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Take Action For East Timor
NO MILITARY ENGAGEMENT WITH INDONESIA STOP JOINT U.S.-INDONESIA MILITARY EXERCISE SCHEDULED FOR THIS WEEK NATIONAL CALL-IN The Clinton Administration has begun a phased plan of re-engagement with the Indonesian military (TNI) despite congressional and public protest. A joint U.S. and Indonesian military exercise known as CARAT (Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training) began on July 20 and goes until early August. The exercise, one of the first steps, involves the Indonesian navy, marines, and coast guard training with their U.S. military counterparts. The Administration has also initiated other facets of re-engagement and is now debating the sale of spare parts for C-130 military planes! The State Department and the Pentagon are pursuing these plans despite deteriorating conditions in East Timorese refugee camps in West Timor and throughout Indonesia. You can help stop these plans. Now is not the time to resume any military ties with the TNI! Let the State Department and the Pentagon know this! Please Make 2 Phone Calls As Soon As Possible § Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia and the Pacific Stanley Roth 202-647-9596, 202-647-7350 (fax). E-mail Secretary of State Albright at secretary@state.gov; 2201 C St., NW, Washington, DC 20520. § Secretary of Defense William Cohen 703-692-7100, 703-697-9080
(fax); 1000 Defense Pentagon, Washington, DC 20301-1000. Use this web
form to send comments. The CARAT exercise and any additional plans for re-engagement with the Indonesian military should be cancelled immediately. Now is not the time to resume any military ties with the Indonesian military. The U.S. should not send such a premature message of legitimacy to Indonesia's brutally repressive military force. Instead, the administration should obey congressional restrictions and increase pressure on the Indonesian government and military finally resolve East Timor's refugee crisis and to support true democratic reforms in Indonesian civil society. Thank you for your support. It does make a difference. Please let the East Timor Action Network know the results of your contacts. Send a blank e-mail to send a blank e-mail to sampltrs@etan.org or go to http//www.etan.org/action/letters.htm, for sample letters which can be adapted for administration officials, members of Congress and letter to the editor. UPDATE Indonesian security forces continue to violate the human rights of Indonesian citizens and cause unrest throughout the archipelago In recent weeks, hundreds of people in Maluku have been killed in fighting between Christians and Muslims, with members of the TNI supporting, if not causing, the violence. The TNI has grossly violated the human rights of the people of West Papua and is now reported to be supporting East Timor style militias there. Further, the TNI has repeatedly broken a cease-fire in Aceh and continues to conduct military sweeps throughout the countryside. Contact Karen Orenstein at ETAN's Washington office, 202-544-6911, karen@etan.org; or John M. Miller john@etan.org. July 17, 2000 see also: See ETAN's latest Congressional action alert. Note: For those without a fax application on their computer - CallCenter V3.5.8, is a Native 32-bit Voice Telephony software application integrated with fax and data communications... and it's free of charge! Download from http://www.v3inc.com/ |
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