The following report indicates that the massacre
of East Timorese peoples was planned months in
advance and "Western intelligence services knew
about it."
The Toronto Globe and Mail is Canada's daily
conservative business newspaper.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/gam/International/19990913/UDILIN2.html
see also:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/gam/International/19990913/UEASTN.html
The Globe and Mail] Monday, Sep 13, 1999
How the Indonesian army plotted to destroy a nation
For nearly a year, generals hatched murderous plan
to block independence for East Timor -- and Western
intelligence services knew about it
London Observer Service; With reports from John Aglionby in
Jakarta, Jason Burke in London, Christopher Zinn in Darwin,
Eduardo Gonzales in Lisbon, Ed Vulliamy in New York.
Monday, September 13, 1999
The morning dawned bright and
humid. The dirty, dusty streets of
Dili were emptier than usual. It
was Tuesday, Aug. 31, and the
people of East Timor had woken to
an uncertain future.
The day before, they had voted
overwhelmingly for independence
from their Indonesian overlords.
The result of the poll, though
some days away, was obvious. As
far as the people of East Timor
were concerned, their days of
bondage were over.
But in the anonymous military
headquarters in Dili, a small
group of men was deep in talk. For
them, rule from Jakarta was
anything but finished. The men
were the leaders of Indonesia's
military machine on the island and
the chiefs of the three biggest
militia gangs. And the topic was
the total eradication of the
pro-independence East Timorese
population.
Documentary evidence, clandestine
intelligence intercepts and
eyewitness accounts show that the
atrocities in East Timor have been
carefully conceived for nearly a
year by the Indonesian army. The
aim, quite simply, is to destroy a
nation. Our investigation has also
revealed that Western intelligence
services were also aware of the
army's plans -- and warned the
United Nations, many months ago.
At military headquarters in Dili,
a greying, tight-lipped Indonesian
soldier, Major-General (Zacky)
Anwar Makarim, outlined what he
wanted done. The militias were to
conduct house-to- house searches
in pro-independence towns and
villages and put Dili under siege.
All routes in and out of the city
were to be blocked, and water and
electricity supplies cut. All
communications with the outside
world would be stopped.
Then, the commanders were told,
their men would have to round up
thousands of women and children
who would be trucked across the
border into Indonesian West Timor.
Thousands of people who were more
amenable to rule from Jakarta
would be shipped in to replace
them. Finally, and crucially, the
United Nations and all journalists
would be forced out. The generals
wanted no witnesses to the
killings.
For the Indonesian military, a
year of planning was about to bear
fruit. For the people of East
Timor, a nightmare was about to
start.
The townspeople living near the
Indonesian army base at Atambua,
just inside West Timorese
territory, have grown used to the
occasional helicopter and the
Indonesian army patrols. If there
is a sudden surge in activity, the
pro-independence Falantil
guerrilla commanders are informed.
For years, such reports have been
rare. In November, they increased.
Around the same time, 5,000 West
Timorese -- who are almost
identical to East Timor's
population in ethnic background,
but Muslim rather than
predominantly Roman Catholic --
were recruited into new militias
by the Indonesian army. To
reinforce their numbers, more
recruits were brought from the
Indonesian heartland of Java.
Though concerns were growing in
East Timor, the purpose of the
troops and the militiamen and
their eventual destination
remained unclear.
But a few days later, the riddle
was solved. On Nov. 4, 1998, 400
elite troops from Indonesia's
notorious Kopassus Group 4 unit --
crack soldiers trained to track
down and eliminate political
dissidents -- arrived in the port
town of Atapupu. Some of them were
immediately stripped of their
uniforms and went into East Timor
in disguise and plainclothes.
Others started transporting arms
to the border.
On Jan. 27, President B. J.
Habibie took the world by surprise
in announcing that East Timor --
under violent occupation since the
Indonesian invasion of 1975 --
would be allowed to choose between
political autonomy within
Indonesia or independence. No one
in East Timor expected the
announcement, but the Indonesian
army had been worrying about such
an eventuality for months.
The coffee estates of Ermera,
nearly 30 kilometres south of
Dili, paint a fertile green swath
through the barren landscape. They
might not look like it, but the
estates are one reason the East
Timorese are dying in their
thousands. They are among
thousands of properties owned by
the Indonesian military in East
Timor.
If East Timor goes, the army's
argument runs, everything will
fall apart as the Indonesian
archipelago's multitude of
minorities press for their own
autonomy.
The preparations to launch a
campaign of terror in East Timor
were spotted as early as July,
1998, when it was reported that
the Indonesian army was starting
to establish civilian armed
militias in East Timor. No one
paid any serious attention to the report.
The nation of 210 million people
was in political and economic
turmoil, and Mr. Habibie had been
in office for slightly more than
two months. Even when U.S.
satellites spotted Indonesian
troop movements along the frontier
with East Timor late last year,
little notice was taken.
But by the end of January, when
Mr. Habibie made his offer of a
plebiscite, it was clear something
serious was developing. Militias
were not only active in all the
western districts, but they were
also starting to terrorize and
kill.
Covalima, a district in the
southwestern corner of the
territory, was chosen as the
testing ground for the army's
strategy. Within days, thousands
of people had fled to the district
town, Suai, and set up a camp in
the grounds of a half-built
church. Witnesses interviewed in
the church at the time said the
soldiers had clearly been in
charge of orchestrated attacks.
The growing fears of the East
Timorese were reinforced when it
was learned that Gen. Makarim was
to be the senior military adviser
of the Indonesian government's
plebiscite team in East Timor. A
U.S.-trained intelligence
specialist, he had done several
tours in East Timor and had a
reputation for callous violence.
Many of his troops were also
U.S.-trained.
The truth of what was about to
happen was dawning outside East
Timor, too. On March 4,
representatives of Australia's
Defence Intelligence Organization
in Jakarta cabled their
headquarters that the Indonesian
military was "clearly protecting
and in some cases operating with"
the militias.
Basing their reports on
intercepted satellite telephone
conversations between senior
officers in Dili and Jakarta, they
said the militias would implement
a scorched-earth policy if the
vote went against them.
The Australian government passed
the damning information on to the
UN.
The UN also received documents
from resistance sources revealing
the Indonesian plans. Even their
own security briefing for the
third week of August noted
preparations for a "full-scale
offensive after the [plebiscite]."
By this stage, there were militias
in each of the territory's 13
districts, their leaders carefully
chosen by the army. The boss in
Dili was Eurico Guterres. Reports
say Gen. Makarim personally gave
Mr. Guterres a list of 370 people
to eliminate.
Further orders were given in early
May in an army document obtained
by pro-independence leaders.
"Massacres should be carried out
from village to village after the
announcement of the ballot if the
pro-independence supporters win,"
it said, adding that the
independence movement "should be
eliminated from its leadership
down to its roots."
-----------------------------------
Copyright © 1999 Globe Information Services
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/gam/International/19990913/UEASTN.html
[The Globe and Mail] Monday, Sep 13, 1999
'UN betrayed Timorese,' Canadian charges.
Election official regrets his role.
Walter Dorn told the people of
East Timor not to worry. They
could vote in peace, he said, and
the United Nations would help
protect them against reprisals.
..... snip ........
.............................................
Bob Olsen, Toronto [log in to unmask]
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