BY JON LAND
When news of the killings in West Timor of workers from the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) by pro-Jakarta militia reached Prime Minister John Howard, he acted quickly to show support for the Indonesian government and defend the ability of the Indonesian military (TNI) to resolve the crisis.
After a brief meeting with Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid at the United Nations Millennium Summit, Howard told reporters: "I do understand Indonesia's difficulties and I've certainly had very strong assurances from President Wahid ... of the determination of his government to do what it can to control the situation more and to track down those responsible for what has happened."
With his call for militia leader Eurico Guterres to be arrested, foreign minister Alexander Downer diverted attention from the role played by the TNI in the incident at Atambua. In his first comments on the attack on the UNHCR compound, Downer neglected to mention that the Indonesian military failed to intervene against the militia mob.
The response by the Howard government to the situation in West Timor is almost identical to those it made last year regarding the militia's actions in East Timor in the period leading up to the August referendum on independence. The government then — as now — expressed complete confidence in the ability of the TNI and police to provide security. Failure to control the militias was due to "rogue" elements, rather than deliberate TNI policy.
Downer and Howard's call for the TNI to restore law and order and disarm the militias sidesteps the reality that the refugee crisis in West Timor and the recent round of violence by the militias are directly attributable to the TNI.
Since crossing into West Timor last September, the militia have conducted their activity with little or no restriction. The Indonesian military is actively aiding the militias in keeping the refugees held hostage, allowing the gangs to use the refugee camps as bases for their terror campaign.
A recent article in the Far Eastern Economic Review, for example, notes that former Kopassus leader General Prabowo Subianto was seen meeting with Guterres in Kupang two months ago. FEER also claims that Western intelligence agents have seen Prabowo in Kupang three times this year, most recently on August 31.
There is little evidence to suggest that the TNI or Indonesian police are going to stop supporting and directing the militias. There is a mountain of evidence indicating otherwise.
Indonesian legal expert Munir, who was also a member of the body established by the National Human Rights Commission to investigate various incidents that occurred in East Timor last year, told Agence France Presse on September 11: "As far as I remember, this is the fifth time since November that the Indonesian authorities are promising to disarm the militias. Do you see any change? ... The difficulties lie in the lack of seriousness of the Indonesians to
honestly seek a settlement."
TNI leaders claim that "outside" sources are fomenting the violence in West Timor. After meeting with armed forces chief General Widodo and the head of police, General Rusdihardjo, the minister for security, Susilo Yudhoyono, made the incredible statement, "The armed forces commander just explained that the militias have been disbanded since 1999 and that more than 600 weapons were seized. However, there are reports that now say the militias still exist and have weapons."
The hand of "neighbourly understanding" is being held out by the Howard government to the TNI leaders responsible for the West Timor crisis and other acts of repression throughout Indonesia. Both the government and the Labor party opposition share the view that rebuilding the relationship with the TNI is a priority.
During the carnage inflicted by the Indonesian military and the militia gangs in East Timor last year, Australia, the United States and the European Union suspended military ties with Indonesia. But aid to the Indonesian military has been slowly resumed. Junior TNI officers have been invited to study in Australia.
Similar overtures are being made by the United States, which has indicated a willingness to renew cooperation with the TNI — ranging from training through to the provision of military equipment — as a "reward" for Indonesia's transition to democracy.
In this process of normalising ties with the TNI, Australia, the US and other states are continually faced with the problem of having to cover up for the actions of the TNI, which remains a real threat to democratic change in Indonesia.
Not one of the Western leaders gathered at the Millennium Summit made any public statement supporting the call by East Timorese leaders Xanana Gusmao and Jose Ramos Horta for the creation of an international war crimes tribunal to try TNI officers and militia leaders responsible for killings and human rights abuses in East Timor last year.
Australia and other allies of Indonesia face the predicament that if the TNI's political and repressive role is weakened, then progressive and radical forces within Indonesia will be provided with greater opportunity to campaign for democratic reforms more far-reaching than those the Wahid government is prepared to implement.
A weakened TNI also means greater potential for Indonesian workers, students and farmers becoming more active in opposition to the austerity measures imposed by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
Despite the September 8 resolution of the UN Security Council condemning the crisis in West Timor and calling for the militias to be disarmed, member states of the council have backed off, claiming too much pressure is being placed upon the Indonesian government at the moment.
French foreign minister Hubert Vedrine stated on September 13, "We must think carefully before exerting new pressures". He was joined by the US representative, Richard Holbrooke, who urged that the proposed UN delegation to Jakarta delay its departure until hearing from Yudhoyono on what steps the Indonesian government is taking to resolve the situation in West Timor.
"Now is not the time to quibble over whether too much pressure is being applied on the Wahid government over the crisis in West Timor", Max Lane, national chairperson of Action in Solidarity with Indonesia and East Timor, told Green Left Weekly.
"The TNI and the militias in West Timor will not cease their activities unless they are forced to do so. The hypocrisy and excuses from Western powers must end now."