Blair story among 'most censored'

Dennis Blair nomination is among "most censored" stories of 2010. Project Censored which issues an annual list of Top 25 Most Censored Stories. The group cites Allan Nairn's Democracy Now! appearance of January 7, 2009 where he discussed Blair's record as U.S. Pacific Commander in Chief in 1999. ETAN opposes the nomination to be National Director of Intelligence. ETAN began highlighting Blair's record on East Timor in early December 2008. In the end, Blair was confirmed.

Project Censored citation (under the heading "Obama’s Military Appointments Have Corrupt Past") states:

Admiral Dennis Blair, Obama’s pick to head National Intelligence, which oversees all sixteen intelligence agencies, was the Commander of Military Forces in the Pacific under Clinton. As such he played a critical role in the backing of the Indonesian occupation of East Timor after the US-backed dictator Suharto fell in 1998. In 1999, when the Indonesian military terrorized the population to thwart democratic reform, Blair was sent by Clinton and the US State Department to demand that Indonesian General Wiranto stop the massacres. Instead, Admiral Blair falsely informed the general of unwavering US support. Government-sponsored atrocities escalated. Blair then lied to Congress, claiming that only small unit violence was involved, when in fact the top echelons of the Indonesian military were carrying out kidnapping, massacres and torture. Blair essentially sided with General Wiranto in the mass killing of Indonesian [sic] civilians, against US Congress’s orders and knowledge.

ETAN wrote in December 2008:

"President-elect Barack Obama's rumored selection of Admiral Dennis C. Blair for Director of National Intelligence is unacceptable...

"During his years as Pacific Commander, Blair actively worked to reinstate military assistance and deepen ties to Indonesia's military despite its ongoing human rights violations in East Timor and consistent record of impunity...

"His actions demonstrate the failure of engagement to temper the Indonesian military’s behavior and his actions helped to reinforce impunity for senior Indonesian officials that continues to this day...

"He undermined the Clinton administration's belated efforts to support human rights and self-determination in the Indonesian-occupied territory and opposed congressional efforts to limit assistance.”

In early January, we reiterated our concerns - calling Blair a "poor choice."

In April 1999, just days after Indonesian security forces and their militia proxies carried out a brutal churchyard massacre, Adm. Blair delivered a message of 'business-as-usual' to Indonesian General Wiranto, then Commander of the Indonesian armed forces. Following East Timor's pro-independence vote, Blair sought the quickest possible restoration of military assistance, despite Indonesia's highly destructive exit from the territory.

From Human Rights First

Demand End to Intimidation of Indonesian Activist Seeking Justice

Usman Hamid, Coordinator of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (KontraS), is being investigated for criminal defamation. The Jakarta police investigation was instigated by the same retired State Intelligence Agency official alleged to have orchestrated the murder of Hamid's late colleague, noted human rights lawyer Munir Said Thalib.

Mr. Hamid has been one of the most persistent voices in the effort to hold accountable all those responsible for the fatal poisoning of Munir in September 2004. Retired Major General Muchdi Purwopranjono was acquitted of murder on December 31, 2008, after a trial marred by allegations of witness intimidation and the presence of intimidating groups in the courtroom. Outside the court, Usman Hamid criticized the verdict and, according to media reports, asserted that Muchdi had murdered Munir.

Criminal defamation charges are used by many governments that wish to silence their political opposition. This violation of Usman Hamid's freedom of expression is a 180-degree departure from the course the Indonesian government should be pursuing: vigorous and just prosecution of all those, no matter how powerful, who had a hand in the murder of Munir.

Take action now to urge President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to end the investigation of Usman Hamid and to reinvigorate investigation and prosecution of Munir's killers.

More background

Send a letter to President Yudhoyono,

Justice Denied! - Washington, DC event

Justice Denied!
East Timor's Struggle for Justice Ten Years After Voting for Independence

Monday, October 5, 7:00pm

at the offices of Friends of the Earth: 1717 Massachusetts Ave NW, Suite #600 (near Dupont Circle), Washington, DC

A Discussion with John M. Miller of the East Timor and Indonesia Action Network (ETAN) and T. Kumar of Amnesty International

In August the people of East Timor celebrated ten years since voting for independence from Indonesia, following a brutal 24-year military occupation. On this historic anniversary, please join us to discuss the continuing Timorese struggle for justice and against impunity for human rights violations.

While calls continue around the world for justice and accountability for Indonesian officials and others indicted for crimes against humanity committed during the occupation, the President of East Timor recently declared that East Timor would not pursue an international tribunal, despite overwhelming demands for justice by the East Timorese. At the same time, East Timor's Prime Minister secretly released, Martenus Bere, a militia leader indicted for crimes against humanity into the hands of Indonesian authorities.

Indonesia's brutal quarter-century occupation of East Timor left up to 180,000 dead. In 1999, first to intimidate Timorese against voting for independence and then to punish them for it, the Indonesian military organized a scorched-earth campaign that left at least 1,400 dead and hundreds of thousands of civilians forcibly displaced. Not a single Indonesian official has been held accountable for these crimes.

T. Kumar, Advocacy Director for Asia and the Pacific at Amnesty International, will discuss Amnesty's recent report calling for an international tribunal for East Timor. John M. Miller, National Coordinator of the East Timor and Indonesia Action Network, was in East Timor in August and September and will discuss how justice is viewed by members of Timorese civil society and current organizing for an international tribunal. John participated in the country’s celebration of its historic referendum, including a major conference of Timorese and international solidarity activists committed to organizing for social and economic justice in the millennium’s first nation.

Organized by the East Timor and Indonesia Action Network (ETAN), Washington, DC.
Questions, please write: craig@etan.org; phone: (631) 721 8011. More info: www.etan.org

West Papua Report September 2009

The September West Papua Report is available here

Summary

There were Indonesian security force attacks on Papuan civilians in August with reports of continuing assaults in Puncak Jaya and a new report from Yapen island where security forces terrorized villagers following security force murder of a tribal leader and former political prisoner. Amnesty -recognized prisoner of conscience Filep Karma has been hospitalized after a week's delay in medical attention at the notorious Abepura prison. The Australian Senate has called for a return of the Committee of the Red Cross to West Papua after Indonesian officials closed its offices there in the wake of an ICRC visit to Abepura prison this Spring. Despite the jailing of several Papuans alleged to have been behind July attacks in the area of the Freeport mining concession, attacks continued in August. Amnesty has issued a public statement decrying the lack of progress in the investigation of the murder of Papuan activist Opinus Tabuni. Officials of the Home Affairs Ministry have met with Papuans in a rare dialogue. The discussion falls far short of the senior-level, ly mediated dialogue that Papuans have been seeking for several years. More than a dozen organizations meeting in Dili have urged an end to impunity for Indonesian security forces operating in West Papua and for a positive Jakarta response to Papuan calls for dialogue. Senior Papuans, in a late August conference, have emphasized the failure of "special autonomy" to address Papuan needs. Conservation groups have joined together to create a protected region in the waters off West Papua's "bird's head" region.

Call for Justice - Joint Statement for Crimes Humanity in Timor-Leste

Update: Lao Hamutuk has sponsored a discussion of the Bere case in Dili and issued its own analysis here.

CALL FOR JUSTICE ON EAST TIMOR PAST MASS ATROCITIES

Joint Statement on the Release of Martenus Bere – Indicted for Crimes Against Humanity in Timor-Leste

For the past ten years the disinterest of the international community and active efforts by Indonesia have blocked efforts to end impunity for serious crimes committed during the Indonesian occupation of Timor-Leste. Ignoring the pleas of the East Timorese people, the Timor-Leste leadership continues to dismiss their calls for justice and an end to impunity.

We were deeply distressed by the 30 August speech of Timor-Leste President Jose Ramos-Horta and the actions of the governments of Indonesia and Timor-Leste which led to the release of indicted militia leader Martenus Bere. His extra-judicial release violated international law and treaties and undermined the rule of law and the Constitution of Timor-Leste.

We firmly disagree with President Ramos-Horta that the pursuit of justice is “simplistic.”

Read rest here in English and Bahasa Indonesia