[915] in peace2
Action Alert: No U.S.-Indonesia Military Ties (fwd)
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Aimee L Smith)
Wed Aug 22 00:56:27 2001
Message-Id: <200108220456.AAA20826@nerd-xing.mit.edu>
To: peace-list@MIT.EDU
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Date: Wed, 22 Aug 2001 00:56:23 -0400
From: Aimee L Smith <alsmith@MIT.EDU>
------- Forwarded Message
Date: Mon, 20 Aug 2001 20:40:05 -0400
To: etantz3@etan.org
From: "John M.Miller" <fbp@igc.org>
Subject: Action Alert: No U.S.-Indonesia Military Ties
THE U.S. MUST NOT REWARD THE BRUTAL INDONESIAN MILITARY!
Join ETAN's Call-In Days Wednesday, August 21 & Thursday, August 22
Act to maintain the suspension on U.S. military ties with human rights
violators!
Following Megawati Sukarnoputri's ascension to the Indonesian presidency,
the Bush administration is pushing hard to reward Indonesia's military
(TNI) with increased "non-lethal" assistance and high-level contacts. Yet
the Indonesian military has made no reforms of their repressive practices.
The TNI and military-backed militia groups continue to hold tens of
thousands of East Timorese against their will in Indonesian refugee camps
in West Timor, as humanitarian conditions steadily worsen. Cross-border
attacks into East Timor continue, most recently by an out-of-uniform
Indonesian soldier who shot at UN peacekeepers in East Timor and by four
men (in a separate incident) who threatened peacekeepers with machetes.
Despite repeated international calls to end TNI's impunity, no military
members have yet had to answer for their many crimes against humanity in
East Timor and throughout Indonesia.
On August 30, the East Timorese will vote for a constitutional assembly,
the first national elected body of the soon-to-be independent country. East
Timor's future security depends on genuine reform of the TNI and disbanding
the militia. Neither will happen if the U.S. restores military ties!
The military and their militia proxies continue to kill hundreds of
civilians, targeting human rights defenders and humanitarian workers
throughout Indonesia. Indonesia's new president, Megawati Sukarnoputri, has
close ties to the Indonesian military and has given brutal Timorese militia
leader Eurico Guterres a leadership role in her party. With friends like
these, she is unlikely to act on her promises to reform the TNI or
prosecute human rights violators in the security forces without significant
international pressure!
In Indonesia, the human rights is getting worse. Now is NOT the time to
reward the brutal Indonesian military.
What you can do:
** During the week **
Urge your representative to sign the letter to Indonesian President
Megawati Sukarnoputri on East Timor and human rights in Indonesia. Call
your member of the House of Representative at the congressional switchboard
(202-224-3121) and ask for the foreign policy aide. The letter is being
circulated by Representative Patrick Kennedy's office; your
Representative's office can obtain more information or a copy of the letter
from Kimber Colton in Rep. Kennedy's office (phone # 225-4911). The
deadline to sign on to the letter is AUGUST 28.
On August 22 and 23, call:
* Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia and the Pacific Jim Kelly,
202-647-9596 (tel.), 202-647-7350 (fax)
* Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, 703-692-7100 (tel.), 703-697-9080 (fax)
Tell them:
* The U.S. must maintain a complete suspension of military relations with
Indonesia.
* The U.S. should not reward the Indonesian military for its failure to
hold a single military officer accountable for crimes against humanity in
East Timor; its failure to disarm and disband militia controlling East
Timorese refugees in West Timor; and for torturing and murdering civilians
daily throughout Indonesia, especially in Aceh and West Papua.
* The U.S. should support democracy and rule of law in Indonesia by
actively supporting an international war crimes tribunal for East Timor,
and providing Indonesia with technical, legal, and humanitarian expertise
NOT military support!
Background
For background information, please read the following press releases on
ETAN's website,
www.etan.org. * ETAN/Indonesia Human Rights Network (IHRN) joint media
release, August 9, 2001, "Rights Groups Say Military Relations With
Indonesia Hurt, Not Help Oppose Any Restoration of U.S. Military
Ties" http://www.etan.org/news/2001a/08miltie.htm* ETAN press release,
July 23, 2001, "East Timor Action Network Urges New Indonesian President to
Show Support for East Timor, Calls for Crackdown on Militia, Establishment
of an International Tribunal" http://www.etan.org/news/2001a/07megaw.htm
For questions, contact John M. Miller at ETAN's New York office,
john@etan.org, 718-596-7668. Please let us know the results of your calls.
Thank you! Your efforts do make a difference! Due to the hard work of
concerned people like you, we have maintained the cut-off of military
training and weapons sales to the Indonesian military since September 1999.
etanetanetanetanetanetanetanetanetanetanetanetanetanetanetanetan
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 phone: (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
etanetanetanetanetanetanetanetanetanetanetanetanetanetanetanetan
------- End of Forwarded Message
