Global Policy Forum

by Christine T. Tjandraningsih

The leader of a Japanese parliamentary delegation visiting East Timor expressed confidence Thursday East Timorese will welcome the proposed participation of the Self-Defense Forces (SDF) in U.N. peacekeeping operations despite objections from some local nongovernmental organizations (NGOs).

'Before we decide whether we will dispatch (the SDF members) or not, we have to explore the situation in East Timor,' former Defense Agency chief Fumio Kyuma of the ruling Liberation Democratic Party (LDP) told a press briefing. 'We want to watch the real situation in East Timor with our eyes. We would like to listen to the East Timorese people's voices to know their desires,' he added.

The delegation, comprising members of the LDP and its coalition allies -- the New Komeito party and the New Conservative Party -- arrived at Comoro airport outside Dili earlier in the day. The members were met by East Timorese independence hero Xanana Gusmao. They also met with new East Timor government officials, including with Chief Minister and Minister for Economy and Development Mari Alkatiri and Senior Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation Jose Ramos-Horta.

Constituent Assembly Speaker Lu Olo also attended the meeting during which everyone 'welcomed the Japanese SDF participation in the peacekeeping operations,' which is expected from next spring, Kyuma said. Ramos-Horta even said Japan's participation 'will be desirable and welcomed,' according to the Japanese lawmaker.

'After independence, it is important to maintain infrastructure, such as roads, and the Japanese SDF are very well trained,' Kyuma said. 'The leaders feel the SDF can play a very important role in the activity, which is expected by many East Timorese people,' he added.

The Japanese government's plan to dispatch SDF members to East Timor for peacekeeping duties has been strongly criticized by NGOs here. The NGOs oppose the planned dispatch on grounds that the East Timorese people had a bitter experience with the Japanese military during World War II, and funds to send the troops could be better used to compensate victims of the Japanese occupation such as forced laborers and comfort women.

Asked about the NGOs' opposition, Kyuma said, however, that in the meeting with the East Timorese leaders, they said the opposition came from a small minority. According to Kyuma, Ramos-Horta, a 1996 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, even said Japan has dramatically changed since World War II. Kyuma stressed that the Japanese SDF members who will be sent to East Timor are 'not a combat team, but an engineering battalion.'

In the meeting between the Japanese parliamentarians and East Timorese leaders, Alkatiri also asked the Japanese government 'to continue support for East Timor's economic development,' Kyuma said. 'After independence, the economic cooperation will be important,' Kyuma quoted Alkatiri as saying. The parliamentarians also met with Sergio Vieira de Mello, head of the U.N. Transitional Administration in East Timor and U.N. Peacekeeping Force Commander Lt. Gen. Winai Phattiyakul. On Friday morning, they are to visit the headquarters of the U.N. peacekeeping force to see the activities of a Bangladeshi engineering battalion and Portuguese infantry battalion.

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