I move:
Bearing in mind that the territory of East Timor has been illegally occupied by Indonesia since 1975 resulting in the deaths of over 200,000 East Timorese; bearing in mind that the human rights situation in East Timor has deteriorated since the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to Bishop Carlos Belo and Dr. Jose Ramos-Horta in December 1996; in light also of the recent collapse of the Suharto regime, Seanad Éireann calls on the Minister for Foreign Affairs to:
— press for the implementation of the 1997 UN Commission on Human Rights Resolution on East Timor;
— press for effective on-site UN monitoring and;
— use every means at his disposal to ensure that the temporary regime of Mr. Habibie acts to release the acknowledged Timorese leader Xanana Gusmao and to hold an internationally monitored plebiscite on self determination for the indigenous people of East Timor.
I am especially pleased the Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs, Deputy Tom Kitt, is in attendance because I know of his genuine concern in this area. I recall being on the barricades with him on this issue in previous years. A succession of very good Ministers have also taken responsibility in this area.
It is appropriate the Seanad should debate this motion because this House has always had a special interest in the affairs of East Timor. It was raised for the first time close to the original tragic invasion of the island of East Timor by our former distinguished colleague, the then Senator Mary Robinson, subsequently President and now fulfilling an important role as the UN Commissioner for Human Rights. I recall subsequently signing a motion for Mrs. Robinson in the company of Senators Ryan and O'Toole. It is especially satisfying to recall that on each of these occasions there was unanimous support from all sides of the House on a non-partisan basis. It is clear this will happen again this evening. I welcome the absence of an amendment to the motion.
We are a small country but we have played, and can continue to play, a significant role in the resolution of this situation. It is very heartening to note the role played in Irish public life by conscientious and idealistic political lobby groups. In this instance the work of the East Timor Ireland Solidarity Campaign must be mentioned. I salute the work of Tom Hyland, who is in the Chamber this evening, on which I have spoken at length previously. I do not, therefore, intend to rehearse all the details of the remarkable story of his involvement in the matter. However, it is worthy of note that no less an authority than Professor Peter Carey of Oxford University, in a statement on the collapse of the Suharto regime which was carried on the international wire services, paid special tribute to the work of Tom Hyland and indicated that he had played a significant role in the downfall of the Indonesian dictator.
This by any standards is a remarkable achievement. Indeed, I have often wished that some Government would take note of this kind of work in a practical and imaginative manner. Seanad Éireann would be greatly enhanced in its debates on international human rights issues if a future Taoiseach was to have the vision to nominate Mr. Hyland to this House as one of the Taoiseach's eleven. Previous Taoisigh have had this kind of vision and nominated, for example, people of an independent cast of mind from the North of Ireland. It would send a significant signal to people like the dictator Suharto and his successors that the Irish people take these kind issues very seriously.
I referred to previous debates. There is a certain grim satisfaction in seeing matters unfold in Indonesia and East Timor very much as some of us predicted over the years. It is approximately seven years since I predicted that the Indonesian dictatorship would disintegrate from within for economic reasons due to the staggering scale of corruption surrounding Suharto and his circle. This was at a time when virtually all nations were pursuing what they perceived as their own economic self interest in the Pacific rim area and were not inclined to be over critical of the human rights abuses of the Suharto regime. I am glad to say that from time to time, especially in the work of former Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Spring and the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Andrews, Ireland has taken a stronger line in this matter than any of our European or international allies.
Now the situation predicted has come about and, even from self interested motives, it is important that Ireland demonstrates solidarity not just with the oppressed peoples of East Timor but also with the equally oppressed people of Indonesia. A visit to East Timor was arranged for me a year or two ago. I was illegally removed from an aeroplane by the Indonesian secret place. It was a foolish action because it concentrated attention on people who would otherwise have been rightly regarded as fairly insignificant. When I returned home I was complimented on my courage. I did not display any; the people who displayed courage were the Indonesian people who organised our tickets and who probably could have been traced by the secret police.
We have witnessed the fall of Suharto and his replacement by Mr. Habibie. I do not, however, believe that this is the end of the matter. Habibie is clearly a transitional figure. Nevertheless much appears to be changing. Even the impersonal forces of fate and destiny, called ironically by the Greeks the Eumenides, or the kindly ones, played a role with the helicopter crash on 5 June in East Timor which removed from the scene as if by divine intervention the entire senior Indonesian military leadership in East Timor, including some spectacularly unsavoury persons who had been involved in widespread human rights abuses and torture. Let me remind the House that this torture included slicing the flesh of civilian captives in front of their fellow villagers and rubbing chilli powder into the wounds, burying people up to their necks in the blazing sun until they died from heat stroke, literally tearing children from the wombs of their mothers and smashing the heads of infants off blocks. One recalls also the massacre at Dili itself which the world, thanks to the work of people such as John Pilger, Max Stahl and of course our own Tom Hyland, now recognises at last and deplores.
However, the misery is not completely at an end. While we in Dublin were celebrating Bloomsday on 16 June, a young man, Herman Soares, aged 21, was shot by Indonesian soldiers while collecting wood with his cousins, dying en route to hospital. This led the next day to a demonstration of about 3,000 people who accompanied a black sedan carrying the body of Soares. Led by students from the University of East Timor they sang and prayed as they made their way to the Governor's office and then to the provisional parliament building. A few dozen students occupied the parliament building briefly and strung up banners critical of the Indonesian military. One banner read "Demilitarise Timor — When?" East Timorese students also demonstrated in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, where last month protesters took over the national parliament after security forces shot at least four student demonstrators. It was these deaths that triggered the protests and riots which were instrumental in forcing President Suharto to step down after 32 years in power.
The murder of Herman Soares was not unusual. What marked a difference was the uncharacteristic response of the Indonesian military authorities who apologised for the shooting and announced that an officer had been detained for questioning. To many in East Timor Mr. Soares has become a martyr. His death sparked a series of protests which concentrated on a demand for a referendum on the status of East Timor. A member of the Timorese parliament, Florentino Sarmento, a former solider with the army of Portugal in Indonesia, said "I think it is understandable because we have been living under oppression for so long, so the students are coming out."
It was also highly unusual that despite the political turbulence few Indonesian soldiers were visible on the streets of Dili, a marked contrast to seven years ago when Indonesian army troops shot dead more than 50 people in a similar protest. Greater press freedom has also emerged and the fact that the soldiers stood back and allowed students to occupy the parliament building would have been unthinkable a few short months ago.
The deputy chief of the East Timor Military Command, Colonel Mudjino, was quoted by Agence France Press as saying “What happened was a mistake by the armed forces and I have ordered a thorough investigation. We have apologised to the family, to the Bishop and the public in general. In essence our personnel were at fault. There was no reason for shots to be fired since the soldiers only suspected the victim of stealing wood.”. Mr. Soares was in fact gathering wood to provide ballast for his truck which he was driving with his cousin, Olandino Soares. Olandino, who has already lost two of his own brothers in the conflict, is quoted as saying “It is better to let the military go to their own country, if they stay here they will kill us”.
I note from today's Irish Times that the Indonesian Foreign Minister, Mr. Ali Alatas, who we in Ireland will remember for his undignified behaviour when confronted by Deputy Spring in New York, has said that his government was ready to give East Timor special status in an attempt to find a lasting solution to the issues. President Habibie is also to meet Nobel Prize winning Bishop Carlos Belo.
However, what is missing from the report is the sinister connection which Alatas is attempting to establish between the granting of special status — which in any case is quite inadequate at this point — and the release of the Timorese leader, Xanana Gusmao, to recognition by the international community that East Timor is part of the integrated territory of Indonesia. This is an astonishing and cynical piece of impertinence on the part of Alatas. It is not possible to mitigate one breach of human rights with another. Moreover, the question must be asked in terms of his suggestions that the substantial elements of this special status can be discussed with Portugal. This suggestion breathtakingly eliminates from such discussion the representatives of the very people most centrally involved, the East Timorese themselves. I therefore call tonight for the direct involvement of representatives of the East Timorese people in any such negotiations.
With regard to Mr. Habibie, although there have been some concessions with the release of prisoners etc. there have been no substantial political reforms. The new President, B. J. Habibie, has said that he will wait until 1999 before calling new parliamentary elections. This is mainly so that he can place his own people in positions of power and strengthen his position in the government. The military see him as a caretaker President and he wants to stay in power until 2003 when the next Presidential elections are due.
The economic crisis in Indonesia continues to be harsh, with reports of food shortages coming in from the outlying provinces. There is also a certain amount of infighting going on within the military. One example of this is the fact that the head of the armed forces, General Wiranto, appointed General Johnny Lumintang as head of Kostrad, the strategic reserve command. Lumintang, however, is a Christian and this was found to be unacceptable to the Islamic generals. This indicates that the armed forces are not loyal to the Republic of Indonesia but have loyalty to regions in Indonesia or to other Islamic generals.
All the signs indicate that although Suharto is gone the regime remains essentially the same. Mr. Habibie is a crony of Suharto and most of the other cronies also remain in power. The armed forces are still the main force in Indonesian political life and do not want to give up this position which allows them the biggest say in the day to day running of the economy.
With regard to the island of East Timor itself and its current situation, there are still about 20,000 Indonesian troops occupying the island. The Timorese themselves are demonstrating on a daily basis both in Jakarta and Dili for a valid act of self determination so that they can decide their own future. Under international pressure Habibie has released about 14 East Timorese political prisoners but scores more remain in prison. Many international leaders, including a Freeman of the city of Dublin, President Nelson Mandela of South Africa, have lobbied for the release of Xanana Gusmao. Mr. Habibie now offers to release Gusmao and reduce the number of Indonesian troops in East Timor in exchange for the international community accepting East Timor as part of Indonesia. Naturally, the Timorese have rejected this as blackmail. Xanana Gusmao should not be in prison and the Indonesian troops should not be in East Timor in the first place. However the fact that Mr. Habibie wants the international community to "accept" Timor as part of Indonesia is a first admission by the Indonesian government that they know the international community does not accept Indonesian control over East Timor.
The three main demands of the Indonesian people and their leaders are: the immediate and unconditional release of Xanana Gusmao; the withdrawal of Indonesian troops from the territory; and a plebiscite or referendum by the people of East Timor on the issue of self determination.
The East Timorese resistance forces have offered a generous peace plan. Phase one consists of nine steps which are as follows: a call for an immediate end to all armed activities in East Timor — Fretilin has already offered a ceasefire which was rejected by the Indonesians; the reduction of Indonesian troops to a maximum of 1,000; the removal of all heavy weapons; the release of all political prisoners; the gradual reduction of Indonesian civil servants in East Timor; the introduction of UN specialist observers in human rights and political rights; an objective census of the population to ensure that only indigenous East Timorese rather than transmigrants can vote in any referendum; the establishment of a Human Rights Office; and an end to military control of the media and political censorship.
Phase two consists of four steps to take place over the next five to ten years. First, Portugal and Indonesia to normalise relations; second, the legalisation of all political parties; third, the appointment of a permanent EU representative and finally local elections to be held under the auspices of the UN.
As a third phase, within 15 years the people of East Timor should be allowed a democratic decision between full independence or integration with Indonesia.
