East timor activists renewed their call yesterday for a referendum on self-determination and the release of all political prisoners from the illegally occupied former Portuguese territory infamously associated with the legacy of ex-president Suharto.
But the Timorese Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Dr Jose Ramos Horta, forecast that Indonesia's new civilian president, Mr Jusuf Habibie, would only last a few days in office. Anti-government protests would continue, he said. Indonesia must prepare to appoint a transitional government of national unity before holding free elections, he said in Lisbon.
In Dublin, Mr Tom Hyland, the internationally known Timor campaigner, called on the Irish Government to make recognition of the new government conditional on political reforms in Indonesia and respect for international law. "This is a critical moment in the history of Indonesia and East Timor. Political reform must be in place before any legitimacy is given to the new Habibie administration," said the co-ordinator of the East Timor Ireland Solidarity Campaign. In Oxford, the Asianist historian Dr Peter Carey paid tribute to the role of international solidarity. "Tom Hyland played a part in the fall of Suharto," he said.
The Portuguese President, Mr Jorge Sampaio, said that the East Timorese were a day closer to freedom after the sudden resignation. "The political changes under way in Indonesia cannot support the continuation of an occupation force in East Timor," Mr Sampaio told reporters.
Earlier, the Portuguese Prime Minister, Mr Antonio Guterres, said the resignation did not guarantee democracy which would pave the way to self-determination for the East Timorese. "The resignation of the dictator Suharto is a necessary but unfortunately not sufficient condition for Indonesia to become a democracy one day," he said.
"And hopefully, with that democracy the people of East Timor will win full respect for their rights and liberties. . . The dictator Suharto abandoned power, but democracy is still not a reality," he added.
Mr John Howard, the Prime Minister of Australia, which has been supportive of the occupation, welcomed the resignation.
In Darwin, home to thousands of exiled Timorese, Australians for a Free East Timor said Gen Suharto should be tried for war crimes and pay back the billions his family has stolen. Dr Ramos Horta echoed this call saying that Mr Suharto should be made accountable to the courts for his action over 32 years of rule.
The Australian group's spokesman, Mr Rob Wesley-Smith, warmly welcomed Mr Suharto's resignation. "It's fantastic, a great step forward, all power to the students who made this happen, they are the real heroes," he said.
"But it's not all finished, Habibie is not a friend of East Timor but I hope he won't be there for very long and genuine democracy can reach both Indonesia and East Timor."
Mr Wesley-Smith said Mr Suharto had started his rule over Indonesia in the 1960s "on the bodies of a million Indonesians. He is the world's greatest living mass murderer and should be brought to book," he said.
Another group, the Australian Coalition for Free East Timor, said: "This is very much a cosmetic change," according to its spokesman, Mr Andrew Alcock.
"President Suharto has gone but he's a master puppeteer, he'll be manipulating from behind the scenes," Mr Alcock added. Indonesia invaded the former Portuguese colony of East Timor in 1975 and annexed it as the country's 27th province the next year in a move never recognised by the United Nations, which has condemned it 10 times.