Cheer Timorese runners, Jeer Kissinger in NYC

Sunday, November 6, 2011 - Support East Timorese marathoners. We'll meet at the corner of 4th Ave. and Bergen St. in Brooklyn at 10 am. to cheer them on. Details below. Monday, November 7, 5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. - Protest the honoring of war criminal Henry Kissinger by the New York Historical Society, The Waldorf-Astoria, 301 Park Ave. between 49 & 50 St., New York, NYETAN needs your financial support: Please donate! http://www.etan.org/etan/donate.htm  ------------------------ Sunday, November 6, 2011 Support East Timorese Marathoners Two of Timor-Leste's top long-distance runners - Calisto da Costa and Lola Gonsalves Gama - are participating in the New York City Marathon this weekend. Join ETAN in cheering them on! Meet at thecorner of 4th Ave. and Bergen St. in Brooklyn at 10 am. to wave Timor flags, carry supportive signs (make and bring one if you can), and otherwise show our support for the runners. Don't forget to change your clocks the night before to end daylight savings. Later in the day, we plan to move to a spot near the finish line along Central Park South.  For more information or contact etan@etan.org, 917-690-4391. More details on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=291567927520670  or ETAN's http://www.etan.org/news/calendar.htm#New_York,_NY_Nearest subway is Atlantic Avenue: D, N, R, 2, 3, 4, 5, B, Q ----------------------------------------- Protest the honoring of war criminal Henry Kissinger by the New-York Historical Society of Henry Kissinger  November 7, 20115:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. The Waldorf-Astoria 301 Park Ave. between 49 & 50 St., New York, NYContact ETAN if you can help or for more info. Spread the word - download flyer here - http://etan.org/etanpdf/2011-13/Kissinger.pdfInfo on Facebook: http://on.fb.me/q9EdkC and on ETAN's website: www.etan.org etanetanetanetanetanetanetanetanetanetanetanetan Please donate! Support ETAN: http://www.etan.org/etan/2011micaapp.htmFollow ETAN on Twitter: http://twitter.com/etan009

West Papua Report November 2011

West Papua Report November 2011 is now out:

Summary: Indonesian security forces attacked a mass gathering in the Papua capital, Jayapura, and striking workers at the Freeport mine in the southern highlands. At least five people were killed and many more injured in the assaults, which show a renewed pattern of overt violence against peaceful dissent. A brutal and unjustified October 19 attack on thousands of Papuans exercising their rights to assembly and freedom of speech resulted in the death of at least three Papuan civilians, the beating of many, detention of hundreds and arrest of six, reportedly on treason charges. The Obama administration has largely ignored the egregious violation of human rights, instead advancing U.S.-Indonesian military ties. U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, who arrived in Indonesia in the immediate wake of the Jayapura attack, avoided criticism of the assault and reaffirmed U.S. support for Indonesia's territorial integrity, a snub to Papuans quest for self-determination. Panetta also reportedly commended Indonesia's handling of a weeks-long strike at the U.S.-based Freeport McMoRan mine which has seen eight killings and revealed cash payments by Freeport to the police. Indonesia's response to the growing crisis in West Papua is to increase the militarization of the territory and to dispatch a special unit that is headed by a notorious former military officer whose record in dealing with Aceh bears ominous implications for the Papuans.

Contact: John M. Miller, 917-690-4391
Tom Keough, 718-768-6171

Historians Condemn Honoring of Kissinger

Urge New-York Historical Society to Withdraw Honor

November 3 - In a letter sent yesterday, more than 110 historians urged the New-York Historical Society (N-YHS) to "withdraw the name of Henry Kissinger as an honoree" at its upcoming event scheduled for November 7, 2011.

In their letter to the Society's Board of Trustees, the scholars wrote: "Kissinger remains one of the twentieth century’s worst war criminals, and to pretend otherwise is to condone his crimes. It is difficult to understand how the New-York Historical Society could consider honoring such a man." 

The letter with the list of signers can be found here (PDF).

"The failure to hold Kissinger to account for his myriad crimes has allowed him to continue dispensing recommendations for new wars and foreign interventions," the letter says. "The failure to confront this record has facilitated the invasion of Iraq, the use of torture at Abu Ghraib and elsewhere, the policy of rendition and the detentions at Guantánamo Bay, and other illegal actions of the 'war on terror.'"

Between 1969 and 1977, Kissinger served as National Security Advisor and then Secretary of State. He designed and implemented policies which led to hundreds of thousands of deaths, the overthrow of democratically-elected governments, and the invasion and occupation of sovereign countries. Examples include the invasion of Cambodia, the overthrow of the government of Chile and Indonesia's invasion and occupation of East Timor.

Should the N-YHS continue with its plan to honor Kissinger, protesters will gather outside the Waldorf Astoria Hotel on Monday, November 7 to express their outrage. Demonstrators will gather from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at 301 Park Ave. (between 49 & 50 St.) in Manhattan to condemn the honoring of the accused war criminal by the society at a $1000 a ticket gala.

-end- 


see also Background on Kissinger, Ford and East Timor


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MIFEE in West Papua

From Food vs. Forests, Profits vs. People by John M. Miller and Octo More in WIN Magazine on the  Merauke Integrated Food and Energy Estate (MIFEE) in West Papua:

"Merauke’s mythic stature will make the Indonesian government all the more sensitive to opposition.Land-grabbing is not new in West Papua; it has happened since colonial times (see sidebar). Every acre of Papuan land that has been claimed for a national project was taken by force. In a sense, there is nothing new about the Indonesian government’s latest project, Merauke Integrated Food and Energy Estate (MIFEE), nor is there anything new about West Papuan resistance."

Read the rest here

Protest against MIFEE in Jayapura. Photo: SORPATOMNews