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 Australia East Timor Network c/o Development Education Centre first floor Torrens House 220 Victoria Square ADELAIDE, SOUTH AUSTRALIA 5000 1 September 1999 Mr Kofi Annan Secretary General United Nations New York City New York State USA Your Excellency, RE: TERROR CONTINUES IN EAST TIMOR AFTER THE POLL The UN is to be congratulated for the conduct of the referendum in East Timor on 30 August. Special tribute must be paid to the dedication and courage of the UNAMET personnel who administered the ballot under very dangerous circumstances. However, great accolades must go to the East Timorese people themselves. Over the past 24 years, about a third of the population (250,000 - 300,000 have perished because of Jakarta's illegal invasion and occupation. Despite this and with virtually no material support from outside, this heroic people maintained a constant, courageous and determined struggle in their quest for freedom. Then they were forced to vote for independence in extremely adverse and dangerous circumstances. It was basically good luck that more people did not die on the day. To have had to vote under these dangerous circumstances was extremely callous and unfair to a people who have suffered greatly. The UN and the international community should have insisted that the Indonesian military, its militias and its "police" should have been evacuated and that the regime had nothing to do with the referendum process. This would have prevented the loss of so many lives in the lead-up to the ballot. The referendum is only one step along the road to achieving peace and independence, however. The reason for the lack of peace at present is the continued presence of those very same groups - the Indonesian army, its militias and its "police". The militias are nothing more than armed criminals and thugs that are attempting to thwart freedom. The "police" until this year were part of the Indonesian Army (TNI). They have largely stood by and done nothing to prevent militia violence during the lead-up to the referendum. A few days ago, an independence supporter was shot dead by an Indonesian police officer. So much for the expectation that Indonesia should be given the responsibility to provide security. Only yesterday, Aitarak militias surrounded UN personnel and held them hostage at Gleno as they were returning ballot boxes to Dili. Some reports from Timor indicate that up to three UN personnel may have been killed.The task of the Indonesian army, militias and police is to stop independence; they are not interested in maintaining peace.The UN and western governments must send a credible peace keeping force to prevent further gross human rights violations, killings and terror against the indigenous population and UN personnel. A small and unarmed UN police force is no match for the evil forces arrayed against them. Further, international sanctions must be applied against Indonesia to cease its belligerent and deceitful behaviour in East Timor. We implore you to take the strong actions we suggest to ensure a positive outcome for the people of East Timor and peace in the SE Asian region. Yours sincerely, Andrew (Andy) Alcock Information Officer for the Committee CIET (SA) Inc Phone: 61 8 83710480 (home) Pager: 61 8 82734382 Facsimile: 61 8 82236509 Email: [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