Nothing can highlight more the failure of the Indonesian government to rein in the pro-Jakarta militias operating in West Timor than the sham weapons handover that began on September 22. The first three-day "persuasive" phase of the handover has been followed by an equally farcical "forceful" seizure of weapons by Indonesian security forces.
President Abdurrahman Wahid has ordered the disarming of the militias in an attempt to stave off pressure from the United States and the United Nations Security Council. During his recent visit to Jakarta US defence secretary William Cohen warned that there would be serious economic and political consequences for the Wahid government if the militias are not disarmed.
On September 24, vice-president Megawati Sukarnoputri led a high-level delegation to the West Timorese town of Atambua to oversee a weapons handover presentation. The delegation included the coordinating minister for social, political and security affairs, the state affairs minister, the minister of justice, the commander of the Indonesian armed forces (TNI) and several top generals.
The visit by the delegation was intended to give the impression that the weapons handover was working and that the Indonesian government is serious about responding to international concerns about the militia-caused humanitarian crisis in West Timor.
But, according to an eyewitness to the proceedings, there was nothing to indicate that the government or the TNI really want to disarm or disband the militia.
"The weapons, which were mostly hand-made ones, were already laid out on large tables at the police station before Megawati arrived. The ceremony was supposed to go for several hours, but only lasted about ten minutes", the eyewitness, who asked to remain anonymous for safety reasons, told Green Left Weekly.
"Apart from some local dignitaries, most of those gathered at the police station were militia members or leaders", the eyewitness said . "Megawati made a symbolic presentation of rice and farming implements meant for the refugees. The person she gave them to was not a refugee, but a militia leader from UNTAS", the Union of Timorese Warriors, a pro-Jakarta umbrella group.
The eyewitness also told Green Left Weekly that the police did nothing to prevent militia leader Eurico Guterres and others from taking back automatic weapons from the cache. "Eurico and his men were angry because they were not able to meet with Megawati. They began yelling and pointing at the small delegation from UNTAET [United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor], who were forced to shelter in the police station".
"I also overheard general [Kiki] Syahnakri [TNI commander for the region which takes in West Timor] and the head of police say that if they intervened to stop the militia taking back their weapons they would run amok and start burning villages", the eyewitness added.
Guterres and other militia leaders vowed that they will resist attempts to have their weapons taken from them and will hide in the hills if necessary. According to the September 25 Indonesian Observer, Guterres was "invited to negotiate" in the Kostrad (Strategic Reserves Command) headquarters so that "chaos" could be prevented.
Coordinating minister for social, political and security affairs Susilo Yudhoyono announced on September 25 that the militias had three more days to hand in their weapons or they would be taken by force. According to Yudhoyono, by the evening of September 27 there had only been nine weapons handed over by the militias.
Sweeps by mobile police and soldiers on the following day throughout a number of refugee camps, including some of the large ones near Kupang, failed to retrieve any weapons at all.
Kostrad chief General Ryamizard Ryacudu has played down the number of arms that the militia have in their possession and admitted that it is unlikely that the military will use force to disarm them because of the close ties between the two. The September 29 Jakarta Post quoted Ryacudu as saying "we will only press them to disarm because of the emotional relationships".
There is no fundamental difference between this view expressed by Ryacudu and the attitude of most — if not all — the civilian political elite in Jakarta, including Wahid and his ministers. The militia gangs are treated more as patriotic fighters than terrorist thugs. It has even been proposed that the militias be absorbed into the TNI itself.
At the root of the crisis in West Timor is the fact that none of the members of the civilian elite supported the referendum on independence for East Timor or have made any public statement recognising that the invasion and occupation of East Timor by Indonesia was wrong.
The recently appointed defence minister, Mohammad Mahfud, for example, believes that "independence has been a disaster" and that "foreign elements" are behind the problems in West Timor. Mahfud, who is a close confidant of Wahid, claims the referendum was rigged and that foreign governments and the UN are preventing East Timorese from returning to Indonesia by creating "violent situations".
Similar statements have been made by Amien Rais, the speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly, the Indonesian parliament. During a speech at a conference on defence and security on September 26, Rais said that the September 6 murder of UN personnel in Atambua "reeks of international engineering". Rais beat the nationalist drum by calling on the Wahid government to "act like a tiger" in response to international criticism over the violence in West Timor, Aceh and West Papua.
As the fake disarmament of militias drags on, reports of food shortages in the refugee camps are increasing. While the World Food Program estimates there is a three month supply of rice in government stores across West Timor, local government authorities have stated that these stocks have been exhausted.
BY JON LAND