From notoapec at clear.net.nz Tue Apr 2 11:26:31 2002 From: notoapec at clear.net.nz (notoapec) Date: Tue, 2 Apr 2002 10:26:31 +0800 Subject: [asia-apec 1855] Hi,asia-apec,spice girls' vocal concert Message-ID: <200204020226.g322QVq30403@smtp1.pacific.net.sg> From putratan at indosat.net.id Sat Apr 6 22:01:29 2002 From: putratan at indosat.net.id (North Sumatra Peasant Union) Date: Sat, 06 Apr 2002 20:01:29 +0700 Subject: [asia-apec 1856] re: announcement from SINTESA Message-ID: <3CAEF1A9.277E2C9C@indosat.net.id> Congratulation! North Sumatra Peasant Union would like to congratulate for the new leadership of SINTESA FOUNDATION elected in Third Year Plenary Session of SINTESA on 21st - 23th 2002, especially to our comrade of struggle : Mr. Muhammad Harris Putra, former General Secretary of NSPU 1997 - 2000 and one of the most important person who inspired and declarated NSPU on 1994. Special regards also for Akhmad Sofyan and Sukardi, both of them are our national conculates. SINTESA and NSPU have a long history, since 1987 until now, and also having the special relationship in struggle for genuine agrarian reform and organize mass based organization during the authoritarian regime of the New Order. NSPU strongly hope that with this new leaderships of SINTESA, we could improve our relations and fight for genuine agrarian reform in the future. Congratulations! Muhammad Yunus Naution Executive Leader of NSPU ************************************************************ Serikat Petani Sumatera Utara/SPSU (North Sumatra Peasant Union/NSPU) Jl. Karya Jasa 58, Pangkalan Masyhur Medan, North Sumatera Indonesia 20143 Tel/Fax: +62 61 7862073 Email: putratan@indosat.net.id ************************************************************ Serikat Petani Sumatera Utara/SPSU (North Sumatra Peasant Union/NSPU) is the federation of peasant organization consists of 127 local peasant organizations in North Sumatera Province as its member. SPSU is declared by the peasant of North Sumatera in Parsariran, South Tapanuli District, North Sumatera Province Indonesia on June 3 1994. SPSU is member of La Via Campesina (International Peasant Movement) at International Level. SPSU is founder and member of Federasi Serikat Petani Indonesia/FSPI (Federation of Indonesian Peasant Union/FIPU). FSPI or FIPU declared on July 8th 1998 by several peasant organizations of Indonesia. SPSU has two main bodies : Peasant Representative Board as the legislative body and The Peasant Executive Body. Both of them are elected by Congress directly. In order to implement its program SPSU will set up the Special Task Force and recruit the Consulates in local, regional, national, and international level. Special task force and Consulates are the supporting system of The Peasant Executive body consists of everyone and every institutions who concern to the Agrarian Reform, Indigenous People, Sustainable Agriculture, Democracy, and Peasant Movement. ************************************************************ Sintesa Foundation wrote: > ANNOUNCEMENT > > SINTESA Foundation would like to inform you that we have successfully > organized the Third Year Plenary Session of SINTESA Foundation on > March > > 21st - 23th 2002 . The important decisions of the session are: > > 1. Formed The Council of Foundation and elected the member of Council > > 2. Formed The Board of Representatives and elected the members of > Board > 3. Formed The Executive Body and elected: > - Executive Secretary: M. Harris Putra > - Chair of Department of Education : Akhmad Sofyan > - Chair of Department of Economy : Sukardi > 3. Draw up the Declaration of Organization, Statutes, and formed the > new > > structure of organization > 4. Outlined The Two Years Main Directions of Organization (2002-2003) > > With this we state that the new official Contact Person of SINTESA > Foundation is Mr. Muhammad Harris Putra as the new Executive > Secretary. > > We also would like to inform the our new official address as follows: > > 1. Land and Mailing Address : > Yayasan SINTESA > Jl. EKARASMI VI No. 9 Gedung Johor, > Medan 20143 > North Sumatera > Indonesia > 2. Phone: +62 61 7875027 > 3. Fax : +62 61 7875028 > 4. Email : sintesak@indosat.net.id > > Hopefully with this new leaderships of SINTESA we could improve our > relationship in the future > > Best Regard > > M. Harris Putra > Executive Secretary 2002 - 2005 > > Akhmad Sofyan > Former Executive Director of SINTESA 1998-2001 > ************************************************ > Sintesa foundation is a service rendering NGO established on 1987, > that > supports peasant, workers, urban poor, and indigenous > people both man and woman. Sintesa aims to increase the political > leverage and improve the economic conditions of farmers and alliance > of > the poor, and to promote > Genuine Agrarian Reforms, alliance of the poor, democracy, human > rights, > gender equality and respect for the natural environment. > ************************************************ From fbp at igc.org Mon Apr 8 07:50:29 2002 From: fbp at igc.org (John M. Miller) Date: Sun, 07 Apr 2002 18:50:29 -0400 Subject: [asia-apec 1857] ETAN ALERT: Say No to Military Assistance to Indonesia Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020407184853.01a50028@pop.igc.org> ?JUST SAY NO? TO NEW MILITARY ASSISTANCE FOR INDONESIA CONGRESSIONAL AND PENTAGON CALL-IN DAYS APRIL 10-11 The Pentagon, with a handful of Congressional allies, is actively working to circumvent the ban on military training for the Indonesian military (TNI) initially put in place in response to the 1999 scorched-earth campaign in East Timor. Even as human rights conditions continue to deteriorate in Indonesia and justice for East Timor remains distant, they are seeking to expand military assistance. For what is the Bush administration seeking to reward the Indonesian military? Torture, rape, disappearances, and murder in Aceh, West Papua, and elsewhere in Indonesia; show trials on East Timor in Jakarta; and the revival of political imprisonment by the Megawati administration. (See additional background below.) Urge Congress to put an end to aggressive Pentagon support for the TNI! Tell Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld that a military which terrorizes its own people is not a worthy ally. WHAT YOU CAN DO Together with others, make these contacts on Wednesday, April 10, or Thursday, April 11 or whenever you can. (sample letters follow). I. Call, fax, and email your Representative and two Senators. Tell them to use their voice and vote in Congress: * to prevent the administration from stepping up military assistance for Indonesia. The Indonesian military should not receive a U.S. seal of approval while it continues to evade accountability for crimes against humanity committed in East Timor and terrorize civilians throughout Indonesia. * to ensure that the Indonesian military is not trained under the secretive new Regional Defense Counter-terrorism Fellowship Program. This recently passed provision of the Defense Department Appropriations Act clearly circumvents the International Military Education and Training (IMET) restriction for Indonesia and has the potential to create a new ?School of the Americas? for Asian militaries. * to ensure that Congress does not grant the administration?s new request for an additional $16 million to train the Indonesian military and police and ?to vet, train, and equip a counter-terrorism unit in Indonesia.? * to renew restrictions on IMET and Foreign Military Financing (FMF) in the fiscal year 2003 Foreign Operations Appropriations bill. Phone calls and faxes are generally more effective than emails. The congressional switchboard number is 202-224-3121 (ask for the office of your Senators or Representative), or check http://www.congress.org on the Internet for fax or e-mail information. II. Call or fax Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. Tell him: * The Pentagon must not reward the Indonesian military for torture, rape, disappearances, and murder of civilians throughout Indonesia. * You oppose Pentagon efforts to gut restrictions on military training for the TNI because they undermine the rule-of-law and human rights protections for East Timor and Indonesia. The Pentagon?s efforts legitimize a security force that destroyed East Timor and has rewarded those responsible with promotions within government and military ranks. Secretary Rumsfeld telephone: 703-692-7100 or try comment line703- 428-0711; fax: 703-697-9080. (If you get bounced to a message system, leave a succinct message and, if you want, call again and ask to talk with a live person. Please let us know the results of your contacts. Thank you! Your efforts do make a difference! --------------------- BACKGROUND Last December, Senators Daniel Inouye (D-HI) and Ted Stevens (R-AK) inserted language in the Department of Defense Appropriations Act (HR 3338, provision 8125) providing $17.9 million to establish a Regional Defense Counter-terrorism Fellowship Program at the behest of Admiral Dennis C. Blair, Commander in Chief of the U.S. Pacific Command (CINCPAC). There are no restrictions on which countries can participate in the new secretive program, allowing previously banned training for Indonesia. What will be taught remains undefined. This program is a calculated end-run around hard won restrictions on training for the TNI in the Foreign Operations Appropriations Act. (For more information on the Regional Defense Counter-terrorism Fellowship Program, see ETAN/Indonesia Human Rights Network media releases: ?Rights Groups Condemn End Run on Military Training Restrictions for Indonesia? [http://www.etan.org/news/2001a/12train.htm] and ?Congress Bolsters Ban on Training for Indonesia with One Bill, While Opening a Loophole with Another.? [http://www.etan.org/news/2001a/12forops.htm] In March, the Bush administration boldly went a step further and requested another $16 million in a supplemental appropriations request -- $8 million for the ?training of civilian and military personnel in support of humanitarian and peacekeeping activities in Indonesia? and another $8 million to ?vet, train, and equip a counter-terrorism unit.? Congress expects to begin work on the Emergency FY 2002 Supplemental Appropriations request at the end of April and hopes to pass the bill by the late May?s Memorial Day recess. Meanwhile, the State Department?s Country Report on Human Rights Practices in Indonesia noted, ?Security forces were responsible for numerous instances of, at times indiscriminate, shooting of civilians, torture, rape, beatings and other abuse, and arbitrary detention in Aceh, West Timor, Papua and elsewhere in the country.? Nearly 2000 people were killed in Aceh in 2001, the vast majority civilians. Military and paramilitary crackdowns in Aceh and West Papua have frequently targeted human rights defenders and those suspected of pro-independence sympathies. Investigators have accused members of the notorious Kopassus special forces of the murder of West Papuan independence leader Theys Eluay, but have shied away from looking into who gave the orders. The first trials of 18 suspects indicted by the Indonesian ad hoc Human Rights Court on East Timor began last month in Jakarta. The mandate of this flawed court is limited to only two months of an extremely brutal 24-year military occupation and three of East Timor?s 13 districts. Recently leaked Australian intelligence intercepts strongly implicate many senior military personnel not named as suspects by Indonesian prosecutors, including A.M. Hendropriyono, currently intelligence chief; Major-General Sjafrie Sjamsuddin, recently promoted to military spokesperson; and Mahidin Simbolon, now head of the military command in West Papua. Military officers, including high-level personnel, have packed the courtroom in Jakarta to show solidarity with the defendants. As expected, lawyers for the defense have already questioned the constitutionality of the court. See ETAN media release ?10 Reasons Why Indonesian Courts Will Not Bring Justice to East Timor? for further explanation. (http://www.etan.org/news/2002a/03ten.htm) In a separate case in Indonesia, the trial of three militiamen charged with the murder of a New Zealand peacekeeper resulted in a ?not guilty? verdict. While East Timorese refugees are returning at an increased rate in recent weeks, some 60,000 refugees remain in West Timor. Militia intimidation and misinformation remain rampant, and security for the refugees inadequate. A recent UN report by the UN noted that the presence of hard-line militia in West Timor pose a long-term threat to East Timor?s peace and security. Humanitarian conditions continue to deteriorate in the camps, especially as the Indonesian government has largely ended its assistance. An estimated 1600 East Timorese refugee children remain separated from their parents, some 170 of whom were sent to orphanages and other institutions throughout the archipelago as part of militia-run programs. In the fall of 1999, the U.S. Congress cut off IMET and foreign military financing for Indonesia until it meets certain conditions pertaining to East Timor, including the return of refugees and accountability for human rights violations in East Timor and Indonesia. In 2002 additional conditions were added pertaining to Indonesian military reform and the release of political detainees. Conditions on these restrictions, known as the ?Leahy Conditions,? must be renewed annually in the Foreign Operations Appropriations Act. Work will soon begin on this year?s bill. For more information, check out ETAN?s website, www.etan.org, or contact ETAN Outreach and Media Coordinator John M. Miller, john@etan.org, 718-596-7668. ----------------------------------------- SAMPLE LETTERS (please modify to use your own words) To Members of Congress Write: Your Senator, Senate, Washington, DC 20510 Your Representative, House of Representative, Washington, DC 20515 Dear Senator or Representative (choose which), I am writing to urge you to actively oppose U.S. military assistance for Indonesia. The Indonesian military should not receive U.S. support while it continues to evade accountability for crimes against humanity committed in East Timor and continues to torture, murder and rape civilians throughout Indonesia. I am especially concerned that the secretive new Regional Defense Counter-terrorism Fellowship Program will be used to evade important existing Congressional restrictions. This program clearly circumvents restrictions on International Military Education and Training (IMET) for Indonesia. I urge you to oppose Indonesia?s participation in this program, as well as the administration?s recent request for an additional $16 million to train the Indonesian military and police. Finally, I support the renewal of existing restrictions on IMET and Foreign Military Financing (FMF) in the fiscal year 2003 Foreign Operations Appropriations bill. U.S. policy must support human rights, not abusive militaries like Indonesia?s should not be rewarded. I look forward to your response. Sincerely, Fax to 703-697-9080, use an online form http://www.dod.gov/faq/comment.html or mail to Secretary of Defense The Pentagon Washington, DC 20301 Dear Secretary Rumsfeld, I am writing to voice my strong opposition to your efforts to increase U.S. military assistance for Indonesia. The Indonesian military (TNI) should not receive U.S. support while it continues to evade accountability for crimes against humanity committed in East Timor and continues to torture, murder and rape civilians throughout Indonesia. Your attempts to gut restrictions on military training for the TNI undermine the rule-of-law and human rights protections for East Timor and Indonesia and subvert carefully calculated congressional actions. Your efforts legitimize the security force that destroyed East Timor and has rewarded those responsible with promotions within government and military ranks. Administration initiatives taken within the last year to work more closely with the TNI and resume commercial non-lethal defense sales have done nothing to advance military reform. I urge you to end your efforts to resume military ties with the Indonesian military. They run counter to our nation?s professed support for human rights and democracy, while contributing to political instability in Indonesia, the world?s largest Muslim country. Sincerely, This alert can be found at http://www.etan.org/action/action2/04alert.htm etanetanetanetanetanetanetanetanetanetanetanetan John M. Miller Internet: john@etan.org Media & Outreach Coordinator East Timor Action Network: 10 Years for Self-Determination & Justice 48 Duffield St., Brooklyn, NY 11201 USA Phone: (718)596-7668 Fax: (718)222-4097 Mobile phone: (917)690-4391 Web site: http://www.etan.org Support ETAN, make a secure financial contribution: http://etan.org/etan/donate.htm Send a blank e-mail message to info@etan.org to find out how to learn more about East Timor on the Internet etanetanetanetanetanetanetanetanetanetanetanetan From fbp at igc.org Thu Apr 11 09:20:41 2002 From: fbp at igc.org (John M. Miller) Date: Wed, 10 Apr 2002 20:20:41 -0400 Subject: [asia-apec 1858] Rights Activists Welcome Ratification Of Int'l Criminal Court, But Say E. Timor Needs Own Tribunal Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020410201144.0293c880@pop.igc.org> For Release Contact: John M. Miller, 718-596-7668; 917-690-4391 Human Rights Activists Welcome Ratification Of International Criminal Court, But Say East Timor Needs Own Tribunal April 11, 2002 - An East Timorese legislator joined the East Timor Action Network/U.S. (ETAN) in welcoming today's ratification of the International Criminal Court (ICC) Treaty. The court will be able to hear future cases of crimes against humanity, genocide and war crimes. "We look forward to the start of the international court's operations. The court's creation makes a strong statement that the worst abuses must be prosecuted. However, the ICC comes too late for East Timorese and other victims of past systematic rights violations," said John M. Miller, spokesperson for ETAN. The court's jurisdiction is not retroactive. "While the ICC can not hold accountable the perpetrators of the crimes against humanity inflicted in East Timor since Indonesia's 1975 invasion, it can help prevent future atrocities," said East Timorese lawyer Aderito de Jesus Soares. A member of the East Timorese legislature and the founder of the East Timor Jurist Association, Soares is currently in New York to observe this week's UN Preparatory Commission for the Establishment of the ICC. East Timor, which becomes independent on May 20, plans to sign and ratify all international human rights treaties, including the ICC, following independence. "We know what is like to live under a regime that systematically tortures, rapes and murders," said Soares. "Even now, Indonesia is not prosecuting the high-ranking officers and political officials who planned and directed crimes against humanity committed in East Timor." Soares and ETAN reiterated their call for an international tribunal to be established to prosecute those most responsible for Indonesia's scorched earth campaigns in East Timor. "An international tribunal on East Timor will ensure the prosecution of top Indonesian military and government officials, said Soares. "The ICC is important, but serious past crimes must not be ignored. The Bush administration appears to lack the political will to call for an international tribunal for East Timor and some European government officials argue that a new tribunal will detract from ICC resources. These misguided positions imply that because of bad timing the people of East Timor do not deserve justice," said Miller. "The severely flawed Indonesian ad hoc court now hearing cases against some mid-level Indonesian military officers and East Timorese in Jakarta is a sham. Its jurisdiction is too limited and powerful military figures sit in court to intimidate the judges. Indonesia's refusal to extradite suspects to East Timor means that many remain out of reach," said Miller. "This is exactly the kind of national failure that the ICC is meant to redress. Support for the ICC by the international community demonstrates that such cases require international measures to achieve justice," he added. Recently, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, citing problems with the Indonesian court, called "upon the international community to reconsider the recommendations of the [United Nations] International Commission of Inquiry on East Timor, including that concerning the establishment by the United Nations of an international human rights tribunal." "The U.S. should ratify the ICC Treaty out of concern for human rights worldwide. Instead the Bush administration refuses to consider ratification and may try to rescind the U.S. signature, undermining global efforts for accountability and justice. The government's message is that while others can be held responsible for human rights violations, the same rules need not apply to the U.S.," said Miller. After the people of East Timor overwhelmingly chose independence in an August 30, 1999 UN-organized referendum, the Indonesian military and its militia systematically destroyed East Timor. Up to 2000 East Timorese were killed, 70 per cent of the infrastructure destroyed and hundreds of women and girls raped. Hundreds of thousands were forced from their homes; some 60,000 of these remain in squalid militia-controlled Indonesian camps. The East Timor Action Network/U.S. (ETAN) supports human dignity for the people of East Timor by advocating for democracy, sustainable development, social, legal, and economic justice and human rights, including women's rights. ETAN has 26 local chapters throughout the U.S. For additional information see ETAN's web site (http://www.etan.org). -30- etanetanetanetanetanetanetanetanetanetanetanetan John M. Miller Internet: john@etan.org Media & Outreach Coordinator East Timor Action Network: 10 Years for Self-Determination & Justice 48 Duffield St., Brooklyn, NY 11201 USA Phone: (718)596-7668 Fax: (718)222-4097 Mobile phone: (917)690-4391 Web site: http://www.etan.org Support ETAN, make a secure financial contribution: http://etan.org/etan/donate.htm Send a blank e-mail message to info@etan.org to find out how to learn more about East Timor on the Internet etanetanetanetanetanetanetanetanetanetanetanetan From fbp at igc.org Sat Apr 20 06:52:51 2002 From: fbp at igc.org (John M. Miller) Date: Fri, 19 Apr 2002 17:52:51 -0400 Subject: [asia-apec 1859] International Campaign for a Debt-Free East Timor Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20020419175220.0277a300@pop.igc.org> Dear friends of East Timor, Below is the call to action for the International Campaign for a Debt-Free East Timor, with background information and sample letters. We hope you will be able to join us in this important campaign. Please feel free to contact ETAN with any questions, and please let us know of any actions you undertake. Also, please let me know if you would like me to send a formatted version of the action alert and/or sample NGO sign-on letters. In solidarity, Diane East Timor ACTION Network/U.S. & Jubilee USA JOINT INTERNATIONAL ALERT THE WORLD?S NEWEST COUNTRY MUST START DEBT-FREE! EAST TIMOR?S INDEPENDENCE THREATENED BY DONORS? ECONOMIC CHAINS Act NOW to Support Real, People-Centered Development ON MAY 20, EAST TIMOR CELEBRATES ITS FIRST INDEPENDENCE DAY. But the jubilation may be short-lived. A lack of funds could stand in the way of East Timor's commitment to use its revenues for health care and education for its people, rather than to service a debt to wealthy states and financial institutions. The East Timorese government has joined with civil society in making poverty alleviation its highest priority. Top officials have publicly affirmed their determination to avoid the debt trap faced by so many countries in the Global South, and a "no loans" policy has been put into place. The nascent government faces an estimated U.S.$154 to $184 million shortfall in its already lean budget for the first three years of independence. Compared to many national military budgets, this sum is peanuts; for example, the U.S. pays more for one F-22 fighter plane. But for East Timor, the money could represent the difference between "life and debt." We have a unique chance to take preemptive action ? to prevent the stranglehold of structural adjustment, loans, and the vicious cycle of poverty from putting its deadly grip on the new country. On May 14 and 15, donor countries and international financial institutions (IFIs) will hold a pledging conference to cover the financing gap in Dili, East Timor's capital. With concerted grassroots pressure from activists in donor countries, we can make sure that grants with no strings attached cover the gap in its entirety. Otherwise, East Timor may have no choice but to resort to loans with terms dictated by the IMF, World Bank and Asian Development Bank. We must not let this happen. Join the International Campaign for a Debt-Free, Structural Adjustment-Free East Timor! I. Write, call and fax government officials in your country dealing with economic policy and international development issues, urging them to make generous, macroeconomic condition-free grant pledges at the mid-May East Timor Donors Conference, and ask activist networks in your country to do the same. Talking points (see sample letters, below): * Your country should build on recent international support for East Timor by helping it meet its short-term budget gap. With their country devastated by Indonesian occupation, the East Timorese are among the poorest on the planet. They should not be forced o choose between feeding the hungry and servicing a debt. * East Timor represents a unique chance for your country to take preemptive measures and put rhetoric about eradication of global poverty into action. * Your government should make the most generous donation possible at the May pledging conference in East Timor, with grants free from crippling conditions. (U.S.-based activists are urging the U.S. government to pledge funds covering 25% of the financing gap. We suggest that you advocate for your country to cover a specific amount as well.) * Senior administration officials in your country must work with colleagues in other governments to ensure the entire financing gap is funded with grants. The best targets for this message vary from country to country ? it could be your Prime Minister, the Minister for International Development, your country?s G8 Representative, and/or Members of Parliament. We ask that organizations identify targets in their country in consultation with economic justice groups. If you need contact information for Jubilee partner organizations in your country, contact diane@etan.org or +1-608-663-5431. II. Organize nongovernmental organization sign-on letters making the above points, addressed to relevant government officials (sample letters follow this alert). III. Educate others in your country on the issue with media work (letters to the editor, opinion articles, press releases) and by including information on the issue in newsletters, e-mail updates, meetings, and other relevant outlets. Sample press releases and articles are available; see the ETAN website, www.etan.org or contact john@etan.org or +1-718-596-7668. Time is not on our side. We have only a few weeks left to exert public pressure. Please act today! Please let us know the results of your work, at karen@etan.org or +1-202-544-6911. Thank you! Your efforts do make a difference! Background The courageous people of East Timor paid a terrible price for their freedom. Many powerful nations actively supported the Indonesian military occupation that killed one-third of the population between 1974 and 1999, 'investing' in East Timor through weapons sales to Indonesia. In 1999, Indonesian security forces and their militia proxies violently retaliated after the East Timorese opted for independence in a UN-organized referendum. Troops destroyed 75% of the already poor country's infrastructure, displaced two-thirds of the population, raped hundreds of women and girls, and killed some 2,000 people. Centuries of Portuguese colonial rule and 24 years of brutal, illegal Indonesian military occupation have made East Timor one of the poorest countries on the planet. East Timor has a 60% illiteracy rate, a per capita gross national product of $340, and a life expectancy of only 48 years. The infant mortality rate is 135 per 1000 live births, and the maternal mortality rate is twice that of other countries in Southeast Asia and the Western Pacific. Worldwide poverty and inequality within and between countries have increased throughout the era of structural adjustment. The people of East Timor have only to look to their neighbor Indonesia to see this. Unfortunately, IFIs and the leadership of many countries appear to be ignoring these lessons. In doing so, they are repeating failed policies and practices, and it will be the East Timorese people who suffer. Unless those mobilized for global justice and debt cancellation rally in support of a debt-free, structural adjustment-free East Timor, the people of the world's newest country may be subjected to a new economic colonialism. For more information, see the ETAN media release, "East Timor Action Network to Bush: 'Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is'; Calls for a Debt-Free East Timor" on the internet at www.etan.org/news/2002a/03debt.htm. Additional background can be found at www.etan.org. You can also contact karen@etan.org, phone +1-202-544-6911. Sample letter for government officials (please modify to use your own words) Date Dear _________, East Timor will celebrate its first Independence Day on May 20. At this most critical time in its development, I am writing to ask you to support the world?s newest nation as it faces an estimated U.S.$154 to $184 million budget shortfall over the first three years of independence. The East Timorese are still in the early stages of rebuilding their devastated country following the 1999 Indonesian military-wrought destruction and simply cannot afford to start off their new nationhood in debt. If the budget gap, small in international terms, is not covered by pledges at the May 14 and 15 East Timor Donors Conference, East Timor may fall into a cycle of debt and poverty which plagues so many poor countries. I urge you to support the most generous pledge of grants possible from to cover East Timor?s budget gap with no macroeconomic conditions attached. I also urge you to work with others in the administration and abroad to make sure the entire gap is financed with condition-free grants. This support would be in line with recent international commitments to the global eradication of poverty and is a natural extension of the positive relationship established between and East Timor. Covering East Timor?s budget gap would ensure that international support given to the new country during its transition to independence would continue to be meaningful. It is also the least that can be done for a people who suffered so greatly for their freedom. I look forward to your response. Sincerely, Your name and contact information