For Immediate Release
May 13, 2002
Contact: Diane Farsetta, 608-663-5431
John M. Miller, 718-5967668; mobile: 917-690-4391
Women Worldwide Call For an International Tribunal For East Timor
Officials, Scholars And Activists Say Justice For Crimes Against
Timorese Women Needed Now
Women from across the world said today that an international tribunal
was the only way to hold accountable those most responsible for crimes
against humanity committed in East Timor.
More than 125 women from 14 countries and 22 U.S. states signed
the statement, which was released by the East Timor Action
Network/U.S. (ETAN) less than a week before East Timor becomes the first
new nation of the millennium.
“The Indonesian [ad hoc Human Rights] court will not adequately
address cases of gender violence and the systematic targeting of women and
children, among other serious crimes,” asserts the statement, which is
signed by such well-known women as activist Gloria Steinem; actor Susan
Sarandon and playwright Eve Ensler; Judith Shapiro, President of Barnard
College; authors Naomi Klein and Susan Brownmiller; Jessica Neuwirth,
President of Equality Now; Eleanor Smeal of Feminist Majority; author and
organizer Vandana Shiva of India; and human rights defender Sister Dianna
Ortiz. Three members of Congress, Representatives Tammy Baldwin (WI),
Barbara Lee (CA) and Cynthia McKinney (GA), also signed.
“This strong showing of international women’s solidarity recognizes
the suffering of East Timorese women during the Indonesian military
occupation, while paying tribute to the long tradition of women working
for justice and peace,” said ETAN field organizer Diane Farsetta. “The
wide range of signatories, including members of Congress, authors, actors
and activists demonstrates the strong consensus on this important issue.”
The statement was initiated by women’s groups in East Timor and
begins by quoting REDE, the East Timorese Women’s Network: “Of all the
victims of Indonesian military violence the greatest suffering was borne
by women, who up to this time, have not met with the justice they hoped
for.”
In 1975, the Indonesian military illegally invaded and occupied East
Timor; more than one-third of East Timor’s population was killed. Women
were specifically targeted by the Indonesian military with rape,
kidnapping and torture, as well as forced “marriage” and
sterilization. In 1999, over 98 percent of eligible East Timorese voted
overwhelmingly for independence in a UN-organized referendum. After the
results were announced, the Indonesian military and its militias carried
out a brutal scorched-earth campaign in retaliation, killing at least
2,000 people, raping hundreds of women and girls, displacing some 600,000
people, and destroying more than 75 percent of the country’s
infrastructure. An international peacekeeping force finally restored
stability a month later, and the UN has administered the territory since
then. On May 20, East Timor becomes fully independent.
Investigations by the UN and the Indonesian government’s own human
rights commission found the Indonesian military responsible for 1999’s
atrocities. UN commissions and High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary
Robinson have called for an international human rights tribunal to be
established for East Timor. Seeking to avoid international action, the
Indonesian government promised to hold its own trials. Its ad hoc Human
Rights Court on East Timor began hearing cases last March. However,
Indonesian and international human rights groups have sharply criticized
the court. The International Crisis Group recently reported that the
process is so problematic it may “trivialize… the concept of crimes
against humanity in Indonesia.”
The women’s statement released today by ETAN recalls the advance made
“last year by the decision of the International Tribunal for the Former
Yugoslavia… classify[ing] rape as a crime against humanity,” and adds,
“atrocities committed against the people of East Timor deserve no less
attention.”
“The release of the statement soon after Mother’s Day and just one
week before East Timor’s independence is very fitting,” added
Farsetta. “We hope this strong stand taken by women around the world
will be heeded by the Security Council and world governments. The mothers
of East Timor deserve the peace only justice can give them, and the
international community has an obligation to welcome the birth of the
world’s newest country with a renewed commitment to justice.”
The East Timor Action Network/U.S. is a nationwide grassroots human
rights organization, which has worked for self-determination, human rights
and justice for East Timor for the past ten years. The full women’s
statement and list of signatories can be found on ETAN’s website at www.etan.org/news/2002a/02women.htm.
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see also Women and
East Timor and Human
Rights Accountability and Justice pages
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