Asia Times: E Timor put under martial law as criticism grows



	September 08, 1999	atimes.com

Southeast Asia

E Timor put under martial law as criticism grows

JAKARTA - The Indonesian government put East Timor under martial law on Tuesday as it freed resistance leader Xanana Gusmao amid mounting international criticism against Jakarta for failing to halt a four-day killing rampage by anti-independence militias.

Martial law will last until the situation in East Timor returned to normal, officials said. The measure was proposed by defense chief General Wiranto, who said martial law would allow security forces to ''act without hesitation and establish legal certainty''.

Interestingly, Indonesian cabinet officials had met and turned down the same proposal earlier. Information Minister Muhammad Yunus said some cabinet officials had said martial law might be a violation of the May 5 agreement between Indonesia, Portugal and the United Nations which provides that the police - not the military - be in charge of security.

Despite the decree, gangs of pro-Jakarta thugs were still roaming freely about East Timor's capital, Dili.

From the United States, Nobel laureate and East Timorese leader Jose Ramos Horta doubted that the martial-law declaration would make a quick difference in the security situation, saying it was the military that had been backing the militias in the first place. He expressed fears that with most foreign journalists and international staff out of East Timor, ''they [the military] want to repeat the events of 1975 to 1979, when hundreds of thousands were slaughtered without a single international witness''.

The state of military emergency means ''shooting on sight'' those who breach curfew and the ''disarming of people who carry arms against rules and regulations'', Indonesian Foreign Minister Ali Alatas said.

UN Assistance Mission in East Timor (Unamet) chief Ian Martin said a state of military emergency should mean ''people won't be allowed to roam around the streets of Dili, terrorizing and looting'' and that security forces would ''check'' the activity not only of pro-integration groups but the military itself.

Skepticism continues to greet much of the Indonesian government's assurances that it can handle East Timor. Perhaps skeptical of itself, the military on Monday decided to send up to 6,000 more army troops to the island in addition to the 20,000 already there.

Before the martial-law announcement, President Habibie spoke with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan by phone on Monday. In New York, Annan said they agreed that steps had to be taken to implement the results of East Timor's ballot. ''I hope there is immediate positive effect, for it is essential that militia violence and intimidation be brought under control,'' he said. If martial law fails to restore order to East Timor, Annan warned that the international community ''will have to consider what other measures to take''.

Restoring order to East Timor will be difficult no matter which group - Indonesian or international - finally manages to gain the upper hand, given the present state of anarchy. Hundreds of locals have been killed in recent days as pro-Indonesia militias rampage in protest of the territory's vote for independence. On Tuesday morning, armed militia launched an attack on the UN offices in Baucau, some 132 kilometers east of Dili. UN staff were evacuated by Australian aircraft.

As the body count mounts, the refugees continue to pour into Dili and to flee East Timor entirely. Police chief General Roesmanhadi said East Timor had spun out of the control of the government there. At least 16,000 people are taking refuge at the police headquarters. The International Committee of the Red Cross says refugees are streaming into west Timor at 1,000 a day, supporting reports from Dili that militia were herding refugees onto waiting trucks.

Amid this tumultuous violence, Gusmao is free. In reality, however, he is unable to return to his homeland because of the violence. Xanana, 53, was released from house arrest in Jakarta Wednesday morning as the government announced that East Timor had come under martial rule the same day. ''As a free man, I promise to bring peace to East Timor,'' said the bearded Xanana.

Captured in 1992, he had served nearly seven years of a 20-year sentence for acts related to the armed resistance against Indonesian rule in East Timor, which Jakarta invaded in 1975 and annexed the next year. Xanana, president of the National Council for East Timorese Resistanc (CNRT), had been in house arrest since February, and under Suharto's rule had been kept in Jakarta's Cipinang prison.

The irony in the timing of Xanana's release is rich. For many years, the Indonesian government refused to heed international calls for the release of Xanana in order to discuss a settlement for the East Timor problem. With Xanana now out of jail, Indonesian Justice Minister Muladi said, ''We really hope that Xanana Gusmao can participate in the whole process of the East Timor issue.'' In the eyes of many, there is little that even Gusmao can do.

Jakarta had previously planned to free Xanana on September 15 and wanted to bring him to Ouimori in East Timor, the base of the Falintil resistance forces, raising concern for his safety.

Reports say Xanana asked to be released in Jakarta and was reported to staying in the British embassy for the meantime. Manuel Carrascalao of the CNRT said it was better for Xanana to stay in Jakarta for now. ''He can coordinate the reconciliation process [from] here.''

(Inter Press Service)

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