Jose Ramos-Horta, Bangkok – Who is behind the wave of sectarian violence in Ambon and other parts of the Moluccan Islands that has cost hundreds of lives in the past 18 months? Who is responsible for the upsurge in separatist sentiment in Aceh and Irian Jaya, two of the richest provinces of Indonesia?

There is mounting evidence that the same conservative, hard-line nationalist forces (and even some of the same senior Indonesian military officers) who helped alienate East Timorese with their abuses are fomenting unrest in the Moluccas, Aceh and Irian Jaya. Senior members of the civilian government of President Abdurrahman Wahid have said as much in recent days.

In an attempt to terrorize East Timorese into voting for autonomy instead of independence in the plebiscite in August organized by the United Nations, the Indonesian army's special forces and intelligence network mobilized militia gangs and gave them training, arms and directives.

Large numbers of these militiamen were recruited not in East Timor but in neighboring West Timor, in Ambon and from the main Indonesian island of Java. Indonesian police and army personnel in disguise led some of the militia units in East Timor.

What we are seeing in the troubled parts of Indonesia now is a well orchestrated campaign by a faction in the Indonesian army that has strong connections to the family of former President Suharto, former Defense Minister Wiranto, wealthy businessmen and prominent members of the Golkar party that Mr. Suharto used, along with the military, to keep himself and his supporters in power for 32 years.

This group fears the anti-corruption drive and investigations into past abuses of power launched by Mr. Wahid's government. It wants to discredit his attempts to establish the rule of law in Indonesia.

In Ambon, rogue elements in the military and police have taken sides in the fighting. In Irian Jaya, "pro-Jakarta" militias are being recruited, trained and funded just as they were in East Timor. In Aceh, despite a cease-fire agreement negotiated by Mr. Wahid's government, the army and police continue to launch sweeps in the countryside, terrorizing villagers.

As a result, Indonesia's fledgling but vibrant democracy is in grave danger. The hard-liners hope that the Indonesian people, disappointed with the inability of the civilian government to improve the economy and resolve the conflicts, will sooner or later support a Pakistan-style coup.

But as the foreign ministers of the Association of South East Asian Nations and their major trading partners, including the United States, the European Union and Japan, hold their annual meetings in Bangkok this week, they can take action to help prevent Indonesia from sliding into civil war and military takeover.

The international community must intensify its support for Mr. Wahid's government. It should increase economic and financial assistance to the Indonesian economy, write off government debt and channel the money to credit programs to help the poor, as well as small and medium-size businesses, become self-sufficient.

Foreign governments should identify the good elements in the Indonesian armed forces, the pro-reform group, and offer them serious support.

The United States and the European Union should lead efforts to have the foreign assets of the Suharto family frozen. Indonesian military officers known to have been involved in the violence in East Timor, Aceh, the Moluccas and Irian Jaya should be blacklisted and denied entry visas. Their names should be publicized and circulated via Interpol for immediate arrest abroad. Their overseas assets should be seized.

After all, it is the wealth that these anti-reform groups have accumulated that is being used to pay for the current campaign to destroy democracy in the world's fourth most populous nation.

[The writer, an East Timorese Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, contributed this comment to the International Herald Tribune.]