A MESSAGE OF SOLIDARITY TO ETAN ON THE OCCASION OF ITS 20TH ANNIVERSARY
PM
OCCASION OF ITS 20TH ANNIVERSARY
I would like to add my congratulations to all ETAN activists on the occasion
of your 20th anniversary and also to reaffirm our solidarity with you.
As an activist in one of the Australian solidarity groups, I know about the
great contribution of ETAN to the existence of the RDTL today. I am a member of the Australia East Timor Friendship Association of South Australia Inc (AETFA), which was originally, the Campaign for an Independent East Timor, South Australia Inc (CIET).
On 28 May this year, our group celebrated its 36th anniversary with about 80
young people from TL who are undergoing secondary and tertiary education in Adelaide.
anniversary of an independent TL.
Noam, in his message, has stressed the importance of the work of ETAN and the other solidarity groups around the world as a contributing factor to
East Timor’s victory over Indonesia and the gaining of its independence.
During the late 1990s, Charles Scheiner introduced two submissions that we
made to the UN to appeal for it to make greater efforts for the East
Timorese. During the celebrations for independence in Dili in 2002, some of
our members were fortunate enough to meet him at the Xanana Resource Centre at a function for solidarity groups and thank him.
However, we can take nothing away from the tenacity and the courage of the
members of FRETILIN, FALINTIL and RENETIL who fought against overwhelming odds in their struggle against the TNI.
It was crucial that there were people actively promoting independence for
Timor and demanding the withdrawal of the TNI. This helped the progressive
forces within the UN to prevent it from ratifying the illegal Indonesian
occupation and to demand that the TNI withdraw. I believe that it is a
great tragedy that in the case of West Papua, the UN ratified the phoney
Act of Free Choice in that country in 1969. As a result, these people have
suffered the brutality of the TNI for even longer than the East
Timorese.
The international awareness of the Timor issue which was achieved by the
East Timor solidarity groups, I believe, was also a factor in the minds of
leading Indonesian decision makers, when, after the Asian economic meltdown and the fall of the dictator Suharto, they were forced to allow a
plebiscite for independence. Their hands were forced when they were
confronted with a national economy that was in a dreadful state because of
the huge amounts being spent on the TNI to supress people in East Timor,
West Papua, Acheh and parts of Indonesia itself together with the massive
corruption that had been allowed by the dictatorship.
I also agree with Noam that now there is an independent Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, we need to continue our strong advocacy for the pursuit of justice and compensation for the victims of the TNI barbarity throughout its occupation. Several Australian governments were complicit in supporting the TNI’s illegal occupation because of their unquestioning support of US administrations. In addition, of course, the Howard government forced an unfair agreement on the fledgeling RDTL government on how the oil and gas resources in the Timor Sea should be shared. With such a small population, the RDTL is not in a good position to push these issues with the current Indonesian and Australian governments.
We have made demands that the Australian government refuse to continue
aiding and arming the TNI while the Indonesian government does nothing to
bring the war criminals in its ranks to justice, does nothing about
compensating the victims of the TNI and refuses to withdraw from West Papua.
on the UN to instigate an international ban on all aid to the TNI until these
conditions are met. We also cooperate with the Australia West Papua
Association on these issues.
The Australian politicians we have approached always use the excuse that the RDTL government is not making these demands.
This is the reason why we have to continue the important advocacy role as
well as raising money to support projects to assist Timor Leste to rebuild
and redevelop.
We hope to continue our working together on these import campaigns with you.
Congratulations and thank you for all the valuable work you have done over
the past 20 years to contribute to peace, social justice and human rights in
East Timor and the Asia Pacific region.
and both of our governments support it while espousing their promotion of
human rights.
In closing, I should mention that progressive people in Adelaide were excited to have Noam come to Adelaide to deliver the annual Edward Said
Memorial Lecture organised by the University of Adelaide and the Australian
Friends of Palestine Association on 5 November. The numbers attending were so great that the organisers had to hire the Adelaide Town Hall which can accommodate over 1000 people. Even the premier of South Australia was in attendance.
promote peace, justice and human rights.
Warm regards
Viva Timor Leste!
Viva Papua Barat!
Viva Solidaridad International!
Andrew (Andy) Alcock
Information Officer
Australia East Timor Friendship Association (SA) Inc
Phone: 61 8 83710480
Email:
—– Original Message —–
From: “ETAN”
<
To: <etan@etan.org>
Sent: Saturday, December 03, 2011 5:05 PM
Subject: A
message from Noam Chomsky on ETAN’s 20th Anniversary
Noam
Chomsky
December 2011
Dear Friends,
It is 20 years since a
small group of activists founded what is now the
East Timor and Indonesia
Action Network (ETAN), and I have been supporting
it since the beginning. I
am writing to you today to urge you to join me
in that
support.
Twenty years ago, on November 12, Indonesian troops marched up
and opened
fire on a peaceful pro-independence demonstration at the Santa
Cruz
cemetery in Dili, the capital of what was then known as East Timor.
More
than 270 young Timorese were murdered in the most publicized of a
great
many shocking atrocities during the Indonesian invasion and
annexation.
The eyewitness accounts of western journalists broke through
the silence
and hypocrisy of the media, bringing the first news of the
occupation to
many.
Among those inspired to act were the founders
of the East Timor Action
Network. A small group of activists began to meet,
and in the first of
many demonstrations, a few dozen concerned people
picketed in front of the
Indonesian Mission to the United Nations in New
York City on December 10,
1991, International Human Rights Day. Outraged by
the U.S. government’s
complicity in the oppression of the East Timorese,
they created an
impressive national organization committed to supporting
East Timor’s
right to self-determination. Quickly, grassroots pressure
persuaded the
U.S. Congress to terminate taxpayer-funded training for
Indonesian
soldiers in the United States, the first of many legislative
victories
which eventually moved Washington from supporting to opposing the
illegal
occupation.
I have long supported East Timor’s
self-determination. Even before
Indonesia’s 1975 invasion, I called for the
right of the East Timorese to
control their own destiny. I welcomed ETAN’s
founding and admired its
effective grassroots organizing. I am told that I
was the organization’s
first donor. That contribution was one of the best
investments I have ever
made for political and social change. Without
ETAN’s efforts, East Timor
might not yet be free.
Since then I have
continued to support ETAN. I hope you will too. Please
help ETAN celebrate
20 years of dedicated and effective activism and
continue its important
work.
—-
Throughout the 1990s, ETAN kept up the pressure. In 1999,
when the East
Timorese finally were able to vote on their political future,
the crimes
were escalating once again. ETAN had a significant role in
pressing
President Clinton to inform the Indonesian generals in September
that the
game was over, at which point they quickly withdrew.
East
Timor is now the independent Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, but
ETAN
remains tenacious in the pursuit of justice for the victims of the
Santa
Cruz massacre and the entire Indonesian occupation. It remains
active in
highlighting the complicity of U.S. government officials in the
oppression
of the people of East Timor, West Papua and elsewhere in the
Indonesian
archipelago including the still-active Henry Kissinger, who
gave a green
light to the invasion of East Timor. ETAN understands that
there cannot be
peace without justice.
While East Timor is now an independent nation, it
still struggles for
genuine self-determination under the pressures of the
global economic
system. ETAN is currently coordinating a campaign with
Timor-Leste’s
Movement against Debt opposing the taking out of onerous
loans by
currently debt-free Timor. A statement signed by 137
organizations
worldwide argued, “Rather than repeat the mistakes of other
developing
countries that have struggled with debt during recent decades,
Timor-Leste
should learn from their experiences, which often inflicted
great hardships
on their people.”Nearly a thousand people have signed
ETAN’s
<
expressing similar concerns.
In 2005, ETAN changed
its name to the East Timor and Indonesia Action
Network to emphasize its
ongoing work for human rights and democracy in
Indonesia as well as East
Timor. In the past, U.S. engagement with
Indonesia’s security forces has
encouraged those forces’ most abusive
behavior. ETAN is opposing the Obama
administration’s efforts to re-engage
with the Indonesian military’s
notorious Kopassus special forces. It
continues to be a voice of reason,
criticizing the administration’s
reluctance to address ongoing human rights
violations and escalating
oppression in West Papua and against religious
minorities. ETAN also holds
corporations responsible for their role in
human rights abuses and
recently joined Occupy Phoenix and union activists
in picketing at the
mining giant Freeport MacMoRan’s headquarters,
supporting striking
mineworkers in West Papua.
If it can find the
resources, ETAN plans to coordinate an observer mission
for next year’s
presidential and parliamentary elections in East Timor, as
they did in 1999,
2001 and 2007. Experienced, nonpartisan international
observers will help
consolidate democracy at this critical moment for the
still young
country.
ETAN’s work remains essential, but it can only do its work with
the active
and generous support of people like you, who believe in human
rights and
in the right to self-determination, justice and accountability,
and in
social and economic justice for the people of East Timor and
Indonesia.
I can think of few groups that have done so much with such
limited
resources. For most of its 20 years, ETAN has worked with an
extremely
limited budget. In recent years, ETAN’s annual budget has been
less than
$55,000. With your help, we can put ETAN on a firmer footing for
the
future. Please give generously in this anniversary year. In doing so,
you
can help strengthen ETAN to meet the challenges of the coming
years.
Thank you for joining me in supporting ETAN and its invaluable
work.
Sincerely,
Noam
Chomsky
———————————-
Posted on December 13th, 2011
» Feed to this thread
» Trackback