Timor's uneasy date with destiny
By Tim Dodd
The pace is slow in Dili. It is a sleepy, tropical town
where the people spend a lot of time waiting for things to
change.
Pristine beaches with superb coral formations have long
promised a tourist bonanza, but nothing ever happens.
The shabby streetscape rarely alters.
The noteworthy buildings in the town are ones left by the
Portuguese when they abruptly exited in 1975.
At the Turismo Beach Hotel, a very run down
establishment whose shady courtyards and friendly
atmosphere make it the first choice for most foreigners,
lunch is served each day by the same man who gave
Roger East his last meal in November, 1975.
East, an Australian journalist, ate his lunch and was then
killed by invading Indonesian troops as he walked to the
telegraph office to file his story.
The progress toward peace has been just as slow and
tortuous as the pace of change in Dili, but now it stands
at a critical point.
East Timor, the place where most things are indefinite,
has a firm date with destiny.
On August 8 there is due to be a United Nations-run
ballot which will offer a choice between continuing
association with Indonesia or independence.
If the ballot succeeds, East Timor may be able to make
the transition to peace. If it fails, it probably means a
return to civil war.
The firebrands on both sides are making the latter a
definite option.
Enrico Guterres is a twenty-something tough guy, the
Dili-based leader of the Aitarak, or Thorn, militia.
His people were the ones who, on a Saturday afternoon
four weeks ago, rampaged through Dili seeking out
independence leaders, their friends and families, and
killing them.
At least 12 died in that incident and many others fled.
Will Guterres accept the result of a ballot which decides
in favour independence?
"I cannot accept the result of independence because if
that happens there will be an even more destructive war
than we had before. Because the moment we have
independence people will start killing each other," he
said.
If this eventuates, some of the principal killers will be his
men. Guterres lives in a compound called the Tropical
Motel, which looks like a run-down military barracks and
is actually owned by the army, as is much of the real
estate in Dili.
He has had a long association with the Indonesian army.
He helped the military capture the independence guerilla
leader, Xanana Gusmao, in 1992.
Why is he so fervently pro-Indonesian?
He said his father, grandfather, uncles and other family
members were killed by Fretilin forces some 20 years
ago.
There are also warnings from the independence side that
an adverse result will not be accepted.
David Ximenez, presently the senior guerilla leader on the
ground, said by phone from his hiding place: "If the
balloting is set up properly, and autonomy wins, we will
accept. That's fine. But if it isn't, then we will keep on
fighting."
Independence supporters want a UN peacekeeping
force, rather than the Indonesian army and police, to be
responsible for security in the lead-up to the ballot.
They claim, justifiably, that the Indonesians have done
nothing to stop, and in fact have aided, intimidation and
killing by the militias.
"Hopefully there will be a change (in the security
arrangements). But if we are forced to accept the voting
with Indonesia entrusted with the security, then we will
keep up the fight," Ximenez said.
But Indonesia, which regards East Timor as a legitimate
province, will never permit outside military forces to take
responsibility for security.
The UN force will contain a security element, but these
will be police, probably unarmed, whose role will be
limited to advising the Indonesian police.
A UN-sponsored peace settlement for the territory,
which includes the ballot, was concluded 10 days ago by
Indonesia and the former colonial ruler, Portugal.
But the agreement, signed in New York, has had little
impact in the province.
The Catholic Church, which is a powerful unifying force
in East Timor, is leading efforts to find a peace settlement
which works locally.
It is trying to revive talks between the two sides which
stalled earlier this year.
On Thursday evening Bishop Carlos Belo joined
hundreds of others in a candlelit procession through Dili
to call for an end to violence.
One advantage is that both the pro and
anti-independence forces owe allegiance to the Catholic
Church.
Ninety per cent of East Timor is Catholic, so there is no
religious divide, unlike other Indonesian trouble spots.
There is a backlash in Dili against the continuing violence.
Florentino Sarmento, the local representative of the
Indonesian government's Human Rights Commission,
said the problem was to get people "to know in their
hearts" that violence is not the way to solve the conflict.
But the grounds for a compromise are not evident. The
pro-integrationist side warns of civil strife if the UN ballot
produces a winning side and a losing side and proposes
an accord to avoid conflict.
They invite the independence organisation, the National
Council Timorese Resistance (CNRT), to accept the
Indonesian Government's autonomy package.
Is this a compromise? Yes, says a senior pro-integration
leader, Lopez de Cruz.
He insists his side has already given ground by accepting
Jakarta's offer for limited autonomy in place of the
present situation where the province is fully integrated
into Indonesia.
Never mind the fact that President Habibie, in charting his
new course for East Timor, did not offer the option of
continuing the status quo.
In the meantime, the violence goes on. Four people died
in terror attacks in Dili early this week, as armed militia
cruised the streets in large trucks and lashed out at
students at the university, people at the market and
residents of Santa Cruz on Dili's outskirts.
The present cycle of violence dates from the formation of
the militia groups late last year.
Members of the East Timorese elite, who have done well
from Indonesia's presence, grew alarmed at President
Habibie's determination to change the status of the
province and formed their own group, the Forum for
Justice and Unity.
The militia groups are the forum's fighting wing.
The violence stepped up a notch when the Red and
White Iron militia group, named after the colours of the
Indonesian flag, attacked independence supporters
sheltering in a church compound in Liquisa, a seaside
town 30km west of Dili. At least 25 died.
According to the Human Rights Commission's Sarmento,
the massacre followed an attack in the area by
pro-independence forces.
But it sparked a call from Xanana, the CNRT leader, for
his forces to resume hostilities.
Then came the killings in Dili by Guterres' Aitarak group
four weeks ago. One week ago there were confirmed
reports that Red and White Iron had driven thousands of
people from their homes in the Liquisa area into
temporary camps under the control of the
pro-integrationists.
Independence supporters claim there are more such
camps spread through the province where people have
been forced to go after being threatened and their homes
burned.
This is the situation facing the UN as it attempts to set up
a democratic ballot, free from coercion, on a date less
than three months away.
According to Sarmento, who himself favours staying with
Indonesia, the timetable is too fast.
He says that because of the intimidation, the odds are
stacked in favour of the pro-integrationists.
Pro-independence leaders have fled their homes to seek
safety and many have left the province, which leaves the
campaigning very one-sided.
Sarmento called on the Indonesian Government to
release Xanana from the house in Jakarta where he is
held in detention.
A charismatic leader who is willing to set the past aside,
he is regarded by diplomats as the only figure on the
independence side who has the qualities necessary to
bring peace.
"If you are going to have a vote he must be free. There is
a big difference in vision between Xanana and his
deputies," Sarmento said.
Yet to postpone the vote, now that the date has been set,
would be to invite more unrest.
President Habibie wants the ballot in early August so the
new parliament can deal with the East Timor issue when
it meets on August 29.
That way he has some hope of getting the issue resolved
before his term ends in November, and he can leave the
new deal for East Timor as his legacy.
The people of Dili may be accustomed to waiting but
they are tired of it.
Dr Kevin Baker, an Australian serving as a volunteer in
the town's Catholic clinic, said that in the last few weeks
he has seen a sense of fear and despair grow.
"The light in people's eyes has dimmed," he said.
Rumours run wild. One was that three American
warships were in Bali and would soon arrive in Dili to
unload a force of US peacekeepers. Of course, nothing
happened.
I had a conversation with a senior Indonesian army
officer whose responsibilities include East Timor.
He picked up my copy of one of the authoritative modern
books on his country, A Nation in Waiting, by Adam
Schwarz.
He turned to the chapter on East Timor and read a quote
from the former Indonesian-appointed governor, Mario
Carrascalao, now an independence supporter who has
been driven into exile by militia threats.
"There is a large gap between what Jakarta says it wants
to do in East Timor and what actually happens in East
Timor," he read. "That is true," he said emphatically.
"That is true."
afr.com.au
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