a on November 12. Katrina Dean relates that the rally. Other speakers included people platform of speakers from the Aboriginal 30 people attended a ceremony there, which from the trade union movement and the community, Bougainville, Green Left had a speaker from Amnesty International. Catholic Church. Weekly, the Community and Public Sector Steven Jones from the East Timor Relief In Darwin, Tom Kelly reports that ac- Union, Amnesty International and a number Association in Townsville reports that 40 tivities commemorating the massacre began of political parties. people gathered in the mall for a memorial at 8am on Friday with 200 people gathering Despite drizzling rain and the distraction service conducted by Bishop Benjamin from outside the NT parliament. Speakers in- of the Grand Prix, Andrew Hall reports that the Catholic Church. Frank Costanzo from cluded Didge McDonald, representing the 150 people rallied in Adelaide. Pacific, a local peace group, described the Northern Territory Trades and Labour John Heard, from Christians in Solidarity history of the invasion and Australia’s de- Council, Labor MLA John Bailey and José with East Timor, called for Australians “to structive role in East Timor. Gusmão representing CNRM. stand in solidarity with the people of East From the mood of the commemoration The crowd chanted, “Free East Timor,” Timor regardless of economic and political events across the country, it is clear that the “Free Xanana” and “Indonesia out,” beating interests.” Mon Ayco, a Filipino cultural campaign will grow and continue to hound Page 128 East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. both the ALP government and the Indone- Protests around Australia · We demand that Australia vigorously sian regime. With resistance still strong Street marches and church services to re- pushes for a UN sponsored referendum within East Timor, it is up to us to maintain member the Dili martyrs took places in all in East Timor so that the people may de- solidarity and pressure until East Timor is major Australian capitals on Saturday. cide their own future. free. At many of the actions, the names of You can send an urgent message to the those murdered by the Indonesian troops Ambassador, US Embassy, Jakarta calling DILI MARTYRS three years ago were read out and crosses upon him to obtain a written guarantee from REMEMBERED bearing their names were carried through the the Indonesian government that there will be streets, no retribution against the Timorese demon- DEMAND EAST TIMOR Thousands of people joined the demon- strators now in the US Embassy and to INDEPENDENCE! strations which called on the Australian provide them with food and medical assis- From “The Guardian” weekly published by Government to withdraw recognition of tance. A message of solidarity to the the Socialist Party of Australia, Nov. 14. Indonesia’s illegal occupation of East Timor Timorese demonstrators could also be sent, and to put real pressure on Indonesia to end requesting the US Ambassador to deliver it. The 247 East Timorese men, women and its appalling human rights crimes against the The Jakarta fax No. is: 62-21-386.2259 children massacred by Indonesian soldiers East Timorese people. on September 12, 1991 in Dili’s Santa Cruz Many speeches and banners demanded SEA FLARE THROWN IN cemetery were remembered in protests in an end to Australian military aid and training PROTEST many parts of the world last weekend. The for the Indonesian military and that no In- demand for East Timor’s independence rang donesian troops be allowed to participate in The Daily Telegraph Mirror, Sydney, 14 out. the Kangaroo war games across Australia’s November 1994 Bravest of all, hundreds of East Timorese top end next year. gathered outside the home of Bishop Belo in On Friday night, demonstrators in Bris- A flare was thrown on to the roof of the Dili to mark the third anniversary of the bane broke into the office of the Australian Indonesian Consulate during a protest, po- massacre. oil company, PETROZ, which is involved lice said yesterday. By Dr. Hannah Middleton in exploiting Timor Gap oil and poured More than 60 people gathered outside The crowd, carrying banners and shout- blood on the boardroom table. On Sunday, the Consulate in Moroubra yesterday and ing slogans in support of independence and the Indonesian Consulate in Melbourne was today to protest what they claim are human human rights, fought Indonesian military graffitied with slogans demanding freedom rights violation by the Indonesian Govern- forces and police in the streets of East for East Timor. ment. Timor’s capital in an outburst of fury Hundreds of thousands killed In the otherwise peaceful demonstration against the Indonesians who have taken over The notice of a protest at the Indonesian the crowds sang and chanted, holding ban- their country. Embassy in Canberra last Tuesday quoted ners urging the Australian Government to In Jakarta, the Indonesian capital, 29 East the report of Amnesty International on intervene in Indonesia. Timorese protesters are camped in the Indonesia and East Timor. The report said: A Maroubra police spokesman said po- grounds of the US Embassy after scaling the “Hundreds of thousands of civilians have lice had been informed they had planned to fence during a courageous protest on Satur- been killed, their mutilated corpses some- storm the Consulate and raise an East day. Other demonstrators were manhandled times left in public places to rot; prisoners Timorese flag. by police before being taken away, report- have been routinely tortured, some so se- “Aside from a sea flare being thrown on edly to a military camp. verely that they have died or suffered per- to the roof, there were no problems at all,” US officials state that they will not evict manent injury; thousands of people have the spokesman said. the protesters who say they have been given been imprisoned following show trials “The flare was quickly extinguished and water by Embassy staff but no food. solely for their peaceful political or religious there was no damage.” The Indonesian Government is infuriated views; scores have been shot by firing In Melbourne, six people who were ar- by the protests which erupted just as US squads, some after more than two decades rested after entering the Indonesian Consu- President Clinton, Prime Minister Keating on death row.” late grounds would be charged on summons and other leaders were arriving for Tues- The call went on: “Our protest expresses with trespass and criminal damage, police day’s APEC meeting. solidarity with the people of East Timor said. A major crackdown on dissent failed to and, indeed, with the struggling masses of prevent the East Timorese students from Indonesia who suffered what Amnesty de- EVANS: EAST TIMOR staging the protest which attracted the at- scribes as “one of the worst massacres of TROOPS OUT NEXT YEAR tention of the world’s media, in Jakarta for the 20th century. In less than one year be- the APEC summit. tween 500,000 and one million were killed” By Tom Anderson (UPI) The protesters are demanding independ- when the Suharto regime seized power [in SYDNEY, November 15, 1994 – Indone- ence for East Timor and the release from jail 1975]. sia will start pulling out troops from East of Timorese leader Xanana Gusmão. · We condemn the silence of the Australian Timor next year, Australian Foreign Minis- One demonstrator criticised the Austra- government and the international com- ter Senator Gareth Evans told parliament lian Government, saying it is helping Indo- munity to the crimes against humanity of Monday in Canberra. nesia “to violate human rights in East the Suharto regime. Evans said he received assurances to this Timor” and that Canberra “is wrong to rec- · We demand that Australia makes an offer effect from his Indonesian counterpart Ali ognise the invasion.” of political asylum to the East Timorese Alatas, during talks the two ministers held students now occupying the US Em- in Jakarta in advance of a summit of the bassy in Jakarta. Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum. East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. Page 129

“Indonesia will start pulling out troops rights will do little unless accompanied by mer Portuguese territory. Nineteen years from East Timor next year,” the Evans told some recognition of collective rights. It is after the Indonesian invasion, there is no the Australian parliament. this issue that will be the ultimate test for peace in East Timor. Fortunately, these “It looks like it is going to flow through Indonesian Government. latest disturbances so far have been met next year,” he said. The 1975 takeover of East Timor by In- with comparative restraint by the Indone- “We had all hoped that it might be rather donesia was in violation of international law. sian authorities. No doubt that is because sooner than that,” Evans said. The General Assembly of the United Na- they have occurred when the eyes of much He said the Indonesian government rec- tions stated in 1976 that East Timor could of the world are on Indonesia, as host of ognized the validity of arguments for politi- not be considered integrated into Indonesia Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation summit cal autonomy for East Timor. because the people had not been able to beginning in Bogor today. “The Indonesian government realizes that exercise their right to self-determination. The Dili police chief, Colonel Andreas the problem is an intractable one. If the situation is to improve there must Sugianto, attempted yesterday, to minimize “It is not going to go away unless some be recognition of the need for collective the significant of the weekend disturbances. efforts of reconciliation of this kind have representation and rights, as well as access “This thing can happen anywhere in Indo- occurred,” Evans said. to individual rights and freedoms. nesia,” he said, “even in Jakarta, because the Australia has the opportunity and the re- conflict was between ethnic groups.” The DILI MURDERS sponsibility to take a much firmer line with very truth of that observation, however, OUR CREDIBILITY Indonesian Government to progress with only serves to underline the seriousness of greater autonomy and freedom for military the situation in East Timor. Early accounts harassment for the East Timorese. of the disturbances in Dili do defer to con- IT IS TIME FOR AUSTRALIA TO Our Government has consistently argued flicts between local Timorese and outsiders. STOP PUSSYFOOTING ABOUT WITH that Australia is much better placed to influ- From the Timorese perspective, however, INDONESIA OVER HUMAN RIGHTS ence attitudes and policies about human such conflicts simple emphasise the plight The Australian, 15 Nov. 1994. By Garrie rights by being a friend rather than a strident of Timorese who say they are being Gibson (Federal Labor MP for Moreton) critic of Indonesia. swamped by non-Timorese coming to the Three years ago, almost to the day, Indo- The past five years have seen little evi- island under government resettlement pro- nesian soldiers open fire on a group of dence of much success by Australia in for- grams. For Timorese, such programs peaceful protesters as they entered the warding the progress of real reform in Indo- threaten their cultural distinctiveness and so, Santa Cruz cemetery in Dili. official details nesia, particularly in East Timor, Aceh or in the long term, their very survival. of the incident vary, but what was clear was West Irian. Arrest and detention without Although ethnic clashes are not unknown that, regardless of the number killed, the trial, torture, death and destruction of prop- elsewhere in Indonesia, in East Timor they actions taken by the military were far in erty continue to be the hallmarks of Indone- are given a distinctive edge by the prov- excess of any reasonable response. sian administration in East Timor. Ask the ince’s disputed status. The Australian Gov- After an outcry from the international families of those killed at Santa Cruz or ernment might have accepted Indonesia’s community, the Indonesian Government subsequently imprisoned whether Australia annexation of East Timor, but the United said those responsible for the incident has achieved anything for the rights or free- Nations has not. It still recognises Portugal would be punished. Of the soldiers who face dom. as the administering authority in East trial, the most severe punishments were Despite our significant achievements Timor, and has begun to show more interest prison sentences, all of which were less than across the international stage or in advancing in the question of East Timor’s disputed two years in duration. disarmament, peacekeeping and global secu- status. That is enough to keep alive Those who had participated in the pro- rity, our nation has little credibility and Timorese hopes. The most optimistic hope test march received more severe penalties. human rights while we continue disregard looks to international support for an act of Eight people received sentences ranging the most blatant examples of abuse of such self-determination which would lead to East from five years to life imprisonment. rights in our own region. Timorese independence. A more modest Since the Dili trials, human rights have The struggle of East Timor will not go hope is for international pressure to force continued to be violated. In September this away until their rights and freedom have Jakarta to concede East Timor’s right to year, Amnesty International released a re- been returned. Australia has the moral and autonomy. Even that would imply great port examining human rights abuses in Indo- political obligation to honour its commit- change. nesia and East Timor. Australia’s foreign ment to the international instruments on If it were to be “a just, comprehensive minister, Senator Gareth Evans, argued human rights by forcing the pace of change and internationally accepted solution to the strongly against the report, suggesting it was within Indonesia. question of East Timor” to use the words of more a “campaign document” than a balance The bloodshed at Santa Cruz remains a the agreed purpose of the UN-sponsored exploration of the state of human rights in stain on our nation that will not fade until talks between the foreign ministers of Indo- Indonesia. our government stands up for what we be- nesia and Portugal which began in 1992- it However, it is important, regardless of lieve and espouse. would necessarily mean an end to the mili- any alleged deficiencies in the report, to tary confrontation between the Indonesian consider what is suggested in it. NO PEACE IN EAST TIMOR armed forces and Fretilin guerrillas. It would Recently, consider media coverage was also mean an end to Indonesian policies of given to President Suharto when he an- Editorial, The Sydney Morning Herald, 15 forced integration and cultural annihilation nounced his intention to improved human November 1994 which have so far been pursued, under mili- rights standards in Indonesia. Time will tell Three years after the Dili massacre, re- tary rule, with only negative results. whether this is political rhetoric or whether newed disturbances in the East Timorese The latest disturbances in Dili are by no it will translate into real change. capital have shown yet again the hollowness means just another internal Indonesian af- While the potential positives should not of Jakarta’s claims to authority in the for- fair, a clash” between two ethnic groups.” be understated, any installment of individual They were accompanied by demonstrations Page 130 East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. protesting against the Indonesian presence reductions or any “special” status for East and to highlight the repression of demon- in East Timor. And, least there be any Timor. strations in East Timor. doubt, they coincided with the protest at These admissions followed only days af- Speakers from the East Timorese com- the United States Embassy in Jakarta, where ter Evans’ foreign relations debacle over the munity, Aksi - Indonesia Solidarity Action, the 29 demonstrators staging a sit-in have issue of arms sales to Thailand when he Resistance and the International Socialists, demanded the release of the Timorese guer- publicly retracted earlier statements on Thai as well as a number of individuals, spoke of illa leader Mr. Xanana Gusmão and the involvement in support for the Khmer the failure of the APEC conference to bring granting of autonomy for East Timor. None Rouge. The events underline the difficulties any closer an end to the occupation of East of these manifestations if likely to lead to the Labor government faces in trying to put Timor. immediate change. But they are indications a human face on its basic policy of guaran- A candlelight vigil will be held in Bris- that the issues of East Timor’s international teeing business interests in the region. bane to mark the anniversary of the 1975 status cannot be resolved without a change On the defensive last week, Keating said, invasion on December 7. in Indonesia’s fundamental policies towards “In Australia’s case, we are doing something In Melbourne, to chants of “Freedom for legitimate East Timorese aspirations. tangible in seeking to develop East Timor East Timor,” “Suharto is a butcher,” “Ga- and the whole province, to try and make reth Evans is a pig,” around 200 lively pro- KEATING SAYS WILL economic opportunities, employment and testers wound their way from the GPO to NOT LOWER FLAG ON living standards better in that part of Indo- Garuda airlines and back. nesia.” Such claims need to be understood in The November 18 demonstration was or- HUMAN RIGHTS the context of the Labor government’s sup- ganised by Fretilin, UDT, AETA and Resis- port for a regime which “develops” by tance in solidarity with Timorese protesters CANBERRA, Nov. 17 AAP - Prime means of daily wages of less than A$2 per in Dili and Jakarta. Minister Paul Keating today defended his day, enforced by military repression of A vigil is being maintained at the US decision not to raise concerns about East independent trade union activity. Consulate, 533 St Kilda Rd, Melbourne. Timor with Indonesia during the APEC The Suharto dictatorship also guarantees Around 200 people gathered at Town summit. access to resources such as the oil reserves Hall Sydney on November 19 in an emer- Mr. Keating told parliament the APEC in the Timor Sea, being jointly exploited by gency rally called in solidarity with the East trade agreement was the main focus of his Australian oil companies and their Indone- Timorese protesting in Dili and the students visit; he had raised human rights concerns sian counterparts, which are directly linked occupying the US embassy in Jakarta. many times before. to the Suharto family regime. These condi- Speakers from Fretilin, UDT, Aksi, Re- “I’ve raised the issue forthrightly and tions help to explain why more than 120 sistance and the Democratic Socialist Party fully on a number of occasions,” he said. Australian companies are active in Indone- addressed the need to continue the solidarity “I don’t think it’s my responsibility sia. campaign and condemned the role of the every time I fly into Indonesia to go through “Australians today and especially young ALP in backing the Indonesian occupation. a litany of issues on (East Timor). people support the East Timorese struggle The crowd then marched to the ALP head- for self-determination. We have no faith in quarters chanting “ALP, BHP, Out of the LABOUR (ALP) SHAMED BY the ALP’s public position of sympathy for Timor Sea.” EAST TIMOR East Timor and aim to build an independent INDEPENDENCE STRUGGLE campaign to involve and mobilise huge num- UPCOMING CONFERENCE: bers of young people in solidarity with East PEACEMAKING INITIATIVES By Wendy Robertson, Green Left, Nov. 20 Timor,” said Natasha Simmons, Resistance FOR EAST TIMOR The thousands-strong protests in Dili national coordinator. “We identify with the and the 29 East Timorese students occupy- young people of East Timor who are leading ing the US Embassy in Jakarta have again the fight for their liberation. INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE AT focused international attention on the plight “We support the demands of the ANU, CANBERRA of the East Timorese under Indonesian oc- Timorese to free Fretilin leader Xanana cupation. This campaign has been joined by Gusmão and all other political prisoners in THE AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL international solidarity actions at a time Indonesia and East Timor, including the 220 UNIVERSITY, DEPARTMENT OF when Western governments, particularly of people arrested in Dili last week. We sup- POLITICAL SCIENCE, ARTS port the call for international recognition of the US and Australia, are relying heavily on FACULTY the legitimate representatives of the East the Indonesian government to assist them to July 10-11, 1995 push the economic integration of the Asia- Timorese people - CNRM, FRETILIN, CALL FOR PAPERS Pacific into the US/Australian economic UDT and the East Timorese church - and sphere. for a full, independent investigation of the The Department of Political Science and The absurd claim by foreign minister Ga- Dili massacre.” the Arts Faculty, Australian National Uni- reth Evans that the actions in Dili involved versity will be hosting an international con- only 100 people hardly encourage belief in AUSTRALIAN ACTIONS FOR ference on the theme of “PEACEMAKING other statements by him, for example that EAST TIMOR INITIATIVES FOR EAST TIMOR.” Con- there are moves in Indonesia for a sharp cut tributors will be asked to consider the con- in troops in 1995 and that “autonomy” is Green Left, Nov. 20 ceptual, ethical and legal dimensions of peacemaking, and what this entails for the still on the agenda. The day after Evans’ Fifty people participated in a speak-out conflict in East Timor - soon to enter its meeting with Indonesian foreign minister Ali for East Timor in Brisbane on November 18, twentieth year. More specifically, contribu- Alatas, the latter clearly stated there was no reports Nick Everett. The event was held to tors will be discussing practical solutions or way that Indonesia would consider troop support the demands of 29 East Timorese schemes of action for achieving peace in the students inside the US embassy in Jakarta territory of East Timor. Abstracts of ap- East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. Page 131 proximately 200-250 words are required by all its efforts) will also be the main item on are focused exclusively on trade. We are not March 26, 1995. the agenda of a meeting between the three opposed to trade, but we believe that the Please send abstracts and requests for forces of the Resistance aligned with Ramos promotion of human rights is at least as registration forms to: Horta’s position. The leaders abroad of the important as the promotion of trade be- Conference on Peacemaking Initiatives CNRM (Ramos Horta), UDT (João Carras- tween APEC member economies. The rights for East Timor calao) and Fretilin (José Luis Guterres) are of the people that live in these countries c/- Sharon Merten Department of Politi- going to discuss the matter in Sydney, at a should carry more weight than the profits to cal Science, Faculty of Arts, meeting which will be held in early Decem- be gained from increased trade with “High- Australian National University ber. growth Pacific Rim economies.” ACT 0200 AUSTRALIA This preparatory meeting for the ex- We understand human rights to be more Fax: +61-6-249 5054 tended meeting must take place between 7 than simply political and civil rights. Human Phone: +61-6-249 2659 and 10th December so that Boutros Ghali’s rights also include the economic, social and envoy Francesc Vendrell can attend. Later, cultural rights of groups and individuals, the he is to go from Lisbon to visit East Timor. right to self-determination and the right to EVENTS IN CANADA The race against time will then start. democratic development. We reject the con- With the meeting between the two ministers cept of human rights put forward by some and the UN Secretary General scheduled for Asian governments, which states that the TIMORESE SEEKS 6 January, less than a month remains to Asian conception of human rights does not ASYLUM IN CANADA organise the extended meeting between include the rights of individuals. We equally Timorese (at which, for the first time, the reject the view put forward by some West- Publico, 21 October 1994. Translated from groups of Ramos Horta, Abilio Araujo and ern governments that human rights includes Portuguese Lopes da Cruz will be sitting around the little more than the rights of individuals. A Timorese student, Isabel Gathost, who same table). If that meeting does not take Human rights are universal and indivisible. is currently in Canada on an exchange pro- place, an essential paragraph of the Declara- In this, we stand with human rights organi- gramme for young people, has requested tion made following the 6 May negotiations zations based in Asian countries, and recall asylum from the Canadian authorities. Isabel round will not have been fulfilled. the 1993 and 1994 Bangkok declarations of Gathost was working as a reporter on The requirements set out in another para- Asian human rights groups, which stated “Suara Timor Timur,” a newspaper edited in graph of the same Declaration have already that “the advocacy of human rights cannot Dili. Indonesian Foreign Office spokesman, been met: Minister Barroso met with Lopes be considered to be an encroachment on Irawan Abadim, had no comment to make da Cruz, Minister Alatas with Horta and national sovereignty.” on the asylum request, reported by Associ- Araujo. The current pattern of trade and devel- ated Press, other than that was unaware of Ramos Horta continues to insist on the opment in Asia is having many adverse details of the case. Canadian officials also participation of the UN in the extended affects on the peoples of Asia. The direction stated that they had no concrete information meeting. He would like to see the meeting now being taken by APEC governments, on the Timorese student’s request. promoted and organised by the UN, and Canada among them, is only increasing these neither Abilio Araujo nor Lopes da Cruz trends. Canada has traditionally claimed to CANADIAN GOVERNMENT TO would be likely to object. champion human rights throughout the However, the same unanimity does not world. When the Liberal Party was cam- RAISE TIMOR AT APEC exist on the role “reconciliation” plays on paigning to become the government in 1993, the way to the extended talks. The co-stars it stated its position on international human Publico, 27 October 1994. By J. Trigo de of the “reconciliation” meetings, Abilio rights very clearly: “We will support de- Negreiros. Translated from Portuguese, Araujo and Lopes da Cruz, see “reconcilia- mocracy and human rights worldwide and Abridged tion” as a kind of embryo of the extended reaffirm Canada’s will to help the world’s Lisbon – José Ramos Horta, special rep- meeting. Ramos Horta, on the other hand, poor.” Since coming to power, however, resentative of the CNRM (Maubere Resis- regards “reconciliation” as no more than one you and your government have downplayed tance National Council) was given assur- of Jakarta’s maneuvers. Curbing the effects the promotion of human rights in favour of ances by the Canadian Prime Minister that of this bitter disagreement over the extended the promotion of trade, abandoning prom- he would raise the question of East Timor at talks could dictate the success of the initia- ises to link the two. The recent trade mis- the November summit meeting in Indonesia tive. sion to China is just the most recent exam- of APEC, hosted by Suharto. Similar assur- ple. ances had already been given by the Japa- CANADA URGED TO LINK At the APEC meetings, Canada has an nese and US governments. TRADE WITH opportunity to change all that. The summit Ramos Horta traveled from Ottawa to will be attended by many of the top human New York on Tuesday, to resume his meet- HUMAN RIGHTS AT APEC rights violators in Asia. APEC was founded ings with UN officials. The subject on the to promote trade, but it must now begin to APEC statement by solidarity groups, Nov. agenda was, once again, the extended meet- promote the exchange of ideas, not simply 10, 1994 ing between Timorese of different positions, the exchange of goods. We ask that Canadian which was agreed at the May meeting be- Dear Prime Minister Chrétien, representatives at the APEC meetings take tween Portuguese and Indonesian Foreign This month, the annual Asia Pacific Eco- the chance to link trade and human rights Ministers and the UN Secretary General. nomic Cooperation (APEC) summit meet- clearly and loudly, focusing as much on the The meeting of Timorese should take place ings will convene in Jakarta, Indonesia. We promotion of universal human rights as they before the next round of negotiations, Canada-based solidarity groups are gravely do on the promotion of trade. scheduled for 6 January in Geneva. concerned that the APEC summit, and the 1. Canadian representatives should consider The extended meeting between Timorese trade promotion missions leading up to it, carefully the multiple examples of how (on which the UN is currently concentrating human rights are being adversely affected Page 132 East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994.

by the existing trade and development · Stuart Wulff, for the South Pacific organization of Canadians who are con- models in the APEC region. Instead, Peoples Foundation cerned about the ongoing genocide in East Canada should be seeking to foster the cc. Andre Ouellet, Roy MacLaren, Ray- Timor. I am writing to you on just hours development of civil society within the mond Chan, all federal members of Parlia- before your meeting with President Suharto Asia Pacific, building protection for hu- ment, APEC embassies and consulates in to implore you to raise the issue of East man rights into evolving APEC mecha- Canada Timor and human rights violations. nisms before agreeing to further economic As I am sure you are aware, on Saturday, integration. 1991 LETTER FROM November 12, 29 East Timorese students 2. Canada should develop a code of conduct JEAN CHRÉTIEN carrying banners and chanting ‘Free East for Canadian corporations operating in Timor’ marched to US embassy grounds other parts of the APEC region, that Text of a letter received by an ETAN member demanding President Bill Clinton push to would force them to consider the effect from Jean Chrétien when he was leader of free jailed guerrilla leader Xanana Gusmão. of their ventures on local people and the the opposition. However, it must not be forgotten that forty environment. December 18, 1991 of their friends, who were to accompany them, have been arrested. Five are still under 3. Canada should also push for common Dear ____, standards such as a code of rights for arrest and their whereabouts are still un- Thank you for your letter regarding the workers that is especially sensitive to the known. We urge you to call upon the Indo- situation in East Timor. rights of women workers, and an ecologi- nesian authorities to release them immedi- The Liberal Party of Canada firmly be- cal code of conduct. ately. The other thirty-five have been re- lieves that we should not turn away from turned to East Java by truck under military 4. Canada should be promoting people- any area of the world where violations of escort. This clearly means that they have centered development and not providing human rights are taking place. Just as Can- not been released and are likely to undergo money or lending its support for projects ada and the world undertook measures to intensive interrogation accompanied by that benefit governments of big economic protect the Kurds following the Gulf war, torture, once they return to East Java, at the interests at the expense of local people. the international community should take hands of the regional military command. As We ask that Canada consider advancing steps to safeguard the rights of the people human rights activist Poncke Princen concrete aid to those NGOs that are of East Timor. stressed, out of sight of international atten- genuinely independent from their gov- Progress towards respecting human rights tion, the military in the regions are likely to ernments. in much of the world is the direct result of treat their captives with even greater sever- 5. All APEC meetings and bilateral meetings pressure from western democracies. I be- ity. We appeal to you to make the strongest should be opened up, rather than held lieve Canada’s relations with the world must possible representations to the Indonesian behind closed doors. Canada should also be influenced by Canadian values: respect authorities to release them immediately and ensure that independent human rights or- for human rights and the rule of law; at- allow them to return to their homes unmo- ganizations are allowed to meet freely in tachment to individual freedoms and to de- lested. They have obviously been removed Jakarta during the APEC meetings, not mocracy; and the protection of the weak and from Jakarta to reduce the pressure on the prevented from meeting as they were the poor. Suharto regime, now facing one of the most during the last major international meet- We have pressed the government to take embarrassing diplomatic fiascoes of Su- ing in Jakarta. Canadian representatives decisive action that would send a clear mes- harto’s thirty-year rule. should meet with independent Asian sage to the Indonesian government. The When José Ramos-Horta, the Special NGOs while in the region. recent announcement by the Conservatives Overseas Representative for East Timor, 6. Canada should link its aid and trade ex- to suspend $30 million in aid is a step in the met with officials from Foreign Affairs in plicitly to human rights. Countries that right direction. Needless to say, we will Ottawa on October 24th, he did so with the violate human rights on a regular basis continue to urge further action. To that end, opinion that Canada was a country that was should be subject to economic sanctions we have requested that the government per- indeed concerned with the human rights as a last resort, with Canada taking the suade the U.N. Security Council to fully violations occurring in East Timor. He noted moral leadership to impose these sanc- implement Resolutions 389 and 384, calling that Canada had an enviable international tions if necessary. for the reputation on the issue of human rights, and Yours sincerely, withdrawal of Indonesian troops and the asked the officials at the meeting to convey · Jack Lakawich, for the Canada Asia provision of international assistance. to you his request that you raise the issue of Working Group I appreciate your concern on this matter. East Timor with President Suharto while · Rigzin Dolkar, for the Canada Tibet Please be assured that I will continue to you are in Indonesia as part of APEC. Committee monitor the situation closely. In 1991, as Leader of the Opposition, · Michael Craig, Benson Lin, for the Sincerely you wrote the following to a member of China Human Rights Group Jean Chrétien ETAN: “The Liberal Party of Canada firmly · Bush Gulati, for the Committee for the believes that we should not turn away from Restoration of Democracy in Burma ETAN/CANADA LETTER any area of the world where violations of · Sharon Scharfe, for the East Timor TO CHRÉTIEN fundamental human rights are taking place. Alert Network Just as Canada and the world undertook · C-S Su, for the Formosan Association measures to protect the Kurds following the for Public Affairs BY FACSIMILE: 62 21 571-2251 Gulf war, the international community · Y-S Columbus Leo, for the World November 13, 1994 United Formosans for Independence should take measures to safeguard the rights · Jina Hahn, for the Young Koreans Dear Prime Minister Chrétien, of the people of East Timor. Progress to- United of Canada I am writing to you on behalf of the East wards respecting human rights in much of · Macks Marcellano, for the Philippine Timor Alert Network/Canada, an national the world is the direct result of pressure Solidarity Group from western democracies. I believe Can- East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. Page 133 ada’s relations with the world must be influ- the many other union activists and work- the group and the Embassy, as the Embassy enced by Canadian values: respect for hu- ers who have been jailed this year in would not open its doors. The protesters man rights and the rule of law; attachment to Medan and Pematang Siantar, North Su- were asked to phone the US Embassy con- individual freedoms and to democracy; and matra. tinually throughout the week, until they the protection of the weak and the poor. ... The diplomatic tactics of the Canadian received reassurances that the Timorese Needless to say, we will continue to urge Government in the past have not worked; inside the US Embassy in Jakarta would be further action. To that end, we have re- now the Canadian government must take a safe, that those who were arrested would be quested that the government persuade the stronger stance on human rights. Yesterday, released, and that Allan Nairn and Amy U.N. Security Council to fully implement over 400 people gathered on Parliament Hill Goodman would be returned safely to the Resolutions 389 and 384, calling for the with one single request: that you send a US. withdrawal of Indonesian troops and the clear message to the Indonesian government From there we marched to Parliament provision of international assistance.” from Canadians that human rights violations Hill, where we laid the crosses on the steps. It has been almost 19 years since Indone- against the people of East Timor will not be A representative of Amnesty International sia illegally invaded East Timor; in that time, tolerated. Failure to do so will only make made a statement; a letter from Abé Baretto over one-third of the population of East the Canadian government complicit in the Soares was read; and Kerry Pither read the Timor has been killed. It is obvious that in worst case of genocide since World War II. letter from Jean Chrétien on East Timor that the case of Indonesia, increased trade has Sincerely, he wrote while in opposition to a member of not improved the human rights situation. As Sharon Scharfe National Coordinator ETAN (see below) and made a call to all Canadian trade and investments in Indonesia East Timor Alert Network/Canada those in attendance to phone and fax Foreign increase, so does the death and repression in Affairs on Monday and Tuesday to register East Timor continue to grow. I am well NOV. 12 ACTION IN OTTAWA their concern about APEC. A fact sheet was aware of the strong economic ties that Can- handed out, asking those who write and call ada shares with Indonesia. However, regard- Report from Sharon Scharfe, ETAN / Ot- to ask: less of the financial benefits from such a tawa, Nov. 13. 1) Ask why the only “clear message” be- relationship, it is wrong for Canadians to ing carried by these ministers is that Canada ETAN/Canada had an incredibly success- profit from repression. will conveniently overlook the Suharto re- ful March in Solidarity for East Timor on Therefore the East Timor Alert Network gime’s genocidal policy in East Timor and November 12 in Ottawa. There were over urges you to make the following appeals to human rights abuses in its own country. 400 participants and has since had national President Suharto: 2) Ask why our governmental represen- coverage on every television station. As part 1. That the 29 East Timorese inside the US tatives are ignoring Canadian values by of the planning, the streets that would be Embassy compound be protected when promoting trade and legitimizing the Suharto used were closed down, enabling the march- they leave the US Embassy; regime. ers to use the city streets instead of being 3) Most importantly, demand that Jean 2. That the Indonesian government account restricted to the sidewalks. When I arrived Chrétien and these ministers raise these immediately for the missing five at the Indonesian Embassy, the staff were concerns PUBLICLY WHILE ON THIS Timorese now in jail; handing out large documents, that gave the VISIT, NOT BEHIND CLOSED DOORS. 3. That the thirty-five who were released official Indonesian version of what hap- Prime Minister Jean Chrétien: Phone from jail today be released immediately pened in East Timor, beginning with dis- (613)992-4211; Fax (613)995-3456 and allowed to return to their homes un- counting the 200,000 dead, videos, and cop- molested; ies of the statement made by Fransisco Xa- Andre Ouellet, Foreign Minister: 4. The release of East Timorese Resistance vier Amaral at the UN Decolonization Hear- Ph:(613)995-8872; Fax:(613)996-3456 Leader, Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão, and ings in July, 1994. Roy Maclaren, Trade Minister: Ph: (613) of all East Timorese political prisoners; The March started at the Indonesian Em- 995-4702; Fax:(613)996-8924 5. That the President of Indonesia, who has bassy (accompanied by no less than 14 –––––––––––––- stated his preparedness to engage in dia- police officers), where Kerry Pither ex- plained the significance of the day which Embassy of the United States logue with anti-integration elements, Wellington Street, Ottawa, ON agree to the participation in such talks of was followed by a moment of silence. the true representatives of the People of From the Embassy we marched to the Dear Ambassador Blanchard, East Timor, including members of the Human Rights Monument where we had a Today we march in solidarity with the four components of the Resistance: the re-enactment of the Dili Massacre, with the people of East Timor. While we have differ- East Timorese Church, CNRM, UDT reading of Tri Sutrisno’s statements. 400 ent backgrounds, we are all concerned about and Fretilin; people lay on the ground for a few minutes, the gross human rights violations being per- with 271 crosses, with the names of the 6. That the Indonesian government grant petrated by the Indonesian military against Massacre victims raised. the people of East Timor. access to an independent and impartial From there we marched to the American mission with the aim of conducting a se- We ask you to contact President Clinton Embassy where a letter was read by Sharon in Jakarta and ask him to instruct the US rious investigation into the Santa Cruz Scharfe and then presented to the American massacre; and Embassy in Jakarta to give protection to the Embassy (see letter that follows). The pro- more than two dozen East Timorese who 7. We also urge that you take up with testers were not allowed to stand in front of are now inside the embassy premises. Sev- President Suharto the question of the the Embassy, so they stood across the eral hundred police, some with automatic immediate release for those political pris- street, at the foot of Parliament Hill. I was weapons, have taken up positions outside oners who have been held for nearly escorted across the street to the US Em- the compound. Also, the students have told thirty years and are now very elderly and bassy by four Ottawa Police officers and reporters that forty friends had been ar- incapacitated, as well as the release of met by a further five RCMP officers. The rested on their way to participate in the trade union leader Muchtar Pakpahan and RCMP acted as the intermediary between protest. Page 134 East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994.

We also want to raise our concern regard- operation Summit that begins Tuesday in fering with workers who try to exercise their ing the arrest in East Timor earlier today of Indonesia. right to free association in independent trade two US journalists, Allan Nairn and Amy Indonesia annexed East Timor in 1976. unions. It is wrong for Canadians to benefit Goodman. The Indonesian military’s refusal The United Nations never recognized the from repression. And doing so also forces to allow them to enter East Timor comes annexation. Canadian workers to compete with unfairly exactly 3 years after they were forced to flee There was also a protest in Ottawa on produced goods. Dili after being severely beaten while cover- Saturday, with demonstrators marking the To their credit, a group of 74 members of ing the 1991 Dili massacre. On November third anniversary of the Dili Massacre by the United States Congress have called on 12, 1991, at least 271 people were killed placing 300 wooden crosses on the steps of U.S. President Bill Clinton to use his talks when Indonesian troops fired on a peaceful Parliament Hill. The group was also protest- with Indonesian leaders to discuss what the demonstration at the Santa Cruz cemetery in ing Prime Minister Jean Chrétien’s planned congressmen termed “severe labor-rights Dili. Nairn said that when they applied for visit to Jakarta, the Indonesian capital, on violations” there. Mr. Clinton is expected to their visas to go to Indonesia they were told Monday. raise such concerns. that East Timor was open and that anyone In Jakarta, 29 student protesters scaled a For his part, Mr. Chrétien should press can go. The Jakarta Post recently cited the fence and entered the U.S. Embassy grounds the Indonesian government to allow inde- fact that the pair had been granted visas as a on Saturday. pendent trade unions to operate according to sign of openness on the part of the Indone- The protesters said they want Clinton to international norms. And he should also sian government. We call on the US govern- put pressure on Indonesia during the eco- speak up about various other human-rights ment to ensure their safe return to the US. nomic summit. abuses. There is a long list: – A pre-APEC- We call on President Clinton to use his Chrétien will be attending the summit and meeting crackdown started out earlier this considerable influence with President Su- Canadian officials said he will try to open a year as a campaign against street crime – harto to release the East Timorese leader, dialogue on human rights with Indonesia. including the use of death squads, according Xanana Gusmão, and all East Timorese to Amnesty International – but has ended political prisoners being held by the Indone- INDONESIA DESERVES up as a broad campaign against political sian authorities, and to press him to enter CRITICISM; CHRÉTIEN opponents of the government. Three publi- into negotiations about the future of the cations were closed in June after having territory with all the components of the SHOULD RAISE HUMAN - printed articles that were embarrassing to East Timorese resistance, The Catholic RIGHTS CONCERNS the government. Political activists, academ- Church, the CNRM, the UDT and Fretilin. ics and independent journalists have been The US government should also press for an Editorial, Montreal Gazette, Nov. 13, 1994 harassed. Some dissidents have been de- immediate, independent and impartial mis- Prime Minister Chrétien arrives in Indo- tained, and in some cases, tortured. – The sion to go to East Timor with the aim of nesia today to attend a summit meeting of government has published a draft decree conducting a serious investigation into the the Asian-Pacific Economic Co-Operation designed to prevent grass-roots organiza- Santa Cruz massacre which occurred three group, of which Canada is a member. His tions and associations from criticizing the years ago today. visit is part of an Asian tour – the highlight authorities. It is expected to implement the Sincerely, [signed] Sharon Scharfe, of which was last week’s visit to China – decree once the APEC meeting is over. – For on behalf of March in Solidarity for East designed to expand trade ties with some of nearly two decades, Indonesia has carried Timor the world’s fastest-growing economies. out a horrible campaign of repression in East Indonesia is the world’s fourth most Timor, a former Portuguese colony that it RIOTS SEND ANGRY populous country, and its economy has took over by force in 1975. The United MESSAGE TO been growing at an average annual rate of Nations does not consider Indonesia’s pres- about 6 per cent in recent years. As oil- ence in East Timor to be legitimate. ASIA-PACIFIC SUMMIT producing Indonesia becomes more pros- Words alone may not change much. But silence is uncomfortably close to acquies- Ottawa Citizen, Nov. 12. perous, it offers a tempting market for Ca- nadian exports. It also offers investment cence. Ottawa should do what it can to Begins with a CP Photo of the 271 crosses opportunities. promote human rights in Indonesia, as else- laid on the steps of Parliament Hill, with the But Indonesia also has a terrible record of where. Marchers in front of the Peace Tower. Cap- human-rights abuses. When Mr. Chrétien NOTE: The Montreal Gazette also ran on its tion: “Demonstrators on Parliament Hill meets with Indonesian President Suharto front page a reprint of the NYT article of mark third anniversary of Dili Massacre in tomorrow, he should not shy away from today; as well as a front page article in its East Timor with wooden crosses Saturday.” expressing Canada’s sorrow and disdain. AP, DILI – Hundreds of angry youths But Canadians should do more than preach. PM IGNORES RIOTING, clashed with riot police and rampaged They should also take care not to get in- through Dili early today, demanding inde- volved in business transactions that would SIGNS TRADE DEALS pendence for East Timor. make them complicit in those abuses. Ottawa Citizen, Nov. 14, 1994 Front Page As demonstrators spread through the In Indonesia, the leaders of independent East Timor capital, hundreds of riot police trade unions are subject to intimidation and Jakarta – Rioting in East Timor moved cordoned off the city. harassment. All too often, workers lack any Indonesia’s human right record into the The demonstrations began after a 7 a.m. legitimate way to win redress for their many spotlight as Prime Minister Jean Chrétien mass. About 30 Timorese youths chanted in grievances. While it is understandable that announced trade and investment deals today Portuguese: “Viva Clinton” and “Free wages and working conditions in developing worth nearly $850 million. Timor.” countries are not as favourable to workers as Chrétien is one of the 18 Pacific rim lead- President Bill Clinton is scheduled to at- those in industrial countries, that does not ers visiting Indonesia for a summit meeting tend the Asia-Pacific Economic Co- excuse coercive efforts to keep wages and of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation working conditions artificially low by inter- forum. East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. Page 135

The leaders, who meet tonight and Tues- Human Rights: Within three months, In- NEW CANADIAN AID TO INDONESIA day, will try to come up with a timetable for donesia admitted, more than 60,000 civilians CIDA will spend $30 million over the achieving free trade among members. But were dead. In 1976, Indonesia declared East next five years on three new bilateral aid their talks could be overshadowed by pro- Timor its 27th province. Amnesty Interna- projects to Indonesia: tests against the Indonesian government tional reported mass arrests, torture and Women’s Support Project, Phase II: The over human rights. disappearances. Human rights groups claim Indonesian Women’s Ministry will be On Sunday, thousands of youths ram- that as many as 200,000 people, from a funded to develop programs on violence paged through the streets and clashed with total of 650,000, may have been killed by ... against women, access for women to higher police in the East Timorese city of Dili. An job levels, etc. a couple of dozen East Timorese protestors NEW CANADIAN BUSINESS McGill University and Islamic Higher climbed over the fence at the U.S. Embassy INITIATIVES IN INDONESIA Education Development Project, Phase II: compound in Jakarta on Saturday and have McGill will be funded to improve teaching refused to leave. Summary of news releases from the Prime methods and research and management ca- They want U.S. President Bill Clinton – Minister’s Office, Ottawa, Canada, Novem- pabilities of the Indonesian Islamic educa- also attending the summit – to help an im- ber 14, 1994, and media coverage, from tional system, including bringing teachers to prisoned dissident from East Timor, a terri- ETAN/Canada Canada. tory 2,000 kilometres from Jakarta that Community Development in East Timor: Indonesia invaded in 1975. Total Canadian trade and investment deals worth almost $1 billion were an- CARE Canada will be funded for four years Diplomats said Indonesian authorities are to help improve health, access to safe drink- dealing with the protests with kid gloves nounced by PM Chrétien at a breakfast in Jakarta: ing water and sanitation in 15 rural commu- because the country is playing host to the nities affecting 13,400 people. The conference. Normally, security forces deal Atomic Energy Control Board of Canada: up to four Indonesian government officials Timorese or Indonesian NGO partners are much more harshly with East Timorese and not named. other protests against the government. will be taught a nuclear regulatory course, funded through CIDA’s Industrial Co- Chrétien planned to raise the subject of CANADIAN PM BALANCES human rights with Indonesian President operation Program and the Major Suppliers Suharto today. He was expected to take Group, a Canadian nuclear industry group. HUMAN RIGHTS, $1B IN much the same approach as in China – raise PM Chrétien was quoted as calling this the TRADE the subject, but not ask about specific first step towards selling Indonesia abuses or threaten to tie trade or develop- CANDU reactors. It was diversion of By Bob Cox, The Canadian Press Front ment aid to progress on human rights. CANDU technology that led to India ex- Page Ottawa Citizen, November 14, 1994 Chrétien made no mention of human ploding a nuclear bomb in 1974. (Second Edition) Bata Corporation, Toronto: Bata will in- rights at a breakfast meeting today of some NOTE: Canadian media coverage has been vest $11 million in a second factory in Indo- 400 Canadian and Indonesian business lead- absolutely incredible today. East Timor has nesia, expanding its Indonesian shoe produc- ers. He said Canada has fixed its sights on been on the front page of every major Cana- tion by over 50 per cent. Bata currently Asia as the target for future economic and dian newspaper, first item on every newscast employs 7,800 people in Indonesia, at plant trade development. (some stations broadcasting it every 10 that opened in the 1930s. “I challenge you, the Canadian business minutes), most radio stations ... Far beyond Canadian Aviation Electronics, St- leaders and the Indonesian business leaders, our wildest expectations. Earlier this eve- Laurent, Quebec: CAE, a top Canadian mili- to make your mark on this country,” he ning, David Webster appeared on a prime tary contractor, will supply flight simulator said. time talk show on the issue; tomorrow at equipment to Garuda Indonesian Airlines. Two-way trade is currently in balance at noon, Kerry Pither will appear on the CBC Canadian Exporters’ Association, Ot- about $1 billion a year. news at noon. The article I’m reprinting tawa: An expansion of an office opened in Canada’s investment and contract pack- below basically summarizes the latest hap- the spring by the association will see Cana- age was dominated by plans by P.T. Inter- penings with regards to Canada and East dian representatives stationed in Indonesian national Nickel of Indonesia, a subsidiary of Timor at APEC. (I won’t post all of the arti- government ministries to promote Canadian Inco Ltd., to spend $800 million to expand cles from today; there are quite literally just investment and trade. The new Canada- the output capacity of its Sulawesi Island too many!) – Sharon Scharfe, ETAN/Canada Indonesia Business Development Office will plant by 50 per cent by the year 2000. Jakarta – Prime Minister Jean Chrétien In the hope that Indonesia might one day be funded by CIDA’s industrial co- operation program. tried to find a compromise between trade buy CANDU reactors, the Atomic Energy and human rights today as he plunged into a Control Board of Canada is to provide basic Hughes Canada, Richmond, British Co- lumbia: Hughes will supply a $20 million air meeting of Asia-Pacific leaders. nuclear reactor training to officials from the After overseeing contract signing for $1 Indonesian nuclear agency. traffic control system for Jakarta’s airport, with funding from the Canadian Export billion in trade and investment between Sidebar provides the following “facts": Development Corporation (EDC). Canada and Indonesia, Chrétien met Indone- Recent history: The Portuguese were co- International Nickel Company of Canada sian President Suharto privately and told lonial rulers of East Timor until 1974. (INCO), Sudbury, Ontario: INCO will in- him of Canada’s concerns about human Against the wishes of Australia and Indone- vest an additional $800 million in its nickel rights abuses in Indonesia, particularly in sia, in August 1975, the left-wing Revolu- mining complex in Soroako, Sulawesi, ex- East Timor. tionary Front of Independent East Timor, or panding capacity by 50 per cent. Chrétien, in Indonesia for the Asia- FRETILIN, took control. FRETILIN de- Trenton Works Ltd., Trenton, Nova Sco- Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, told clared independence on November 28, 1975. tia: With EDC Funding, Trenton will sup- Suharto that Canada wants good trade, but On December 7, Indonesian forces invaded. ply 80 coal railcars to the Indonesian state also good dialogue on human rights, said a railway, valued at $15.4 million. senior official. Page 136 East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994.

The prime minister told Suharto he had Network, a grassroots national organization CANADIAN EDITORIAL seen TV footage of violent protests in East founded in 1987 by the Canadian Council of Timor and that Canadians are concerned Churches. “By making new deals with the OPINION about the situation in the territory, which Indonesian regime at a time when human From ETAN/Canada, November 16, 1994 Indonesia invaded in 1975. rights are at their worst level in years, Chré- It appeared Chrétien took the relatively tien is sending a message that Canada’s si- As elsewhere, East Timor has overshad- tough stance on human rights after facing lence can be bought.” owed the APEC summit in most media cov- criticism for not pressing such issues more The network was criticizing an an- erage in Canada. Unlike the Canadian Prime while in China on a trade trip prior to the nouncement made in Jakarta during the Minister’s trade mission to China last week, APEC conference. Prime Minister’s visit of several new con- where the dollar value of trade deals with a U.S. President Bill Clinton has warned tracts between Canadian corporations and repressive regime was hailed as a boon to China and Indonesia that trade relations Indonesia. Inco will be expanding its nickel the Canadian economy, the East Timorese won’t be completely normalized until re- mining operation in Soroako, on the Indone- protesters have shifted the focus of media spect for rights improves. sian island of Sulawesi, by 50 per cent. The attention from business to human rights. (At Suharto said the East Timor demonstra- $800-million (US $500-million) expansion least one commentator this week said tions during the weekend were instigated by will make Soroako the third-largest producer ETAN was soft on Indonesia, an unusual East Timorese independence advocates after in the world. The expansion comes hard on position for us to be in!) an unrelated killing of an East Timorese the heels of layoffs over the past several The PM barely mentioned human rights man. years at Inco’s Canadian operations in Sud- in China; in Indonesia he felt compelled to Officials announced that Max Yalden, bury and Thompson, Manitoba. mention in during and after his meeting with head of the Canadian Human Rights Com- “In effect, Canadian jobs are being ex- Suharto on Monday. A selection of excerpts mission, will visit Indonesia next year. ported to the low-wage investors paradise from Wednesday’s editorial opinions in In addition to the East Timor riots, a of Indonesia, where workers earn an average major central Canadian newspapers follows. couple of dozen East Timorese protesters of $1.40 per day,” Webster said. THE GLOBE AND MAIL, TORONTO: are occupying the U.S. embassy compound In addition, Bata Shoes is expected to an- HOW TO MOVE AN AUTOCRAT to protest the imprisonment of a dissident nounce a new factory near Jakarta. ETAN from East Timor. has concerns about the human rights and (The Globe styles itself Canada’s national The 18 APEC leaders are trying to come environmental practices of both Inco and newspaper, and is the only one distributed up with a timetable for free trade among Bata. Inco razed a large area of rain forest coast to coast. Although it is not the largest members as diverse as the United States, and displaced indigenous people to build its circulation paper in the country, it is proba- Japan, Canada and China. mining complex, while Bata has called in the bly the most respected, particularly among The prime minister earlier oversaw the Indonesian army to break up at least one the business community. This lead editorial signing of contracts for $1 billion in new strike in its Indonesian factories. is accompanied by a cartoon showing a trade and investment links between Canada ETAN is particularly concerned about general leading PM Chrétien past buildings and Indonesia. the sale of flight simulator equipment to the with names like Indonesian Manacles Inc. The biggest: INCO, of Sudbury, will in- Indonesian national airline by CAE saying “Jobs Jobs Jobs.”) vest $800 million to expand its Indonesian Electronics. In the past, Canadian aerospace In the debate over how to influence auto- mining operations. technology designated as civilian has been cratic foreign governments, two schools of The leaders were to meet tonight for din- diverted for military purposes. Another thought contend. One argues that democratic ner and spend Tuesday together at Bogor special concern is a preliminary nuclear countries should apply direct pressure for Palace, about 60 kilometres from Jakarta. cooperation agreement between Canada and change. Another says they should coax the Suharto asked Chrétien to lead discus- Indonesia, which may be the first step to offending governments into the international sions on economic cooperation. Indonesia buying a CANDU nuclear reactor. trading system, thus exposing them to the Indonesian environmental organizations are liberalizing currents of the outside world. In ETAN: CANADA SELLS ITS adamantly opposed to their government fact, both a re correct. For proof, look at SOUL – FOR $1 BILLION acquiring nuclear technology. this week’s meeting of the Asia Pacific Eco- “The East Timor Alert Network is not nomic Cooperation forum in Indonesia.... opposed to trade,” Webster said. “But we The result should be a boom in Pacific NEW TRADE DEALS WITH believe that human rights should carry equal Rim trade and communication that cannot INDONESIA CALLED COMPLICITY IN weight in Canadian policy. In a year when fail to influence the behaviour of the forum’s GENOCIDE Indonesia has banned trade unions and less democratic members.... Democracy is EAST TIMOR ALERT NETWORK News newspapers and killed civilians in East infectious, trade a wonderfully efficient Release, November 14, 1994 Timor, and within days of protests for hu- carrier. man rights in East Timor and by East In certain countries, though, the bug will Demonstration: Liberal Party headquarters, Timorese in Indonesia, these contracts send travel slowly.... Here is where democratic 10 St. Mary St., Toronto (at Yonge, be- the worst possible message to the Indone- pressure comes in. Democratic countries tween Bloor and Wellesley) Wednesday, sian dictatorship.” that trade with undemocratic ones can use November 16, 12:30 p.m. There will be a demonstration at Liberal their status as trading partners to urge Canada has betrayed its commitment to Party headquarters in Toronto this Wednes- quicker progress towards democracy. international human rights by announcing $1 day, November 16 at 12:30 p.m. Liberal In Beijing last week, Prime Minister Jean billion in new trade deals with Indonesia, headquarters is located at 10 St. Mary St., Chrétien missed a God-sent opportunity to according to a group working for human on the northwest corner of Yonge & St. do so.... Contrast that with this week’s rights in East Timor and Indonesia. Mary (between Bloor and Wellesley). experience in Indonesia. Several leaders of “Jean Chrétien has sold Canada’s soul,” For more information: David Webster APEC countries – including, it must be said, said David Webster of the East Timor Alert (416) 531-5850 or 963-4434 Mr. Chrétien – raised the issue of human East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. Page 137 rights with the meeting’s host, President become our business. Mr. Chrétien should Perhaps the Timorese will never recover Suharto. In particular,. they spoke up about keep speaking up. the independence it tasted for a few days in Indonesia’s repressive behaviour in the for- 1975. But to continue to say and to repeat mer Portuguese territory of East Timor. LE DEVOIR, MONTREAL: A SECOND that the current status and treatment of the Combined with the courageous protests of CHINA Timorese is a disgrace to humanity, that can East Timorese activists, who defied authori- (Le Devoir has a small circulation, but it is perhaps force realpolitik to give way, if ties by demonstrating in East Timor and considered the newspaper of the Quebec only a little, to morality. camping out in the American embassy com- intelligentsia. In domestic politics, it takes a From Richard Gwyn’s op-ed column in pound in Jakarta, these efforts put human strong Quebec nationalist stand. My apolo- the TORONTO STAR, the largest- rights (as The Globe’s correspondent put it) gies for the shoddy translation job.) circulation newspaper in Canada: “front and centre.” Indonesia, where the leaders of 18 dy- To get involved in the so-called Asia- Direct pressure may not work right namic Asia-Pacific countries have just vis- Pacific community, we’ve had to junk some away. General Suharto may even crack ited, is a sort of second China. The fourth- of our own community values.... Do we down on Timorese dissidents once the meet- largest country in the world by population, from now on only lecture small, weak coun- ings are over – a reaction that all democratic it looks irresistible to investors. SNC- tries – like Haiti – about human rights and APEC governments should be on the watch Lavalin, Bombardier, Cascades, Pratt & democracy? ... for. In the long run, though, the protests of Whitney are present there. Canada counts a It’s self-deceiving to pretend that those foreign governments will tell, especially now lot on trade with this country, with com- who pay for the contracts don’t call the that Gen. Suharto and his critics are APEC merce exceeding $1 billion in 1994. But In- political tunes. It’s equally self-deceiving to colleagues. It is hard enough to be told by donesia is an authentic dictatorship.... pretend that the interconnecting links of outsiders that your behaviour is not up to But between the dessert and the cheese trade and investment make the Asia-Pacific snuff, harder still when the barbs come from courses at a sumptuous (APEC) banquet of community into a real community.... members of your own club, where liberal the heads of state and government, south of Even the Asian member countries, de- economics are almost sure to change politi- Jakarta, a question came to trouble the In- spite their cultural similarities, never can cal society for the better. donesian hosts – President Suharto at their agree on anything except that none should MONTREAL GAZETTE: US E APEC head – of this grand economic pow-wow: ever interfere in another’s “internal affairs.” the Timorese had just reminded the world of DEAL TO ADVANCE RIGHTS Hence their failure to apply any sanc- their existence, by demonstrating in Jakarta (Quebec’s only English-language daily, tions against their local equivalent to Haiti – and in the streets of Dili, the capital of the the brutal military regime in Burma. Hence which ran a strong editorial – INDONESIA former Portuguese colony. DESERVES CRITICISM – posted earlier.) their failure to criticize Indonesia’s repres- The Timorese? Timor? But what is that? sion in East Timor (uncomfortably similar As a medium-sized country, Canada gen- ... Timor is one of the worst denials of in- to China’s in Tibet). Hence the silence in erally has more influence in groups than in ternational justice allowed to go on, one of Beijing and Tokyo, even in Seoul, largely, one-on-one dealings with big countries.... the cases of decolonization not yet resolved. about North Korea’s nuclear program, so But as an APEC free-trade deal takes In human terms, the recent history of these that all the words and actions had to come shape, Canada should do all it can to make lusaphone Christians immersed in a Muslim from Washington.... sure it includes provisions on labor stan- ocean constitutes a true “forgotten geno- To call Asia-Pacific a region rather than a dards and for human rights. Not only are cide.” community isn’t just a clever verbal distinc- human-rights abuses morally wrong, they This small half-island lost in the incredi- tion that makes no practical difference. can also affect trade, for example when ble Indonesian archipelago (18,000 islands It’s a way of ensuring that all of today’s workers’ wages are held down by abuses of and islets), invaded in 1975 by the powerful excited talk about how Canada now belongs their right to free association in independent army of Jakarta, was the site in the 70s of to a new, economically booming community trade unions. Mexico’s blemished record one of the worst massacres of modern times. doesn’t deceive us into pretending that made many Canadians wary of joining One third of the 700,000 inhabitants were we’re not tossing overboard many of our NAFTA. And Mexico’s record is much exterminated.... In November 1991, again, a own community values – human rights, better than those of some APEC countries. demonstration for independence was democracy, environmentalism – in order to Indeed, much to the chagrin of the Indo- crushed in blood. do business with our “fellow” members. nesian government, the APEC summit has Diplomatically, Indonesia – with the helped to focus attention on various human- Timorese “thorn in the foot” – is one of the rights abuses there. Supporters of East concrete examples of the perverse links EVENTS IN THE Timor’s right to self-determination have also between commerce, diplomatic relations and taken advantage of the international spot- human rights.... UNITED STATES light; East Timor was illegally annexed by For this society in Montreal, it is not Indonesia in 1976 and its people have been good business to let it be known that heli- subjected to appalling abuses, including copters made here are used in massacres of CIA ADMITS BACKING massacres. civilians in Java and in Timor.... SUHARTO REGIME Prime Minister Chrétien rightly raised Indonesia is a dictatorship, intransigent the issue of human rights in his talks with like all dictatorships. But it pretends to Publico, 31 October 1994. Translated from Indonesian President Suharto. He should do civilize, modernize, develop. It exploits Portuguese the same during his visit to Vietnam, which Timor, it builds roads – this was never done According to the Los Angeles Times, the starts today.... by the Portuguese.... Its Islam is not aggres- US Government has acknowledged for the The more business Canada does with sive. Briefly, it has “modernist” ambitions – first time that it carried out large-scale un- Asia, the more human-rights practices there without believing for a second in democracy. dercover operations in Indonesia during the Page 138 East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994.

1950s, to curb the communist influence seen a partnership with Pertamina, Indonesia’s by taxpayers in the United States. The US in Sukarno’s country. state-owned energy company When Roy continues to vote for World Bank loans to According to a 600 page report published Huffington sold Huffco to a Taiwanese Indonesia at the rate of $1.6 billion a year, this month by the Secretary of State, the consortium in 1990 it was worth an esti- despite a recent law requiring that countries Eisenhower administration secretly helped mated $650 million. Michael Huffington, report their military budget and military the anti-communist rebels who opposed who was vice president and vice chairman of holdings in the economy which Indonesia Sukarno. Huffco from 1978 to 1990, took his $70 does not. The administration continues to In 1958, Secretary of State John Foster million cut and ran. He first ran for the sell weapons to Indonesia, but it did re- Dulles concluded that the first President of House of Representatives, spending a record cently turn down a proposed sale of F-5 Indonesia could not be trusted and was vul- $5.4 million to win a seat in 1992. Now, in warplanes on human rights grounds. Inter- nerable to “communist thinking.” his Senate race, he’s setting more records. estingly, Huffington’s rival, Sen. Dianne The CIA, therefore, started to secretly So what’s the problem? Feinstein (D), has fought hard, but so far supply and support the military anti- unsuccessfully, on behalf of a Torrance What’s wrong with this? After all, most communist rebels in the islands of Sumatra aircraft company to reverse that decision. countries have a state-owned energy com- and Sulawesi while, officially, the US kept When Michael Huffington ran for Con- pany, which forms partnerships with for- up its normal relations with the Jakarta gress in 1992, he lambasted his rival in the eign firms and share profits from natural authorities. primary, Robert Lagomarsino, for backing resources. But as we learned while conduct- In 1959, when it became apparent that the sale of surveillance equipment to ing research for our recent report ‘Financing the rebellion would get nowhere, Washing- China’s dictators after the Tiananmen Repression,” the Indonesian Army controls ton turned its support to the Indonesian Square massacre. How does Huffington large sectors of the economy, including Per- Army, in the hope that the country’s mili- square that principled stance with his own tamina and the primary industries on East tary leaders would counteract Sukarno’s personal profiting from an alliance with Timor. Indonesia invaded in 1975 and still alleged communist leanings. Indonesia’s dictatorship? occupies it in defiance of the United Na- The report mentioned in yesterday’s Los From our perspective, money taken from tions. Top officers serve in the management Angeles Times only refers to activities until the Indonesian people, in a theft subsidized or state-owned and even private businesses, 1960, and reveals no evidence that the US by the American people, is now being used and skim off money both for their private was involved in the 1965 coup that brought to fund a Senate campaign that is “a spiri- profit and to pay and arm troops. The General Suharto to power. tual quest.” We’d like to see Huffington’s troops are used to attack workers bargaining campaign coffers impounded as illegal plun- for pay raises, and to close newspapers that der, and held in trust for Indonesia until it WHERE DID HUFFINGTON’S write about the military. becomes a democracy. FORTUNE COME FROM? Pertamina was directly controlled by the Army from its establishment in 1968 until Caleb Rossiter and Alan Kronstadt are, California Senate candidate’s wealth 1988, when a civilian head was appointed. director and research, assistant, respec- came from an Indonesian company – run Yet Pertamina’s profits continue to be tively, at the Project on Demilitarization and by the oppressive army channeled to the Army through the payment Democracy in Washington. Christian Science Monitor, Nov. 7, 1994. By of “directors’ fees” to generals. A spokes- Caleb Rossiter and Alan Kronstadt. The man for Huffington told us that “one can’t INTERCHURCH SERVICE same article appeared in the San José Mer- say at any given time what kind of govern- REMEMBERS CURRENT cury-News a few days earlier. ment there is” in Indonesia. It is unlikely that Huffington didn’t know how crucial STRUGGLE IN EAST TIMOR MICHAEL Huffington is making na- Pertamina was to the armed forces and how tional headlines by spending $25 million of New York Conference Linkage Edition - important they were to keeping order so United Church News, A Publication of the his own money to win a seat in the Senate. Pertamina and Huffco could operate. But is it really his money to spend? United Church of Christ. Vol. 10, No. 10, Huffco administrators certainly knew December 1994. [Abridged] Looking at where it came from, we think something about the need to control dissent not. We think it belongs to the people of in Indonesia. The company illegally ex- Over 80 participants at an interfaith ser- Indonesia, and that it was taken from them ported shock batons, billy clubs, and hand- vice in November in New York City, called at gunpoint by military dictators who cuffs to Indonesia in the 1980s, as reported on President Clinton to include self- teamed up first with Mr. Huffington’s fa- by the Wall Street Journal and confirmed in determination for the people of East Timor ther, and then with Huffington himself. Commerce Department documents. Huffco in his recent discussions with the Indonesian This partnership in the natural gas busi- admitted the violation and paid a $250,000 Government. The service, held at the Chapel ness was a winner for both parties. Huffing- fine. In his recent appearance on ‘Larry of the Church Center for the United Na- ton got rich enough to overwhelm political King Live,” Huffington claimed these items tions, commemorated the more than 200 opponents with television ads; the dictators were exported to Huffco’s own employees peaceful mourners killed by Indonesian were able to finance troops who repressed for their security, and not to the Indonesian soldiers in 1991 as they gathered at Santa demands for human rights. The losers in this armed forces or police. Cruz cemetery in Dili, East Timor. deal were 2 00 million Indonesians, who Held for the third year, the service pro- continue to suffer under brutal military rule Principle, or profit vides an opportunity for members of the - and American taxpayers who subsidized In fairness, the Huffingtons are not the U.S. faith community and U.N. diplomatic the deal through the World Bank. only ones who have turned a blind eye to missions representatives “to express The key to Huffington’s wealth is Indonesia’s military. The World Bank has solidarity with Christians in East Timor,” Huffco, the production company his father, loaned Indonesia’s dictators $13 billion over said interfaith service organizer Max B. geologist Roy Huffington, formed with the past decade. The energy sector has more Surjadinata, minister of Mount Vernon Texas investors after discovering natural gas of these funds than any other, so Huffco Heights UCC and long-time opponent of the in Indonesia in 1968. In 1971 Huffco formed and the Indonesian military were subsidized Indonesian invasion of East Timor. Participants urged support of the Catholic East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. Page 139 urged support of the Catholic Church in goes beyond stage-managed events. The 3. That Jakarta grant access to an inde- East Timor, which calls on the Indonesian thousands of journalists in Jakarta this week pendent and impartial mission with government to reduce troop levels and co- cannot but notice that they are in a military the aim of conducting a serious inves- operate with the U.N. Secretary General, dictatorship which tramples on the human tigation into the Santa Cruz massa- Portugal and the East Timor resistance rights of its own citizens and brutally and cre.” movement in negotiating a settlement. illegally a neighboring country. They also asked Clinton to “remind Mr. Surjadinata is familiar with occupa- Although some of the media coverage is President Suharto” about long-serving, eld- tion forces. Born in Indonesia, his father excellent, it often distorts the essential na- erly Indonesian political prisoners, some of was imprisoned and executed by Japanese ture of East Timor as a separate country whom continue to face the death penalty occupational forces during World War II. He invaded by Indonesia. Use the opportunity after 30 years in jail, and to “exert pressure is dismayed that his government has become to write letters to the editor, stressing that upon Jakarta” to recognize the right of In- an occupation force by imposing Islamic there more than conventionally-defined donesian workers to organize and to free culture and customs on the mostly Catholic “human rights” at stake. imprisoned labor union leaders. East Timorese, while detaining residents for Twenty-nine East Timorese peacefully Although the demonstrators have not yet political reasons. He points out that little is protest inside U.S. embassy compound requested political asylum in the United known about the situation because Indone- Early in the morning of Saturday, No- States, U.S. officials have stated that the sia has imposed a total news blackout. He vember 12, East Timorese students and embassy “as a matter of law and practice” says over one third of the population since workers arrived at the U.S. embassy com- did not grant asylum in Indonesia. 1975 has been killed by the military. pound in Jakarta. Jumping out of taxis from Indonesian government representatives Few churches world-wide have spoken various directions, they climbed the 8-foot have offered them “safe passage” and no out about the issue, he says. Among those spiked fence surrounding the compound, prosecutions, but the Timorese are under- who have is the California-Nevada Annual unfurling banners and shouting slogans for standably skeptical. On the same day the Conference of the United Methodist independence. Forty-eight hours later, they Timorese climbed the fence, Indonesian Church, who has called on the President of remain peacefully on a parking lot inside the officials violated their promise of openness the U.S. and U.S. Congress to take steps to compound. Indonesian soldiers and police of East Timor by arresting two American halt U.S. military aid and assistance, eco- have not threatened them with arrest, and journalists (see below). The 19-year occupa- nomic aid and weapons sales to Indonesia. will not without U.S. permission. The U.S. tion of East Timor is replete with broken For further information on the East currently has “no plans” to remove them, promises and broken bodies. Timor situation and ways for churches to and Warren Christopher has expressed The students, who have vowed not to support resolution of the conflict, or copies “sympathy.” Sunday, they received some leave until their demands are met, are asking of the worship service, contact Mr. Surjadi- food and water for the first time. to meet with Secretary of State Christopher nata at (914)668-7987. The protesters are East Timorese resi- or President Clinton. They turned down a dent in various parts of Indonesia. In addi- meeting with U.S. Ambassador Barry. Sun- ACTION ALERT FROM THE tion to the 29 who made it into the com- day evening, the military erected barriers to EAST TIMOR ACTION pound, about 49 others were arrested at the make it harder for them to speak with the NETWORK/US railroad station and elsewhere in Jakarta media. before they got to the Embassy. Although Please contact the U.S. and Indonesian November 14, 1994. some of these have been sent far from Ja- governments (below) and make the fol- karta under military escort, where they lowing points: EAST TIMORESE SEEK REFUGE AT could be maltreated or worse. Fourteen are 1. The requests that the demonstrators are unaccounted for and could be “disap- US EMBASSY DEMAND THAT U.S. making of President Clinton are emi- peared.” GOVERNMENT SUPPORT SELF- nently reasonable and should be met. The East Timorese in the embassy park- DETERMINATION. They do not require the United States to ing lot are calling for self-determination for do anything at variance with stated pol- East Timor and the withdrawal of Indone- THERE MUST BE NO REPRISALS icy to support human rights in East sian troops. Their written petition to Presi- AGAINST THEM OR THEIR FRIENDS. Timor and Indonesia, and to encourage dent Clinton is more limited, asking him On the third anniversary of the Santa dialogue among all parties concerned to “to make use of the great moral Cruz massacre, several events highlight the resolve the political situation in East stature achieved by the United States need for the U.S. and Indonesian govern- Timor. They carry no economic or mili- of America through its condemnation ments to deal seriously with human rights tary cost, but merely ask the President to of the violation of the fundamental and self-determination for East Timor. Al- use his influence and moral authority to rights of human beings and peoples to though most of this Action Alert is con- pressure President Suharto do to things make the following demands of Presi- cerned with the students encamped on the he should be doing anyway. Although it dent Suharto: U.S. embassy grounds, a number of other is not in the demonstrators’ petition, 1. The release of East Timorese Resis- incidents have heightened the tension and ETAN continues to urge President Clin- tance Leader, Kay Rala Xanana Gus- focused more attention on East Timor and ton to include self-determination as well mão, and of all East Timorese political human rights. as human rights in his discussions with prisoners. President Clinton arrived in Indonesia President Suharto. 2. That the President of Indonesia [talk Sunday for bilateral meetings, followed by The East Timorese chose the United with] ... the true representatives of the Tuesday’s APEC trade conference and by a States because Washington has a special People of East Timor, including ... the bilateral meeting with Indonesia’s President responsibility to help end 19 years of East Timorese Church, CNRM, UDT Suharto on Wednesday. Indonesia is receiv- crimes committed against East Timor. In and Fretilin. ing unprecedented attention from the inter- addition to approving the 1975 invasion and national press. To their chagrin, the coverage Page 140 East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. providing most of the weapons used to kill massacre. Sunday began similarly, with a cently cited their visas as a sign of govern- one-third of the East Timorese population 700-strong Mass. Afterwards, several dozen ment openness, but a military officer told in the ensuing genocide, the leader of the marched peacefully, carrying Fretilin flags them yesterday that the East Timor is open “New World Order” has the economic and and banners calling for independence and for “except for you.” (“Openness” does not political clout, and the moral obligation, to the support of President Clinton. include Indonesian journalists: many publi- encourage Indonesia to do the right thing. After the organized march, around a cations have been banned and many report- The demonstrators ended their petition to thousand young East Timorese “rampaged” ers barred from covering the APEC events.) Clinton with: through the streets of Dili, attacking prop- Please contact the Indonesia government “We firmly believe that the ethical erty owned by Indonesians. Cars were and ask that Nairn and Goodman should be concerns which have guided America’s burned, shops, hotels and houses stoned. allowed to travel freely throughout Indone- foreign policy in relation to other Demonstrators threw rocks and bottles at sia and East Timor, as has been promised to countries extend also to Indonesia, and riot police, who responded with tear gas. all foreign journalists during this period. The thus we deposit great hope in the de- There are unconfirmed reports of one or two should not be followed, and their interview- cisive influence which the United deaths from police actions. By evening, the ees must not be arrested or threatened. States of America is able to bring to military had imposed a curfew and restored Contact names and phone numbers: U.S. bear in realizing a solution to the East order. The trigger for the riot may have been Government Timor case which constitutes a fla- a fatal argument, but the causes are deep- President Bill Clinton and Secretary of grant violation of universal principles rooted. State Warren Christopher can be reached and of International Law.” Contact the Indonesian government and care of Ambassador Robert Barry, United ask that no reprisals be taken against East 2. Indonesian military and police must not States Embassy, Jakarta, Indonesia. Tel: Timorese blamed for the uprising, and that enter the embassy compound, although 011-62-21-360-360. Fax 011-62-21-386- threats or random or targeted military re- reporters and attorneys should be able to 2259. venge be prevented. The East Timorese have communicate freely and privately with The U.S. State Department switchboard justified grievances, both against the occupa- the Timorese. American officials can me- is 202-647-4000, fax 202-647-9519. The tion and against the economic control of diate any negotiations between the White House comment line is 202-456- their country by Indonesian military and Timorese and the Indonesian government. 1111. The Congressional switchboard is migrants, which will not go away with a The Timorese should be made as com- 202-224-3121. fortable as possible during their stay, military crackdown. The violence against Contact names and phone numbers: which could be prolonged. Water, food Indonesian property is an understandable Indonesian Government and sanitary facilities should be made demonstration of repressed anger and terror available. They are guests on American from nearly two decades of genocidal occu- The Indonesian Embassy to the United territory and should be treated as such. pation. It cannot be stopped without ad- States dressing the underlying situation. Ambassador Arifin Siregar, 2020 Massa- 3. If any of the demonstrators asks to leave chusetts Ave NW, Washington, DC 20036. Indonesia, the United States government, U.S. journalists Allan Nairn and Amy Tel: 202-775-5200. Fax: 202-775-5365 working with the International Commit- Goodman prevented from entering East tee of the Red Cross, should ensure that Timor Consulates-General of the Republic of In- they can do so safely. Under interna- On the afternoon of November 12, jour- donesia: tional law, East Timorese people are Por- nalists Allan Nairn and Amy Goodman were 3457 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, Calif. tuguese citizens. Since Portugal and In- arrested as they attempted to cross from 90010. Tel: 213-383-5126. Fax: 213-487- donesia do not have diplomatic relations, West Timor (Indonesia) into East Timor at 3971 and since the protestors are in an Ameri- Atambua. They were taken back to Kupang 5633 Richmond Ave., Houston, Texas can facility, the United States is obligated and held for 20 hours before being sent to 77057. Tel: 713-785-1691 Fax: 713-780- to transport them to a third country Jakarta and released. It is still unclear what 9644 where Portugal can assume responsibil- the charges against them were, as different Two Illinois Center, Suite 1422, 233 ity. officials, and different times, have changed North Michigan Ave., Chicago, Ill. 60601. 4. All 49 East Timorese arrested en route to the story. Tel: 312-938-0101 Fax: 312-938-3148 the demonstration must be freed and The arrests mark three years after the 1111 Columbus Ave., San Francisco, fully accounted for. They have done pair was forced to flee East Timor after Calif. 94133. Tel: 415-474-9571 Fax: 415- nothing that could be considered a crime being severely beaten during the Dili massa- 441-4320 – they only tried to peacefully appeal to cre, when more than 271 East Timorese Five East 68 Street, New York, NY the conscience of the government of the people were killed by Indonesian troops 10021. Tel: 212-897-0600 fax: 212-570- United States. No reprisals should be firing on a peaceful demonstration. The New 6206 taken against them or any of the partici- York-based reporters’ award-winning pants in the demonstration. documentation of the massacre helped to U.S. ACTIVISTS SUPPORT The Embassy sit-in was the first of sev- reawaken international awareness to the EMBASSY ongoing genocide in East Timor. eral events in the last two days which have DEMONSTRATORS forced the APEC leaders to pay attention to Although they are now free to cover the APEC conference, Nairn and Goodman are East Timor and human rights. This back- NEW YORK, Nov. 14 (IPS) - U.S. activ- planning to go to East Timor after the con- drop includes: ists supporting East Timor’s struggle for ference to cover the situation there. When self-determination Monday called on Wash- Peaceful protests and disorder in Dili, the Indonesian Consulate in New York is- ington to protect a group of Timorese dem- East Timor sued their journalist visas last week, they onstrators who breached the U.S. Embassy On Saturday, November 12, there were were told that East Timor was open for all in Jakarta. quiet observances of the anniversary of the foreign journalists. The Jakarta Post re- East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. Page 141

The U.S. offices of the East Timor Ac- TIMOR NETWORK SAYS ETAN/US was founded following the tion Network (ETAN) called on the U.S. November 12, 1991 massacre of over 271 government to ensure that 29 East Timorese CLINTON STATEMENT people in Dili, East Timor s capital. students and workers who broke into the REPRESENTS A ETAN/US supports genuine self- Jakarta compound would be protected from STEP FORWARD determination and human rights for the peo- reprisals by Indonesia. ple of East Timor in accordance with the ETAN also warned that some 49 other UN Charter and pertinent General Assem- Timorese failed to breach the compound’s EXPRESSES FEARS FOR EMBASSY bly and Security Council resolutions. To- security and that 14 were unaccounted for PROTESTERS ward that end ETAN envisions a limited and may have been ‘disappeared’ by Indo- PRESS RELEASE from ETAN/US, Nov. 15. period of autonomy leading to an interna- nesian security forces. The East Timor Action Network tionally supervised referendum on inde- “We expect the embassy to protect the (ETAN) said today that President Clinton’s pendence. demonstrators and their supporters whether recent statement calling for greater auton- they remain on embassy grounds or leave,” omy for East Timor represents a step for- US CONGRESSMEN said Charles Scheiner, the U.S. coordinator ward in U.S. policy, but does not go far SUPPORT EMBASSY of ETAN. enough. The demonstrators want U.S. President “For a long time the U.S. government has STUDENTS Bill Clinton, who is in Bogor, Indonesia for said that it is willing to raise human rights Press Release from offices of Representa- the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation for East Timor. President Clinton has now tives Tony P. Hall and Frank R. Wolf (APEC) summit meeting, to pressure Indo- said that the political structure of East nesian President Suharto to meet with East Timor is on the table,” said John M. Miller November 15, 1994 Timor’s resistance leaders. of ETAN. Contact: Michael Gessel (Hall) 202-225-6465 They are also pleading for Clinton’s help “However, this falls far short of letting David Whitestone (Wolf) 202 225-5136 to release jailed resistance leader Xanana the East Timorese exercise their right to hold Gusmão and other Timorese and Indonesian Congressmen Press Clinton on Safety of a referendum on their future status, allowing Demonstrating East Timorese Students, political prisoners. them to end 19 years of brutal military oc- Indonesia invaded East Timor, then a Call for Specific suggestions on Eve of cupation.” Meeting With Indonesia’s Suharto Portuguese colony on the verge of inde- ETAN also expressed concerns about the pendence, in 1975 and annexed it a year safety of the 29 East Timorese protesters WASHINGTON – Reps. Tony P. Hall later. Some 200,000 Timorese were killed in now camped at the U.S. embassy in Jakarta, (D-Ohio) and Frank R. Wolf (R-Va.) called Jakarta’s ensuing crackdown. as well as the 49 who were arrested on their on President Clinton to insist on involve- Scheiner said the United States “bears way to the embassy. ment of the International Committee of the special responsibility...for the suffering in “We understand that the U.S. embassy Red Cross (ICRC) and independent lawyers East Timor over the past 19 years. It has has threatened to put them out and into the to help guarantee the safety and well-being actively assisted Indonesia’s occupation of hands of the Indonesian military once Presi- of the 29 East Timorese students conducting East Timor by approving the invasion and dent Clinton leaves Indonesia and the inter- a sit-in in a parking lot at the United States providing most of the weapons used to kill national press corps packs up,” said Charles embassy in Jakarta. The Congressmen also one-third of (its) population.” Scheiner, national coordinator of ETAN. expressed concern for other East Timorese Clinton promised before arriving in Indo- “This runs counter to assurances given people detained in recent days, including 40 nesia that he would broach the matter of by President Clinton and senior administra- others arrested in Jakarta and dozens more East Timor privately with Suharto this tion officials,” Scheiner added. “The U.S. detained in protests in East Timor itself. week, while other APEC governments – government is responsible for anything that “All non-violent detainees should be im- notably Canada, Japan and New Zealand – happens to the East Timorese. The U.S. mediately released,” said the two House also discuss the issue. should insure safe passage to Portugal, members in a joint statement. “All detainees But the Timorese cause, which has at- where the government has offered political should have access to lawyers of their own tracted scant media attention in recent years, asylum.” choosing. The ICRC should be allowed to gained a big boost from the highly visible The United Nations does not recognize visit the detainees without delay.” protest going on now in the Jakarta U.S. Indonesian rule over East Timor because the Clinton, currently in Indonesia for the Embassy. East Timorese have never been allowed to Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Embassy officials said they had no plans vote on their status as required by the UN summit, will meet with Indonesian President to remove the demonstrators, while U.S. Charter and resolutions. Suharto during a state visit in Jakarta on Secretary of State Warren Christopher said At his press conference on the evening of Wednesday, November 16. he was “sympathetic” with their cause. November 15 in Jakarta, President Clinton “The Indonesian government should John Miller, a spokesman for ETAN, said in response to a question: know that the outside world will be closely said, “This should be a wake-up call for “The position of the United States monitoring the late of these people after the President Clinton.” and the position that I have held since APEC summit is over,” said Hall, who has 1991, since long before I held this of- led Congressional efforts on the human fice, is that the people of East Timor rights situation in East Timor since the should have more say over their own 1970s. “Given the long history of neglect of local affairs. I have already spoken East Timor, we can’t just rely on vague with President Suharto in the past in assurances.” our personal meetings and it will come Before the APEC meeting, Hall and Wolf up again in our discussion tomorrow.” organized a letter to Clinton, signed by 67 House members, which said that an “au- thentic resolution of the East Timor situa- Page 142 East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. tion would be in the interest not only of demonstration contact: Rev. John Chamber- scale a similar fence at the U.S. embassy in overall U.S.-Indonesian political and eco- lain, (415)731-4760 or (415)474-6219.) Jakarta on the eve of President Clinton’s nomic relations but also in the interests of Both the San Francisco and Washington arrival for an economic summit. Indonesia’s international relations more groups demanded that the safety of the 29 Their action inspired Chamberlin and generally.” demonstrators at the U.S. Embassy in Indo- other local clerics from the East Timor Reli- “The East Timor issue has already cast a nesia, as well as other East Timorese de- gious Outreach to imitate their protest. Five shadow on the APEC summit. That is a tained in recent days, be guaranteed. At least were arrested when they refused to leave the dramatic demonstration of the need for a 40 others were arrested in Jakarta and hun- Indonesian consulate grounds on November resolution of the East Timor situation,” the dreds more seized in protests in East Timor 16. “I didn’t want to impale myself on the two lawmakers said. itself. spikes, though that would surely have made Wolf said, “Even though the controlling a dramatic news story,” Chamberlin said. “I party in Congress has changed, Congress’s TWO ARRESTED IN EAST TIMOR do want to raise the visibility of this issue.” attention to these issues will not. The U.S. PROTEST AT INDONESIAN It’s an uphill battle. Indonesia has kept Congress will continue to speak out EMBASSY IN WASHINGTON, DC the lid clamped down tight on the former strongly against human rights violations of PRESS RELEASE from ETAN/US, Novem- Portuguese colony it invaded and annexed in the East Timorese.” ber 16, 1994 1975. Despite United Nations resolutions Hall added, “The Administration must condemning the move, the authoritarian use the meeting with President Suharto to Two demonstrators, encouraged by 15 regime of Indonesian President Suharto con- press the Indonesians to respect human supporters, were arrested today for kneeling tinues to insist that East Timor is now part rights of the East Timorese and allow the in front of the entrance to the Embassy of of the vast archipelago nation. East Timorese to determine their own fu- Indonesia to the United States. The protest- Indonesian consul general Ahmad Fauzie ture.” ers were calling for an end to Indonesia’s Gani confirmed that the demonstration in “The United States shouldn’t be occupation of East Timor. San Francisco had been reported to Jakarta. conducting business as usual with Brad Simpson, 22, and Art Laffin, 40, He said it was the first time that arrests Indonesian leaders while their forces are were taken away by Washington, DC police have occurred on the grounds of the consu- conducting their usual business of officers at 12:50 pm. late. “They entered into our territory,” he oppressing the East Timorese people.” Hall The protesters, echoing demands of East explained. Asked about the prospects for and Wolf said. Timorese youth camped at the U.S. Em- East Timorese independence, he was dis- bassy in Jakarta, called on the Indonesian missive. “I don’t think so,” he said. SEVEN ARRESTED IN and United States governments to arrange an PROTESTS IN SAN Home to the fourth largest population on internationally-supervised vote by the East earth, Indonesia is also the world’s biggest FRANCISCO AND Timorese. They also demanded that both Muslim nation. East Timor, which for 300 WASHINGTON governments guarantee the safety of the 29 years was a colony of Portugal, remains demonstrators at the U.S. Embassy in Indo- Catholic. The East Timorese cause got a Press release from ETAN/US, Nov. 16. nesia, as well as other East Timorese de- macabre boost in visibility three years ago tained in recent days, including 40 others Police arrested seven demonstrators to- when Indonesian troops opened fire on arrested in Jakarta and dozens more seized day as they attempted to discuss East unarmed demonstrators at the Santa Cruz in protests in East Timor itself. Timor policy with officials at Indonesian cemetery in Dili, East Timor’s capital. Before the demonstration, Art Laffin of diplomatic sites in Washington, DC, and San Videotapes of the bloody scene - in ETAN/DC said “conservatively speaking, Francisco, CA. which more than 100 were killed - were 200,000 East Timorese people have been Five people, including several clergy, smuggled out of the country. The tapes, killed as a result of Indonesia’s illegal inva- were arrested at Indonesia’s San Francisco showing dying Timorese reciting the rosary sion, many by U.S. supplied weapons. The consulate when they tried to discuss the in Portuguese, were played and replayed on killing has to stop.” demands and safety of the East Timorese television in heavily Catholic Portugal and The embassy is located at 2020 Massa- now camped at the U.S. Embassy to Indo- recalled the ex-colonial cultural ties linking chusetts Ave. in Washington. nesia in Jakarta. the widely separated lands. Eventually, In San Francisco, two dozen people PROTESTS IN S.F., JAKARTA public outrage over the massacre spurred demonstrated outside the consulate while HIGHLIGHT HUMAN RIGHTS efforts by the Lisbon government to pro- five asked to come inside to discuss the fate mote East Timor’s independence. of the Jakarta protesters. They climbed over Indonesia: East Timorese face brutal The movement spread to the U.S. in part the fence, when Indonesians diplomats re- repression from Suharto’s regime through Portuguese American communities fused to let them inside the consulate By John Roemer, SF (San Francisco) and in part via persistent advocates in the grounds. The protest, organized by East Weekly, November 23, 1994 East Timor Action Network. Non-Catholic Timor Religious Outreach, also supported religious leaders like Chamberlin – who was As he struggled over the eight-foot black the demands of the East Timorese for self- joined in his vault over the consulate fence iron fence at the Indonesian consulate on determination and freedom for political by a Jesuit priest and others – have also Columbus Avenue last week, the Rev. John prisoners. taken up the cause. Chamberlin thought about the frightened Arrested in San Francisco were Steve Chamberlin returned from a fact-finding East Timorese people had met on a recent Kelly, a Jesuit priest; Ken Butigan, an in- trip to East Timor only days before the trip to that distant South Pacific island. structor at the Franciscan School; John protest. He saw a virtual police state with a Despite harsh repression by the Indone- Chamberlain, Methodist Minister; Adrienne terrorized populace afraid to interfere when sian army, East Timor resistance fighters are Fong, a lay leader at First St. Johns armed troops dragged suspected resistance struggling to turn the world’s attention to Methodist Church; and Dale Lovett of the members away. Torture and “disappear- their cause. They scored a publicity coup East Timor Action Network/San Francisco. ances” are common. An estimated 200,000 November 12 when 29 of them managed to (For more information about the San people have been killed by the Indonesian Francisco demonstration contact: Rev. John East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. Page 143 army since the 1975 invasion. The figure LAWMEN GATHER TO PROTECT nomic Cooperation forum should not be one constitutes a third of East Timor’s pre- INDONESIANS? more occasion for the Indonesian govern- invasion population. ment to ride roughshod over human beings “I’ve been to El Salvador and Nicaragua United Methodist Review, December as they did in their UN-denounced invasion, during the worst of their troubles and I 16,1994 The Cal-Nevada UM Connection, using US-supplied weapons and supplies, never saw a level of fear and repression as Social Action of the former Portuguese island colony of bad as in Timor,” Chamberlin said. “It’s just [This article also appeared in the Winter East Timor. There Indonesians killed more staggering, and it makes any conversation 1994-95 issue of Sequoia, the journal of the than 200,000 people, more than a third of extremely difficult. You don’t know who Northern California Ecumenical Council. the population. It was a greater slaughter might be listening in.” The events described took place on Novem- proportionally than Pol Pot’s in Cambodia. Chamberlin described the island as a tiny ber 16, 1994.] Sequoia news magazine documented in tropical backwater with beautiful beaches By Bob Forsberg Summer 1994 the efforts of the Indonesian backed by high, rugged mountains. Dili, the lobbyists in Washington and the military capital, was home to some 11,000 people The State Department had three security contractors who sell weapons to Indonesia before the Indonesian invasion. Since Jakarta officers in plain clothes. The San Francisco to keep the slaughter in East Timor out of instituted a policy to dilute the native popu- Police Department had eight or more offi- the American media. But increasingly there lation with “transmigrants” from other is- cers present. The Indonesian Consulate had are ‘more and more journalists who are ask- lands, the city has grown to 100,000 – one security guard and about half a dozen ing questions and challenging the Indonesian mostly non-Timorese who control the econ- other staff people who eventually emerged government to respect human and to allow omy and all institutions, with the exception from their doubly secure gates and heavy an election in East Timor. of the local Catholic hierarchy. wooden doors. What occasioned all this Many church people have also lifted up The only authority not under Suharto’s gathering of busy officials from their other this issue: Bishop Melvin Talbert, the Cali- thumb remains Bishop Carlos Filipe Belo, duties? fornia-Nevada annual Conference, the Pres- the outspoken Catholic leader who, in a It was the quiet presence of about two bytery of San Francisco, the General As- brief conversation with Chamberlin, empha- dozen church folk, with signs reading “Free sembly of the Presbyterian Church USA, sized the long-term danger to eventual East Timor!” and “Protect the 29 Students among others. Concern about retaliation Timorese independence posed by the in Jakarta.” Would that have made you against Indonesian Protestant churches and transmigrants. nervous? missionaries has been a strong factor regard- Bishop Belo has said that the best option Despite the sign on the front door saying ing church action critical of Indonesia. for East Timor would be a referendum held “Office Hours - 9 to 5 daily,” nothing hap- The five “fence-climbers” were finally under U.N. auspices so that the natives pened when they rang the bell on the out- able to speak briefly with the Indonesian could freely choose independence or integra- side of the eight-foot black metal gates. Sev- vice-consul, but he then gave the signal to tion with Indonesia. But if a future plebi- eral people who came to get urgently needed the police to arrest them for trespassing on scite were manipulated so that transmigrants visas were also frustrated by the lack of the Consulate property. were allowed to vote, the results would response to the bell. A paddy wagon arrived, took the five favor Jakarta. We could see people inside, peeking out, away, and they were released with a citation “Until there is a vote, the place will re- but no one answered the bell. Finally, after at the police station. main a tinderbox,” said Chamberlin. “The about a half-hour or so, a number of the They found out later that 50 or more people have been reduced to silence and group climbed over the gate and stood in the people gathered the same day at the Indone- smoldering rage. There is no work for the open-air vestibule area in front of the sian Embassy in Washington. Two of them youth. They tell you they want to talk and wooden doors, where another bell went were arrested. they know they’ll be picked up afterwards unanswered after many tries also. There are echoes here, one can hope, of by the army and they just don’t care.” Apparently, it was the presence of these the arrests of quiet, non-violent protestors While in Jakarta on November 15, Presi- five people, Father Stephen Kelly, a Jesuit; at the South African embassy in Washing- dent Clinton called on the Suharto regime to Pastor John Chamberlin of First St. John’s ton, DC that preceded the glorious day of allow East Timorese more of a say in their UMC, along with two parishioners, Adri- elections that brought Nelson Mandela to own affairs. In San Francisco, East Timor enne Fong and Dale Lovett; and Ken Buti- govern that nation today. Action Network members were exultant. gan, a teacher of non-violence for justice, Groups or individuals who wish to get “This is a qualitative leap forward from that caused the sidewalk and street gathering more information about the East Timor previous U.S. demands for improved human of police, State Department, and consular situation can contact the East Timor Reli- rights in East Timor,” said ETAN leader staff. gious Outreach group at 1600 Clay St., San Anne Treseder. “It gets to the heart of what Officer F. Machi was the first to arrive. Francisco, CA 94109. The phone is (415) we’re seeking - self-determination.” His question was: “What are you doing 474-6219. here? What do you want?” They explained But in an ominous development Novem- Bob Forsberg is acting editor of Sequoia ber 19, the Indonesian government an- to him what the group had hoped to say to the Consul, that they were concerned about magazine and a member of the San Fran- nounced that foreign reporters would be cisco Presbytery Peacemaking Committee. barred from East Timor. Human rights the 29 East Timorese students taking asy- groups feared the move meant a new, more lum in the U.S. Embassy parking lot in Ja- violent crackdown would be hidden from the karta, and the four dozen other students world. who had been arrested at the railway sta- tion, many not heard from since. They wanted the Consul to phone his government superiors to express the concern of U.S. citizens that the visit of our Presi- dent to Indonesia fore the Asia Pacific Eco- Page 144 East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994.

ACTION UPDATE FROM later, they remain peacefully inside the After the organized march, around a compound, intent on continuing their pro- thousand young East Timorese “rampaged” THE EAST TIMOR test until resistance leader Xanana Gusmão through the streets of Dili, attacking prop- ACTION NETWORK is released. “He is the only person who can erty owned by Indonesians. Cars were represent us to deal with the Indonesian burned, shops, hotels and houses stoned. November 19, 1994, Abridged government for the independence of East Demonstrators threw rocks and bottles at Timor,” their spokesperson said. police, who responded with tear gas. There EAS T TIMORESE CONTINUE TO SIT- The U.S. has “no plans” to remove them. are reports of several deaths from police IN AT US EMBASSY President Clinton has said that “we have actions. By evening, the military had im- PROTESTS ROCK EAST TIMOR! been assured that there will be no retribution posed a curfew. The trigger for the riot was Recent events have thrust East Timor to against them for exercising their political the killing of an East Timorese man by an center stage. Over the past week, East expression and bringing their concerns to us Indonesian transmigrant in a personal argu- Timorese youth have seized the opportu- ... I feel comfortable that the commitment ment, but the causes are deep-rooted. nity presented by the APEC summit and we’ve received will be honored.” Others are The rioting continued on Monday and President Clinton’s trip to Indonesia to not so certain and are concerned for their Tuesday. At least 260 people have been demonstrate that they are determined to be safety. arrested. The University in Dili has been free. Twenty-nine East Timorese remain The protesters remain on a parking, lot in closed. The military is going house to house camped at the U.S. embassy in Jakarta, and difficult conditions. They have received seizing people for questioning. Demonstra- East Timorese youth have engaged in often limited food and water and have no shelter tions and arrests have also taken place in angry protests in Dili and elsewhere in East or sanitary facilities. They have been al- other parts of East Timor. After several Timor. They have captured the world’s lowed to meet with no one but embassy days of quiet, disorder erupted anew on attention and challenge us to intensify pres- officials and are forced to shout to the press Friday, when plainclothed police threw sure on the U.S. and Indonesian govern- across the fence and a cordon of Indonesian stones at soldiers and journalists to inflame ments to deal seriously with human rights military. a peaceful protest into a riot. and self-determination for East Timor. Portugal has offered them transportation The East Timorese have justified griev- With the departure of heads of state and political asylum, and the Indonesian and ances which cannot be cured by military and the international press corps, the U.S. governments have said they will coop- repression. Violence against Indonesian East Timorese people face as serious a erate with this. The demonstrations have so property is an understandable demonstra- threat as at any time in their tragic far refused this offer. tion of repressed anger and terror from history. Your action now can save many In addition to the 29 who made it into the nearly two decades of genocidal occupation. lives! compound, about 50 others were arrested in It cannot be stopped without addressing the Jakarta before they got to the Embassy. underlying situation. The East Timorese broke through Indo- Some of these have been taken far from nesia’s stage-managed APEC extravaganza, U.S. journalists prevented from entering Jakarta, where they could be maltreated. East Timor shattering its carefully crafted image as a Others have been released, while some re- In a show of openness, Indonesia invited nation engaged in orderly development of main in custody or have been re-arrested. banned journalists to come to Indonesia benefit to all. Instead, their actions revealed Although we do not have reliable informa- during APEC. Allan Nairn and Amy Good- a military dictatorship that tramples the tion as to their location or condition, many man were granted visas and told they would human rights of its own citizens and bru- remain in Indonesian military hands, subject be able to travel anywhere, including East tally and illegally occupies a neighboring to torture or worse. Timor. In 1991, Nairn and Goodman were country. ... forced to flee East Timor after being se- President Clinton went to Indonesia for Clinton responded to the pressure gener- verely beaten while more than 271 East four days, intending to pay lip service to ated by their protest by mentioning human Timorese were killed by Indonesian troops human rights. Faced with the embassy pro- rights and East Timor publicly and with firing on a peaceful demonstration. The New tests and upheaval in East Timor, he inched Suharto. Clinton should follow up by asser- York-based journalists award-winning re- U.S. policy a few steps forward. At a press tively involving the U.S. in finding a solu- porting of the massacre helped to reawaken conference he said that “the people of East tion that respects East Timorese self- international awareness to the ongoing geno- Timor should have more say over their own determination and actively supports human cide in East Timor. local affairs,” and he discussed this with rights for the people of East Timor and On the afternoon of November 12, 1994, Suharto. This is the first time a high U.S. Indonesia. The protesters are not asking for Nairn and Goodman were arrested as they official has raised the question of East military intervention, but simply for Clinton attempted to cross from West Timor (Indo- Timor’s political status in even such a mod- to further press President Suharto do to nesia) into East Timor. They were held for erate way. Secretary of State Warren Chris- things he should be doing anyway. topher said that Clinton “made it clear that 20 hours before being sent to Jakarta. On human rights could be a limiting factor” in Peaceful protests and disorder in East Tuesday, the pair tried to fly from Jakarta the US-Indonesia relationship. The first test Timor to Dili, after notifying Indonesian authori- will be how Indonesia responds to the cur- On Saturday, November 12, there were ties. They were forced off the plane in Bali, rent crisis. quiet observances of the anniversary of the and told that they can go anywhere in Indo- East Timorese continue their peaceful 1991 massacre in Dili. Sunday began simi- nesia except East Timor. protest inside U.S. embassy compound larly, with a 700-strong Mass. Afterwards, Protests in the U.S. several dozen marched peacefully, carrying On November 16, activists committed Early on Saturday, November 12, 26 East Fretilin flags and banners calling for inde- nonviolent civil disobedience at the Indone- Timorese students and workers climbed the pendence and for the support of President sian Embassy in Washington and their Con- spiked fence surrounding the U.S. Embassy Clinton. compound in Jakarta, unfurling banners and sulate in San Francisco in support of the shouting slogans for independence. A week students at the US Embassy in Jakarta. Last East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. Page 145 week, memorial services, public meetings, Use the Media as well as representatives from Human and demonstrations took place around the 1) Urge the media to continue covering Rights Watch, and the UN Association. U.S., and hundreds of people called or wrote events at the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta and in Sixty students and faculty of Occidental President Clinton to urge him to support East Timor, and to keep journalists in East College attended. East Timor. ETAN encourages all to keep Timor to report on activities of the Indone- December 2nd, the Border Art Workshop up the letters, phone calls and other pro- sian military and provide some safety for of San Diego is sponsoring a showing of tests. East Timor is at a turning point. the people. East Timorese Art and a presentation by representatives of the East Timor Action WHAT YOU CAN DO 2) Although some of the media coverage has been excellent, it often distorts the es- Network. Urge President Clinton and U.S. officials sential nature of East Timor as a separate Finally, on December 6th, ETAN/LA to: country under military occupation. Write will be both commemorating the anniversary 1) support self-determination for East letters to the editor and call radio talk of the illegal invasion of East Timor and Timorese. The U.S. should be actively in- shows, stressing that more than convention- celebrating Human Rights Day. In the eve- volved in finding a solution that respects ally-defined “human rights” are at stake. ning, the Human Rights Coalition at UCLA has sponsored a Candle Light March for East Timorese self-determination and sup- Demonstrate ports human rights for the people of East Human Rights Day and has asked that a December 7 is the 19th anniversary of representative of the East Timor Action Timor and Indonesia. the Indonesian invasion of East Timor. 2) fully protect the rights of the 29 dem- Network come and speak on the current Demonstrations are planned for Washing- human rights situation in East Timor. onstrators at the Embassy compound. The ton, DC; New York, San Francisco, Los ––––––––––––––––––– Timorese should be made as comfortable as Angeles and Houston, and other cities. possible during their stay, which could be ETAN can help you organize a protest or 14 November 1994 prolonged; they are guests on American educational event in your community that Mr. Sudjono Haridadi territory and should be treated as such. day. They should have access to food, water, Consul General sanitary facilities and shelter. They should Consulate of Indonesia be allowed to meet privately with media, ACTIVITY IN LOS ANGELES 3457 Wilshire Blvd. attorneys and human rights activists. If any From ETAN/LA, Nov. 27 Los Angeles, CA 90010 of the demonstrators asks to leave Indone- Dear Mr. Haridadi: sia, the U.S. government, working with the The level of activity in Los Angeles has International Committee of the Red Cross, been high during November and coming up We have gathered today at the Indonesian should ensure that they can do so safely. to December. Actions focused on the Third Consulate to commemorate the November 3) press Indonesia to account for and free Anniversary of the Santa Cruz Massacre, 12, 1991 Santa Cruz Massacre. We are here the 49 East Timorese arrested en route to continuing until December 6/7 which corre- to pay our respects to the memory of the the demonstration. No reprisals should be spond to the International Human Rights hundreds of East Timorese slaughtered by taken against them or any others involved in Day and the Anniversary of the Invasion of Indonesian troops on that day and of the the demonstration. East Timor by Indonesian forces. over 200,000 East Timorese who have died 4) send observers to East Timor to help On November 10, 25 UCLA students as a result of the 1975 Indonesian invasion protect people there from reprisals by the and faculty commemorated the Santa Cruz and ongoing occupation of the former Portu- Indonesian military, and to make it clear to massacre by viewing the film footage, “Cold guese colony. At the same time, we remem- Suharto that the U.S. will not tolerate Blood” - Amnesty International’s selection ber the well over 15,000 Indonesian soldiers provocations or escalations of violence by as Human Rights Video of the year - and who have died in Your Government’s im- Indonesian troops. discussing the future actions required to moral and illegal campaign to subjugate East bring about self-determination in East Timor. Urge the Indonesian government to: Timor. The events of the last few days–in Ja- 1) start serious negotiations leading to a The 14th of November, over 20 demon- karta and in Dili– demonstrate the absolute referendum on self-determination with the strators gathered at the Indonesian consulate bankruptcy and failure of Your Govern- legitimate leaders of East Timor, including to show solidarity with the East Timorese ment’s policies in East Timor. We call upon Bishop Belo of the Catholic Church and students who had scaled the walls of the Your Government to take the courageous Xanana Gusmão of the National Council of American Embassy in Indonesia, and keep path of reversing its colonial project in East Maubere Resistance. alive the memory of the hundreds fallen in Timor. A good beginning would be to enter 2) fully account for and release anyone the Santa Cruz Massacre in 1991. A letter into immediate negotiations with all ele- arrested for involvement in the U.S. Em- was presented to the consulate from the ments of the East Timorese resistance and bassy demonstration or in the protests in organizers of the demonstration (enclosed to allow for an internationally-supervised East Timor. Their must be no reprisals below). plebiscite on self-determination to take against East Timorese. Threats and random The demonstration was covered by the place in the territory. or targeted military revenge must be pre- Korean Daily News and Pacifica Radio, We look forward to the day when the vented. KPFK. The interviews with the organizers people of East Timor, Indonesia, and the 3) Stop all arrests, torture, and intimida- played the next day, November 15th. United States live together in a world of tion against people of East Timor, and allow Also on November 14th, Dr. Lisabeth peace, absent of repression, militarism and international human rights observers, jour- Ryder represented the East Timor Action exploitation. nalists, and others freedom to travel to and Network in a Human Rights panel at Occi- We would greatly appreciate if you within East Timor to verify that rights are dental College, sponsored by the Amnesty would convey our sentiments to President respected. International student chapter at Occidental Suharto and Foreign Minister Alatas. College. The panel included Michael Davis, Please accept our most cordial and re- Regional Director of Amnesty International, spectful regards. Page 146 East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994.

For the East Timor Action Network of all foreign journalists, the military is taking equipment includes several squadrons of F-5 Los Angeles, revenge against the East Timorese for spoil- fighter aircraft covered by a tripartite deal Dr. Lisabeth Ryder and ing their APEC party. Although the 29 who involving Jordan, the US and Indonesia. Matthew Jardine, Co-Coordinators sat in at the U.S. Embassy compound in He said Clinton had given an undertaking Jakarta are safe in Portugal, dozens more that whenever the equipment is needed it FEINGOLD WRITES CLINTON were arrested in Jakarta, and hundreds in will be supplied because the contracts have East Timor, subject to torture, jailing, and already been signed and both sides are well Russell D. Feingold, Wisconsin worse. aware of their rights and obligations. United States Senate, Washington, DC Report from East Timor and Indonesia Feisal also responded to questions about 20510-4904 arms deals with the UK, saying that this Sunday, December 11, 2:00 pm November 18, 1994 would include the purchase of Scorpion A.J. Muste Memorial Institute tanks, as a follow-up to the purchase of 24 The Honorable William J. Clinton 339 Lafayette St. (cor. Bleecker), Man- Hawk aircraft. He could not say how many The White House Washington, D.C. 20500 hattan tanks would be purchased. Dear Mr. President: Journalists Amy Goodman and Allan I congratulate you on your success during Nairn will speak on their recent trip during the APEC Summit in Indonesia this week. the APEC summit, including their arrest, RESOURCES As you know, despite President Su- banning from East Timor, and subsequent harto’s program to “cleanse” Jakarta of any secret visit there. “undesirables” prior to the Summit, East Also, planning meeting for future ETAN BOOK ON XANANA Timorese activists risked their safety to activities. speak out for human rights during your Please Help Publico, 27 October 1994. Translated from visit. Twenty-nine East Timorese students Your contribution is needed to support Portuguese, Abridged sought refuge in the U.S. Embassy in Ja- our work. Please make checks payable to Lisbon – The first book dedicated to the karta, while hundreds of protestors demon- ETAN. Tax-deductible contributions for Timorese Resistance leader Xanana Gusmão strated in East Timor. The Indonesian secu- ETAN’s educational work can be made is to be launched on 17 November at the rity forces responded with restraint during payable to WESPAC Foundation. Timor Centre in Lisbon. The 350-page your visit, but since you have left there are book, entitled Timor-Leste: um Povo, uma reports that scores of students in Dili have US ASSURES RI OF Patria,” will be presented by Ramos Horta, been rounded up, detained, and, in some MORE ARMS SALES the special representative of the CNRM cases, beaten for their protests. (Maubere Resistance National Council). East Timor’s message has been one Jakarta Post, 18 November and Kompas, 21 In addition to many photographs, inter- which is basic to American values: they November 1994. Abridged views, and documents (letters to other want protection of their fundamental human members of the Resistance, the defence rights such as self-determination and free- Jakarta – Armed forces chief General Fei- statement he was prevented from reading dom of speech, association, and religion. sal Tanjung said yesterday that the US has during his trial in Dili, etc.), the volume I hope you will urge President Suharto assured (us) that it will continue to supply includes an autobiographical text which not to punish those who voiced opposition Indonesia with arms in accordance with Xanana Gusmão sent expressly for this to Indonesian policy in East Timor during previous commitments. publication from his prison cell in Cipinang, your visit. President Suharto must under- Washington has agreed that no issue, not where he is serving a 20-year sentence. The stand that if he wants the praise that comes even East Timor, would obstruct its arms 40 type-written pages Xanana managed to with hosting an international economic con- sales to Indonesia, General Feisal told re- pass through Indonesian security cover his ference, then he must accept the condition porters yesterday. His remarks came only life up to 1981, the year in which he became that in the community of nations basic hu- hours after US President, Bill Clinton con- leader of the resistance to East Timor’s man rights should be respected. cluded his state visit to Indonesia. Human occupation. Thank you for your consideration. rights and East Timor featured prominently in his agenda of talks with President Su- See the Xanana section of this edition of East Sincerely, Timor Documents for a translated excerpt Russell D. Feingold, United States Senator harto. General Feisal said Indonesia is now from the book. waiting for delivery of a number of weapons UPCOMING NEW YORK from the US based on previous commit- TECHNOLOGY FOR THE EAST TIMOR EVENTS ments. “They include a number of F-5 fight- RESISTANCE ers through Jordan,” he said. DEMONSTRATION TO FREE EAST Washington last year blocked Indonesia’s Expresso, 29 Oct. By Ivo Dias de Sousa. TIMOR plan to buy the second-hand US-built F-5s Translated from Portuguese. Abridged from Jordan, citing the human rights situa- Wednesday, December 7, 4:30- 6:30 pm Lisbon – Portugal ought to do something tion in Indonesia as the reason. The US Indonesian Consulate, 5 E. 68 St. (at 5th to achieve a greater flow of information from Congress also succeeded in pressuring Ave.), Manhattan East Timor, free from Indonesian control. Washington to end military training for In- On the nineteenth anniversary of the In- The Indonesian authorities to all in their donesian officers as punishment for Indone- donesian invasion of East Timor, we will power to curtail the release of any news sia’s handling of East Timor affairs. peacefully picket the Indonesian embassy in which might cause them embarrassment, Washington and Indonesian consulates Kompas reports General Feisal as say- such as the video footage of the Santa Cruz around the U.S. Join us! ing: massacre. The situation inside East Timor is very “These purchases of military equipment Usually, information from East Timor grave. With the expulsion and departure of are past deals awaiting implementation. The has to be passed from one person to an- East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. Page 147 other, involving great personal risk to the mid-seventies, he shows us how information The program will be available on the carriers. This is the situation in a day and is “filtered” to serve the agendas of those NPR satellite free of charge for public radio age in which technological progress has en- with power. As protection against such stations to download, record and broadcast. abled advanced systems of communication manipulation, Chomsky encourages us to Please encourage your local public radio to reach every corner of the globe. undertake a course of “intellectual self- station to use it: A greater flow of uncensored information defense” and to strive to make the media Tuesday December 13, 1994 14:00 to from Timor would enable wider interna- more democratic. He sketches out a vision 14:59 ET NPR Channel 6 tional coverage of the views of the Resis- of a new society where citizens will actively Allan Nairn is a New York-based free- tance, thereby making the Indonesian lobby- participate in social and political life. lance journalist who has travelled to East ists’ job much harder, especially in the US While the film has been broadcast on nu- Timor three times, and has written about it and Australia. merous foreign networks, no U.S. broad- for the New Yorker, the Nation, Vanity Portugal could contribute, through its caster, including national and regional PBS, Fair, and many newspapers. Government or other institutions, by sup- has agreed to televise the film. In Canada, plying the Timorese Resistance with via the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation only For more information about East Timor: satellite telephone equipment, video cameras accepted to accommodate the film after an East Timor Action Network, PO Box and recorders, computers, modems, and intense lobbying and letter-writing cam- 1182, White Plains, NY 10602, 914-428- other equipment in order to break through paign. A similar campaign is now underway 7299 fax:914-428-7383 the information blockade. in the U.S. Please write to: Mary Jane email:[email protected] McKinven, PBS News and Public Affairs For more information about Alternative CHOMSKY DOCUMENTARY Director, 1320 Braddock Place, Alexandria, Radio: VA 22314. AVAILABLE ON VIDEO David Barsamian, 2129 Mapleton, Boul- der CO 80304. On November 15, more than two years DANISH MAGAZINE Tapes and transcripts of the program are after its theatrical launch, the internationally available from either address. acclaimed documentary film Manufacturing Danish magazine to publish a special is- sue on East Timor. KONTAKT is a Third Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media by REVIEW OF RECENT BOOKS Mark Achbar and Peter Wintonick will be World magazine published by Mellemfolke- released on home video in the United States. ligt Samvirke. KONTAKT will soon pub- ON EAST TIMOR Manufacturing Consent can be ordered in lish a special issue on East Timor with arti- the U.S. by calling 1 800 MANU CON. In cles by Noam Chomsky, Jim Dunn and REVIEW ESSAY: RECENT BOOKS ON Canada call 1 800 668-6322. many others. This special issue will be the first of its kind in Danish. The Editor of INDONESIA’S OCCUPATION OF A companion book to the film which in- EAST TIMOR AND THE EAST cludes a complete transcript of the film, key KONTAKT is Alex Frank Larsen. excerpts from Chomsky’s writings and in- The guest editor of the special issue is TIMORESE STRUGGLE FOR SELF- terviews, historical and biographical mate- Torben Retboll. The price of the special DETERMINATION rial, filmmakers notes, a resource guide and issue is 35 D.Kr. by Matthew Jardine, Bulletin of Concerned more than 270 stills can be obtained by Address: Asian Scholars, Vol. 26, Nos. 1-2, January- calling (212) 564-3730 in the U.S. Please call Mellemfolkeligt Samvirke June 1995, pp. 119-127. KONTAKT 1 800 656-9523 in Canada. For subscription information, contact BCAS Borgergade 10-14 Funny, provocative and surprisingly ac- at 3239 9th Street, Boulder, CO 80304- DK-1300 Copenhagen K, Denmark cessible, Manufacturing Consent explores 2112, USA; phone, (303)449-7439; or Telephone 33 32 62 44 Fax 33 15 62 43 the political life and ideas of Noam Chom- Email, [email protected]. sky, world-renowned linguist, philosopher and activist. In an energetic collage of new APCET VIDEO AVAILABLE McMillan, Andrew. Death in Dili, and original footage, archival gems, imagina- (Rydalmere, NSW, Australia: Hodder & tive graphics and illustrations, the film high- To obtain a copy, please contact Gus Stoughton Pty Limited, 1992), 235 pp. (APCET-Manila), e-mail lights Chomsky’s incisive analysis of the Taylor, John G. Indonesia’s Forgotten media. [email protected]. Length: 15 minutes. Title: “Breaking the Silence.” Cost: $25. War – The Hidden History of East Timor, As a boy during the Depression Chom- (London: Zed Books Ltd., 1991), xiii + sky ran his uncle’s newsstand in Manhat- 230 pp. tan. Today he is a fiercely outspoken critic PROGRAM ON EAST TIMOR and one of America’s leading dissidents. AVAILABLE FOR PUBLIC Turner, Michele. Telling: East Timor, Chomsky focuses on the theory and prac- RADIO STATIONS Personal Testimonies 1942-1992, (New tice of propaganda in democratic societies South Wales, Australia: New South where, he argues, populations are subjected “East Timor: A Case of Genocide” is a Wales University Press Ltd., 1992), xxii + to more subtle forms of ideological control. one-hour radio program based on a talk xvi + 218 pp. He reveals how mainstream news coverage given by journalist Allan Nairn in Portland, Endnote numbers contained in []. of world events mobilizes public support OR last April. It has been recently updated East Timor is the site of one of the great for the “special interests” that dominate and is being distributed as part of the Alter- genocides since World War II. Out of a society through a process he calls the native Radio” series. The program give the population of about 700,000 at the time of “manufacture of consent.” Drawing on history of East Timor and U.S. involvement, East Timor’s brief independence, about wide-ranging and persuasive examples, in- and describes how a grassroots popular 200,000 people have died as a result of the cluding a comparative study of the media movement has helped to begin to change Indonesian invasion and the ensuing war, coverage of Cambodia and East Timor in the U.S. policy. politically-created famine, and the ongoing Page 148 East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. occupation.[1] From the time of the Indone- prehensive works, covering the society from On the international scale, Taylor offers a sian invasion of 7 December 1975 until pre-colonial times through the post-invasion good deal of important information and January 1989 Jakarta kept East Timor era. Taylor, Principal Lecturer in Social valuable analysis about the factors that have closed. Apart from official foreign delega- Sciences at the South Bank Polytechnic in served as the basis for the West’s aiding and tions, some international aid workers, and a London and editor of “Timor Link” for the abetting of Indonesia’s annexation of the limited number of journalists, few were able Catholic Institute of International Relations, former Portuguese colony. Focusing on the to enter the territory. On 27 December has long been associated with the issue of United States, Australia, and the Inter- 1988, the Indonesian authorities accorded East Timor. His most recent book on East Governmental Group on Indonesia (IGGI)– East Timor open territory status following a Timor is meticulously researched and serves until recently a consortium of donor coun- one-day visit in November to the territory as an excellent introduction to the history of tries to Indonesia through which economic by Indonesian President Suharto. Jakarta the territory as well as a valuable resource aid to Jakarta was channeled, Taylor docu- was keen on encouraging foreign and “do- for scholars on the former Portuguese col- ments how the world’s capitalist powers mestic” (Indonesian) investment in its ony. have supported Indonesia’s subjugation of “twenty-seventh province” as well as pre- Although the book was published in East Timor in the pursuit of profit.[5] At senting an image to the outside world of early 1991 and therefore does not include times, however, Taylor’s analysis is a bit normalcy in East Timor. On both accounts, the Santa Cruz Massacre and the important cursory. Jakarta has largely failed in its objectives. developments since, Taylor’s work is a In dealing with the motivations of U.S. The ongoing resistance by the East “must read.” Taylor provides a detailed foreign policy, for example, Taylor stresses Timorese people to Indonesian hegemony analysis of the growth of East Timorese the political economic importance of Indo- and the concomitant political instability in nationalism and the birth of local political nesia, but argues that it was the strategic East Timor as well as the relative poverty parties in the 1974-1975 period. He also location of East Timor (situated on the Om- and isolation of the territory have prevented offers a thorough account of Jakarta’s de- bai-Wetar straits – the quickest and safest the influx of private capital.[2] In terms of stabilization campaign aimed at laying the route for American nuclear-armed subma- international opinion, the “opening up” of foundation for the full-scale Indonesian rines to pass between the Pacific and Indian East Timor has not helped to suppress the invasion. Taylor provides considerable Oceans) that was primary.[6] By making image of the brutal nature of Indonesia’s documentation of the incredible suffering such a distinction between geopolitical and illegal occupation of the territory. brought on the East Timorese people by the political-economic concerns, Taylor implies Since January 1989, a number of Western ongoing “Indonesianization” of the territory. that the two are somewhat unconnected tourists, researchers, human rights investiga- Rather than painting a picture of simple rather than integrally related. tors, journalists, and foreign dignitaries have subjugation, however, Taylor describes the In any case, however, U.S. concerns visited the half-island. The East Timorese East Timorese population’s amazing endur- about control of the Ombai-Wetar straits people have taken advantage of the presence ance and traditional (and novel) forms of were a minor factor at best in informing the of the visitors to publicize their plight. The social organization that have enabled it to U.S. decision to support Suharto’s annexa- October 1989 visit of Pope John Paul II was survive not only the onslaught of Indonesia, tion of the former Portuguese Timor. U.S. such an occasion. The nationalist movement but also the brutality of the Japanese occu- foreign policy in Southeast Asia has long greatly embarrassed Jakarta when dozens of pation in World War II and Portuguese ef- been concerned with maintaining access for pro-independence youths demonstrated at forts to subjugate the territory. In terms of U.S. capital to the resources, labor, and the end of the Pope’s mass in Dili – the Portugal, Taylor includes the post-war era markets of the region and, more specifically, capital of East Timor, resulting in a violent when the returning colonial authorities often Indonesia, what Nixon called “by far the reaction by the Indonesian authorities. Simi- had to employ brutal methods and forced greatest prize in the Southeast Asian larly, the pro-independence march to Dili’s labor to reassert their authority and to re- area.”[7] Washington’s active support for Santa Cruz Cemetery on November 12, build the colonial infrastructure which lay in Jakarta’s imperial ambitions in East Timor 1991 took place during the visit of Peter ruins due to the Japanese occupation and was principally a reward for Suharto’s long Kooijmans, the United Nation’s Special Allied bombings of the principal towns.[3] time cooperation with U.S. political- Rapporteur on Torture. As late as 1959, there was a serious revolt economic and geopolitical objectives in the The march ended in the Santa Cruz Mas- against Portuguese authority in the eastern region. East Timor in and of itself was of sacre in which the Indonesian military killed area of the colony in the Viqueque region relatively marginal concern to U.S. policy- over 250 East Timorese men, women and which the Portuguese quickly and violently makers; Indonesia is what mattered. Ja- children at the end of the peaceful demon- suppressed, killing possibly hundreds of karta’s staunch anti-communism, its general stration. The presence of Western journal- East Timorese.[4] support for U.S. and Western foreign pol- ists and a video of the massacre have re- Taylor provides compelling analyses of icy, strategic location, its wealth of natural sulted in intensified Western public interest Indonesia’s various military campaigns resources and a business climate that made it in East Timor and official scrutiny of Indo- against FALINTIL, the military arm of the very attractive to Western capital virtually nesia’s occupation of the former Portuguese Resistance, and Jakarta’s population control guaranteed U.S. support for Indonesia’s colony. At the same time, there has been a methods. He also examines the East designs on East Timor.[8] significant rise in the amount of written Timorese Catholic Church, showing how it Indonesia’s Forgotten War has ample material on the former Portuguese colony, has evolved from a conservative, pro- footnotes (which are a little sloppy in a few including a number of books that, while Portuguese perspective to an institution that places in terms of the dates), an extensive approaching the issue in very different man- helps produce and sustain East Timorese bibliography and a chronology of major ners, all contribute to our understanding of resistance and nationalism. Taylor’s con- events from 1974-1991 and thus provides the East Timor situation. cluding chapter, in which he speculates on a an excellent resource for further independent Among the books on East Timor, John variety of future scenarios for East Timor research. John Taylor’s style is very acces- Taylor’s Indonesia’s Forgotten War – The and Indonesia, is especially thought- sible and engrossing, so much so that he Hidden History of East Timor stands out as provoking. leaves the reader begging for more. Given certainly among the most engaging and com- that so much has transpired within [and East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. Page 149 around] East Timor since 1991, we can only though the Chinese were a tiny proportion vides the audience with a rather comprehen- hope that Taylor will update Indonesia’s of the population, they played an important sive understanding of the hardships of the Forgotten War with another edition. role in the development of Portuguese 19-year Indonesian occupation and the While John Taylor at times makes use of Timor, dominating commercial activity. In complex ways in which it has affected first-hand accounts, Michele Turner’s Tell- the early days of Jakarta’s war to annex Timorese society. Nevertheless, it is impos- ing: East Timor, Personal Testimonies East Timor the Indonesian military specifi- sible for the reader not to empathize with 1942-1992 is solely a compilation of such cally targeted ethnic Chinese, killing hun- the horrors that have befallen countless East personal narratives. Telling contains the oral dreds.[10] Timorese such as “Jorge,” who was forced histories of numerous people associated The section on the Japanese occupation to join the Indonesian military (ABRI) as a with East Timor over the last 50 years, only of Portuguese Timor also provides new young man in Dili. As a member of the a small selection of the “hundreds” of inter- insight into the situation in the territory at army, “Jorge” was compelled to kill his views that Turner conducted over a ten year the time. Through the oral histories, Turner fellow East Timorese. He also lost many of period. reconstructs the painful experiences of the his friends who were killed by the Indone- The author divides the interviews that East Timorese during the war (about 60,000 sian military. Seeking revenge, “Jorge” and comprise Telling into three sections, each of East Timorese lost their lives as a result of some of his fellow East Timorese ABRI which she prefaces with information that the occupation[11]). Turner includes a num- soldiers would go out at night and kill the helps to link the various interviews and ber of accounts that describe how the Japa- East Timorese informers who would coop- place them within the larger context of East nese military brutally tortured East erate with the authorities by identifying Timorese history. The first section deals Timorese, especially those suspected of individuals who cooperated with the Resis- with the Second World War (1941-August aiding the Australians. Frequently the vic- tance. Now in exile in Australia, he fears 1945) when 20,000 Japanese troops occu- tims died. Although a relatively common that he is going crazy. pied Portuguese Timor, spending much of aspect of the Japanese occupation, Turner “I don’t know how many people I their time pursuing several hundred Austra- points out that Australians were also quite killed. I have been killing since I was lian commandos who inflicted high casual- capable of brutality. Although the vast ma- eighteen. It upsets me when I think ties on them. The majority of the Austra- jority of the population was sympathetic to about these things, that’s why I spend lians fled the island after one year. Small the Australians, there were those who coop- all the weekend and nights at the pub. Australian intelligence groups along with erated with the Japanese, often under coer- When I drink I become calm and things East Timorese trained in Australia, however, cion. In such situations, the Australians don’t worry me. There is no one I can operated in the territory until the end of the “routinely killed Timorese suspected of talk to about it. Other Timorese, a few war. Interviews with former Australian betraying them” (p. 5). As Alfredo Pires, talk with me but many are scared of soldiers and East Timorese elites, many of the son of a colonial official and a Timorese me. Some think I am a crazy man (p. whom worked with the Portuguese admini- mother describes: “There was a saying in 171).” stration, dominate. The second (and the that war, that for punishment the Japanese In most accounts of East Timorese his- briefest) section is entitled “Thirty Years of were bad, very cruel, but for justice the tory, including the post-war era, the role of Peace, August 1945 to August 1975.” It Australians were worse. The Japanese may women is not very evident. Although the covers the time from the return of the Por- torture, punish, try to get you to tell, but it majority of the interviewees in Telling are tuguese administration to the beginning of is not certain you will die, but if the Austra- men, Michele Turner includes the testimo- the East Timorese civil war between the two lians suspect you, you’re dead” (p. 38). nies of a significant number of women, es- major political parties, FRETILIN (the Turner’s intended audience is clearly an pecially in the final section. By doing so, Revolutionary Front for an Independent Australian one. According to Turner, Aus- Turner provides the reader with insight not East Timor) and the UDT (Timorese De- tralia, the only country in the West that has only into the gender-specific types of suf- mocratic Union). The final section deals given de jure recognition to Indonesia’s an- fering many East Timorese women have with the horrific experiences of the East nexation of the former Portuguese colony, endured at the hands of Indonesian soldiers, Timorese since the beginning of Indonesian owes the East Timorese a great debt: “For a but also into the important role that women aggression in East Timor (at the end of the people who liked us and responded so have played in the resistance to Indonesian UDT-FRETILIN war). While the vast ma- bravely to the perils of our soldiers in a time domination and in the construction and re- jority of the interviews are with East of threat, the East Timorese have good rea- production of East Timorese nationalism. Timorese in exile in Australia, there are also son to feel betrayed” (p. xv). In a number of Especially moving is Fatima Gusmão’s ac- a few with former Australian commandos interviews, there is a good deal of Australian count (pp. 128-146), in which she describes from the World War II era as well as one slang that makes the reading a bit arduous at the more than three years that she and her with Robert Domm, the Australian lawyer times for non-Australians, but also adds a husband spent in the mountains with and syndicalist who made headlines after certain authenticity to the accounts. While FRETILIN fleeing the Indonesian military visiting and interviewing Resistance com- the North American reader might find the and recounts the death of three of her chil- mander Xanana Gusmão in his mountain emphasis on Australia somewhat excessive dren. hideout in September 1990. (in the first section), the highly personal Also noteworthy is the mention of the Telling is a valuable contribution to the nature of the interviews is quite engrossing. presence of U.S. personnel (most probably body of research on East Timor. While there The final section, and by far the longest – military) in East Timor in the years follow- have been a number of first-hand accounts about 60 percent of the book – is the most ing the Indonesian invasion. “Edhina” re- of life under the Indonesian occupation, moving as numerous East Timorese in exile ports that “[a] lot of Americans came to Dili they have never been organized in such a attest to the atrocities they themselves have when I was there” (p. 111). “Lourenco” systematic and comprehensive a fashion. experienced and their fellow East Timorese talks about “the Americans who were often Especially novel is the inclusion of testimo- continue to endure. Turner avoids over- in Dili talking to the Indonesians” (p. 116). nies from Portuguese Timor’s ethnic Chi- whelming the reader with account after ac- Most probably, given the extensive links nese population which is largely invisible in count of atrocity to the point of numbness. between the U.S. and Indonesian militaries, much of the literature on East Timor. Al- Instead, the structure of the section pro- such personnel were acting as military advi- Page 150 East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. sors; this is certainly an issue worthy of through the archipelago. While sitting in the Andrew McMillan does not hide the fact further investigation.[12] garden of Dili’s Hotel Turismo during their that his book is a cry for justice for the If there is a notable flaw of the book it is first full day in the territory, the couple people of East Timor and a calling upon the that a number of important voices are not suddenly found themselves in the midst of a West to end its complicity in one of the heard in Telling. By relying on interviews pro-independence demonstration aimed at great crimes of the late twentieth century. with individuals in Australia there is a built- U.S. Ambassador John Monjo who, un- “As I write, I have a feeling that we’re all in bias to the collection. In the section deal- known to the Australian visitors, was on a looking down the barrel of a gun. While our ing with life under the Japanese occupation, “goodwill visit.” After a 40-minute dialogue governments condone the sort of behaviour for example, there are no interviews with with the demonstrators, Monjo left the that’s been seen in East Timor over the last Japanese veterans of the occupation.[13] group of 80-90 youths, abandoning them to couple of decades, and continues to unfold The East Timorese interviewees seem to the savage beatings of the Indonesian sol- day by day, none of us can afford to sleep come most often from the more privileged diers brought in to break up the demonstra- too peacefully” (p. 233). sectors of the colonial society – either the tion. At least two youths died as a result of Like the work of John Taylor and Mich- indigenous East Timorese elite or “civili- their injuries. ele Turner, McMillan’s Death in Dili is zados” who achieved relative status under Grove, a professional photographer, took clearly driven by righteous anger. In the the Portuguese system.[14] Thus, Portugal pictures of the incident and, along with cynical politics of the “New World Order,” – whose behavior in East Timor was often McMillan, quickly fled East Timor and in which the West continues to sacrifice the quite harsh – gets off rather lightly. Given returned to Australia. The couple immedi- human rights and self-determination of the the difficulty of getting out of East Timor, ately publicized the photos and the story East Timorese for the natural resources and either in the aftermath of the civil war or throughout the world. This chance encoun- generally hospitable investment climate for since the Indonesian invasion, clearly those ter with the plight of East Timor led international capital in Indonesia, such deep- with greater financial resources and higher McMillan to go to Geneva where he testi- felt moral indignation is most welcome. social status have been more often able to fied before the United Nations’ Commission While each of the three books is quite differ- negotiate an exit. In this sense, Turner can- on Human Rights and to participate in the ent, taken together they make a valuable not be blamed for the lack of representative- March 1992 Peace Mission of the Lusitania contribution to our collective comprehen- ness of the interviews. Nevertheless, there Expresso, a ship of Portuguese origin that sion of and empathy for East Timor. are some noteworthy omissions in the oral tried to sail from Darwin, Australia to Dili A number of photos accompany the es- account of East Timorese history from so that an international group of students say. The captions of the photos follow. 1942-1992, especially regarding Portuguese could lay flowers at the Santa Cruz Ceme- brutality and East Timorese resistance to tery to honor those killed in the November Photo 1: A man at the grave of his younger Portuguese colonization in the post-war era. 1991 massacre. While the Indonesian navy brother who reportedly died a few weeks Interviewees in Telling often make refer- prevented the ship from landing and forced after being wounded at the Santa Cruz ences to specific places within East it to turn back to Australia, the mission Massacre by the gunfire of Indonesian Timorese territory. While the book does brought a considerable amount of publicity soldiers on 12 November 1991. The contain a map of East Timor, many of the to East Timor. young man’s family smuggled him out of mentioned places do not appear on the map Written in part like a novel, Death in Dili Dili into a small town in the mountains and Turner does not provide the reader with is certainly not an academic account of East where the family tried to cure him by clues as to where they are located. Thus, it Timor, nor is it meant to be. That said, way of traditional medicine. For fear of is sometimes difficult for the reader to have McMillan provides a rather thorough narra- being discovered having been present at a spatial sense of the unfolding history. tive of East Timorese history since the be- the Santa Cruz Cemetery, the family did Nevertheless, Michele Turner more than ginning of World War II, including life in not want to take him to any hospital. succeeds in giving the reader an overall sense Portuguese Timor in the post-war era and According to a lab technician at the Dili of the arduous history of the half-island the UDT-FRETILIN civil war. It is a shame hospital and a survivor of the massacre, over the last fifty years and in providing a that McMillan did not do a better job foot- Indonesian soldiers killed survivors of the human face to the tragedy and heroism that noting. There is much valuable information massacre at the hospital. The soldiers have come to be associated with East Timor. in the book for which McMillan does not “crushed the skulls of the wounded with Unlike the work of John Taylor and provide citations. While Death in Dili is an large rocks, ran over them with trucks, Michele Turner, Andrew McMillan’s Death excellent book for newcomers to the subject stabbed them and administered – with in Dili is part travelogue and part serious of East Timor, the poor footnoting makes it doctors present – poisonous disinfecting analysis. Through the intermixing of per- difficult for the reader to use the book as a chemicals as medicines to ‘finish off’ sonal anecdotes, oral and documented histo- springboard for further independent study. scores of wounded demonstrators in the ries, press reports and political analysis, the For the more serious student of East wake of the massacre.” Max Stahl thinks author tells the story of East Timor, focus- Timor, Death in Dili provides a considerable that anywhere from 50-200 wounded ing on the time since the outbreak of World amount of valuable anecdotal information died in this manner.[15] All the photos War II. Like Michele Turner’s Telling, such as McMillan’s critical account of the accompanying this review essay are cour- Death in Dili is primarily intended for an Lusitania Expresso, Pope John Paul II’s tesy of Matthew Jardine, and unless oth- Australian audience. The book is full of visit to Dili, and the recounting of many of erwise noted they were taken by Mat- Australian slang and McMillan’s style is at the events that made up the East Timorese thew Jardine in July 1992. times irreverent and sarcastic. Nevertheless, “intifada” of which the John Monjo demon- Photo 2: A Catholic church in coffee-rich it is among the most readable and accessible stration was part. McMillan also renders Ermera, with coffee beans drying in the books on East Timor. numerous examples of the hardships that foreground. Traditionally conservative McMillan’s interest in East Timor began the East Timorese population has had to and aligned with the indigenous and colo- in January 1990 when he and his partner, endure under the yoke of Jakarta’s colonial nial elite during the Portuguese era, since Jenny Groves, decided to travel to Dili from enterprise. the invasion the Church has taken a Kupang (West Timor) as part of their trek East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. Page 151

stance more in line with the needs and Secretary of East Timor and the former the same attitudes and live with the same wishes of the East Timorese majority. military commander of the region stated mixture of civility and brutality as they The Church is the only pre-invasion in- in 1982, “It is the new Indonesian civili- had 350 years ago” (Glen Francis, “Slav- stitution not eliminated by Indonesia, and zation we are bringing. And it is not easy ery in Timor,” The Observer [Sydney], it has emerged in a number of ways as the to civilize backward people."[18] Vol. 3, No. 22, 29 October 1960, p. 12). public face of the massive resistance to Osmar White, an Australian journalist Photo 5: A young boy at the Santa Cruz Jakarta’s occupation. Church-related ac- who visited the colony in 1963, noted demonstration, 12 November 1991. This tivities often serve as the venue for pro- that in all his travels throughout Asia, “I boy was among the first killed by the In- independence demonstrations and a num- have never been so sensible of fear- donesian soldiers. On the banner is the ber of clergy have spoken out against In- paralyzed hostility as I was in Timor” image of Xanana Gusmão, until his No- donesia’s occupation and in favor of East (Osmar White, “Timor – Island of Fear,” vember 1992 capture in Dili by the Indo- Timorese self-determination. As the The Herald [Melbourne], 2 April 1963). nesian military, the head of FALINTIL Church has become increasingly identi- and the CNRM. On May 21, 1993, an [4] “Estimates of deaths varied between 160 fied with the pro-independence struggle, Indonesian court in Dili sentenced and 1000, but all reports agreed on the it has become the object of deep Indone- Xanana Gusmão to life imprisonment, al- brutality with which the Portuguese put sian suspicion and sometimes repression. though the sentence has since been com- down the revolt–villages were burnt, Whereas only one-third of the population muted by Suharto to 20 years. Through- families killed and most of the leadership was Catholic in 1975, today the figure out East Timor and the world, Gusmão is were executed. Fifty-eight Timorese were stands at about 90 percent. Full churches the symbol of East Timorese resistance exiled to Angola and Mozambique after throughout East Timor attest to a level of and nationalism, and many have com- having been told that they were being support that is a direct challenge to Indo- pared him to Nelson Mandela. This sent for trial in Lisbon” (Taylor, Indone- nesia, something which the Indonesian photo is by Steven Cox, and it is re- sia’s Forgotten War, p. 21). The circum- authorities are very aware of.[16] printed here courtesy of TAPOL. stances surrounding the revolt are quite Photo 3: Indonesian soldiers marching on complicated and not altogether clear. Photo 6: Nino Konis Santana, since April “Integration Day” in Dili, 17 July 1992. Also see Jill Jolliffe, East Timor - Na- 1993 the Commander-in-Chief of Integration Day commemorates the day tionalism and Colonialism, (St. Lucia, FALINTIL, the guerilla army of the East in 1976 when President Suharto signed Queensland: University of Queensland Timorese resistance. As head of the law formalizing East Timor’s “inte- Press, 1978), pp. 48-49 and Dunn, FALINTIL, Santana is one third of the gration” into the Republic of Indonesia Timor– A People Betrayed, (Milton, tripartite leadership of the CNRM (the and the former’s status as Indonesia’s Queensland: The Jacaranda Press, 1983), National Council of Maubere Resis- twenty-seventh province. According to pp. 33-34. tance). The CNRM is the coordinating the Indonesian government, President [5] In the aftermath of the Santa Cruz Mas- body of all diplomatic, political, and mili- Suharto signed the law in response to a sacre, countries such as Canada, Den- tary aspects of the East Timorese resis- petition requesting integration from the mark, and the Netherlands suspended aid tance; it serves as the umbrella group of “Provisional Government of East Timor” to Jakarta. In reaction to what Indonesia all East Timorese political parties, groups and an “on-the-spot assessment” by an called Dutch interference in Indonesian and organizations within East Timor and Indonesian government delegation that internal affairs, the Indonesian Govern- abroad dedicated to the goal of national the East Timorese strongly desired inte- ment disbanded the Netherlands-chaired self-determination and thus leads the gration.[17] IGGI which was replaced by the World struggle against the Indonesian occupa- Bank-chaired Consultative Group on In- Photo 4: Young boys in Baucau. An impor- tion nationally and internationally. This donesia (CGI). The move by Jakarta was tant component of Indonesia’s colonial photo by FALINTIL and was taken in an effort to detach human rights issues project in East Timor is the construction early 1992. from the question of aid, a strategy that of an Indonesian identity among the East ENDNOTES has thus far turned out to be successful. Timorese, especially the youth. While Currently, Japan is, by far the biggest force is the most component of Jakarta’s [1] See Asia Watch, Human Rights in Indo- nesia and East Timor (New York: Human grantor of economic assistance to Indone- efforts to annex East Timor, it is ulti- sia. Out of the US$5.1 billion pledged for mately the East Timorese hearts and Rights Watch, 1989), p. 253 and “A World at War – 1983,” The Defense Fiscal Year 1993-94, Japan committed minds, not simply the bodies, that must US$1.44 billion. be conquered. Jakarta hopes that the In- Monitor, publication of the Center for donesian education system will soon Defense Information, (Washington, [6] To a certain degree, the security of the eliminate the nationalist ideas of the East D.C.), Vol. XII, No. 1, 1983. Ombai-Wetar Straits probably did Timorese. The state school system is [2] See, for example, “Few Investors Take somewhat inform the U.S. decision to al- completely Indonesian and neglects any Up Invite to East Timor,” Australian Fi- low Indonesia to takeover East Timor. information about East Timor that does nancial Review (reprinted from Asian (See Michael Richardson, “Fraser given not correspond to Jakarta’s official ver- Wall St. Journal), 10 June 1993. blunt warning at Washington talks: ‘Don’t anger Jakarta’–US protecting In- sion of East Timorese history. The occu- [3] See Taylor, Indonesia’s Forgotten War, don channel for its N-subs,” The Age pation’s educational system also empha- p. 14. As a member of the Australian (Melbourne), 3 August 1976, p. 1.) Nev- sizes the teaching of Indonesian (the only War Graves unit who visited the territory ertheless, apart from a couple of minor language allowed in schools) and Pan- in 1947 observed: “After centuries of co- such references, there is little in the his- casila – the five ideological pillars of the lonial rule the natives are as backward torical record to indicate that U.S. poli- Indonesian state. Jakarta’s efforts to “In- and helpless as ever, forced labor under cymakers were seriously preoccupied donesianize” East Timor has a certain the whip goes on from dawn to dusk, and with any potential threat that an inde- missionary and racist zeal to it. As Colo- the Portuguese colonists, including those nel Kalangi, at the time the Provincial exiled from Salazar’s Portugal, maintain Page 152 East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994.

pendent East Timor might present to the Timorese import and export trade; Portu- during the war: “It is painful to speak to- security of the Ombai-Wetar Straits. guese firms controlled the rest (Gerald J. day of the sacrifices and burdens we [7] Richard M. Nixon, “Asia After Viet Telkamp, “The Economic Structure of an forced upon the East Timorese, a people Nam,” Foreign Affairs, Vol. 46, No. 1, Outpost in the Outer Islands in the Indo- who had nothing to do with the war. We October 1967, p. 111. Nixon argued in nesian Archipelago: Portuguese Timor ordered village chiefs to mobilize people favor of bombing North Vietnam to pro- 1850-1975,” in P. Creutzberg, Between en masse for road construction. And the tect Indonesia’s “immense mineral poten- Peoples and Statistics – Essays on Mod- people, obedient to their chiefs, gathered tial” (quoted in Peter Dale Scott, “Ex- ern Indonesian History, [The Hague: at these construction sites to work with- porting Military-Economic Develop- Martinus Nijhoff, 1979], p. 80). out receiving food or compensation. Be- ment: America and the Overthrow of Su- [10] “The Chinese population of Dili was cause of food shortage people died of karno,” in Malcolm Caldwell [ed.], Ten singled out for selective killings. Five starvation every day. Food for Japanese Years’ Military Terror in Indonesia, hundred were killed on the first day of soldiers and horses to transport ammuni- [Nottingham: Bertrand Russell Peace the attack” (Taylor, Indonesia’s Forgot- tion were confiscated from the people, Foundation for Spokesman Books, ten War, p. 69). Out of the 2,000 people and some of the troops under my com- 1975], pp. 209-261). Prior to Nixon, killed in Dili in the first two days of the mand raped Timorese women. Yet after President Eisenhower invoked the secu- Indonesian invasion, 700 were ethnic the war, the Japanese government paid rity of the former Dutch East Indies as Chinese (McMillan, Death in Dili, p. 67). no war reparations to East Timor, be- one of his principal justifications for U.S. In the towns of Maubara and Liquica cause, it said, Portugal was not an Allied intervention in French Indochina. See “the entire Chinese population was country” (p. 52). “Why the U.S. Risks War for Indo- killed” (Taylor, Indonesia’s Forgotten [14] Civilizados were indigenous East China,” U.S. News & World Report, 16 War, p. 70). Timorese assimilated to modern society April 1954, pp. 21-23. Also see excerpt [11] Taylor, Indonesia’s Forgotten War, p. (for example, literate and Portuguese- of 1953 Eisenhower speech in Julie 14. speaking) and eligible for Portuguese citi- Southwood and Patrick Flanagan, Indo- [12] According to an October 1966 CIA zenship (Donald E. Weatherbee, “Portu- nesia – Law, Propaganda and Terror, report, about 2,800 Indonesian army of- guese Timor: An Indonesian Dilemma,” (London: Zed Press, 1983), p. 19. ficers received training in U.S. military Asian Survey, Vol. VI, No. 12, December [8] In January 1976, a U.S. State Depart- schools, most of them between the years 1966, p. 684). ment official explained: “(i)n terms of the of 1960 and 1964. Since the invasion, [15] Max Stahl, the British filmmaker who bilateral relations between the U.S. and over 2,600 Indonesian military officers captured the video images of the Santa Indonesia, we are more or less condoning have received military training in the U.S. Cruz Massacre in 1991, interviewed this the incursion into East Timor. The under the International Military Educa- lab technician during a return visit to East United States wants to keep its relations tion and Training (IMET) program. (See Timor in late 1993. The quote is taken with Indonesia close and friendly. We re- Carmel Budiardjo, “Indonesia: Mass Ex- from Max Stahl, “Dili, the Bloody Af- gard Indonesia as a friendly, non-aligned termination and the Consolidation of Au- termath,” Sydney Morning Herald, 12 nation – a nation we do a lot of business thoritarian Power” from Alexander February 1994. Also see Max Stahl, “In- with (“Aid to Indonesia Doubled as U.S. George [ed.], Western State Terrorism, donesians Fed ‘Death Pills’ to the Shrugs off Timor,” The Australian, 22 Cambridge [U.K.]: Polity Press, 1991, p. Wounded,” The Sunday Times (London), January 1976). For an understanding of 184. Also see Charles Scheiner, “No U.S. 13 February 1994. the analytical context in which U.S. poli- Military Aid to Indonesia in Fiscal Year [16] “The church, the priests, and the reli- cymakers decided to support Indonesia’s 1993!,” Bulletin of Concerned Asian gious are the three factors which threaten annexation of East Timor see United Scholars, Vol. 24, No. 3, July-September East Timor’s integration with Indonesia,” States Congress, House of Representa- 1992, p. 51.). In an April 6, 1979 re- once stated Colonel Prabowo (then a ma- tives Committee on Appropriations, search paper entitled “Notes on the Cur- jor), Suharto’s son-in-law and at the time Foreign Assistance and Related Agencies rent Situation in East Timor,” author and a regional military commander in East Appropriations for 1976, Part 2, (Wash- former Australian consul in Dili James Timor. (Quoted in Taylor 1991, p. 157.) ington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Dunn asserts that U.S. military personnel [17] See Department of Foreign Affairs, Office, 1975), p. 528. was present in East Timor in the late Republic of Indonesia. Decolonization in [9] In 1954, out of a total population of 1970’s (see East Timor News [Sydney], East Timor, no date–but after March about 450,000, there were 3,206 Chinese 3 May 1979). In mid-1978 FRETILIN 1977.) For information regarding Indone- living in East Timor (Helio A. Esteves claimed that U.S. military advisors were sia’s staging of the events used to justify Felgas, Timor Portugues, [Lisboa: Minis- participating in Indonesian military of- Suharto’s signing into law East Timor’s terio do Ultramar, Republica Portuguesa, fensives and that one such advisor was integration, see Taylor 1991, pp. 73-74 1956], pp. 344-345). According to John killed in the area of Remexio (near Dili). and James Dunn, Timor – A People Be- Taylor, Chinese (including mestizos) In a recent letter to the author, Dunn trayed, Milton, Queensland: The Jaca- made up about 2 percent of the post-war stated that he is “convinced” of the randa Press, 1983, pp. 298-301. For dis- population (Taylor, Indonesia’s Forgot- veracity of his earlier claim; however, he cussion of the legality of Indonesia’s ten War, p. 16). is not at all sure as to the reasons for the claim that the East Timorese have already While a number of ethnic-Chinese were not presence of U.S. military personnel in the exercised their right to self-determination, involved in commercial ventures, Chinese territory. see Roger S. Clark, “The ‘Decoloniza- merchants owned and ran 397 of the col- [13] There is, however, a small excerpt from tion’ of East Timor and the United Na- ony’s 400 retail outlets by the late a 1987 statement to the U.N. Decoloni- tions Norms on Self-Determination and 1960’s (ibid.). At the time of independ- zation Committee by Iwamura Shouachi Aggression,” Yale Journal of World Pub- ence 12 Chinese-owned businesses han- who served for more than two years in lic Order, Vol. 7, No. 1, Fall 1980, pp. 2- dled about three quarters of East Japanese-occupied Portuguese Timor 44. East Timor Documents, Volume 33. November 9 - December 1, 1994. Page 153

[18] Quoted in Carmel Budiardjo and Liem Soei Liong, The War Against East Timor, (London: Zed Books Ltd., 1984. p. 98.) For discussion of Indonesia’s educational system in East Timor, see Taylor 1991, p. 129 and Budiardjo & Liem 1984, pp. 109-113.

INDONESIAN GOVERNMENT ON THE COMPUTER NETS In light of the recent emailing from the Indonesian embassy in Washington, I thought folks might be interested in some email addresses the Indonesian government uses in the US. These have been confirmed by Willyantino in Houston. If anyone learns of others, we should share them. – Charlie Scheiner, ETAN/US [email protected] 74764,[email protected] [email protected] “are operated by the same person – Willyantino is MIS for the Consulate General of the Republic of In- donesia in Houston. The Internet account ([email protected]) is most likely to be checked daily. I’m filling the position for Information and Cultural affairs in the Consulate for the time being, where I’m responsible to report, reply, and counter- attack any media coverages concerning Indonesia mostly those that are pub- lished in the 12 states that the Houston office cover : New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Island.” [email protected] the Consu- late General in Los Angeles [email protected] John Ma- hakena is Consul for Administration Af- fairs in the Consulate General of the Re- public of Indonesia in San Francisco. [email protected] Akhmad Helmi at the Indonesian Embassy in Washington.