Attach Conditions to Indonesian Military Ties
Re “Election Draws Huge Turnout in East Timor,” Aug. 31: On Aug. 30, 93% of registered voters in East Timor cast ballots for a constituent assembly. But East Timorese dreams for a new nation are clouded by continual obstructions of freedom and justice by the Indonesian military.
The U.S. must not renew military ties with Indonesia until certain minimum conditions regarding East Timor are met. The 80,000 East Timorese still held in refugee camps in Indonesian West Timor must be allowed to safely repatriate or resettle. The Indonesian military must disband and disarm the militias it created to carry on a reign of terror against the East Timorese. The U.S. must also actively work for an international war crimes tribunal for East Timor to be established by the United Nations.
East Timor is doing all it can to create a democracy. The U.S. must do all it can to bolster those worthy efforts by supporting the rule of law, not the repressive rule of the Indonesian military.
Mark Rhomberg
Los Angeles
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Last week’s peaceful vote in East Timor was welcome news. Not so welcome, however, is the Bush administration’s stated goal of resuming ties with the Indonesian military, the same forces that destroyed East Timor two years ago. While the violence raged in September 1999, the Indonesian government refused to allow U.N. peacekeepers into East Timor, despite intense international pressure. What finally changed their minds, after two weeks of unchecked bloodshed? The Clinton administration cut off all ties with the Indonesian military. Suddenly, the Indonesian government decided to allow peacekeepers to land, and the systematic destruction came to an end.
Congress has sensibly attached some very minimal conditions to the U.S. resuming ties with the Indonesian military. The military must disarm its militias, allow the East Timorese still trapped in West Timor to return safely home and hold accountable the men responsible for the destruction, torture, rape and murder in East Timor. This is not much to ask, in return for the latest weaponry and training. If the Bush administration is really concerned about the democratization of Indonesia, let’s work through diplomatic channels, rather than punishing the innocent by arming the guilty.
Lisa Rosen
Los Angeles
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