229 Jakarta Post slams Belo, Xanana, Habibie

Subject: 'austraLasia' #229

JAKARTA POST SLAMS BELO, XANANA, HABIBIE...

Julian Fox

SUVA: 18th September -- Just the other day I received a note from the

Jakarta Post. They did not trust some of their sources, they said - much of

the information they were getting was coming through the military. But mine

sounds authentic...Perhaps I would be prepared to be in touch. Could I offer

them some names and addresses in Dili perhaps so they could get some

authentic information....! Let me assure readers that any information I

have has gone to Salesian sources and identifiably Catholic sources around

the globe, and not to the Jakarta Post.

I bring you a few lines from the JP from a few days ago:

>Why leave the flock?

>13 September 1999

> The rules of combat are that a commanding officer should never turn and

run

>while in the heat of battle. Troops need a commander for moral support.

Why

>then are we applauding the acts of cowardice by Jose Alexandre "Xanana"

>Gusmao and Bishop Belo?

> Both these men have turned their backs on their foot soldiers and run.

>They have left them to be slaughtered. Bishop Belo was given a Nobel Peace

>Prize, which obviously made him so valuable that he thought he should

leave

> his flock and the 5,000 souls who had sought refuge in his compound. Their

>deaths would have been meaningless next to his. Bishop Basillio, on the

>other hand, felt he should stand with his people and was injured. What

>reward will he get for his bravery? Perhaps he will be allowed to shine

>through Belo's medal.

No love lost there, obviously! But, I suppose, there is a certain

evenhandedness about the Post when it comes to their own government. They

have the following to say in today's editorial:

Jakarta Post Editorial, 17 Sept 1999

>

>Spare us the indignity

>

>Thanks to the leadership of President B.J. Habibie and Indonesian Military

>Commander (TNI) Gen. Wiranto, we Indonesians as a nation have suffered one

>international indignity after another these past two weeks.

>

>The decision to accept on Sunday a United Nations peacekeeping force into

EastTimor -- diplomatically worded as an invitation -- came in the face of

strong

>international pressure. Then on Wednesday, the Security Council unanimously

>voted to establish a multinational force and gave it a full mandate to

restore peace. This means the use of military force if necessary. Rubbing

salt into

>the wound, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan ignored Indonesia's objections

and

>named Australia to head the force.

>

>Prior to this chain of events, Indonesia was widely condemned, bullied, and

>threatened with economic sanctions. The International Monetary Fund and the

>World Bank said they would reconsider their multibillion dollar programs in

>Indonesia. Indonesia became an international pariah for its handling, or

more

>appropriately mishandling, of East Timor.

>

>There are yet more indignities to come, at least for the narrow-minded

>nationalists in this country. The sight of foreign soldiers landing in East

>Timor, and of the Indonesian Military making way for them to take charge of

>security in East Timor could well be the final humiliation. Then there is

the

>prospect of an international tribunal for Indonesian leaders on charges of

>crimes against humanity. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human

Rights has already started work in this direction.

>

>Since Indonesia became an independent and sovereign nation in 1945, it has

>never suffered such an international blow to its dignity. Our two previous

>leaders, Sukarno and Soeharto, although they were often targets of

>international criticism, were adept at steering away from this kind of

>humiliation. If this were the 1960s, Sukarno would probably have told the

>United Nations to go to hell, as he did in 1964 with U.S. aid, and when he

>severed links altogether with the United Nations a few years earlier.

>

>As much as the government and military have tried to shift the focus of

>attention away from what is happening in East Timor by blaming others for

the

>violence -- Australia, Portugal, New Zealand, the United Nations and the

>United States have been targeted -- there is no denying the fact that they

>have brought this on themselves. But the entire nation suffers as a result.

>

>No matter how they explain it, or what excuses they come up with for the

>situation in East Timor, the bottom line is Indonesia is responsible for

>everything that has happened there. The killings, the forced evacuation of

>people from their homes, and the destruction resulting from the scorched-

>earth campaign took place when the territory was under Indonesia's charge.

>When Indonesia signed the deal with the United Nations in May, it not only

>agreed to take responsibility for East Timor's security, it insisted on the

>mandate, claiming that the territory remained under its sovereignty until

East

>Timorese voted otherwise. That means that Indonesia is responsible for the

>lives and property of all East Timorese, and not just for the minority who

>support integration with Indonesia.

>

>Events of the past week or so showed that we, or rather our government,

failed the East Timorese, the international community and the Indonesian

people. The

>international outrage was understandable, for no self- respecting nation

could remain silent in the face of this humanitarian catastrophe. Australia

may

>have>been the harshest critic of all, and some people in this country may

be

>offended by this attitude, but this in no way could wipe out the sins that

we

>have committed in East Timor.

 

 

_____________________________________________

BOSCONET: The trademark of the Salesian Website, Australia:

http://www.bosconet.aust.com

'AUSTRALASIA': rapid newslink for Salesians in Asia and Australia: Please

forward any contributions to jbfox@ozemail.com.au