It was with a great deal of hope that in August 1999 we watched as the East Timorese people finally prepared to vote to determine their own futures. This hopefully would signal a new era for this territory. A sorry history of colonialism, violence and oppression seemed to be at an end. This land and its people could now look to a future full of promise. There was however, one last fateful set of events ready to unfold. As the votes were being counted, a wave of violence rose to terrorise the people once again. Once it became clear that the population had voted overwhelmingly in favour of independence, those who opposed it, armed and supported by the Indonesian military, went on a rampage of violence and destruction. This resulted in the deaths of as many as 3000 people. Many thousands were forced to flee into the mountains or into neighbouring West Timor. At the same time, these same people systematically destroyed almost all the government buildings and facilities, leaving the territory in ruins. This was the final chapter in a sad history of suffering under colonial powers. Only intervention by United Nations peacekeepers finally put a stop to the horror.
Some months after these events, Jose Ramos Horta, a leading international campaigner for the independence of East Timor said: "You cannot in this day and age, plan an orderly destruction of a whole country, the abduction of thousands of people, the killing, the rape, and get away with it with impunity."
And yet it seems that almost 4 years later the overwhelming majority of the people responsible for the atrocities committed in 1999 are yet to face justice. Only a handful of people have been charged with any offence. The former Governor of East Timor, Abilio
Soares, was charged with crimes against humanity and was found guilty in August 2002. He was sentenced to three years' imprisonment. Brigadier General Timbul
Silaen, who was responsible for security around the 1999 independence ballot, was acquitted. Five other Indonesian government, police and military officials were also found not guilty of failing to prevent a massacre in Suai on 6th September 1999. There appears to be a lack of commitment by the Indonesian authorities to bring people to justice and when they do face charges, to convict. They seem to be simply ignoring the requirement that serious abuses of human rights should be dealt with in a serious way.
The Indonesian Human Rights Commission named around 200 Indonesian officials as directly or indirectly involved in human rights abuses in 1999, including the Indonesian military commander General Wiranto. So far there has been little evidence of these people facing appropriate justice. Sadly, these days you can get away with the most serious of crimes if the world community simply remains silent in the face of this sort of injustice.
East Timor has tried to deal with issues of human rights abuses itself. It has however, had difficulty due to a lack of resources to deal with such issues. There are simply not enough lawyers with appropriate experience in East Timor. Each case needs proper investigation (Embedded image moved to file: pic25804.gif)and preparation, this is a very costly process especially for such a young country. The East Timorese authorities have tried to bring suspects to face investigation but every request for the transfer of a suspect from Indonesia has been met with silence. Indonesian justice is failing the many victims of human rights abuses in East Timor.
During the 24 years of Indonesian occupation there was no real justice system. People could be arrested without trial, tortured and executed. There was no-one to appeal to. Now there is a basic system that with proper support can be an effective safeguard of human rights in East Timor. A crucial test for the new justice system is how it deals with the current crisis. If the people who abused the human rights of so many East Timorese are not brought to justice then a whole generation of East Timorese will feel cheated. If those who tortured and brutalised East Timorese are seen to get away with it, there will be no reason for the younger generation to honour the law. It could be a recipe for disaster. Respect for the law is essential for a safe and secure East Timor. To respect the law, it needs to be seen to be just.
The law has not properly dealt with the human rights abuses of 1999 or of the previous 24 years of Indonesian occupation. As the first anniversary of independence approaches, now is the time to re-examine the proposal to set up a special international criminal tribunal to properly investigate and prosecute human rights abuses in East Timor. Only by properly dealing with these issues can East Timor move forward in a spirit of justice and true reconciliation. Hope for the future depends on facing the injustices of the past.
TEACHING AND LEARNING ACTIVITIES
Religion/H.S.I.E./English
1. Go to www.cafod.org.uk/asia/etimor_background.shtml and read about East Timor's current situation and its history. What did you discover about its colonial past?
2. Find out some more (from encyclopedias and other books and websites) about major events in East Timor from 1940 (World War Two) to the present. Construct an East Timor timeline for the period 1940 to 2000.
Go to www.caritas.org.au/ourwork/where_easttimor.htm to find out more.
3. Find definitions or descriptions (with help from teachers, parents or other sources) for the words used to describe the work now being carried out in East Timor. Some words include: refugee, displaced person, "aid", humanitarian aid, emergency relief, development project, sustainable development, rehabilitation, justice, violence and peace. Why is this work so important to the East Timorese people? Why is it important for Australia to play a large role in that work?
4. Discuss how you would feel if you were voting for class captain and a group of students threatened you with violence if you did not vote for the one they wanted. Discuss how a whole country might feel if such threats were so bad that people had to leave their home and hide somewhere else. What kinds of problems would that cause for things like survival, learning, and part of being a community?
5. Find out the kinds of things the multinational peace force (INTERFET) did in East Timor. Why was this work so important? What do you think about the idea of armed forces being "peace-keepers"? How might this be different from being "peace makers"?
6. Brainstorm some ideas for how Australian students and schools might assist the peaceful rebuilding of East Timor. Prepare a simple plan to carry out some of these actions.(What can be done? Who can do it? What do we need in order to do it? How long will it take?)
7. Contact aid and development agencies for details of their projects in East Timor. One aid and development agency who has been working in East Timor for a long time is Caritas Australia. Use coloured materials and pictures to make posters to teach others in your school or local community about the good things being done.
COMMUNITY AND PARISH GROUPS
1. Write to your local federal member of parliament to request what Australia's position is on the establishment of an international criminal tribunal in East Timor. Urge them to make representations to the Foreign Affairs minister to lobby the United Nations to set up such a tribunal. Suggest that the present methods of dealing with such serious crimes are inadequate and that crimes against humanity need to be properly dealt with so that justice is done and the victims of these atrocities are not forgotten.
2. Publicise the anniversary of East Timorese independence on the 20th May.
3. Help to promote the cause of peace and reconciliation in East Timor by supporting the work of Caritas Australia. See their website for more information about their work in East Timor: www.caritas.org.au
4. Contact the Mary MacKillop Centre for East Timor Studies and invite Sr Susan Connelly or Sr Josephine Mitchell to speak to your group about their work. Invite the East Timorese choir too!
5. Lobby your local member of parliament to make representations on your behalf asking that the 1500 East Timorese refugees that have been in Australia for up to 10 years should be allowed to stay in Australia.
