Precedence: bulk REGIONAL PERSPECTIVE: Asean peace-keepers must go to Timor BY KAVI CHONGKITTAVORN The Nation East Timor will become Asean's major quagmire in the next century if it fails to straighten things out now. As a member of Asean and the United Nations, Indonesia has a commitment to fulfil for the regional and the world community, but so far it has not responded as a responsible nation should do. Now the time has come for Asean to take a different approach. Instead of adopting a passive wait-and-see policy as in the past, it should assist Indonesia in cushioning the growing international pressure for the dispatch of an international peace-keeping force. At least four of the ten-member organisation can play a constructive role and provide a way out for Indonesia. Indeed, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines could form a regional peace-keeping force, which could be a middle-sized contingent. These four Asean countries indicated at the beginning of the crisis that they were willing to contribute to the international peace-keepers under the mandate of the United Nations. More or less, they all have experience in this area, especially Malaysian troops. Thailand and the Philippines had police and civil units in East Timor during the election last month. There are four major reasons why an Asean-led peace-keeping force is preferable at this critical stage to an Australian-led international force. First, Indonesia would be inclined to accept the Asean request, as it views Asean as a friend not as an enemy. Thailand, as the Asean chairman, could, if necessary, lead this effort; after all, Asean has become more open since the Singapore foreign ministers' meeting in July. Second, no Indonesian troops would fire at the friendlier Asean forces. Given the current hostility towards Australia and other Western countries, the presence of their troops would definitely increase the level of violence. The Asean troops could neutralise the Indonesian army and the armed militias. Third, while the idea of Asean-led troops is new, the desire for them is not. Within the Asean Regional Forum framework, training and possible dispatching of peace-keeping forces to troubled areas in the region has been a long-envisaged objective. Asean's non-hostile presence and peace-keeping role would be considered a preventive measure in the truest sense of the word. Finally, the Asean peace-keeping force could be mobilised easily. It would provide a breathing space for Indonesia and its armed forces to readjust themselves. If need be, the Asean-led contingent could be expanded later to include troops from Australia, New Zealand and other countries which have expressed willingess to assist the peace process in East Timor. The Asean involvement will serve as a safety valve for Indonesia in the coming days as the UN Security Council and the world's major powers contemplate their next moves. UN Sec-Gen Kofi Annan last week delivered a strong message to Indonesia that East Timor was descending into anarchy and it had to accept an international peace-keeping force. He even went so far as to stress that if Jakarta refused international help it could not escape responsibility for what might amount to ''crimes against humanity''. That is a very serious offence, especially for Indonesia, which needs all the international support it can get to overcome the economic crisis. Asean must do everything it can to assist Indonesia to overcome this dilemma. An Indonesia being treated as a pariah state would greatly damage a wounded Asean which has been trying to recoup its losses since the admission of Burma two years ago. Obviously if the East Timor crisis continues unabated, it will become another albatross round the neck of the regional grouping. It will have far-reaching ramifications for the grouping. The relationships between Asean, the European Community and its Western dialogue partners have been seriously affected by the atrocities and political oppression inside Burma. With East Timor added to the concurrent problems, Asean's future external relations will be in trouble. But to make a move, Asean has to change its modus operandi. The grouping can no longer shrink away from its regional responsibilities under the pretext of non-action and non-interference in other members' affairs. Asean's indifference in Burma is haunting it, causing far more damage than its leaders dare to admit. So far, Thai Foreign Minister Surin Pitsuwan has been very cautious in his words and in his separate consultations with Apec members on East Timor. Thailand was one of the countries which recognised the annexation of East Timor in 1976 and has been supportive of Jakarta's position ever since. Therefore it is in a position to take the initiative for a regional peace-keeping force. Like it or not, Asean must come to grips with the growing complexities of recent changes in the region, if not the world at large. One prominent feature is the increased interdependence between political and economic issues. How can one talk about liberalisation when there are atrocities being committed right next door? The Apec summit has, inevitably, become an economic-cum-political forum for leaders from the Asia-Pacific region. Obviously, since the Apec foreign ministers' emergency meeting on East Timor last week, a precedent has been set. From now on any major regional crisis will be part of the Apec summit agenda, formally or informally. East Timor's destiny is undeniably linked to Southeast Asia because of the forced 24-year annexation by Indonesia, a key member of Asean. There is a window of opportunity for the group to do the right thing in East Timor and help Indonesia through limited intervention. ---------- SiaR WEBSITE: http://apchr.murdoch.edu.au/minihub/siarlist/maillist.html
