Sir, - It is difficult to believe that the Reuters report in your edition of February 2nd and Conor O'Clery's excellent article of January 30th appeared in the same newspaper. Having worked in many Third World countries as a journalist and film-maker for many years, I have learned to treat news agency reports with a grain of salt, especially when they emanate from areas where there are very few working journalists on the ground. But the Reuters report really shocked me.
I have spent a good part of the last few months working on a documentary about East Timor, and only recently returned from there. To see a report headed "Loyalists seek arms as civil war feared" is really quite appalling because it conveys the impression that there is a sizeable number of people in favour of remaining part of Indonesia. But to have the "pro-integration" spokesperson speaking from the Governor's Office really beggars belief, as no East Timorese speaking from such a location could possibly be a significant representative figure of the population of that country given its recent history!
To appreciate how outrageous and inaccurate is the impression conveyed by that report you must look at the recent record of Indonesia in East Timor. The occupation of the country has been documented as a genocide against the East Timorese people which has cost the lives of at least 200,000 people, a third of the population. The Indonesian military are feared by the vast majority. And that repression still continues. For example, when I was in the country last month a village called Alas, where killings had taken place in November, was still cordoned off by the Indonesian military, who were still refusing to allow any independent observers to visit there, including journalists.
I met over 250 men, women and children - internal refugees - who had had to flee their villages and head for the capital because of intimidation at the hands of the Indonesian military, who have continued to behave like a brutal occupying force.
Conor O'Clery's report quoted the Indonesian Government's own Human Rights Commission as accusing the military of arming "pro-integrationists", who are obviously perceived as collaborators by the vast majority of the East Timorese, given the terrible suffering they have endured at the hands of the Indonesian army.
I am left with the question: will the Indonesians once again use the pretext of an alleged "civil war" to prolong the agony of their occupation of East Timor, at a time when they have just announced they will allow the East Timorese to decide their own future?
To guarantee the security of all sides, independent peace enforcement is essential and the role of the United Nations is obvious. Ireland's offer of monitors to oversee a ceasefire and military withdrawal is commendable - but the ball is now firmly in Indonesia's court! - Yours, etc., Anne Daly,
Esperanza Productions, Tritonville Road, Dublin 4.