From: apakabar@igc.org (Indonesia Publications/Task Force)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.portuguese
Subject: East Timor Newsbriefs April 14
Date: 15 Apr 92 01:50:00 GMT
Nf-ID: #N:cdp:1591800156:000:13062
Nf-From: cdp.UUCP!apakabar    Apr 14 18:50:00 1992


From: Indonesia Publications/Task Force <apakabar>
Subject: East Timor Newsbriefs April 14



    Reuter, Sydney, April 13 - Former East Timor commander Rudolf
Warouw, removed from his post after a massacre by Indonesian troops last
year, is on a military list of candidates for the territory's next
governor, the brother of the current governor said on Monday.
    Sydney-based Joao Carrascalao quoted his brother, East Timor
Governor Mario Viegas Carrascalao, as saying last week that
Brigadier-General Warouw was third on an official list of candidates to
replace him. Joao Carrascalao was speaking in an interview.
    The governor, who was in a Jakarta hospital for treatment, ends his
second five-year term in September.
    Leading the list of candidates to replace him is Clementino dos Reis
Amaral, a member of President Suharto's investigation panel into the
massacre, and Lopes da Cruz, a special adviser to Suharto on East Timor
affairs.
    Both the leading candidates are Timorese, as is the fourth, Armindo
Marino, president of the Dili town council. Warouw is a Christian from
Sulawesi.
    Political analyst Harold Crouch of the Australian National
University in Canberra said that, while Timor's regional assembly
formally proposes candidates for Suharto's approval, in reality the
military influences the assembly's proposal.


Forwarded from GreenNet reg.easttimor conference:
Topic 352EuroParliament hearing on Timor
gn:tapolreg.easttimor 9:44 pm  Apr 13, 1992

European Parliament Hearing on East Timor

TAPOL Report, 12 April 1992

The Committee on Foreign Affairs and Security of the European
Parliament will hold a public hearing on "Respect for Human
Rights in East Timor" on Thursday, 23 April 1992 at the
European Parliament Building, 89-91 rue Belliard, Brussels.

Testimony will be given by:

John Taylor, author of "Indonesia's Foregotten War", who will
speak on "The political and historical context of the
situation in East Timor".

Sidney Jones, Director of Asia Watch, who recently visited
East Timor, who will give "An overview of the principal human
rights issues of concern".

Russell Anderson, Australian journalist, who will give "An
eye-witness account of the massacre in Dili on 12 November
1991".

Donaciano Gomes, an East Timorese refugee who took part in the
demonstration in Dili at the time of the Pope's visit, who
will speak on "The role of the church in the struggle for
human rights".

Jose Ramos-Horta, international spokesperson for the National
Council of Maubere Resistance, who will speak on "The right to
self-determination".

Jose Evaristo Madeira Soares, an East Timorese refugee in
Macau, who left East Timor early this year, who will speak on
"Relations between the Indonesian authorities and the Timor
people".

Sebastiana Saldhana, a civil servant in Lisbon, whose son and
brother-in-law have been victims of recent persecution, who
will speak on "Disappearances and family reunification
problems - a personal experience".

Liem Soei Liong, of TAPOL and the Indonesian Democratic Front,
who will speak on "The campaign for human rights and democracy
in East Timor by human rights activists in Indonesia".

Another East Timorese who recently arrived in Europe from
Jakarta, Jose Antonio Amorim Dias, who arrived too late to be
included on the official list of witnesses, may also be given
an opportunity to speak.


Forwarded from GreenNet reg.easttimor conference:
Topic 353Diarrhea epidemic hits E. Timor
gn:tapolreg.easttimor 7:54 am  Apr 14, 1992

Source: Jakarta Post. Dates: 2 and 9 April 1992. Dateline:
Dili. Byline: Yacob Herin. Two items abridged.

DIARRHEA KILLS SIX CHILDREN, AFFECTS 400 OTHERS IN TIMOR

At least six children have died and more than 400 have been
hospitalised in the last three weeks because of severe
diarrhea in Dili regency, said a health official. The disease
hit 11 villages, including Hudilaran, which was worst hit.

Head of Dili health office said six children had died because
they were taken too hospital too late and 432 were still being
treated in Centro Hospital.

"I came here to visit my brother who has been suffering
diarrhea for three weeks. We sent him to the community health
centre but the centre sent him to the hospital," said Jose a
resident of Becora village." [JP, 2 April]

DIARRHEA SPREADS RAPIDLY IN DILI

Two more men have died from diarrhea, bringing the death toll
to eight while the number hospitalised has increased from 400
to 600.

The Centro Hospital said the disease has hit 21 villages in
Dili and Bidau and the health office has sent 20 medics from
four health centres to deal with the problem. "We lack
personnel. How can 20 medics cope with so many patients in 21
villages?", Santi, a medic, asked.

A health source said the epidemic was due to public ignorance
and negligence of the Drug and Food Supervision department
which never checks the cleanliness of food sold in public
places. Garbage blocking drains causes some areas to flood
which accelerates the spread of the disease.

According to Santi, the residents of Santa Cruz have
criticised the health office for being late in providing
information to the public. A staff member of Centro Hospital
admitted that the health office was too slow in curbing the
epidemic. [JP, 9 April]


Forwarded from GreenNet reg.easttimor conference: 
Topic 357INFIGHT Open Letter to PM Keating
gn:tapolreg.easttimor 9:18 pm  Apr 14, 1992

Original document, abridged. Original language: English.

ON 14 APRIL 1992, INFIGHT, THE INDONESIAN FRONT FOR THE DEFENCE OF
HUMAN RIGHTS, SENT AN OPEN LETTER TO AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER,
PAUL KEATING, ON THE OCCASION OF HIS VISIT TO INDONESIA

The Open Letter is signed by T. Ganda, Coordinator.

This marks the first visit by an Australian Prime Minister to
Indonesia since Bob Hawke's visit in 1983. The Prime Minister has
stated that his visit is aimed to strengthen ties with Indonesia.
Considering Australia's role in Cambodia, Infight is convinced that
Australia will want to prove its commitment to peace in the region
by playing a similarly positive role in the resolution of conflicts
within Indonesia.

[After itemising a long list of massacres since 1966 and stating
that many Indonesians and East Timorese remain in detention for
their political beliefs and pointing to other human rights abuses,
the letter continues:]

Despite hefty sums of aid, 80 percent of Indonesians still live
below the poverty line, 89.23 per cent have no access to safe
drinking water, 80 per cent of the labour force consist of people
who never go to school and the infant mortality rate is as high as
89/1000, highlighting gross economic mismanagement, while
corruption is rife at all levels of the bureaucracy and most
notably at the highest levels of government.

Considering the above, INFIGHT calls on the Australia government,

1.   To halt all military aid to and cooperation with Indonesia, in
particular the supply of military equipment, joint defence
exercises and the training of Indonesian officers in Indonesian
defence colleges. Australia has claimed its foreign policy is based
on realpolitik and pragmatism. Nevertheless, considering the broad
opposition within Indonesia towards the military regime and the
current international climate which is proving unfavourable to the
continued survival of authoritarian and totalitarian governments,
Australian government policies which support the present government
could be interpreted as unwise opportunism. Considering that the
Indonesian government does not reflect the will of the people, it
would be much more realistic and pragmatic of the Australian
government to pursue policies which ensure the realisation of human
rights within Indonesia, in particular and of peace in the region
as a whole.

2.   Take advantage of the demise of IGGI, of which Australia is a
member, to make its economic aid to and cooperative projects with
Indonesia contingent on the fulfilment of certain conditions, in
particular the release of all political prisoners, the realisation
of freedom of the press and of association, and of the clear
delineation between executive, judicial and legislative bodies.
Only then can the Australian government be sure that its aid is not
being directed towards development projects which only disadvantage
the poorest sectors of society. In the current international
climate which favours the realisation of human rights through
international solidarity, Australia's decision not to link human
rights with its economic cooperation with Indonesia, rather than
reflect an 'independent and robust' role, only works to undermine
the image of regional responsibility it showed in its role in the
resolution of the Cambodian conflict.

3.   Withdraw from the Timor Gap Treaty, revoke its recognition of
the Indonesian government's illegal occupation of Timor, and call
on the Indonesian government to withdraw its troops from East
Timor, to allow the people of East Timor to realise their right to
self-determination. In a recent speech to the Asia-Australia
Foundation, Mr Keating said that Australia's attempts to forge new
links with Asia will be based on the guiding principles of
nationhood, democracy, fairness and personal liberty. But what is
the meaning in democracy and liberty as Australia's guiding
principles if he does not grant the East Timorese the same right?
The Prime Minister's noble speeches will remain hollow as long as
Australia remains a party to the Timor Gap Treaty that has prompted
its recognition of Indonesia's illegal occupation of the territory,
an occupation which has witnessed the violation of Mr Keating's
noble principles of nationhood, democracy and personal liberty.


Forwarded from GreenNet reg.easttimor conference:
Topic 358Jobs discrimination in East Timor
gn:tapolreg.easttimor 9:19 pm  Apr 14, 1992

Source: Jakarta Post. Date: 9 April 1992. Abridged

MANY YOUNG EAST TIMORESE EXASPERATED BY LACK OF JOBS

Numerous postponed business projects, due mostly to inadequate
infrastructure have left thousands of job seekers waiting. Over
8,100 job seekers are registered at the East Timor manpower office,
Col. Lukas Prayitno told the Post. He hopes the number will be
halved if a shoe and garment factory are opened as scheduled.

An accurate rate of unemployed is hard to obtain because "People do
whatever they can to make a living," as Prayitno puts it.

Labour intensive industries grow much slower than schools. The fact
that a great proportion of positions at public service offices are
still held by more skilled newcomers has added to the delicate
issue.

The relative dominance of people from outside East Timor in the
local job market was an object of condemnation by youths
demonstration at the Santa Cruz cemetery last year (sic). Governor
Mario Carrascalao has issued a decree requiring that job
opportunities at local government offices be reserved for local
people. The East Timor manpower office is cooperating with
companies outside of the province.

Last year 820 job seekers were sent to work for private companies
in Java, Bali and Kalimantan. Throughout the province, the ratio of
local workers and those recruited from outside is set at 7 to 3
although indigenous employers general prefer labourers from other
provinces, according to Prayitno.



Forwarded from GreenNet reg.easttimor conference: 
Topic 359M. Lubis on rights/aid link
gn:tapolreg.easttimor 9:21 pm  Apr 14, 1992

Source: Jakarta Post. Date: 2 April 1992. Abridged.

NATIONAL COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS URGED

Mulya Lubis, a human rights activist and former director of
the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute, told Jakarta Post yesterday
that violations of human rights still occurred here. The
problem not only causes concern among foreign countries but
also among Indonesians.

He called for the establishment of a national human rights
commission to provide the government and the House of
Representatives with input and proposals on implementing human
rights.

Various institutes and non-governmental organisations have
voiced concern over an increasing number of human rights
violations in Indonesia, not only in Aceh, East Timor and
Irian Jaya, but also elsewhere as reflected in evictions of
people in land disputes.

Aid

"One of the objectives of our independence is to give back to
the people their basic rights," but he added that the mission
had not been accomplished. Lubis said that since human rights
was a national commitment, the Netherlands should not have
been so serious in linking its aid to the condition of human
rights here.

He said Indonesia should not forget that the European
Community had also set a human rights condition  on aid to
Third World countries. He was convinced the World Bank and
Japan would one day follow suit. "It is only a matter of
time." He said the US government every year reported to
Congress on the use of its aid in developing countries and the
human rights conditions. If Washington found an increasing
number of abuses in one country, it would not hesitate to
reduce or in serious cases stop aid."