The Timor Man (81 page)

The Armed Forces' sponsored daily newspaper,
Berita ABRI
, strongly supported their former General's selection citing not only his impressive service record but also the need for someone of his calibre, whom they believed was needed now at these difficult times when Australia and Indonesia were experiencing a major breakdown in their traditional support for each other; and although Indonesia's military believed that these reflected domestic issues in both countries, the Armed Forces were one hundred percent behind any efforts that General (retired) Nathan Seda saw necessary in restoring the good bonds that had existed until just a few years before.

* * * * * *

The day Seda departed on the Garuda 747 flight, almost ten thousand students and other supporters gathered along the route to the Sukarno-Hatta international airport to bid him farewell. As he climbed the steps of the huge aircraft which had been parked away from the terminal building due to traffic congestion, the crowd waved furiously from the observation level at the man they had come to admire so much.

He could just hear their chant above the roar of the other aircraft's Rolls Royce engines as it had taxied past, their voices drifting across the large expanse of concrete as they chanted,
“Se-da! Se-da! Se-da!
”

It was then, for the first time throughout his years of struggling to achieve the position of power that was almost in his grasp, he knew that his dream was imminently achievable and that he was almost there. He had stood majestically for a moment on the steps and waved back to the young people who had called to him, knowing that one day they would probably learn to hate the very sound of his name. This thought did not concern him. He could not permit such sentiment to cloud his judgement, as he understood that whatever they may feel in the future, regarding his actions, would depend entirely on just how successful his efforts were in achieving his goals. As the aircraft drew away from the terminal building Seda realized that he was actually entering the final phase of his plan. And should it be unsuccessful, he doubted that there would be another opportunity as his time had all but run out. This time he could not fail.

 

The diplomat had orchestrated the travel itinerary so that his arrival would precede the international forum on regional stability. As a guest speaker, Seda would have an opportunity to achieve even greater exposure, consolidating his position as an international leader. The man who would become the next Vice President of Indonesia, and then even the President of his own country, Timor Timur. The small group of people who continued to support their dream of sovereignty would reclaim their country, silently, this time without bloodshed, while the two neighbouring countries of Indonesia and Australia concentrated on settling their own disputes as each fought the other to protect their territorial rights. His dream continued and Seda believed that it would soon be realized. One way or another.

The central government would never surrender the annexed territory, now just another of the industrial giant's many provinces. It would become part of the overall settlement when the bloodshed had finished and the two countries were obliged to sit down together and resolve their regional differences. He would ensure that this was so. As the country's Vice President.

His people had not benefited from the amalgamation of the two halves of the island: only suffering and extreme cruelty had come with the annexation. Amnesty groups had estimated that the death toll had risen to above three hundred thousand Timorese during the prolonged resistance against the Indonesians.

Seda considered that, as New Guinea was now also a serious regional trouble spot and, with tempers running high between Australia and Indonesia, there was still the very strong possibility that the people of New Guinea could also be dragged into the conflict, as even they no longer enjoyed the special relationship that had once existed between the two nations. The country was now considered unsafe for Australians and their investment houses. Violence was common between the two races and environmental issues and claims had all but brought many mining projects to a grinding halt.

Freedom fighters continued to cross the border into Irian Jaya causing havoc, and the Australians had accused the New Guinea Government of deliberately destabilising the area.

That self-determination could be achieved for the eastern half of Timor no longer seemed feasible as even political radicals agreed that it was highly improbable after so many years of Indonesian rule. The UN had become fragmented over the past twenty years and strong protest at the increasing volatility within the region had begun to cause some concerned nations to react unilaterally. They no longer believed that the UN had the power to resolve such issues unless the countries with vested interests, such as the United States, put their own priorities aside to bring about a peaceful resolution to the regional problems.

Now that the first steps of his project had been initiated there would be no turning back from this final commitment. It was a daring scheme but he knew it would be successful.

Seda had spent millions disrupting the fragile relationships between the two countries and, with his presence in Canberra, he believed that he could ensure an end to the Australian support for Indonesia's control over East Tmor by committing all of his resources into this one final effort.

He was counting on the support of his own
Fifth Column
who, as refugees, had quietly ensconced themselves within the Australian community. In particular, he could rely on the large number of men he had assisted to cross the few hundred kilometres into Darwin and down to Port Hedland. Almost all had now been given political asylum over the years and the majority, at his request, lived in the northern Australian city of Darwin. Many now worked as tool-pushers or mud men on the offshore rigs operating in the areas now in dispute. When the time arrived they would sabotage the Australian operations and take control of those sites. This was essential to his strategy.

It would be extremely difficult, he knew, to establish a beachhead even for the few short days required, without the total support of the refugees and his own men who had successfully infiltrated most of the other political movements in Darwin and Port Hedland. They were all crucial to the successful implementation of his plan.

It hadn't been easy maintaining control of the separatist forces through his intermediary, Umar Suharjo. The FRETELIN rank and file were still not aware of his identity and he continued to use the former major as his only direct contact with all of the parties involved. They rarely asked questions. When they did, Umar's cold stare would be their only response and normally sufficient to curtail their curiosity as they were aware of his reputation. Most were satisfied with just the strength and sincerity of their secret supporter, as the constant flow of funds and weapons had never ceased. They accepted that this powerful entity needed to maintain a cloud of secrecy as to his identity, and understood also that his support was dependent on that secrecy being preserved. Whoever he was, they believed they could count on him and he on them.

Many of these former guerrillas had already been enlisted as part of a special task force which he planned to mobilize towards the third quarter of that year.

Seda's time was running out. Each morning as he observed himself in the privacy of the bathroom mirror he could see that his age would now be his major handicap should this final attempt fail them all. There had just been too many battles and far too many sleepless nights worrying about whether he had covered his involvement successfully.

The subterfuge had continued. Would there be a knock on his door late one night to relieve him of his power and all hope for his dreams?

There had been a time not so long ago, he remembered, when he sensed that his secret would become public and all would be lost. Seda had never understood how Coleman had successfully managed to evade Umar's search. He had worried that Coleman would suddenly reappear and accuse him of involvement with the arms company although the paper trail had long since been destroyed. As the years passed, and Stephen Coleman didn't appear, it seemed that his secret was to remain intact. Not that the Australian could really do him any harm now, after so much time had elapsed.

Anyway, Seda thought, it would be unlikely that anyone would believe the man. Coleman would be accused of deliberately agitating to further exacerbate the problems between their two countries at a time when even minor incidents caused social unrest and public reaction. No, he thought, he was no longer a threat to Seda nor the intricate plans that had taken years to put into place.

The retired General's rationale was a brilliantly conceived strategy with a simplicity in its application that virtually guaranteed success. He understood the phobia Australians had regarding their Asian neighbours. There was almost an inherent fear that, one day, hordes of yellow skinned devils would pour into their country and take their women, their land and eventually become their new masters. This myth had, he knew, been perpetuated by the Australian leaders themselves as a means of maintaining power, increasing defence spending and generally using the Asian population as a prop for whatever excuse required as the country slowly deteriorated economically during the latter half of the century.

He would attack their isolated towns, creating a moment of terror that they had not experienced since the Japanese destroyed Darwin with their air-raids and the mini-submarines attacked Sydney Harbour, executed as part of their desperate attempts to invade mainland Australia during the Second World War.

There would be other and simultaneous breaches of Australian security, but none as deadly as the bomb he had planned to deliver into the basement section of the nation's Parliament.

He sneered at the Australian's informal ways. Seda despised them for their lack of loyalty. His people had fought side by side with the soldiers and their funny shaped hats against the common enemy when the Japanese threatened to rule the Far East. Soldiers from both nations had died side by side. When the Timorese had sought the support of their old friends, at the time their impoverished land was invaded by Indonesians, they had received nothing more than a cursory commitment that the Australians would ensure the sovereignty of the fledgling nation which, in spite of those casual promises, never did have the opportunity to enjoy its own state-hood.

His armed groups would raid one of the small Australian coastal towns killing many of its inhabitants. When the sleepy southern nation retaliated, which he expected would be relatively slow in terms of response as they were so poorly equipped, Seda would have the opportunity to drag them even further into the conflict; this would, he anticipated, result in not just a regional swing against Indonesia, but also provide him with the opportunity to widen the split between the two countries until international pressure forced the warring nations to the negotiating table.

It was imperative to his plan that the United Nations finally be pressured by the other powers to intercede in the conflict, creating the opportunity for Timor to be used as a bargaining instrument in the final settlement. The rich Timor oil fields and the strategic military importance of the Ombai-Wetar Straits virtually guaranteed vested interest support from the Americans in achieving stability once again over the area. The United States was desperate to maintain their secret nuclear submarine presence in those deep ocean depths. The Australians would not wish to see their access through Indonesian waters blocked, cutting off their most important trade routes, and would have no choice but to also support an independent Timor. This would guarantee ongoing access to the deeper sea lanes, essential for the huge ships carrying iron ore and other shipments into Asia. Under the terms of the Law of Sea Convention, which Australia and Indonesia signed back in 1994, disputes over sea lanes were to be settled before the International Marine Organization. The President had agreed to withdraw Indonesia from that convention if other countries would not accept the routes revised by his generals. It would not be long before Indonesia could block all sea traffic through its territorial waters. Australian trade would suffer immediately, bringing about the loss of established markets. The Australian Collins class nuclear submarines would no longer be permitted to pass through the deep straits off Timor. Under the Law of the Sea, Indonesia was declared an archipelago state which gave it special rights over its waterways in exchange for providing an appropriate number of international sea lanes. The Indonesian military, as a result of Seda's influence, developed a different interpretation of the Law as they had become extremely suspicious about international shipping. Seda had a joint venture shipping
kongsi
with those close to the President and wished to develop a monopoly over the use of Indonesia's sea lanes.

Seda believed that all of these factors would contribute to the success of his plans. As hostilities increased between Australia and Indonesia he would step forward and offer to prevent further escalation and invite the United Nations to intervene. Seda knew he had substantial support from the Indonesian people. He would use this strength to force the Javanese to accept the terms negotiated with its neighbours.

As one of the country's senior leaders, Seda could ensure that Indonesia would bend to international pressure and grant Tim-Tim its independence. As a gesture, he would suggest that Timor be placed under the protection of the United Nations until such time as elections could be held. He didn't want to see a recurrence of the blood-letting that his people had already suffered. But, if necessary, he had promised they would once again fight, creating three fronts for the Indonesian military to consider. As almost half of the country's population were Christian, Seda was confident that he would have the necessary strength to achieve his aims.