The Jakarta Post
January 25, 2002
Editorial
End game in East Timor
Even though it has been almost two and a half years since an eruption
of
violence in East Timor, not a single Indonesian military and police officer
responsible for security in the territory at that time has been prosecuted.
While it is up to a court of law to determine whether they were responsible
for neglect, or worse as widely alleged, for promoting or fanning the
violence preceding and following the UN-sponsored self-determination ballot
in August 1999, there is no doubt that Indonesia owes the international
community some credible explanation. All the more reason now that East
Timor
has become an independent state, albeit under UN administration.
An impartial court of law, preferably in Indonesia, would be the best
place
to conduct such a hearing. But, unless Indonesia lives up to its
responsibility as a member of the international community, an international
tribunal hearing for these officers will be the most appropriate alternative.
That was certainly the warning that came from the United Nations High
Commissioner on Human Rights, Leandro Despuoy, during his visit to Indonesia
this week.
Successive administrations since 1999 -- from presidents B.J. Habibie,
Abdurrahman Wahid to Megawati Soekarnoputri -- for some reason used various
tactics to delay the prosecutions. But the world has waited long enough,
and
there is no way Indonesia can hope to escape from this international
obligation forever.
Is this waiting game about to end anytime soon? Hardly.
Earlier this month, President Megawati appointed judges to preside over
the
new ad hoc human rights courts, which will deal with the 1999 East Timor
mayhem, among other things. But without domestic and foreign pressures,
the
proceedings will likely take a long time. Any conviction, one way or the
other, is likely to remain a very long way away, if it ever reaches that
stage.
With Despuoy's visit and the warning of an international tribunal, this
is a
good time to review the whole situation and to ask ourselves whether these
delaying tactics have served the nation's interests. The administration's
relentless efforts to shield a handful of military and police officers
from
legal prosecution has not been without its costs to the rest of the nation.
The U.S. Congress has severed all military cooperation programs with
Indonesia, including training, and imposed an embargo on sales of military
hardware in response to the 1999 violence in East Timor. The European
Union
also momentarily imposed a similar embargo. For better or for worse, these
embargoes have compromised the ability of our defense forces in dealing
with
the various armed conflicts.
The heaviest cost that the East Timor debacle is exacting on Indonesia,
though, is on its international reputation and image. This incident hurt
the
entire nation, and not just the military.
The 1999 mayhem itself has already raised doubts about the ability of
Indonesia, as a state, to protect lives and property of people under its
charge. Indonesia's failure to prosecute the military and police officers
has
now raised doubts about its ability, again as a state, to uphold the law
and
deliver justice.
It is no wonder that more and more people around the world see Indonesia
as a
pariah state. If this image continues, more and more investors and tourists
will shun Indonesia.
The tragic aspect of all this is that it did not have to be this way
at all.
All it takes is strong political will from the Megawati administration
to
send military and police officers in charge of East Timor's security in
1999
to court. How difficult can that be? They are already assisted by highly
paid
lawyers, so their rights to a fair hearing should be secured. If they
were
innocent, then let them prove their case in court.
Clearly, it is in the best interest of this nation to accelerate the
entire
legal process. These delays should come to an end, for our own good. We
need
to put the East Timor nightmare behind us, once and for all, and quickly,
and
restore our reputation and credibility among the international community.
Most of all, we need to get on with our lives.