>and the upcoming referendum in East Timor
>resulted from the brave Timorese resistance joined to a vocal opposition
>strong enough to bring it to world attention (as the Nobel prizes showed).
bosh. the upcoming referendum, and the swiftly unfolding campaign of violence and 'hamletting', is a carefully calculated attempt to frighten the hell out of the opposition to Indonesian rule in east timor. it is a sign of the weakness of the resistance; as the recent agreement b/n Portugal and indonesia brokered by the UN was a sign of its military weakness: it places the onus on Falantil (Fretilin) to disarm, apparently alongside the disarming of the paramilitaries, who of course can be re-armed at the drop of a hat. the resistance is indeed brave, but unfortunately, it is not in a position to do much at present other than denounce the atrocities committed daily by the paramilitaries in the lead up to the first (and probably last) referendum. Falantil do not want to fight the paramilitaries, they do not want to allow this to be transformed from a struggle against Indonesian rule to one of 'civil war', but I fear they have been outflanked. if nothing changes in the lead up to the referendum, I would be astounded if there isn't a vote for autonomy (remembering that this would mean no subsequent vote on independence).
the east timorese resistance is either terrified and gone underground, has fled, or is in exile. it is not strong. at present it is very weak; and pretending that it is strong is only an excuse not to pay attention.
Angela --- rcollins at netlink.com.au