From: Indonesia Publications/Task Force <apakabar@igc.org>
Newsgroups: soc.culture.portuguese
Date: 15 Apr 92 16:01 PDT
Subject: East Timor Newsbriefs April 15
Nf-ID: #N:cdp:1591800157:000:13761
Nf-From: cdp.UUCP!apakabar    Apr 15 16:01:00 1992


From: Indonesia Publications/Task Force <apakabar>
Subject: East Timor Newsbriefs April 15



If anyone can get the texts of these later, please mail them to me
as soon as possible so I can scan them into the online East Timor
info distribution system.  -- John (apakabar@igc.org)


PROGRAMME OF EP APRIL 23 HEARING ON EAST TIMOR

   EP INFO MEMO PRESS RELEASE
    DOCUMENT DATE: APRIL 14, 1992
    COMMISSION DES AFFAIRES ETRANGERES ET DE LA SECURITE - SOUS-
COMMISSION "DROITS DE L'HOMME"
    Audition publique : Respect droits de l'homme a Timor oriental jeudi
23 avril 1992 a 9H, salle Belliard 52.
    Le lecteur trouvera ci-dessous le programme de cette audition
publique :
    MORNING
    Introduction : 'The political and historical context of the
situation in East Timor' Dr John TAYLOR - Lecturer in Development
Studies at South Bank Polytechnic.  Author of 'Indonesia's Forgotten
War'.
    'An overview of the principal human rights issues of concern' Ms
Sidney JONES - Director, Asia Watch, based in New York. Former
researcher on Indonesia for Amnesty International.
    'An eyewitness account of the massacre in Dili on 12 Novembre 1991'
Mr Russell ANDERSON - Australian journalist, who was present at the
Santa Cruz massacre in Dili on 12 November.
    'The role of the church in the struggle for human rights' Mr
Donaciano GOMES - Assisted in the organisation of the demonstration
which took place during the visit by the Pope to East Timor in 1989.
    AFTERNOON
    'The right to self-determination' Dr Jose RAMOS HORTA - Acknowledged
international spokesman in exile for the East Timor opposition as
Special Representative of the National Council of Maubere Resistance
(CNRM).
    'Relations between the Indonesian authorities and the Timor people'
Mr Jose Evaristo MADEIRA SOARES - Political refugee in Macau.
    'Disappearances and family reunification problems  - a personal
experience' Mrs Sebastiana SALDANHA - Civil servant based in Portugal.
    'The campaign for human rights and democracy in East Timor by human
rights activists in Indonesia' Mr Liem SOEI LIONG - Member of the
Indonesia Human Rights Campaign (TAPOL) and the Indonesian Democratic
Front.  Lives in Holland.
    Pour plus d'informations : Florence DOUSSELAERE - tel. 284.33.78


John A. MacDougall                   Email: apakabar@igc.org (Internet)
Editor, Indonesia Publications       Fax: 301-552-4465
Editor, Southeast Asia Publications  Snail: 7538 Newberry Lane
Coordinator, Task Force Indonesia      Lanham-Seabrook, MD 20706, USA          
            


Forwarded from PeaceNet reg.indonesia conference:
Topic 557Oppression elsewhere
NOSCAreg.indonesia11:04 pm  Apr 15, 1992
(at f207.n900.z90.pegasus.oz.au)(From News system)

[Note: A page 3 report in the national newspaper, The
Australian, on Tuesday, 14/4/92. The article titled, Dili
Hides Oppression Elsewhere in Indonesia, includes a picture
of W.S.Rendra]. Written by NOSCA in peg:reg.indonesia on
15/4/92.]

DILI HIDES OPPRESSION ELSEWHERE IN INDONESIA.

INDONESIA'S leading poet and dramatist yesterday warned
that the international community's preoccupation with East
Timor had blinded it to injustices occuring in other parts
of Indonesia.

W.S. Rendra's works were banned and he was imprisoned for
his anti-government views in the 1970s.

He said in Sydney yesterday the fact that there had been an
admission by the Indonesian Government and army that the
Dili massacre was a mistake, and that those involved had
been punished, was indicative of the success of protests
from inside and outside the country.

"No section, no faction in Indonesian society agreed with
what happened in Dili; everybody protested, with petitions,
with statements, a lot of methods," Rendra said.

That we in the West knew so little of the protests inside
Indonesia was partly because we had our eyes on Dili and
partly because the protests, by necessity, were of a low
profile.

Rendra said street marches provided an emotional outlet for
anger, but they were not effective.

"The important thing is the effect," he said. "The army,
(President) Suharto, the Government (all) acknowledged
their mistakes and expressed their regrets, and a lot of
people lost their jobs," he said.

"The important thing in this kind of struggle is the
result, not the emotional satisfaction. That doesn't have
anything to do with the struggle, that is luxury, it has
nothing to do with achievements."

Although he is clearly sympathetic towards the Timorese
people, Rendra's concern is with the oppression of his own
people, who he says suffer under policies such as
transmigrasi (the enticed removal of families out of urban
areas to developments far from home) and the effects of
business monopolies alledgedly held by the ruling elite,
many of them members of President Suharto's family.

"Right now there are a lot of things happening in terms of
injustice -not just Dili. So the longer you talk about
Dili, the oppressor will like it, because many things that
are unjust can go on unnoticed," he said.

Last month, for example, 150 families in Jakarta were left
homeless after what Rendra said was a "mysterious" fire
that razed their homes.

Such fires were not unusual, and they frequently preceded
the opening up of an area for development. This time,
however, the people had refused meekly to accept their fate
and attempt to find alternative housing. "But now they camp
on the site," Rendra said. "They will fight for their
rights."

It was from the working class that the most dynamic
expressions of protest came, Rendra said.

The new middle class, those too young to remember the
relative freedom of Sukarno years, had been educated in an
"instructive" society and had no commitment to change.

"If you want to look for creative people, (they are) mostly
from the lower class," he said.

Rendra, 56 is visiting this country as the first guest of
Culture Exchange, a group formed last year to promote
cultural links between Australian and Indonesian artists.

During his stay, he will conduct workshops at the
Australian National Playwrights Conference in Canberra and
perform poetry readings in Canberra, Sydney and Melbourne.

--- FD 1.99c
 * Origin: NOSCA (90:900/207)
--


Forwarded from PeaceNet reg.indonesia conference:
Topic 558Timor Intimidation
NOSCAreg.indonesia11:04 pm  Apr 15, 1992
(at f207.n900.z90.pegasus.oz.au)(From News system)

Written : Wednesday, 15/4/91 in peg: REG.INDONESIA, by
NOSCA, The Network of Overseas Students Collectives in
Australia.

[This report appeared on the Mon, 13/4/92 issue of THE AGE
newspaper in Melbourne. There was also a front page article
on this particular topic on the Mon, 13/4/92 issue of the
Canberra Times newspaper. The national newspaper, The
Australian also had a similar report, but a much shorter
version].

TIMOR INTIMIDATION WORSE, SAYS CHURCH

Reporter : Tom Hyland

The Indonesian Government has taken a harder line against
dissent in East Timor since the Dili massacre and further
bloodshed is expected, according to a confidential report
by the Roman Catholic Church.

In addition, sources recently returned from East Timor say
the Indonesian Army has abandoned its "hearts and minds"
strategy against pro-independence activity since the Dili
massacre in November and begun a policy of intimidation.

These accounts support the finding of the confidential
report by Mr Michael Whiteley, the national director of
Australian Catholic Relief. The report said: "The ongoing
pressure on the Timorese can be seen from the increased
security measures... there is also a policy of intimidation
with a very obvious military presence."

"The Indonesians appear to be taking a harder line on
dissent and are prepared to take whatever action is
necessary to repress it. More bloodshed and suffering can,
most regrettably, be expected."

Mr Whitley visited East Timor in December. The report was
given to Australian Catholic Relief's national committee
and a number of bishops.

It is supported by statements from a number of recent travellers.

An Australian who has visited East Timor three times, most
recently last month, said: "As far as I am concerned, the
situation was absolutely horrible two weeks ago."

A visitor in January said political prisoners arrested
after the massacre complained to church leaders of torture:
being burned with cigarette ends, slashed with razor
blades, and beaten on the feet.

A number of the sources said they had been unable to
contact Timorese they met on earlier visits. Some had been
forced into hiding or had possibly "gone to the mountains",
a common expression for joining Fretilin independence
guerillas.

Mr Whitley said: "The atmosphere (in Dili) was extremely
tense. People came to work, went home and then locked
themselves in."

Another source saw signs of intense military activity in
Dili and elsewhere in January. She said Indonesian troops
appeared to be billeted in every neighboorhood and village,
searching for those suspected of involvement in political
activity.

In Baucau, east of Dili, she saw signs of a military
operation in the streets, involving soilders with shields,
helmets and riot masks.

"The whole time we were there we were watched. Our rooms
were searched. We were followed everywhere, and quizzed as
to where we were going and why we had come, " she said.

The new military commander in East Timor, Brigadier-General
Theo Syafei, was recently quoted in the Indonesian weekly
`Editor' magazine as saying "... if something similar to the
November 12 event were to happen under my leadership, the
number of victims would probably be higher."

An inquiry by the Indonesian Government found that at least
50 people died in the massacre and up to another 90 were
missing. Witnesses have said that more than 100 died. -AAP

--- FD 1.99c
 * Origin: NOSCA (90:900/207)
--



Forwarded from PeaceNet reg.indonesia conference: 
Topic 559Dili Report
NOSCAreg.indonesia11:04 pm  Apr 15, 1992
(at f207.n900.z90.pegasus.oz.au)(From News system)

[An article in THE AUSTRALIAN national newspaper in the
world news section, 15/4/92]. Written on 15/4/92 on
peg:REG.INDONESIA by NOSCA.

SUHARTO RECEIVES SECRET DILI REPORT

JAKARTA: President Suharto has received a final report on
the Dili massacre but the contents have not been released.

The chairman of the national investigation team, Judge
Jaelani, said the 45 pages report was accompanied by five
bags of documents, videos, photos and sound recordings.

Judge Jaelani said it was now up to President Suharto to
decide whether the contents would be made public. The State
Secretary Minister, Mr Murdiono, said President Suharto
believed the document should be seen by only "a limited
circle."

The investigating team, in its preliminary report to the
president - made public on December 26 - said 50 people
died and about 90 others remained missing after Indonesian
troops shot into a crowd at a cemetery in Dili, East Timor,
on November 12. Other sources have said the death toll
could have topped 100.

* More than 2000 soldiers will be deployed in Jakarta for
June general elections, the Jakarta Post newspaper reports.
-AFP,AAP

--- FD 1.99c
 * Origin: NOSCA (90:900/207)
--


    Reuter, Sydney, April 15 - Indonesia has hardened its attitude to
dissent in East Timor since last year's Dili massacre in a move expected
to lead to more bloodshed, a confidential Catholic Church report says.
    "East Timorese are living in a state of fear," said the report, a
copy of which was obtained by Reuters on Wednesday. "Checkpoints and
roadblocks are common around Dili.
    "There is also a policy of intimidation with a very obvious military
presence -- small army outposts, army men in trucks regularly patrolling
the streets, military exercises taking place in the streets of Dili."
    The report, prepared for the Australian Catholic Bishops'
Conference, said probably more than 100 Timorese were killed by
Indonesian troops in the November 12 incident, that malnutrition among
Timorese children is widespread and the Timorese are living in a state
of fear.
    "With no freedom and very little opportunity to build an acceptable
way of life for themselves, more and more people, especially the young,
will take action -- either as part of the organised resistance or
independently -- to change the situation in East Timor," the report
said.
    "The Indonesians appear to be taking a harder line on dissent and
are prepared to take whatever action is necessary to repress it. More
bloodshed and suffering can, most regrettably, be expected."
    The massacre was "one result of this tension and unrest -- not the
cause of it," the report said.
    A copy of the report was sent to Australia's Department of Foreign
Affairs, and copies have been selectively leaked to newspapers in the
last few days before a visit to Indonesia by Australian Prime Minister
Paul Keating next week.



    Reuter, Sydney, April 15 - Australia has said the issue of East Timor 
will be discussed when Prime Minister Keating meets Indonesia's President 
Suharto.
    In Canberra, government officials said Australia plans a direct
multi-million dollar aid programme to East Timor.
    The officials, quoted by the Australian Associated Press, said
Keating will next week sign an agreement with the Indonesian government
for the first major project.
    The project, to cost about Australian $11.5 million (US$8.7 million)
over five years, will improve water supplies and sanitation for about
100,000 people living in and around Dili, the provincial capital.
    Until now most Australian aid to East Timor has been channeled
through United Nations agencies.
    Keating's visit to Indonesia will be his first overseas trip since
becoming prime minister in December.