[asia-apec 1864] As Clinton heads to E Timor, ETAN urges history not be forgotten

[John M. Miller]

For Immediate Release

Contact:
John M. Miller, 718-5967668; mobile: 917-690-4391
Clinton Heads to East Timor for Independence Day
ETAN Urges History Not Be Forgotten

As Bill Clinton leads the U.S. delegation to East Timor's independence 
celebration, the East Timor Action Network (ETAN) urged that the history of 
U.S. support for Indonesia's military occupation of East Timor not be 
forgotten. On May 20, East Timor will become the first new nation of the 
millennium.

"When former President Clinton, joined by his last ambassador to the UN, 
Richard Holbrooke, congratulates the East Timorese people on their hard-won 
victory, we must remember that as the most important supporter of 
Indonesia's illegal occupation, the U.S., owes the new country an enormous 
moral debt. We urge the Clinton delegation to acknowledge it," said John M. 
Miller, spokesperson for ETAN.

"If President Ford and Secretary of State Kissinger had not given the go 
ahead for Indonesia's invasion in 1975, tremendous suffering could have 
been avoided," added Miller.

As detailed in declassified documents recently released by the National 
Security Archive, on December 6, 1975, then-U.S. President Ford and 
Secretary of State Kissinger gave Indonesian dictator Suharto a green light 
to invade East Timor, which his military did the next day. The U.S. 
supplied 90 percent of the weapons used during the invasion. For the next 
twenty-three years, from Ford to Clinton, successive U.S. administrations 
consistently backed Indonesia's occupation, providing Jakarta diplomatic 
cover and billions of dollars in weaponry, military training, and economic 
assistance. More than 200,000 people -- one-third of the population -- were 
killed as a result.

When video footage and photographs of a November 1991 massacre in Dili, the 
capital, were smuggled to the outside world by reporters who survived the 
bloodbath, international support for East Timor's independence grew 
dramatically. Following the massacre, the newly-formed East Timor Action 
Network successfully worked with members of Congress to block some weapons 
sales and military training to Jakarta.

In the aftermath of East Timor's overwhelming vote for independence on 
August 30, 1999, the Indonesian military (TNI) and its militia proxies laid 
waste to the territory, killing at least 2,000 and forcibly displacing more 
than two-thirds of the population. Through intelligence intercepts and 
press reports, the Clinton administration was aware of Jakarta's plans to 
engage in such terror but failed to threaten a cut off of American economic 
and military aid as a preventative measure. It never issued a presidential 
statement warning of repercussions if Indonesia did not comply with 
obligations to ensure security for the U.N. ballot.

A week into the TNI's scorched-earth campaign, Clinton belatedly cut 
military assistance and other aid to Indonesia. The Indonesian military 
quickly agreed to withdraw and allow in international peacekeepers.

"Grassroots and congressional pressure did force the executive branch to 
make significant concessions on its Indonesia policy," said Miller. "The 
U.S. supported the 1999 referendum and since September 1999 Washington has 
provided significant assistance to East Timor's reconstruction, but such 
aid does not begin to compensate the East Timorese people for the suffering 
wrought by 24 years of U.S. support for Indonesian military occupation."

"The U.S. government must declassify and release all relevant information 
needed to help the people of the U.S., Indonesia and East Timor understand 
what happened during the invasion and occupation," said Miller. "We urge 
Congress to investigate the U.S. role, in order to avoid repeating policies 
like those which caused such suffering in East Timor."

For over a decade, the East Timor Action Network/U.S. (ETAN) has supported 
self-determination and human rights for East Timor It now works to support 
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.

Spokespeople for ETAN are available for interviews (call 718-596-7668).

For additional information see ETAN's web site (http://www.etan.org).




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John M. Miller         Internet: john at 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 at etan.org to find out
how to learn more about East Timor on the Internet
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