East Timor and Indonesia Action Network

Allan Nairn speaks on East Timor, Indonesia, ETAN, Occupy Wall Street and more

2012-01-12T09:23:00.000-05:00


Allan Nairn at OccupyWall Street's ThinkTank. Photo by John M. Miller/ETAN

Journalist/Activist Allan Nairn's reporting has been crucial in exposing U.S. complicity with human rights and war crimes by Indonesia's security forces. He has forcefully urged that U.S. officials be held accountable for their crimes against humanity.

On November 12, 1991, Nairn with Amy Goodman witnessed the Santa Cruz massacre in Dili, the capitol of East Timor. Nairn was beaten and had his skull cracked. Their reports of the massacre inspired the founding of ETAN, and Nairn has served as a key advisor to ETAN and was a member of its Steering Committee.

In January, Nairn spoke about the successful movement to support East Timor's self-determination and restrict U.S. military assistance to Indonesia and its significance for Occupy Wall Street and today's global movements for justice.

On January 5, Nairn spoke at an event organized by ETAN. On January 9, he spoke at an event organized by OccupyWallStreet Think Tank.

View the video of the two talks here.

Allan Nairn to speak at Occupy Wall Street

2012-01-07T19:34:00.005-05:00

Journalist/Activist Allan Nairn will speak to Occupy Wall Street

MONDAY, January 9, 2012, 5:30 - 7 p.m.

60 Wall Street Atrium, Manhattan, New York City

Journalist and activist Allan Nairn will be speaking at OccupyWallStreet. Nairn has over 20 years of experience in global justice movements, and will speak about strategies for change, protest, and police violence.Allan will share his experiences with violence and activism in East Timor, and then OWS ThinkTank will facilitate a discussion about these issues.

On Thursday, January 5, 2012, Allan spoke talk on 20 years of organizing for justice for East Timor and Indonesia, including his work with ETAN.

Watch this space for video of that talk which will be posted soon.

More info on Allan Nairn is here.

West Papua Report January 2012 is out

2012-01-07T19:30:00.000-05:00

Read it here: http://etan.org/issues/wpapua/2012/1201wpap.htm

Summary: Indonesian security forces, including the U.S. and Australian supported Detachment 88, conducted "sweeping operations" in the Paniai area of West Papua that destroyed churches, homes and public buildings, and forced hundreds of civilians from their homes. The Indonesia's National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) urged the Police Commander to remove forces from the region, echoing civil society leaders in Paniai. Jakarta's failure to provided basic health services to Papuans has led to a high rate of death among mothers at child birth according to a recent report. An unconfirmed report claims that President Yudhoyono has committed to withdraw non-organic troops from West Papua and to suspend the operations of a special unit proposed to address fundamental Jakarta-Papua problems. The cost in human life for Papuans of Jakarta's decades of neglect of the Papuan population is well documented. Amnesty International met with a senior official in Jakarta to press for release of political prisoners, particularly in West Papua and Maluku. The three-month old strike by workers at the Freeport McMoRan mines appears to be headed toward resolution.

Contents:

Freeport and MIFEE in West Papua

2011-12-18T09:14:00.002-05:00

Recently published:

Strike at Freeport settled, even as mine’s scars linger- by ETAN's John M. Miller on the end of the strike at Freeport McMoRan's mine and its ongoing impact on West Papua

A few months ago, WIN Magazine published Food vs. Forests, Profits vs. People, by Octo Mote and John M. Miller. The article examines Jarkata's plans for the massive Merauke Integrated Food and Energy Estate (MIFEE) near the Papua New Guinea border. MIFEE's impact will be devastating for people's and environment of the region.

Occupy Jakarta on Papua and Freeport

2011-12-17T09:07:00.002-05:00

Max Lane reports that Occupy Jakarta's general assembly passed a resolution on Papua after a week's debate.

"The main points were: an end to all violence against the people of Papua; withdraw the army and police from Papua; freeze Freeport and its assets and hand over its future to a decision of the Freeport workers, local people and traditional leaders; Indonesia must immediately improve infrastructural, health and education facilities; a free dialogue between the Papuan people, Indonesian people and government on the future of Papua, excluding anybody who has received funds from Freeport; democratic rights for the Papuan people as well as efforts to increase productivity there; end stigmatisation of Papuans as criminals or separatists; bring Freeport to justice for human rights violations, environmental damage and violence towards workers; and Freeport to agree to the wage demands of Freeport workers."

Occupy Jakarta, inspired by Occupy Wall Street pickets daily outside the Jakarta stock exchange. It can be found on Facebook and Twitter.

Tapol responds to Indonesia's denial of political prisoners in Papua

2011-12-14T10:23:00.004-05:00

Tapol's Carmel Budiardjo responds to statements by Indonesia's Djoko Suyanto, the coordinating minister for political, legal and security affairs, who said that "there are no political prisoners in Papua — only criminals who have broken the law."

In an oped in the Jakarta Globe, the veteran activist writes:

"This is troubling news for Papuans such as Filep Karma, Forkorus Yaboisembut and others who are currently behind bars for expressing their beliefs.

"Djoko’s statement late week is especially puzzling in light of an internal government document, titled “List of Political Prisoners Across Papua,” that was leaked earlier this year to Tapol. The document lists 25 Papuans detained for treason and related offenses. In addition to the government’s own records, numerous NGOs based in Jakarta and Papua, as well as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and Tapol, all hold extensive data on political prisoners in Papua the put the number even higher."

She concludes:

"If Indonesia is to move on from its painful past, it should heed the calls to release political prisoners and repeal anti-democratic laws that criminalize the freedom of expression. Only then will Djoko Suyanto truly be able to say that political prisoners no longer exist in Indonesia."

Help ETAN celebrate our 20th Anniversary. Donate today!

With your help, we can put ETAN on a firmer footing for the future.
Please give generously in this anniversary year. In doing so, you can help strengthen ETAN to meet the challenges of the coming years.

Read Noam Chomsky
on 20 years of ETAN

ETAN National Coordinator reflects on 20 years of ETAN

2011-12-13T08:43:00.002-05:00

Read additional reflections on ETAN's 20th Anniversary

John M. Miller, ETAN National Coordinator

Reflecting on ETAN at 20

On November 12, 1991, Indonesia troops carrying U.S. supplied weapons gunned down peaceful East Timorese demonstration at Dili's Santa Cruz cemetery. And I can still recall vividly the tremor in Amy Goodman's voice in her first reports to Pacifica's WBAI radio here in New York, where she was News Director. Those reports inspired several of us who knew each other from organizing campaigns to begin meeting in New York. Out of those meetings ETAN began.

One detail from those reports was especially striking. Amy and Allan Nairn (also from New York) attributed their survival to the fact that they had waved their U.S. passports at the troops that were assaulting them. The journalists were from the same country that the soldiers' weapons came from.

Amy and Allan were the two U.S. eyewitnesses to the massacre and shared their knowledge with our fledgling group. Our first demonstration was on Human Rights Day 1991 at the Indonesian Mission to the UN. Many more were to follow.

Reports of the massacre sparked organizing efforts in cities throughout the U.S. Soon enough, there was ETAN/Rhode Island and ETAN/Los Angeles, then Madison, DC, and San Francisco. Gradually, we found each other and consolidated into ETAN/U.S. (We borrowed our initials - with their blessing - from Canada's East Timor Alert Network.)

We seized the chance to speak out, something that East Timorese could only do at great risk. One early ETAN leaflet bluntly stated that East Timorese could be shot for attending a demonstration, but that we in the United States could at much less risk support them. A simple recitation of the facts was all that was needed to convince many that the U.S. bore substantial responsibility for a grave injustice and that we needed to take responsibility for changing our own country's policies.


ETAN's John M. Miller (with bullhorn) speaks at the Indonesian consulate in Manhattan, January 2000. Protests also took place that day in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Houston and Washington, DC.

We built on the efforts of others who had been working on the issues, some since 1975, many in church groups and Congress. But we brought our own energy and new ideas, at times a confrontational approach.

Early on, we determined to be non-partisan (working with people and politicians with a wide-range of views on other subjects). After all, U.S. presidents of both parties had supported Indonesia. We embraced a wide range of tactics from lobbying and letter-writing to supporting lawsuits against Indonesian generals. We spoke inside (and outside) the UN and organized countless demonstrations at Indonesia's diplomatic offices around the U.S. In New York, there were two and we probably have had an equal number of protests at the consulate and mission to the UN. Several hundred were arrested in civil disobedience sit-ins. We organized international election observers in 1999, 2001, and 2007. We successfully sued New York City to have the street in front of the Indonesian consulate temporarily renamed "East Timor Way" in 1999.

We always tried to be accurate; the situation was dire enough not to need exaggeration. This approach has helped us build credibility with the media, officials and others that carries through to today.

Our initial focus was on gaining self-determination for East Timor. Our political strategy was ambitious, but simple. We saw the Indonesian military as crucial to the occupation. The U.S. was the military's chief benefactor, and we set out to sever that relationship. Indonesia would value its ties to the U.S. more than its continued occupation of East Timor. Events would bear out this analysis - more quickly than many of us imagined in late 1991.

We won a quick victory when Congress barred Indonesia from IMET military training in May 1992, in response to our pressure. At the time, few other countries were barred from IMET. We learned that while East Timor wasn't on the radar of many, a few voices from a congressional district or state could sway many members of Congress. Some of them became staunch supporters of East Timorese rights.

In the end, there were very few floor votes directly on East Timor and we lost several of them. But each time East Timor was debated on the floor of congress or in committee, more were educated and more concessions were extracted. Bans on the transfer of categories of military weapons and police equipment were imposed throughout the 1990s, either by the administration (always under Congressional pressure) or Congress. Indonesia's dictator Suharto twice refused training or weapons in a fit of pique over U.S. criticism of repression in East Timor. Finally in September 1999, responding to a global outcry at Indonesia's destruction after the East Timorese chose independence, President Clinton announced a full cut off of security assistance. The Indonesian military quickly agreed to honor the result of the August 30 UN-organized referendum and withdraw.

We seized the chance to speak out, something that East Timorese could only do so at great risk. One early ETAN leaflet bluntly stated that East Timorese could be shot for attending a demonstration, but that we in the United States could at much less risk support them.

The Congressional and public pressure that contributed to East Timor's independence came from years of organizing within U.S. and the tenacity of the East Timorese people in asserting their rights. ETAN initially built a base of support by borrowing lists from national groups, including the War Resisters League of which I and Charles Scheiner, another ETAN founder, are long time members. These groups allowed us to call their members just once (Brown University students did most of the calling). We also gathered initial support from sign up sheets at talks by Allan, Amy and others and by petitioning at showings of the documentary "Manufacturing Consent," which features early ETAN supporter Noam Chomsky and includes a substantial section on East Timor.

In the early 1990s, the online organizing was coming into its own as an activist tool, both as a source of information and a way to spur action and activism. The internet enabled us to quickly link up with like-minded groups and individuals to compare information and share strategy. East Timorese leaders abroad were soon in touch and offered encouragement. We in turn supported their activities in the U.S. and at the UN as best we could.We stayed current with events and activities through the reg.easttimor e-mail listserv, begun by Tapol in Britain the previous year. We soon became major contributors to the list and over time took over the major responsibility for the list, now officially the east-timor list. (People often confuse the list with ETAN the organization at times, to our frustration.). In 1999, when I first went to East Timor to observe the referendum, many Timorese knew my name because of my many posts to the listserv. With access to the internet limited, items from the list would be printed out and passed around. Occasionally, I had to explain that I hadn't written most of them, just forwarded the news, analysis and reports from activists and others. Even now, much of my morning is taken up with the list, which has more subscribers than ever (more than 2600 at last count).

Help ETAN celebrate our 20th Anniversary. Donate today!

Read Noam Chomsky on 20 years of ETAN

Soon after the 1999 vote, ETAN met in Arizona to decide whether to continue and what we should work on, now that East Timor was soon to become independent. Whether to continue or not was only briefly debated. We decided to focus our work for justice for East Timor through an international tribunal and accountability for the U.S. role, return of refugees, and support for human rights and sustainable development. We committed to maintain the suspension of military ties with Indonesia, both to pressure Indonesia on East Timor and to support those still on the receiving end of Indonesian military brutality. We also helped launch the Indonesia Human Rights Network. When that network folded, ETAN changed our name to acknowledge that we were actively working on a number of Indonesia specific issues. In recent years, that has meant highlighting ongoing human rights violations in West Papua and monitoring the impact of U.S. security assistance, which we believe serves to undermine the democratic transformation of Indonesia. We have opposed the lifting of restrictions on U.S. cooperation with Kopassus, Indonesia's special forces, as well as abusive police units

Justice for past rights violations at times feels as distant now as self-determination for East Timor did in 1991. But justice and accountability is not just about the past, it is also about deterring future violations. On the 20th anniversary of the Santa Cruz massacre, ETAN reaffirmed our commitment to pursue justice: "Ongoing impunity for decades of systematic Indonesian military and police atrocities keeps the Timorese and Indonesian people from consolidating their democracies and moving on with their lives. ETAN will not rest until justice is done." This past year, we have confronted a very visible Henry Kissinger multiple times about his role in giving a U.S. go ahead to Indonesia's invasion and occupation to highlight the need to hold U.S. leaders accountable.

In addition to campaigning for justice for the past, ETAN monitors human rights issues in the new country. Since East Timor became the independent nation of Timor-Leste, ETAN has supported the new country's efforts to gain control over petroleum resources that are rightfully theirs. Working with groups in Timor-Leste and elsewhere, ETAN has raised concerns about plans by the government to take out international loans.

As ETAN continues our work, we face a number of challenges. ETAN has never been very large or well-funded. We sometimes joked that our work was done with smoke and mirrors. While many in both East Timor and Indonesia continue to ask a lot from us, money and other resources have become harder to come by. Our staff has shrunk over the years and we had to close our Washington office. There are only a few active chapters. Many of those most active in the past have moved on to other issues and other priorities. We have more ideas and possible projects than we can possibly implement. But a core of people remain committed to ETAN and our issues, even as we work to develop new supporters. And we try get the most out of the resources we have.

The U.S. activist Mother Jones is credited with the saying, "My business is to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable." For the past 20 years, ETAN has to work to afflict the powerful and pressure them to change their destructive policies. We will continue this work and by doing so we hope that we provide some comfort to the victims of those policies.

Read additional reflections on ETAN's 20th Anniversary

West Papua Report December 2011: Central Highlands targeted, Repression as policy, Climate Change, Sp Autonomy

2011-12-06T20:57:00.001-05:00

Read the December 2011 West Papua Report

POLRI GEGANA anti-terrorism troops attacking peaceful flag raisers,
Taokou Village, East Paniai, December 1 (West Papua Media)

Security Forces Again Target Civilians in Papuan Central Highlands

New Reports on Security Force Attack on Papuan Congress, Call for Accountability

Brutal Repression in West Papua: A Product of Rogue Security Forces or Yudhoyono Administration Policy?

Where Are Indonesia's Indigenous Voices In The Climate Change Debate?

Special Autonomy: A Strategy for Subjugation

Peaceful Papuans Celebrate 50th Anniversary of Raising of Papuan National Flag

Two perspectives on December 7, 1975 and its aftermath

2011-12-06T16:07:00.001-05:00

Two perspectives on December 7, 1975 and its aftermath

Do not forget those who suffered on 7 December 1975 and beyond

From Timor-Leste's Asosiasaun Vitima Konfitu 74-99 (National Victims' Association)

7 December is a historic day for Timorese people. An unforgettable day for all, but a day least forgotten by the many people who are still suffering everyday from the bitter consequences of the Indonesian invasion of Timor Leste.

7 December 1975 was the starting point of human rights abuses and suffering for the Timorese people. Suffering that would last beyond the 24-year invasion. 36 years on from this tragic day, little has been done to help those who suffered the most, and continue to suffer. While 7 December cannot be erased from our memories, the date can become a catalyst for a new context, a time of healing.

30 October 2011 marked 6 years since the CAVR report Chega! was given to the Parliament of Timor Leste by the President at the time Xanana Gusmao. That report recommended reparations for the victims who suffered during the Indonesian invasion, yet to date there is no state policy for reparations. Instead, it appears the political position has been to forget the past in an attempt to hide the fact that problems still exist as a result of the invasion.

Last week, President Ramos-Horta (again) called upon Parliament to pass law to grant amnesties to perpetrators of mass violence and human rights abuses to enable these people to live free from fear of prosecution. It is an insult to the to victims of those abuses that they have been abandoned by the state while the perpetrators of the atrocities garner the politicians’ support.

Indonesian Parachute, 7 Dec 1975. From Timor Archives

International law provides that reparations must be provided to the victims of violations. Reparations are redress provided to victims for the harm they suffered. Reparations can include restitution, compensation, rehabilitation and satisfaction and guarantees of non-repetition.

In July 2010 a reparations law and an Institute of Memory laws were drafted and discussed by Parliamentary Committee A with NGOs and victims. The laws were revised by Parliamentary Committee A, but Parliament voted to consider the original version in September 2010, passing both in principle. Debate about the content of the laws and the revision was scheduled to recommence in February this year, yet 10 months later nothing has been done. Victims are still waiting for these laws to be fully considered and implemented.

On 12 October this year Timor Leste presented its first national report to the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva. In response, many of the world’s nations called upon Timor Leste to both pass in full the reparations and Institute of Memory laws, and implement their provisions immediately.

The National Victims’ Association calls upon President Horta, Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao and all Parliamentarians to fulfil their obligations to the victims, the Timorese people and the international community and urges Parliament to use the 36^th anniversary of the start of the Indonesian invasion to put an end to victim suffering through a state policy of reparations and establishment of the Institute of Memory. You cannot erase our past, only recognise it and its consequences in order to move forward. There is no need to wait any longer; pass the Reparations and Institute of Memory laws in full.

Mitt Romney on Indonesia as example for Pakistan

2011-11-23T19:11:00.001-05:00

The Unspun Blog notes this from the recent Republican presidential candidate debate on foreign policy:

Extract from In debate, Romney says handle Pakistan like Indonesia in the 1960s on CSMonitor.com:

He and the other candidates were asked how they’d deal with Pakistan as president. It’s a tough, important question. Pakistan is a nuclear power that the US sends billions of dollars in aid to, yet works against the American war effort in Afghanistan and appeared to harbor Osama bin Laden.

His answer? “We don’t want to just pull up stakes and get out of town after the enormous output we’ve just made for the region. Look at Indonesia in the ’60s. We helped them move toward modernity. We need to help bring Pakistan into the 21st century, or the 20th for that matter. Right now American approval in Pakistan is 12 percent. We’re not doing a very good job with that investment. We could do better by encouraging the opportunities of the West.”

So Romney's prescription for U.S. policy in Pakistan is backing military organized mass murder, increased repression and corruption.

Reflections on 20th Anniversary of Santa Cruz Massacre

2011-11-13T13:53:00.001-05:00

worth reading:

Reflections for the Progressive Student Group: Twenty Year Santa Cruz Commemoration at Dili University

By Charles Scheiner, ETAN and La’o Hamutuk

excerpt:

[T]he foreigners responsible for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed against the Timorese people have not been held accountable.

These were international crimes – the Indonesian invasion of Portuguese Timor (RDTL after 28 November 1975, but Indonesian aggression started before that) violated international law, as dud the thousands of massacres, tortures, rapes, killings and other crimes that were part of the occupation. When people are ordered or paid by one government to commit crimes against people in another country, those are international crimes. When other governments, including my own, give political, military, diplomatic or financial support to these crimes, they also become criminals.

Read the rest

Remembering the Santa Cruz Massacre: A guide to recent commentary and some archival resources on this landmark event (November 2011)

On 20th Anniversary of Timor Massacre, ETAN Urges Justice

2011-11-11T12:05:00.001-05:00

U.S. and UN Must Act

For Immediate Release

Contact: John M. Miller, +1-718-596-7668; mobile: +1-917-690-4391, john@etan.org

November 12, 2011 - On the 20th anniversary of the infamous massacre at Santa Cruz cemetery in Timor-Leste, the East Timor and Indonesia Action Network (ETAN) called for the U.S. and other governments and the United Nations to commit to justice for the victims and their families. The 1991 massacre -- witnessed and filmed by foreign journalists -- was a major turning point in Timor-Leste's struggle for liberation.

"When we saw and heard about the Indonesian military shooting down hundreds of peaceful, unarmed student protesters, we knew we had to do something to stop the killing. The Santa Cruz massacre inspired many around the world to work for justice for the East Timorese people," said John M. Miller, National Coordinator of ETAN. "It directly led to the founding of ETAN in the United States, and to our commitment to work for self-determination for Timor-Leste by changing U.S. government policies which had supported the Indonesia's illegal invasion and occupation."

"Justice for all those killed, tortured, raped and forced to flee Indonesia’s brutal occupation has been delayed too long," he added.

Many in Timor-Leste are focused on learning the location of their relatives’ graves. The remains of many of the victims have not been found.

“While Timor-Leste is now independent, its people will not be able to overcome their tragic past without knowing what was done with their relatives’ and friends’ bodies. Ongoing impunity for decades of systematic Indonesian military and police atrocities keeps the Timorese and Indonesian people from consolidating their democracies and moving on with their lives,” said Miller. "ETAN will not rest until justice is done."

When we saw and heard about the Indonesian military shooting down hundreds of peaceful, unarmed student protesters, we knew we had to do something to stop the killing.

ETAN urged Congress and the Obama administration to respond to the recommendations of Timor-Leste's Commission for Truth, Reception and Reconciliation, including its calls for an international tribunal to try perpetrators of crimes against humanity during the Indonesian occupation, reparations from Indonesia and other countries that supported the occupation, and restrictions on foreign assistance to the Indonesian military.

"President Obama should urge President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to immediately release all information that can help identify and locate those who were disappeared during the occupation,” said Miller. The two leaders are scheduled to meet in the coming weeks.

"Obama must restrict U.S. military assistance until the Indonesian generals and political leaders who organized and directed numerous crimes during the 24-years of illegal occupation are credibly tried," Miller added.

Background On November 12, 1991, Indonesian troops opened fire on a memorial procession - turned into a peaceful pro-independence demonstration - at the Santa Cruz cemetery in Dili, the capital of Timor-Leste. More than 270 mostly-young Timorese were murdered. Unlike previous mass atrocities committed during Indonesia's 24-year occupation, the massacre was witnessed by the NY-based Amy Goodman and Allan Nairn and other international journalists. Their first-hand reports, video and photographs were shown worldwide. The Santa Cruz massacre galvanized international support for Timor-Leste and was the catalyst for congressional action to stem the flow of U.S. weapons and other assistance for Indonesia’s security forces.

The response from people across the United States to the U.S. government’s complicity in the oppression of the East Timorese – was so compelling that they had to keep working. One year later, grassroots pressure persuaded the U.S. Congress to terminate taxpayer-funded training for Indonesian soldiers in the United States.

One month after the massacre, on International Human Rights Day (December 10), a few dozen concerned people picketed in front of the Indonesian Mission to the United Nations in New York City. Although they did not intend to start an ongoing movement, the Timorese cause – and the response from people across the United States to the government’s complicity in the oppression of the East Timorese – was so compelling that they had to keep working. One year later, grassroots pressure persuaded the U.S. Congress to terminate taxpayer-funded training for Indonesian soldiers in the United States, the first of many legislative victories which eventually moved Washington from supporting to opposing the murderous occupation.

In a recent statement, ANTI (Timor-Leste National Alliance for an International Tribunal), demanded that the United Nations Security Council "cut the chain of impunity in Timor-Leste and other countries' by establishing a credible International Tribunal in order to judge the principal perpetrators of serious crimes and crimes against humanity in Timor-Leste during the Indonesian occupation."

During more than two decades of occupation of Timor-Leste, Indonesian soldiers committed serious crimes with impunity, taking as many as 184,000 Timorese lives and torturing, raping and displacing countless others. Timor-Leste became independent in 2002.

Timor-Leste's Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation researched and documented the nation’s experiences during the occupation. The Commission’s comprehensive 2,500-page report recommended establishment of an international criminal tribunal and also advocated that countries (including the U.S.) which backed the occupation and corporations which sold weapons to Indonesia during that period should pay reparations to victims. The Commission urged the international community not to support Indonesia's military until it was thoroughly reformed and respectful of human rights.

Indonesia has agreed to provide information about the fate of the disappeared but has failed to do so. The joint Timor-Leste-Indonesia Commission on Truth and Friendship recommended the creation of a Commission for Disappeared Persons "to acquire information about the fate of disappeared people and cooperate to gather data and provide information to their families." Work on this issue has been repeatedly thwarted by Indonesia.

ETAN was formed in reaction to the Santa Cruz massacre. The U.S.-based organization, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this December 10, advocates for democracy, justice and human rights for Timor-Leste and Indonesia. For more information on the massacre see http://etan.org/timor/SntaCRUZ.htm or ETAN's web site:http://www.etan.org.

-30-

see also

Human Rights & Justice page

Cheer Timorese runners, Jeer Kissinger in NYC

2011-11-04T08:29:00.004-04:00

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

2011-11-04T08:19:00.004-04:00

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.

2011-11-03T16:06:00.000-04:00

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 centurys 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

Please donate! Support ETAN

Follow ETAN on Twitter

MIFEE in West Papua

2011-10-30T11:35:00.001-04:00

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

Sign the Petition, Support a Deb-Free East Timor

2011-10-21T11:27:00.000-04:00

Don't Let the Bankers Occupy Dili!
Support a Debt-Free Timor-Leste

some background: Groups worldwide urge debt-free Timor-Leste not to borrow

This is a joint project of ETAN and Timor's Movimento Kontra Deve, a coalition of civil society organizations in Timor-Leste opposed to the country taking out loans.

UPDATE: As additional background see La'o Hamutuk's Submission to Timor-Leste's National Parliament
Regarding the Proposed General State Budget for 2012 (PDF)

ETAN on Papua attacks, Freeport strike

2011-10-21T11:19:00.000-04:00

UPDATE: Read U.S. Congressman Faleomavaega's letter to the Indonesian ambassador, which concludes "It is obvious the actions by the TNI and police are contrary to the commitments made by President Yudhoyono to solve the issues in West Papua in a 'peaceful, just, and dignified manner.'"

ETAN joined others in two recent statements on events in West Papua.

With Tapol and the West Papua Advocacy Team (WPAT), ETAN condemned the assault on the close of the peaceful Third Papuan Congress. The groups demanded the release of those arrested. The release - Indonesian crackdown on Papuan Congress sparks outrage - also included comments from Lord Avebury, Vice Chair of the UK Parliamentary Human Rights Group and U.S. Congressmember Eni Faleomavaega (D-AS). Tapol's Carmel Budiardjo said "The daily discrimination and violations experienced by Papuans are bad enough, but an attack of this nature on a democratic congress is an absolute outrage. ETAN is quoted as saying “The right to gather and speak out is a fundamental freedom, it doesn’t just disappear because the government doesn't like what is being said.”

Events are still unfolding with new information that at least six were killed in the Indonesian security force attack.

Some of the 100s arrested at Papua Congress.

In a separate statement WPAT and ETAN, expressed concern over

"the escalating violence in the area of [Phoenix, Arizona]-based Freeport McMoran's massive gold and cooper mining operation located in the Timika-Tembagapura area of West Papua. Workers have been on strike since September 15 seeking higher wages on par with those that Freeport pays workers at its mines elsewhere. Freeport's response has been to stonewall, reject worker demands, and hire scab workers."

The groups said the U.S. government

should publicly emphasize its commitment to respect for worker rights in the context of the ongoing labor dispute. It should urge Freeport to negotiate in good faith with its workers. It is urgent that the U.S. government press the Indonesian government to forego the use of violence in addressing the current tensions in the area of the mining operation. The U.S. government also should investigate Freeport operations, especially actions taken by security forces at Freeport's behest to date. Finally, it is high time that the U.S. Congress undertake, including through committee hearings, a review of Freeport operations which have for decades undermined respect for the United States in Indonesia and West Papua.

Freeport strikers

UPDATE: Three more were shot dead at the mine on October 21.

Wrong example

2011-10-12T14:57:00.000-04:00

A intervention by by Teguh Santoso(a lecturer at Indonesia Islam University) on Western Sahara before the United Nations' Fourth Committee, avoids mentioning the most relevant Indonesian experience. Santoso told the committee (as summarized by the UN) that that "the dispute about Western Sahara was quite similar to what Indonesia had experienced in the last decade," without acknowledging that Indonesia's December 1975 illegal invasion and occupation of East Timor, which is exactly parallel to Morocco's illegal invasion of Western Sahara.

Instead he refers to what he calls "a similar situation," which Indonesia had solved "peacefully through democratic circumstances. As a result, Aceh and Papua enjoyed special autonomy status. Only genuine democracy could solve the Western Sahara dispute, and the [Morocco's unilateral] special autonomy plan was an outcome of the high degree of democracy in Morocco."

However, a truly democratic plan would allow the Saharawi to exercise their right to self-determination. A free and fair vote under UN-supervision would allow them the choice of say autonomy under Morocco or independence. Morocco (with the diplomatic and other support of its close allies France and the U.S.) has done everything it can to undermine U.N. resolutions and plans for a vote.

For many years, Indonesia did the same (also with U.S. support) to East Timor. Belatedly , the East Timorese people exercised their right to self-determination in 1999. In the face of threats of retaliation that were soon realized, they expressed their choice of independence.

As we wrote in 2009 in a submission to the Fourth Committee:

In doing so, the people of Timor-Leste exercised their inalienable right and expressed their "passionate yearning for freedom" described by the UN General Assembly nearly 50 years ago in its 1960 declaration (1514 (XV)) on decolonization, which unambiguously declared that "all peoples have the right to self-determination; by virtue of that right they freely determine political status…"

We added:

It should embarrass this institution – and all of you as representatives of United Nations member states – that this committee must continue to discuss the situation of Western Sahara. The discussion should have ended long ago, and its people should have exercised their right to self-determination.

October 2011 West Papua Report

2011-10-04T18:49:00.000-04:00

Read the new West Papua Report here

Summary: Papuans will convene a third "National Congress," an historic convocation that follows congresses in 1961 and 2000. Military and police forces have attacked civilian homes, purportedly in pursuit of those responsible for an August incident that may have been staged. In the wake of growing violence, leading human rights organizations have called on the Indonesian government to "re-assess" its resort to military measures to address dissent in West Papua. The giant mining firm Freeport McMoran is facing growing pressure from labor and the government. The attention focused on Freeport has once more brought to light the enormous profits and tax revenues flowing from the mining operation. These riches stand in stark contrast to the grinding poverty endured by Papuans whose resources Freeport is exploiting. The UN Secretary General has publicly retreated from comments in which he appeared to recognize the need for the UN Decolonization Committee and the Human Rights Council to take up the denial of Papuan rights to self-determination and other violations of human rights.

Headlines with links from east-timor listserv now on Twitter

2011-09-26T16:24:00.002-04:00

Headlines with links from ETAN's long-running east-timor English language news listserv are now available on Twitter - https://twitter.com/#!/TimorNews

To receive postings via e-mail into your In Box subscribe here:

Info on ETAN's other listservs is here

	ETAN Cause on Facebook ETAN Group on Facebook
	ETAN on Twitter
	ETAN's Blog
	Order books, videos and other resources from ETAN

Timorese urges support for ETAN

2011-09-26T10:55:00.000-04:00

Dear ETAN supporters and friends of Timor-Leste,

The years fly by, and soon we’ll observe the 20th anniversary of the founding of East Timor and IndonesiaAction Network (ETAN). ETAN started a month after the Santa Cruz massacre in November 1991, when hundreds of peaceful East Timorese protesters were shot down by Indonesian troops. When a few dozen peace and human rights activists held a vigil in front of the Indonesian Mission to the United Nations on International Human Rights Day – December 10, 1991 – they didn’t plan to make a two-decade commitment. And none of them imagined that within eight years, Timor-Leste would be free of Indonesian troops, on the way to becoming a sovereign member of the international community.

ETAN’s work is still essential. The organization has lived for 20 years based on the dedicated activism and the generous support of people like you, who steadfastly believed and worked to support the right to self-determination, to justice and accountability, to human rights, and to social and economic justice for the people of Timor-Leste and Indonesia.

As a Timorese woman and a human rights activist, I know that ETAN’s work was crucial to freedom of my homeland.

I am writing you now to ask you to support ETAN with as generous a contribution as possible.

I first learned about ETAN in 1998 when I attended the third summit of the Asia Pacific Coalition for East Timor (APCET). Together with four other members of the underground student group RENETIL, I traveled to Thailand. It was my first trip abroad (apart from Indonesia), and it was my first opportunity to meet one of ETAN's founders, Charlie Scheiner. I heard first hand about ETAN’s impressive work.

Since that first encounter, I have had tremendous admiration and respect for ETAN and its members’ unshakable commitment to continue shining a light on justice and human rights in Timor-Leste and Indonesia. It is the only solidarity group which carries the mantle of upholding the rights of the people of Timor-Leste and Indonesia, working persistently and fearlessly to hold the world’s governments, especially the United States, to account for complicity in rights violations.


	Mica Barreto Soares (2nd from left) speaking at APCET conference in Bangkok, 1998. Photo by Jude Conway.

My brothers and sisters in Timor-Leste and Indonesia who continue to cry for justice still need ETAN’s clear and firm voice. ETAN is their mouthpiece from a distance! ETAN’s long track record speaks for itself as it has built relationships and made change at the United Nations, through four U.S. presidencies and in the halls of Congress. As Timor-Leste evolves, we are learning that building a new nation from the ashes of occupation, war and colonialism is as challenging as ending a foreign military occupation, and we continue to learn from and lean on ETAN, which looks ahead as it presses for accountability for past crimes.

Recently, as it has for years, ETAN opposed U.S. resumption of training for the Indonesian military’s notorious Kopassus special forces , that tortured and killed so many in my country and continues to oppress the people of West Papua. ETAN supported a Congressional letter calling for the freedom of West Papuan political prisoner, Filep Karma.

During the last few weeks, ETAN coordinated with Timor-Leste’s Movement against Debt, a statement against currently debt-free Timor taking out of loans.

If ETAN can raise enough resources, ETAN will coordinate an observer mission for the 2012 presidential and parliamentary elections, as they did in 1999, 2001 and 2007. This is a critical time for Timor-Leste, and experienced, nonpartisan international observers will help solidify democracy in my young country be ensuring free and fair elections.

I recently completed two years in graduate school at Ohio University, and I relied on ETAN’s east-timor@riseup.net email list to keep up with events back home and with solidarity around the globe. Many of my Timorese friends also rely on this long-running and vital service, which has more than 2,500 readers in Timor-Leste and around the world.

For 20 years, ETAN has operated on a shoestring budget. Please join me in helping ETAN have a happy anniversary, so that it can continue its essential work. We need to keep ETAN strong. You can help by making a generous contribution to ETAN today.

Thank you!

Mica Barreto Soares
P.S. You can contribute safely through ETAN's website below. You can also mail your donation. To support ETAN’s advocacy work, write a check made out to “East Timor Action Network”. Tax-deductible donations of over $50, to support ETAN’s educational efforts only, can be made out to “A.J. Muste Memorial Institute/ETAN.” Please mail your donations to: ETAN, PO Box 21873, Brooklyn, NY 11202-1873. Thank you for your support.

How to Donate to ETAN
To support ETAN’s advocacy work, please make your check out to East Timor Action Network” and mail it to
ETAN, PO Box 21873, Brooklyn, NY 11202-1873

Donate by credit card (not tax-deductible) via PayPal -
Give a U.S. tax-deductible donation by credit card -

______
Pledge a recurring donation by credit card via Paypal:Place Amount of Donation :  ($$$.¢¢)
Please select the donation period:

Donations of any size for ETAN's political and advocacy work should be made out to ETAN and are not tax-deductible. Tax-deductible checks for more than $50 can also be made out to "AJ Muste Memorial Institute/ETAN" and  will only be used to support our educational work.

Please mail your donation to:

ETAN
PO Box 21873
Brooklyn, NY 11202-1873 USAThank you for your support.

Groups urge Timor-Leste not to take on debt

2011-09-08T10:51:00.003-04:00

UPDATE (September 9, 2011): 20 additional groups have signed the statement. Complete list here.
If your organization wants to join this statement, contact us.

Groups worldwide urge debt-free Timor-Leste not to borrow

Pending loans could endanger Timor's future

8 September 2011 - Timor-Leste and international organizations today urged "the government of Timor-Leste to keep the nation debt-free and refrain from borrowing money from international lenders.... to protect its future generations."

The groups argue that "Rather than repeat the mistakes of other developing countries that have struggled with debt during recent decades, Timor-Leste should learn from their experiences, which often inflicted great hardships on their people."

When Timor-Leste's oil and gas run out in less than 15 years, and debts still must be repaid, Timor-Leste's children and grandchildren will suffer the consequences.

The letter warns that, despite Timor-Leste's current petroleum wealth: "When Timor-Leste's oil and gas run out in less than 15 years, and debts still must be repaid, Timor-Leste's children and grandchildren will suffer the consequences."

The letter was initiated by Timor-Leste's Movimento Kontra Deve (Movement Against Debt, facilitated by La’o Hamutuk) and the U.S.-based East Timor and Indonesia Action Network (ETAN).

The full text of the statement in Tetum and English with a complete list of signers can be found on ETAN's website and http://www.laohamutuk.org/econ/debt/2011/11ETANMKDStmt5Sep2011.htm .

The statement was endorsed by ~~117~~ 137 organizations based in 28 32 countries. International networks with long experience in opposing onerous debt on developing countries are among the signers, including: Focus on the Global South, Jubilee South - Asia Pacific Movement on Debt and Development, Third World Network and CADTM International (Committee for the Cancellation of Third World Debt).

Twenty groups in Timor-Leste signed the statement, including the Timor-Leste Institute for Development Monitoring and Analysis (La’o Hamutuk), NGO Forum, Student Front, Community Leaders Forum, Haburas Foundation and ETADEP. Signing organizations from Timor-Leste’s southeast Asian neighbors include WALHI - Friends of the Earth Indonesia, Freedom from Debt Coalition Philippines, International NGO Forum on Indonesian Development (INFID) and EARTH (Ecological Alert and Recovery Thailand).

Other signers include sustainable development advocates and groups that have long supported the people of Timor-Leste, such as Jubilee USA, the International Platform of Jurists for East Timor, Oil Change International (USA), Aidwatch (Australia), Friends of the Earth U.S., Bank Information Center (USA), Tapol (U.K.), CAFOD (U.K.), Japan East Timor Coalition, and the Free East Timor Foundation (VOT, Utrecht, the Netherlands).

Income from oil and gas provides 95% of Timor-Leste's state revenue, making the country the most petroleum-export dependent in the world. Although Timor-Leste has not yet borrowed funds from other countries or international financial institutions, the government has passed several laws to enable borrowing, including the 2009 Budget and Financial Management Law, as well as revisions to the Petroleum Fund Law and the new Public Debt Law both passed just two weeks ago. In early August, the Asia Development Bank posted information on its website about a proposed $8.15 million loan to Timor-Leste to upgrade the national road network.

The Movimento Kontra Deve is a coalition of civil society organizations in Timor-Leste opposed to the country taking out loans. ETAN (www.etan.org) is a 20-year old U.S.-based group working in solidarity with the people of Timor-Leste.

Additional background on Timor-Leste and borrowing can be found in

English: http://www.laohamutuk.org/econ/debt/09Borrowing.htm
Tetum: http://www.laohamutuk.org/econ/debt/09BorrowingTe.htm

September 2011 West Papua Report is out

2011-09-06T16:26:00.000-04:00

Read the latest West Papua Report here

Summary: Twenty-six members of the U.S. House of Representatives appealed to Indonesian President Yudhoyono to release Papuan prisoner of conscience Filep Karma, noting concern that "your government meet its fundamental obligations to protect the rights of its people, as respect for human rights strengthens democracy." The bipartisan letter call Karma's case "an unfortunate echo of Indonesia's pre-democratic era." Amnesty International, meanwhile, appealed for the release of another Papuan, Melkianus Bleskadit, imprisoned for peaceful dissent. The Indonesian government granted a three month remission to the sentence of Papuan political prisoner Buchtar Tabuni on the occasion of Indonesian independence day, who was then released. The leak of secret Special Forces (Kopassus) documents reveal systematic Kopassus surveillance and intimidation targeting Papuans and even international personnel seeking to document human rights concerns in West Papua. The documents label prominent international leaders including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Desmond Tutu and dozens of members of the U.S. Congress as supporters of "separatism" in West Papua. Human Rights Watch urged that in the wake of the documents revelations that the U.S. military cease all activities in cooperation with Indonesian military units in West Papua. Papuan leaders to convene a broad congress in October. Papuan leaders write U.S. Congress to call for peacekeepers. Church leaders and ordinary civilians have called for an end to Indonesian military intimidation in the Paniai District. The Indonesian military commander has ruled out negotiations with armed separatists in West Papua, indicating the extent to which the TNI calls the shots in West Papua. In an organizational statement WPAT has called for Papuans to be afforded the internationally recognized right to self-determination.

Resolving Past Crimes Against Humanity is Key to Opening the Door to Truth and Justice now and in the future

2011-08-31T10:38:00.001-04:00

A statement by ANTI (Timor-Leste National Alliance for an International Tribunal) marks the 12th anniversary of the Popular Consultation, 30 of August 1999- 2011 and also the International Day of the Disappeared is out.

Titled "Resolving Past Crimes Against Humanity is Key to Opening the Door to Truth and Justice now and in the future,"the statement condemns the "hypocrisy" within Timor-Leste:

"We are hypocrites because we forget our innocent people who lost their lives. We are hypocrites because we are not willing to look for those who were forcibly disappeared. We are hypocrites because we give priority to reconciliation, not to justice."

Photo by Karen Orenstein/ETAN

ANTI makes a series of demands. Among them a call to the UN Security Council to create an international tribunal to prosecute the "principal perpetrators of serious crimes and crimes against humanity in Timor-Leste during the Indonesian occupation...."

Other demands include:

Demands that the Prosecutor prosecutes the serious crimes cases that were investigated by the Serious Crimes Investigation Team (SCIT) and submits these cases to Court.

Asks the Judges and the Prosecutor General to imprison the criminal Valentim Lavio (ex-Militia BMP) who has already been sentenced to 9 years imprisonment but walks free today.

Asks the President of the Republic and the State of Timor-Leste to ratify the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance in order to guarantee that there will be no more disappeared persons in the future.

Asks the State of Timor-Leste to demand that the State of Indonesia give back those that the TNI forcibly took to Indonesia....

For the full statement and demands go here.

Announcing the ETAN 20th Anniversary Graphics Contest

2011-08-24T10:40:00.000-04:00

Update: NEW DEADLINE

Read the announcement in English here

ETAN Fo Sai Konkursu Dezeniu ba ETAN nia Aniversáriu Rua Nulu (20) nian

Timorese students support West Papua. Three arrested in Dili.

2011-08-17T11:29:00.002-04:00

Friday UPDATE: The three arrested have reportedly been released and are due in court early next week.

-----

A friend in Dili tells ETAN that police recently broke up a demonstration in support of West Papua. As we get more information, we will post updates on ETAN's blog here.

Police arrest Juvntina Correia Ximenes.

The morning of August 17, more than 30 Timorese students called for the right of West Papuan to self-determination and condemned human right violation by the Indonesian military and police against Papuans. The demonstration took place in front of Indonesia Embassy in Farol, Dili, on the 66th anniversary of Indonesia's independence proclamation.

Timor-Leste Police (PNTL) arrested three of the protesters -- Juventina Correia Ximenes, Domingos de Andrade and Letornino da Silva. All are currently studying at Timor-Lorosae National University, UNTL.

One of demonstrator, Nolasco Mendes, said that the PNTL treated the activists brutally. Police reportedly arrested the activist after the Indonesia Embassy asked the PNTL to stop the demonstration.

According to a Timornewsline report the pro-Papua protesters were members of the Students Solidarity Council (Dewan Solidaritas Mahasiswa Timor-Leste) which previously fought for Timor-Leste's independence.

Timor-Leste has a strict law on demonstrations which among other things requires four days notice and bans them within 100 yards of a government or diplomatic building.

Police vehicle removes students supporting West Papua from in front of Indonesian embassy in Dili.

Empty promises whitewash Freeport's rights, responsibility record

2011-08-07T09:10:00.000-04:00

Special for ETAN

by David Webster

What does a mining company need to do to get a top score for “corporate social responsibility”?

To judge by the recent “100 Best Corporate Citizens List”, all it takes to finesse a long and controversial record of human rights abuses is to come up with a piece of high-minded rhetoric, then carry on as usual.

Freeport's Grasberg mine, West Papua.

Human rights advocates and those who have studied the record of Freeport McMoran in West Papua were startled to learn that Corporate Responsibility Magazine had named Freeport as the 24^th-best corporate citizen in America (click for the full list). More startling still, the company scored well based mainly on a sixth-place ranking in the human rights category.

How is this possible? Well, the survey’s methodology seems to pay no heed to human rights performance. Only human rights rhetoric matters. And in that, Freeport excels. A strong written policy on human rights declares: “Freeport-McMoRan does not tolerate human rights transgressions.” It points to rights risks in West Papua, Peru, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, and adds that PT Freeport Indonesia policy is to “notify the direct commanders of the perpetrators” in cases where human rights allegations are made against Indonesian security forces. Since reputable human rights groups suggest that the top ranks of the security forces are implicated in widespread human rights violations in West Papua, this is hardly striking at the root of the problem.

As local people have pointed out, and researchers have confirmed, Freeport’s performance is a far cry from the written policies. The main trouble is intimate ties to Indonesian security forces.

Security forces may be implicated in the murder of American citizens near the Freeport mine, as Eben Kirksey and Andreas Harsono have reported.

Violence around the mine is used by security forces to target and scapegoat local people. In 2005, the New York Times revealed that Freeport paid the security forces more than $10 million in 2001 and 2002. Payments are now made “in-kind” rather than in cash. The local Amugme people have long protested Freeport seizure of their lands. Pictures of Freeport’s Grasberg mine from space (left) show the scale and environmental impact in the mountains that are home to the Amungme.

And lest all of this be hailed as “old news,” the Amungme filed a lawsuit last year saying Freeport had taken their lands illegally. Meanwhile, the Indonesian army’s presence around Freeport, and the company’s close ties to Indonesian security forces, were reinforced this year. The continuing alliance between Freeport Indonesia and the Indonesian security forces is likely to exacerbate, rather than improve, the human rights situation.

None of these reports are taken in to account in the “100 Best Corporate Citizens List.” All the human rights indicators measure “human rights disclosure” and the sole source, according to the methodology details, comes from “Company public disclosures” – a corporation’s own information about itself.

The methodology, in other words, measures promises, not performance. There are parallels to the debate over whether companies accused of operating sweatshops overseas can be trusted to police themselves, or should accept independent monitoring. Thus the list cites the voluntary “Sullivan principles” first created under the Reagan administration and welcomed by companies resisting demands to divest from apartheid South Africa. And Freeport boasts of adherence to the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights, launched by the British and American governments in 2000.

Indonesian soldiers and police escort a convey of trucks along a road
to the mine
operated by US firm Freeport McMoRan (AFP

The key word here is “voluntary.” As with the mining industry globally and with businesses jumping on the corporate social responsibility (CSR) bandwagon more generally, companies are happy to promise good performance, as long as no one will be looking over their shoulders.

So perhaps it’s no surprise to learn that Corporate Responsibility Magazine is in fact published on behalf of the Corporate Responsibility Officers Association, a body made up of many of the companies being judged, and steered by such firms as Domtar and KPMG. Freeport is listed as a “recent member” of the CROA. It’s advanced in the listings – it was ranked 83^rd in 2010.

The problem here isn’t just the “corporate social responsibility” methodology, but the entire concept of “CSR”. It can all too often be used by companies to buy their way out of “corporate social irresponsibility.”

Freeport is no champion of the best values of corporate citizenship: For human rights activists, it’s long been a poster child for corporate irresponsibility. A list of good corporate citizens with Freeport winning laurels demonstrates more than flaws in the study. As George Monbiot has written of climate change credits, the lists offer corporations a new form of medieval European Catholic “indulgences,” forgiveness for any form of offence. Jeff Ballinger recently pointed out on this blog that companies like Nike are wrapping themselves in the CSR garment to burnish their corporate images, despite continuing disregard for many labour rights. Freeport, too, is now having itself measured for a fine CSR wardrobe.

----

David Webster is an assistant professor of International Studies at the University of Regina in Saskatchewan, Canada. He is a former coordinator with the East Timor Alert Network/Canada.

see also

West Papua Report (monthly)

ETAN/WPAT: Statement on the operations of the Freeport McMoran Mine in West Papua, to the U.S. Senate hearing on Extracting Natural Resources: Corporate Responsibility and the Rule of Law

West Papua Report August 2011

2011-08-05T11:22:00.001-04:00

[Don't forget: Call Congress to sign the House letter on Papuan prisoner Filep Karma - Deadline is August 12.]

West Papua Report for August 2011 is now out. Read in full here.

Summary

Thousands of Papuans peacefully took to the streets August 2 to support calls for a referendum on West Papua's political future. The demonstrations proceeded despite the presence of armed security forces intended to block the demonstrations and the presence of Jakarta-backed militia provocateurs. Violence erupted near Jayapura and in Puncak District on the eve of the demonstrations. Over 50 international organizations publicly called for the Indonesian government to respond positively to appeals by Papuan NGOs and churches for justice, an end to human rights violations in West Papua, and protection of human rights advocates and journalists. WPAT called on Secretary Clinton to raise with Indonesian officials the ongoing military sweep operations in Puncak Jaya, West Papua. These operations have had devastating affects on innocent Papuan civilians. Secretary Clinton called for dialogue to settle disputes over West Papua. Her repetition of US Government support for "special autonomy" made clear that the Obama administration is deaf to the voice of Papuans who have rejected "special autonomy" repeatedly. Efforts by Indonesian security forces to cover-up the human cost of their military sweep operations in Puncak Jaya have failed. Komnas Ham has proposed a dialogue about violence in Puncak Jaya. A peace conference which convened in West Papua has explored the possibility of advancing dialogue with the Indonesian government. Renowned international academics, lawyers and Papuan activists will convene in Oxford to discuss the continuing denial of the right of self-determination to Papuans. The military commander in West Papua has apologized to the Papuan Kingmi church over intimidating language he employed against the church.

Call Congress concerning Papuan prisoner Filep Karma

2011-08-04T17:09:00.000-04:00

Representative Joe Pitts and Jim Moran are circulating a letter to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono of Indonesia concerning the case of political prisoner Filep Karma, a prominent Papuan advocate of self-determination. Karma has been serving a 15-year sentence for raising the Papuan Morning Star flag at a peaceful political rally in 2004. Karma is designated a Prisoner of Conscience by Amnesty International for his nonviolent advocacy.

This bi-partisan initiative is currently circulating in the House of Representative. Please call your Representative this week and urge him or her to sign the letter.

Call the Capitol Switchboard (202) 224-3121. Ask for your congressperson's foreign policy aide. Ask that your representative sign on to Representative Joseph Pitt's and Jim Moran's letter to Indonesia's President concerning the case of prisoner of conscience Filep Karma. Urge them to support human rights and the rule of law in Indonesia. Offer to e-mail them a copy of the letter. Tell them that if your Representative wishes to sign, she or he should contact Carson Middleton 52411 in the office of Rep Pitts. The deadline is Friday, August 12, so call soon.
If necessary leave a detailed message. If you have trouble getting through by phone send an e-mail to the office, but be sure to follow up with a call.

Thank you for your support.

To find out who your representative is go to http://house.gov/

Signers so far include: Reps. Pitts (R-PA), Moran (D-VA), Baldwin (D-WI), Dogget (D-TX), Faleomavaega (D-AS), Farr (D-CA), Filner (D-CA), Hinchey (D-NY), Honda (D-CA, McDermott (D-CA), McGovern (D-MA), Pingree (D-ME), Rohrabacher (R-CA), Rothman (D-NJ), Schakowsky (D-IL), Wolf (R-VA).

If your congressperson has already signed be sure to thank them.

The letter is an initiative of Freedom Now, who represent Karma pro-bono. Please let us know the results of your call.

Background on Filep Karma and his case can be found here from Freedom Now and here from Amnesty International. Background on Indonesia's political prisoners, Prosecuting Political Aspiration Indonesia’s Political Prisoners, can be found here.

Congressional Letter

The Honorable Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
President of the Republic of Indonesia

Dear Mr. President:

As Members of the House of Representatives of the United States Congress, we write asking your government to release Filep Samuel Karma, a Papuan political activist and former civil servant, who has been unlawfully and arbitrarily detained since 2004. Mr. Karma is a prominent non-violent Papuan political activist. He is currently serving a 15-year prison sentence following his raising of the Papuan Morning Star flag at a 2004 political rally celebrating the 1961 Papuan declaration of independence from Dutch rule.

Mr. Karma's trial violated international standards of due process of law. For example, the judge made several plain statements indicating a bias against Mr. Karma. Additionally, Mr. Karma's appeal was rejected on unfounded procedural grounds. And during his incarceration, he has suffered degrading and inhumane treatment, including the denial of necessary medical treatment. Recently, Mr. Karma has been placed in an isolation cell that is causing respiratory problems and has been denied adequate food and water. Additionally, Indonesian authorities have repeatedly threatened to move Mr. Karma to Nusa Kambangan Prison, which reputedly has the worst prison conditions in Papua.

Mr. Karma's case represents an unfortunate echo of Indonesia's pre-democratic era, when Indonesia regularly imprisoned political activists on unlawful grounds. Indeed, Mr. Karma's case was cited in the United States State Department 2009 Human Rights Report as an example of Indonesia's detention of political prisoners. Accordingly, Mr. Karma's release would be a welcome indication of the Government of Indonesia's otherwise robust commitment to democracy and human rights.

We urge your government uphold its commitments to international law and to its own domestic law and immediately and unconditionally release Mr. Karma.

Sincerely,

Step by Step: Women of East Timor, Stories of Resistance and Survival

2011-07-28T08:37:00.002-04:00

Step by Step: Women of East Timor, Stories of Resistance and Survival is available from ETAN - http://etan.org/resource/books.htm#B89 StepbyStep

Review by Jen Hughes

Step by Step: Women of East Timor, Stories of Resistance and Survival edited by Jude Conway and launched in Australia nationally in 2010, presents 13 oral histories from Timorese women, with each story accompanied by several pages of photographic snapshots from their lives.

The collection of stories reveal the role women played in East Timor's independence struggle on the guerilla front, the diplomatic front and in the student movement inside and outside the country and afterwards.

The opening story told by Ceu Lopes Federer provides a lens through which to read the subsequent twelve stories. The work Ceu and her compatriots did to meet the financial needs of the resistance inside and outside Timor, to keep it alive and strong, and to provide them with accurate information about what was going on outside in relation to East Timor gives the reader an insight into how important women were in the solidarity movement that was the backbone to the diplomatic front. Mica Barreto Soares' story tells how Timorese studied in Indonesia and the work they did for East Timor inside Indonesia. The two show the importance of the women's solidarity work to the survival of the guerilla movement inside Timor and segue into the stories about the work Timorese women did all over the world. They also provide background for the sometimes small but extremely risky activities of other storytellers when they speak of secreting letters and notes, medicines or food, inside clothing and bluffing their way through Indonesian positions inside East Timor and Indonesia.

The simple device of providing an introductory paragraph about the circumstances of their family and ethnicity at birth in all the stories yields rich rewards by giving access to the intricate and personal character of conflicts of this kind, making a broader reading of how women and their families experience conflict possible. The stories make it clear, that war was everywhere and everywhere they turned every aspect of personal life was affected by it. Their family histories and the location in time and place of the storytellers dramatically impacts on the destiny of the women and their children.

The most heart wrenching story in the book is of a child who wished her mother, Dulce Vitor, dead because it was her the military were chasing, and because of her they were hungry and had to run every day.

This collection of stories tells what the everyday embodiment of a conflict in your own community is like for families. It was in the fertile ground of dire need and ambition, in amongst the secrets, on the boundaries of family relationships, political and institutional alliances, the seeds of fear and distrust could be sewn by enemies, or serendipitously falling there, cause discovery and tempt betrayal. However it was in similar fissures and trusted spaces deeply embedded in the community that the resistant impulses became active too. The stories show, it was from the domestic spaces that courage, adaptability, resistance and resilience grew and spread over generations to the clandestine movement inside the country and the solidarity movement outside the country.

The various reasons for these women getting involved in the struggle for East Timor's independence gives an insight into why these stories are critically different from oral histories about women's involvement in war I've read before. Most of them became caught up because of their experience of the forced oppression and violence against themselves, their family and their fellow human beings. Carolina Do Rosario "As Timor women we felt worthless, little more than dolls. We felt that slaves had a history we shared, ... that's why... we never walked away from the struggle, we kept fighting". And Laura Soares Abrantes: "how can one practice culture without human rights"?

Some of the storytellers: Carolina do Rosario, Maria Dias, Beba Sequeira, Jude Conway, Ina Varella Bradridge and Ceu Lopes Federer. From http://judeconway.wordpress.com/

A book of oral histories runs the risk of losing the reader because the writing lacks the page-turning pulse that dramatic tension provides in a woven narrative. However the power of these stories resides in the realistic immediacy and verifiability of their first person narratives, published as they are while the protagonists still live. This personal as political approach to a historical record of an international political conflict, adds weight to the gender struggle that is on-going in East Timor, a deeply conservative male dominated society. The women want us to know the fight for equality was not introduced by foreigners but has grown from the struggle for independence. It is significant the stories have been published for a broader English-speaking readership. If the stories were recorded and used for research before being abstracted into a history authored by Conway rather than edited as they are they wouldn't serve the same function politically or be as satisfying for the storytellers.

One of the strengths of the book is the history of the editor Jude Conway. Jude worked side by side with Timorese in Darwin and Dili for twenty years and many of the photographs in the book taken by her, amplify the stories, showing somewhat disconcertingly, how social life continued; how love and marriage, birth and friendship, educational achievement and the women themselves were growing older and their lives were changing during the time of the stories. The photograph albums for each storyteller are available on Conway's FaceBook page

Step by Step is a highly readable, timely collection of oral histories that shines a light on the pivotal role women played in East Timor's struggle for independence and afterwards, inside and outside East Timor. I highly recommend it.

Jen Hughes is a writer and filmmaker. Producer/Director of The Circle of Stones (2001), Time to go John and Black Bullion (2003) as well as producer and co-author of http://www.suaimediaspace.org/ She has had eleven years involvement with East Timor, assisting the youth of Suai and the Friends of Suai: http://www.suaimediaspace.org/friends-of-suai-port-phillip/ set up a media training group YoMaTre:. http://www.suaimediaspace.org/youth/

La'o Hamutuk staff talk about current issues in Timor - Tues, Aug 2, NYC

2011-07-26T07:31:00.001-04:00

The East Timor and Indonesia Action Network invites you to
join La'o Hamutuk researchers for a discussion in a wide-ranging discussion of current issues in Timor-Leste.

Tuesday, August 2, 2011, 6:30 - 8:30 pm
Graduate Center, CUNY
365 Fifth Ave (btn 34 and 35 St), Room 5307, Manhattan

with Juvinal Diaz and Charlie Scheiner

Next year Timor-Leste, the most petroleum-export-dependent country in the world, will elect its President and Parliament. What will the elections mean for Timor-Leste's future? What are the key issues?

Juvinal and Charlie research and advocate on issues of economic development, petroleum and sustainability, justice and accountability, Timor-Leste's budget, imminent borrowing from foreign agencies, and more.

La'o Hamutuk (Walking Together): Timor-Leste Institute for Development Monitoring and Analysis is a research and advocacy organization in Dili, Timor-Leste. Juvinal studied agriculture at the University of Timor-Leste, worked as a community organizer, and has been part of La'o Hamutuk's Natural Resources and Economics Team since 2009. He is passing through New York Charlie is a member of ETAN's Executive Committee and has lived in Timor-Leste and been with La'o Hamutuk for the last decade. www.laohamutuk.org

more info 917-690-4391

Say it ain't so, Mo! - Nike in Indonesia

2011-07-26T07:27:00.002-04:00

Guest blog by Jeff Ballinger

Jeff Ballinger, global worker rights researcher/activist
Twitter: @press4change

My apologies for references to baseball, the U.S.A.'s "national pastime", but the exasperation expressed by the quote, "Can't anyone here play this game?" perfectly captures my reaction to the news last week that a Bangladesh factory run by Grameen (Nobel-laureate, Muhammad Yunus) was closed after attacks by rioting garment workers. [Given the toxic political atmosphere in Bangladesh and current bad relations between the government & Grameen, there could be some behind-the-scenes (political or freelance-extortion) provocateurism.]

The foregoing is noted with more sadness than surprise, as it comes on the heels of a searing Associated Press report ten days ago, about how Converse/Nike shoes are made in Sukabumi, West Java. ("Nike says nearly two-thirds of the factories that make Converse products fail to meet standards for contract manufacturers...")

Converse shoes are displayed at a store in Jakarta, Indonesia. Irwin Fedriansyah | The Associated Press

I have been warning (whining?) -- and here -- about Nike's deployment of "codes of conduct", Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and business self-regulation schemes for more than a decade; here's the evidence that this noxious media manipulation has, for the most part, succeeded: Almost all the comments about this AP story were either expressing surprise ("We thought that Nike had fixed that.") or, that this type of "gotcha" story was inevitable when a big brand sources from nearly a thousand factories. In other words, the Sukabumi story is a one-off (and what a great challenge it is to police the supply chain). In fact, this story could have been written 15 -- or five -- years ago, and it could have described almost any Nike-producing factory in China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, etc. The default position of virtually all garment production is something akin to what Frederick Douglass wrote in the 1850s: "Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have found out the exact measure of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them."

You may be thinking, "Oh, it is the 'race to the bottom,' then?" Not so fast. Folks who remember the years-long strike wave in Indonesia during the early- to mid-90s will recall that the minimum wage rocketed from 86 cents to $2.46 per day. Instead of running off to Sri Lanka or Bangladesh, Nike-supplier factories increased investment and the Nike contract-workforce went from 22,000 to 110,000. It was still a very good deal in Indonesia at triple the price for labor! [The 'Underground Economist' of the Financial Times cites a brilliant study by Berkeley economist on these latter two points...]

In this AP photo taken May 26, 2011, workers leave a factory that make Converse shoes, in Gunung Putri, West Java, Indonesia. Workers making Converse sneakers in Indonesia said supervisors throw shoes at them, slap them in the face and call them dogs and pigs.

The Douglass principle still held up, however; these brutal contractors would not pay a penny over what was required and - as Nike continued to assemble a team of phony "responsibility" operatives - the Korean and Taiwanese bosses devised new ways to cheat workers. Tens of thousands were denied severance pay ($32 million in Indonesia alone, I calculate) in the early- to mid-2000s and work became more "precarious" with short-term contracts and outsourcing. Nike's feckless "responsibility" team (now numbering over 210!) could do little more than lament the fact (see transcript beginning @10:54) that Nike HQ is powerless. By the way, the video clip that I have is devastating: Nike's CSR vice-president giving a condescending lecture on poverty-level wage to young CNBC reporter. [Any help I can get in uploading this to Youtube would be most appreciated!] Reminds me of the lesson I received on Wage Elasticity from a World Bank staffer in the parking lot of the American Club in Jakarta (1990). I could not tell him what I thought of this slavery/servitude justification because he was the only poker player in our group more inept than myself...

But, hold on a minute - don't tell the U.S. anti-sweatshop students' movement or some determined group of Vietnamese expats that you cannot force Nike to directly deal with contractors' depredations! The Vietnamese forced Nike to broker a million-dollar settlement... students' story - pls see below.

[Fragment from what I wrote for the War Resisters League's WIN magazine some months ago]:

How did university students achieve a string of victories for Latin American workers? United Students Against Sweatshops (USAS) has assisted more than 4,000 college-logo garment workers in Honduras and the Dominican Republic by deploying grassroots pressure tactics and carefully crafted appeals to university administrators. Even in the midst of a global economic downturn, diligent research combined with determined activism on the part of the wronged workers forced Russell Athletic to reopen a factory that was closed to thwart unionization. It produced an agreement between Nike and the CGT union of Honduras to pay restitution to 2,100 workers illegally denied severance benefits when two suppliers for the shoe giant closed abruptly last year. In addition, the students' persistence in seeking ethical alternatives has led the largest brand selling to bookstores, Knights Apparel, to pay more than triple the Dominican Republic's minimum wage to hundreds of workers. Merchandise from the Alta Gracia factory is already on 140 campuses.

The research to monitor compliance with "codes of conduct" for factories was carried out by the Worker Rights Consortium (WRC; launched by the USAS in 1999) and funded by 123 universities, based on a percentage of university-licensed apparel sales. While the codes include language about "freedom of association" and collective bargaining -- specific trade union protections -- the Russell case was the first in nearly a decade of activism that delivered meaningful redress when the Jerzees de Honduras plant was shuttered as collective bargaining talks were under way. For 14 months starting in early 2008, USAS teams in North America and Great Britain convinced administrators at 110 schools to stop purchasing from Russell Athletic. College bookstores are the company's largest revenue source. In late 2009, the Jerzees de Honduras factory was reopened and Russell has pledged not to oppose unionization at seven other factories it owns and operates nearby.

In essence, these two inspiring stories are like the early days of the East Timor Action Network, when no one would believe that an activist group with almost no budget could win against the Pentagon, lobbyists of arms-makers, and diffident politicians. Our current struggle for justice in West Papua is facing the usual challenges, complicated by "conventional wisdom." What do I mean by this? See what PBS/Newshour reporter, Ray Suarez said about Indonesia just last week: "Indonesia hasn’t managed to do is root out the legendary levels of corruption that discourages foreign investment." Now, how could he say this immediately after saying, "...solid years of back to back to back high levels of economic growth"? How can you say, on the one hand, that corruption inhibits growth, while the evidence of double-digit growth has been the reality for Asia's most corrupt countries for two decades? Any ideas on how to fight this pervasive misperception?

We've heard this song before -- starting, like, 20 years ago! -jdb]

Nike (NKE), Converse Address Unfair Labor Practice Issues, Take Decisive Action

July 13, 2011

http://www.streetinsider.com/Corporate+News/Nike+NKE),+Converse+Address+Unfair+Labor+Practice+Issues,+Take+Decisive+Action/6636771.html

Nike (NYSE: NKE) has issued the following statement:

As an affiliate of Nike, Converse takes matters of unfair labor practices very seriously and vigorously supports the protection of rights for the worker. Once notified about these issues within factories producing Converse product, immediate action was taken. Nike and Converse remain highly engaged with its factory partners so that the corrective actions are systemic and lasting. Nike has made significant progress in its Nike brand supply chain and we will continue to accelerate the optimization of our affiliate supply chain. This includes -- where possible -- integration between factories producing affiliate branded product and those producing Nike-branded product, while aligning factories that exclusively supply affiliate brands to the standards outlined in the Nike Code of Conduct.

Once we were notified of these issues, Nike and Converse took decisive action...

---

excerpts from AP report: An internal report Nike released to the AP after it inquired about the abuse show that nearly two-thirds of 168 factories making Converse products worldwide fail to meet Nike's own standards for contract manufacturers.

"I simply find it impossible that a company of the size and market power of Nike is impotent in persuading a local factory in Indonesia or anywhere else in meeting its code of conduct," said Prakash Sethi, a corporate strategy professor at Baruch College at the City University of New York.

[Sethi is no ivory-tower prof -- he was primary CSR guy for Mattel for years. That said, he's one of the most honest: He says that the major global players - the World Bank, OECD countries and the International Labor Organization - have failed to apply pressure on low-cost producing countries that do not protect workers' human rights or health and safety. He has also called on corporations to pay restitution to developing-world workers for "years of expropriation" enabled by corrupt, repressive regimes. (Particularly poignant is his brusque assertion that "bigotry" was at the root of most companies' refusal to even try to grapple with some of these issues. -- jdb]

Protest Kissinger - Monday, July 18, 2011, 5 - 7 pm New York City

2011-07-23T07:33:00.000-04:00

Update: See photos from July and May demonstrations

He's Back! Spread the word!

Demonstrate against Henry Kissinger

Monday, July 18, 2011, 5 - 7 pm
Citi Building, 399 Park Ave. (btn. 53 & 54 Sts.), Manhattan

Join ETAN and other organizations in protesting Henry Kissinger's latest public appearance in New York.

Photo by John M. Miller/ETAN

Remind people about Henry Kissinger's sordid and criminal history concerning East Timor, West Papua, Vietnam, Cambodia, Chile, Cyprus, Bangladesh, Angola and elsewhere.

On December 6, 1975, then Secretary of State Kissinger and President Gerald Ford visited Jakarta. At their meeting, Ford gave Indonesia's dictator Suharto an explicit go ahead for the invasion of East Timor and Indonesia invaded the next day. According to East Timor's Commission on Reception, Truth and Reconciliation (CAVR) up to 180,000 died as a direct result of the illegal invasion and occupation. Declassified and leaked documents show that Kissinger understood that Suharto was balking at invading, concerned that the U.S. would cut off its supply of weapons and military training. Kissinger guaranteed continuation of weapons shipments. According to Timor-Leste's Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation as many as 180,000 people died as a result. For more on Kissinger's role in East Timor click here.

In addition to ETAN, initial sponsors of the protest include World Can't Wait , War Criminals Watch, and the War Resisters League.

Download and print out ETAN's Hold Kissinger Accountable leaflet to distribute.

Contact ETAN - 718-596-7668 for more information or to help out.

Please help spread the word

Read The Trial of Henry Kissinger

by Christopher Hitchens

Paperback $12
Order from ETAN

Are you interested in observing Timor's 2012 elections? Let us know.

2011-07-22T16:52:00.000-04:00

ETAN wants to know if you and others are interested in being involved in an international solidarity election observation delegation to Timor-Leste next year. Presidential and parliamentary elections are planned for the first half of 2012. Please let us know if you are interested in volunteering your time as an observer. Do you have experience and knowledge about Timor-Leste from your solidarity work -- or perhaps past election observing in Timor-Leste -- that provide the longer-view perspective that effective election monitoring requires?

ETAN has not yet decided whether we will organize an observer delegation for next year. Your response will help us with this decision. We want if you might be interested in being involved, what your experience is, and what kind of time and resource commitments individuals and organizations might be able to offer to this effort. The prospects for financial support also will be an important consideration.

Timor-Leste NGOs are currently focusing on women's participation - especially as potential candidates - and the role of youth. The National NGO Forum has told us it may support international participation in the electoral process and has indicated it is looking for guidance on how to engage in the larger process, not just election day observation.

If you are interested, we very much want to hear your response to the following questions:

Are you interested in volunteering your time for a minimum of three weeks, but ideally longer, for this purpose?
Do you have experience and knowledge about Timor-Leste from your solidarity work, and perhaps past election observing in Timor-Leste, that would help you to offer the longer-view perspective that effective election monitoring requires?

We know that elections are but a small piece in the picture. Too often, democracy is narrowly and exclusively equated with elections. That said, many Timorese colleagues have expressed the need for international observers to assist the still new country in having fair and honest elections next year.

ETAN members have observed every election since 1999. During the 2007 presidential and parliamentary elections, we played a major role in organizing for Solidarity Observer Mission for East Timor (SOMET), supporting 48 volunteers from 10 different countries. SOMET volunteers observed pre-election campaigning, election day voting, vote counting, and its aftermath. SOMET participated in a joint press conference after the election with several Timorese organizations.

If you are interested in being involved, should a delegation be organized, please let us know by e-mailing etan@etan.org. Please share this email with others who might be interested in being involved. The more information we get now from those interested, the sooner we can plan and make a decision.

In solidarity,

ETAN

ETAN Urges Secretary Clinton to Condition Security Assistance to Indonesia on Rights

2011-07-20T14:39:00.001-04:00

As Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton travelled to Bali, the East Timor and Indonesia Action Network (ETAN) urged her to condition U.S. security assistance to Indonesia on real improvements in human rights by Indonesia government and genuine accountability for violations of human rights.

"The restoration of assistance to Indonesia's notorious Kopassus special forces announced a year ago should be reversed," said John M. Miller, National Coordinator of ETAN. "Kopassus training was meant to be the carrot to encourage respect for rights. There is no evidence it has done so. U.S. law bars cooperation with military and police units with such egregious human rights records. The U.S should set an example by following it's own law."

Read the full statement here

Good reads from ETAN

2011-07-12T13:24:00.000-04:00

Order these and many other titles today

The Circle of Silence: A personal testimony before, during and after Balibo
by Shirley Shackleton

"If You Leave Us Here, We Will Die": How Genocide Was Stopped in East Timor
by Geoffrey Robinson

Balibo
by Jill Jolliffe

Peace of Wall: Street Art from East Timor
by Chris Parkinson (foreword by Jose Ramos-Horta)

Step by Step: Women of East Timor, Stories of Resistance and Survival
Edited by Jude Conway

Order these and many other titles today

West Papua Report July 2011 now out!

2011-07-05T10:40:00.000-04:00

Read it here

Summary

U.S. Congressmember Eni Faleomavaega has been named the 2011 winner of the John Rumbiak Human Rights Defenders Award. The award is given annually by the West Papua Advocacy Team (WPAT) to an individual or organization who has made significant contributions to the defense of human rights in West Papua. Congressmember Faleomavaega has long been active in the defense of human rights in West Papua, using his influential position in the U.S. House of Representatives to advance justice, good governance and development in West Papua. Thousands of workers at the Freeport McMoran mining complex in West Papua have gone on strike over wages, the firing of the union's leaders, and other Freeport union-busting efforts. The strike takes place at a time of continued security concerns arising in part from the recent murder of two senior Papuan Freeport officials, possibly with military involvement.

Papuan human rights organizations and religious groups have called on the Government of Indonesia to address issues of injustice arising from security force assaults on Papuans and also to protect human rights defenders and journalists from attacks by security forces. An Indonesian government minister's visit to West Papua signals that a widely criticized development plan in the Merauke area is moving forward. Tapol notes that there has been no indication that Papuans whose lands will be seized for the project will be compensated. Amnesty International has appealed on behalf of a Papuan who was beaten by military personnel. Melanesian human rights and youth groups have issued an appeal on behalf of five Papuan youths detained since December 2010 for their roles in a peaceful protest. The Australian West Papua Association (AWPA) has called for Pacific Island Forum leaders to include the plight of West Papua on the agenda for their September 2011 meeting. The AWPA message also offers a harsh critique of Jakarta's "special autonomy" policy.

http://www.etan.org/issues/wpapua/2011/1107wpap.htm

Order Tetum from ETAN

2011-06-29T09:57:00.000-04:00

Learn Timor's official language. Order Tetum dictionaries, language learning aids and more from ETAN.

Also available book, videos and more on East Timor/Timor-Leste (as well as some on West Papua, Aceh and Indonesia) Order today!

But not for Timorese...

2011-06-15T14:20:00.000-04:00

In Buenos Aires, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged that "the lessons learned from Argentina’s turn from dictatorship to democracy be applied widely, particularly in North Africa and the Middle East..."

Appearing at the memorial to thousands of Argentines tortured and killed during the “dirty war” from 1976 to 1983.

He said Argentina has "shown that there can be no safe refuge for those who commit crimes against humanity.”

In this world, there is no safe place now for any perpetrators who violate international human rights laws and international humanitarian laws. They must be held responsible; they must be brought to justice. This has been a fundamental principle and my strong commitment as Secretary-General of the United Nations.”

Will the the Secretary-General now follow up on his predecessor's call for “justice to prevail over impunity."

Timorese culture goes to California school

2011-06-08T11:34:00.000-04:00

A young ETAN activist based in California sings "Foho Ramelau" in original Tetum for his school. Viva Timor Lorosa'e!

West Papua Report - June 2011

2011-06-03T06:44:00.000-04:00

Read full issue here

Summary:

The daughter of prominent Papuan political prisoner Filep Karma has written about the failure of justice in West Papua. In spite of democratic progress in much of Indonesia, she notes that "the old regime dies hard in West Papua." Amnesty International's annual report on human rights trends in Indonesia documents continued human rights abuse, notably in West Papua, where AI cites the poor performance of security forces. The failure of the Indonesian government to afford justice in a number of outstanding cases of security force abuse in West Papua is exemplified in a recent case in which a civilian was killed by security forces who deny responsibility. The Indonesian government's intervention to prevent an elected member of the Papuan Peoples Council from taking her seat is only the latest example of discrimination against Papuan women. The Indonesian military appears to be reassuming a major role in providing security for the Freeport mining complex. HIV/AIDS infections in West Papua continue to rise dramatically with the Freeport mine complex town of Mimika recording the largest increase. Observers continue to comment on the failure of "special autonomy" in West Papua.

We couldn't resist - Kissinger false alarm

2011-05-31T15:45:00.000-04:00

Fairness and Accuracy in Media (FAIR) posted this on their blog.

As they write: "Turns out it was a false alarm; the noted Peace Prize winner was a guest, talking about another war criminal."

More on Kissinger and Indonesia/East Timor here.

Demonstrate against Henry Kissinger, May 31, 2011 in NYC

2011-05-26T11:33:00.001-04:00

Hold Kissinger Accountable leaflet to distribute at this and future Kissinger appearances (PDF)

Demonstrate against Henry Kissinger, May 31, 2011
92nd St. Y, 92nd Street and Lexington Ave. in Manhattan

Join ETAN and other organizations in protesting Henry Kissinger's appearance at the 92nd St. Y, Tuesday, May 31 beginning at 6:30 pm. The 'Y' is located at 92nd Street and Lexington Ave. in Manhattan.

Remind people about Henry Kissinger's sordid history concerning East Timor, Vietnam, Chile, Cyprus, Bangladesh, Angola and elsewhere.

Ask the 'Y' why they are hosting an accused war criminal and treating him as a respectable commentator on international affairs. Urge them to cancel the event. Call the Y - 212-415-5500.

On December 6, 1975, then Secretary of State Kissinger and President Gerald Ford visited Jakarta. At their meeting, Ford gave Indonesia's dictator Suharto an explicit go ahead for the invasion of East Timor and Indonesia invaded the next day. According to East Timor's Commission on Reception, Truth and Reconciliation (CAVR) up to 180,000 died as a direct result of the illegal invasion and occupation. Declassified and leaked documents show that Kissinger understood that Suharto was balking at invading, concerned that the U.S. would cut off its supply of weapons and military training. Kissinger guaranteed continuation of weapons shipments. According to Timor-Leste's Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation as many as 180,000 people died as a result. For more on Kissinger's role in East Timor click here.
Kissinger is currently out promoting his latest book on China.

In addition to ETAN, initial sponsors of the protest include The Indypendent, Veterans For Peace-NYC Chapter CH 34, Code Pink, World Can't Wait , Granny Peace Brigade, Movimiento la Pena del Bronx, War Criminals Watch and Bolivarian Circle Alberto Lovera NY.

Contact ETAN - 718-596-7668 for more information or to help out.

Audryne Karma on human rights in West Papua

2011-05-24T16:15:00.000-04:00

Audryne Karma has an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal today on human rights in West Papua and her father Filep Karma's case.

She writes "for many West Papuans like me, the old regime dies hard. Indonesia has yet to realize the promise of democracy and human rights for all of its citizens... Papuans who peacefully express dissent are punished with more than a decade of imprisonment."

Audryne is Filep Karma's eldest daughter. Filep was sent sentenced in 2005 to 15 years in prison "for speaking about our survival as a nation and raising the West Papuan Morning Star flag at a ceremony organized to commemorate West Papua's liberation from Dutch rule back in 1961." She then goes on to describe Filep's trial and continued persecution in prison.

She writes that "My father is only one of more than 130 political prisoners inIndonesia. Many have been tortured. And many are being held in violation of not only international legal standards, but also

Indonesian laws." For a description of Filep's and other cases, see the Human Rights Watch report, Prosecuting Political Aspiration: Indonesia's Political Prisoners.

Amnesty International's campaign to free Filep can be found here. Write the Indonesian government today!

Order ETAN stuff

2011-05-18T17:30:00.000-04:00

mugs, water bottles, t-shirts, kid clothes, bags and more - http://www.cafepress.com/etan

order here

Madison's Tour de Timor Sister-City Bike Ride Set for Sunday May 22

2011-05-13T14:47:00.001-04:00

"Tour de Timor" Sister-City Bike Ride Set for Sunday May 22

12th Annual Bike Ride in Support of Ainaro, East Timor

When: Sunday, May 22 - the ride starts at 1:00 pm (rain date May 29)

Where: Start at the WORT Block Party (at the corner of Bedford and Doty Streets), and ride around Lake Monona (approx. 13 miles)

Cost: $25 registration fee (includes organic, union-made Tour de Timor T-shirt); riders are encouraged to collect pledges, with the highest pledge-raisers winning prizes

For more information: See www.aideasttimor.org, call 608-241-2473 or email madison@etan.org

The 12th annual "Tour de Timor" bike ride will be on Sunday, May 22, starting at 1:00 pm at the WORT Block Party, near the corner of Bedford and Doty Streets in Madison. Participants will ride around Lake Monona to raise funds for community projects in Ainaro, Madison's official sister-city in the Southeast Asian island nation of East Timor.

For a $25 registration fee, participants will receive an organic, union-made Tour de Timor T-shirt. Participants are also encouraged to collect pledges. The highest pledge-raisers will receive prizes from Tour de Timor co-sponsors, including Hempen Goods, Family Farm Defenders, Yellow Jersey, Revolution Cycles, Machinery Row Bicycles, Mother Fool's Coffeehouse, Rainbow Bookstore, People's Bakery, Planet Zebulon and the Progressive magazine. Madison's community radio station, WORT 89.9 fm, is welcoming the event, which will start and end at the station's annual Block Party. More information and pledge sheets can be found at www.aideasttimor.org.

The Tour de Timor has become a tradition within Madison's international solidarity community. The first ride was held in August 1999, as the people of East Timor prepared to vote in a United Nations-organized referendum on their future. They overwhelmingly voted for independence, bringing an end to the brutal, quarter-century-long Indonesian military occupation of their country. Unfortunately, as the Indonesian military left East Timor, they destroyed an estimated 70 percent of its infrastructure. In 2000, the Madison chapter of the East Timor Action Network (ETAN-Madison) established a sister-city relationship with Ainaro, to help the rural community rebuild. That work continues today.

Madison has a long history of solidarity with East Timor. In 1992, during the U.S.-supported Indonesian military occupation of East Timor, local residents (including Indonesian students) formed ETAN-Madison. In 2001, Madison and Ainaro formed the first official sister-city relationship between U.S. and East Timorese communities. The Madison-Ainaro Sister-City Alliance, a project of ETAN-Madison, has organized several delegations to Ainaro, including one this March. Previous Tour de Timor bike rides have raised thousands of dollars for Ainaro battered women's services in 2009; the Madison visit of two Ainaro community leaders in 2008; helped fund a joint international / Timorese election observer project in 2007; and provided grants to women's income-generation projects, sustainable agriculture groups, a local radio station, and other community-led projects in Ainaro, East Timor.

Shine a Light on Human Rights: Free Filep Karma Rally in DC, May 19

2011-05-13T14:42:00.000-04:00

Shine a Light on Human Rights: Free Filep Karma Rally

Amnesty International USA

Thursday, May 19, 2011, 7:00-8:30pm

DuPont Circle National Park
Washington, DC NW (on red line metro)
At 8:00 pm, we will form a candle lit procession to the Indonesian embassy (2020 Massachusetts Ave. NW). A rally will call for the release of Filep Karma and all prisoners of conscience in Indonesia, while photos of activists holding solidarity flags are projected onto the embassy.

In May 1961, Amnesty International began its global campaign for individual freedoms and human dignity. In May 2005, an Indonesian court sentenced Filep Karma to 15 years in prison on charges of treason for raising the Papua flag in a peaceful ceremony. Join us at DuPont Circle, Washington, DC on Thursday, May 19 as we commemorate 50 years of Amnesty International's global human rights activism and toast to the freedom Filep Karma and all human rights defenders. The event will include speakers, musical performances and actions!

For more information please visit: www.amnestyusa.org/filep

Please RSVP to Emilia Gutierrez at egutierrez@aiusa.org or at 202-544-0200 ext. 8141

Send a postcard demanding freedom for Filep -

West Papua Report May 2011

2011-05-04T15:21:00.000-04:00

now out West Papua Report May 2011

Summary

Thousands of Papuans, on May 2, began peaceful rallies demanding a referendum on West Papua's political future, an end to "Special Autonomy," and international intervention in to end decades of human rights abuse and injustice at the hands of the Indonesian government. The date coincides with Indonesian forced annexation of West Papua over four decades ago. Security personnel are out in force in many West Papua towns and cities and some arrests have already been reported. The annual U.S. Department of State report on human rights in Indonesia accurately and in some detail describes the extensive human rights violations in West Papua, correctly assigning blame for the abuse principally to Indonesian security forces. The report also notes that those perpetrating the abuse are largely unaccountable for their crimes. The report, as in the past, largely fails to address violations of cultural, economic and social rights. Indonesian security forces have run amok in Dogiyai district driving many from their homes following a violent protest by Papuans over the police killing of two unarmed Papuans. Papuans have urged the suspension of disbursement of special autonomy funds following findings by the Supreme Audit Agency that the funds intended to benefit Papuans have been embezzled. Yale University hosted a seminar to review of developments in and affecting West Papua. The Forestry Minister has pledged not to issue permits that would entail the destruction of pristine Papuan forests. The massive Merauke Integrated Food and Energy Estate (MIFEE) appears to be an exception to this policy.

Get on the bus, train, metro - Protest in DC with Amnesty International at the Indonesia Embassy

2011-04-12T07:33:00.000-04:00

On Friday April 15, 1:30 pm, join Amnesty International at a rally at the Indonesian Embassy (2020 Massachusetts Ave NW near Dupont Circle) to urge the government to release Filep Karma, West Papuan prisoner of conscience. The action at the Indonesian embassy is part of Amnety's Get on the Bus day long action. The rally will be to support of monthly rallies for Filep that take place at the embassy.

More information, a complete schedule and registration are here - http://amnesty133.org/bus/

On Friday, April 15, activists from high school, college and local Amnesty groups in the 6-states of the Mid-Atlantic region will converge on Washington, DC to demonstrate in support of human rights in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Myanmar/Burma, Zimbabwe, Chad, and Tibet.

The Get on the Bus (GOTB) for human rights is a creation of Amnesty International USA Local Group 133 in Somerville, MA. For the past fifteen years, the members of Group 133 have organized 'buses' to New York City every April for an exciting day of activism and human rights! This will be the first time it will also take place in Washington, DC.

Get on the Bus, Train Subway, Cab... Protest Indonesia with Amnesty International

2011-04-04T11:55:00.000-04:00

Get on the Bus, Train Subway, Cab... Protest Indonesia with Amnesty International

This Friday, April 8, Amnesty International will bring people from throughout New England to New York City protest various human rights violating governments in their annual Get on the Bus for Human Rights.

ETAN will be participating. For more information and to register, go here - http://j.mp/g28Ho8
ETAN's National Coordinator will part of the panel briefing those attending beginning at 11 am at The Great Hall at the The Cooper Union, 7 E. 7th Street, New York, NY 10003. Participants will march from there to raise human rights issues with various governments, including Indonesia.

Join the action on Indonesia from 3:35 - 4:10 p.m. at 1 Dag Hammarskjold Plaza (preferred rally location: 1st Ave & E 47th St) and will focus on seeking release of Filep Karma, advocate for the rights of Indonesia's Papuan population

Other countries highlighted are Chad, Sri Lanka and China - compete schedule is here - http://www.gotb.org/schedule-of-events.html

Get on the Bus for Human Rights (GOTB) is an annual day of human rights education and activism organized by Amnesty International USA Group 133 of Somerville, MA and a dedicated team of volunteer community organizers. It is now in its 16th year.

-------------

This year there will also be a Get on the Bus to DC on April 15th, which will also focus on human rights in Indonesia (1:30 pm at the Embassy of Indonesia, 2020 Massachusetts Ave. NW near Dupont Circle), as well as Sri Lanka, Myanmar/Burma, Chad and Tibet Check out their website!

West Papua Report April 2011: VP rejects dialogue, MSG, more

2011-04-04T10:21:00.000-04:00

Full issue of April 2011 West Papua Report is here

Summary:

Indonesia's Vice President Boediono has begun implementation of a Presidential decree calling for the establishment of an inter-governmental agency to examine problems in West Papua. The initiative falls far short of widespread Papuan calls for a senior-level, internationally mediated dialogue between Indonesian officials and Papuans. A senior Papuan civil society leader has spoken out against this continued failure of Jakarta to engage in serious dialogue. Papuan church leaders have charged the Indonesian government with "genocide" in West Papua. The Melanesian Spearhead Group again failed to invite representatives from West Papua to its annual summit, instead inviting the Indonesian government to send observers. Indonesian officials violated the labor rights of Papuans by jailing nurses who called a peaceful, legal strike. A leading Papuan NGO chief has called for elimination of provisions in the Indonesian criminal code that violate Indonesia's obligations under international conventions to which it is party.

West Papua Report Match 2011 - land grab, rights violations, paths to self-determination

2011-03-04T11:26:00.000-05:00

Read the March West Papua Report here

Summary:

Newly obtained video footage reveals Indonesian security forces, including U.S. and Australian-backed Detachment 88 personnel, brutality in operations in West Papua's Central Highlands. Indonesian NGOs and prominent Papuans have faulted President Yudhoyono's newly announced approach to dialogue with Papuans with criticism of Jakarta's failure to end human rights violations and impunity by security forces as a basis for dialogue. Papuans criticized Jakarta's selection of a limited range of Papuans as dialogue partners and have urged a role for international mediators. A prominent West African leader has announced support for West Papua's self-determination. The chair of the Papuan Peoples Council (DAP) denounced the Indonesian government's policy of transmigration. The Asian Legal Resource Center has appealed to the UN Human Rights Council to address continued security force abuse of human rights in West Papua. A Papuan political prisoner who is gong blind as a result of an attack by a prison warder needs urgent care. A report from within West Papua details land grabs by the Indonesian military and "developers" which have targeted Papuans in the Sorong area. Hamish McDonald considers Papuans' struggle for self-determination in the light of recent similar successful examples within the international community.

Help wanted in analyzing proposed environmental law

2011-02-16T13:09:00.002-05:00

UPDATE: La'o Hamutuk's analysis of the law can be found here

La'o Hamutuk is seeking help in analyzing and proposing improvements to Timor-Leste's draft environmental law. On their blog they write:

In late January, Timor-Leste's Secretary of State for Environment circulated a Portuguese-language draft of a basic Environmental Law (also PDF) for limited public consultation.... The Secretary accepted La'o Hamutuk's request to extend the comment period until the end of February.

La'o Hamutuk has done a preliminary computer-assisted translation of the draft law into English (also PDF), and we are asking people and organizations to make your own submissions or to email us with ideas, suggested changes or other analysis which will help us write ours.

The law has many good aspects, including recognition of the precautionary principle, "polluter pays," the importance of greenhouse gas emissions, public consultation,tara bandu, and community involvement. But it also contains significant loopholes and gaps -- and leaves most specifics for subsequent decree-laws.

La'o Hamutuk plans update its webpage on the law as its receive comments, analysis or new information.

US Embassy in Dili admits mistake about worker's rights

2011-02-09T14:36:00.001-05:00

The General Workers Union of Timor-Leste tells ETAN that they met with the US Embassy in Dili on 3 February 2011 and successfully settled the dispute about the unfair dismissal of Mario Baretto and their subsequent claim that their national staff cannot join a union. ETAN had written the embassy about the dispute.

From the union:

The Embassy advised that they had mistakenly stated their policy and affirmed their staff’s right to join a union:

The US Embassy seeks to be a model employer and respects workers and the role of unions in representing workers. The Administration has been a strong international supporter of labour rights and we want to maintain an open relationship with the unions and labor rights advocates here in Timor-Leste.

The Embassy also confirmed that they seek to be fully compliant with local labour laws and resolved Mr Baretto’s dismissal consistent with the Labour Code of Timor-Leste.

The General Workers Union of Timor-Leste and the Trade Union Confederation of Timor-Leste would like to thank all those individuals and organisations that supported Mr Baretto and Timorese workers by writing to the Ambassador.

Please direct any media enquiries to:

Almerio Vila Nova
General Secretary
General Workers Union
+670 724 8482

Timorese call on the UN Security Council to ensure accountability for crimes against humanity

2011-02-09T12:18:00.001-05:00

A coalition of groups in Timor-Leste is urging the United Nations Security Council "to take concrete, effective actions to end impunity for those who directed and committed crimes against humanity in Timor-Leste" during Indonesia's invasion and occupation.

"Accountability for crimes against humanity must not be further delayed" the Timor-Leste National Alliance for an International Tribunal (ANTI) told the UN Security Council in a letter delivered this week.

ANTI criticized UN Secretary-General Ban ki-Moon for failing "to mention the consequences of ongoing impunity for the serious international crimes committed during the Indonesian occupation" in his latest report to the Council.

The letter was endorsed by more than 30 other organizations from outside of Timor-Leste.

"We are still not yet free of the shadow of serious crimes committed during the 24 years of Indonesian occupation. We have suffered a lot during that period; physically and psychologically, because of torture from various types of violations, including sexual violence against women, and the loss of 180,000 human lives because of the brutal, illegal Indonesian military occupation," said ANTI.

ANTI added "If impunity continues to prevail in Timor-Leste, it will have a negative impact on the stability and security of our country; undercutting the efforts of the United Nations to establish rule of law and strength security institutions. In addition, the perpetrators are continuing to commit similar crimes in Indonesia."

The Security Council is scheduled to meet on February 22 to discuss the future of the UN Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT). The mission's current mandate expires February 26.

The Security Council should "discuss the recommendations of the [2005] Commission of Experts regarding the establishment of an International Criminal Tribunal when national mechanisms fail." They also urged the Council to enlarge the mandate of the Serious Crimes Investigation Team (SCIT) to allow the investigation and support the prosecution "of the principal perpetrators of serious crimes and crimes against humanity throughout the Indonesian occupation from 1975-1999." The SCIT current mandate only allows investigations of murders committed during 1999, when the UN sponsored the referendum which led to Timor-Leste's independence.

ANTI argues that such prosecutions are "the only solution to end impunity in Timor-Leste and Indonesia, so that democracy and human rights that we yearn for can be achieved in Timor-Leste and other countries."

Endorsing groups include the East Timor and Indonesia Action Network (U.S.); KontraS, the Indonesian human rights organization; Japan East Timor Coalition; International Federation for East Timor; Australian Coalition for Justice for East Timor; and the regional Asia-Pacific Solidarity Coalition.

Full letter (in english and tetun) and signatures here

West Papua Report February 2011: no justice for torture victims, demos vs special autonomy, PNG attacks refugees -

2011-02-03T16:05:00.000-05:00

West Papua Report February 2011 now out.

Summary

An Indonesian military tribunal failed to properly prosecute military personnel for the torture of two Papuans whose agony was viewed around the world online in October 2010. Instead, the tribunal convicted three soldiers for the minor offense of "disobeying orders," sentencing them to between eight and ten months imprisonment. This failure to prosecute the soldiers to the full extent of the law and to try them in a civilian court was broadly criticized by Indonesian and international observers, including the U.S. State Department. U.S., UK and Australian organizations called for suspension of foreign assistance to the Indonesian military which continues to violate human rights with impunity, particularly in West Papua. President Yudhoyono's pre-sentencing description of the torture as a "minor incident" was prejudicial and contributed to an atmosphere of impunity. Papuans, organized by leading Papuan churches and other organizations demonstrated in large numbers calling for abolition of the Peoples Consultative Council (MRP). The body was created by the widely-rejected 2001 "Special Autonomy" law. Prisoners of Conscience Filep Karma and Buchtar Tabuni continue to languish in police custody following a December 3 prison riot. They suffer from health-threatening conditions and do not have regular access to their families or to legal counsel. Papua New Guinea security personnel attacked villages and encampments of West Papuan civilians living in PNG territory near the border with Indonesia. PNG authorities have detained nine of the scores of people displaced, who were moved into camps or have fled into the forests. Their plight, particularly those who were chased into forests, is uncertain.West Papuan students continue to call for dialogue in the wake of the failure of "special autonomy." They note that the central government has failed to issue implementing regulations required to give the decade-old law life.

ETAN: Letter to State Department on issuing visas to U.S. in Dili

2011-02-03T11:29:00.000-05:00

ETAN writes to Secretary of State Clinton about issuing visas in Dili to East Timorese wanting to travel to the United States.

Light Sentences for Rights Violators Spark Calls for Suspension of Aid to Abusive and Unaccountable Indonesian Military

2011-01-25T08:13:00.001-05:00

Contact: Ed McWilliams (WPAT), +1-575-648-2078
Paul Barber (TAPOL) +44 1420 80153 or +44 774 730 1739
John M. Miller (ETAN) +1-917-690-4391

The West Papua Advocacy Team (WPAT), East and Indonesia Action Network (ETAN) and TAPOL condemn the Indonesian government's failure to hold Indonesian military personnel responsible for the grave crime of torture of two Papuans. The torture was revealed in a video posted online in October 2010 shocked the international community (http://www.etan.org/news/2010/10video.htm). Rather than try the perpetrators before a civilian court the Indonesian government allowed the Indonesian military to try the soldiers in a military court. On January 24, the Military Court in Papua sentenced three soldiers to minimal sentences of eight to 10 months imprisonment for the minor procedural offense of disobeying orders.

The Indonesian Government's refusal to prosecute the perpetrators in a civilian court and the failure to charge them with serious criminal offences commensurate with the violence inflicted on the victims reflect a longstanding pattern where security force personnel who commit heinous crimes against Papuans are inadequately punished, if they are punished at all. For example, the special forces (Kopassus) personnel convicted by a military court for the torture-murder of the leading Papuan political figure, Theys Eluay, in 2001 similarly received sentences not commensurate with the crime. They were lauded publicly by a leading Indonesian military figure as "heroes."

Unfortunately, Indonesia President's Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in pre-sentencing public remarks described the torture, which included the burning of the genitals of a Papuan man with a stick pulled from the fire, as "only a minor incident." This dismissal of the seriousness of the crime reinforces a pattern of impunity for security personnel.

WPAT, ETAN and TAPOL remain concerned that Indonesia has refused to make torture a specific offence under Indonesian criminal law, notwithstanding Indonesia's obligations under the United Nations Convention Against Torture which it signed in 1985 and ratified in 1998. We urge Indonesia to do so.

Indonesian military personnel, especially those operating in West Papua, which has seen the worst security forces abuse over the past decade, continue to perpetrate torture, rape, extrajudicial killings and other well documented abuses in part because they are aware they will never be effectively prosecuted for these crimes. By refusing to prosecute military offenders to the full extend of the law in civilian courts the Indonesian government is complicit in the military's continuing abuses.

The impunity long enjoyed by Indonesian security personnel for their criminal behavior stands in stark contrast to the severe sentences meted out to Papuans who assemble peacefully to protest decades of Indonesian government repression and the denial of essential services to the Papuan people. Dozens of Papuans have been imprisoned for years where, as described by UN reports, these peaceful dissenters endure health and life threatening treatment and conditions. Amnesty International and other reputable human rights organizations have identified many as "prisoners of conscience."

Government restrictions on travel to and within West Papua have long impeded the ability of the international community to monitor human rights and other developments. Indonesian security and intelligence forces within West Papua routinely shadow and obstruct the movement of the few international journalists and even diplomats who do manage to enter West Papua. Papuans who speak to these observers are often threatened and harassed.

The U.S. and other governments should act in a substantive way to end the continued abuses by Indonesian security forces against Papuans. The U.S., in particular, should exercise its significant leverage by suspending its extensive and expanding military assistance programs for Indonesia pending real reform of the Indonesian military. This reform should, at minimum, include an end to human rights violations by Indonesian military personnel, as well as effective prosecution in civilian courts of military personnel who perpetrate abuses and with sentencing commensurate with the crimes. The U.S. should also make any resumption of military-to-military cooperation contingent on an end to Indonesian government restrictions on access to West Papua by independent journalists and other observers, as well as an end to Indonesian security and intelligence force intimidation of those Papuans peacefully advocating for their political and other human rights.

More generally, WPAT, ETAN and TAPOL appeal to the governments of the United States and the United Kingdom and the European Union to promptly and publicly register with the Indonesian government their deep concern over what is only this latest example of decades of failed justice in West Papua.

see also West Papua Report
U.S.-Indonesia Military Assistance

West Papua Report January 2011

2011-01-06T14:14:00.000-05:00

Full issue at http://www.etan.org/issues/wpapua/2011/1101wpap.htm

Summary:

Wikileaked U.S. Embassy cables reveal the U.S. government, in private, is far more critical of Indonesian military abuses in West Papua and thoroughly understands that Indonesian policies there, including acknowledging that "special autonomy" has failed. The cables contradict in substance and tone testimony to the U.S. Congress offered by a senior State Department official in September 2010. The Indonesian National Commission on Human Rights has condemned and is investigating increasing state violence against Papuans. Leaders of Papuan civil society have presented renowned human rights advocate Carmel Budiardjo with the first award declaring a foreign national as a citizen of Papua. She will henceforth be regarded as the "Eldest Daughter of Papua. The recently retired U.S. Ambassador to Indonesia has been hired by the Sinar Mas Conglomerate. Sinar Mas, like Freeport McMoRan which also provided a sinecure for a retired U.S. Ambassador to Indonesia, has a notorious reputation for environmental destruction. A prominent Papuan civil society figure has issued a powerful indictment of Indonesian policy in West Papua and called for fundamental changes. The TNI Commander, in remarks to media, has sought to spin the torture and beatings of Papuans, videoed and widely viewed on the internet, as not constituting human rights violations but rather only violations of orders. The TNI Inspector General tells the media that the TNI is working with the police to identify those responsible for exposing these TNI crimes via the internet. Many international human rights organizations have condemned the continued juridical persecution of prisoners of conscience Filep Karma and Buchtar Tabuni. Papuan civil society leaders and senior Papuan officials have called for an end to crimes against Papuan women. A WPAT commentary looks back over the history of impunity for such abuses. Various Papuan sources have remarked that again in 2010, as in past years, security forces have ratcheted up efforts to intimidate Papuans as Papuans commemorated Papuan independence day and Christmas.

for the New Year

2011-01-03T08:26:00.000-05:00

ETAN wishes everyone a (slightly belated) fulfilling and peace-filled New Year! May the peoples of Timor-Leste, Indonesia and West Papua find the peace, justice and prosperity they so deserve.

Thank you for your support in the past year. We look foward to working with you in the coming year.

Feliz Anu Novu!
Selamat Tahun Baru!
Happy New Year!

John M. Miller, National Coordinator
for the East Timor and Indonesia Action Network (ETAN)
Support ETAN in 2011. Donate here
http://www.etan.org/etan/2011app.htm

ETAN letter on labor dispute at US Embassy in Dili

2010-12-23T06:58:00.002-05:00

Campaign updates from APHEDA are here.

Ambassador Judith Fergin
US Embassy
Dili, Timor-Leste

December 22, 2010

Dear Ambassador,

We are writing regarding the dismissal of Mario Baretto and the subsequent refusal of the US Embassy in Timor-Leste to meet with his union.

We understand that the embassy will not meet with Mr Baretto's trade union, the General Workers Union of Timor-Leste (SJTL), about the dismissal arguing that "as part of the terms of his employment, Mr Baretto was/is not allowed to be a member of any organized union and therefore we will not meet with any representative acting on his behalf."

This position is contrary to international human rights law, and we urge you to quickly meet with his union representatives as called for in the Timor-Leste's Labor Code. If needed, we urge the Embassy to accept mediation before Timor-Leste's labor board to resolve the dispute about Mr. Baretto's dismissal.

The right to form and to join trade unions is a fundamental human right, included in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The International Labor Organization Convention on the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organize, which Timor-Leste ratified on June 16 2009, also protects the right to unionize.

As you know, the U.S. Department of State each year publishes an annual report on human rights in countries around the world. The chapter on Timor-Leste in this year's report observes that "The country has a labor code based on the International Labor Organization's standards. The law permits workers to form and join worker organizations without prior authorization." The report notes a number of the practical obstacles to the effective exercise of labor rights, to which we would now add the U.S. government.

The U.S. speaks regularly about the need to strengthen the rule of law in Timor-Leste. It has funded a number of programs over the last decade aimed at that goal. Howerver, its words would carry more weight and its actions more credibility, if the embassy were in compliance with Timor-Leste's labor law.

We urge the United States government and your embassy to honor its obligations under national and international law by meeting with Mr. Baretto's representatives and accepting mediation before Timor-Leste's labor board.

We look forward to your response.

Yours sincerely

John M. Miller
National Coordinator
East Timor and Indonesia Action Network

cc: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
Michael Posner, Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor

Obama's Potemkin Visit to Jakarta

2010-12-20T15:06:00.000-05:00

Ed McWilliams

Published in December 17 issue of Arena, Australia

by Edmund McWilliams

In early November President Obama indulged himself with a nostalgic visit to the place he called home for four years of his youth. He charmed ordinary Indonesians with formal and informal remarks drawn from recollections of Indonesia of four decades ago. More troublingly, President Obama also praised Indonesians in ways that betrayed a broad ignorance of the ugly reality faced by many in this archipelago today.

Obama made much of the "tolerance" that Indonesian (and US) officials contend the post-Suharto Indonesian governments have fostered within Indonesian society. "Here can be found the ability to bridge divides of race and regions and religions", he said. He described Indonesia as a "country that has figured out how to create a genuine democracy despite great diversity". Obama also commended the triumph of that democracy: "Indonesia has charted its own course through an extraordinary democratic transformation from the rule of an iron fist to the rule of the people". While President Obama can be forgiven a bit of dewy-eyed reminiscing, his false depictions of Indonesia today, presumably shaped by his advisers, are a dangerously unstable basis for US policy formulation.

The Indonesia Obama chose not to see is one of significant social tensions often aggravated by a government and especially a security force which stoke these tensions for political and economic gain. The democratic progress of the last ten years, moreover, has been a victory for the Indonesian people who struggled against a brutal, corrupt military and an unaccountable police system that is a threat to further democratic progress. The real Indonesia was reflected in the interviews I conducted with Indonesians in Jakarta who were not invited to the major events celebrating the US President's brief return.

An activist from the Ahmadiyya sect of Islam described the ongoing assaults targeting that group's several hundred thousand adherents. In recent years mobs have destroyed twenty-seven Ahmadiyya mosques, most recently in the province of Riau on September 27. A video clip of a mosque's destruction shows a mob almost casually attacking the building, eventually destroying its central pillars and causing the massive roof to collapse. At one point a uniformed Indonesian police officer leisurely walks through the video frame, seemingly oblivious to the ongoing violence. Government complicity in this persecution extends beyond security force failure to take action. Indonesian Minister for Religious Affairs Suryadhama Ali recently told the media that the solution to the ongoing strife between the Ahmadiyya and the more traditional Muslims was the banning of the Ahmadiyya sect. His recommendation, which has drawn no rebuke from Indonesian President Yudhoyono, only encourages further thug violence targeting the Ahmadiyya and a continued failure of the security forces to rein in the attackers.

State condoned and executed violence is especially apparent in West Papua, where generations of Papuans have faced extraordinary brutality since the coerced annexation of the land over four decades ago. Tens of thousands of Papuans have been killed by security forces while the surviving Papuan population has been marginalized by government-organized migration of non-Papuans to West Papua. The systematic brutalizing of the Papuans, described in recent testimony before a US House subcommittee as "creeping genocide", was revealed most recently by release of secret Indonesian military documents. These documents, which surfaced during the Obama visit on the blog of investigative journalist Alan Nairn, show that Indonesian special forces (Kopassus) targeted leading church and other civil society and government leaders for intelligence collection, intimidation and worse. The importance of these documents lies in their revelation that criminal human rights abuse by the special forces targeting Papuans is not simply a matter of individual security personnel operating outside regulations as is regularly claimed by the Indonesian government and US officials. Rather, the documents make clear that the beating and torture of individual Papuans constitutes a military policy that ignores internationally recognized civil and political rights and Indonesian law. The documents together constittute a doctrine that has been funded and implemented, requiring approval at senior level and thereby implicating senior military leaders.

President Obama meets with President Yudhoyono at the Istana Merdeka State Palace Complex in Jakarta, Nov. 9, 2010.
(Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

Two weeks before Obama's arrival in Jakarta, other indisputable evidence of security force brutality in West Papua surfaced. Video footage of the torture of two Papuans and the beating of villagers by security forces shocked the international community. While the beating was perpetrated by regular military personnel (Kontras), it remains unclear what forces carried out the torture. Possible culprits include the national police mobile brigade (Brimob) and the US and Australian sponsored "Detachment 88". Detachment 88, purportedly an anti-terror unit, was involved in the December 2009 murder of Papuan rebel figure Kelly Kwalik, who bled to death from a leg wound while in the organisation's custody (see Carmel Budiardjo's article in Arena Magazine no. 106). NGOs and journalists have reliably reported Detachment 88's use of torture in Maluku, Poso and Aceh. It is also possible that the torturers in the video were from either the civilian or military intelligence agencies, both of which operate widely in West Papua. President Obama's silence on these breaking stories disappointed but did not surprise human rights advocates in Indonesia.

The Obama administration, like its predecessors, has been reluctant to publicly acknowledge either ongoing security force abuses in West Papua or these forces' unaccountability. The Indonesian government was clearly troubled by the surfacing of the torture videos on the eve of President Obama's and Prime Minister Gillard's visits. President Yudhoyono convened his senior ministers, and a government spokesperson assured there would be a prompt military investigation. Calls by Papuans and other human rights advocates for an independent investigation were ignored. On November 5 army personnel faced a judge in Jayapura; senior military officials told the media that the tribunal was convened to hold the perpetrators of the video abuses accountable. In a classic bait and switch, the military produced for trial not those responsible for the torture but rather the troops depicted beating villagers. The identity of the torturers remains unknown. In one respect, it appears the government demonstrated both alacrity and sophistication in responding to the surfacing of the torture videos. Within days of the videos appearing on the internet, five major NGOs who carried the footage on their websites suffered simultaneous cyber attacks. Analysts assessed that the coordinated attack could only have been the work of a government, or government agencies with substantial resources. US officials have yet to comment on either the bait and switch trial or the cyber attack.

President Obama's limited travel within Jakarta was carefully crafted to obscure a reality that his public comments carefully ignored. He did not see a march by thousands of labor supporters who were protesting new proposed labor legislation that would impede workers' right to organize, to obtain insurance or to press for a minimum wage. Nor did he see the extraordinary wealth gap between rich and poor Indonesians. While he marveled at the gleaming skyscrapers that dominate the Jakarta landscape, he did not see the filthy hovels that crowd beneath them and along the city's canals, where millions of Indonesians survive without access to adequate food, health care or education. Notwithstanding the manifest non-egalitarian nature of Indonesia's economy, Obama congratulated the nation's leaders that in Indonesia "development and democracy reinforce one another". In reality, development continues to be at the expense of democratization, much as it was during the three decades of Suharto dictatorship. Indonesian human rights advocates and journalists describe an endemic atmosphere of intimidation enforced by security forces which collude with major domestic and international firms bent on "development" of the archipelago's vast natural resources and enormous labor pool. Those who report on corrupt dealings or the destruction of the environment are subjected to physical or threatened abuse targeting them and their families. A journalist in Papua who reported critically on plans for a massive agriculture plantation that will dispossess local people was found murdered earlier this summer. Human rights advocates who reveal security force brutality suffer similar threats, and both often fall victim to legal suits which employ Indonesia's notoriously corrupt judicial system as a weapon in service of commercial and security forces interests. Usman Hamid, a prominent human rights advocate and former director of the key human rights advocacy group Kontras, is facing a legal suit alleging defamation. The false charge arose as a result of his determined pursuit of justice in the murder of his predecessor at Kontras, the renowned Munir Said Talib.

Ignoring the reality of security forces that operate brutally and without accountability before the law, the Obama administration is expanding financial, equipment and training assistance to those forces. After a decade of withholding assistance to the Indonesian special forces, the Obama administration announced in July that it was resuming collaboration with the organization, notwithstanding its repression of Papuans and lengthy record of human rights abuse throughout the archipelago. The administration is also continuing assistance to Detachment 88, which has been credibly accused by human rights groups and the media of torture, beatings and kidnappings.

The US government's willingness to co-operate with security forces that continue to commit human rights abuses, operate illegally and remain unaccountable was enshrined in the "comprehensive partnership" signed by Obama and Yudhoyono. US support for security forces that threaten human rights and democratic development is born of blindness to the reality of current day Indonesia. President Obama's brief visit only reinforced a deliberate misperception by US policy makers of Indonesia's complex and growing challenges.

----------

Support ETAN in 2011!

"ETAN's work is unique and essential at this critical time.
It needs and deserves your support." - Ed McWilliams

Read former senior Foreign Service Officer Ed McWilliams message about ETAN

Support ETAN in 2011!

2010-12-18T16:07:00.008-05:00

"ETAN's work is unique and essential at this critical time. It needs and deserves your support." - Ed McWilliams

Read former senior Foreign Service Officer Ed McWilliams message about ETAN
Other donation options here

Kissinger redux

2010-12-17T17:25:00.001-05:00

Henry Kissinger's callousness about mass murder should come as no surprise to anyone who has followed his career. Kissinger appears on a recently released tape of a conversation with then-President Richard Nixon saying in 1973:

"that helping Soviet Jews emigrate and thus escape oppression by a totalitarian regime — a huge issue at the time — was 'not an objective of American foreign policy.'

'And if they put Jews into gas chambers in the Soviet Union,' he added, 'it is not an American concern. Maybe a humanitarian concern.'

Just a few years later, in December 1975, Kissinger and President Gerald Ford were in Jakarta giving the go ahead to Indonesia's invasion of East Timor. Kissinger would guarantee continuation of weapons shipments. According to Timor-Leste's Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation as many as 180,000 people died as a result. For more on Kissinger's role in East Timor click here.

ETAN Letter to Rep Patrick Kennedy on leaving Congress

2010-12-17T11:27:00.000-05:00

December 13, 2010

Rep. Patrick Kennedy
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
Via fax

Dear Representative Kennedy,

As the Executive Committee of the East Timor and Indonesia Action Network, we write to wish you the best in your post-Congressional career and to express our deep gratitude for your tireless work in solidarity with the people of East Timor and Indonesia during your 16-year tenure in the U.S. House of Representatives. Over those years, we have greatly valued our collaboration with you, as you initiated numerous congressional letters, resolutions and legislation to protect and promote human rights in the region. It is heartening to see a public servant work so tirelessly in support of justice and the rights of others, not for personal gain or public acclaim but simply because it is the right thing to do.

President Suharto underscored the efficacy of your work in the House in an angry letter to President Clinton shortly after the bill’s introduction, canceling a planned purchase of nine F-16 planes from the US government and withdrawing from participation in the Expanded International Military Education and Training (E-IMET) program.

Shortly after your arrival in Washington, you established yourself as one of the key House leaders on human rights and related issues in Indonesia and East Timor. You visited East Timor in 1996 to support Bishop Belo on his return to his homeland after he received the Nobel Peace Prize. In 1997, you introduced bold and important legislation – the Indonesia Military Assistance Accountability Act (HR 1132) – baring government-to-government weapons sales and some military training until critical human rights improvements in East Timor and Indonesia were achieved.

Indonesia’s President Suharto underscored the efficacy of your work in the House in an angry letter to President Clinton shortly after the bill’s introduction, canceling a planned purchase of nine F-16 planes from the US government and withdrawing from participation in the Expanded International Military Education and Training (E-IMET) program.

The introduction of HR 1132 is only one among many examples of your leadership in Congressional efforts to maintain and expand restrictions on arms sales and military training for Indonesia – efforts that put Indonesia on notice that international support for their illegal occupation of East Timor was beginning to crumble. In 1998, you lead efforts which placed the U.S. Congress firmly on record as supporting self-determination for East Timor.

Over time, your efforts gave critical support to the broad-based pro-democracy movement that ended the reign of the Indonesian dictator Suharto and helped enable East Timor’s historic referendum for independence in 1999.

Over the ten years since East Timor’s independence vote, you have demonstrated your commitment in support of a strong and stable East Timor (Timor-Leste). Throughout the 2000’s, you continued to shine a spotlight on events in East Timor. You urged your colleagues and the administration to strongly support the UN mission as the country continued to rebuild during its transition to full independence. You advocated for meaningful U.S. assistance to East Timor and supported its demand for its rightful share of natural resources in negotiations with neighboring Australia. You have also been outspoken in your support for justice and accountability for the many atrocities and crimes against humanity committed by U.S.-backed Indonesian forces during the occupation.

Finally, we are appreciate for your efforts to draw attention to the human rights crisis in West Papua through among other initiatives, your recent sponsorship of HRes 1355, calling for the release of political prisoners and greater access for international organizations to West Papua. We know that this issue remains particularly important to you and we hope we can continue to work together to ensure justice and peace for the people of West Papua as you enter this new chapter of your life and career.

Wishing you all the best in this holiday season,

Sincerely,

John M. Miller, National Coordinator

For ETAN

Congratulations to Shirley Shackleton

2010-12-09T12:10:00.000-05:00

Congratulations to Shirley Shackleton for winning Australia's Walkley Book Award for The Circle of Silence: A personal testimony before, during and after Balibo. Copies are available from ETAN.

The award citation says in part:

"This book is testimony to her work in East Timor, and an insight into a defining time in that country's history. Such struggles have their personal sides, however, and this book is also a remarkable personal narrative, interspersed with poetry, that details the other careers Shackleton juggled while maintaining an abiding focus on justice in East Timor."

From judges' comments:

Shirley Shackleton's book is an exceptional personal narrative in this year's field of rich Australian journalism, history and analysis. It is exceptional because of its raw intellectual honesty forged from murder and massacre in East Timor during a cover-up which prevailed for 25 years. It is exceptional because it confronts then exposes blind-eyed Australian diplomacy. It confronts then exposes self-censorship posing as journalism, because of the Australia/US/Indonesia geopolitical logic which required it.

From ordinary human expectations, the author's personal story -- with sometimes brutal self-assessment -- evolves from self-pity and grief over the 1975 murders at Balibo and Dili to a campaign to raise public consciousness about atrocities which decimated the people of East Timor. The consequence of that raised consciousness? Independence for East Timor in 2002 and a measure of belated redemption for Australia and the international community. The Circle of Silence is Shirley Shackleton's testimony from her life's darkest hour at the death of her husband Greg to vindication and relief at the survival of a people who struggled for their freedom.

35th Anniversary of U.S.-backed Indonesian Invasion of East Timor

2010-12-07T10:16:00.000-05:00

Today, December 7, 2010, marks the 35th anniversary of the U.S.-backed Indonesian invasion of East Timor. On the 30th anniversary of Indonesia's full-scale assault on Timor, ETAN

"called on the world to listen to East Timor’s victims and act on their demands for justice. The group also urged the United States government to formally acknowledge its past support for Indonesia’s brutal military occupation of East Timor, and for the international community to learn from this history and never repeat the same crimes."

December 7 invasion day, via Timor Archives

It is well-documented that the Indonesian military launched its 1975 invasion just hours after then President Ford and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger gave their explicit permission to go ahead. They reassured Suharto that U.S. military support would continue, despite U.S. law and Indonesia's treaty obligations. U.S. weapons, military training and political support enabled Indonesia to seize the territory and maintain its occupation for 24 years. These brutal events claimed the lives of up to 200,000 people.

The report of Timor-Leste's Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation (known by its Portuguese initials, CAVR) thoroughly documents the impact of the Indonesia's illegal invasion and occupation.
While the report was long ago officially delivered to the U.S. and other governments, the CAVR's recommendations to the international community remain largely ignored. anniversary. Despite being urged to do so, President Obama did not address these issues during his recent visit to Jakarta.

Kopassus troops

We continue to urge the U.S. government and Congress to seriously respond to the report by holding hearings and formally acknowledge the U.S. role in the suffering of the East Timorese and Indonesian peoples. The U.S. and others who backed Indonesia should apologize and provide reparations. The U.S. should work to establish an international tribunal to try those most responsible the heinous crimes committed in Timor-Leste from 1975-1999 and withhold support for Indonesia's security forces especially their most brutal units - including Kopassus, as recommended by the CAVR to encourage genuine accountability and promote reform. These forces continue to terrorize the people of West Papua.

We highlight some of the CAVR's most pertinent recommendations after the jump.

7.1 Justice for past atrocities

7.1.9. The international community urges and supports Indonesia to declassify information
held by the Indonesian security forces so that it is available for judicial processes

7.1.12. The international community demonstrates its commitment to justice and the Serious
Crimes process by, inter alia:

ensuring that their law enforcement authorities are enabled to transfer those indicted to the Serious Crimes regime established by the UN, to try those indicted themselves or to extradite them to a jurisdiction genuinely interested in trying them
ensuring that persons responsible for the crimes described in this report are not allowed to continue profitable careers regardless of their crimes
establishing a special board of investigation under the auspices of the United Nations to establish the extent, nature and location of assets held by those indicted for crimes against humanity in Timor-Leste
freezing the assets of all those indicted for crimes against humanity in Timor-Leste, subject to national and international laws and pending hearing of cases before the relevant tribunal
placing travel bans on those indicted for crimes against humanity in Timor-Leste
linking international aid and cooperation to specific steps by Indonesia towards accountability, such as cooperation with the Serious Crimes process, the vetting of perpetrators who continue their careers in the public sector, and the scrutinising of Indonesian members of peacekeeping missions and training courses to ensure that alleged perpetrators of violations are not included.

7.2 International tribunal

The Commission recommends that:

7.2.1. The United Nations and its relevant organs, in particular the Security Council, remains seized of the matter of justice for crimes against humanity in Timor-Leste for as long as necessary, and be prepared to institute an International Tribunal pursuant to Chapter VII of the UN Charter should other measures be deemed to have failed to deliver a sufficient measure of justice and Indonesia persists in the obstruction of justice.

1. Timor-Leste and the international community

The relationship of Timor-Leste to other nations was defined by the nature of the political conflicts
between 1974 and 1999. The conflict in Timor-Leste was not primarily an internal conflict but one
of foreign intervention, invasion and occupation that caused the people of Timor-Leste great
suffering and loss and violated international law and human rights which the international
community was duty bound to protect and uphold. While these relationships have evolved since
the intervention of the United Nations in 1999, there are a number of steps to be taken which will- 4 -
assist the building of this new nation and its international relations and to ensure that TimorLeste’s experience is not repeated in other situations.

The Commission recommends that:

1.1. This Report is given the widest possible distribution at all levels in the international community through the media, internet and other networks and particularly within the United Nations and those individual nations and institutions that are highlighted in the Report, viz. Australia, China, Britain, France, Indonesia, Japan, Portugal, Russia, US, the Catholic Church, as well as the East Timorese diaspora and international civil society organisations.

1.2. This Report is disseminated at all levels in the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (Communidade dos Paises de Lingua Portuguesa, CPLP) with a view to it contributing to greater understanding of Timor-Leste as the newest member of the Community.

1.3. This Report is disseminated at all levels in each of the countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in order to deepen appreciation of Timor-Leste’s recent history and its needs as a future member of this important regional body.

1.4. The Vatican and the governments of China, Britain, France, Japan, and Russia make available to Timor-Leste their classified and other archival material on the period 1974-1999 so that this information can be added to that already provided by other countries to ensure that Timor-Leste, after so many years of isolation, can build a comprehensive depository of information on its history.

1.5. The UN Secretary-General refers the Report to the Security Council, the General Assembly, the Special Committee on Decolonisation and the UN Commission on Human Rights, and requests that each of these bodies devotes a special session to discussion and reflection on the Report and the lessons to be learned from its contents and findings.

1.6. The states that had military cooperation programmes with the Indonesian Government during the Commission’s mandate period, whether or not this assistance was used directly in Timor-Leste, apologise to the people of Timor-Leste for failing to adequately uphold internationally agreed fundamental rights and freedoms in Timor-Leste during the Indonesian occupation.

1.7. The Permanent Members of the Security Council, particularly the US but also Britain and France, who gave military backing to the Indonesian Government between 1974 and 1999 and who are duty bound to uphold the highest principles of world order and peace and to protect the weak and vulnerable, assist the Government of Timor-Leste in the provision of reparations to victims of human rights violations suffered during the Indonesian occupation.

1.8. Business corporations which profited from the sale of weapons to Indonesia during the occupation of Timor-Leste and particularly those whose material was used in Timor-Leste contribute to the reparations programme for victims of human rights violations.

1.9. All UN member states refuse a visa to any Indonesian military officer who is named in this Report for either violations or command responsibility for troops accused of violations and take other measures such as freezing bank accounts until that individual’s innocence has been independently and credibly established.

1.10. States regulate military sales and cooperation with Indonesia more effectively and make such support totally conditional on progress towards full democratisation, the subordination of the military to the rule of law and civilian government, and strict adherence with international human rights, including respect for the right of self-determination.

1.11. The governments of Australia, Britain and New Zealand undertake a joint initiative to establish the truth about the deaths of the six foreign journalists in Timor-Leste in 1975 so that the facts and accountability are finally established.

1.12. The international Catholic Church, led by the Vatican, honours Dom Martinho da Costa Lopes and the Catholic sisters, priests and laity who were killed in 1999 seeking to protect the people of Timor-Leste.

1.13. The documents and any other material relating to the events of 1999 and militia activity that were allegedly removed to Australia for safe-keeping after the arrival of Interfet in 1999 be returned to Timor-Leste by the Government of Australia.

1.14. The Government of Timor-Leste, with the support of the United Nations, honours the contribution of international civil society to the promotion of human rights in TimorLeste, particularly the right of self-determination, and invites civil society organisations to contribute their documentation on this struggle to the people of Timor-Leste as a tool for remembering and fostering ongoing relations and solidarity

1.15. Support, both practical and financial, be given by business, philanthropic bodies, corporations and academic institutions to assist key East Timorese figures and others to document their histories and experiences in order to build up the limited stock of East Timorese-generated literature for future generation

West Papua Report - December 2010

2010-12-02T16:51:00.002-05:00

now out here

Summary:

During his November 9-10 visit to Indonesia, President Obama and President Yudhoyono unveiled a "comprehensive partnership" that strongly reflects Washington's traditional perception of Indonesia as a platform servicing U.S. security and commercial interests. A key element of the "partnership," broadened security ties, comes at the expense of human rights and democratization which are under growing threat from corrupt and unaccountable Indonesian security forces. Secret Kopassus documents released by investigative journalist Alan Nairn reveal that the targeting of senior members of Papuan civil society is official policy, approved at senior levels. Papuans used the occasion of President Obama's visit to protest the denial of self determination and the continuing devastation of local resources by the U.S. mining giant Freeport McMoran. Journalists have complained loudly over Indonesian government subterfuge regarding the trial purportedly of security personnel involved in the torture of Papuans. On December 1, Papuans and their supporters in West Papua and in cities around the world celebrated the day in 1961 when the Papuans declared their independence from Dutch colonial rule. A late November visit to West Papua by President Yudhoyono and many members of his cabinet failed to address long-standing Papuan concerns. A statement by an Indonesian military leader indicates military intent to deepen already substantial military involvement in commercial activities in West Papua.

Juan Mendez on Accountability

2010-12-02T16:48:00.001-05:00

Juan Mendez is currently UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment. He was Secretary-General's special advisor on genocide and much more. From today's Democracy Now!

JUAN GONZALEZ: Your response on this issue of looking forward instead of back and not allowing witch hunts to take place?

JUAN MÉNDEZ: Well, this has been a debate all over the world every time we have to look at egregious conduct by state officials. People always say we want to look forward and not backward. I reject the notion that investigating and prosecuting international crimes is a way of just looking backwards and being—and engaging in a witch hunt or being vengeful. I think, on the contrary, it’s a proper way of looking forward: it’s settling the stories the way they should be settled, deciding on what was done by order of whom and against whom, and moving forward only after we know the whole truth....

I want to stress that that’s not a discretionary decision by any state. Every state that signs and ratifies the Convention Against Torture is legally obliged to investigate, prosecute and punish every single act of torture.

AMY GOODMAN: Juan Méndez, we only have 30 seconds, but you speak from personal experience. I mean, you come from Argentina. In Argentina, there are hundreds of trials going on now of torturers.

JUAN MÉNDEZ: That’s right.

AMY GOODMAN: You, yourself, were tortured for representing political prisoners—that’s right?—in the 1970s?

JUAN MÉNDEZ: That’s correct, yes. That’s right. You know, and I am following the trials in Argentina. They are, you know, very uplifting, and they are a way of looking forward. It’s a way in which the country sees itself in the mirror, reckons with its past, and makes sure that it doesn’t happen again. So, that’s a way of looking forward.

Problems with ETAN east-timor news listserv

2010-11-30T12:03:00.000-05:00

There is currently a problem with the ETAN east-timor news listserv from riseup.net. Messages are not currently going out, but are available on the list archive - https://lists.riseup.net/www/arc/east-timor/ Once the issue is resolved, held messages will be e-mailed to list subscribers.

Make a monthly pledge via credit card
click here

more info about ETAN listservs here

Free Indonesia's Political Prisoners, Demonstrate in DC, December 1

2010-11-29T11:47:00.001-05:00

December 1, 2010
12:30-1:30 PM

Amnesty International

Raise your voices, Raise your flags

Rally for Filep
Free Indonesia's Political Prisoners

Indonesian Embassy
2020 Massachusetts Ave NW, Washington DC
1 block from Dupont Circle Metro Station

Wednesday December 1 is the 6th anniversary of Filep Karma's arrest for peacefully raising a flag. Join Amnesty International and ETAN in calling for the immediate and unconditional release of Filep Karma and all prisoners of conscience in Indonesia!

Wikileaks

2010-11-28T20:12:00.002-05:00

UPDATE: The Jakarta Post reports that "3,059 [documents] came from the US Embassy in Jakarta and 167 from the US Consulate in Surabaya. The latest document among the Jakarta files was dated Feb. 27, 2010, while the earliest was sent out on Nov. 19, 1990. Only 14 of the files were sent out during the 1990s, and another 20 from 2000 to 2005. The vast majority were sent out from 2006 to February this year."
--

Wikileaks U.S. State Department document dump will include about 350 from embassy in Dili and ten times as many from the embassy in Jakarta.

According to Wikileaks:

"Wikileaks began on Sunday November 28th publishing 251,287 leaked United States embassy cables, the largest set of confidential documents ever to be released into the public domain. The documents will give people around the world an unprecedented insight into US Government foreign activities.

The cables, which date from 1966 up until the end of February this year, contain confidential communications between 274 embassies in countries throughout the world and the State Department in Washington DC. ...

The embassy cables will be released in stages over the next few months.

Only a few hundred documents have been posted so far. Much interesting, and possibly revelatory, reading to come.