Precedence: bulk The Berlin daily "Der Tagesspiegel" today (Wed, 21-Apr-99) carried an interview with Bishop Carlos Felipe Belo. Below is an English translation of the published German text. As the latter already apparently is a translation, I apologize beforehand for any possible distortions in my retranslation (I felt uneasy about the one or other phrase, but gave priority to a straightforward translation of the text as given, rather than try to reconstruct what perhaps might have been the original utterance). ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Waruno Mahdi tel: +49 30 8413-5411 Faradayweg 4-6 fax: +49 30 8413-3155 14195 Berlin email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Germany WWW: http://w3.rz-berlin.mpg.de/~wm/ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DER TAGESSPIEGEL No. 16,670 Berlin, Wed., April 21, 1999 p. 6, col-s 2-5. Interview. "Indonesia has not Won the Hearts of the People" * The Bishop of East Timor and holder of the Nobel Peace Prize, Belo, speaks about the difficulties of creating a peace plan for the annexed island. TS: What are the main failures the led to the miserable situation in East Timor? BELO: The main mistake is, that since 1975, when the (Indonesian) army marched in, Indonesia never managed to win the hearts of the people. There was only violence, violence. Till this day. TS: Was the precipitous withdrawal of the Portuguese, who left the province behind in disorder, the main cause? BELO: That is something the Portuguese should answer. Today we live under the Indonesians. Why should we turn back into history? TS: All of the political groups, those that are pro- and anti-Indonesian, are urging you to lead a reconciliation dialogue. You have interrupted that. BELO: The pro-Indonesian forces never came to me. I have for example called the militia leader Tavares, but he never showed up. I am very well prepared to mediate (between the groups), but only under the condition that they stop the violence. We shall continue to rely on dialogue, but they must be sincere, because in front of us they say "Yes, Bishop", but behind our back they act quite differently. TS: For example? BELO: For example at the massacre in Liqui�a. TS: What really happened in Liqui�a? The army speaks of seven dead, you of at least 25, and witnesses of up to 200. BELO: I don't know, what happened in Liqui�a. I was there. I only saw that the village was empty. there were these young people from "Red-White Steel", who controlled the streets. That is not gut. The police should be controlling the streets. TS: Houses in Dili are full with refugees. Do you take up refugees? BELO: No I do not, out of principle. I have made bad experience. It is better for the people to stay in their houses, where we try to help them eith our parish services. ___________________________________________________________________ | | <AP-photo of Bishop Belo> | | CARLOS FELIPE BELO, catholic Bishop of East Timor is committed to a | course of non-violence and dialogue with the Indonesian government. | Since indonesian troops marched into East Timor, more than 200,000 | people have lost their lives. In 1996 Belo received the Peace Nobel | Prize, because he had protected the population from injuries from | the authorities under risk of his own life. Daniel Kestenholz spoke | with him. |____________________________________________________________________ TS: What bad experience do you mean? BELO: The army comes here, beats the people up, and accuse us of offering refuge. And then there are many (refugees) who tried to make use of it. Here they were safe, and outside they made politics. But then when they are pursued, they run away. Why don't they show, that they have courage? TS: The refugees are afraid of getting murdered. BELO: Well, if they are afraid of getting killed, then they should keep away from politics. TS: Monsignore, are you being threatened? BELO: No. Before, yes, but now not anymore. TS: What is your political solution for East Timor? BELO: I don't have a political solution. I am not a politician. TS: What could a solution look like? BELO: I have no idea. Ask the united Nations, ask the Portuguese and Indonesian governments. They know the best solutions. Not I, why do you ask me about that. TS: In rural areas of East Timor the Church politically stands for a separation from Indonesia. Is this liberation theology for East Timor? BELO: No, we don't have anything like that here. I never learned liberation theology. We stand in the service of the people. They are being beaten. We ask, why do you beat these people? Please have respect for them. TS: How important is the role of the Church in East Timor? BELO: We try to be the voice of the voiceless, to protect those who are suffering from oppression and prosecution. We preach the dignity of man. TS: Crowds stream in for morning mass every Sunday. BELO: We tell the people, don't give up, pray for East timor, for the international organizations, for the Indonesian government and for the Indonesian army. That they may respect human rights here: to bring up the will to disarm the paramilitary groups. TS: A political prayer? BELO: Yes, why not? But it is an opportunity to improve the situation, for sake of respect towards human beings. TS: Are your prayers answered? BELO: I think, we Christians must always have hope, that the solution will perhaps come later, if we cannot yet see it today. We must behold the history of the Redemption. TS: Are you in contact with Indonesia's President Habibie and resistance leader Gusmao? BELO: No. Why should I be in contact with these two, when my duty is to serve the people here? ---------------------------- ---------- SiaR WEBSITE: http://apchr.murdoch.edu.au/minihub/siarlist/maillist.html
