Jakarta Post
9/9/99

JAKARTA (JP): The East Timorese will never forget the past four weeks. Not only because of the Aug. 30 ballot, but also for the "invasion" that preceded the historic event.

This time, it was a peaceful one, heralded by United Nations personnel and the media.

As East Timorese went to the polls, the media became as much a fixture of events as the ballot and the ensuing carnage.

About 300 journalists and members of media crews descended on the usually quiet streets of Dili in the circus which rolls into town for high-profile events.

Recognizing the tremendous global interest, the UN Mission in East Timor (UNAMET) moved the location of its daily news briefing from the UNAMET compound to Dili's largest hotel shortly before the ballot took place.

"We hired a larger room at the Mahkota Hotel so we can accommodate you all," UNAMET spokesman David Wimhurst told journalists.

The presence of so many media representatives with their mountain of equipment and special needs presented a windfall for many Dili residents.

Dili's main hotels were fully booked months before the ballot, and many news organizations also rented houses to accommodate their representatives. Latecomers were forced to either ask media colleagues for spare rooms or stay with locals.

The cost of renting a three-bedroom house in the Dili area was about Rp 7 million per month.

Recognizing the value of the U.S. dollar, some house owners charged their foreign tenants up to US$1,000.

Monthly rental of a road-worthy car was about the same price as a house; a driver meant forking out another Rp 75,000 per day.

Daily car rentals ran between Rp 250,000 and Rp 300,000.

Satellite dishes and other hi-tech communications equipment adorned several rooftop locations as foreign media crews beamed the historic events to the world.

Horror show
The circus quickly gave way to a horror show in the hours and days immediately following the ballot.

As militias ran amok in Dili and surrounding areas, journalists were no less a target than members of rival camps.

At least three journalists were injured; they did not appear to have been caught in the crossfire, but deliberately set upon.

A Kompas daily journalist and a Reuters photographer were shot in the leg. A BBC reporter was beaten up by militia members.

Fearing the situation would get worse, most news organizations withdrew their teams last weekend.

The tide turned as journalists scrambled with locals, observers and UN personnel to leave the territory.

Some were able to find seats on commercial airlines, others forced to hop on military transport planes.

The larger international news agencies were well prepared, with chartered flights ready to whisk their personnel to safety.

The favored destination was Bali, a 90-minute getaway from Dili but a world removed from the violence. Others went straight to the haven of Darwin, Australia, or Kupang in West Nusa Tenggara.

Only a handful dared to stay and brave the uncertainty.

With the imposition of martial law in East Timor, it is expected that reporting will be even more difficult because the military has the right to impose a news blackout and censor reports.

"The news blackout just adds to the suspicion and the fear that something might be going on that the outside world is not supposed to know," social observer Wimar Witoelar told The Jakarta Post in a telephone interview.

"It seems that the military has an ulterior motive for staying there and not letting outsiders have a transparent look into the situation."

With the media effectively shut out of East Timor, the world's close-up view of its troubles has suddenly dimmed. (byg)

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