[asia-apec 1859] International Campaign for a Debt-Free East Timor

[John M. Miller]

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 WORLD¹S NEWEST COUNTRY MUST START DEBT-FREE!

EAST TIMOR¹S INDEPENDENCE THREATENED BY DONORS¹ 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
country¹s 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 at 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 at 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 at 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 at 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
world¹s 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 <YOUR
COUNTRY> to cover East Timor¹s 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 <YOUR COUNTRY> and East Timor. Covering
East Timor¹s 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