East Timor 1998 Fracturing the Consensus

8/6/2019 East Timor 1998 Fracturing the Consensus

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I74 I FRACTURINGHEBIPARTISANONSENSUSconvergedon the crucial issueof self-determination.Studentsat the Universityof EastTimor organized free speech orums nearly every day during the firstt'uvoweeks n June 1998.34They discussed efonnasiand demanded the releaseof political prisoners and a referendum on self-determination.Protests n Diliwere accompanied by protests n the Indonesian heartland of Java, n partic-ular the capitalJakarta,where thousandsof EastTimorese university studentspicketed the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Indonesian militaryleadership, already unsettled by the mass mobilizations, was further stunnedby a helicopter crash which killed high-ranking military officers from the mili-tary command area hat included EastTimor: the commander, Major GeneralYudomo Sastrosuhardio,and the commander of the forces nside EastTimoritself Colonel SalametSidabutar.J5

Under intense pressurerPresident Habibie made East Timor an offer of'special status,'provided it remained part of the Republic of Indonesia.Whilethe Howard government signalled ts approval, Brereton argued that the offerfell weli short of what was required for a lasting solution. He reminded jour-nalists of Labor's new policy',which expressed he 'considered view that nolasting solution to the conflict in EastTimor is likely in the absenceof a processof negotiation through which the people of EastTimor can exercise heir rightof sel -determination.'16

The CNRT Statement of 2l July 1998Brereton's efforts were greatly suengthened at this time by the NationalCouncil ofTimorese Resistance CNRT), which issueda statementon 21July1998 to coincide with the first production of oil from the Elang-Kakatua fieldin the Timor Gap by joint venture partners BHP, Santos,Petroz and InpexSahul.The timing of this media release,one day after BHP had issued ts ownpress release on this milestone event) took the Australian government bysurprise.3Tts professional anguagedemonstrated o both the government andthe Opposition that the EastTimorese resistancewere well-informed about thecommercial and legal realities of petroleum exploration and internationalcommerce.

The statementmoved beyond moralising,reassuring he Australian govern-ment and the oil companies that 'their commercial interests will not beadversely affected by East Timorese self-determination.' It supported 'therights of the existing Timor Gap contractors and those of the AustralianGovernment to jointly develop E,astTimor's offshore oil reserves n coopera-tion with the people of East Timor.' It warned them that 'with the demise ofthe Suharto regime and the collapseof the Indonesian economy, he previouspolitical balance has changed.' Accordingly', if 'oil companies [wished] tolrlrerate n a secure and predictable environment, for the benefit of all stake-:rlders,'they would need to 'review their past assumptions and face current. q: - , l 1 1 e S ."

I :e CNRT statement, which u'as signed by Jose Ramos-Horta, Mari


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176 | FRACTURTNGHEBtpARTtSANONSENSUSchallengewas how to do this while not antagonizing the oil companies,whohad considerablepower at their disposal.McKee came acrossa 1995 talk by international lar,v xpert professor IvanShearer,who had concluded by saying,almost as a throw-away line: 'Even ifEastTimor should obtain complete independence, t is by no means mprob-able that the new statewould choose o step nto Indonesia'sshoes n relationto the Treaty.'46Mcl{ee realized that 'stepping into Indonesia'sshoes'wouldbe the best formulation to show how an independent East Timor would befinancially viable without attracting the hostititl- of powerful corporations.once that goai had been achieved, t r.vouldbe possible o'move the goalposts'incrementally to achievemore ad.,-ancesurther dou'n the track.Members of the policl 'research ommineemet BHp on 14July 199g.Theysoon concluded that t-heexecutir-es\\'ere totalll- afraid about discussingEastTimor'u'ith them.l- Thel' realized hat a sratementabout the oil had to comefrom the leadersof the EastTimorese esistance, ot from directorsof the oilcompanies hcr hoped to intluence.JlcKee and Federerdrafted the GNRTpress elease. nd then t q'assignedbv Ramos-Horta,Alkatiri and Carrascalaoon behali.ri the c\RT. The die had been cast.McNaughtan then flew to EastTim.rr as a rourist. After meetings with students and other members of theclandestine resistance, e had an'accidental'meeting at the HotelTourismo inDili u'ith Petercockcroft, BHP's seniorpetroleum representativen Indonesia.cockcroft had beenvisiting Dili everymonth for the previous two years.4sThemeeting was arranged by an intermediary, Lansell rhudevin, who wasmanaging a water project in Dili funded by Australia's overseasaid agency.Taudevin had been discreetly corresponding with McKee for the past year.cockcroft accepted McNaughtan's suggestion hat he should meet XananaGusmao in prison.

The meeting took place afterJuan Federer,who had travelled to Jakarta ofacilitate he possiblemeeting,had arranged or the cipinang prison guards tobe paid the necessarybribes. cockcroft met Xanana Gusmao in the presenceof Federer and Kirsty Sword, who would later marry Gusmao. cockcroft wasunable to speakPortuguese, n which Gusmao was fluent, and Gusmao couldnot communicate adequately n English and declined to speak ndonesian, nwhich cockcroft was fluent. Federer, who was fluent in English, porrugueseand Indonesian (and other languagesas well), acted as interpreter. Gusmaogavecockcroft a prepared etter,assuringhim that'an independentEastTimorwould honour - during an interim period - the rights awarded to miningcompaniesunder the 1989Timor Gap Treaty.'4eA high-profile East Timorese leader with considerablemedia skills thenleaked he news of the secretmeeting to journalist DavidJenkins of the sydneyMorning Herald.The result was a sensationalstory entitled BHp ratks toJailedGuerrilla lzader.sO enkins eported Gusmao'sassuranceso cockcroft.5f Th.Indonesian government was infuriated, and threatened to expel cockcroftfrom Indonesia. BHP claimed that the meeting'had not been sanctionedbyBHP', that it was only 'an


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East Timor 1998 Fracturing the Consensus