RIGHTS-EAST TIMOR: Voters Choose Independence, UN Mulls Options

By Farhan Haq Reprint | | Print |

UNITED NATIONS, Sep 4 1999 (IPS) - The United Nations said Friday night that a wide majority of voters in East Timor supported that state’s independence from Indonesia – but UN observers remain powerless to halt the growing violence there.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan announced on Friday night that the wide majority of voters favoured independence in Monday’s self- determination ballot, with 94,388 voters opting for autonomy under Indonesian rule and 344,580 voters rejecting it.

“This result is clear, and it is overwhelming,” Annan told reporters.

With 78.5 percent of all voters having rejected Indonesia’s autonomy offer, Jakarta is now committed to allowing the territory, which has been under Indonesian occupation for more than 23 years, to separate from it.

The same announcement was made by the chief of the UN Assistance Mission in East Timor (UNAMET), Ian Martin, in the East Timorese capital of Dili early Saturday.

Crowds began celebrating after that, though many remained indoors for fear of violence by the pro-autonomy militias, who continue to roam the streets of Dili.

In a nationwide address, Indonesian President Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie said Indonesia has to “accept the fact (vote for independence) with an open heart”, appealing for reconciliation and ordering the military and police to “take full steps” to restore order in East Timor.

Indonesia is expected to endorse the voters’ desire for independence after its parliament, the People’s Consultative Assembly, meets in October. “East Timor now stands on the threshold of what we all hope will be an orderly transition toward independence,” Annan said.

He said that the United Nations would help pave the way for East Timor to become independent, and urged the pro-autonomy faction to avoid any further “senseless violence.”

Jorge Sampaio, president of Portugal which used to be East Timor’s coloniser, said from Lisbon: “Nobody was able to take away from the Timorese people their great victory in their struggle for independence.”

Now, he said the international community’s “first priority” is to ensure that East Timor’s vote is respected and violence be brought under control. “It is urgent that the UN honours its responsibilites in ensuring security to the Timorese people.”

Security Council President Peter van Walsum of the Netherlands said that the 15-nation body “regards the popular consultation as an accurate reflection of the views of the East Timorese people.”

Yet, although the Council condemned the violence in East Timor, it merely asked Indonesia to maintain the peace there and urged Annan to make recommendations on how to revise the mandate, size and structure of the UN Assistance Mission in East Timor (UNAMET) following the vote.

The announcement of the UN results was moved up by several days after pro-Indonesia militias responded to the heavy turnout in Monday’s self-determination vote by attacking pro-independence supporters. Officials here said that they hoped the announcement would boost the pressure on Jakarta and the militias to respect the results of the vote.

Nearly 99 percent of East Timor’s 450,000 registered voters cast their ballots despite recent violence, a clear sign to many observers that the pro-independence drive had successfully brought voters to the polls.

In response, the pro-Indonesia militias – which many observers have linked to factions in the Indonesian military – went on a rampage, attacking any East Timorese, UN staff or foreign journalists whom they believed to have favoured independence.

By Friday, UN officials estimated that at least four East Timorese who had been hired as local UN staff had been killed by the militias, and at least six others are missing.

More than 20 East Timorese are reported to have been killed in the western town of Maliana, from which 53 UN observers were forced to retreat Friday.

UN sources said that some 50,000 East Timorese had been displaced in recent fighting, with 12,000 of them having fled to West Timor, the portion of Timor which has consistently been part of Indonesia.

The high level of violence has led some governments, including Portugal, to call for the urgent deployment of UN peacekeepers. UN officials are planning to send troops once the Indonesian parliament ratifies the results of the voting, but that may not be until November.

The International Federation for East Timor (IFET), which sent 100 observers to monitor East Timor’s poll, urged Annan in a letter Friday that “the only option to deal with the current situation in East Timor is to send an armed peacekeeping force.”

“The Indonesian government has offered excuses, denials and assurances over recent months, but it has completely failed to take any meaningful action,” Amnesty International said in a statement.

However, UN spokesman Fred Eckhard noted that both Portugal and Indonesia – which occupied East Timor in 1975 – would have to agree to such a deployment before the UN Security Council would consider it.

Although Indonesian Justice Minister Muladi mentioned the possibility of allowing UN troops this week, Eckhard said a more formal invitation would be necessary.

Annan argued that there was no immediate need for UN peacekeepers, saying that Indonesia had reaffirmed its commitment to provide security. With the results now out, he added, the militias must now realise that “we are at the end of the road.”

More importantly, some experts warned this week that it would be too time-consuming to assemble a UN peacekeeping operation when the situation in East Timor is rapidly worsening. “It’s too late for any international force,” said Sidney Jones, Asia director of Human Rights Watch. “The slaughter’s happening now.”

“The situation on the ground requires an immediate response, and the Indonesians have the wherewithal to deal with it,” said David Wimhurst, UNAMET’s spokesman in Dili.

The challenge is getting Indonesia to live up to its commitment, outlined in its May 5 agreement with Portugal that paved the way for Monday’s vote, to provide security for East Timor. Wimhurst said this week that Indonesian police had failed to halt the militias from carrying out attacks.

US President Bill Clinton and other officials have made muted threats to Indonesian President Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie, warning him that a continuation of the violence could risk Jakarta’s international standing.

But many high-level deals -including an arms show in Britain to be attended by Indonesian officials next week – remain on the table.

Another option, Eckhard said, would be to allow a “coalition of the willing,” including Australia and other nearby states, to enter East Timor as a regional peacekeeping force that could be assembled more quickly than a UN operation.