East Timor's false
* Australia friends
Hypocrisy and cynicism are the main characteristics of Australia's policy towards Indonesia and East Timor After the fall of Indonesian dictator Suharto in May, the independence struggle in East Timor entered a new phase. Australia's conservative government and Labor opposition welcomed Suharto's decision to step down, hoping his departure would stabilise Indonesia's political, social and economic crises.
Initial statements by new President B.J. Habibie indicated that there was to be a new approach on the issue of East Timor, with talk of greater freedom, autonomy and a reduced military presence.
Australian foreign affairs minister Alexander Downer welcomed this supposed change, while continuing to express the government's view that East Timor was an integral part of Indonesia. East Timor "is obviously a very divided
, Downer observed, and "there is no point trying to resolve the issue with a
Political and social unrest has continued in Indonesia and the East Timorese remain defiant with their demand for independence. In response, Downer announced a "historic" East Timor. In December, Australia acknowledged that the people of East Timor should have the right to carry out an unspecified act of self-determination after a lengthy period of autonomy. The preferred option is that East Timor remain part of what Prime Minister John Howard terms an "understanding Indonesia",
Then the Indonesian government indicated that the People's Consultative Assembly (parliament), would consider letting East Timor go altogether after the June 1999 elections, if the people of East Timor rejected its offer of autonomy. ALP looks ahead
On February 4", Labor's foreign affairs spokesperson Laurie Brereton criticised the party's shameful record when in office. He was strongly rebuked by his ministerial predecessor, Gareth Evans, and by Labor leader Kim Beazley. Beazley even claimed that Labor "took a very strong stand with our Indonesian colleagues on the human rights issues" in East Timor.
Brereton and Evans have been in conflict since November, when Brereton 18 International Viewpoint #310 April 1999 began the push for a Senate inquiry into the 1975 murder of Australian journalists by Indonesian troops during the invasion of East Timor, and into past and present government policies towards East Timor. In December the Senate agreed to an inquiry which will specifically exclude the journalists' deaths.
Brereton's efforts are part of a shift intended to distance Labor from its past record in case East Timor gains independence. It is hoped the change will place a future Labor government in a more favourable light when negotiating with an independent East Timorese government over such things as foreign investment or a new Timor Gap oil treaty.
In January 1998 Labor returned to its pre-1984 policy of support for a "process" of self-determination for East Timor. Now, as then, Labor has failed to actively campaign on this new policy. In fact, Labor is doing the opposite.
Less than a week after Suharto relinquished the presidency, Labor voted with the governing Coalition to defeat Greens senator Bob Brown's motions calling for the Indonesian government to release resistance leader Xanana Gusmao and all other Indonesian and East Timorese political prisoners, and allow East Timor a free vote on self-determination, including the option of unfettered independence, and for the Australian government to suspend military assistance to Indonesia until fair and free elections have been
It was not until just before Australia's federal election in October 1998 that Labor began to openly espouse its January *98 policy on East Timor. Labor had been so quiet about its support for "negotiations towards self-determination" that many media reports heralded Labor's statements on the issue as a new and major policy change.
Labor's shift was motivated by the need to differentiate itself more clearly from the Coalition on foreign policy issues. It also signalled a more astute analysis by Labor's policy advisers of the rapidly changing conditions within East Timor, where large mobilisations demanding independence were taking place regularly. These mass rallies reflected the overwhelming sentiment of the East Timorese people. Howard's "restraint"
Protests and riots within Indonesia during the latter half of 1998 further we serves was vida cane, by prominent liberal opposition leaders and democracy activists.
The Howard government stood by its position of continuing the closest possible links with the Indonesian military. "Our position is that the military contact we have with the Indonesian armed forces has been a very useful vehicle for us to encourage the exercise of restraint... and our view is that by and large the military have exercised restraint said foreign minister Downer.
Both Labor and Liberal have argued that close ties between the Australian Defence Force and the Indonesian army will help professionalise Indonesian soldiers and make them more conscious of human rights. This argument has been disproved by the indiscriminate killings in recent weeks in Aceh and the arming of anti-independence militias in East
Military training exercises with Indonesia were suspended in October. But defence minister John Moore went to great lengths to explain that this was by mutual agreement, because Indonesia could not afford to cover the cost of the Freedom is coming
The policies of the Australian government and the Labor opposition are being rendered increasingly irrelevant by the rapid pace of events in Indonesia and East Timor. This will be exacerbated by the recent talks on the status of East Timor at the United Nations.
"If Labor and the Coalition were serious about supporting the East Timorese people, they would revoke their formal recognition of Indonesia's sovereignty over East Timor," argues Max Lane, national coordinator of Action in Solidarity with Indonesia and East Timor. "Defence ties and economic aid to Indonesia would be suspended indefinitely until all Indonesian troops are withdrawn from East Timor, the pro-Jakarta militias they have created in East Timor, are disarmed and Xanana Gusmao and all other East Timorese political prisoners are released.
"Both Labor and the Coalition should support the immediate granting of bridging visas to the 1,500 East Timorese asylum seekers, and provide special rehabilitation, education and training programmes to enable them to play a role in rebuilding East Timor. This should be funded by a levy on Australian companies who have profited through exploiting cheap labour and resources in Indonesia and East Timor:"
According to Lane, "until these and other concrete measures are carried out,
Labor's and the Coalition government's words about the situation of the East
Timorese people will remain shallow and meaningless." * Source: Green Left Weekly, 10 February 1999. For more information see <www.peg.apc.org/~asiet>.
NEW ARRIVAL 50%
Indonesia
PRD to stand
The Peoples Democratic Party (PRD) has decided to participate in the 1999 elections. According to the party's representative, Faizol