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We Love Indonesia We Love East Timor
A Celebration of Peace
During the last few months we have seen radical change, upheaval, reform, protest, backlash, horror and finally signs of resolution of the conflict between Indonesia and East Timor. As we all know, recent events have had quite a devastating effect on the relationship between Australia and Indonesia. Cultural exchange programs have also been affected. Throughout this traumatic period some of our voices have been raised, crossing cultural boundaries and maintaing a balanced rational view against a background of misinformation and xenophobia. This page is a tribute to the free thinkers of our planet who refuse to be manipulated by press, politicians or public pressure, maintaining a love for all humanity, intellectual honesty and a desire to express individual truth and universal respect. Below you will find a few examples of letters written or activities which these people created.
Rhythms for Peace
Many Australian Indonesian cultural organisation and gamelan orchestras have initiated fund raising events for East Timor since September. One of the most immediate and appropriate responses to the East Timor crisis came from Arimba Culture Exchange. They decided to hold a cultural performance called Rhythms for Peace. Press Release - Benefit for East Timor Performers from East Timor, Indonesia and Australia in solidarity The people of East Timor, Indonesia and Australia are caught in another turbulent period of history as they face a challenging future as neighbouring societies. Neighbours need to listen, to hear each other's voices while trying to understand differing viewpoints and seeing the situation from all sides. Arimba Culture Exchange believes in cultural action and the power of music to heal and build bridges during difficult times. With assistance from the Australia East Timor Association, Arimba will contribute the proceeds of this important night for urgent medical aid in East Timor. With the support of local East Timorese, Indonesian and Australian performers as they join together to play rhythms for peace and hope for the future and new beginnings. The edge of Sydney Harbour will provide the meeting place for close neighbours to give each other support as their realities become racked with insecurity and disbelief. East Timorese Performers of choral music and dance will join Tommee and the Neighbourhood, Arafura, GengGong, Guy Strazzullo, Bobby Singh, Pusako group and Guest Speaker, Amrih Widodo at the Harbourside Brasserie, Pier One on 29th September at 7pm. Arimba Culture ExchangeTel/Fax: (02) 9569 9028
Mobile: 0412 336 006
Email: arimbace@dot.net.au
Message of Peace
To Our Friends Around the World We are gravely disturbed by the escalating level of violence and disharmony regarding the freedom struggle of the people of Timor Timur. There is no doubt that these people have suffered and are still suffering. However, of equal concern for us is the rampant level of misinformation in the news that is occurring throughout the world in this regard. In our opinion as we traveled throughout Australia and then returned to Indonesia, there appear to be ulterior motives on the part, as usual, of our respective governments and their media to try to stimulate feelings of suspicion, hatred and self-justification. The issues are clouded as always by governments seeking power and money in their own self-interest. It seems those working towards truly humanitarian ends are certainly in the minority. We seek through our personal creative work the path of perfection. That is through our work, we seek to reach a higher degree of awareness and in this way through our actions bring into focus actions of compassion and justice. There is no way of perfecting of the self that does not involve similar action within the larger context of one's community and the world at large. We abhor the greed, corruption and violence of ruling powers everywhere in the world, who in the name of justice carry out myriad actions of brutality and injustice both cloaked in the name of democracy as well as national protection. We find it difficult to believe in the pure motivations of many ruling powers. The issues are complex and filled with contradictions. Within Indonesia at this time, the majority of the population is totally disgusted with the actions of militarism and all the inherited decay of the Soeharto era. But at this time in a struggle to move towards democracy, short of a bloody revolution/civil war, the Indonesians have been trying to maintain a level of patience to bring about these changes with a minimum of bloodshed. They are equally filled with horror and disgust at the proven injustices that they have continued to suffer under the leadership of the present status quo regime and the inherited rotten legal and economic systems. In addition to this they have suffered the financial depredations of the hunger, unemployment and social instability. They have seen their children killed at the hands of the military and police. Creating hatred towards the Indonesian people does not resolve the injustices. What is needed is support to work together with the Indonesian people to achieve international judicial action that will help Indonesians bring the political criminals to justice and cripple this reign of greed and violence. It is abhorrent to me to see in the international media, people being encouraged to react to these complex issues with attitudes of hatred and racism. So I take this opportunity to reach out to our friends around the world. To join hands to fight against injustice and lies in all of our countries. Let us realize that there are unspoken interests on the part of all of our leaders. Let us not be allowed to be the pawns in their power games. Let us join hands as the brothers and sisters of the earth to know that we seek peace and justice for all humans. That although at times in our countries, we are helpless to prevent violence and injustice, we must not lose sight of the bond of humanity, that through our respective traditions in the world that are richly different, that we have the potential to create a world culture rich in its variety of cultures and races. Let us remember the message of love and compassion that bonds us all in our efforts in this fight for equanimity. Let us sing the song of peace and love as the birds of the earth. Let us create this song as a vibration to counter the media message of hatred, violence and racism. It is in this way that we can resolve the injustices in the world and to help those of other nations and races to fight against these injustices from within their country. Join hands dear brothers and sisters of the earth. Join hands and stand strong that we might create a positive energy to counteract all of the negativity that sweeps around us like a great whirlwind. We sing the song of peace and love and brotherhood and sisterhood between all the peoples of the earth. Nia Ismoyo JogjakartaThank God for Arief Budiman
During the East Timor crisis Arief Budiman was a rare, sane voice in the wilderness appearing in publications such as Kompas, The Age and Time Magazine as well as on Australian television. Reading Arief's articles calmed the hearts of many people who were desperate to hear some words of commom sense and hope./
From The Age [Melbourne]
Tuesday 19 October 1999
It's fashionable, and convenient, to blame Australia
Arief Budiman
Watching Australian TV and reading Australian newspapers on the killings of innocent people in East Timor, I could not help but pray aloud: "Can't someone do something to stop this?"
Australian Prime Minister John Howard finally came forward and pushed the United States and the United Nations to help form an international peacekeeping force. Suddenly Australia became my hero.
This is so although I am fully aware of the exaggeration about the numbers of people getting killed. All we can be sure of is hundreds of innocent people lost their lives, killed by militia and aided by Indonesian soldiers.
It must also be acknowledged that John Howard is doing this, in part, to enhance his own political stature, and that Australia has long-term economic interests in East Timor. So what? Indonesian politicians are similarly using East Timor as their political commodity. Habibie is using East Timor to try to win international credit. General Wiranto is sending a message that Indonesia's military will remain a force to be reckoned with. Megawati is opportunistically attacking Habibie for making a mess of East Timor and for embarrassing Indonesia in the eyes of the world.
Canberra deserves praise for its move to stop the killings. Even so, anti-Australian sentiment in Indonesia is growing. We can iden-tify three different groups in this anti-Australian campaign.
The first are those demonstrating outside the Australian embassy in Jakarta. They are mostly people from youth organisations supported by either the Government or the military. They are officially orchestrated.
The second group consists of the majority of common people. They do not join the demonstrations, but they have some negative feeling against Australia. Their hostility is genuine. These people are basically more concerned with getting by in their daily lives than with events in a distant province. But many were clearly offended when televised reports showed Australians burning the Indonesian flag.
The third group are the intellectuals. Although critical of the Indonesian Government, and supportive of East Timor's independence movement, some are also hostile towards Australia. They are ashamed of what Indonesia's military has done in East Timor, but they feel helpless to change the situation. But it is important to understand that they get really mad when foreigners talk as if all Indonesians are responsible for the atrocities, as they, too, have been victims of military oppression.
For them, the past was bitter, the present dark, the future uncertain. What they don't need is another criticism, especially when it doesn't take into account all the issues. This angers them. They will tend to adopt the position that Indonesia is their country, right or wrong.
But many of these intellectuals also take a view that it is wrong to make Australia the scapegoat for a mess Indonesia created.
It is natural that many Indonesians will get angry and want to vent their anger by lashing out at somebody. Attacking the Americans would be unwise, as it might stop the flow of badly needed economic aid. Australia, on the other hand, is a convenient target: Australians burnt our flag, John Howard is perceived as arrogant in dealing with East Timor, they are playing the lead role in the peacekeeping force, their media have continuously exposed the horrible things occurring in East Timor.
On the other hand, Jakarta is desperate to find an issue to unify the country. Mobilising an anti-Australian attitude, taking advantage of both the popular sentiment and the intellectuals' frustration, is a convenient way out. The result is the anti-Australian sentiment.
This will not last forever. Indonesia has a more important agenda. Democratising state institutions, pushing the military out of civilian politics, dealing with the region's demands for more political autonomy and economic shares are some of the big problems the new government will have to confront. In East Timor, the presence of multinational forces and the militia's loss of support from the TNI through international pressure will make this area more quiet in the near future. It will not always be an important agenda in Indonesian politics.
Business and people-to-people relations between Indonesia and Australia have been strong. The two countries need each other. Anti-Australian sentiment will not disappear totally. But it will begin to fade.
Professor Arief Budiman is the head of Indonesian studies at Melbourne University.
SSolidaritas Kemanusiaan - Indonesian Uni Students Support East Timor
During September, Indonesian students at the University of Technology in Sydney organised a fundraising and awareness-raising stall. The following are letters relating to this project;
Hi semua,
ISA UTS (University of Technology, Sydney) mengharapkan dukungan dan partisipasi rekan-rekan mahasiswa Indonesia untuk kegiatan Solidaritas kemanusiaan terhadap para korban di Aceh, Ambon dan utamanya Timor Timur, seperti seruan di bawah ini. Kami juga menunggu anda di meja ISA UTS, depan R.B.111, Graduate School of Business, Hay Market, Sydney jam 11.00-18.00.
Terima kasih atas perhatiannya.
Indonesian Students Association - UTS
Translation
STOP POINTING FINGERS START GIVING HANDS !
The Indonesian Students Association at UTS is gravely concerned with the current humanitarian situation in areas spread across Indonesia such as Ambon, Aceh and especially East Timor.
We would like to increase awareness of the current problems by aiding those in needs. We hereby invite you to support our cause, free from any political motivations. One thing is certain, regardless of any political views, THE HUMAN COST IS THERE.
Please find the ISA stand at UTS Haymarket campus(outside B111) to get the
black ribbons and show your concerns. Starting:13 September 1999, 11:00 am - 6:00 pm
Indonesian Student Association at UTS
indouts@angelfire.com
http://www.welcome.to/indouts
Dear all,
The committee of Indonesian Student Association hereby extend our appreciation and gratefullness for the time, energy and funds that had been contributed during our five days fund raising activity (Solidaritas Kemanusiaan) in GSB in September 1999. The activity aimed to raise fund for those victims of violent in Aceh, Ambon and East Timor. Extended gratitude for The Consulate General of the Republic of Indonesiain Sydney for its generosity in supporting our fund raising.
The fund raised was of A$1200 (RP.6,926,400 -six millions nine hundred and twenty four thousands four hundred rupiah)). It had been directed on behalf on The Indonesian Students Association at University of Technology, Sydney, to "Dana Kemanusiaan Kompas"
(account number 0123005772) through BCA Bank, Gajah Mada Branch, Jakarta on the 21st of September 1999.
Sincerely,
o.b. Indonesian Students Association
University of Technology, Sydney
Ratna Laksana
PR Officer
indouts@angelfire.com
http://www.welcome.to/indouts/
World community wants facts not excuses
Letter from The Jakarta Post
By Raphael Lengesa Nombo
YOGYAKARTA (JP): The arguments raised by Aleksius Jemadu in Can Australia sever ties with RI? (The Post, Sept. 20) have a bias which might have been born out of blind, narrow nationalism. In actual fact, it is rational for people of his caliber and intellectual backgroundto see things in reality, considering the prevailing situation in East Timor.
The current situation in East Timor is so pathetic that it not only provokes the sympathy of peace lovers in Indonesia, but also the whole international community.
It is very important to understand the nature of the current problems in East Timor, of which Jemadu is certainly very much aware. Who is the real enemy in the conflict in East Timor? Is it Australia, Indonesia, Portugal or the United Nations?
In order to offer a clear answer to this question, it will help to avoid fabrication, "gong beating", bias and the shifting of blame to either Australia, Indonesia or the United Nations. Instead, Australia has become a convenient scapegoat for Indonesia's embarrassment over East Timor. (The Post, Sept. 22) We must face the reality that the current conflict which has led to suffering in East Timor has a historical basis.
For instance, Jemadu was quite right in arguing that "in the 1970s together with the United States, Australia tacitly endorsed the Indonesian military's invasion of East Timor". However, it is interesting to note that Jemadu does not inform readers about the true state of affairs behind Australia's foreign policy towards East Timor in the early 1970s.
It is necessary to understand that the end of the Cold War era has paved the way for the globalization and democratization of international relations. National interests have sometimes been forced to be compromised, readjusted and even transformed in order to conform with contemporary socioeconomic and political environments.
Quite probably, the reasons which made Australiaa staunch supporter of the Indonesian military's invasion in East Timor at the time, have now been overtaken by the chain of events. Mind you, as Simone de Beauvoir wrote, "if you live long enough, you'll see that every victory turns into defeat".
One may offer a quick answer to Jemadu's question,"Does this mean Australia wants to forsake its long-term good relationship with Indonesia?", by this quotation from the Bible, "Forsake not an old friend, for the new is not comparable to him: a new friend is a new wine, when it is old, thou shalt drink it with pleasure."
As an indication that Australia is still serious on maintaining its friendship with Indonesia, it is currently engaging in a soft diplomacy: seeking to persuade public opinion and keeping quiet on some of the sentiments raised by Indonesia. Australia is sticking to the old adage that "in matters of principle stand firm like a hard rock, but in matters of taste swim with current".
The truth remains that Australia is a member of the international community and a democratic, peace loving nation which respects human rights. Probably what annoys people like Jemadu and causes them to shy away from reality is the arrogance of people not honoring the East Timor referendum.
No man is an island. No nation-state in this world will ever survive without any form of cooperation with other countries. It is highly surprising to note Jemadu's views which endorse Malaysia's suggestion that economic cooperation in East Asia should be confined to Asian States, "thus excluding North America, Australia and New Zealand "because their economies are
Western-oriented. Even with my modest knowledge of international trade, I will never be convinced that Asian nations, especially Indonesia, will advance economically by stopping economic cooperation with the West.
In conclusion, I wish to agree with political analyst Soedjati Djiwandono's opinion in the short commentary, Jingoism rises to the fore over East Timor (The Post, Sept. 15).
"We as a nation should not look back, but face the troubles at hand with honesty, sincerity and goodwill... like it or not, both the police and military have failed, putting it bluntly, to maintain security, law and order in East Timor," he writes.
This is the right time for Jemadu to learn the truth about the problems in East Timor instead of resorting to scapegoating. Meanwhile, what the international community would like to hear about East Timor are facts, because facts alone are wanted in life and not excuses.
The writer is currently a postgraduate student in Public Administration at
Gadjah Mada University, Yogyakarta.
Stop Burning Flags
I myself spend many hours sending messages to Australian, Indonesian and East Timor groups with one message - "We Love Indonesia We Love East Timor - Pray for Peace". Below is a letter I sent to an International East Timor Support organisation to ask them to stop the burning of the Indonesian flag.
Dear friends,
I am writing to express my concerns about the anti-Australian feelings that have been inflamed by the burning of Indonesian flags and destruction of Indonesian Embassies. It does not so much concern me that some Indonesians are reacting by becoming anti-Australian - I am most concerned about how this is affecting the support for East Timor within Indonesia.
I am, as you are, extremely concerned about the plight of the East Timorese people and how we can support peace. Although I understand the intense feelings of protesters wishing to support East Timor, I feel that the burning of flags is very counter-productive as I am very aware that Indonesian people feel very deeply insulted by this action. Many Indonesians support the cause of peace in East Timor and I feel this cause would do much to help the situation in Jakarta, but if foreign protesters insult Indonesia it actually turns Indonesian people who otherwise may be sympathetic, to turn their anger against Australia instead of directing it at those responsible - the only people who have so far been able to successfully oppose the Indonesian government are the people and student movements in Indonesia. They need our support - to burn their flag is also an insult to them as well. To harrass innocent Indonesian citizens in Australia and Embassy staff is not only counterproductive but racist -I urge all supporters of East Timor to keep clearly in their minds who the enemy is - it is not the people of Indonesia - many of whom feel deeply disturbed and distressed about the violence in East Timor. What is happening now in Jakarta seems to be a power struggle which is the last ditch attempt of the military to regain control of Indonesia using Timor as an excuse - the more Australian people are seen as the enemy and alienated from the Indonesian people, the more the army can use this to blame us and justify their actions - its playing right into their hands.
The Parliament of Indonesia does not support the action of the military in East Timor- they need our support and recognition, as do the many student and community groups who have been marching and dying in Jakarta in protest about the violence in East Timor. Please do not forget them!
I am asking if you woud be willing to send this message on to East Timor Support Groups everywhere-
Praying for peace
Judith Shelley
P.S. I would consider it more powerful and politically astute for Australian protesters to burn the Australian flag and attack Parliament House - in ackowledgement of Australia's complicity and guilt in the annexation of East Timor by Indonesia. Many Indonesians are aware of Gough Whitlam's agreement and support of the Indonesian invasion of East Timor - and they are correct in expressing that the Australian government has been hypocritical. It is true they are still being hypocritical - (members of the Indonesian armed forces are still being trained in Australian army camps NOW!) so lets burn our own flag and thereby free and encourage Indonesian people to support East Timor.
The people most likely to be able to stand up to the Indonesian Army are the Indonesian people themselves.
They have done it once - they could do it again - PLEASE SUPPORT INDONESIAN DEMOCRACY!!!