ETAN at 20

I feel honoured and proud to be asked to reflect on ETAN's 20th anniversary. How quickly time flies! During the Resistance years, ETAN, John Miller and Charles Scheiner became household names among the Timorese activists in the Diaspora.

It was indeed 20 years ago that I first heard of ETAN. Following the Santa Cruz Massacre, friends of the late Kamal Bamadaj, the Network of Overseas Students Association (NOSCA) and I met at the office of the NSW Fretilin Committee to discuss strategies and follow-up actions to raise public awareness and maintain the pressure on the Australian Government. I remember clearly that it was then that I was informed about a group of Americans were contributing to an information sharing and distribution service amongst the solidarity movement. It was called ‘reg.easttimor’- an electronic distribution service begun by Tapol in Britain. For me, this was the most important and effective tool of information dissemination – it essentially closed the gap and brought the solidarity movement and Timorese activists in the Diaspora together to share our common goal.

This chain of news sharing proved not only to be invaluable but the thought that we (the Timorese) still had people who cared when the whole world seemed to be turning their back on or rather, betrayed us! Psychologically and emotionally, it was a very powerful incentive and encouragement to keep fighting, to keep pursuing our goal for self-determination.

I cannot recall exactly when (as I need to go back to my files packed in a garage of a house in Sydney), but every news article, opinion, political commentaries about East Timor that appeared in the major newspapers like the Sydney Morning Herald, The Australian or in a magazine would also be published in reg.easttimor. This type of work was time consuming, especially given that scanners were virtually non-existent at that time. This information-sharing network later expanded to reporting on every activity carried out by Timorese activists, reports and outcomes of international campaigns and conferences such as APCET (Asia Pacific Conference on East Timor), the All Inclusive Intra-Timorese Dialogue (1995-1998) – all these were posted on ‘reg.easttimor’ for distribution. Messages from the leader of the National Resistance, Xanana Gusmão and CNRM’s Special Representative abroad, Jose Ramos-Horta were also re-typed and sent to ‘reg.easttimor’ for posting.

Equally, the ‘Matebian News’, an 8-12 page monthly bulletin and ‘Radio Timor Oan’, and the 1-hour weekly Tetum radio program produced by ETRA (East Timor Relief Association) would also reproduced many of the news and articles published in ETAN’s news list for the international and Timorese community in general. The list was an essential ‘virtual community’ transcending borders and technical limitations.

I hope that one day this extremely vital piece of work will make it to the National Archives of Timor-Leste for future generations to know about how this young Nation came to be where it is today. How the persistence and determination of ordinary people all around the world helped to realize our dream for freedom and independence.

I would also like to extend my gratitude to ETAN (East Timor Alert Network) Canada , especially Kerry Pither whose energy surpassed human capacity. Without the support, hard work and solidarity of Kerry and the rest of her team, our ‘Team Timor’ (1997 campaign in Canada) would not have been successful. Their tireless work and campaigning kept our flame for freedom alive throughout Canada – in the newspapers, television, and public forums.

As a Nation, we are not only facing new challenges but also opening new chapters in our history. Without a doubt, ETAN will continue to play an important role in this journey.

ETAN at 20

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