wfn.org | Assembly Calls for Peace, Fair Election in East Timor

[PCUSA NEWS <pcusa.news@ecunet.org>]

GA99128 
25-June-1999 
 
      Assembly Calls for Peace, Fair Election in East Timor 
 
FORT WORTH   An overture calling for an end to the violence that has 
wracked East Timor for 20 years passed through the 211th General Assembly 
of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) without a word from the 560 
commissioners on the plenary floor. 
     The action came just weeks before Timorese are to vote on a volatile 
referendum for self- determination, deciding whether the tiny Pacific 
island will become a territory of Indonesia or an independent nation. 
     "Our concern is that the people of East Timor be given the chance to 
speak their conscience through a referendum in an environment free of 
intimidation and manipulation," Moderator Arlindo Marcal of the Christian 
Church of East Timor (Gereja Kristen di Timor Timur) told the Presbyterian 
News Service. "The people of East Timor are at a historical turning point. 
After decades of struggle for justice in the midst of many injustices, we 
are only now being given an opportunity to choose independence or 
continuing as part of Indonesia." 
     Violence   with the Indonesian military and pro-integration militias 
on one side and independence-seeking guerrillas on the other   is 
escalating to the point that the referendum, initially scheduled for Aug. 
7, has been postponed for two to three weeks. 
     East Timor, a former Portuguese colony, was invaded by Indonesia in 
1975, when the tiny territory was nearing the end of its decolonization 
process. The United Nations' Security Council and the U.N. General Assembly 
immediately adopted resolutions affirming the right of the East Timorese to 
self-determination, and called on the Indonesian government in Jakarta to 
withdraw its occupation forces.   
     But 24 years later, the Rev. Jay Losher of Dallas, a PC(USA) 
missionary to Indonesia, described the violence as "kind of like Vietnam, 
only in slow-motion. It's not as large, but in places, it is as intense ... 
     "We've just not been fully aware of it." 
     The East Timorese fear that the violence and threats of violence will 
keep people who support independence away from the polls. The indigenous 
East Timorese fear that the Indonesian troops cannot be trusted to stay 
neutral, and may so upset the fragile political situation that a full-blown 
civil war will ensue. Many believe the pro-integration militias are being 
used by the military to terrorize civilians who support independence. 
     The PC(USA) liaison to East Timor, the Rev. Victor Makari, said the 
denomination intends to send a monitoring team to observe the balloting, 
joining  U.N. monitors who have been getting into place since May. 
     "The violence and intimidation that our congregations are facing is 
beyond imagination," said Marcal, who said some congregations on the 
western part of the island stopped meeting for worship after some members 
were forced to flee because of their political views.  
     "In the past few months alone, hundreds have been killed or have 
disappeared," Marcal said. "Thousands have fled into the jungle or across 
the border into West Timor simply to stay alive. 
     "However, even as refugees in West Timor, they are still not safe from 
the violent campaigns of 'political cleansing,'" he said, adding that such 
displacement may seriously affect East Timor's agrarian economy because 
refugee families will not be at home to plant and harvest. 
     The overture   from the Presbytery of San Joaquin   instructs church 
leaders to communicate the denomination's concerns to officials of the U.S. 
and Indonesian governments and to the U.N.  It calls for a full 
investigation of human-rights abuses against ethnic groups and religious 
minorities, and asks that partner churches in Indonesia be told that the 
PC(USA) will "pray and stand in solidarity" with them. 
     Losher said many indigenous Timorese believe that voting for the 
autonomy package is tantamount to sanctioning the status quo, a situation 
where income from East Timor's mineral, oil and timber resources are 
siphoned off into the broader Indonesian economy, and little is re- 
invested in the Timorese infrastructure. "The main issue is control of 
their own resources," he said, noting that control of the local economy is 
essential if the Timorese choose independence. 
     That's why many of the indigenous Timorese want full independence. 
     Asked about the virtual silence with which the Assembly voted on the 
overture, Losher paused, noted the complexity of the situation in East 
Timor and said: "The Assembly doesn't have a frame of reference. ... They 
just don't know how to connect." 
     Facilitating a connection is what Marcal hoped to accomplish by 
traveling to Fort Worth despite concern about his own safety. "We are in a 
very critical time," he said. "In August we are going to decide the future, 
and I am not sure that East Timorese feel free to vote" when polling places 
are surrounded by soldiers. 
     "That's why we need your support and your prayers," he said. "So the 
East Timorese feel free to vote for the future." 
 
Alexa Smith 

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