The Timor Man (20 page)

The tall Timorese undressed then showered. Without reflecting further on these matters he slipped quietly into bed, cautious not to awaken his wife.

Indrawati, his wife, legs curled up so that her knees touched her enormous belly smiled contentedly. Her husband had returned home. How considerate he was not to awaken her and demand his rights! She imagined the other wives were envious. Her husband was handsome. She was an only wife. The first wife of a General!

She was pregnant. She was happy, deliriously happy. Tomorrow she would insist he couple with her as she understood only too well the dangers of an unserviced husband. That would surely please him, she decided, as he had not had many opportunities these past few months.

The room was not air-conditioned. The still, musty air, slowed their breathing. Had Seda's wife had any insight into her husband's covert activities which were so secret that even his superiors had no information regarding his machinations then, in all probability, Indrawati would have delivered her child there and then. Seda was building his network He was now a very dangerous man. Totally oblivious to each other's thoughts, their minds drifted until they finally achieved a deep, comforting sleep.

 
BAKIN — Jakarta

 

Another year passed quickly. The city changed dramatically whilst in the villages the people had already put most of the horrifying past behind them. There had been tears and recriminations but nothing had really changed. The peasants still rose with the first rays of the sun and worked until exhausted from the day's physical toil, returning to their village huts to sleep only to awaken the next day and do it all over again with monotonous regularity.

Nathan Seda was pleased with his new appointment. General Sudomo had passed away, creating the opportunity for the ambitious and still relatively young soldier to tentatively occupy the sensitive post.

He had followed the career of the American, Hoover, and emulated some of this powerful man's control over others by developing an information base regarding their personal activities. Since the abortive
coup
attempt he had ensconced himself solidly within military as well as political circles.

Many of the former military officers had retired or passed away. Some were dispatched overseas as Ambassadors. A number still remained under detention for their part in the abortive
coup
or their affiliations with Communist elements or sympathizers. Some just had the misfortune to be in the path of another more ambitious player resulting in their disappearance or secret incarceration until whatever they had or knew had been surrendered. His star was rapidly on the ascent.

Military Attachés frequently wrote reports advising their respective Governments that Seda, although neither Javanese nor a Moslem, should be considered to be an integral part of the nation's New Order and not to be underestimated. He was well received amongst the
Corps Diplomatique
. He often assisted facilitate access to senior government officials and generally presented himself as a loyal, intelligent, and dedicated officer with no apparent political aspirations. His youth was not considered a handicap.

Even the Chief-of-Air-Staff and Minister for Air,
Laksamana Madya
Roesmin Nuryadin had been appointed by the President at the incredibly young age of thirty-eight! Informed sources suggested that Seda had not only slipped into Sudomo's chair but had also succeeded in accessing the funds used by the intelligent services for their clandestine activities.

The Indonesian counterpart to the Central Intelligence Agency occupied a prominent complex of buildings at the southern end of Jalan Jenderal Sudirman. This organization, BAKIN,
Badan Koordinasi Intelijen
, received more than adequate funding for the many nefarious activities considered essential to the nation's security.

Seda relished this position of power. He had finally accessed the enormous amount of capital previously hidden away by his predecessor. The funds at his disposal were even more substantial than he had envisaged! Now he could build and develop his plan. He was secure.

There was virtually no financial reporting as the Ministry of Finance was under civilian control and, providing he spread sufficient funds around in the correct quarters, there would be no questions to answer as he now dispersed these funds. All of his predecessor's aides and administrative support staff were either posted to other commands or pensioned off to ensure positions for his own people.

He had both the Sudomo watchdogs ordered to Irian Jaya where they suffered, at his request, before the tribesman removed their heads. He had set about initiating a special operations team responsible for highly sensitive duties and it was at the head of this team that he appointed Captain Umar Suharjo.

Even in the BAKIN building there were whispers regarding this silent unsmiling Javanese whose past career details remained vague. He was a man to be avoided and the more hardened amongst their number did so, willingly, as the soldier's cold almost blank eyes could penetrate in the most chilling manner. Some said that he had been trained in a special camp; others declared that he had served in the anti-Communist sweep which accounted for several hundred thousand dead during the post abortive
coup
clean-up campaign. Whatever was said or whispered, there was, in fact, no accurate data relating to the Captain's past.

Only Seda had the key. The man would disappear for weeks at a time and no one dared inquire as to his whereabouts. Suharjo was Seda's secret coordinator, bag-man, go-between and, on occasions, executioner. He had killed so called enemies of the State, blackmailed members of the government and even orchestrated the recent demise of one of the other BAKIN operatives who accidentally discovered information dangerous to both himself and
Bapak
Seda.

He never questioned his instructions. He received his orders directly from the General. His life was simple, uncomplicated, and suited his talents. He had no family and no friends. Just the General. He never questioned his superior's instructions. He did not care. He had become the perfect soldier.

And he belonged to the Timor man.

Canberra
— Australia

 

John W. Anderson briefed the Prime Minister with the Attorney General in attendance. As the special adviser liaising between ASIO, the Australian Security Intelligence Organization, and the Prime Minister's office, it was his responsibility,
inter-alia
, to ensure that the country's political leadership remained current regarding security matters. The session had not proceeded well.

The Prime Minister had exploded when the Attorney-General had dropped the bomb shell. “Jesus bloody Christ!” the politician hissed menacingly. “Jesus bloody Christ!” he repeated.

“Prime Minister, we will have an update within a few days and hopefully the report will not be as grim.”

The most powerful politician in the country glared furiously at Anderson. He despised cloak and dagger operatives even more than the career bureaucrats who controlled the public service.

“Are you telling me Mr Anderson that we will not have an update regarding critical defence information for at least another forty- eight hours?”

The liaison officer responded affirmatively. TheAttorney-General folded his arms and looked disapprovingly across the room at the senior departmental head.

“It's not good enough John. Not good enough,” he intoned.

Anderson
was not to be intimidated. His position was more or less permanent. Politicians come and go. He just wished that this one would go sooner than later.

“We have been successful in intercepting communications from an extremely high-ranking officer in Indonesia. We anticipate further intelligence regarding this source imminently, Prime Minister,” Anderson offered. The response was a cold accusatory glare.

“Get the Chiefs of Army, Navy and Air Staff here immediately,” the Prime Minister demanded.

Anderson
smiled inwardly. Everything was always immediate when the shit hit the fan. He sat waiting for someone else to make the calls.

‘Damn!'he thought, if only the government was run by qualified people. He had never understood how the archaic Westminster System had survived so long.

‘Why weren't these people required to have qualifications for their positions as other government employees?'he had often asked himself. It would be highly unlikely, he knew, that an executive would be appointed to head a major corporation anywhere in the developed world without having first demonstrated the necessary qualifications and experience applicable to the position. And yet government had no such established criteria! He felt contempt for these politicians, running around in their first pin-striped suits as if they were ordained, rather than simply being representatives elected by an ignorant public. Anderson remained seated.

The Attorney-General left the office and issued instructions via the Prime Minister's personal secretary. Drawing a deep breath, John Anderson then followed as it wouldn't do for him to be so obvious, so apparent, especially in the presence of the one politician who had the real power to create difficulties for his organization. He stood within earshot of the Attorney-General and clasped his hands in a submissive stance, as if now awaiting further instructions.

Less than thirty minutes had passed when all three senior officers summoned were sitting together with the Prime Minister, the Attorney-General, the Director of ASIO and Anderson. The Prime Minister listened while the Armed-Forces Chiefs discussed the information which had earlier been passed to him.

“In short, the armaments have been confirmed as having been shipped from Timor. We suspect that the consignments were received and rerouted via Dili,” informed the Chief-of-Air-Staff in a calm, matter-of-fact tone.

Anderson
noted the four rows of campaign ribbons which, in the Commonwealth, reflected real time, unlike their non-Commonwealth counterparts.

“Who is responsible?” demanded the Admiral who felt that the navy should, as the senior service, control all activities relating to defence. It was an ongoing battle to maintain the Navy's position as resources had been chipped away, little by little ever since the Australian aircraft carrier had sunk one of its own ships, the
Voyager
, with an incredible loss of Australian navy lives. Incredibly, the tragedy had later been duplicated and the carrier had sunk an American warship during a similar manoeuvre. As always, while lost in his own thoughts, he was answered.

“We have been unable to determine that at this point in time, however the ‘think-tank'lads in Defence have offered the following scenarios,” responded the Air Marshal, happy to retain the floor and assert his authority in the presence of the P.M.

“The first assumption is that the weapons have been financed to provide indigenous groups in West Irian the opportunity to prove they have the ability to resist the substantial influx of Indonesian troops prior to the United Nations controlled plebiscite, or
Act of Free Choice
as the general public refer to the vote. I believe that all present would agree that to give untrained villagers sophisticated weapons is, in itself, a seductive move. If the Irian people wished to become pro-active in their quest for independence it would be more beneficial to their cause not to resort to armed conflict against Indonesia's superior forces. Should sufficient passive resistance occur perhaps world opinion will support a rethink by the United Nations to prevent the territory from continuing under Indonesian control. We should consider that there is considerable support for a free and independent West Irian. This has come about not just because ethnically they are not related to the Indonesians but also this support stems from the regional concern that Indonesia may eventually wish to swallow the rest of New Guinea, once they are firmly ensconced in the western half of the island.

“They have been more than a little expansionist over the years and we should remember that
Konfrontasi
, had Soekarno succeeded, would have resulted in all of East Malaysia, that is, northern Borneo, falling under their control. Next would have been Singapore and perhaps even an attempt against the southern islands of the Philippines which have always been in dispute.”