Independence vote the eye of the storm - East Timor

National Catholic Reporter, Sept 17, 1999 by James J. Fox

Brief hope in East Timor gives way to killing

Special to the National Catholic Reporter Suai, East Timor

Fr. Hilario and Fr. Francisco seem the most ordinary of men. In dress and appearance, they are indistinguishable from their parishioners in the town of Suai on the southern coast of East Timor. Suai is the district capital of Covalima on the border of West Timor. For the past five months, Covalima has been an area of escalating violence.

I first met Fr. Hilario in the temporary United Nations headquarters where he was trying to arrange for a helicopter to bring Bishop Carlos Filipe Belt to Suai for a Mass of reconciliation on the Sunday before the vote on autonomy, the vote that would determine East Timor's political future. Later that same day I met Fr. Francisco who took us on a tour of the refugee encampment on the field beside the old church and among the scaffolding of the massive new church whose construction had been halted. Most refugees in the camp had come from the mountains of Covalima.

I was one of a team of four from The Carter Center, based in Atlanta, deployed to one of the most troubled areas in East Timor. The Carter Center had more than a dozen observers throughout East Timor as the result of a personal invitation from Indonesia's President Habibie to former President Jimmy Garter. We were there to monitor the vote. Our clear mandate was to be absolutely neutral, to talk with all sides and to observe what was happening.

The refugee camp in the churchyard had over 4,000 residents, some of whom had arrived in April after being driven from their villages when the first, and some of the worst, violence and intimidation was begun by groups of armed militia. Two militia groups were formed in the area, one called The Eagle (Laksaur) and the other, Death or Life for Indonesia (Mahidi). Both groups are committed to the integration of East Timor with Indonesia. In their campaign for integration, they have been supported, armed and directed by the Indonesian military.

Keeping refugees alive

Fr. Francisco's task was not just to provide the protection of the church. His daily task was to find the food, water and medicines to keep the refugees alive. As we walked around the camp, we talked mainly of the necessities of life. He purposely made no comment on the fact that the CNRT, the political council leading the campaign for independence, had set itself up among the refugees and had placed posters so they could be seen from the inside of the church.

The vote was only two days away, and the great concern was for a planned Mass of reconciliation. The hope was that Bishop Belo would be able to attend. Fr. Hilario's task was to see that the ceremony occurred. Both he and Fr. Francisco had been working for weeks to see that a reconciliation agreement was reached between the warring factions. The mass of reconciliation was intended to bring both factions together in peace.

As it happened, the United Nations was able to fly the bishop to Suai, and the Mass was celebrated, with thousands crowded around the church. The ceremony itself was an emotional event with a public surrender of weapons as part of the offertory procession and then a tearful reconciliation -- embraces of peace -- between members of the CNRT and the two militia groups in front of the altar. Following the Mass, the Laksaur militia provided an escort to groups of refugees to allow them to return to their mountain villages to vote the next day.

The vote to determine East Timor's future went ahead as planned Aug. 30. Because it had been twice postponed and had been preceded by such systematic threats, intimidation and killings, most observers expected further serious disruptions. Instead, on the day, voting was carried out peacefully and enthusiastically. The armed militia, who had campaigned aggressively for autonomy under Indonesian rule, ceased its activities. The Indonesian police, who had been criticized for failing to provide adequate security in the lead-up to the election, demonstrated exceptional professionalism. And the Indonesian army, suspected of masterminding excesses in the campaign, appeared to withdraw from the whole process, claiming the right to preside from above.

Under these conditions, the United Nations was able to perform its functions effectively. East Timorese streamed to the polling centers, many camping out the night before to be in line by the time the stations opened at 6:30 in the morning. In most areas, voting was completed hours before the centers officially closed. Ninety-nine percent of registered voters turned out to cast their ballot.

My assignment was to visit some of the more remote polling centers in the mountains north of Suai. By noon, when we reached our last assigned monitoring site, there were only a few Timorese waiting to cast their vote. As soon as they had voted, most Timorese left the polling centers to find their way back to their villages.

We met one old man who had previously come to the U.N. polling center to express his fears about coming to vote. Yet on the day, he arrived early with a large group from his village but had forgotten his identity card, without which he could not vote. Realizing this, he immediately set off for his village and returned again to vote as the very last person at that polling center.