East Timor Moves Toward Independence.

• Author: Runyan, Curtis

In one of the most unanticipated shifts since the collapse of the Soeharto government, top Indonesian officials announced in January that they may grant East Timor independence by the end of this year, after nearly a quarter century of iron-fisted military occupation. More than 200,000 people - one third of the population - were killed or died of disease or starvation after Indonesia invaded in 1975, according to Amnesty International.

Seemingly anxious to put an end to international condemnation of Indonesia's human rights violations in East Timor, President B.J. Habibie said he would ask the new parliament, which is to be elected in June, to consider cutting the territory loose if the Timorese people reject his proposal to grant what he has called "special autonomy." Habibie's autonomy proposal would give the island free reign in all matters except finance, foreign policy, and security in exchange for an agreement to accept integration into Indonesia.

In U.N.-brokered talks this March, Indonesia dropped its opposition to allowing a referendum on the future of East Timor, agreeing to support a "direct ballot" vote. Human rights activists and East Timor resistance leaders, including Nobel-laureate Jose Ramos-Horta, welcomed the development but threatened to boycott the election unless Indonesia withdraws its large military presence before the expected July vote.

East Timorese say that the Indonesian military has been inciting violence and withholding vital medical and food supplies in an effort...