U.S. officials should use every opportunity to remind Indonesian officials and opposition leaders that they are on record as promising to respect the results of the referendum, and that both President Habibie and senior members of the Cabinet acknowledged on the day after the vote that it had been orderly, free, and fair. Press Indonesia to end martial law in East Timor. We do not believe that martial law is justified or desirable. The army could have stopped the violence with the troops it had on the ground. It is because of an order given by Jakarta that could and should have been given six months ago.
Violence is likely to continue when and where the army sees fit.
We fear that martial law will be used to keep restrictions on communications to ensure that the army's work takes place out of public view. We fear it will be used to mount operations against guerrillas, who between January and the referendum largely refrained from the use of violence, and members of CNRT, the pro-independence political organization. Today we received reports that at least one senior leader of CNRT, Mauhudu, was arrested in East Timor and brought to Kupang, West Timor, where he is believed to be in police detention. That may be the beginning of a pattern. I should also point out that there is no indication of how long martial law will endure, nor who, other than the military, will decide when order has been restored.