•  East Timor Crisis Fact Sheet
•  Komnas HAM to summon Wiranto
•  25 bodies foun in mass graves
•  Atrocity findings `biased': TNI
•  Wiranto manipulated militia
•  Aid workers warn of food politics
•  Australia did all it could
•  Secret papers show `conspiracy'
•  East Timorese criticise UN role
•  Government betrays Timor refugees
•  The agent who warned of carnage
•  Plot to destroy East Timor
•  Stepping into the gap
•  Skeletons in Holbrooke's closet

•  Hamzah resigns over graft scandal

•  Security forces kill 21 in Ambon
•  Tension high after Maluku clashes

•  Aceh student activists shot
•  House grills top brass over Aceh
•  Military threatens crackdown
•  Wahid rules out referendum
•  2,500 Acehnese rally at parliament
•  5,000 cases of rights abuses found in Aceh
•  Students give deadline for resolution
•  Separatists seethe over inaction
•  West Papuans plan protest
•  Military must be tried in civil court

•  Australia feared war with Indonesia
•  MPR to reject ending fuel subsidies
•  Suharto could be pardoned

•  Foreign investors nibbling at assets

Victims of military commemorated

Chris Latham, Jakarta -- Despite torrential rain, thousands of students participated in protests here to commemorate the first anniversary on November 13 of the Semangi tragedy, named after the Semangi bridge where six students were shot dead by the military during the mass protests against the special session of the People's Consultative Assembly.

The demands of the protest included an end to military violence, an end to both the dual function of the military and its territorial structure, stations members of the armed forces at every level of society, from the village to the capital.

The students also called for an investigation and bringing to trial of those responsible for the death of students in protests, including the four students from Trisakti University shot dead in May 1998 and the students killed in the protests against the state security bill during September 1999.

The protest, which finished at Atmajaya University, site of last year's clashes, was the culmination of three days of activities in Jakarta around the theme of ending military violence and opposition to militarism.

Students from the action committees affiliated to the National Student League for Democracy conducted a 20 km march from the University of Indonesia that took them past a large number of urban poor neighbourhoods. Such long marches are a tactic used by the radical student movement to reach out and interact with the urban poor and other oppressed sectors.

The anniversary action was important because it was the first major attempt to mobilise students since the election of Abdurrahman Wahid as president on October 20.

Many Indonesians consider the new government as a democratic break from Suharto's New Order regime. The action provided an opportunity both to test the extent to which this sentiment would affect the ability of students to mobilise against the government and to highlight the fact that there are still many unresolved democratic issues, such as the prosecution of human rights violators within the military, that the new government is unwilling to address.

Organising women in Indonesia

Marina Carman and Chris Latham, Jakarta -- On November 9, we met with activists from Forkap (Women's Communication and Action Forum) at the University of Indonesia.

Forkap was formed after a student demonstration in early 1998, during which activists noticed the relatively passive and behind-the-scenes role that women had played compared to men. The new organisation, established by students who are now affiliated to the National Student League for Democracy, set out both to increase consciousness around women's rights on campuses and to assert that women must lead alongside men in the movement for full democracy.

Forkap activists stressed the importance of knowing the history of women's struggles in Indonesia in order to understand the situation of women today. They explained that women played a central role in the struggle against Dutch colonialism, and that the Indonesian Communist Party led a large women's organisation -- Gerwani, or Indonesian Women's Movement -- before former President Suharto took power in 1965.

The Suharto regime physically and ideologically attacked all progressive organisations, including those fighting for women's rights. It promoted women's traditional role in Indonesian society and declared that women's involvement in politics was immoral. The regime established its own women's organisation, called Kowani (Indonesian Women's Commission).

As more democratic space has opened up following Suharto's forced resignation and the election of a new government, many new non- government organisations have emerged.

Forkap activists said that the creation of new organisations which are independent of the state is a positive development, but they were critical of these NGOs for focusing on lobbying the new government and operating on the "elite" political level, rather than organising women at the grassroots. Many NGOs fail to challenge the restrictions of women's traditional role, they said.

They argue that it is impossible to win women's liberation in Indonesia if you limit your aim to equality within the current system. For Forkap, the struggle for women's liberation is tied to the struggles against the role of the military in Indonesian politics and for complete democracy.

We discussed with the activists many of the problems confronting Indonesian women. A member of the National Peasants Union said that women's role in village life is largely confined to that of mother.

Fees are charged for all levels of education and, since male children are given priority, women can attend school only if there are no sons or if the family can afford to pay for more than one child. Forkap has been part of a campaign against an increase in university fees.

Because women are seen as only a secondary source of income for the family, they are paid less than men (even when they are working in the same factories, doing the same work). The rape of women workers is widespread, and sexual favours are often demanded in exchange for promotions. Because the level of unemployment has been very high since the economic crisis of 1997, many women enter prostitution to earn their living.

So far, Forkap has concentrated on distributing basic propaganda such as newsletters and organising educational meetings around women's rights.

November was a "month of actions" for Forkap, which held weekly discussion sessions on understanding women's oppression and strategies for liberation.

On November 25, Forkap will hold a demonstration against sexual and domestic violence against women. This action is in part a response to an NGO-organised rally around the same theme last year in which women were encouraged to wear white to emphasise their peacefulness and innocence, and which ended in a picnic.

Forkap is also attempting to organise prostitutes in a campaign against government plans to close down brothels and for better working conditions.

Closing the brothels, says Forkap, is not a solution if the women have no other means to make a living; it will merely force many women into more dangerous work situations.

Forkap has found it difficult to develop a program and demands around women's liberation because the living experience of feminist activism in Indonesia is very limited. They were therefore keen to discuss the issues and experiences with Australian activists.

East Timor

East Timor Crisis Fact Sheet

On a November 22, US Ambassador to the United Nations, Richard Holbrooke, visited Dili, the capital of East Timor, and Atambua, an area in West Timor which hosts substantial numbers of displaced persons who have not been able to return to their homes in East Timor. During the visit, Ambassador Holbrooke criticized the pro-integrationist militias, stating that they were relying on tactics of both intimidation and misinformation to keep the displaced population from returning home.

At Ambassador Holbrooke's urging, the UN, the Indonesian military, and the CNRT (the East Timorese independence movement) signed an agreement on November 22, effective immediately, establishing a joint Border Commission with the objective of curtailing militia activities, including disarming and detaining militia members. The two sides also agreed to speed up the repatriation process.

In an effort to counter the problem of militia misinformation, Ambassador Holbrooke said that he and the head of the UN in East Timor would solicit the assistance of East Timorese leaders, Jose Alexandre Gusmao, and Carlos Zimes Belo, in disseminating accurate information. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has already begun its mass information campaign to encourage refugees to return home. Five local radio stations are broadcasting UNHCR messages ten times per day.

As of November 23, UNHCR reported that more than 90,000 displaced persons (DPs, the term used to refer to those forced to leave East Timor for West Timor) have repatriated to East Timor via organized and spontaneous means. According to the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance (OCHA), large numbers of DPs are now crossing into East Timor at Suai, Maliana, Batugade, and into the Ambeno enclave. In anticipation of a large influx of DPs, additional staff from UNHCR, UNOCHA, the UN's Children's Fund (UNICEF), and Oxfam deployed to both Suai and Beluulik on November 20.

There are currently 15 active avenues for return, including organized and spontaneous land crossings, ferry runs from West to East Timor, and flights from Kupang to Dili. Efforts are underway by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and UNHCR to increase organized returns by land, and to scale back those occurring by sea and air. IOM expects to reduce the number of ferries and boats used for repatriation over the next few weeks. * This total does not include funding for project funds provided by USAID/Jakarta to support NGO activities in Indonesia. UNHCR expects that most DPs who wish to return to East Timor will have done so by mid-December. UNHCR will continue to provide assistance to the DPs remaining in West Timor. UNHCR stated that DPs who choose to stay in West Timor will still be vulnerable and will continue to need assistance. In Maliana, militia members continue to harass DPs on the East Timor border, delay crossings, and extort money, livestock, and equipment. This situation has made it difficult to establish organized returns to Maliana, but spontaneous returns are occurring. As of November 20, more than 10,000 DPs were believe to have spontaneously repatriated to Maliana.

East Timor repatriation

According to OCHA, DPs in the Ambeno enclave western sector town of Citrana have suffered severe harassment, including being subjected to extortion by the militia.

The IOM reports that it is currently experiencing a funding shortfall and urgently requires an additional $8.45 million to cover repatriation operations until the end of the year. To date, the international community has pledged $3.8 million. According to IOM, overland returns from Betun to Suai are gathering momentum. On November 22 and 23, IOM and UNHCR repatriated 3,163 DPs from Betun to Suai. An additional 3,300 DPs spontaneously crossed at Suai on November 22 and 23.

IOM reports that overland returns from Atambua to Batugade have been decreasing. On November 23, IOM repatriated 157 DPs to Batugade from Atambua. DPs continue to return from camps in the Kefamenanu region to the Ambeno enclave.

IOM repatriated 218 DPs to the town of Passabe. Most returnees have come from West Timor; however, some returnees have repatriated from other islands as well.

On November 18, 90 DPs returned to East Timor on a flight from Macau. The flight, which was organized by the Government of Macao (GOM), also contained relief supplies. The GOM may arrange additional flights to return DPs to East Timor.

IOM is exploring the possibility of sending a ferry to the island of Alor to repatriate an estimated 700 DPs. In addition, IOM plans to repatriate some 900 DPs from Australia to Dili.

Overall international response

The UN's International Forces in East Timor (INTERFET) forces now number over 9,400 troops from nineteen countries. As of November 17, INTERFET designated all roads in East Timor as secure and no longer requiring military escorts for humanitarian convoys.

According to press reports, the Australian government will provide $38 million in aid to East Timor, in addition to the previously committed $8.8 million. Of the additional assistance, $14.6 million will be granted to UN agencies for immediate humanitarian needs and the remainder will be used for long-term reconstruction and development programs. According to press reports, the European Union (EU) plans to announce shortly a new aid package for East Timor. The EU will provide $10.3 million in humanitarian aid and $8.7 million in food aid.

The new pledge will bring the EU's total contribution to $35 million.

The World Bank has released a draft summary report of the Joint Assessment Mission (JAM) to East Timor. The JAM is proposing $250 -- $300 million in aid to east Timor over the next three years.

World Bank activities in East Timor will begin in six to seven months. UNHCR and the World Bank are coordinating to ensure a smooth transition.

Agriculture/food aid

The imminent onset of the rainy season means it will soon be too late for planting maize for many of East Timor's displaced. In coastal areas, the deadline for planting is the first week in December. Since it takes time to prepare the land, DPs will have to return to these areas by the end of November. Families who miss this year's planting season will not be able to plant maize again until November 2000. According to the World Bank's JAM, much of the harvest in the eastern region of East Timor was destroyed following the recent elections. The only crops that remained intact were those that had not yet been harvested. The coffee crop, however, is reportedly in good condition.

To date, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has distributed over 100 metric tons (MT) of seeds in the districts of Lautem, Aiaro, Aileu, Baucau, Bobonaro, Ermera, and around Dili.

The World Food Program (WFP) helicopter delivered 16.8 MT of seed to Same. A barge delivered 130 MT of food to Oekussi, including 100 MT of rice, 23 MT of beans, 5 MT of vegetable oil, 1 MT of salt, and 1 MT of rations. Road convoys transported rice and seeds to the towns of Bleno and Manatuto.

Health

The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that the most common diseases seen by the 26 health facilities operated by eight agencies in five districts in East Timor are upper respiratory infections and malaria. Twenty-eight cases of measles were reported in Ermera, Baucau, and Dili. WHO confirms that the number of measles cases in Dili is decreasing as DPs return to their homes.

According to OCHA, six children have died from measles in the town of Fatuberliu. A medical team from Oikos, a Portuguese NGO, is taking blood samples and is launching appropriate interventions.

OCHA reports that a UNICEF team vaccinated 1,800 children against measles on November 22, at the border crossing near Suai.

Doctors of the World (MDM) is sending an additional medical team to Suai. The Health Coordination Working Group is sending a Timorese doctor to support MDM's three medical teams.

On November 23, Doctors without Borders (MSF) opened a mobile clinic in Marco and Aida-Basalala and continues to operate the hospital in the town of Maliana. World Vision International (WVI) is operating a mobile clinic in Lolotoe and Bobonaro.

UNICEF and MDM are working to provide medical support to the hospital in Suai following the departure of ITERFET medical staff on November 18.

ICRC has undertaken a health survey in Los Palos to determine the cause of malnutrition reported among returnees. Initial reports indicate that poor quality food may be the problem. ICRC plans to begin an education program for mothers in an effort to prevent further malnutrition problems.

Shelter

UNHCR announced that it will receive funds for the procurement of materials for 6,000 houses (shelter kits), doubling the number of shelter kits currently being procured.

West Timor security

UNHCR field staff in West Timor reported in mid-November that the Indonesian military is still not fully committed to facilitating the return of refugees. Systematic intimidation of potential returnees and harassment of UNHCR staff by militia elements continue, and the Indonesian military response to these incidents has been weak and sporadic.

On November 17, a group of some 30 militia members attacked Timorese awaiting repatriation near the police station in Atambua.

Two DPs were hospitalized from injuries they received during the attack, including a pregnant woman. Local policemen were at the site during the attack, but made no effort to intervene.

UNHCR officials protested the attack and warned the police that they would suspend repatriation operations unless measures were taken to stop militia harassment. Following the incident, IOM reported that the number of people showing up at the Atambua staging point dropped sharply. The ferry service for returnees from Atembua's port of Atapupu remains suspended because of the drop in the number of returnees there.

Returning refugees continue to experience human rights violations while en route to East Timor. UNHCR is promoting the establishment of a secured corridor along the border where security problems for returnees are most acute. The Indonesian military has agreed with the establishment of this corridor, but INTERFET has yet to approve the concept.

UNHCR has begun "snatch-and-run" operations in West Timor to assist DPs wanting to return to East Timor. UNHCR reports that on November 19, it hurriedly extricated 76 DPs from the militia- controlled Tua Puka camp. UNHCR staff parked their trucks outside the camp's gates while the DPs ran to the vehicles which had to rapidly depart in order to avoid confronting militia members.

Repatriation

Of the estimated 140,000 -- 160,000 displaced East Timorese remaining in West Timor, as many as 40,000 -- 45,000 DPs are former Government of Indonesia (GOI) civil servants, Indonesian military regional forces, and police formerly stationed in East Timor, plus their families (these figures are based on figures provided by the GOI). The GOI claims to have registered 16,000 former East Timorese civil servants, and claims the number may be as high as 20,000. There are also roughly 2,000 to 3,000 Indonesian military personnel and 800 police. According to the GOI, an estimated 60 percent of these groups are ethnic East Timorese.

The number of GOI ethnic East Timorese employees is estimated to number approximately 29,000. They are potential repatriates. The non-ethnic East Timorese population could amount to another 15,000. According to USAID/OFDA's Senior Regional Advisor, just returned from West Timor, the constraints to repatriation for many of these East Timorese GOI employees may stem from unresolved issues of back pay, benefits, pension, rights etc, as well as uncertainly regarding future employment in East Timor.

Health and Water/sanitation

ICRC and the Indonesian Red Cross are operating twelve health care posts in DP camps in the Atambua area near the East Timor border. According to ICRC, each post treats some 100 DPs per day. Indonesia Red Cross doctors report that the most prevalent diseases are respiratory infections, malaria, and bloody diarrhea. Many of those being treated for diarrhea are children under the age of five. The posts plan to add rehydration clinics, which will provide DPs with clean drinking water and oral rehydration solution, and will teach preventive hygiene.

ICRC and the Indonesian Red Cross in Atambua are building additional latrines in the camps, providing chlorine tablets for water purification, transporting water into the camps, and are looking into drilling boreholes to increase the water supply. CARE plans to program approximately $250,000 for potable water collection activities in West Timor camps.

Education

On November 18, UNICEF announced that it will begin operating tent schools in camps in the Belu District in West Timor within the next few weeks. The schools will cover pre-school through sixth grade. UNICEF will incorporate a psychosocial component into the educational strategy as well as teacher training.

USG Assistance

On November 10, President Clinton authorized an additional $30 million in funding from his Emergency Refugee and Migration Assistance (ERMA) fund to expand relief operations in East and West Timor. This will bring total US Government (USG) assistance to $61,282,744.

USG assistance, provided mainly by USAID and the US State Department's Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM) and delivered through local and international implementing partners, aims to meet the humanitarian needs of East Timorese in East and West Timor. USAID assistance is based on field assessments by USAID/Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) and USAID/Jakarta staff, as well as information provided by implementing partners. USAID/OFDA has been authorized to provide $12,387,950 in assistance. This assistance includes:

• $1.6 million for the provision and transport of various relief commodities, such as humanitarian daily rations, plastic sheeting, blankets, and water containers;
• $165,000 to an Indonesian non-governmental organization (NGO) implementing water/sanitation activities at four sites along the West Timor border;
• $1.3 million to WFP for logistics and transport operations;
• $500,000 to UNICEF in support of emergency assistance programs in East and West Timor; and,
• up to an additional $8.8 million in grants to NGOs and international organizations (IOs) for humanitarian assistance in East and West Timor.

USAID/Office of Transition Initiatives (OTI) provided $429,000 in funding to support the peace process and monitoring of the elections in East Timor. USAID/OTI is providing another $240,000 through 11 grants to local East Timorese NGOs and OCHA to help strengthen indigenous NGOs affected by the emergency. The funds will be used to provide in-kind donations of equipment and staff salaries for three months to help the organizations re-establish themselves.

Moreover, USAID/Jakarta's Office of Population, Health, and Nutrition (PHN) is providing $568,924 to expand and extend an existing grant with WVI for a food security and health initiative in East Timor. The USAID/Jakarta mission has provided $5,870 to Project Concern International for a health assessment in West Timor. In addition, USAID/Jakarta has provided $600,000 to the National Cooperative Business Association for primary health clinics in East Timor.

State/PRM has provided $5.1 million to UNHCR, ICRC, WFP, and OCHA to assist these organizations in meeting the needs of East Timorese.

In early September, the US Department of Defense (DOD) donated a total of 300,000 humanitarian daily rations (HDRs) to meet immediate needs in East Timor.

The rations, valued at $1,275,000, were dispatched to Darwin, Australia, via USAID/OFDA-funded commercial aircraft. WFP and INTERFET have airdropped 180,000 DOD-provided HDRs to date. No further airdrops are planned and the remaining 120,000 HDRs are being held in reserve by WFP for contingency use as needed.

DOD also transported Portuguese relief commodities from Lisbon to Darwin, Australia at a cost of $580,000.

The US military and WFP reached an agreement on November 4 to transport food and non-food relief supplies to extended delivery points in East Timor via two helicopters. The helicopters will be used until mid-November.

On October 27, the ship USS Pelleliu arrived in Dili. The ship will provide heavy-lift helicopter support to INTERFET to transport military assets from Dili to other locations in East Timor.

In addition, DOD is assisting INTERFET in intelligence gathering, communications, logistics, coordination, and airlift capability.

Approximately 20 civil affairs personnel from Fort Bragg have been assigned to the Civil Military Operations Center (CMOC) in Dili.

Background

Following an overwhelming UN-supported vote for independence from Indonesia, pro-integrationist militias in East Timor rampaged and plundered through several cities and towns in early September.

Thousands of civilians were killed in the ensuing violence. There was widespread destruction of homes and private assets on the island, including UN and NGO offices and equipment. More than 350,000 East Timorese were displaced from their homes due to the violence, including approximately 200,000 IDPs who fled to the surrounding hills and jungles of East Timor. Although INTERFET has gained access and control throughout East Timor, the overall security situation in the East/West Tinor border area remains tenuous due to the continued presence of militia there.

Funding

• USAID/OFDA: $12,387,950
• USAID/FFP: $9,969,000
• USAID/OTI: $669,000
• USAID/Jakarta: $1,301,794
• State/PRM: $5,100,000*
• DOD: $1,855,000
• TOTAL USG ASSISTANCE: $31,282,744**

** This total does not include funding for project funds provided by USAID/Jakarta to support NGO activities in Indonesia nor the $30 million in authorized ERMA funds.

Komnas HAM to summon Wiranto

Indonesia's National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) has announced that it will shortly summon General Wiranto, Minister- Coordinator for Political and Security Affairs to explain the involvement of the military (TNI and the police) in the violence and human rights abuses perpetrated in East Timor from January this year. The Commission will also summon two other senior officers, Major-General Adam Damiri (until recently Udayana regional military commander) and Major-General Zacky Makarim, for the same purpose.

Komnas HAM member Albert Hasibuan who is chair of the Commission's special fact-finding mission to East Timor, announced this in Jakarta, following investigations in Dili and Suai undertaken from 9-14 November.

He said the fact-finding mission had discovered information incriminating the TNI and militias in the scorched earth and mass killings in various parts of East Timor.

Hasibuan said that the decision to summon these senior officers had be taken also on the recommendation of Bishop Belo during his meeting with the mission.

"The mission looked into at least five cases of violence resulting in hundreds of victims perpetrated by militias with the help of the military," he said. These cases included the incident at the Liquica Church and at the home of Manual Carrascalao in Dili, both of which occurred in April.

Another case occurred in Suai on 6 September when members of Laksaur militia, assisted by the TNI killed at least two hundred people, including three priests. Hasibuan said they had eye- witness accounts of the incident. Witnesses had also testified to seeing TNI trucks removing some of the bodies, while other bodies were burned on the spot.

Another case occurred at the resident of Bishop Belo when, according to witnesses, militias assisted by the police attacked the resident where many people were taking refuge. Witnesses had said that they clearly saw a member of TNI wearing an Aitarak t- shirt. Twenty-five people died in this incident. "An eye-witness claims to have seen Major-General Syafrie Syamsuddin present during the incident," Hasibuan said.

The fact-finding mission has also found evidence of acts of violences by the Bobonaro military commander, when five people suspected of being members of Falintil were killed.

The mission was also able to examine the bodies of victims and question witnesses who testified about the intimate relations between the militias and TNI officers.

He said that their evidence about the involvement of the military and their support for the militias would shortly be presented to President Wahid who would be asked for a recommendation to summon senior military officers for explanations about their responsibility for these cases.

Meanwhile John Harvey, head of the Interfet team for investigating human rights abuses in East Timor, said that 135 bodies had already been found but he thought that the final figure could reach two thousand.

"Considering all the reports now being received, I would not be surprised if the figure reaches one or two thousand," he said.

US ambassador to the UN Richard Holbrooke who was also on a visit to Dili, told CNN that the question of accountability was normal in countries moving towards democracy after a period of dictatorship. He said he had been told by the chair of Komnas HAM Marzuki Darusman that a number of officials still holding positions of power in the military would be summoned to account for human rights violations.

25 bodies foun in mass graves

Alas Selatan, East Nusa Tenggara -- An investigation team discovered at least 25 decaying bodies in three mass graves here on Thursday. They were the alleged victims of a militia attack on a church in the East Timorese town of Suai in early September.

Munir, a member of the Commission for the Investigation of Human Rights Abuses in East Timor, told The Jakarta Post the remains were recovered from Oeluli beach, Kobalima district, three kilometers from the East Timor border.

Munir, on a three day fact-finding mission with committee member H.S. Dillon and a six-member forensic team led by the University of Indonesia's Budi Sampurna, said the bodies were buried one and a half meters deep in three closely located graves. He said some of the bodies could still be identified.

"We got information on these mass graves from witnesses we interviewed during our first visit here in October," Munir said. Quoting witnesses, Munir said the victims were killed during an attack on a church in Suai by pro-integration militia on September 6. According to the witnesses the bodies were then transported to their current location about 20 kilometers southwest from Suai.

"We found three bodies in the first grave, 11 in the second grave and 11 in the third grave," Munir said. He identified the bodies in the first grave as three Catholic priests who were reportedly helping refugees in Suai during the height of the violence in East Timor.

"We have performed autopsies on the bodies: One of them died of gunshot wounds and the other two died of knife wounds," Munir said. He refused to disclose their names, but said one priest was from Central Java and the other two were from East Timor. However Dillon later said that among the bodies was the remains of Hilario Modeira a priest from the Suai parish.

Munir added that in the second grave at least one body was identified as a child and three others were identified as women, while in the third grave two bodies were identified as women and two others as children.

"Bodies in the second and third graves were fully-dressed and we also found some school books and school schedules," Munir explained.

He said Thursday's exhumation, which began at 7am, was witnessed by local police chief and officials. It was guarded by some 30 members of the police's Mobile Brigade unit.

"The bodies were then taken to Atambua hospital for further examination. Forensic experts will also bring hair tissue and other evidence to Jakarta on Friday for further examination," Munir said.

Munir and Dillon will personally bring the bodies of the priests to the East Timorese capital of Dili on Friday, while the other bodies will be handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross at the border.

Atrocity findings `biased': TNI

Jakarta -- The Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI) claims a report by state investigators that confirmed the military orchestrated recent atrocities in East Timor was clearly biased.

TNI Commander Admiral Widodo Adisutjipto yesterday told parliament the military will meet with the investigators to "clarify" the findings before following up the report.

The government's Human Rights Violations Investigation Commission (KPP-HAM) last week acknowledged that TNI troops organized and supported pro-Jakarta militias which went on a murderous rampage after almost 80% of East Timorese voted for independence on August 30.

The KPP team on Monday said it will summon former TNI commander General Wiranto and other high-ranking military officers who allegedly masterminded the atrocities.

The team said it will summon the generals after obtaining permission from President Abdurrahman Wahid, who is now on his third overseas trip since assuming office in late October.

Widodo said the findings target the military and are biased because the investigators only gathered data and information from pro-independence East Timorese.

"Their conclusion is based on the testimony of a certain group which they claim to be eyewitnesses. If the witnesses are only from one side, let's say the pro-independence group, it wasn't fair," he said.

Analysts point out that about 80% of East Timorese are from pro- independence "group", while many of those in the militia were forced to join by the TNI.

But Widodo insisted that TNI was being unfairly treated. "To get balanced results, we have to hear witnesses from the other side. That's why we need further clarification of the findings from them to find objectivity." Widodo claimed TNI is ready to cooperate with the fact-finding commission to obtain "the truth".

Echoing Widodo's statement, TNI Spokesman Major General Sudrajat also complained about the report's conclusion, saying it came from one-sided witnesses who gave tendentious testimonies.

"They [the investigators] should be aware that most people in Dili are pro-independence and anti-Indonesia.Well of course, it's their pleasure to give their tendentious views to corner the Indonesian government," he said.

Sudrajat said the findings should be delivered to the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM), which set up the investigative team on East Timor.

"I think it would be better if we give it [the report] back to Komnas HAM to check the conclusions and then make it balanced," he said sternly.

Wiranto manipulated militia

Sydney -- Former Indonesian military chief General Wiranto orchestrated the post-referendum militia violence in East Timor to back his own political ambitions, an Australian magazine said Wednesday.

Citing secret military intelligence documents, The Bulletin portrayed Wiranto as "an intensely ambitious and ruthless military commander" who viewed events in East Timor as providing a stepping stone to his ultimate aim of ruling Indonesia.

The documents left no doubt that despite denials at the time by Foreign Minister Alexander Downer the Australian government was "fully aware of the duplicitous role" of the Indonesian military (the TNI).

But the magazine said the greater import of the secret Defence Intelligence Organisation (DIO) documents was their assessment of the likely future role of Wiranto.

Wiranto was also defence minister when the East Timor crisis flared in the aftermath of the UN-backed referendum on August 30 when the East Timorese voted overwhelmingly for independence.

"Wiranto's strategy has been derailed by the defeat of Megawati Sukarnoputri's bid for the presidency," it said. "The game plan was for him to be vice-president. That setback may well prove only temporary as the DIO's concerns come to pass."

One of the documents, prepared six weeks ago, warned of Wiranto's "resurgence" over the next five years, saying that this would likely be met with violence.

The report was the third this week revealing new evidence that violence was planned at the top level of the Indonesian military.

Another of the documents dated January 6, established that the terror campaign was planned as a military campaign originating in Jakarta.

It said the military recognised that violence against pro- referendum groups would attract international criticism and to deflect this it decided to contract out its security responsibilities to the militia, "giving it a free hand in the use of force."

The reports coincide with the arrival in Australia of a United Nations commission appointed to investigate the numerous atrocities committed by the militias and the TNI in East Timor during September.

More than half its population of around 800,000 people were driven from their homes into refuge, deported to Indonesian West Timor or killed during a campaign of terror and destruction by the army-backed militias.

The five-member commission headed by Costa Rican jurist Sonia Picado was due to meet former UN mission in East Timor (UNAMET) head Ian Martin in the northern city of Darwin before travelling to Dili on Thursday.

Downer said the government had been aware of TNI complicity and had made 120 separate representations to Indonesia on its failure to live up to its obligations on East Timor this year.

He said Canberra was constantly unconvinced by assurances given by the Indonesians, and argued that everything the government did through the year on the crisis in East Timor had been appropriate and correct.

"We had a large number of sources of information, different analysts have written different things and put forward different ideas and advice," he said. "I think our judgments were constantly good.

"But we never had confidence in the capacity of the Indonesian military to live up to their responsibilities and that is why the Australian government put the army together in Darwin, to be prepared to move into East Timor if we had to."

Aid workers warn of food politics

Sonny Inbaraj, Dili -- All's not well in the urgent distribution of food and seeds in East Timor, before the heavy monsoon rains expected this week makes planting impossible and roads impassable.

While East Timor's leaders have accused the United Nations of marginalising them, aid workers, however, claimed the territory's leading political group was interfering in their work in villages.

Rob Wesley-Smith, a team leader and agricultural consultant with the Irish aid group Oikos, said his agency worked alongside the National Council of Timorese Resistance (CNRT) to help mobilise farmers so that his aid workers and volunteers could work together with them.

But lately, he has encountered problems. "We're racing against time and depend heavily on local CNRT people to help us in the logistics of distributing the seed to villagers. But now we come across cases where the local CNRT head virtually insisted on all the seed going into his store-room where he could distribute it in his own time, which is very slow," said Wesley-Smith.

Wesley-Smith said if the tail-end of the planting season is missed, hunger would be widespread and may well leave the East Timorese without food for the next six months. "I didn't come here to distribute seed to a warehouse. I've come to distribute seed to the people quickly," said the angry agricultural consultant. "Lots of farmers have not been able to plant their fields as they wish. In some cases they might not be able to plant before the wet season.

Added Wesley-Smith: "The NGOs are struggling to get seed out to the districts and sub-districts and if there is any organisation there that doesn't jump in and help immediately, then it's a great shame.

We'll then have several disasters on our hands." Last week, there were signs that the relationship between CNRT and the UN was becoming strained.

CNRT last month appointed a six-member commission to advise the UN Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) that is expected to rule the devastated territory for the next two or three years.

UNTAET will formally take over the stewardship of East Timor and be responsible for everything from visas to currency and the enormous task of reconstruction after pro-Indonesia militias went on an orgy of killing and destruction in the wake of the August 30 ballot that led to a vote of independence.

But a senior CNRT member said UNTAET was trying to sideline CNRT. "The UN is a new colonial power and they're trying to marginalise us," said Mario Carrascalao, the leader of a CNRT contingent that accompanied a World Bank mission to East Timor recently.

Wesley-Smith agreed there was miscommunication between the UN, humanitarian agencies and CNRT. "It's a two-way street," he said. "CNRT should make its structures visible. They should attend NGO planning meetings, and in turn NGOs should invite CNRT." Added Wesley-Smith: "Many Timorese have complained that the English spoken at the meetings has been too quick for them to comprehend-so the NGO people themselves have to be sensitive to take into account these people and not make them feel marginalised."

On November 19, CNRT head Xanana Gusmao met UNTAET head Sergio Vieira de Mello for a whole day. "We needed to clear the air. There was a feeling on the part of CNRT that we were not including them, that we were not listening," Vieira de Mello told reporters here.

Xanana called the discussion with Vieira de Mello the beginning of a process to which he pledged his full commitment. "We have been political activists for a long period. Now we have to get the practical skills to manage our country," said Xanana.

But Indonesian sociologist Dr George Aditjondro said that there was now pressure on CNRT to act as a government, even if was not yet ready for such a role.

"It's just like prematurely ripening a mango using carbide gas instead of allowing it to ripen naturally on the tree," said the University of Newcastle sociology lecturer, currently in East Timor researching material for his new book on the financial empire of former Indonesian president Suharto.

Added Aditjondro: "So CNRT is beginning to function as a government. They have the self-perception that they are the government and outside bodies like UNTAET try to minimise opposition by treating them (CNRT) as such. And that's where the bureaucracy has started to creep in."

"The point is how CNRT, currently led by an elite group that had been away from the country for the past 24 years, is going to develop a government based on Timorese culture at the grassroots where the local headman or `liurais' play a big part," asked Aditjondro, whose writings on East Timor had earned him the wrath of the Suharto government.

Meantime, Aditjondro expressed alarm that food aid was being politicised. "This is coming back to the old `cargo cult' in many indigenous societies because if you have the cargo, you can create a dependency of the people on you-thereby the cargo will be translated into political power," he said.

Last week Xanana embarked on a tour of East Timor, visiting its devastated villages. It was a chance for the people to see their idolised guerrilla leader in the flesh and at the same time tell him their problems. His message has been for them not to rely on international aid, but to take up the challenge of rebuilding their towns and villages themselves.

"CNRT has got a potential to be an excellent organisation but someone has to squash any notions of overbearing demagoguery. CNRT has to be like any democratic government serving the people -- if there's a problem then Xanana has to deal with it pretty quickly," said Wesley-Smith.

Australia did all it could

Canberra -- Australia received information from a wide variety of sources on developments in East Timor but could have done nothing more than it did to pressure Indonesia to rein in militia violence, Prime Minister John Howard said today.

Mr Howard said Australia made 120 separate representations to Indonesia from the start of the year to the time of the East Timor ballot.

"Australia ahead of any other nation on earth put pressure on the Indonesian government to accept a peacekeeping operation," he said on ABC television.

"The Indonesian army failed in its duty at the very very least and potentially much worse. But there is no way on earth the Indonesian government was going to allow peace enforcers to go into east Timor until after the ballot.

"Every effort was made. Short of invasion, how else could you have got people there." Leaked intelligence reports indicate Australian authorities knew well in advance the Indonesian military (TNI) was orchestrating militia violence in East Timor.

Mr Howard said Australia received a great range of advice and the fundamental issue was that Australia had no capacity to alter Indonesian conduct other than by intense diplomatic pressure.

"Nobody in their remotest senses could have suggested that we should have contemplated military action against the will of the government of the republic of East Timor, " he said.

"There was no way the Indonesians were going to accept foreign troops on their soil before the ballot. No way.

"We are seeing a massive and partisan attempt to rewrite history and it won't wash."

Secret papers show `conspiracy'

Lincoln Wright -- Secret defence documents on East Timor show the Howard Government was well-informed about how the Indonesian armed forces were fomenting militia violence in the run-up to the independence ballot.

Prepared by the Defence Intelligence Organisation (DIO), the documents undermine the view that it was rogue elements in the Indonesian army, TNI, that caused the violence that led to Australian military intervention.

Further evidence of TNI's conspiratorial role in the militia violence was presented by Wayne Sievers, an officer with the Australian Federal Police, to a private meeting of Parlia ment's Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade on Monday night.

Mr Sievers, a police intelligence officer who served with UNAMET, the United Nations mission in East Timor, had gathered the material from a variety of sources, including East Timorese serving with TNI and Indonesia's security services.

He said the documents he had obtained showed there was a conspiracy at the highest levels of TNI, Indonesian police and government officials.

On the eve of the ballot in August, DIO advised that East Timor will experience violence and intimidation for much of the rest of the year". TNI will continue to foster violence against its perceived enemies." The DIO memorandum advised that the militia violence was orchestrated along strict guidelines" from TNI, that it had a clear purpose and that if the vote was for independence, TNI would have less control over its militant surrogates".

But Prime Minister John Howard said last night that intense diplomatic pressure had been the only serious option and that critics of his policy were misguided.

What did they expect us to have done other than what we did?" he asked. We made 120 separate representations to the Indonesian authorities from the beginning of the year until about the time of the ballot."

Opposition foreign affairs spokesman Laurie Brereton claimed Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer had obfuscated the facts about the role of TNI by denying, right up to the third week of September, that anyone but rogue" or some" elements in the TNI unconnected to the leadership, were initiating the violence.

In response, Mr Downer said the leaked DIO documents were not as significant as Mr Brereton claimed. These documents don't throw any new light on what has happened in East Timor or what the Government has said over the course of the last he said. At the time of the Liquica massacre in April, another leaked DIO document reveals that it was unclear" what was TNI's role in the massacre, but that TNI [or ABRI as it was then called] was culpable".

In April, DIO's view of TNI commander-in-chief General Wiranto was that he had ordered his troops to remain neutral, but had warned that without pressure local officers would still back the pro- Indonesia militias. A DIO document prepared in October showed TNI was worried that General Wiranto would be implicated in the UN human-rights investigation, and that its own investigation would scapegoat officers at lower levels.

Mr Sievers said the documents he provided to the parliamentary committee detailed secret meetings, plans for violence, funding arrangements, arming, and the provision of TNI intelligence officers to monitor and control militias. On the morning the result of the vote was announced, we knew what was going to happen, when it was going to happen, and how it would would happen. It was like waiting for the sky to fall in on he told The Canberra Times last night.

Mr Brereton has called for the Government to provide intelligence to the UN commission investigating human-rights abuses in East Timor, in the same way that NATO had provided secret information about war crimes in the former Yugoslavia.

Mr Downer said he and Mr Howard would do the right thing about providing intelligence to the UN, but in a way that would not threaten networks. We are looking, in particular, at the precedent that has been set by the Americans and the British in relation to investigations that have gone on into human-rights abuses in the former Yugoslavia, the Balkans."

East Timorese criticise UN role

Jon Land -- United Nations officials have come under heavy criticism from leaders of the National Council of Timorese Resistance (CNRT). In a move to reduce tension between CNRT and the United Nations Administration in East Timor, the head of UNTAET, Sergio Vieira de Mello, held "informal" talks with CNRT leader Xanana Gusmao in the town of Aileu on November 17.

On his arrival in Dili the previous day, de Mello played down the rift, telling reporters that he will be working in "very, very close coordination and consultation with the East Timorese leadership". He stressed that he considered relations with the CNRT "not strained at all".

In recent weeks, several CNRT leaders have charged UN representatives with sidelining them and other Timorese community leaders during this crucial stage of reconstruction and transition to independence. They accused UNTAET of acting in a "neo-colonial" fashion and relating to East Timorese in a patronising way.

CNRT leaders Leandro Isaac and Mario Carrascalao have spoken out angrily about the UN. Isaac told reporters on November 15 that the UN was "putting up obstacles to the existence of the CNRT ".

In an interview with ABC radio aired on the same day, CNRT representative David Ximenes spoke bitterly of the neo-colonial actions and attitudes of the big aid agencies.

Gusmao also stated that non-government organisations were operating in a "clandestine way". "This is not the way to treat our people. If they don't want to coordinate with us, because we know very well what our people need, they can leave", he said.

Representatives of the Catholic Church and humanitarian agencies responded by alleging that the CNRT is "uncoordinated" and "uninterested" in attending project coordination meetings and is experiencing internal divisions.

Further talks between CNRT and UNTAET have been planned over the next few weeks. Ross Mountain, the coordinator of UN humanitarian operations in East Timor, claimed that the criticism of the UN was due mainly to "communication problems".

Mountain told the Portuguese news service Lusa on November 17, "I think there were failures in communications, and we want to resolve this quickly. This is East Timor -- it belongs to the Timorese, and we will continue to do whatever possible to involve them to the maximum."

Bishop Belo has entered the fray, condemning the UN over the delay in investigations into atrocities conducted by the Indonesian military and the militia gangs. He fears (along with many others, including UNTAET personnel) that the UN team investigating human rights abuses will arrive too late.

Belo told Reuters on November 15, "It is too late already. We still don't have this team present in East Timor ... some of the bodies have already disappeared and some of the places where the crimes were committed have already been cleaned up."

Approval for a commission to begin investigations in East Timor was finally granted by the UN Economic and Social Council on November 15, more than six weeks after the special session of the UN Commission for Human Rights called for such an investigation. The investigative team is to report to the secretary-general by December 31, after which a decision will be made whether to establish a war crimes tribunal.

Belo believes that the delay is a concession to the Indonesian government, stating, "This diplomacy ... is giving Indonesia the opportunity to avoid the institution or establishment of this tribunal".

The transition in East Timor

Avelino da Silva -- Before the August 30 referendum, the Socialist Party of Timor (PST) had called for the formation of a transitional Democratic Collective Government to represent all the existing political forces in East Timor under the slogan: "Victory is for all the oppressed people of East Timor!"

The function and goals of the transitional government were envisaged as follows.

Firstly, to achieve reconciliation among all the people of East Timor as a logical consequence of the victory of the national liberation struggle. Secondly, to prepare a political environment for a just, peaceful, secure and democratic move to establishing effective government. Thirdly, to hold general elections to form such a government. Fourthly, to open up the political space for all components of the people to implement their political rights.

The concept later put forward by comrade Xanana Gusmao for a Government of National Reconciliation is somewhat similar in spirit to the PST's proposal.

Comrade Xanana has moved to bring this concept closer to reality with the recent announcement of the formation of a seven-person Transitional or Consultative Council.

The Transitional Council is conceived as a partner to the UN Transitional Administration (UNTAET). The council is meant to contribute to the effective functioning of the administration in areas within its competence. The council must represent all political forces and the people in general in order to be able to voice the interests and desires of the East Timorese people. The council must have the function of control, both providing input to UNTAET and also able to reject any UNTAET policies.

The question is what must be done to ensure that this works and does not remain just political rhetoric.

In the view of the PST, the crucial need is for the mass support of the organised people. Mass strength is the best bargaining power. To achieve this, mass political education is essential, and the organisation of the people cannot be further delayed.

Do all the existing political forces in East Timor agree with this? We must observe closely the development of conditions in East Timor and especially the activities of opportunist and capitalist elements who are now spreading their wings.

The whole world knows of the total destruction of the infrastructure that was carried out by the brutal militia commanded by the Indonesian army. This has caused an economic crisis and a humanitarian tragedy. This situation demands assistance from many institutions from around the world.

Many government and non-government organisations have already arrived and are carrying out their programs. Are all these institutions here to genuinely help or do they have other agendas? The answer can be either way. But the PST is sure that the agents of big business operating in East Timor will still be governed by their own logic: a never-ending search for profits. The primary task therefore is to organise the people to confront the comprador capitalists who will be launching neo-colonialism in East Timor.

[Avelino da Silva is secretary general of the Socialist Party of Timor and a member of the East Timor Transitional Council.]

Government betrays Timor refugees

Margaret Allum -- The federal minister for immigration, Philip Ruddock, announced on November 19 that the government has dropped its appeal against the Federal Court's September 1998 decision in the test case of Kon Tji Lay, an East Timorese seeking refugee status in Australia.

However, now the government plans to legislate away any chance of the Timorese asylum seekers gaining permanent residence and to force the refugees to leave Australia.

The Australian government had asserted that in this and other cases involving East Timorese asylum seekers, the applicants were eligible for Portuguese nationality because of East Timor's status as a former Portuguese colony, and therefore should not be able to claim refugee status in Australia.

Prior to 1994, the Australian government had assessed their nationality as Indonesian. Its post-1994 guidelines recognised that the asylum seekers might not be safe if deported to Indonesia (many sought refuge after the Dili massacre in 1991), but claimed that Portugal would provide effective protection.

The Federal Court ruled in 1997, in the first test case since the issue of Portuguese nationality was raised, that it had not been properly considered whether Portugal was indeed offering "effective protection".

In the second test case, involving Kon Tji Lay, the court ruled in September 1998 that there was no evidence to support the government's assertion regarding Portuguese protection, whereupon the government appealed the decision.

On October 8 this year, the Federal Court granted an adjournment at Ruddock's request, to give time for the government to reconsider its position.

Ben Moore, from the Sanctuary Network, an organisation defending the right of East Timorese asylum seekers to settle in Australia, told Green Left Weekly that the news that the government was dropping its appeal initially seemed positive, until the new strategy to facilitate the deportation of the 1650 East Timorese asylum seekers became clear.

New legislation

Ruddock said on November 14 that he was seeking ALP support for amendments to the Border Protection Bill. If passed, these would prevent people who have dual (or multiple) nationalities or prima facie protection in another country from being protected by asylum in Australia. The onus would then be on refugees to prove that they cannot be protected by the other relevant country or countries. The minister would have discretionary power to lift this bar on protection visas.

The amendments include an interpretive provision which will "make clear that Australia does not owe protection obligations to a non-citizen who, without a well-founded fear of persecution, does not take all necessary steps to access protection which may be available in another country".

The amendments would create a legal distinction between permanent residence and refugee status, limiting those with refugee status to a three-year visa which would have to be reapplied for at the end of that time.

Recent hysteria from the government and its media mouthpieces on the arrival by boat of refugees from Asia and the Middle East has fuelled an anti-refugee atmosphere which many be conducive to passing such legislation.

Sanctuary Network said that 32 East Timorese with cases in the Federal Court have been "offered" the opportunity to make fresh applications within seven days for permanent residence.

For the East Timorese, not only will it mean that their applications will have to start from scratch after up to 10 years waiting for permanent residence, but it will also be up to them to prove that they cannot be offered protection by Portugal or within the new East Timor. These applications would most likely be unsuccessful, according to the Sanctuary Network.

Pip Hinman, the national secretary of Action in Solidarity with Indonesia and East Timor (ASIET), told Green Left Weekly, "The fact that the government had to back down from its appeal shows the effect of the strong campaigning and public support for the asylum seekers' desire to obtain permanent residence in Australia. It obviously realised that it could not win the case legally or politically."

Hinman was scathing on the government's new plans: "The new moves legislate away the chance of permanent residence; they're another betrayal of the East Timorese by the federal government".

The government's moves come just over a month after Ruddock's boast, on October 14 during Austcare Refugee Week, of "Australia's proud tradition of helping refugees and others in humanitarian need around the world".

Sanctuary Network quotes Carla Chung, 22, one of the approximately 1650 East Timorese asylum seekers in Australia: "I have been in Australia for five years in December. I am not Portuguese, and the Australian government's argument that I am is extremely insulting.

"Now the situation in East Timor has changed. Whilst I ultimately want to return to East Timor, others have lost everything and have nothing to return to. Many of my friends still suffer from the scars of their torture in Timor. They can't go back.

Some have married Australians and had children here. Australia is now their home." Liz Wheeler, a spokesperson for Sanctuary Network, said, "The Australian public will not stand for this. Sanctuary Network will persist with its offer to harbour illegally East Timorese facing deportation. If the government wants to run it this way, then we're ready for the fight."

ICJ inquiry

The long-term asylum seekers are not the only East Timorese to receive poor treatment from the federal government.

The International Commission of Jurists has been trying to obtain witness accounts from the recently arrived Timorese housed in the three "safe havens" at Leeuwin in WA, Puckapunyal in Victoria and East Hills in NSW. The government has refused members of the ICJ entry to the refugee camps, forcing them to meet with East Timorese outside the camps in order to document their accounts of atrocities by the Indonesian military and militia groups.

David Bitel, ICJ secretary general, told Green Left Weekly that the government's refusal was an "attempt to frustrate" this documentation. "The government can't prevent the refugees from leaving the camps and talking to us", he said, "but it makes the process more difficult".

He believes that the government is concerned that the documentation would have some prejudicial effects on its "proper attempts to re-establish its relationship with Indonesia".

Bitel also expressed some concern about the possibility of the government forcing the refugees to return early. While he didn't believe that they should stay beyond the three-month visas granted to them unless special circumstances require it, he said that they should be allowed to stay for the full three months if they wish.

He said that the ICJ is anxious to document properly and accurately what has transpired; if the refugees are sent to back to East Timor, the documentation process would continue, but it would become more difficult. He added that the closer in time the testimonials are taken to the time the events happened, the more legally reliable they are.

NZ-style visas

Max Lane, the national chairperson of ASIET, told Green Left Weekly that, regardless of whether East Timor is now safe to return to, the desperate lack of infrastructure means that it would be an injustice to force anyone to return immediately.

He argued that a special category of visa should be made available to all East Timorese to travel between East Timor and Australia, in the same way that citizens of New Zealand can do so between New Zealand and Australia, and that they should be able to reside in either country for as long as required.

"It's not just those who have been seeking asylum in Australia for up to 10 years, who have family members here who they want to be in touch with and perhaps look after", Lane said. "Many other East Timorese people also want to be able to do that.

"Many also want to participate in the rebuilding of their country, either now or at a later stage. Some have jobs here, others are studying here -- they should all be allowed ongoing multiple entry between East Timor and Australia."

While in Australia, they should be able to access full health care, education and training and other governmental assistance, he said.

Lane also believed that such rights to multiple entry should continue even when the immediate crisis is over and their country is totally rebuilt: "Given what the East Timorese have experienced in the 24 years of brutal occupation, with the Australian government's complicity, it is the least that our government can do to compensate in some way for its actions. This is one demand on the government which, if granted, will go far to help the rebuilding."

Citizens of New Zealand are nearly always automatically issued a special category visa, known as subclass 444, upon arrival in Australia. While this is a temporary visa, the visa holder is permitted to remain in Australia for as long as they are a New Zealand citizen.

Section 32 of the Migration Act 1958 provides for the creation of such visas, and could accommodate the creation of a similar visa for East Timorese. The migration regulations' definition of those eligible for such visas would not preclude East Timorese citizens if the government decided to amend the provisions.

Under the existing legislation, New Zealand citizens also have the ability to sponsor other non-citizen, non-New Zealanders for other types of visa -- for example, spouse or business visa.

The agent who warned of carnage

Louise Williams -- A key Australian intelligence source in East Timor warned more than a year ahead of September's carnage that Indonesian-backed militia units would fight a bloody "scorched earth" battle if independence was won, but his confidential reports were dismissed as "alarmist and irrelevant".

Lansell Taudevin, who headed Australia's aid project in East Timor until April this year, provided detailed information to the Australian Embassy in Jakarta and to Canberra about the formation of local militia units by the Indonesian military from as early as mid-1997.

By mid-1998, when Australian policy still supported Indonesian rule in the disputed territory, Mr Taudevin sent a memo to the embassy in Jakarta describing a secret meeting between Indonesian military commanders and their East Timorese supporters. At that meeting a 25,000-strong armed militia force to "confront" independence groups was discussed, and an existing force of 10,000 pro-Indonesian militia fighters, armed with M-16 assault rifles, was claimed.

"This memo caused understandable disquiet, particularly with its confirmation of links between the Indonesian military and the emerging militia. I sent it to my Jakarta superiors," Mr Taudevin writes in his new book, East Timor, Too Little Too Late. "They dismissed it as irrelevant and alarmist."

It was not until April this year, after Australia's policy switch, that the Foreign Minister, Mr Downer, publicly acknowledged that the Indonesian military was behind militia atrocities in East Timor.

The claims came as the Prime Minister, Mr Howard, announced he would visit East Timor on Sunday to meet some of the 4,900 Australian troops serving with the Australian-led multinational military force.

The Government also announced yesterday that it would donate an extra $60 million for the territory's humanitarian and reconstruction needs this financial year, making it the largest contribution Australia has ever made to a humanitarian crisis abroad.

Mr Howard told Parliament he would meet the commander of the Interfet force, Major-General Peter Cosgrove, and other members of the Australian contingent.

He is expected to spend about five hours on the ground, visiting Dili and some outlying areas. The Opposition Leader, Mr Beazley, will visit East Timor later next week.

Mr Taudevin, who spent 16 years in Indonesia and speaks fluent Bahasa Indonesia, was posted to Dili in 1996, where he was told his job as head of the local aid project would include providing information "from time to time" to his superiors at the Australian Embassy in Jakarta. He did not work directly for Ausaid, the Australian aid agency, but for a management agency. The water project his company ran operated in 150 East Timorese villages, with dozens of local staff members, giving him a significant local information network.

"I was told I would be going into an area that was sensitive, that from time to time there would be a requirement for me to report to Ausaid on what I saw happening there. It was stressed that this was very much for my safety and the safety of the team. I was told to keep it objective and verifiable," he said.

"This related to reporting on anything untoward involving the [Indonesian] military and the way military actions affected the people." As Australia's most senior aid worker in East Timor, Mr Taudevin describes himself as Canberra's "man in Dili". Australia had no East Timor-based diplomatic staff between 1971 and the reopening of the consulate in mid-1999.

"None of this was in writing, but I have copies of e-mails from Jakarta [the Embassy] and Canberra referring to my reports, in one case highly complimentary, in most cases the opposite." His book is based on his reports to Jakarta over a three-year period.

In an entry dated June 18, 1998, Mr Taudevin writes: "I spoke to Ausaid at length. I outlined the seriousness of the situation. I advised that I felt the situation here in East Timor would deteriorate in the coming months ... my information evoked no interest or response."

In April 1999, Mr Taudevin was accused by the Indonesian military of spying and ordered out of East Timor.

In Canberra, a spokesman for Mr Downer described him as an "utter fruit loop" who had to be recalled from Dili because he was endangering the relationship between Indonesia and Australia.

In September this year, after the overwhelming vote in favour of independence at the United Nations sponsored ballot, pro- Indonesian militia forces rampaged across East Timor, killing an unknown number, destroying most of the territory's infrastructure and forcing hundreds of thousands from their homes, in the realisation of their "scorched earth" plans.

Plot to destroy East Timor

Dili -- Indonesia's top military brass plotted the systematic destruction of East Timor and the murder of all independence leaders should the territory vote to break from Jakarta, the country's own human rights investigators said Saturday.

Naming the former commander of Indonesia's armed forces, General Wiranto, as topping their list for interrogation, the inquiry panel alleged the military's complete collusion in the campaign of murder, rape and looting by anti-independence militia which swept the territory in September.

The inquiry, which is independent of the government, has powers of subpoena which can be enforced by the police and has been touted by the Indonesian government as its official investigation. Jakarta has rejected a similar United Nations inquiry.

Albert Hasibuan, chairman of the Commission for the Investigation of Human Rights Abuses in East Timor, told reporters in the capital Dili that plans for the destruction of East Timor were made during a meeting in Dili between Indonesian military intelligence and the militia.

"In that meeting it was instructed then that if the result of the referendum in East Timor was [to] be free then they must destroy all the buildings and kill all the pro-independence leaders," Hasibuan said. Indonesian General Zaki Anwar Makarim attended the meeting, he said.

He is also being sought for questioning, along with General Adam Damiri, who was the regional commander overseeing East Timor, said Hasibuan. Wiranto was commander of the Indonesian armed forces during the violence.

Other senior military officers were also expected to be among those called by the panel. "It will be a long list," Hasibuan said. "These names, I think will be on the list to be called by us and interrogated."

Commission member and noted lawyer Todung Mulya Lubis also said: "Human rights abuses in East Timor have been done in a brutal, blatant, gross and systematic way. There's been a collusion between the militia, TNI [Indonesian armed forces] and the police in every human rights abuse."

The special nine-member commission was established by the independent Indonesian National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) on September 22 and has until the end of the year to complete its work.

Hasibuan said his allegations were in part based on testimony from a former militia member now in the Portuguese enclave of Macau.

The United Nations, rights groups and witness accounts have all accused Indonesian security forces of orchestrating and taking part in the violence.

Hasibuan said the commission would have to speak to President Abdurrahman Wahid to seek permission for Wiranto to be called as the general is now the minister for politics and security affairs.

Zaki is now based at the military headquarters in Jakarta, while Damiri remains head of the Bali-based Udayana military command which used to oversee security in East Timor, though he is due to be transferred.

The commissioners gave other examples of evidence they said indicated links between the military and the militia.

A witness told the commission that General Syafrie Syamsuddin, former Jakarta military commander, was present during the September attack on the compound of Nobel peace laureate Bishop Carlos Belo, Hasibuan said.

He said that during a trip to the southern town of Suai on Saturday a witness identified Lieutenant Sugito and other armed forces members as being involved in a massacre of hundreds of refugees and priests at a church compound in Suai.

"He saw the killing of the three priests with his own eyes and also the killing of hundreds of people ... brought by military trucks to another place that he doesn't know," he said.

On Friday the commissioners met a militia member in Los Palos town who said he was under instruction from the military when he attacked nine people, Lubis said.

"There will be a human rights court which up until now has not been created but I think in the near future, next year, it will be set up," he added. "All of us are committed to investigate, committed to bring justice."

A separate United Nations human rights inquiry team is to arrive in East Timor Wednesday.

Stepping into the gap

With East Timor in a mess, what will become of the natural resources off its coast? It depends, writes Bernard Lane, on which country you speak to.

Between Australia and the former Indonesian province of East Timor there is no single maritime boundary.

Australia and Indonesia could not agree on a seabed boundary, which decided oil or gas rights. Hence the "gap". Australia said the boundary should be close to the Timor coast because Australia's continental shelf extends so far north. Indonesia argued the boundary should be a median line between the two coasts.

In 1989 the two nations put off a final seabed boundary and struck an interim deal for joint development in the gap. The gap has three zones -- A, B and C. A gasfield, Bayu-Undan, is being developed in Zone A of the gap, the crucial zone where Australia and Indonesia agreed to divide royalties 50-50. Australia and Indonesia already had a boundary dividing the water column (which decides fishing rights). This 1981 boundary runs along the median line, coinciding with the southern boundary of Zone A.

East Timor's political leadership may persue a better deal in the Timor Sea, where there is hope of rich resources -- as well as a treaty symbolising the long-held assumption of Indonesia and Australia that there never would be an independent state of East Timor.

The Timor Gap Treaty promised Australia and Indonesia half shares in government revenue from the US$1.4 billion Bayu-Undan gasfield, the best find so far in the contested area of the Timor Sea. With Indonesia gone, what will East Timor do about the treaty?

Australia's Foreign Minister Alexander Downer has not been alone in speaking as if the East Timorese have already undertaken to honour the treaty.

So far most commentary has implied near-inevitable succession by East Timor to Indonesia's treaty rights, no real change in the treaty beyond the technical, and a harmony of interests between Australia, East Timor and Phillips Petroleum, the company leading development of the Bayu-Undan field.

In mid-1998 East Timor's political grouping, the National Council of for Timorese Resistance (CNRT), issued a statement seeking a review of the treaty but also recognising the rights of the petroleum companies -- and the joint development interests of Australia.

One CNRT signatory to the statement was Dr. Mari Alkatiri, who has responsibility for the treaty issue. The interview he gave The Weekend Australian this week suggests the CNRT may be repositioning itself to seek a better deal from Australia than Indonesia got under the treaty.

Alkatiri says it would be premature to reveal the CNRT position. But he confirms that East Timor's bargaining options include a bigger share of government revenue from projects in the crucial joint development Zone A, where Bayu-Undan lies, and a new maritime boundary with Australia that would give East Timor control of the entire Zone A.

He says neither strategy need concern the Bayu-Undan project. The companies could keep working under treaty-like arrangements during the two to three year period of United Nations transitional administration.

And when the UN gives way to a sovereign East Timorese government, renegotiation of the treaty with Australia would not affect the legal rights or taxation rates of the companies. "It doesn't matter for them [the oil companies] whether they are going to pay Australia or East Timor," he says.

If Bayu-Undan succeeds, others may follow. Right now Zone A has only a small oilfield in production, Elang-Kakatua. The more promising Bayu-Undan is dwarfed by the gas fields of Australia and Indonesia. But for a ravaged East Timor, Zone A revenues could well be significant.

Phillips Petroleum's Darwin area manager Jim Godlove says Bayu- Undan could give East Timor, on the existing 50-50 split, "many tens of millions of US dollars a year". The figure can't be precise. Before Bayu-Undan can realise it's full potential, it must meet a series of challenges; the treaty transition is just one.

The origins of the treaty lie more in geography than in gas. In that area, Australia and Indonesia could not agree on a seabed boundary. Indonesia favoured a median line between the Australian and East Timorese coasts. Australia said the boundary should be north of the median line because its continental shelf reached well towards Timor's coast. Hence the joint development treaty, with a coffin-shaped gap of contested territory divided into zones, and a joint administrative authority headquartered in Jakarta.

From 1991, when it came into force, the treaty had at least 40 years to run, although both nations were supposed to make regular attempts to agree on a final seabed boundary.

In a sense, the treaty still works. Only last month Phillips gave the go-ahead for the first stage of Bayu-Undan. Indonesians still occupy half the positions on the joint authority. Indonesia still gets (modest) monthly revenue payments, its half share from Elang-Kakatua. In another sense, the treaty is defunct. It assumed Indonesia would continue to exercise sovereignty over East Timor, according to former Commonwealth solicitor-general Gavan Griffith. QC. Yet authority over East Timor has now passed to the UN.

For all the talk of East Timor naturally succeeding to Indonesia's rights, Australia acknowledges that the choice is East Timor's. Even so, Australia argues that self-interest should make East Timor "step into the shoes" of Indonesia, and continue joint development with Australia. The only renegotiation yet envisaged by Australia is technical: for example, withdrawal of Indonesia from the joint authority and revenue regimes.

Alkatiri does not like the shoe-stepping metaphor: "It is really impossible to do it, because for us the treaty is an illegal one ... that's why we simply cannot be a successor state." In the two or thee year transition period, the only difference my be terminology. In a matter of weeks, the UN on behalf of East Timor and Australia, is expected, in effect, to continue the treaty arrangements.

Alkatiri prefers to describe this as a practical "mechanism" to allow Bayu-Undan to proceed. "It doesn't mean that we [have] accepted already to be a successor state of the treaty," he says. Like Australia, he is well aware that nothing agreed now by the UN can legally bind the future government of East Timor. That government could seek a better deal.

Asked whether it could seek a larger share than 50 percent of Zona A revenue, Alkatiri says: "We are considering a lot of things, but of course, that is one of them."

He says there should be no direct "linkage" between any increased revenue for East Timor and a decrease in foreign aid, but adds: "If we are getting much more revenue we will need less aid." Alkatiri also says East Timor would seek to resolve the dispute underlying the treaty: the position of the final seabed boundary.

This could be very significant for control of resources in Zone A, according to Geoffrey McKee, an oil industry consultant and adviser to the Darwin-based East Timor International Support Centre.

Back in 1981, Australia and Indonesia agreed on a fisheries line running through the Timor Sea. It is on the median line between the two coasts and follow the southern boundary of Zone A.

McKee has international law advice that East Timor would have a good case to argue for a single maritime boundary through the gap, with the seabed boundary (deciding gas and oil rights) joining the fisheries boundary at the median line. If Australia agreed, he says, it would give East Timor total control of Zone A, and twice the government revenue from Bayu-Undan (a potential US$4.4 billion over 25 years, rather than US$2.2 billion).

Asked whether he was considering such a "median line" approach, Alkatiri says: "I have different ideas on this question, but, of course, it will be better for East Timor if the median line [principle] is accepted."

The median line would be a viable starting point for negotiation, according to Ivan Shearer, Challis professor of international law at Sydney University. Shearer says recent international practice "puts all the pressure on favouring a common line for both seabed and water-column (fisheries) boundaries and that would naturally start from a hypothesis that the fairest boundary is one which meets half way, a median line."

It is too early to say how far East Timor will push for a better deal in the Timor Gap. CNRT is caught up with more immediate concerns and the complexion of a future government is unclear.

Indonesia's rights are there for taking, but there is no guarantee a radical renegotiation would win East Timor anything better.

Victor Prescott, a political geographer at Melbourne University, points out that the treaty and the 1981 fisheries line were part of a matrix of innovative agreements between Australia and Indonesia, including a 1997 agreement yet to be ratified. If East Timor wanted to open the treaty, then Australia might insist on quite wide-ranging negotiations. "If they [East Timor] want some sort of cash flow to augment whatever aid flow is going on," Prescott says, "then the easiest thing to do is say, `fine let's continue the Timor Gap Treaty'."

The former Australian foreign minister who signed the treaty, Gareth Evans, recalls it's origins in the intractable dispute with Jakarta. "The difficulty was to reach agreement about the [seabed] boundary with the Indonesians and the army of international lawyers they had," he says. He cannot see why it would be easier with any other nation state.

McKee argues that East Timor's claim for a better deal would not just be legal but moral, especially after the destruction that followed the independence vote. Even so, Shearer says the East Timorese would be hoping for all kinds of support from Australia, their regional ally. "I would not expect [East Timor] to drive too hard a bargain [over the treaty]," he says.

Like other CNRT leaders, Alkatiri stresses the importance of good relations with Australia. And he suggests a flexible approach to treaty negotiations. "Of course this is a political negotiation," he says, "you have to defend your position but you have to be prepared to make some concessions, too."

[The 1997 agreement, mentioned above, refers to a Treaty signed in March 1997 by Indonesia and Australia. The 1997 Treaty finally settled the water column boundary in the Timor Gap, making it coincident with the southern boundary of `Zone A'. It has not yet been ratified. Australia's Joint Standing Committee on Treaties recommended (in it's 12th report) that Australia ratify 1997 Treaty. The 1981 fisheries agreement -- referred to by Lane -- was a `memorandum of understanding' that established a Provisional Fisheries Surveillance and Enforcement Line' (`PFSEL') in the Timor Gap, pending permanent delimitation of the maritime boundary. The 1997 Treaty achieved the permanent delimitation foreshadowed by the PFSEL agreement.]

Skeletons in Holbrooke's closet

Richard Holbrooke is heading to Dili as a representative of the UN, but he's carrying the baggage of a shameful past of covering up for Indonesian human rights abuses.

The irony of US Ambassador to the United Nations Richard Holbrooke's visit to East Timor in the coming week will not be lost on any East Timorese whose memories go back to the 1970s.

Holbrooke is scheduled to arrive in Dili Monday, where he will meet with Timorese leader Xanana Gusmco, and then visit East Timorese refugee camps in Indonesian West Timor. He met this week with another East Timorese political leader, Josi Ramos-Horta, about plans for the UN to take over the temporary administration of the newly independent nation. But Holbrooke may have a tough time convincing the East Timorese that he's suddenly on their side.

Holbrooke was Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs in the Ford administration's State Department, an agency largely responsible for the United States' covert aid to Indonesia and its military just before and during that country's invasion of the tiny half-island in 1975. As a State Department official who worked with Holbrooke in the 1970s recently told The New York Times' Anthony Lewis, the department's policy on East Timor "wasn't a policy of benign neglect, it was a policy of malign neglect."

As the department's ranking Pacific Asia official, Holbrooke was then-Secretary of State Henry Kissinger's right-hand man on matters related to Indonesia. As State Department documents have since revealed, Kissinger knew in advance that Indonesia, fortified with US-suppled weapons, intended to invade East Timor. Not only did the State Department not try to prevent the invasion, it worked after the fact to undermine the United Nations' denunciations of Indonesia for doing so. It was Holbrooke who often took on the task of justifying this policy.

A UN Security Council resolution calling for Indonesia's withdrawal was passed in 1976, with only the US and Japan abstaining. That US abstention was the work of Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-NY), who at the time coincidentally had the job Holbrooke now holds: US Representative to the United Nations. As he bragged in his memoirs, Moynihan was assigned the task of undermining the UN's efforts to stop Indonesia's invasion and occupation of East Timor: "The US Department of State desired that the United Nations prove utterly ineffective in whatever measures it undertook [against Indonesia]. This task was given to me, and I carried it forward with no inconsiderable success."

In later testimony defending US policy in East Timor, Holbrooke repeatedly played down the brutality of the Indonesian occupation. In 1979, Indonesia reported that East Timor's population had shrunk by 10 percent because of "civil war and starvation." Analysts with Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International now say the population had shrunk by far more than that, and that the causes were primarily Indonesian military violence against civilians, and starvation caused by the military's use of napalm to deforest the region and poison its farmland. Holbrooke, however, told a Congressional committee that the desperate hunger in East Timor had nothing to do with the Indonesians' invasion, but was the result of years of neglect during Portuguese rule. That the starvation did not reach desperate levels until several years after the Portuguese left the colony evidently did not strike Holbrooke as contradictory. In his June 1980 testimony before the House subcommittee on foreign relations, Holbrooke dismissed Timorese refugees' accounts of ongoing brutal fighting between the Indonesian military and the resistance guerrillas, saying that the guerrillas had "ceased to pose a significant problem" by early 1979. Twenty years later, it's clear that there was never any halt in the battle.

Holbrooke has made a name for himself in recent years as a champion of the downtrodden in Bosnia and Kosovo; but back in 1980, he declared that Indonesia was "perhaps one of the greatest nations in the world."

Now Holbrooke makes his way to Dili as a white-knight representative of the United Nations, which is responsible for freeing East Timor from Indonesia. Whether he can keep a straight face while doing so remains to be seen.

Government/politics

Hamzah resigns over graft scandal

Jakarta-- Indonesian Minister for People's Welfare Hamzah Haz has resigned amid allegations he was involved in a 13 billion rupiah (1.8 million dollars) corruption scandal, a presidential press official said Friday.

President Abdurrahman Wahid has appointed Basri Hasanuddin, a professor at the Hasanuddin University to replace him, said Darmawan Ronodipuro, the head of presidential press affairs.

Press reports had earlier said Haz planned to resign amid discontent at the policies of Wahid who was elected in October. One of Wahid's first pledges was to fight corruption.

Haz, the chairman of the Muslim United Development Party and investment minister under former president B.J. Habibie, has been accused of receiving the money from Habibie to fund his party's campaign in the June elections.

Under election rules individuals can only donate up to 15 million rupiah to a party campaign. Furthermore there have been suspicions the money might have come from the state coffers.

Haz has denied the charges, saying they were intended to undermine his party which came in fourth in the elections, but holds the third largest number of seats in the 500-seat parliament.

Speculation has mounted that Haz was one of three ministers being investigated as part of an inquiry launched by Wahid into past corrupt practices.

Although Wahid did not mention names, several press reports have named the three as Haz, Manpower Minister Bomer Pasaribu, and Justice and Law Yusril Ihza Mahendra.

However, Wahid has already said that Mahendra, chairman of the Muslim Crescent and Star Party, was not among the three despite newspaper allegations that the party received campaign funding of 1.5 billion (214,285 dollars) from Habibie. Pasaribu meanwhile has challenged the authorities to find evidence of allegations against him.

Clean government has been a key reformist demand by Indonesians sickened by three decades of corrupt and nepotistic rule under former president Suharto, and Wahid has called on any new ministers tainted by corruption to step down voluntarily.

Suharto was forced to resign in May 1998 amid widespread riots and a crippling economic crisis. Wahid has also insisted that cabinet ministers should declare their wealth at the beginning of their five-year terms.

Political/economic crisis

Security forces kill 21 in Ambon

Jakarta-- Security forces opened fire during fresh battles between Muslims and Christians in the strife-torn Indonesian city of Ambon Friday leaving at least 21 dead and more than 100 wounded, residents said.

Ten Muslims, including an army soldier, were killed and 50 wounded by shots fired by police mobile brigade troops, said Malik Selang, an official at the Muslim Al-Fatah mosque.

"They [the Christians] burned empty houses and accused us of being the perpetrators," Selang told AFP by telephone. The bodies and the injured Muslims were taken to the Al-Fatah hospital in Ambon, he said.

A local journalist who visited the state Dr. Haulussy hospital said by late afternoon the death toll among the Christians had risen to 11 after some died in hospital from their injuries.

Six Christians were killed instantly when soldiers deployed in the city had opened fire on the crowd, he said. "All of the victims, those killed and wounded, were shot by troops," the journalist said.

A woman manning an aid post at the Maranatha Protestant church said 60 Christians were wounded by gunshots. They were being treated at a local Christian hospital. "Some of them may be dead, but I don't know exactly," said the woman, who refused to give her name.

The clashes flared when 28 homes were set on fire, the journalist said. Selang said Christians from the Mardika area threw gasoline bombs at empty houses belonging to other Christians to create the impression that Muslims were setting the fires.

But the woman at Maranatha said the Muslims launched the first attack against Christian residences in the morning, helped by soldiers armed with grenades. Hani Laetemia, a male nurse at the Maluku Protestant Church Hospital said 11 victims were brought to the hospital but they had been transferred to the state Dr. Haulussy hospital.

"One of the victims died here," he said, adding he could still hear shots being fired in the city. The state hospital could not be reached by telephone.

The city was gripped by tension as gunfire echoed through the streets into the late afternoon, the journalist said.

Scores of elderly women, whose houses were gutted in the violence, went to the headquarters of the provincial military command to protest the military's failure to protect their property, he said.

"They cried all the way but the commander would not come out," he said referring to the chief of the command, Brigadier General Max Tamaela.

But an official at the military command said the situation in the city was under control as security forces from the army, air force and police moved to contain the clashes.

"We don't know how many were injured or killed because we have not received a report from the field," Captain Didi Suwandi told AFP.

Tension high after Maluku clashes

Jakarta -- Tensions were running high in the strife-torn Indonesian islands of Maluku Monday with troops placed on alert after sectarian clashes left six dead and 24 injured, officials and the Antara news agency said.

Four more people were injured late Sunday when a clash broke out in the Christian-dominated Mardika district in downtown Ambon, Antara said.

At least six Muslims and Christian residents from the Baguala sub-district, 15 kilometers east of Ambon have been killed since the violence flared on Friday.

Poppy Handel, a civilian staff member at the Ambon police headquarters, said Muslim residents Monday shot "several Christian residents who were trying to leave the city" with arrows.

"This morning, when the Dobonsolo ship docked at the Yos Sudarso border, several people who were escorted by police were shot with arrows by Muslim residents, " she told AFP.

"Every time the ship docks at the harbor, which is a Christian- dominated area, people are injured or killed," Handel said, adding the violence ended several hours later. Police "have yet to receive an official report of casualties from Friday's incident," she said.

An official with the local chapter of the Council of Indonesian Muslim Scholars, Malik Selang, told AFP the situation in Ambon "is very tense" with security troops in the city on maximum alert. "Mobs are concentrating in many different sectors of the city, in the harbor area in Trikora, Air Salobar and Mardika- Batumerah."

But although Ambon was "relatively quieter" Monday morning, Selang charged that security forces from the Marines and the army's Kostrad and field artillery units "are not doing their best to maintain peace and security."

He alleged "it was the police's Brimob unit who opened fire" during Friday and Saturday incidents between fighting residents of Nania and Waiheru villages in Baguala.

Aceh/West Papua

Aceh student activists shot

Banda Aceh -- Two [student] members of SIRA (Aceh Referendum Information Centre) were seriously wounded early on Thursday morning (24th November) [as received] after being caught in a hail of bullets and having a hand grenade thrown at them by men in military style fatigues riding a trail bike in the vicinity of Geuceu Meunara village, Banda Aceh. The two victims were at the time engaged in humanitarian work, trying to help local people deal with threats and and robbery by unknown persons.

Shortly before the attack against the students, and not far from the location of that incident, members of army Battalion 112/DJ found the bodies of two men, who according to the 012/TU Military Provincial Command [MPC] commander were GAM [Free Aceh Movement] members...

SIRA coordinator Muhammad Nazar told reporters yesterday that the SIRA members shot were [Iswandi (20) and Muksalmina (23)]. Several other members were also wounded...

[SIRA member] Alfian said that, one hour after taking the two severely wounded members to hospital, they returned to the scene. "On close examination of the area we found six M-16 cartridge cases made by Pindad [military ordnance factory], and one grenade pin. We lent the pin and two of the cartridge cases to the police, for further investigation," said Alfian.

Alfian and his colleagues said that they had at no point seen the bodies of the two men alleged to have been shot in Geuceu Meunara.

Referring to the incident, Nazar said that his group's fears had been realised. He claimed that they had been deliberately lured to the area. It was proof that somebody wanted to see a state of military emergency declared in Aceh...

Commander of 012/TU MPC Col Syarifuddin Tippe told reporters yesterday at Battalion 112/DJ headquarters [about finding the two bodies of "men from Pidie", along with a vehicle, an FN pistol and five bullets, 15 M-16 bullets, registration papers for other vehicles, two hand-held radios, a mobile phone, two swords, and other papers; Tippe claimed that the men were GAM members killed

House grills top brass over Aceh

Jakarta -- Coordinating Minister for Political Affairs and Security Gen. Wiranto and top military officials were questioned over allegations of human rights abuses in the restive province of Aceh during an investigation by a special House of Representatives committee on Thursday.

Gen. Wiranto, the former Indonesian Military (TNI) chief, denied the military had engineered unrest in the province as a pretext to deploy troops to crush separatist rebels there.

"It is entirely untrue ... When I was the commander of the TNI, I was clean of engineering something as that," Wiranto replied when asked by the special House committee on Aceh.

The province has been wracked by violence after a decade of strong military control was implemented to crush separatist rebels.

An independent inquiry accused military leaders on Tuesday of ordering human rights violations in the province which were tantamount to "war crimes".

The House committee has been holding sessions all week, summoning top officials and the National Commission on Human Rights to present testimony on the troubled province.

The committee announced on Tuesday that it would also summon former defense minister Gen. (ret.) L.B. Moerdani and Armed Forces chiefs Try Sutrisno and Feisal Tanjung.

Accompanying Gen. Wiranto to the 50-member House committee on Thursday were National Police chief Gen. Roesmanhadi, TNI chief Adm. Widodo Adi Sucipto and defense minister Juwono Sudarsono. Also present were Attorney General Marzuki Darusman and State Minister of Human Rights Affairs Hasballah M. Saad.

Several committee members emotionally queried Gen. Wiranto and other military officers on the military's involvement in the province.

Legislator Zulfan Lindan of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle laid suspicion of engineering the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) threat. He questioned why journalists often had access to interview GAM members while the military supposedly had trouble tracking them down. Another legislator, Pramono, also accused the military of contriving the whole affair.

Both Gen. Wiranto and Adm. Widodo contended that in recent months the military had adopted a defensive stance rather than pursuing rebels and that the military were refraining from house to house searches in villages since in the past the practice had triggered a mass exodus.

Defending the military's actions, Gen. Wiranto said there could have been false information distributed or might have been indisciplined steps taken by soldiers on the ground.

He contended that the military had taken steps to bring these violators to court, reiterating once again that 151 cases had been brought to court. "It could be that the violations by the soldiers were done without the knowledge of their commander," Wiranto said.

The independent investigation said on Tuesday that it documented 5,000 cases of human rights abuses in Aceh, including cases of summary executions, torture, rape and abductions.

Adm. Widodo told the hearing that no more troops would be sent to Aceh. "The TNI will not add any more troops even though the conditions are still unsafe for troops securing [government] facilities and their families," he said.

He claimed that there were only 814 army troops, 600 marines and a platoon of the Air Force's special force (Paskhas) now in Aceh.

Meanwhile, Roesmanhadi said police, who were responsible for security in the province, had just sent two police battalions there, increasing the number on the ground to more than 11,000.

He defended the decision saying that the two battalions were necessary to anticipate mounting tension ahead of the 23rd anniversary of GAM on December 4. "We predict that there will be a massive mobilization of people, the removal of Indonesian flags and attacks on military and police posts and state projects," Roesmanhadi said.

Separately, former Lilawangsa commander overseeing volatile regencies in Aceh Lt. Gen. (ret) Syarwan Hamid said on Thursday that he was ready to face a tribunal to account for his alleged involvement in past violence in Aceh.

"I am ready to face the trial as long as it is not set up only to merely satisfy public opinion," Syarwan said on the sidelines of a discussion on federalism here.

The state-funded independent inquiry into the violence in Aceh disclosed earlier this week that Syarwan was among top military officials who were directly or indirectly involved in alleged human rights abuses in Aceh.

Syarwan said, however, that what he did in Aceh was only "carrying out orders". "As a soldier, I received orders to resolve the insurgency in Aceh ... There was no order to kill or rape innocent people," he said.

Meanwhile, military spokesman Maj. Gen. Sudrajat said the military would support a trial of its members who were accused of rights abuses in Aceh as long as the trial was not "a political show".

He called on the public to treat the accused soldiers fairly as they were only carrying out orders. "We do as what we are ordered to do, the [military operation in Aceh] was the government's decision at that time," he added.

Military threatens crackdown

Jakarta -- The Indonesian military threatened Thursday to take action against rebels in the restive province of Aceh if they lower the national flag on the December 4 separatist anniversary there, a report said.

"They will have to face the TNI (the Indonesian military). There is only one choice, to kill or to be killed," the military's chief spokesman Major General Sudrajat was quoted by the official Antara news agency as saying.

Sudrajat said soldiers will rehoist any flags taken down by the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), which has been fighting for an independent Islamic state for the staunchly Muslim province since 1976.

"We'll go there, fly the Indonesian flag again and take down the GAM's flag," he said, addressing a seminar at a state university here.

He said Indonesia's sovereignty was at stake, with the local government no longer functioning and "people killing, torching buildings and schools as they like."

"Are we just to abandon our sovereignty [in Aceh] and go home like we did in East Timor or we retain it?," he asked. "The TNI is ready to retain it and this must be done through a political decision," he said without elaborating.

GAM has said it plans to raise its own flag in the province on December 4 to mark the anniversary.

Wahid rules out referendum

Lindsay Murdoch, Jakarta -- The Indonesian President, Mr Addurrahman Wahid, has ruled out a referendum on independence for Aceh, raising fears of more violence in the resource-rich province at the tip of the island of Sumatra.

Mr Wahid said during a visit to the Middle East that the referendum he had earlier promised would cover only the introduction of sharia, or Islamic law, and not independence.

Asked about demands in Aceh for a vote on self-rule, Mr Wahid said: "No, no, never, because all countries, including the United States, back Indonesia's sovereignty over all areas of the country."

His refusal to bow to demands for an East Timor-style referendum puts his administration and the country's security forces on a collision course with Acehnese independence groups, who say they will accept nothing less than full independence.

Activists have given the Government until December 4 to announce a vote on independence or else they will attempt to raise the flag of the outlawed Free Aceh Movement.

In one of the biggest demonstrations in the country's history more than 750,000 people rallied in Aceh's capital, Banda Aceh, on November 8 to demand a vote on self-determination.

Although Aceh is staunchly Islamic, the introduction of Islamic law has not been the focus of anti-Jakarta protests.

Indonesia's lower parliament, the House of Representatives, has already passed legislation allowing provinces to introduce Islamic practices.

A leading Acehnese human rights activist, Mr Abdul Gani Nurdin, told the Herald that a three-day strike would be called on December 4 and the GAM's flag raised.

"This is totally wrong," Mr Nurdin said. "Independence is non- negotiable. Aceh is already following Islamic law." He warned that unless the people were granted an independence vote "it could end up in war".

Almost 300 people, including 88 Indonesian soldiers, have been killed in clashes in Aceh since late last year.

Yesterday Indonesian security forces dispatched 870 elite police to Aceh despite an order by Mr Wahid several weeks ago for 600 combat troops to be withdrawn in an effort to ease tensions.

The Indonesian military commander in Aceh, Colonel Syarifuddin, warned that his men would fight to the death to ensure the province remained part of Indonesia.

"I and my soldiers will defend Aceh from separation from Indonesia until our last blood," he said. "We are not afraid of people saying that we violate human rights. We have every right to protect ourselves."

Indonesia's armed forces have been pushing for the introduction of martial law in the province, a move strongly opposed by the Acehnese groups.

The military stands accused of widespread human rights violations in Aceh during a decade-long crackdown on dissent that spawned a highly organised rebel movement.

The province's military chief, Colonel Syarifuddin Tippe, said civil servants and thousands of other people have fled Aceh ahead of the December 4 deadline.

"I cannot say Aceh is safe," he said. "Even the army cannot secure and cover almost all the areas in Aceh. That's why I cannot guarantee the lives of the Acehnese people."

[On November 6, AFP reported that Vice-president Megawati Sukarnoputri was quoted in an interview with the Tokyo publication, Mainichi Shimbun, as saying that "As long as the special province of Aceh is part of Indonesia, it is critical not only to listen to what Aceh people want ... but also to pay heed to what [Indonesian] people think as a whole". She also said that there were three ways forward for a referendum: a national referendum, an Aceh-wide referendum, or a referendum restricted only to the indigenous people of Aceh - James Balowski.]

2,500 Acehnese rally at parliament

Jakarta -- About 2,500 Acehnese Thursday forced their way into the parliament complex here to demand a referendum on self- determination in their province.

The protesters, wearing white headbands with the word "Referendum" in blue letters, made their way into the lobby of one of the main buildings in the complex, brushing aside attempts by the few security guards to stop them. "Settle Aceh with a referendum," said one poster carried by the protesters. Others read: "Referendum is the best solution for Aceh" and "The Aceh Nation is divorcing [Indonesia]."

The protesters, from the Acehnese Community of Java in support of a General Assembly of the Fighting People for an Aceh Referendum, waited in the lobby and for parliamentary leaders to convey their demand to them. They later planned to march to the main Istiqulal mosque for prayers.

In an open invitation, a copy of which was obtained by AFP, the organisation said the protesters were Acehnese from Jakarta and other towns and cities on Java island.

They said the rally was a peaceful action "to provide moral support to our brothers and sisters in Aceh," the country's westernmost province lying on the northern tip of Sumatra island.

5,000 cases of rights abuses found in Aceh

Jakarta -- A catalogue of killings, torture and rape in the Indonesian province of Aceh was outlined to parliament Wednesday as an independent inquiry said it had found 5,000 cases of rights abuses.

The abuses fell under six categories of crimes against humanity, said Amran Zamzami, chairman of an independent commission set up to investigate human rights violations in Aceh, quoted by the official Antara news agency.

They included summary executions, torture, abductions, arbitrary detention and killing, wilful destruction of private property, rape and sexual violence, he told a parliamentary committee on Aceh.

Investigations in the field by his commission had led to the discovery of more than 5,000 cases of human rights abuses during a decade of anti-rebel military operations in the province, he added.

In a report published earlier the commission accused top generals of orchestrating "war crimes" against the people of Aceh and called for them to be brought to justice. The most blatant violations occurred in the districts of North Aceh, East Aceh and Pidie, Zamzami told the parliamentary committee.

One involved a soldier's rape of a woman named Sumiati, a resident of Trieng Gadeng village, who became pregnant and had a baby. The rapist was tracked down by the commission and confessed but refused to accept responsibility.

In another instance a group of civilians were abducted and tortured, some of them emerging from their ordeal maimed for life, Zamzami said.

"The cases were reported to the government and no follow up actions have so far been taken. But human rights violations do not expire," said attorney general Marzuki Darusman, who is also chairman of the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM).

He said violations were committed by both troops and civilians and all must be investigated properly.

"Under international law these are grave offences and culpability in these cases does not expire with time," said Major General Syamsuddin, a Komnas Ham member.

Similar abuses had occurred in other parts of Indonesia such as Irian Jaya and East Timor but the crimes in Aceh needed to be investigated immediately and brought before the courts, Syamsuddin said.

Students give deadline for resolution

Jakarta -- One hundred and fifty students from the University of Indonesia rallied at the House of Representatives on Wednesday to demand that President Abdurrahman Wahid and Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri resign if they fail to resolve the dispute in Aceh within three months.

During their peaceful demonstration, the students, mostly members of the university's Students Executive Board (BEM UI), criticized Abdurrahman, better known as Gus Dur, for his lackluster performance in handling Aceh's problems.

"Gus Dur does not seem to care about Aceh's problems. That's why we are giving an ultimatum to the government to settle problems in Aceh within three months, otherwise Gus Dur and Megawati should resign," the students' leader Yanuar Arif said.

"We are very serious and the demonstration is not our first nor last. We will come back with bigger rallies if our demand is left unheeded by the government."

During their meetings with members of the Golkar and the Reform factions and the House's special commission on Aceh, the students regretted that Abdurrahman had given his overseas trips priority over domestic matters.

In their statement signed by BEM-UI president Bachtiar Firdaus and secretary-general Arie Wibowo, the students also demanded former president Soeharto, former Armed Forces chiefs L.B. Moerdani, Try Sutrisno, Edi Sudradjat and former Aceh governor Ibrahim Hasan be brought to trial for their alleged involvement in human rights abuses in the province.

"The only solution to Aceh's problems is to grant wide-ranging autonomy to the province and bring all parties concerned to justice," Arie said.

He suggested that the House become actively involved in bringing an end to conflicts in Aceh.

"We consider the House's decision to question some generals as only a beginning, not a solution," he said, referring to the House commission's plan to summon the former military top brass as part of its investigation into past atrocities in Aceh.

Arie said the Acehnese, who had devoted their lives and natural resources to the republic, had been betrayed by both the Sukarno and Soeharto governments. The students rejected the military's role in the settlement of Aceh problems.

Separatists seethe over inaction

Vaudine England (Jakarta) and Associated Press (Banda Aceh) -- As President Abdurrahman Wahid left yesterday on another foreign trip -- this time to Kuwait -- Acehnese activists and investigators in Jakarta were increasingly impatient at his "inaction".

Separatist passions are running high in Aceh as the Indonesian military refuses to offer its people for civilian trials and its desire to impose martial law in Aceh remains strong.

In continuing unrest, six people, including two policemen, were found dead as gunmen torched buildings, police said yesterday.

The bodies of the two policemen and two unidentified civilians were found on Sunday in a swamp in southern Aceh. On Saturday, a civilian was shot dead near his house in the west of the province, while another was killed in central Aceh. Gunmen also burned down seven school buildings and five government offices.

Caught in the middle is the Independent Commission on Aceh, which has waited nearly two weeks since its meeting with Mr Wahid, with no steps being taken towards the promised trials of military violators of human rights.

At the same time, intelligence sources claim that key members of the leadership of the separatist Free Aceh Movement are due to arrive in Aceh on November 27, including the movement's nominal leader, Hasan di Tiro, if he is well enough to travel.

The sources said that Huzaini, a more active leader of the movement abroad, is to be part of the delegation, along with a foreign supporter of the movement.

Said Adnan, the movement's commander for the North Aceh Regency, said yesterday the rebels had been training young Acehnese in villages for the past two months, ready for a war of independence.

Reports also claim that all Acehnese would be required to fly the Acehnese flag -- red and black with a half moon and star -- on December 2, before the movement's declaration of independence on December 4.

Unconfirmed reports from Aceh also say that staff members at the state telecommunications and electricity installations in Aceh are being pressured to leave, as part of a plan by the movement to isolate the newly "independent" province.

More reliable assessments by analysts in Jakarta confirm that in many villages throughout Aceh, the movement is already in effective control of local administration, such as collecting local taxes and issuing permits.

"[The movement] is establishing parallel governments in the villages," said a political analyst attached to Jakarta's Centre for Strategic and International Studies. "They've been left all alone by the central Government and are filling the gaps."

West Papuans plan protest

Thousands of pro-independence West Papuans held a "birthday celebration" for leader Theys Eluay in the Sentani subdistrict of the capital, Jayapura, on November 12. Local residents say that between 3000 and 5000 people participated; Indonesian police claimed it was just 300.

Eluay had obtained police permission for the birthday gathering, but participants told journalists that it was used to plan the raising of independence flags across West Papua on December 1.

On that date in 1969, protesters first raised the red, blue and white flag with a star that symbolises the movement for freedom from Indonesian rule. Raising this flag is now illegal in West Papua.

Indonesia occupied West Papua, a Dutch colony, in 1963. The region was renamed Irian Jaya and Indonesian sovereignty was formalised by the United Nations in 1969 after a coerced ballot in which only around 1000 "representatives" of the people voted.

Peter El, a lawyer at the Legal Aid Institute in Jayapura, told the media that on November 11 residents in Timika district had raised the independence flag in front of the Three Kings Catholic Church. "The people have set up tents to guard the flag from being taken down by the authorities", he said. They plan to stay there until December 1.

In an interview with Radio Australia on November 12, human rights activist Dani Yomaki said the November 12 rally was organised by Eluay to build momentum for the December 1 flag raising. "Theys was asking the Papuans who are now working with the government to not work, starting today, until the first of December", he said.

Military must be tried in civil court

Jakarta -- Chairman of the National Commission on Human Rights Marzuki Darusman said on Wednesday that he would propose to the government that military personnel who were allegedly involved in past rights abuses be tried in nonmilitary courts.

Marzuki, who is also the Attorney General, made the statement on the heels of objections from Coordinating Minister for Political Affairs and Security Gen. Wiranto and the Indonesian Military (TNI).

"I will raise this issue during a ministerial meeting on political and security affairs on Thursday morning, during which I will call for the need to immediately set up a special tribunal," Marzuki said after attending a hearing with a special team of the House of Representatives investigating atrocities in Aceh.

Marzuki was present on Wednesday in his capacity as chairman of the rights body. He said earlier that prosecuting military personnel involved in rights abuses in a court martial would not have any significant political impact on the public as many believed that the court was not independent.

"So I appeal to the House to also push for an immediate establishment of a special tribunal to try military personnel who were allegedly involved in the Aceh violence.

"I hope that this will not take too long because we are now racing against time," Marzuki said, referring to the mounting calls for a self-determination referendum in Aceh.

Marzuki, however, acknowledged that trying military personnel in a nonmilitary court would not be easy as "a fellow within the Cabinet and the military has been strongly resisting the idea".

"The coordinating minister for political affairs and security and the TNI say that we can not apply new parameters [of a human rights perspective] to past violations. This is something that is fundamentally unacceptable," Marzuki said.

Members of the Independent Inquiry into the Aceh Violence, who were also present on Wednesday, said that former TNI chief Gen. Wiranto and his predecessors Try Sutrisno, Edi Sudrajat and Feisal Tanjung were among those who should be held accountable for initiating or sustaining military operations in Aceh.

Gen. Wiranto was also mentioned earlier as one of a number of senior military officers allegedly involved directly or indirectly for the violence in East Timor following the August 30 ballot there, which saw an overwhelming vote against autonomy within Indonesia.

People's Consultative Assembly Speaker Amien Rais shared Marzuki's opinion, saying that military personnel who were involved in rights abuses should be tried in civilian courts.

"I think the most logical solution is to open a civil court [to try those who were involved in the violence]," Amien said after a meeting with Supreme Advisory Council members at his office.

He also said he believed Aceh would remain a part of Indonesia if rights abuses in the restive province were thoroughly resolved.

"If not, and especially if there is a self-determination referendum, the days of this Republic will be numbered," he added.

Amien therefore called on the government to speed up the prosecution of alleged perpetrators of human rights in Aceh. Amien also suggested retired and active Army generals who were requested by the House to explain their roles in planning military operations in Aceh to appear before the legislature. "If they are not guilty, why should they be afraid?" he said.

House Speaker Akbar Tandjung also urged on Wednesday swift prosecution of military officers implicated with crimes against humanity in Aceh.

The House said on Tuesday it would summon former Armed Forces chief Gen. (ret.) L.B. Moerdani as well as his successors Try Sutrisno and Feisal Tanjung to explain their roles in planning military operations in Aceh.

The three former top military leaders were expected to testify on Saturday, Teuku Syaiful Ahmad, a member of the team, said.

The team also summoned former chief of Bukit Barisan Military Command overseeing North Sumatra and Aceh Maj. Gen. (ret.) Pramono, the former chief of Lilawangsa Military Command overseeing Aceh regencies put under military operations Lt. Gen. (ret.) Syarwan Hamid, advisor to TNI chief Maj. Gen. Zaky Anwar Makarim and former Aceh governor Ibrahim Hasan.

Syaiful said the team might summon former president Soeharto, who was in power when military operations to quell separatist rebel movements in Aceh were initiated in 1988.

News & issues

Australia feared war with Indonesia

Paul Daley, Canberra -- Indonesia's former President Dr B.J. Habibie feared his armed forces commander-in-chief would stage a military coup in October, raising fears among senior Australian diplomats and defence analysts of a possible war with Indonesia.

According to a secret Australian intelligence brief obtained by The Age, "secret reporting" indicated Dr Habibie believed General Wiranto would stage a "creeping coup" against him and declare a state of military emergency if Dr Habibie was re-elected.

The Defence Intelligence Organisation document, marked "SECRET AUSTEO" (Australian Eyes Only) and dated 28 September, said Dr Habibie was trying to persuade General Wiranto to run as his deputy to ward off a coup.

The DIO's advice to senior Federal Government figures, including the Prime Minister, Mr John Howard, and the Foreign Minister, Mr Alexander Downer, came just a week after the first of 5000 Australian troops entered East Timor.

Diplomatic and defence sources told The Age that the warnings led to "real fears" of the "potential for war with Indonesia" because General Wiranto would probably have ignored the result of the East Timor autonomy ballot and bolstered Indonesia's military presence there.

"The implication was clear if there was a coup and Wiranto decided not to give up East Timor after Australian troops had already arrived in their thousands," a diplomatic source said, "there would have been a very real chance of large-scale clashes between TNI (Indonesian military) and Australians. The situation was very tense, very tenuous, until the election result was known. There were real fears, that could not be discounted, of a potential for war with Indonesia."

According to the DIO briefing: "Secret reporting indicates that Habibie is fearful of a `creeping coup' by Wiranto, and believes that Wiranto intends to declare a military emergency if Habibie is re-elected. Habibie is attempting to persuade Wiranto to be his running-mate, in order to ward off such a move."

Another secret DIO document, dated 15 October, does not discount that Dr Habibie could have been re-elected. Dr Habibie eventually pulled out of the 20 October election.

The 28 September document says the relationship between Dr Habibie and General Wiranto had "deteriorated over the past month" but that Dr Habibie "knows he needs TNI's 38-plus votes to be re-elected and Wiranto needs to keep all avenues to political office open".

An earlier secret DIO report shows that Dr Habibie considered replacing General Wiranto last November, but was afraid of the military's reaction.

"Secret reporting indicates his Government considered replacing Wiranto on Friday. But, although Habibie would probably still prefer Information Minister ... Yunus Yosfiah as ABRI (Indonesian military) commander, ABRI's leadership would not accept Wiranto's removal at this stage," says the document.

While senior Federal Government figures have recently expressed optimism that the Indonesian military's influence had apparently waned with the election of President Abdurrahman Wahid, the 28 September document clearly foreshadowed that General Wiranto would retain significant influence in any new government.

The document said that if General Wiranto was prepared to step aside as TNI commander "to focus on his political ambitions, his replacement would probably be a temporary appointment".

"Wiranto could support TNI Deputy Commander, Admiral Widodo, as a caretaker Panglima (commander). They are close friends, and as Widodo does not have an alternative power base, TNI support would remain firmly behind Wiranto," the document says. "Wiranto would maintain his bargaining power in the political arena only if it was recognised that he still had proxy control of TNI. That would be more likely if Widodo were appointed as caretaker."

After President Wahid's election, Admiral Widodo was appointed defence force commander-in-chief, while General Wiranto was shifted to the similarly influential role of Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs.

Although the 28 September document was prepared three weeks before Mr Wahid's election, its predictions about General Wiranto remain salient because of the political muscle flexed in recent weeks by TNI.

When President Wahid recently said that he would give an act of self-determination to troubled Aceh province within seven months, the military responded that the President was only expressing a private view. The President has since said Aceh will not determine its political future.

Two days ago Admiral Widodo criticised Indonesia's Human Rights Commission for reporting that TNI orchestrated recent militia atrocities in East Timor, claiming the finding was biased.

While Mr Howard and Mr Downer have publicly expressed optimism that TNI's influence has waned under President Wahid, privately they are said to be less circumspect. In a speech last week, Labor's foreign affairs spokesman, Mr Laurie Brereton, said the "renewed assertiveness of TNI" should not be ignored.

"General Wiranto has emerged from the political transition with his power and authority inside the TNI apparently intact. The post of Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs is no longer a resting place for generals leaving the political stage," Mr Brereton warned.

MPR to reject ending fuel subsidies

Jakarta -- The Indonesian parliament will reject a proposal by the government to gradually lift fuel subsidies, saying it would be a burden on the nation's poor, a report said Tuesday.

"Whatever the excuse, the lifting of subsidies is unacceptable until mid-2000," Antonius Rahail, deputy chairman of the parliament's commission on mining was quoted as saying by the Kompas newspaper. "The government cannot just agree with the IMF without consulting us [the commission]," he added.

The mining and energy ministry's director general for oil and gas, Rachmat Sudibyo, has said the government will include the gradual scrapping of fuel subsidies starting April 1 in a new letter of intent with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The gradual elimination of state subsidies, including fuel, is one of the conditions set out by the IMF in return for a 43 billion dollar bailout plan to help the government overcome the economic crisis which has hit the country since mid-1997.

But Rahail said "for the sake of the nation's unity" the subsidy should be retained. "If the government needs additional funds for the state budget, better find other sources. Eliminate corruption seriously, don't sacrifice the people's interest," he said.

The increase in fuel prices amid the crippling economic crisis contributed to widespread riots in May 1998, which forced former president Suharto to resign after 32 years of iron-fisted rule.

Suharto could be pardoned

Jakarta -- Indonesia's lower house has backed President Abdurrahman Wahid's vow to pardon former strongman Suharto but only after he has been tried by a court for allegations of graft, a report said Monday.

Former president Suharto "could be given clemency only after undergoing trial," said Hartono Marjono, deputy chairman of the commission dealing with law and internal affairs of the House of Representatives (DPR), quoted by the official Antara news agency.

"The term pardon as meant by President Abdurrahman Wahid is called clemency in law ... so there should be a trial beforehand," Marjono said.

Wahid said in Washington 10 days ago that "once he [Suharto] is found guilty in a court, then we will pardon him, because he was our president."

"But not the rest of his family," Wahid said of Suharto's relatives. "This is very important. Not the family and not the cronies." Marjono said however that Wahid should first consult with parliament before conferring any clemency on Suharto.

Wahid's administration has reopened a graft investigation into Suharto's 32-year rule that ended in May 1998. Wahid, who left on a planned visit to the Middle East on Monday, has also said he would pardon his predecessor B.J. Habibie should he be convicted of any crime.

Wahid said he believes Suharto stashed huge amounts of money abroad under the names of his children and his friends during his iron-fisted rule. "He is richer than the state even," Wahid said.

Wahid suggested that although pardoning Suharto would draw international criticism, it was a necessary move to calm Suharto's powerful allies within the Indonesia's military.

"The idea of the supremacy of the civilians -- this is very important," Wahid said in unexpectedly candid remarks. "But please remember, we are in a difficult position."

Suharto, reportedly now in poor health, has sued the US magazine Time for 40,000 dollars in material compensation and 27 billion dollars in damages for a report which alleged the Suharto family was sitting on a fortune of some 15 billion dollars.

It also alleged Suharto had transfered some nine billion dollars from Switzerland to banks in Austria shortly after he resigned. The court case against Time is due to resume here Tuesday.

Economy and investment

Foreign investors nibbling at assets

Shoeb Kagda, Jakarta -- International investor confidence is slowly returning to Indonesia, with upscale commercial properties and companies in export-oriented businesses fast-becoming prime acquisition targets, sources told BT.

A number of investors from the United States, Europe and Asia have been flying into Jakarta in the past few weeks to sniff out deals and to enquire about distressed assets under the control of the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (Ibra).

BT understands that representatives from government-linked institutions such as Invesco Malaysia, which is an investment arm of the Sultan of Brunei, as well as the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation have been making regular trips to the Indonesian capital.

But while these institutions may not have much internal restrictions placed on the size of their investments, they are also unlikely to pick up whatever is available.

"They may have an open cheque book but they are not about to rush in," said one source who has met some of these representatives. "If there is a good deal, they will snap it up, but they are not acting like Father Christmas."

The renewed investor interest in Indonesia follows President Abdurrahman Wahid's recent whirlwind tour of eight Asian countries and the US, with the government now seen to be more pro-business and foreign investor-friendly.

A study by Indonesia's central bank, Bank Indonesia, that showed business activity continued to improve in the third quarter and is likely to be even better in the fourth quarter has also helped boost investor confidence. And so did the announcement by the Central Bureau of Statistics that the economy grew by 1.54% in the third quarter.

International investors now want to see greater transparency, especially if they are looking to invest in companies, given the risks involved. Many Indonesian companies, both private and state-owned, have huge US dollar debts which have been hidden from their books.

This is why prime commercial real estate is the most attractive option for many investors. Not only have prices fallen significantly over the past two years, interested investors can also view them directly and make their own assessments.

Jeffrey Hong, a director of PT Procon Indah, a property consultancy associated with Jones Lang LaSalle, told BT that the first signs of a real estate sector turnaround are beginning to appear as business activity starts to pick up.

"The signs are good for the market to improve but a recovery to pre-crisis level will take a long time," he said. "Over the next six months, many companies which cut back operations last year, will expand their businesses again and this will have a positive impact on the property sector."

He added that his office has been receiving a steady stream of inquiries from local companies looking for office space in the central business district. "As soon as Ibra starts to offload some of the assets under its control, the better properties will go fast."

Jones Lang LaSalle itself has set up a US$1 billion fund in Singapore to buy good prime office buildings in Indonesia.

Mr Hong noted, however, that investors, especially those from the US and Europe, were looking for yields of between 12 and 15% from Indonesian investments. This is much higher than the expected yields in neighbouring countries because of the high risk premium attached to Indonesia.

At current rental levels, even the best commercial and office properties in Jakarta are yielding less than 8%, so closing deals is difficult, he said.

Another factor that might act as an obstacle for investors is the huge supply overhang for office space in the city. Currently, there is about 690,000 sq metres of empty office space in the city, out of a total stock of 2.86 million sq metres.

"During the boom years, the take-up rate went as high as 200,000 sq metres a year so it will take a minimum of three years just to fill the existing supply assuming there is no new supply coming on to the market," he said.

As for investments in companies involved in export-oriented businesses, the main concern is social stability in Indonesia, especially in the light of separatist movements in provinces such as Aceh and Irian Jaya.

Andre Cita, an American investment consultant based in Jakarta, noted that many of his clients in the US are paying close attention to opportunities in Indonesia but they remained wary of the social situation.

"Most investors are looking for stability ... that is the primary concern. Once that happens, we will see money coming in," he said.

He added that many of his clients are interested in mining, oil and gas exploration and other export-oriented businesses. "Most people in the US are looking for investments that are dollar earners."

Aside from the purely commercial aspects, US investors have also been encouraged by the political changes that have occurred in the country over the past six months. Indonesia held peaceful general elections in June and presidential elections in October.

"The political changes here fit the perceptions of the US investors and they are more digestible to the American palate," said Mr Cita.

But he warned that while the overall picture of the country was growing clearer for international investors, the billions of dollars that have been anticipated by some Indonesians are still some way off.