Thursday, March 6, 1997
East Timor, unknown to many, is the center of a savage military
occupation. Nobel Peace Laureate winner Jose Ramos Horta is doing
what he can to change that.By J. Sharon Yee
Daily Bruin Contributor
Very few people know that this year’s Nobel Peace Prize was
awarded to two men who have fought for East Timor’s right to
self-determination.
Even fewer people know where East Timor is.
Despite its tropical location, life on this half-island between
the Indian and Pacific Oceans is hardly paradise.
Last November, the severity of the situation in East Timor
became the focus of world-wide attention when the head of the East
Timor Catholic Church, Bishop Carlos Felipe Ximenes Belo, and the
East Timor diplomatic representative at the United Nations, Jose
Ramos Horta, were jointly given the Nobel Peace Prize.
Yesterday, in front of a packed lecture hall of mostly students,
Ramos Horta spoke about the little-known conflict he has worked to
ameliorate for nearly 22 years.
"Does an internal conflict involving two parties give other
countries the right to intervene?" he asked, referring to
Indonesia’s illegal occupation of East Timor.
"East Timor was never part of Indonesia, nor does it have
territorial claims on the island," he added.
About the size of Connecticut with a beginning population of
800,000, East Timor was a Portuguese colony until 1974, when
tension between pro-independence groups sparked a civil war. Amid
the chaos, Portugal abandoned the country.
According to graduate student Matthew Jardine, Indonesia,
fearful that an "independent East Timor could incite secessionist
movements elsewhere in the ethnically-diverse archipelago or serve
as a platform for leftist subversion," invaded the island on Dec.
7, 1975.
The occupation has not been, by any means, a quiet or a peaceful
one. Through massive bombings and intense armed fighting, Indonesia
has militarily occupied the defenseless island ever since.
In that time, nearly one-third of the population (200,000
people) has been killed.
"For more than 20 years, Ramos Horta has been one of the only
voices for the East Timorese people," said Geoffrey Robinson, a
UCLA history professor whose primary area of study is Indonesian
politics.
"The Nobel Prize has conferred international credibility on the
struggle so that it cannot be ignored anymore," he added.
Ramos Horta, the diplomatic arm of the Revolutionary Front for
an Independent East Timor (FRETILIN), spoke for an hour about a
broad range of topics ranging from Indonesian political culture to
the ethical responsibilities of the United States to intervene,
managing in the process to inject some humor into an otherwise
serious speech.
The international community was relatively unaware of the brutal
occupation of East Timor until six years ago, when on Nov. 12,
1991, Western journalists recorded on tape the massacre at the
Santa Cruz Cemetery in Dili, the capital of East Timor.
What began as a simple funeral procession for a pro-independence
activist who was killed by the Indonesian military two weeks
earlier was turned into yet another instance of Indonesian
oppression and aggression.
Ramos Horta, who has met with foreign policymakers and testified
in front of Congress, focused much of his speech on the role of the
United States, noting, "It is time for the United States to play an
active part of this process."
Experts on the situation say that perhaps the most shocking
aspect of the unspeakable terror being inflicted on the East
Timorese people is the fact that Western nations, in particular the
United States, have been complicit in their silence towards the
issue.
In 1975, the United States refused to end what an Australian
government report called the "indiscriminate killing on a scale
unprecedented in post-World War II history," while supplying
Indonesia with 90 percent of the weaponry used to kill the Timorese
citizens.
"(They) gave Indonesia the green light to launch its invasion,"
said Jardine, referring to a meeting between then-President Ford,
Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, and Indonesian President
Suharto where the invasion was labeled "defensive."
Maria Ortega, a senior political science student, said the
reasons for U.S. support were mainly economic and strategic since
Indonesia is considered the greatest "prize" in southeast Asia in
terms of natural resources. It is also a strategically important
country in terms of U.S. national security in the South
Pacific.
Horta stressed that although now there is greater international
recognition of the situation in East Timor, even today, the United
States has not taken significant measures to condemn the actions of
the Indonesian government, although it has slightly increased
political pressure and cut off small-arms sales.
"Morally and ethically bound, the U.S. would have jumped at the
chance to ‘rescue’ this victim nation, but because Indonesia is so
important to them, they sadly didn’t," said Ortega.
"The U.S. (continues to be) a powerful supporter of the Suharto
regime," Robinson said.
The United Nations has passed 10 resolutions, eight in the
General Assembly and two in the Security Council, all of which
passively condemn the situation, but do not actively do much
else.
The attention that the Nobel Peace Prize has brought to East
Timor has been considered a blessing to those who have endured the
occupation since 1975.
"(Over there) it is impossible to find a family untouched by the
horror committed by the Indonesian army … everyone has a story to
tell," said Jardine, who has visited East Timor twice.
"Internally, people’s hopes have taken off."
Ramos Horta, who himself has lost four siblings in the struggle,
used the opportunity to speak at a university as large and diverse
as UCLA to spread awareness and urge students to encourage the
government to take more decisive action against Indonesia’s
military oppression.
"The U.S. can play a decisive role in ending the occupation and
UCLA is one of the premier universities in the country … here,
one can aspire, motivate, urge the community to force themselves to
ask what the responsibilities we have as a society are," Jardine
said.
"Historically, students have been activists, a revolutionary
group of society, who ideally believe that they can change the
world … that’s why universities are a good target to speak at,"
Ortega affirmed.
Echoing these sentiments, Ramos Horta had the last word.
"I appeal to each and every student to do something, whether
that be contacting their local East Timor Action Network branch, or
urging Congress to support the FRETILIN referendum," he said. "They
can make a difference."
JUSTIN WARREN/Daily Bruin
1996 Nobel Peace Laureate winner Jose Ramos Horta.JUSTIN
WARREN/Daily Bruin
Jose Ramos Horta, joint Nobel Peace Laureate winner, speaks to
students about East Timor, self-determination and U.S. foreign
policy in the Math/Sciences Building.