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Summer 1998 |
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New Era in East Timor
Constâncio Pinto, Simon Doolittle Attacks on Ethnic Chinese Indonesians Timorese National Convention in the Diaspora NOW IS THE TIME TO SUPPORT TIMOR Estafeta - |
ETAN
National Strategy Conference Lake Ossipee Conference Center - Freedom, New Hampshire Recent changes in Jakarta pose challenges and opportunities for people who support the human and political rights of people in East Timor an Indonesia. We have new issues to work through, new campaigns to undertake, and new constituencies to work with. This fall, ETAN will host a National Strategy Conference in New Hampshire to learn about and evaluate recent developments and plan how to go from here. The conference will feature East Timorese leaders José Ramos-Horta, Constâncio Pinto, Isabel Galhos, and Fernando Araujo, as well as Indonesian activists and people from a range of U.S. groups who are working on East Timor and Indonesia, and representatives of ETAN’s chapters around the country. After a weekend of informative and stimulating discussion, we hope to develop some creative new and effective ways to work for East Timorese and Indonesian democracy here in the U.S. What does autonomy really mean? Does the army still run Indonesia? How do we get officials to se through mock troop withdrawals to the ongoing occupation? Will the increased "democratic space" in East Timor be sustained, and can it lead to real democracy? How can a peace process for East Timor avoid the pitfalls of such processes elsewhere? Can leaders be included while still in prison? How can supporters best work with East Timorese and Indonesian activists both inside and outside their countries? What happens after Habibie? What role can well-intentioned foreigners play to ameliorate the disastrous economic effects of foreign capital flight and multinational corporations? What possibilities are there for Aceh? For West Papua? These are just a few of the questions we’ll discuss this weekend. We won’t get all the perfect answers, but will learn from each other to make our activism more interesting, powerful, and fun. Come early or stay late to enjoy the beautiful wooded, lakeside setting. Registration (including housing, food, local transportation and materials) is on a sliding scale from $250 downward, and travel subsidies are available for ETAN Chapter representatives. This conference will energize our movement and encourage others to participate in the struggle for a free East Timor. If you can’t make it, but would like to support the conference, please consider a donation to subsidize another participant. For more information, or to register, please contact the ETAN National Office. Additional details about the conference and registration form. Download, print and distribute the brochure (PDF file) about the conference. |