April 08, 1999
| | |
| ||
| April 08, 1999 | atimes.com | |
| ||
| Southeast Asia Planning a future for a Timor at war By Andrew Nette MELBOURNE - In the largest ever gatheringof its kind, more than 250 East Timorese professionals, academicsand politicians from around the world are meeting in this Australian city to map outplans for what they hope will soon become their independent homeland. Attending the five-day conference are East Timorese fromPortugal, the former colonial ruler which the United Nationsrecognizes as the territory's administrator, as well as Mozambique, theUnited States, Indonesia and Timor itself. But overshadowing the meeting is concern over the deterioratingsecurity situation in East Timor. Observers worry this could frustrate any chance for apeaceful transition to independence, and derail implementation ofany plans for the economic and social development of East Timor. On Monday, resistance forces claimed that 17 people werekilled when pro-Jakarta militia units, which are backed by the Indonesianmilitary, opened fire on pro-independence civilians in Mauboketown, west of the capital Dili. Detained East Timorese resistance leader Xanana Gusmao, who formonths has been urging patience by resistance forces in EastTimor, declared he had little choice but to make preparations forrenewed war. ''I now wish to inform the international community that thesituation has reached an intolerable limit in East Timor,'' Gusmaosaid in a statement Monday. He authorized East Timorese guerrillas ''to undertake allnecessary action in self-defence of the population of East Timoragainst the unprovoked and murderous attacks of armed civiliangroups and ABRI (the Indonesian armed forces)." Gusmao, president of the National Council ofEast Timorese Resistance (CNRT), argued: ''We receive many promises of aid and cooperation for a futureindependent Timor, when what we need is unequivocal and immediatesupport to put an end to the bloodshed and violence in theterritory." For many at the Melbourne meeting, planningfor independence cannot really happen without an end to factionalviolence. ''The Indonesian military are playing a game,'' said Zaccariasde Costa, CNRT representative to the European Union. He explained: ''They know that Gusmao is in Jakarta, and thatevery day the East Timorese people are saying to him, 'you areliving in Jakarta but we are here and we are dying so you have todo something, the resistance has to react, you have to react'." Thus, many say an international peacekeeping force has to bedeployed in East Timor immediately. ''The fears of those who say the UN troops are needed in EastTimor are real,'' added de Costa. ''The situation on the ground is deteriorating day by day.There are no guarantees that Indonesian forces will withdraw, soit's important not only to have UN presence in East Timor, notjust monitors but armed peacekeepers,'' he said. Despite fears about continued violence, already being seen bymany in the outside world as 'proof' that East Timor would havedifficulty with self-rule, East Timorese leaders say they mustpersist with planning ahead. ''This is the first time in the history of East Timor that itschildren are gathered together for a real analysis, and to plan adevelopment strategy for the first years which will mark thebeginning of a new future, toward the direction of independence,full of our yearnings and toil,'' Gusmao told the meeting in a pre-videotaped message aired Monday. ''We are practically starting from zero in all areas,'' hesaid. ''Let us not be captivated by the methodologies of solvingsocial emergency problems with which we are lately preoccupied." Nobelpeace laureate Jose Ramos Horta said: ''We are here to discuss the future of East Timor. How will we feed thepeople of East Timor? How will we survive economically?" Organized under the CNRT, the Melbourne meeting is the secondof a series of international consultations on East Timor's future. The first, held in Algarve, Portugal in October 1998, saw thecreation of working groups for areas including health, education,women, economic development and other sectors. Solidarity groups, international experts, World Bank and otherdonor officials are also attending the conference. Organisers say the meeting will try to formulate a concretepolicy blueprint for everything from the status of women to masscommunications, and the provision of infrastructure in anindependent East Timor. It is also billed as an opportunity for East Timor to discussand learn from the experiences of other nations that have gonethrough decolonization. ''Decolonization is a two-step process. The first step sees thephysical withdrawal of a colonial power and the organizationaltakeover of power,'' said Robert Wolfgramm, a lecturer at Australian National University. ''The second stage is more complex. This involves theredefinition of the self from colonized to free, from victim tovictor." High on the resistance's agenda is some sort of economic visionfor East Timor. ''We need to come up with a plan that willreassure our neighbors, especially Australia, that just as we canfight for independence in the jungles, we can survive economicallyin peace time,'' Horta said. He said there is a need, after 23 years of civil war, to bringnot just peace but restore ''some measure of prosperity'' to EastTimor. Another priority, say organizers, is to heal divisions withinthe East Timorese diaspora of 20,000 to 30,000, so that theirskills and resources can be channeled into rebuilding the countryafter decades of Indonesian occupation. ''This conference is an attempt to include all East Timoresepeople regardless of their political affiliation,'' said MilenaPirez, a London-based expert on gender. But for Da Costa, the immediate support East Timor needs is thepullout of Indonesian troops. ''If there is an agreement that the Indonesian military forceswithdraw from East Timor, then we have some sort of climate todevelop our plan,'' he said. ''The problem is that it is verydifficult to think about our future without stability." (Inter Press Service) | |||||||||
 |
|
Front | China | Southeast Asia | Japan | Koreas | India/Pakistan | Central Asia/Russia | Oceania Business Briefs | Global Economy | Asian Crisis | Media/IT | Editorials | Letters | Search/Archive |
back to the top ©1999 Asia Times Online Co., Ltd. |
