Campaign for an Independent East Timor (S.A.) Inc.
Member of the Australian Coalition for a Free East Timor, Australia
East
Timor Network & the East Timor Relief Association
Sender: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Precedence: bulk
first floor Torrens House
220 Victoria Square,
ADELAIDE
SOUTH AUSTRALIA 5000
Sunday 14 February 1999
ATTENTION: CHIEF OF STAFF
MEDIA STATEMENT:
AUSTRALIA AND PEACE KEEPING IN EAST TIMOR
The following statement was released today by the Campaign's
Information
Officer, Andrew Alcock, in response to recent government statements
about
East Timor's impending independence:
"It is bitterly disappointing to most Australians that its Government
is so
grudging about assisting the peace and self determination processes in
East
Timor.
Recently, Prime Minister, John Howard refused a request from Nobel
Peace
Laureate, Dr Jose Ramos Horta for Australia to be involved in a peace
keeping force in East Timor.
He now claims that he has won a great victory because he has extracted
a
pledge from Dr Habibie that the Indonesian military will remain
longer in
Timor to keep the peace until the people decide their fate. This
statement
could be considered almost funny, if it was not so tragic. Where has
John
Howard been for the past 24 years?
The Indonesian military and its militias in East Timor have been
responsible for genocide and human rights abuses that are continuing
right
now.
To expect that the Indonesian regime will respect the East Timorese
and
assist a democratic response is callous in the extreme. It is crucial
that
there is international supervision and involvement to maintain the
peace
and to assist a fair process of self determination.
Australians who want a just resolution for the people of East Timor
find
the PM's statements of 13 February on East Timorese independence and
Australia's national interest as highly offensive as well as grudging.
John Howard's argument is that Australia will need to give more
financial
support to an independent East Timor as opposed to one which is an
autonomous territory of Indonesia.
To infer that those who want independence for East Timor are not
thinking
of Australia's national interest is insulting to those people and
lacks
compassion for the East Timorese survivors of Indonesia's years of
brutality.
It also ignores the fact that he and other Australian leaders who
armed,
equipped and trained the Indonesian military paid out vast sums of tax
payers' money to assist a criminal regime. It is ironic that each time
they
did this, they cited national interest as the motive for their morally
dubious stance. The money spent helped cause the problem in the first
place.
Mr Howard fears of being alone to deal with the problems are
groundless. He
forgets that Australia would not be the only nation assisting East
Timor.
Dr Horta has reminded us that the Portuguese-speaking world has
already
been supportive and will continue to do so. And there are many other
nations that will assist. Further, many of the millions amassed by
Suharto
and his corrupt generals from the resources purloined from East Timor
must
go to East Timor to assist with reparations.
Australians also remember that its political leaders also gave
diplomatic
support to the Indonesian regime after many of its gross human rights
violations were revealed. These leaders, including John Howard, did
not
pause to consider the harm that they were doing to Australia's
national
interest - let alone, our national reputation.
It is a bit rich now to try to blame those who have advocated a
peaceful
and fair outcome for problems that might arise for Australia in the
future
when East Timor becomes independent. ALP's Shadow Foreign Minister,
Laurie Brereton, has found the moral and political courage to pledge
support to an independent East Timor. The Australian Government must
do the
same. Do the members of this government listen to the words when they
sing
Australia's national anthem 'Advance Australia Fair'?".
FOR FURTHER COMMENT:
Andrew (Andy) Alcock
Information Officer CIET(SA) Inc
Phone: 08 83710480 (home)
08 82053259 (work)
Pager: 08 84157467
Facsimile: 08 82236509
Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
end
==============
Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List
http://www.alexia.net.au/~www/mhutton/index.html
The Year 2000 Bug - An Urgent Sustainability Issue
http://www.peg.apc.org/~psutton/grin-y2k.htm
