By Jon Land
The determined protests for independence in East Timor look set to continue following the recent killings of Timorese by Indonesian soldiers and intelligence agents. The latest round of shootings began during the visit by diplomats from the European Union, who were in East Timor June 27-29.
The delegation arrived in the midst of large, well-organised protests led by students demanding a United Nations-supervised referendum on self-determination, the release of all East Timorese political prisoners, including imprisoned resistance leader Xanana Gusmao, and the withdrawal of the more than 20,000 Indonesian troops from East Timor.
Fearing the defiant mobilisations in June by thousands of Timorese students and youth in Dili, Baucau and other regional centres across East Timor, the Habibie regime is using the tactic of cooption and compromise to undermine the demand for a referendum on self-determination.
Through the Jakarta-installed puppet, Governor Abilio Osorio Soares, the regime has organised pro-integration demonstrations in an attempt to portray significant divisions amongst the East Timorese and create a volatile situation in which conflict is inevitable.
The pro-integration rallies have been much smaller, and have included public servants forced to attend (or face dismissal and reprisals), people tricked and bribed into attending, Indonesian intelligence agents and hired thugs armed with knives and clubs. Indonesian soldiers and police have been present in large numbers during the pro-integration actions.
Early on the morning of June 27, trucks on the way to Dili, carrying pro-integration "supporters" press-ganged by the military, were halted by angry residents in the town of Manatuto.
Indonesian soldiers fired indiscriminately into the crowd, killing a 21-year-old man sitting outside his house and wounding up to four others. Unconfirmed reports stated another person was also killed.
This incident added to the anger of protests taking place in Dili. Hundreds of East Timorese youth were involved in running skirmishes with pro-integration thugs and intelligence agents.
By the end of the day, some 10,000 demonstrators demanding independence had gathered outside the governor's office, which was surrounded by a cordon of soldiers. After a spate of stone throwing at the soldiers and the building, tear gas was fired to disperse the crowd.
The three EU diplomats (the ambassadors to Indonesia from Austria, the Netherlands and Britain) by this stage were holed up in their hotel in Dili. SBS News on the night of June 27 described them as "barricaded in" by large numbers of Timorese.
On June 28, the delegation was accompanied by 5000 Timorese carrying independence banners and flags, bringing their motorcade to a virtual standstill. British ambassador Robin Christopher told the crowd: "Our mission is to listen to hear the voices of East Timor. We are here to support the search for a peaceful solution in East Timor that is acceptable to all parties under the United Nations."
The following day, the EU delegation left for Baucau, East Timor's second largest centre, to meet with Bishop Basilio Nascimento. Again, thousands of pro-independence supporters lined the streets of Dili, despite Soares' demand that the demonstrators stop, threatening: "If they refuse, they will be arrested. But I will ask the armed forces not to kill them."
An enthusiastic crowd of 5000 East Timorese waiting outside the cathedral in Baucau greeted the delegation. When it was discovered that a van accompanying the diplomats was carrying armed intelligence agents, the vehicle was surrounded, kicked and punched.
The agents opened fire, shooting 35-year-old Orlando Carcelinu da Costa through the face, killing him instantly. Tear gas was also fired as people fled screaming into the grounds of the cathedral. Four people were hospitalised with gunshot wounds.
The diplomats were said to be shocked by the shootings and, fearing further incidents, cut short their visit to Baucau. (They left East Timor later that day for Jakarta.) On the delegation's return to Dili, the streets were filled with a demonstration 50,000 strong, paralysing the city. It was the second demonstration of this size in Dili within the week.
A funeral for da Costa was held in Baucau on June 29, attended by hundreds of mourners. Police prevented at least 20 trucks and buses, filled with hundreds of people wishing to attend his funeral, from entering Baucau.
"There is no reason to shoot directly at people", Bishop Belo told reporters in Dili. "My impression is if they [the military] are not able to control the situation ... let them ask United Nations forces to control the situation here", he said.
On June 30, Indonesian foreign affairs minister Ali Alatas again ruled out any referendum on self-determination. Referring to the violence (caused by the Indonesian military), Alatas claimed that a referendum would provoke a civil war: "Look at it now, when two sides — the pros and the antis — demonstrate, there are casualties, tension and people getting hurt, such as what happened two days ago".
Major General Damiri, head of the Udayana military region, which takes in East Timor, made similar comments. He added: "The society needs the military for protection, not as fighting units, to develop and increase its [East Timor's] prosperity".
The justice minister, Muladi, repeated the government's latest offer of "special status" and autonomy for East Timor, requiring that the East Timorese resistance and the United Nations accept East Timor as a province of Indonesia. In return, the Indonesian government would consider concessions such as troop reductions and the release of resistance leader Xanana Gusmao.
This "offer" has been adamantly refused by the Timorese. In an interview in the June TEMPO Interactive (an internet version of the 1994 publication banned by Suharto), Gusmao said:
"I think that the provision of any kind of status is a bribe from the Indonesian government to the people of East Timor. This not what the people of East Timor desire. What we want is the right to determine our own lives. With this offer the government hopes to buy off the people of East Timor so that they will be faithful to the Indonesian government."
He stressed that the only peaceful way to resolve the situation in East Timor was through the process of a referendum on self-determination.
"The blood [and suffering] which has been endured for more than 20 years has not been for nothing", added Gusmao. "I hope that the people of East Timor can be patient, because now the results of this struggle are moving forward towards what we hoped for. What is most important is not to give up the struggle, and most importantly to look for a peaceful way to take the struggle forward", he said.
The latest protests clearly show that the vast majority of East Timorese people want independence. The almost daily demonstrations are the most significant to occur in East Timor for many years.
Involving thousands of student and youth activists, the upsurge marks a renewal of the resistance. For this new generation of activists, inspired by the impact of the pro-democracy movement in Indonesia, there is no turning back.