May 11, 1999
Dili, East Timor - Two days of attacks by pro-Indonesian militia in the heart of the East Timor capital have rung warning bells for the UN police charged with supervising a vote on autonomy or independence.
"Disorder, to me, makes it even more necessary that the UN should arrive and be allowed to begin its process as soon as possible," Australian ambassador to Indonesia John McCarthy said at the end of a six-day visit to the territory. "(But) the fact that there has been some disorder should not distract from the political will to resolve this issue," McCarthy told AFP.
Human rights monitors said at least five people died on Sunday and Monday in Dili as armed pro-Indonesian militias roamed the city at will, unhindered by security forces. Police reported four deaths. "The situation is uncomfortable, very uncomfortable," McCarthy said. But he said last month's attack by the militia on unarmed refugees in the town of Liquica, which left at least 25 dead, was worse.
A source familiar with the peace plan said the latest violence was unlikely, on its own, to alter UN preparations for the August 8 ballot -- a task which he said would normally take six months but had to be crammed into about one month. The ballot is to be supervised by around 300 foreign police advisers who were due to arrive Monday but were delayed by the violence. But Indonesia is responsible for providing a secure environment.
"I think they have to control the situation. I think they have to take very serious steps," the source said. "They should disarm seriously and not allow hundreds of people wandering around with weapons. This is a sick system." The source urged a complete ban on weapons but said the government would have to issue such an order.
Aniceto Guterres Lopes, director of the Yayasan Hak human rights monitoring body here, said this week's violence could help delay the UN's timetable because Indonesia seems unable or unwilling to control the unrest. "I'm sure the Indonesian government will not manage to complete its task or perhaps doesn't want to carry out the task," said Lopes. "These recent incidents are not surprising to us. It is only part of a long period of violence in East Timor carried out by the Indonesian military and its followers," Lopes said. The UN agreement expects them to "suddenly turn into angels and bring about peace for the people," he said.
Witnesses saw Indonesian troops and police at scenes of violence Sundya and Monday and either among or behind militia convoys. But most appeared to have done nothing to stop the bloodshed.
Basilio Araujo of the Forum for Unity, Democracy and Justice, who is closely associated with the pro-Jakarta militias, accused independence supporters of provoking those who support Indonesia. "I think what the pro-independence group is doing, their strategy, is to force a UN peacekeeping force," Araujo said. He called for reconciliation between the two sides and said the conflict in East Timor could not be solved by referendum or a ballot.
In New York overnight it seemed clear that the United Nations did not feel the urgency that McCarthy felt. UN spokesman Francesc Vendrell said the police contingent had been due Monday but was delayed by the violence. It should arrive around mid-June and the militias had no deadline for laying down their weapons. But "it should happen well in advance of the polls ... by early July at least," Vendrell said.
The UN police force would not carry arms, Vendrell confirmed, which is standard procedure for this type of mission where the police are essentially advisers. "It is up to the Indonesian police to follow their advice or not follow it," Vendrell said.
Vendrell said the mission to organize the balloting could include 600 members from different countries, with some 400 tasked with registering voters and 16 to 18 political advisors. He expected the leader to be named within the next two days and to arrive in Timor around May 20.
