Officials Cite Continuing Problems of Security
By Michael Richardson
June 21, 1999
Dili, East Timor - Kofi Annan, the Secretary General of the United Nations, is expected to announce on Monday or Tuesday that he will delay by several weeks East Timor's self-determination vote, which is scheduled Aug. 8. The decision follows strong expressions of concern by UN officials about a continuing lack of security in the territory. The officials say that Indonesian authorities have failed to do enough to ensure that a free and fair vote can take place.
Diplomats said Sunday that in making his report to the Security Council on the need for a postponement, Mr. Annan is also expected to cite logistical difficulties confronting the UN as it tries to meet a tight deadline in getting its staff, transport and equipment into place. East Timor is a poor and mountainous region where as many as four out of 10 villages are inaccessible by road. Fewer than 150 of the planned contingent of 900 members of UNAMET, the UN Mission to East Timor, are in the territory. The first group of about 40 civilian UN police officers is due to fly from Darwin, in northern Australia, to Dili, East Timor's capital, on Monday or Tuesday. Officials said they were to have left Saturday but were delayed because of logistical problems.
In the last few days, representatives of the UN in East Timor have complained to the Indonesian government about major breaches of the international agreement under which the UN is organizing and conducting the ''popular consultation.''
The vote is intended to end long and bloody conflict in the territory by allowing its people to choose whether they want to become independent or to remain part of Indonesia with extensive autonomy. Indonesia invaded East Timor, a former Portuguese colony, in 1975 and incorporated it as a province in 1976, contending that most of the population wanted integration. But the takeover was resisted by pro-independence guerrillas, supported by many East Timorese, and was never recognized by the UN.
The reported violations include first-person accounts by UN staff members of armed pro-integration militia groups being trained, and led on operations against suspected independence supporters, by the Indonesian military. Under the international agreement, security is the responsibility of Indonesian police officers advised by the UN police. The military is supposed to be neutral.
Ian Martin, the head of UNAMET, said Friday that the question of delaying the vote was under discussion in New York and would have to be decided by Tuesday - the day the process for registering up to 400,000 voters is supposed to begin. Indonesian officials said that they opposed a postponement, arguing that security conditions were improving and did not justify a delay. The officials said that a new peace agreement, supported by the Indonesian armed forces commander, General Wiranto, and signed by opposing East Timorese faction leaders in Jakarta on Friday, would help to ease tensions further.
Under the agreement, the pro-integration and pro-independence leaders promised to promote ''a conducive peace'' for the registration, campaigning and voting in East Timor. They also agreed to call on their followers to surrender their arms. A UNAMET spokesman, David Wimhurst, said Saturday that the agreement was ''a positive step and a good beginning.'' But he added that ''a great deal of work is needed to translate the agreement into peace and stability on the ground.''
In an interview, Mr. Martin emphasized that the final decision on whether to delay or proceed as planned in East Timor rested with Mr. Annan. ''Certainly the security conditions we are seeing at the moment are still a long way from the way they would have to be for a positive assessment,'' he said. ''But I think it would be very unfortunate if there were to be a substantial delay because the pressure of deadlines is very important to ensure that all parties play their parts.''
In a personal message to the people of East Timor relayed by the territory's radio, television and its sole newspaper, Mr. Annan said Thursday that an atmosphere of security and peace was ''essential'' for the consultation process to move forward. ''Violence from all sides must stop,'' he added. Diplomats said that by delaying the start of registration and the voting date, probably by three weeks, Mr. Annan was hoping that international pressure would persuade the Indonesian authorities, especially the military, to observe the terms of the May 5 agreement between Indonesia and Portugal.
A delay would be an embarrassment for Indonesia, which needs to maintain international goodwill to get foreign loans, aid and investment to help its economy recover from its worst recession in more than 30 years. Mr. Martin said that another major UN concern was the persistence of political campaigning by pro-autonomy groups backed by Indonesian authorities in breach of the May 5 agreement. ''There is mounting evidence that much of this campaigning is supported by public funds, public officials in their official capacity, and that there has been pressure on other public officials to declare themselves for the autonomy option,'' he said. Under the agreement, government officials can campaign only in their personal capacity, and not before the designated period begins on July 20. The UN is also alarmed at a humanitarian crisis provoked by what is says are tens of thousands of East Timorese refugees, who say they have been driven from their homes by militia threats and violence. Coupled with the climate of fear and intimidation in many parts of East Timor, such a large number of refugees will complicate the task of carrying out a proper registration of voters, UN officials said.
