[Announce-DAN] February 15 & 16 Call-In Days for E Timor & Indonesia

["Doug Bohm" <doug@denverradio.org>]

-----Forwarded Message-----
From: 	John M.Miller [mailto:fbp@igc.org]
Sent:	Tuesday, February 13, 2001 8:22 AM

February 15 & 16 Call-In Days
East Timor Action Network and Indonesia Human Rights Network
Call President Bush  and Secretary of State Colin Powell on February 15 &
16, 2001. Tell them to support human rights and democracy in East Timor and
Indonesia by maintaining the complete ban on U.S.-Indonesia military ties.
Contact:
President Bush via the White House comment line at 202-456-1111
Secretary of State Colin Powell at 202-647-5291 or 202-647-6434 (fax)
See www.etan.org and http://www.indonesianetwork.org/ for more information.
Let us know the results of your calls. Thank you for your support.
Background
On January 26, ETAN and the Indonesia Human Rights Network issued the
following press release:
RIGHTS GROUPS AFFIRM SUPPORT FOR CONTINUING SUSPENSION OF MILITARY TIES
WITH INDONESIA
Groups Say Cut-Off Necessary to Promote Democracy and Human Rights
The East Timor Action Network (ETAN) and the Indonesia Human Rights Network
(IHRN) have urged the new Bush administration to keep military ties between
the U.S. and Indonesia suspended, saying the Indonesian military has yet to
make crucial reforms.
Spokespersons for the two organizations concerned with human rights in
Indonesia and East Timor said that since the Indonesian military (TNI)
continues to promote conflict and operate largely with impunity, the U.S.
should not provide any training, equipment or other support "Shipping
hardware to the Indonesian military will severely set back efforts to
achieve democracy and respect for human rights in Indonesia," said Lynn
Fredriksson, acting coordinator for IHRN. "Anyone familiar with the ongoing
conflicts in West Papua, Aceh and Maluku/the Moluccas knows that the TNI is
at best impeding resolution; more often it is an exceedingly brutal central
cause of the problem."
Indonesian officials and some others have asked the U.S. to provide
communications and transportation equipment to the TNI. They claim that this
equipment is needed for the military to deal with conflicts in Aceh, Maluku,
West Timor and elsewhere in Indonesia.
When asked at his confirmation hearing about resuming arms sales to
Indonesia, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said that while "every
nation has the right of legitimate self-defense," he needed to examine the
matter further.
"We are sure that when Secretary Powell conducts his examination, he will
find that the Indonesian military remains focused on repression, not
national defense," said John M. Miller, spokesperson for ETAN. "The record
shows that the TNI views any U.S. support as an endorsement of its worst
abuses, not as encouragement to reform," he added.
"The U.S. must not support TNI before Indonesia fully meets its repeated
pledges to the international community, including the safe return of East
Timorese refugees and disarming and disbanding of militia groups in West
Timor. Indonesian authorities must arrest and extradite militia leaders and
must cooperate with the creation of an international human rights tribunal
for crimes committed in East Timor. Most critically, there must be civilian
control of the Indonesian military. If the Bush administration genuinely
supports democracy in Indonesia, it must make its commitment clear to the
Indonesian military," said Miller.
"The territorial command structure and the deep involvement of the military
in business are other major roadblocks to reform," added Fredriksson.
In early September 1999, the U.S. suspended military ties and economic
assistance to Indonesia while the Indonesian military and its militias were
destroying East Timor following the August 30 vote for independence. Soon
after, the Indonesian military began to withdraw from East Timor and an
international peacekeeping force entered. In November 1999, the U.S.
Congress legislated conditions on resuming military support: safe return of
East Timorese refugees, effective prosecution of military and militia
members responsible for human rights atrocities in East Timor and Indonesia,
and other conditions regarding East Timor's security.
Nevertheless, the U.S. military began a planned phased re-engagement with
the Indonesian military last spring. Indonesian officers took part as
observers in a U.S.-sponsored Cobra Gold military exercise in Thailand in
May. In July, the Indonesian navy, marines, and coast guard trained in East
Java with their U.S. military counterparts in a joint U.S.-Indonesian
exercise called CARAT/2000. All military ties were again suspended in early
September following the killings of three UN workers, including a U.S.
citizen, assisting refugees in West Timor. Congress reaffirmed the
legislated restrictions in the fall of 2000.
Approximately 100,000 East Timorese remain virtual hostages in West Timor,
15 months after TNI and its paramilitaries forced them there. Removing the
TNI-supported militias from squalid refugee camps would allow many to return
to East Timor, which is expected to become independent within a year. The
TNI has been unwilling or unable to disarm the militia or to separate them
from the refugees.
The East Timor Action Network/ U.S. (ETAN) was founded in November 1991 to
support East Timorese self-determination. ETAN supports human rights in
Indonesia and works for a peaceful transition to independence in East Timor.
It has 28 local chapters throughout the U.S.
The recently-formed Indonesia Human Rights Network (IHRN) works to promote
U.S. foreign policy which supports democracy, human rights and rule of law
in Indonesia.


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John M. Miller         Internet: john@etan.org
Media & Outreach Coordinator, East Timor Action Network
48 Duffield St., Brooklyn, NY 11201 USA
Phone: (718)596-7668      Fax: (718)222-4097
Mobile: (917)690-4391
Web site: http://www.etan.org

Send a blank e-mail message to info@etan.org  to find out how to learn
more about East Timor on the Internet
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