> Please go to ZNet's Timor Pages at
> http://www.zmag.org/CrisesCurEvts/Timor/timor_index.htm for regularly
> updated information and analysis bearing on the events in East Timor....
>
> If you want one preferred piece to get up to speed and inform yourself as
> quickly as possible, ZNet's best overarching effort to succinctly situate
> the events and our responsibilities is our Question and Answer Article,
the
> work of Shalom, Chomsky, and Albert:
> http://www.zmag.org/CrisesCurEvts/Timor/qanda.htm
>
> ---
>
> You may have heard, already, that U.S. journalist Allan Nairn, arrested a
> few days ago seemingly solely for deportation, is now facing prosecution
in
> Indonesia. Benny Mateus, the chief justice of Nusa Tenggara Province
intends
> to prosecute Nairn for two violations of Indonesian immigration law, a
local
> immigration official in Kupang, West Timor has informed Nairn. Nairn is to
> be charged with engaging in unauthorized activities and overstaying his
> two-month visa. Both acts are considered illegal under sections 50 and 52
of
> the Indonesian immigration laws. If convicted, Nairn could face 10 years
in
> prison. Nairn, who was arrested in Dili on September 14, was one of the
last
> journalists reporting from East Timor. Indonesian forces transferred him
to
> Kupang in West Timor, a part of Indonesia. A local immigration official,
Mr.
> Zurya, has been interrogating Nairn at the immigration facility in
downtown
> Kupang for several days. According to Indonesian officials in Kupang,
while
> Mateus is seeking to charge Nairn, the Minister of Justice, Dr. Muladi,
and
> the Minister of Information, Yunus Yosfiah, are inclined to deport Nairn.
>
> The detainment and possible prosecution of a U.S. journalist, the only one
> on the scene, is of course generating tremendous concern in the United
> States. The key point about Nairn's arrest, however, and our efforts to
free
> him, for those who are informed and have broad and consistent moral values
> is that we need to work to free Nairn while at the same time continuing to
> address the plight of the Timorese, and, for that matter, while we work to
> convince those aroused only by Nairn's situation that they need to broaden
> their focus.
>
> For example, approximately 100,000 East Timorese have been driven from
their
> country into West Timor, which is a part of Indonesia. These folks are
under
> the auspices of the Militia and Indonesian Army and there are no
observers.
> Their plight is unknown, but there is every reason to fear for their
lives.
> All efforts of virtually any sort to publicize and arouse concern for
Allan
> Nairn and outrage at his incarceration will help him and also all East
> Timorese. But, such efforts will be that much more effective, on both
> counts, if they occur in context of continuing attention the lot of the
> worst off and most defenseless...and if they emphasize not solely a
> violation of a Western Journalist by the Indonesians, but their quarter
> century-long willful violation, abetted by their U.S. sponsors, of the
> rights and lives of the Timorese. Nairn himself has no confusion on these
> matters. He is not only courageous, but consistent, not only a fine
> reporter, but also a moral, socially concerned and consistent person. In
> fighting for Nairn's freedom we should learn from his focus and courage
and
> keep the broader context and issues always forefront.
>
> Here then is Nairn's Own Statement to his captors (point l8 of the
> interrogation report on Allan Nairn, the part where the Immigration chief
> asks him to handwrite his position).
>
>
>
> Nairn's Statement in West Timor to his Captors
>
> I know that the army has put me on the black list. They did this because I
> watched their soldiers murder more than 271 people at the Santa Cruz
> cemetery. This crime was the responsibility of the Indonesian army
> commander, General Try Sutrisno and the Minister of Defense, General Benny
> Murdani.
>
> The murders were committed with American M-16 rifles. The American
> government also bears some of the responsibility because they have armed,
> trained, and given money to the TNI/ABRI, even though they knew the
TNI/ABRI
> is led by murderers and is responsible for the deaths of hundreds of
> thousands of Timorese, Acehnese, West Papuan and Indonesian civilians.
>
> Because I survived the massacre and denounced the crime to the outside
> world, the TNI/ABRI and the Suharto government banned me as a "threat to
> national security." That ban has been reaffirmed by each subsequent
TNI/ABRI
> commander, including General Tanjung and General Wiranto.
>
> I do not think that I am a threat to the Indonesian or Timorese people,
but
> I hope that I am a threat to General Wiranto and General Tanjung, and the
> other present and former leaders of the TNI/ABRI. I believe that they feel
> threatened by anyone who would expose their crimes. General Wiranto and
> Generals Bambang, Zacky, Syafei, Kiki, and many others, for example, are
> responsible for the current militia terror in occupied East Timor and for
> the increase in repression against the people of Aceh. This is no secret
to
> the people of Timor or to the people of Indonesia or Aceh. They have
> suffered for decades under the repression and corruption of TNI/ABRI.vMany
> brave Indonesians, Timorese, Acehnese, and West Papuans have been killed,
> arrested, tortured or raped because they dared to criticize the army and
> demand their right to freedom.
>
> As a foreigner and a journalist, particularly an American journalist, I
know
> that I enjoy a certain de facto political leeway that enables me to say
> things that local people would be killed for saying. I have tried to use
> that privilege to tell the truth about TNI/ABRI. If, because of this, the
> army feels they must arrest or jail me, then I know that there is nothing
I
> can do to stop them. But they know that they cannot arrest or kill all the
> people of Indonesia. That is why they are now so fearful, and that is why
I
> believe they will lose their desperate struggle to retain their hold on
> power and their police state.
>
> During my most recent detention, I have been interrogated by officials
from
> army Intel, police Intel, Kopassus Group 5, and many other units. They
have
> asked me many questions about my political motives and opinions. I would
> summarize my opinions this way:
>
> I am pro human rights, pro democracy, and anti TNI/ABRI. I am a supporter
of
> the people of East Timor, Aceh, West Papua, and Indonesia, and an opponent
> of the officials who have repressed and exploited them.
>
> As an American citizen who is visiting Indonesia and occupied East Timor,
I
> also want to be clear that I believe in even-handedness. The same
political,
> moral and legal standards that are applied to TNI/ABRI officers should
also
> be applied to the officers and political leaders of the United States. So
> while I support the UN Secretary-General's call for war crimes and crimes
> against humanity prosecution on East Timor, I think that the prosecution
> should not be limited to Indonesian officials. Foreign officials who were
> accomplices to atrocities in East Timor, and provided both murder weapons
> and the logistics of repression should also be charged, prosecuted and if
> convicted, jailed.
>
> Pragmatically, it is hard to imagine General Wiranto sitting in jail. It
is
> even harder to imagine President Clinton as his cellmate. But justice
should
> be impartial.
>
> It is time for the genocide to end. Untold thousands of Timorese lie
> slaughtered. Their families are bereft. The victims of Santa Cruz,
Liquica,
> and Suai can no longer speak. Those of us who can should insist that the
> killing stop right now. And we should also insist that the killers face
> justice, regardless of who they are.
>
> These same principles apply of course to atrocities everywhere. I think
that
> this is a simple idea and that most people would agree.
>
> If General Wiranto or any other officials have further questions about my
> views, I would be glad to answer them personally at a time and place of
> their choosing. I would also be glad to give details on the crimes
referred
> to above, and on the complicity in them of General Wiranto and other
> officials.
>