Australian solidarity activists join Timorese protest in Dili The following speech was given by Sarah Stephen, a member of the ASIET-ASAP brigade to East Timor, at a protest organised by a number of East Timorese groups on May 19 in Dili.
Participating organisations included the Labour Syndicate of East Timor (KSTL); Eusebio Guterres, a member of parliament for the Democratic Party, who represented the Labour Advocacy Institute of East Timor (LAIFET); La'o Hamutuk - the East Timor Institute for Reconstruction Monitoring and Development; the Sa'he institute, a left-wing think tank; the Timor Socialist Labour Organisation (SBST); Groupo Defensor - Defence group for democracy, peace and stability, coordinated by Manuel Carrascalao; Solidaritas - the Student Council for Democracy; and the Pro-Proletariat Movement (GPP). The protest was timed to coincide with the arrival of Australian PM John Howard and focused on the Howard government's attempts to steal Timor's oil. The protesters also called on the incoming East Timorese government to support the independence struggles being waged in West Papua and Aceh. Sarah Stephen, along with other solidarity activists, will be speaking at a public meeting organised by ASAP on June 13 at 6.30pm at the Humanist Society Hall, 10 Shepherd St, Chippendale. For more information, call Pip Hinman on 0412 139 968. ****************************************************************** Timor Gap protest May 19, 2002 Speech by Sarah Stephen, Action in Solidarity with Asia and the Pacific (ASAP), Australia Dili - Today is the last day of the United Nations running East Timor the last day of some 400 years of colonial rule. Tomorrow, the East Timorese people will begin to govern themselves. In Australia, many of us have campaigned hard for a free and independent East Timor. Australian governments have always supported the occupation of East Timor from Gough Whitlam to Malcolm Fraser, Bob Hawke, Paul Keating and John Howard. But many people in Australia disagreed with our government. After the referendum in 1999, we forced the Howard government to send the army to East Timor to stop the Indonesian military and militia killings. When tens of thousands of people protested in the streets, we forced Howard, against his will, to help stop the killings. John Howard sent troops, but John Howard is not your friend. The Australian government still doesn't care about the people of East Timor. If Australia cared about the East Timorese people, the government would not be stealing East Timor's oil! Timor is a very poor country. You have lived so long with war, occupation and destruction. But the spirit and determination of the people can achieve many things rebuild cities and towns, build up agriculture. But you need resources to do that you need money. And not money from the World Bank, from the IMF. Not loans which you have to repay by cutting wages, health, education. The oil in the Timor Sea, which is worth many millions of dollars in royalties, gives the East Timorese people the chance to climb out of poverty. But the Australian government is doing everything it can to deny East Timor that future. Australia is ignoring international law and using its strength to force East Timor to accept less than it is entitled to. In Australia, we will not stand by and let this happen. We will fight our government's exploitation of East Timor. We will defend your right to economic independence. Your struggle is our struggle. Viva Timor Leste! --- -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Archived at http://www.cat.org.au/lists/leftlink/ Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink