This week, the old order and the new squared off in Indonesia. An official inquiry concluded that the violence that erupted in East Timor last year was planned, carried out and abetted by a group that included top-ranking members of the country's military. The report incriminated 40 members of the armed forces, including Gen. Wiranto, then the military chief and now the government's coordinating minister for social and political affairs. President Abdurrahman Wahid has demanded Gen. Wiranto's resignation; the general has demurred, triggering a confrontation between the military and the new government. The outcome is not assured, but Mr. Wahid's ability to demand compliance with his order will determine Indonesia's future.

Since taking office last year, Mr. Wahid faced two threats to his political survival. The first was the rebel movements scattered across the vast archipelago that risked to unravel the country. The second was the challenge to his authority posed by the military. The two are linked. Secession challenges reinforced the president's dependence on the military; the military's autonomy and its indiscriminate use of force only increased rebel grievances. Any government that claimed to respect human rights was bound to clash with the military.

The report of the Investigative Commission on Human Rights Abuses in East Timor forced the confrontation. On Monday, it released the results of its investigation into the violence in the territory. It concluded that massive human-rights violations had taken place, which "included killings, destruction, slavery, eviction and forced evacuation and other inhuman actions against civilians." There were "gross violations against the right to life, the right to personal integrity, the right to liberty, the right of movement and to residence and the right to property." The guilty parties were "people who are operating in the field at that time, including the militias, military and police. . . mass killings claimed the lives mostly of civilians. They were conducted in a systematic and cruel way. Many were committed at churches and police headquarters."