Asia Times: Demands for intervention as Timor runs scared



	September 04, 1999	atimes.com

Southeast Asia

Demands for intervention as Timor runs scared

DILI, East Timor - Four days after its self-determination vote, East Timor is turning into a territory of refugees - those fleeing to the capital from areas threatened by pro-independence militias and many others hurrying to get out of the province.

As of Friday morning, at least 400 East Timorese residents were seeking shelter in the compound of the United Nations Assistance Mission in East Timor (Unamet), spokesman David Wimhurst said. Many have come to the compound in the last few days, as armed militiamen began setting up checkpoints and blockades and burning houses. Four local Unamet workers have been reported killed in militia violence.

Preparing for the worst, the Indonesian military has created a contingency plan to evacuate up to 250,000 people by air, sea and land in case of full conflict. Colonel Muhammad Noer Muis, East Timor's military commander, said that if necessary, such an operation would take to 10-12 days to complete. Residents would be gathered in police stations and churches, then brought to embarkation points.

In Dili, the motels are already full as more and more people flock in. Refugees are sleeping on the floor of the Diliyati Motel. Passenger ships going out Dili are overloaded, packed with thousands of residents and families with their belongings who are leaving as fears of more violence peak. Travelers have been spending the night at the port, possibly their safest option. At Dili's Comoro airport, flights out of Dili are fully booked through September 14. The Indonesian airline Merpati serves Dili with two flights a week.

At least 400 Indonesian journalists left for Jakarta on Thursday aboard two Hercules military transport aircraft and more foreign journalists are leaving on chartered flights Friday. Thursday's departure took place only hours after defense chief General Wiranto said the situation in East Timor ''remains under control''.

Despite these assurances from the Indonesian military, East Timorese still express concern. ''We are very apprehensive about what will happen, especially on the day of the announcement of the UN ballot result, '' Joao Carrascalao, head of the National Council of Timorese Resistance, said in an interview in Australia.

Continued violence in East Timor, despite the Indonesian government's responsibility for security on the island, has prompted calls - not only from other countries, but from Timorese leaders as well - for a UN peacekeeping force. ''The Indonesian military is part of the problem, not part of the solution,'' East Timorese leader and Nobel laureate Jose Ramos Horta said in Australia, before leaving for Washington, where he plans to lobby the US Congress and financial institutions to withhold funds from the Indonesian government.

''We need a peacekeeping force to be in place before the announcement of the result of the ballot. This is a very crucial time,'' said Carrascalao. ''If we don't have a peacekeeping force in place, a lot of lives will be lost.'' Militia groups took control of Maliana in the western part of Timor on Friday, prompting UN officials there to leave. Two of the four Unamet deaths took place there, reports say.

Since Thursday evening, Unamet personnel have begun counting the ballots cast by 98.6 percent of registered voters on August 30, where they were asked to choose between autonomy under Indonesia or independence. Wimhurst said Unamet will announce the results only after counting has been completed in a few days. Sources say two-thirds of the vote was cast in favor of independence.

Some residents say that Timorese workers with Unamet, some of whom belong to the Timorese resistance, have not been impartial. Critics say this perception has helped fuel violence by militias who say they cannot accept separation from Indonesia. ''While we are pleased with the high turnout of the ballot, we also found that the Unamet's performance has been questioned,'' UN special representative Jamsheed Marker said after meeting Wiranto in Jakarta Thursday.

In earlier briefings this week, Unamet spokesman David Wimhurst called perceptions of bias a ''misperception and a misunderstanding of the role'' of UN staff, who, he said had been tasked to respond to voters requests for assistance in filling out or marking ballots. UN officials also said there is an electoral commission that will take up signed complaints involving the August 30 ballot.

One pro-autonomy group called United Front for East Timor Autonomy (UNIF) pulled out from its ballot duties, accusing Unamet of disregarding its complaints. ''If the interpretation of a fair and just ballot shall mean that the pro-independence [vote] should win, then the outcome will really just be garbage,'' UNIF said in a statement.

Pro-autonomy supporters have also been accusing local and foreign reporters of favoring independence, and some journalists have been victims of violence in recent days. A report for the ''Kompas'' daily was shot in the right foot and a reporter for the local RVTI television station sustained a head injury last week. Foreign journalists were also hurt in the violent incident that occurred just outside the Unamet compound on Thursday.

This week's violence has prompted Indonesian officials to take a second look at calls for a UN peacekeeping presence. Minister of Justice and State Secretary Muladi says the Indonesian government might consider allowing a UN force to come into East Timor, even as Jakarta continued to get flak from the United Nations and several countries for failing to curb violence in the territory.

''Because it is very complex, in my personal opinion, the possibility [of seeking outside help] must not be ruled out,'' he was quoted as saying after a meeting with President Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie on Thursday. But military officials say they would accept such a UN presence only if the result of the vote were independence, which would mean the withdrawal of Indonesian troops.

Muis, East Timor military commander, says he hoped the situation does not descend into full conflict: ''The only thing we can do now is to anticipate the stream of refugees and to appeal to the conflicting groups to avoid a war.''

(Inter Press Service)

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