Read the program booklet from ETAN's Sorumutu Virual

 

Download and read the program from the meeting 

Coming soon video from the event.

Please support ETAN in the New Year!

Read our appeal here: http://www.etan.org/appeal_2021-22.htm 

SUPPORT ETAN Now! 

Support ETAN and our work for justice, human rights and democracy. Please donate today!

In our 30th year, with your help, we can intensify our pursuit of justice for the many victims of Indonesia's security forces crimes, from the coup in 1965 that brought the dictator Suharto to power, through the illegal invasion and occupation of Timor-Leste to the ongoing human rights violations against West Papuans. We need your help in keeping up the pressure on the U.S. government to acknowledge its role in arming and training the perpetrators of these crimes.

ETAN needs you!

Please donate

ETAN needs your support!

UPDATE: As of October 8, we have raised $5017 of our goal of $8500.

ETAN's ability to carry on our work - much less expand it - very much depends on support from people like you. Please donate today.

Contribute here and thank you for your support.

Read our full appeal here.

East Timor and Indonesia Action Network

______________

Picture: MKOTT - Movimentu Kontra Okupasaun Tasi Timor/Movement Against the Occupation of the Timor Sea - thanks international solidarity activists for their support of their efforts to acheive a fair maritine boundary between Australia and Timor-Leste. Photo by Maubere Gusmao via Facebook.

See also

ETAN: Timor-Leste Honors President Bill Clinton: Setting the Record Straight

U.S. National Security Archives: U.S. sought to preserve close ties to Indonesian military as it terrorized East Timor in runup to 1999 independence referendum

Support ETAN! Donate Today!

ETAN is an incredible organization. It was an important part of our struggle for self-determination, struggle for the permanent Maritime Boundary with Australia, and during the last 19 years, it has been part of Timorese struggle to reconstruct and to rebuild its country. At this critical juncture of Timor's development, it is critical to walk together with Timorese to achieve our dream for better life where every citizen has the conditions to meet its basic rights, including the economic and social rights to have a dignified life. --Gute Neves

Dear friend of ETAN,

We write to urge you to support the work of the East Timor and Indonesia Action Network for the coming year. We are an organization funded almost entirely by the grassroots; we rely on you - and others like you - for support.

ETAN 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

ETAN has worked since 1991 to advance self-determination, democracy, and human rights for the peoples of Timor-Leste (East Timor), Indonesia and West Papua -- work that remains necessary. Please help us continue the struggle for justice by contributing to ETAN today.

There are exciting changes at ETAN: During this past year, we welcomed an impressive group of activists to our board. We are working with them to reinvigorate ETAN’s activism.

...

With your support, ETAN continues to inform, educate, advocate, and organize in support of the Timorese, Indonesia and West Papuan peoples’ fundamental rights, including democratic governance, adequate nutrition and decent health care, and freedom of expression. We amplify their concerns and voices for a global. audience.

Read the full appeal here

Reflections 41 years after Invasion Day, Secenber 7

Read the full article here

Reflections 41 years after Invasion Day,
December 7

By Pamela Sexton

Dili, Timor-Leste - Recently, thousands of U.S. military veterans travelled to North Dakota to support the peaceful struggle of the Standing Rock Sioux to defend their sovereignty and protect their land and water. I watched the veterans bend down to ask forgiveness from the many indigenous tribes gathered there. They apologized as veterans from the same military that has carried out genocide against Native Americans since before the U.S. achieved independence. In this way, they acknowledged the past and affirmed their commitment to ensuring the bitter past doesn’t repeat itself.

This December 7, I bent down in Timor-Leste to apologize for the crimes of my government against the East Timorese people. On that day in 1975, U.S.-armed and -trained Indonesian troops launched their illegal invasion. I feel a deep sadness and shame that my government has not yet formally and responsibly acknowledged its support for crimes committed here on that day and the 24-year Indonesian occupation which followed. An important first step would be for the U.S. to declassify and release all its records related to Indonesia and its invasion and occupation of Timor-Leste. ...

read the rest here

Jose Ramos-Horta: Support ETAN today!

DONATE here

Dear friend of my beloved country,

Timor-Leste recently celebrated the 41st anniversary of our Declaration of Independence, a right and a dream that was finally realized in 2002. For the last quarter-century of our journey, the East Timor and Indonesia Action Network (ETAN) has been among our most effective and consistent supporters. Their solidarity has been exemplary, beginning during the brutal, difficult depths of the illegal Indonesian military occupation and continuing through the economic and political challenges we face today as a 14-year-old, post-conflict, post-colonial, sovereign nation.

Twenty-five years ago, a month after Indonesian troops brutally massacred young, nonviolent Timorese protesters at Santa Cruz cemetery in Dili, peace and justice activists organized a peaceful vigil in front of the Indonesian Mission to the United Nations. With participation from people around the United States, that quickly grew into a national organization which, by 1999, had 12,000 members in 28 local chapters.  Their protests and lobbying of the U.S. government and the United Nations were a vital element in enabling my people to vote in a UN-supervised referendum. As you know, Indonesian efforts to intimidate us failed, and the overwhelming mandate for independence led to Timor-Leste becoming the first new sovereign nation of the 21st century.

Without solidarity from international friends like ETAN, Timor-Leste’s dream of independence would not have become a reality.

Before the referendum, I served as Timor-Leste’s Foreign Minister in exile, lobbying decision makers all over the world for my people’s right to self-determination. Although ETAN always acted independently, we collaborated closely to encourage the U.S. government to abandon its diplomatic and military support for the Suharto dictatorship’s illegal occupation.

Since 2002, I have been the Foreign Minister, Prime Minister and President of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste. As I evolved from diplomat-in-exile to Head of State, ETAN maintained their solidarity with my people. In government, I had to make difficult decisions concerning past crimes in the interests of better relations with post-Suharto Indonesia, our largest neighbor and biggest trading partner.  Although ETAN and I sometimes have different views on issues like accountability for past crimes and self-determination for West Papua, I know that their positions are based on principle, and I admire and respect their tenacity.

For the last five years, I have worked to improve the effectiveness of UN peacekeeping worldwide. I have helped Guinea-Bissau and other conflict-affected countries strive for the peace and human rights that the people of Timor-Leste are finally able to enjoy. I know how unusual – and how important – it is for people living under repression and conflict to have reliable, committed supporters in places like the United States.

 DONATE HERE 

Timor-Leste never attracted widespread popular attention in the United States, even during the peak of our struggle against violent occupation. Since the killing ended, we have become a “normal” country, and U.S. government policy now respects the rights of my people. It is even more difficult to get Americans to care about a small nation on the other side of the world, which is why ETAN’s work continues to be essential.

ETAN's John M. Miller and Charles Scheiner with Jose Ramos-Horta in Dili, May 21, 2012. Photo by ETAN.

ETAN’s email list is an invaluable source of information, from a variety of perspectives, for more than 4,600 people around the globe. Their steadfast support for resolving permanent maritime boundaries with our neighbors, especially Australia, continues the international solidarity that was crucial to achieving sovereignty over Timor-Leste’s land territory.  As we evolve from a petroleum-export-dependent nation to one whose economy is based on our own resources and labor, ETAN’s support and encouragement continue to be irreplaceable.

In 2012, on the 10th anniversary of the restoration of our independence, I was pleased to join in awarding both ETAN and its co-founder Charles Scheiner with the Ordem de Timor-Leste for their support for our liberation.

ETAN's actions and campaigns have always been based on the interests of the people, developed after consulting our civil society. Although ETAN’s annual budget is smaller than virtually every other international organization involved with our country, the work that they do is invaluable.

ETAN is an exceptional organization, and their continuing support for the people of my country needs your help. I recently made a sizeable donation to ETAN, and I hope you will also do so.

Sincerely,

José Ramos-Horta

Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and former President, Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste

Invest in Justice! Give to ETAN on #GivingTuesday Why wait for the end of the year to invest in justice? Don't delay. donate to ETAN today! #GivingTuesday is a global day of giving fueled by the power of social media.  Dear Friend of ETAN, Your contribution supports ETAN's ongoing support for the  campaign of  government and people of Timor-Leste to establish maritime boundaries with its neighbors. Legally-recognized boundaries would end Australia's theft of Timor's resources and bring to a close the independence struggle that  began more than 40 years ago. In March, we conducted a successful online campaign calling on Australia to negotiate maritime boundaries now. This was in association with demonstrations in Dili, throughout Australia and elsewhere. Your gift will help maintain and strengthen ETAN's crucial information sharing via email and on social media. So many people, perhaps including you, depend us to keep them informed about important news about Timor-Leste, Indonesia and West Papua.  With your help, we can intensify our pursuit of justice for the many victims of Indonesia's security forces crimes: from the coup in 1965 that brought the dictator Suharto to power, through the illegal invasion and occupation of Timor-Leste to the West Papuans subject to ongoing human rights violations. And we need your help in keeping up the pressure on the U.S. government to acknowledge its role in arming and training the perpetrators of these crimes. We continue to highlight the career and human rights record now coordinating minister and former general Wiranto. We are pressing  Indonesia's President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo to rescind his appointment. Please sign our petition here -- if you haven't yet done so.  We can only maintain these and our other activities with the generous support of people like yourself.  Don't delay, please donate today. John M. Miller National Coordinator, ETAN

25 years after the Santa Cruz massacre: Did corporations influence Western government policy?

25 years after the Santa Cruz massacre: did corporations influence Western government policy?

by David Webster

Digging into the archival records isn’t purely academic. It can tell us why governments make the decisions they did – and suggest ways to influence future government decisions.

The Santa Cruz massacre, when Indonesian troops shot a crowd of unarmed pro-independence protesters in East Timor (now independent Timor-Leste) serves as an example. Film footage captured by British journalist Max Stahl, along with reports from US journalists Allan Nairn and Amy Goodman, led to a wave of outrage and activism in Western countries which had supported Indonesia’s occupation of East Timor for years. As Timor-Leste president Taur Matan Ruak noted in his speech commemorating the 25 anniversary of the Santa Cruz massacre: “The images recorded by those journalists and the articles they wrote travelled the world and spread news of the crime committed in Santa Cruz on 12 November 1991.”

Archival records show that governments were sensitive to this pressure and wanted to give the appearance of responding to it in some fashion.

But there was another, much more hidden lobby. Western corporations that were doing business – highly profitable business – in Indonesia also lobbied governments. Much of this was visible. The East Timor Action Network/US pointed to the role of US business lobbies and public relations firms, for instance. But it is difficult to track this lobbying and determine how intense it was.

Archives can help here. The Canadian government archives give one example. Other countries are likely to have a similar pattern of corporate lobbying visible. After the Santa Cruz massacre, as pressure for sanctions against the Indonesian military regime grew, business lobbied to prevent any effective action being taken by the government, calling instead for verbal pressure only.

Canadian companies lobbied hard for “business as usual” with Indonesia in the month after the massacre, the archival record indicates. There are many more letters on the Canadian government’s East Timor file from companies than is normal on foreign policy files. A few examples from November and December 1991 follow.

Power generation company Babcock and Wilcox wrote to Canadian prime minister Brian Mulroney, who had just declared Canada would do more on human rights. Saying they were expecting nearly a billion US dollars in business in the coming year, the company pleased for the government to do nothing that could harm these anticipated profits. The letter: babcock-1991-11-28.

That letter led to a stiff note from the Ontario International Corporation to the Canadian government’s Department of International Trade. The OIC was an agency of the government of Ontario, Canada’s largest province and home to Babcock and the largest number of corporate head offices in Canada. At the time, Ontario was governed by the New Democratic Party led by Premier Bob Rae. The OIC letter said that any reduction of Canadian aid would cause Indonesia to “invoke punitive counter measures which will severely threaten Canada’s (in large part, Ontario’s) commercial interests.” OIC letter: oic-1991-12-09

The Canadian ambassador to Indonesia invited Canadian business representatives in Jakarta to breakfast at her residence, to brief them on Canada’s plans to review aid to Indonesia as a means of human rights pressure over East Timor. This drew lobbying letters from the associations and representatives of Canadian companies operating in Indonesia. “If Canada chooses to be one of the first countries to cut off aid to Indonesia [it] will set back Canada’s position in Indonesia [and] have very serious economic consequences on Canadian companies,” wrote the Canadian Investment Advisor in Indonesia. (This letter is dated December 7, the 16th anniversary of the Indonesian invasion of East Timor.) The Advisor’s letter: investment-advisor-1991-12-07

The Canadian Business Association in Jakarta sent a similar letter to Brian Mulroney. If Canada suspended aid without waiting for the findings of an internal Indonesian government inquiry into the Santa Cruz massacre, the Association wrote, “then Canada is guilty of meddling in the internal affairs of this country.” This was an odd conclusion, given that very few countries recognized Indonesia’s annexation of East Timor (certainly the United Nations did not). It was odder still in arguing that reducing or even reviewing Canadian aid programmes was a function of Indonesian sovereignty. The association argued that Canadian business in Indonesia was booming and that helped to advance human rights, and asked Ottawa to do nothing until the Indonesian internal inquiry was complete. CBA letter: cba-1991-12-06

Meanwhile in Ottawa, foreign minister Barbara McDougall met with the Canadian Exporters Association, the umbrella group for Canadian companies selling products to other countries. The influential CEA repeated its stance that political pressure for human rights overseas not interfere with Canadian trade. Nothing should be done to harm the “innocent” in Indonesia -a  group within which the CEA included Canadian companies there. Cutting Canadian aid to Indonesia, the CEA said, “would irreparably damage Canada’s long term dedicated and committed efforts to penetrate Indonesian-ASEAN markets.” In other words, for the CEA promoting human rights was fine, but protecting Canadian trade was more important. CEA letter: cea-1991-12-06

Another Canadian company, CAL, joined the lobby with letters to the ministers of foreign affairs, international trade, and international development. CAL expressed support for the idea of human rights but said cutting aid would risk $500-million of business the company expected in Indonesia in the coming five years. Instead, it called for a round table conversation among Canadians, with no concrete action taken for the moment. CAL letter: cal-1991-12-06

As the Canadian government prepared to review its aid programme to Indonesia, Canadian business interests mobilized to lobby against this plan. They had no objection to verbal expressions of concern to the Indonesian government, but they wanted to make sure that the Canadian government did not reduce its aid to Indonesia, for fear this would affect potential profit.

It would be surprising if the same was not happening in other Western countries with business interests in Indonesia. At the time, activists claimed that Western governments were putting trade ahead of human rights. A slice of the Canadian archival records, for one month in 1991, shows that yes, business was certainly lobbying hard to prevent strong pressure on Indonesia, and using arguments about profit to make their case.

see also

ETAN BACKGROUNDER: Santa Cruz Massacre

ETAN Urges  Justice for Victims of the Santa Cruz Massacre on 25th Anniversary

TLPres: Speech by President Taur Matan Ruak on the 25th Anniversary of the Santa Cruz massacre

ETAN Links on Santa Cruz Massacre

About David Webster

Associate professor of History at Bishop’s University in Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada. Past positions in Toronto, San Francisco and Regina, Saskatchewan. Author of Fire and the Full Moon: Canada and Indonesia in a Decolonizing World (UBC Press, 2009) and collection editor of East Timor: Testimony (Between the Lines, 2004).  Human rights advocacy on Timor-Leste and other regions bordering the Pacific. Research focuses include trans-Pacific interactions between Canada and Asia, the diplomacy of independence movements in Asia, and the histories of international organizations.

A Timorese View on Justice for Suharto's Crimes

A Timorese View: Time to End Impunity for Suharto's Crimes in Indonesia and Timor-Leste

Tetum: Agora mak tempu atu hapara impunidade ba krime sira Suharto nian iha Indonesia no Timor-Leste

Bahasa Indonesia: Sekarang Saatnya Memutus Impunitas untuk Kejahatan Soeharto di Indonesia dan Timor-Leste

some excerpts:

The tragedy of 1965-1966 is part of a long history of massacres by the Indonesian military. As East Timorese, we know very well the brutality of the Indonesian dictator's regime. I was born after the initial Indonesian invasion in 1975, but grew up under the occupation. As a young student, I saw the Indonesian military intimidate and abuse youth suspected of supporting East Timorese independence. We were not safe anywhere: Suharto's troops would seize us at home, school or on the streets; many were never seen again. I watched helplessly as soldiers murdered my cousin, Luis Gusmão Pereira, in a public market in Triloedae-Laga. 

....

The chains of impunity remain strong in Indonesia; U.S. leaders who supported crimes against humanity in Indonesia and elsewhere continue to avoid accountability and punishment. The U.S. and Indonesia claim they are democratic and law-abiding nations, but they openly resist holding their own officials accountable.

East Timorese demonstrate for justice.
Photo by Karen Orenstein/ETAN.

Remembering Michael Ratner

Remembering Michael Ratner

Democracy Now! Suing Dictators Around the World:
A Look at How Michael Ratner Helped Reshape Human Rights Law

The East Timor and Indonesia Action Network is saddened to learn of the death of human rights attorney and ETAN supporter Michael Ratner, 72. Michael was at the forefront of many legal struggles for justice both within the U.S. and internationally. He served as President of the Center for Constitutional Rights, where he pioneered the use of universal jurisdiction and U.S. law to bring rights violators to justice.

In 1994, Michael and CCR successfully sued Major-General Sintong Panjaitan for his role in the 1991 Santa Cruz massacre of more than 270 East Timorese. A U.S. District Court ordered the general to pay substantial compensatory and punitive damages to Helen Todd, the mother of Kamal Bamadhaj, the only non-East Timorese killed that day. Later, also with the help of Michael and CCR, several East Timorese sued Indonesian General Johny Lumintang for his role in the military and militia violence which surrounded the 1999 vote on independence. After hearing testimony from the East Timorese and experts, a U.S. magistrate entered a large judgement against the general that was later over-turned on a technicality.

Michael also inspired one of ETAN's most unique actions. Under a long-existing procedure, we requested a temporary street renaming supporting Timor-Leste near the Indonesian consulate in New York. After we were turned down on overtly political grounds, CCR sued the city on our behalf. On July 17, 1999, ETAN dedicated a street sign naming 68th Street "East Timor Way."

Speaking at a discussion organized in 2001 by ETAN on the 10th anniversary of the Santa Cruz massacre, Michael reflected on the success of the Timor's drive for independence. "These struggles can be won," he said. "It's a lesson we can all take away from this."

We thank Michael for his dedication, inspiration, and tenacity. Our condolences to his family,friends and colleagues.

More about Michael Ratner

Video: Suing Dictators Around the World: A Look at How Michael Ratner Helped Reshape Human Rights Law, Democracy Now! May 12, 2016

Michael Ratner, Lawyer Who Won Rights for Guantánamo Prisoners, Dies at 72, New York Times,
May 11, 2016

PUBLIC LIVES; Still Tilting at Windmills, and Fighting for Rights, New York Times,  August 2, 2002

ETAN in solidarity with Indonesia's LGBT community

ETAN stands in solidarity with Indonesia's LGBT community

The East Timor and Indonesia Action Network (ETAN) strongly condemns recent and ongoing attacks against lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgender people in Indonesia. ETAN stands with those Indonesian organizations and activists opposing all forms of discrimination and violence against LGBT people.

There has been a shocking rise in hate speech and homophobic actions in Indonesia. In recent months, anti-LGBT policies have spread and members of the LGBT community face ongoing harassment and death threats. Statements attacking LGBT people have come from all levels of government and include education officials calling for a ban on LGBT groups on school campuses and Indonesia's Vice-President Jusuf Kalla asking UNDP to defund LGBT organizations. Indonesia's leadership is ignoring its responsibility to include and protect all of its citizens by allowing this environment of intimidation and hatred to continue and spread.

Read the rest here

Take ACTION: Australia: Hands Off Timor's Oil!

Share this action: http://bit.ly/timorsea

Stand in solidarity with the East Timorese demanding their rights

Join the international online protest the week of March 21-25 Take Action from your computer, phone or tablet

1) Take a photo of yourself holding a sign saying either "Australia: Hands Off Timor's Oil!" or "Australia: Median Line Now!"; include your name and location (e.g. John, New York, NY, USA).

2) Post your selfie to Twitter and/or Instagram and add it to the event's Facebook page here with the hashtag #medianlinenow and/or #HandsOffTimorsOil.

See sample photos below and printable signs in Word, PDF. On Twitter include @TurnbullMalcolm and @etan009; on Instagram include @turnbullmalcolm and@etan009. If you do not have, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, just email us your photo (watch the file size, please), and we will post it.

3) After you post, email a link to us at etan@etan.org.

This part of Hands Off Timor's Oil - International Week of Action

PELO BA KOLEGA SIRA HOTU.

Tempo too ona atu bele utiliza ita boot telephone, ita boot nia laptop/PC hodi fo apoio luta atu bele liberta ita nia fronteira maritima. Bolu atensaun ba Timor-oan hotu atu partisipa ativu hodi bele fahe apelo ida ne'e ba kolega sira seluk, influensia iha media sosial hotu-hotu (facebook profile, FB group, Twitter, instangram,) no haruka photo no lian fuan ""Australia: Hands Off Timor's Oil!" ou "Australia: Median Line Now!" ba diresaun sira ne'e :

Facebook : hakerek hastag # medianlinenow no/ou # HandsOffTimorsOil .

Twitter : @TurnbullMalcolm ; @etan009;

Instagram : @turnbullmalcolm ; @etan009

Keta haluha ba mos hakerek ita boot nia naran no hela fatin (dili, australia no fatin seluk) hanesan ezemplu sira ne'e,

https://web.facebook.com/events/987393997974687/

ETAN Alert - Write your Senators today!

Write your Senators - email letters here.

ETAN ALERT

Reveal the Truth, Acknowledge the Crime

Take Action on U.S. Support for Mass Violence and Genocide in Indonesia

Take action on U.S. accountability for its role in the massacres that followed Suharto's brutal seizure of power.

Read whole alert here: http://etan.org/action/16lookofsilence.htm

1) Support S.Res. 273. Call your Senators and urge them to cosponsor Senator Tom Udall's (D-NM) resolution condemning the 1965-1966 mass murder in Indonesia and expressing concern about the lack of accountability for these crimes. 

Call the Capitol Switchboard - (202) 224-3121 - and ask for your Senators' offices. Once connected ask for a foreign policy aide. Urge the Senator to co-sponsor Senate Resolution 273 on Indonesia, summarize the resolution, and a give your reasons why you believe it is important.Stress the need for both the U.S. and Indonesia to acknowledge the past by releasing all its documents from 1965/66. By taking responsibility for its role in these crimes, the U.S. will be supporting justice, reconciliation and assist efforts in Indonesia to hold its security forces accountable and to lift ongoing restrictions on freedom of expression.

Please encourage others to call. Be sure to follow-up with an email or another call. Let us knowthe results of your calls.

S.Res. 273 urges Indonesia to consider a truth, justice, and reconciliation commission to address crimes against humanity and other human rights violations and calls on the U.S. government departments and agencies involved in developing and implementing policy towards Indonesia at the time to locate, recommend for declassification, and make available to the public all records from that time. Read more about the S.Res. 273 here: http://etan.org/news/2015/10senate.htm.

2) Sign our petition urging the U.S. government to take two immediate steps:

a) declassify and release all documents related to the U.S. role in the 1965/66 mass violence, and b) formally acknowledge the U.S. role in facilitating the 1965-66 violence and its subsequent support for the brutalities of the Suharto regime.

Thank you to all who have signed so far.

We also urge you to sign the petition by Human Rights Watch here.http://thelookofsilence.com/participate

Order the documentaries here and support ETAN
Blu-Ray	DVD	Blu-Ray (2 discs)	DVD (2 discs)

 

Happy Holidays!

We are talking a break and will be checking our e-mail less often. We wish everyone happy holidays and a fulfilling and peace-filled New Year! May the peoples of Timor-Leste, West Papua, and Indonesia find the peace, prosperity and justice they so deserve.

Thank you for your interest and support our work for justice and human rights. We look forward to working with you in the coming year.

We hope you will support the East Timor and Indonesia Action Network (ETAN) by including us in your end of year giving. You can safely donate by credit card and read a message from Noam Chomsky about why you should join him in supporting us here: http://bit.ly/noam_etan

If you haven't done so, we hope you will sign ETAN's petition calling for an end to 50 years of official silence concerning  U.S. complicity in Indonesian mass violence and  murder. Please sign and share http://chn.ge/1v50Edj

Thank you
John M. Miller, National Coordinator, ETAN

P.S. Use this link, if you want to sign up for ETAN's listservs on Timor-Leste, West Papua or Indonesia:  https://fs20.formsite.com/jmm555/form2/index.html

Read an important message about ETAN from Noam Chomsky

Read an Important message about ETAN
from Noam Chomsky

Thank you for your support. 

Thank you for your support. 

 

Tell Obama to support West Papua #humanrights

Sign our petition

Tell Obama to support Papua Human Rights

On October 26, 2015, President Obama will meet with Indonesia's President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo.

Beginning in May 1963, West Papua was occupied by Indonesia with U.S. government support and encouragement. By 1969, Indonesia had annexed the territory. Over the course of five decades, West Papuans have suffered mass killings, torture, rape, and the loss of their culture and lands. U.S. corporations like the mining giant Freeport McMoRan have devastated the environment. At least 100,000 Papuans are estimated to have died as a result of Indonesian rule. In addition, the region has been so inundated with migrants that indigenous Papuans are no longer a majority in their own land.

The U.S. continues to arm and train the security forces that repress the West Papuan people. The Indonesian government's attempts to conceal the truth about West Papua include banning foreign journalists and UN Special Rapporteurs on human rights from visiting the territory. While President Widodo has announced several positive initiatives, elements in his government, including the security forces, are resisting change and the human rights violations continue.

The West Papuans continue to resist Indonesian rule. Groups supporting self-determination recently came together in the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) in a broad coalition to press their case within West Papua and internationally.

Restrictions on security assistance from the United States were important in Timor-Leste (East Timor) gaining their independence from Indonesia. The U.S. should again restrict training and weapons to Indonesia in support of the rights of West Papuans.

This is a petition of the East Timor and Indonesia Action Network For more information on West Papua, read the monthly West Papua Report, published by the West Papua Advocacy Team and ETAN.