East Timor and Kosovo

[Yoshie Furuhashi]

Steve to Chris:
>Why not start with a demand that the West, i.e. the US, immediately cease
>all military aid to Indonesai right away. Were the US even willing to do
>that much, we might see Indonesian generals finding ways to sway the
>militias to cool it.
>
>Indonesia is far more economically and militarily  dependent on the US
>than Yugoslavia.  So, yeah, there's a massacre going on in East Timor. But
>for the US to intervene, it needs an enemy. I'd say, stop all aid would be
>an appropriate start.
>
>I've been dying to read Chinese press reports on this  situation btw. But,
>I everytime I go to People's daily...I get  articles on everything but
>Timor.....I'll keep on looking  for some news from the Chinese
>press...Their reaction to this has been very interesting in light of the
>'anti-imperialist' slogans being bandied about  only  a few months ago.
>Now, I guess, being anti-imperialist means supporting  the INdonesian
>generals...unless they practice Falungong of course....

The demand that the US cease military aid has been long advanced by those
who have been involved in the solidarity with the East Timorese.  Here's a
message from one such person:


>  Subj: A Message from East Timor
>  Date: 9/5/99 9:37:45 AM Eastern Daylight Time
>  From: JohnM85747
>
>  John's Message from East Timor
>  (Please redistribute widely)
>
>  There are the makings of a bloodbath here. Many have fled. Many have
>died. I can see smoke of fires of homes set ablaze in the distance. I
>have heard gunfire in the distance. The Indonesian military and its
>creation the militias have refused to accept the democratically
>expressed wish of the East Timorese to move towards independence.
>
>  I have seen East Timorese defy militia and military violence to go
>vote on August 30 and I have seen their fearful faces. Several days ago,
>the women hosting us in Becora (just outside Dili) received an early
>morning phone call and woke us at 4:30 am to tell us we had to move out
>of where were staying for our own safety. I have since heard reports of
>many houses burned and people killed in that neighborhood. Another Dili
>neighborhood I spent time in, Balide, next to the U.N.'s East Timor
>headquarters is ablaze. Timor Aid, the organization which provided
>assistance to the parliamentary delegation I worked with to monitor the
>ballot has been looted of its rice and ransacked. There have also been
>many reports of people being forced onto vehicles and taken to West
>Timor, perhaps to bolster an argument for East Timor's partition or
>worse.
>
>  There have been many calls for U.N. or other peacekeepers. These may
>arrive too late. More guns aren't necessarily what East Timor needs.
>What is very clear is that the military could shut down the violence
>relatively quickly. The military is in control. It is they that can stop
>the killing.
>
>  The U.S. and other governments still have tremendous leverage with
>Indonesia. They must use it all. Statements of serious "consequences." I
>saw President Clinton's mealy-mouthed statement and it doesn't go nearly
>far enough. The global community - governments, others, you - must be
>clear about what these consequences are to let the Indonesian military
>know that continued violence in East Timor is unacceptable.
>
>  Please contact President Clinton and members of Congress now. Urge
>them to immediately
>  a) suspend all military shipments to Indonesia, including spare parts
>and ammunition
>  b) suspend all non-humanitarian bi-lateral aid and loans to Indonesia
>  c) work to suspend all multi-lateral loans and aid, including form the
>IMF and World Bank.
>
>  Call the White House comment line at 202-456-1414.  Urge President
>Clinton to immediately suspend all further military and financial aid to
>Indonesia until the military and paramilitary violence is stopped. The
>U.S. must show strong support for East Timor's democratic decision to
>break away from Indonesia.
>
>  Sept. 5, 1999
>  Dili, East Timor

Yoshie