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Statement refusing the Indonesian general election 1997

CNRM/RENETIL - June 20, 1997

Message to the UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan

Your Excellence,

The general election is a vital process for the life of democracy in every country. The general election is a mechanism to involve the citizens in the national politic and the process of decision making. The legitimacy of power of a government administration is given by the people through the mechanism of general election. The right of people to legitimate the government is unequivocally stressed in the article 21 of the UN declaration of Human Right. According to the article, the implementation general election is also to fulfil the basic human right of the citizens.

During 21 years of Indonesian occupation, the people of East Timor have participated in so called general election held by the Indonesian authority in the territory of East Timor. Nevertheless, the participation of the East Timorese does not agree with the principle as stated in the article 21 of the UN Declaration of Human Right, as it does not reflect the decision of the People, and all the more so because it is not the right of the People of Maubere. In the same manner as their country that has been taken by force, the participation of the people of East Timor in the general elections has been done under the pressure of the Indonesian military.

Considering the stagnation East Timor problem and that Indonesia used to arrange various reasons to legitimate its illegal occupation, the participation of the people of East Timor in the general election is very susceptible to be manipulated as the acknowledgement of the People of Maubere to Indonesian sovereignty over East Timor. Hence, as part of the People of Maubere, we, the students of East Timor hereby stated:

Refuse in participating in Indonesian general election 1997 for the event is not the right and does not reflect the decision of the Maubere People. Ask the United Nations to continue the decolonization process over East Timor through the celebration of referendum as the sole democratic mechanism for the Maubere People in deciding it's future.