On 06 Sep 1999 Chris Burford <cburford at gn.apc.org> wrote:
CHRIS. Why should the boundaries set by colonial countries, Portugal and the Netherlands, half a world away, have any legal or moral authority? Why should the border between east and west Timor be any more sacred than the border between Iraqand Kuwait, the latter clearly also being a product of colonialism.
MAGELLAN. The real question is neither legal nor moral, but a clear and definite political one: the Timorese, who have been victimized by genocide since 1975, don't want to be a part of Indonesia. Furthemore, they are culturally different from Indonesia: many of them use Galician-Portuguese as their mother tongue and they were deeply influenced by the Portuguese traditions.
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CHRIS. So the tough question I would like addressed is, are subscribers in favour of western intervention in East Timor. AND IF SO WHAT?
MAGELLAN. Not a western one, but an immediate U.N. one. We also need internationalist action. The correct answers were promptly said by both the Democratic Socialist Party from Australia and the Peoples Democratic Party (KPP-PRD) from Indonesia, which are echoing the Timorese appeal and are being sent to several lists all over the world. "All East Timorese national liberation forces have called for immediate UN-authorised military intervention in East Timor to stop the TNI/Polri-organised bloodbath." In short:
a) "the Australian government insist that the United Nations authorise the immediate dispatch of Australian troops to East Timor. The task of these troops must be to assist the East Timorese resistance forces to stop the current bloodbath being organised by the Indonesian armed forces (TNI) and police (Polri). This can only be achieved through the disarming of the pro-Jakarta terror gangs. In addition, these troops must supervise the rapid withdrawal of all Indonesian military and police personnel from East Timor so as to enable the East Timorese to take full control of their nation's affairs."
b) "If the United Nations Security Council continues to argue that an international military force cannot be sent to East Timor without the Indonesian government's agreement, then the Australian government should act unilaterally and send its armed forces into East Timor to end the TNI/Polri-organised terror campaign."
c) "Push the Habibie administration to recognise the result of the Direct Ballot and respect the choice of the East Timorese people for independence."
d) "Call for Indonesian Government to obey the New York Agreement in keeping the security in East Timor, that those responsible for it from the Indonesia side is only the police. There must be immediate withdrawal of the military forces as the Direct Ballot is announced. (Article 5, Memorandum UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, May 4 1999)
e) "Call for Indonesia Government to stop all kinds of support to the pro integration militia."
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CHRIS. This morning Portugal has gone public that a massacre is about to happen. Australia, although not part of the NATO coalition that attacked Yugoslavia, has publically verbally attacked Indonesia. What they have said in private we can only guess, but they are the only power in the region capable of attacking the Indonesian military.
MAGELLAN. As to Portugal really not. May be in the gone times of Vasco da Gama...
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CHRIS. Not many of these arms relatively speaking got to the East Timorese freedom fighters but those they did probably fell into the hands of some pretty suspect types, clearly courted by the CIA and guilty of atrocities in turn against other civilians. Besides the main movement in East Timor is represented by a prominent Catholic and we all know of the thoroughly dubious nature of the Roman Catholic church and its links with reaction and treacherous reformism throughout the world.
MAGELLAN. As to the Roman Catholic church that is quite untrue in several parts of the world. Don't confound the papacy with the real church.
Let's see the case of Brazil, that is the largest Catholic country in the world. But I will say something about this perhaps tomorrow.
In solidarity, Roberto Magellan
1919 / 1999 Entweder Sozialismus, oder Barbarei !
Socialismo ou barbárie !