Subject: 'austraLasia' #229
JAKARTA POST SLAMS BELO, XANANA, HABIBIE...
Julian Fox
SUVA: 18th September -- Just the other day I received a note from the
Jakarta Post. They did not trust some of their sources, they said - much of
the information they were getting was coming through the military. But mine
sounds authentic...Perhaps I would be prepared to be in touch. Could I offer
them some names and addresses in Dili perhaps so they could get some
authentic information....! Let me assure readers that any information I
have has gone to Salesian sources and identifiably Catholic sources around
the globe, and not to the Jakarta Post.
I bring you a few lines from the JP from a few days ago:
>Why leave the flock?
>13 September 1999
> The rules of combat are that a commanding officer should never turn and
run
>while in the heat of battle. Troops need a commander for moral support.
Why
>then are we applauding the acts of cowardice by Jose Alexandre "Xanana"
>Gusmao and Bishop Belo?
> Both these men have turned their backs on their foot soldiers and run.
>They have left them to be slaughtered. Bishop Belo was given a Nobel Peace
>Prize, which obviously made him so valuable that he thought he should
leave
> his flock and the 5,000 souls who had sought refuge in his compound. Their
>deaths would have been meaningless next to his. Bishop Basillio, on the
>other hand, felt he should stand with his people and was injured. What
>reward will he get for his bravery? Perhaps he will be allowed to shine
>through Belo's medal.
No love lost there, obviously! But, I suppose, there is a certain
evenhandedness about the Post when it comes to their own government. They
have the following to say in today's editorial:
Jakarta Post Editorial, 17 Sept 1999
>
>Spare us the indignity
>
>Thanks to the leadership of President B.J. Habibie and Indonesian Military
>Commander (TNI) Gen. Wiranto, we Indonesians as a nation have suffered one
>international indignity after another these past two weeks.
>
>The decision to accept on Sunday a United Nations peacekeeping force into
EastTimor -- diplomatically worded as an invitation -- came in the face of
strong
>international pressure. Then on Wednesday, the Security Council unanimously
>voted to establish a multinational force and gave it a full mandate to
restore peace. This means the use of military force if necessary. Rubbing
salt into
>the wound, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan ignored Indonesia's objections
and
>named Australia to head the force.
>
>Prior to this chain of events, Indonesia was widely condemned, bullied, and
>threatened with economic sanctions. The International Monetary Fund and the
>World Bank said they would reconsider their multibillion dollar programs in
>Indonesia. Indonesia became an international pariah for its handling, or
more
>appropriately mishandling, of East Timor.
>
>There are yet more indignities to come, at least for the narrow-minded
>nationalists in this country. The sight of foreign soldiers landing in East
>Timor, and of the Indonesian Military making way for them to take charge of
>security in East Timor could well be the final humiliation. Then there is
the
>prospect of an international tribunal for Indonesian leaders on charges of
>crimes against humanity. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human
Rights has already started work in this direction.
>
>Since Indonesia became an independent and sovereign nation in 1945, it has
>never suffered such an international blow to its dignity. Our two previous
>leaders, Sukarno and Soeharto, although they were often targets of
>international criticism, were adept at steering away from this kind of
>humiliation. If this were the 1960s, Sukarno would probably have told the
>United Nations to go to hell, as he did in 1964 with U.S. aid, and when he
>severed links altogether with the United Nations a few years earlier.
>
>As much as the government and military have tried to shift the focus of
>attention away from what is happening in East Timor by blaming others for
the
>violence -- Australia, Portugal, New Zealand, the United Nations and the
>United States have been targeted -- there is no denying the fact that they
>have brought this on themselves. But the entire nation suffers as a result.
>
>No matter how they explain it, or what excuses they come up with for the
>situation in East Timor, the bottom line is Indonesia is responsible for
>everything that has happened there. The killings, the forced evacuation of
>people from their homes, and the destruction resulting from the scorched-
>earth campaign took place when the territory was under Indonesia's charge.
>When Indonesia signed the deal with the United Nations in May, it not only
>agreed to take responsibility for East Timor's security, it insisted on the
>mandate, claiming that the territory remained under its sovereignty until
East
>Timorese voted otherwise. That means that Indonesia is responsible for the
>lives and property of all East Timorese, and not just for the minority who
>support integration with Indonesia.
>
>Events of the past week or so showed that we, or rather our government,
failed the East Timorese, the international community and the Indonesian
people. The
>international outrage was understandable, for no self- respecting nation
could remain silent in the face of this humanitarian catastrophe. Australia
may
>have>been the harshest critic of all, and some people in this country may
be
>offended by this attitude, but this in no way could wipe out the sins that
we
>have committed in East Timor.
_____________________________________________
BOSCONET: The trademark of the Salesian Website, Australia:
http://www.bosconet.aust.com
'AUSTRALASIA': rapid newslink for Salesians in Asia and Australia: Please
forward any contributions to jbfox@ozemail.com.au
