Indonesia does not want further delays in the referendum on East Timor's future, but wants it to go ahead on August 21st or 22nd, Mr Dino Patti Djalal, spokesman for the Indonesian Task Force in East Timor, said yesterday. However, the UN, which is organising the ballot, refuses to fix a date because of continuing security problems in East Timor. The date is under discussion between Indonesia and Portugal, according to Mr Ian Martin, the head of the UN Mission for East Timor (Unamet).
According to UN sources, the referendum will be postponed again. They suggest August 29th as the new date for the vote, originally set for August 8th. "Security conditions still remain inadequate," the UN secretary-general, Mr Kofi Annan, has told the Security Council.
In large parts of East Timor, militias are terrorising the population to force them to vote for integration with Indonesia in the form of autonomy and against independence. As part of that intimidation, tens of thousands of East Timorese have been driven from their homes in recent months by militias, who are supported by the Indonesian army and the local authorities.
The Indonesian police are responsible for security in East Timor. At the moment, 8,000 policemen are stationed in East Timor, but human rights organisations are receiving reports of intimidation by the police and members of the military and the special forces who have been included in the police force. "We are concerned. It raises many questions on whether the Indonesian police can carry out their task," a human rights activist said.
Despite the problems, 239,893 East Timorese - including 6,177 abroad - registered in the first 10 days of the 20-day registration period. The UN estimates the number of eligible voters at about 400,000. Although the security situation is still serious, the UN Secretary General has decided to go ahead with registration, which officially closes on August 4th, but it is unclear how 30,000 to 60,000 internally displaced persons can be registered, and the UN does not know where many of them are located.
"I can't be confident at this stage" that the refugees would be able to register, Mr Martin said yesterday. There is no solution yet either for the registration of the 300 East Timorese prisoners. They include 71 political prisoners convicted for activities against the Indonesian occupation of East Timor. The best-known prisoner is the East Timorese resistance leader, Mr Xanana Gusmao, who is under house arrest in Jakarta.
The Indonesian task force spokesman, Mr Djalal, said prisoners would not be allowed to leave prison to register or vote, but so far there is no mechanism in place so they can take part in the consultation process.
This week, Unamet and the Indonesian authorities met leaders of the East Timorese guerrilla movement, Falintil. The armed resistance refuses to hand over its weapons while the Indonesian army is still in East Timor, but has announced plans to go to safe areas and has asked Unamet to supervise the move. According to the Indonesian authorities, the militias will not disarm unless Falintil disarms. "There is an agreement that the two groups must lay down their arms and disarm," Mr Djalal said.