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Vol.63/No.34       October 4, 1999  
 
 
Imperialist troops land in East Timor  
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BY BOB AIKEN AND LINDA HARRIS 
SYDNEY, Australia — Some 2,500 troops, spearheaded by Australian infantry, landed in Dili September 20 beginning an imperialist intervention aimed at "restoring order" in East Timor. Indonesian president B.J. Habibie agreed September 12 to the deployment of "peacekeepers" from "friendly nations" in the territory, where a large majority voted for independence from Indonesia August 30.

Commanded by Australian Maj. Gen. Peter Cosgrove, the United Nations–mandated International Force for East Timor (Interfet) is due to increase to 7,500 troops in the coming weeks. Around 400 New Zealand troops and 250 British Army Gurkhas soldiers were among the first forces to land, with troops from Thailand and the Philippines also involved. Nine warships from Australia, New Zealand, and Britain, carrying troops and heavy equipment are off the East Timor coast.

U.S. ambassador to the UN Richard Holbrooke declared September 17, "This is not a peacekeeping force, with all the complications that entails. It is a force controlled by Australia that can use all necessary measures to achieve its objective." Referring to the UN force organized by European powers in Bosnia in the early 1990s, which didn't have Washington's backing, he said, "What has to be remembered is that, unlike the misbegotten [UN] forces of Bosnia, the multinational force will shoot first and ask questions later."

Admiral Dennis Blair, commander-in-chief of the U.S. forces in the Pacific, said he was "very optimistic" about Indonesian army co-operation. As "the biggest mother in the valley" the Interfet force had the power to dominate, he declared. "You may find Americans on the first planes," he said. "Neither my military people nor [the Australian military] send people into places that we can't back up if we have to." Washington has dispatched 200 troops at present.

In his September 21 speech to the UN General Assembly, U.S. president William Clinton called for more such interventions ostensibly to "end violence."

The imperialist intervention comes in response to a rise in the independence struggle in East Timor following the resignation of Indonesia's dictatorial ruler Suharto in May 1998. Tens of thousands of East Timorese seized the space created by mass student-led protests against the Suharto regime, and by deepening struggles by working people in Indonesia, to demand their right to national self-determination.

The governments of the United States, Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom — the same imperialist powers intervening today — backed Suharto's brutal occupation of East Timor in 1975. With the crisis of Jakarta's rule there from late 1998, in face of the undefeated East Timorese struggle for independence, these powers were forced to shift course to one of establishing domination over the emerging country, as part of their attempt to stabilize capitalist rule across the Indonesian archipelago.

Earlier this year, rightist gangs organized by the Indonesian military were unleashed against working people, especially proindependence activists, in East Timor. Despite a campaign of terror in which hundreds were killed and thousands driven from their homes, these gangs failed to block a massive vote for independence at the UN-sponsored referendum August 30. After the vote, the Indonesian military that's backed by the imperialist powers now intervening unleashed the so-called militias with even greater brutality.

Out of East Timor's population of just under 900,000, an estimated 300,000 have taken refuge in the mountains, with another 150,000 also "displaced" inside East Timor. Around 150,000 have been forcibly trucked to camps in Indonesian West Timor. Estimates of the number killed range from 600 to 7,000. Throughout this period the Australian government repeatedly called for the Indonesian police and army to "restore order."

The carnage has now become the pretext for the intervention. General Cosgrove said, September 16, "This violence has been visited on defenseless people. We won't be defenseless. I think the best thing for the militias would be to surrender their weapons and become peaceful, law-abiding citizens of East Timor. If that's not to their liking, then maybe they need to leave East Timor."

As the imperialist intervention began, Indonesian commanders in East Timor ordered the the withdrawal of up to 20,000 Indonesian troops and police. Many of the rightist gangs are also reported to be pulling out along with their sponsor, the Indonesian army.

Cosgrove traveled to Dili September 19 with an advance party, including Interfet deputy commander Maj. Gen. Songkitti Jaggabatra, from Thailand, to meet Syahnakri to discuss the deployment of the intervention force. As Australian and other troops occupied Dili the following day, Cosgrove reported the soldiers had been given "a benign and cordial reception" with full cooperation from Jakarta's forces.

Darwin, the logistical base for the intervention has become "a city preparing for war" as the military personnel and hardware for the intervention are brought together. Forces from more than 20 countries are expected to take part — including Portugal, Canada and France — along with Australia, United States, New Zealand and Britain. The governments of Thailand, the Philippines, and South Korea are also sending troops. Beijing has committed to send civilian police as well. Troops in the Australian-commanded force will continue to wear their national uniforms, with blue UN helmets. The force of 12,000-15,000 is scheduled to be deployed in its entirety within several months.  
 

Canberra: most significant intervention

Admiral Chris Barrie, the commander of the Australian Defense Forces (ADF), described the intervention as Australia's "most significant military undertaking" since the World War II. At the peak of its involvement in the Vietnam war the ADF had 8,300 troops deployed. Australian troops also took part in the imperialist interventions in Korea and Malaysia in the 1950s and in the "confrontation" with Indonesia in Borneo in the early 1960s.

Former Australian army chief John Sanderson, who commanded the UN force in Cambodia in the early 1990s, said he expects East Timor to be "fairly secure within three months." He projected a "peace enforcement" phase likely to last six months, followed by "peacekeeping" over the next year, and finally a mainly "civilian" phase of up to five years to oversee a transition to self-government.

East Timorese resistance leader Xanana Gusmao, released from house arrest by the Indonesian government September 7 arrived in Darwin September 19

With the build-up of the multinational force, the Australian government continued its efforts to draw working people to voice support for the Australian "diggers" (GIs). "There will be a danger. There could be casualties and the Australian public should understand that," Australian prime minister John Howard said on ABC TV September 14. "All I can say is they will.…take whatever action is necessary."

After speaking to the mother of one of the soldiers on Melbourne radio station 3AW, on September 17, Howard said, "It is also in our national interest to [intervene in East Timor]. Continued instability in a territory so close to Australia could have harmful consequences for us in the longer run."

Howard , Australian Labor Party leader Kim Beazley, and Australian Democrats leader Meg Lees traveled to Darwin to farewell the troops September 19. In a special address to the nation Howard declared, "Months ago we made ready the Australian army.…Our soldiers go to East Timor as part of the great Australian military tradition." Beazley in his message to the troops told them "You are the new generation of Australian warriors." He has promised bipartisan support for increased military spending.

Supporting calls for beefing up the military, Maj. Gen. Alan Stretton, a retired senior ADF officer, speaking on Channel 7 the same evening, urged the reintroduction of conscription.

On September 16 Jakarta scrapped the 1995 military co-operation agreement between Indonesia and Australia, which recognized "their common interest in the peace and stability of the region". Howard said that while relations between the two countries were under strain the implications of the scrapping of the treaty were not great. The Australian government continues to place great stress on working with the Indonesian government and military.  
 

Union tops organize reactionary rallies

Rallies demanding more rapid deployment of troops in East Timor, and echoing proposals for a "war crimes tribunal in Australia" took place in most main cities in Australia on Saturday 18, including one of 1,500 in Sydney. Following Indonesia's acquiescence to the UN intervention, trade union officials ended their campaign of anti-Indonesia boycotts.

A continuing protest at the Indonesian embassy in Canberra features a string of baby shoes placed across the entrance. One of the protest organizers, Trades and Labor Council secretary Jeremy Pyner, said that this is an intended cultural insult. "Muslims remove their shoes before entering a place of worship," he said. "To display the sole of your shoe is an insult."

The Indonesian press has reported that the intervention has sparked widespread nationalist sentiment. "With its aggressive policy in East Timor, prime minister John Howard has begun a dangerous game, the consequences of which he might never have expected," university lecturer Aleksius Jemadu wrote in the September 20 Jakarta Post.

While reports of anti-Australian protests in Indonesia have been given prominence in the media in Australia, other protests continue to take place there. About 1,000 people rallied in Jakarta September 14 blaming the Indonesian government and military for the bloodshed in East Timor. Three days later 2,000 students demonstrated against proposed new security laws giving extensive powers to the Indonesian military.  
 

Tensions rise in West Timor

There are reports of rising tensions in West Timor, where many local residents resent the activities of rightist gangs from East Timor. Some have opened their homes to refugees.

Calls have been made for the UN "aid" effort to be extended to the West Timor camps. As part of the build up to intervention, the Australian air force began air drops of food into East Timor September 17, with the go ahead from the Indonesian military.

On September 14, some 110 UN staff and 1,300 East Timorese from the UN compound in Dili were evacuated to Darwin. Up to 2,000 refugees will be housed in special camps in Australia. East Timorese were relocated from Darwin to the Melbourne camp just vacated by refugees returned to Kosova. Minister of Immigration Ruddock refused to comment when CNRT representatives in Australia called for the Australian government to allow East Timorese in West Timor camps into Australia.

Workers and youth opposed to the intervention are finding there is plenty of political space to explain their viewpoint. On September 20, ABC national radio's Late Night Live program broadcast a taped special forum on "East Timor: making peace or making war?" During the discussion Bob Aiken, a member of the Communist League, spoke opposing Australian troops going to East Timor. "I wouldn't look to Australian militarism to 'save the day'," he said. The Australian, U.S., and other imperialist powers have helped Jakarta keep East Timorese enslaved for decades. "The forces we should look to are the East Timor people themselves together with the new generation of fighters in Indonesia."

Bob Aiken is a member of the Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union.  
 
 
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