Campaign for an Independent East Timor (South Australia) Inc.
(Affiliated to the International Federation for East Timor, the East Timor
Relief Association, the Australian Coalition for a Free East Timor and the
Free Timor Campaign)
c/o Global Education Centre first floor 220 Victoria Square
ADELAIDE, SOUTH AUSTRALIA 5000
MEDIA STATEMENT: MONDAY 3 APRIL 2000
FOR IMMEDIATE USE
PAUL KEATING, JOSE RAMOS HORTA & EAST TIMOR
Andrew Alcock, the Information Officer of the Campaign for an Independent
East Timor, issued the following statement following the latest statements
about East Timor by former Australian prime minister, Paul Keating:
"Nobel Peace Laureate, Dr Jose Ramos Horta, has said that Paul Keating
would do better to walk naked in the street than continue to make comments
about East Timor. The fact is that every time Keating makes utterances
about East Timor, he not only exposes himself, he reminds the world of his
disgraceful record on East Timor.
While General Suharto and his brutal regime committed genocide and gross
human rights abuses in East Timor, Keating allowed himself to become a
willing tool of that regime. He stepped up officer training for the
Indonesian army in Australia, gave the regime diplomatic support when it
should have been exposed for its crimes and entered into the most servile
and sycophantic relationship with Suharto himself.
Further, he abused those who spoke out about human rights violations.
Sadly, for Australians who want their leaders to take a lead in the matters
of human rights and to adopt a socially responsible attitude to human
suffering, Paul Keating is not the only Australian leader in the past 25
years to have behaved this way. The only thing that changed Australian
leaders finally last year as the Indonesian military and their trained
terrorists increased the pace of genocide, was the fact that tens of
thousands of ordinary Australians took to the streets in protest.
The only difference between Paul Keating and the others is that the others
have kept silent.
Why are Australian leaders proving themselves to be incapable of compassion
not only on the issue of East Timor, but mandatory sentencing,
reconciliation and other social questions? Meanwhile, the new leaders of
East Timor and Indonesia are showing the world that pursuing the humane
values of reconciliation and forgiveness can lead to the building of peace
and international understanding, despite past differences and the difficult
road ahead."
Andrew (Andy) Alcock
Information Officer, CIET (SA)
Phone: 61 8 83710480 (home) 61 8 82053259 (work)
Pager: 61 8 82734382
Facsimile: 61 8 82236509
Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
--
Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List
mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.alexia.net.au/~www/mhutton/index.html
Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop
Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink
Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
