Sir, - The Irish Times is to be congratulated on its timely and accurate analysis of the current situation in East Timor. Trocaire shares many of the concerns outlined in your Editorial of July 30th. On the basis of two visits to East Timor in the past three months, I can attest that the security situation is still of grave concern. Fear and anxiety are palpable in relation to the ballot and the post-ballot period. The military-backed militia are active in a number of areas, particularly the west of the territory, and humanitarian agencies including Trocaire's partner Caritas East Timor are unable to gain access. In fact, they have been prevented from delivering aid through direct attacks on their convoys and illegal road-blocks established by the militia. Caritas East Timor estimates that there are approximately 80,000 to 100,000 internally displaced people (of whom 60,000 are eligible to vote). These people are unable to return to their homes out of fear and thus unable to register to vote. Less well reported or understood is the fact that there are also whole communities living in militia-controlled areas. These people are not counted among the internally displaced but, like them, they will not be able to vote freely as a result of systematic intimidation. Many have not been able to register.
This is the most serious problem facing the United Nations Assistance Mission to East Timor (UNAMET) and it threatens the very integrity of the ballot. The Church in East Timor continues to call for UN peace-keepers to oversee the ballot even though there is little international support for this option. While international commentators focus on the ballot, many are not paying attention to the immediate post-ballot period when East Timor is set to enter a phase of political limbo. If, as predicted, the ballot rejects autonomy in favour of independence, at least two months will pass between the completion of the ballot and the Indonesian parliament's decision to grant independence. The potential for military-backed violence is considerable, and many are predicting a bloodbath on a scale not seen since 1975. The international community needs to decide immediately to send a peacekeeping force into East Timor immediately after the ballot. In the absence of this commitment, people's freedom to vote will be severely compromised by fear for their security afterwards. The Irish Government must pursue this issue in the coming weeks, using every opportunity to convince the international community of its responsibilities in East Timor, which for so long have been ignored. Yours, etc.,
Fionnuala Gilsenan, Asia Project Officer, Trocaire, Blackrock, Co Dublin.