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East Timor ACTION Network ALERTThe World's Newest Country Must Start Debt-Free!East Timor's May 20 Independence Threatened by Donors' Economic ChainsCall this week to Support Real, People-Centered Development see also International Action Alert What You Can Do On May 20, 2003, East Timor celebrates its first Independence Day. But the jubilation may be short-lived. A lack of funds could stand in the way of East Timor's commitment to use its revenues for healthcare and education for its people rather than to service a debt to wealthy states and financial institutions. The East Timorese government has joined with civil society in making poverty alleviation its highest priority. Top officials have publicly affirmed their determination to avoid the debt trap faced by so many countries in the Global South, and a "no loans" policy has been put into place. The nascent government faces an estimated US $154-$184 million shortfall in its already lean budget for the first three years of independence. Compared to the US military budget, this sum is peanuts; the U.S. pays more for one F-22 fighter plane. But for East Timor, it could represent the difference between "life and debt." We have a unique chance to take preemptive action -- to prevent the stranglehold of structural adjustment, loans, and the vicious cycle of poverty from putting its deadly grip on the new country. On May 14 and 15, donor countries and international financial institutions (IFIs) will hold a pledging conference to cover the financing gap in Dili, East Timor's capital. With concerted grassroots pressure from within the U.S. and other countries, we can make sure that grants with no strings attached cover the gap in its entirety. Otherwise, East Timor may have no choice but to resort to loans with terms dictated by the IMF, World Bank, and Asian Development Bank. We must not let this happen. Call, fax, and email your Senators, Representative, and Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage (see sample letter below). Tell your Senators and Representative
Phone calls and faxes are generally more effective than emails. The congressional switchboard number is 202-224-3121, or check http://www.congress.org on the Internet for fax or e-mail information. Tell Deputy Secretary of State Armitage
Contact for Armitage: tel: 202-647-9641, fax: 202-647-6047 Time is not on our side. We only have a few weeks left to exert public pressure. Please make these calls today! Please let us know the results of your contacts. Thank you! Your efforts do make a difference! The courageous people of East Timor paid a terrible price for their freedom. Many powerful nations actively supported the Indonesian military occupation that killed one-third of the population between 1974 and 1999, "investing" in East Timor through weapons sales to Indonesia. The U.S. government, the largest supporter of the Indonesian military, supplied the military with 90% of the weapons used during the 1975 invasion of East Timor followed by well over a billion dollars worth of military assistance and weapons sales throughout the occupation. In 1999, Indonesian security forces and their militia proxies violently retaliated after the East Timorese opted for independence in a UN-sponsored referendum. Troops destroyed 75% of the already poor country's infrastructure, displaced two-thirds of the population, raped hundreds of women and girls, and killed some 2000. Centuries of Portuguese colonial rule and 24 years of brutal, illegal Indonesian military occupation have made East Timor one of the poorest countries on the planet. East Timor has a 60% illiteracy rate, a per capita gross national product of $340, and a life expectancy of only 48 years. The infant mortality rate is 135 per 1000 live births, and the maternal mortality rate is twice that of other countries in Southeast Asia and the Western Pacific. The Bush administration and other governments have recently stated their commitment to eradicating global poverty. The U.S. now advocates that a large portion of international assistance to poor countries should come in the form of grants. President Bush must put his money where his mouth is and help East Timor embark on its new nationhood free of debt and without crippling structural adjustment conditions. Worldwide poverty and inequality within and between countries have increased throughout the era of structural adjustment. The people of East Timor have only to look to their neighbor Indonesia for a good example. Unfortunately, IFIs and the U.S. leadership appear to be ignoring these lessons. In doing so, they are doomed to repeat failed policies and practices, and it will be the East Timorese people who suffer. At the UN International Conference on Financing for Development in March, the U.S. continued to insist on tying money for poor countries to the stranglehold of structural adjustment. Unless those mobilized for global justice and debt cancellation rally in support of a debt-free, structural adjustment-free East Timor, the people of the world's newest country may be subjected to a new form of economic colonialism. For more information, see ETAN media release, East Timor Action Network to Bush: 'Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is' Calls for a Debt-Free East Timor. Additional background can be found at www.etan.org. You can also contact Karen Orenstein, ETAN's Washington Coordinator, 202-544-6911. SAMPLE LETTERS (please modify to use your own words) To Members of Congress Write: Your Senator, Senate, Washington, DC 20510 Your Representative, House of Representative, Washington, DC 20515 Dear (Senator/ Representative) ______________, I am writing to ask you to support East Timor, the world's newest nation, at this most critical time in its development. The new nation, which becomes fully independent on May 20, is still rebuilding from 1999's Indonesian military-wrought destruction. East Timor is facing an approximately $184 million budget shortfall over the first three years of independence. If the budget gap, small in international terms, is not covered by pledges at the pre-independence East Timor Donors Conference, East Timor may fall into the cycle of debt and poverty, which plagues so many poor countries. I urge you to contact Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, to tell him you support a U.S. pledge of grants covering at least 25% of East Timor's budget gap with no macroeconomic conditions attached. I also urge you to work with other Members of Congress to supply the necessary funds through appropriations and/or State Department monies. This support would be in line with recent administration commitments to the global eradication of poverty. Covering 25% of East Timor's budget gap would ensure that international support given the new country during its transition to independence would continue to be meaningful. It is also the least the U.S. can do for a people who suffered so greatly for their independence. I look forward to your response. Sincerely, Name ------------------------------- Write Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage. Fax: 202-647-6047 or e-mail: askpublicaffairs@state.gov U.S. Department of State I am writing to ask you to support the world's newest nation at this most critical time in its development. East Timor, still rebuilding from 1999's Indonesian military-wrought destruction, faces an approximately $184 million budget shortfall over the first three years of independence. If the budget gap, small in international terms, is not covered by pledges at the pre-independence East Timor Donors Conference, East Timor may fall into the cycle of debt and poverty, which plagues so many poor countries. I urge you to support a U.S. pledge covering at least 25% of East Timor's budget gap with grants, with no macroeconomic conditions attached. I also urge you to work with others in the administration and abroad to make sure the entire gap is financed with condition-free grants. This support would be in line with President Bush's stated commitment to the global eradication of poverty. Covering 25% of East Timor's budget gap would ensure that international support given the new country during its transition to independence would continue to be meaningful. It is also the least the U.S. can do for a people who suffered so greatly for their independence. I look forward to your response. Sincerely, Name see also: For A Debt-Free East Timor 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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