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NOAM CHOMSKY
December 2007
Dear Friend and ETAN Supporter,
While East Timor and Indonesia are mostly ignored
by the mainstream media, the East Timor and Indonesia Action
Network (ETAN) has continued to campaign for
the rights of the East Timorese and Indonesian people. To continue
this important work, ETAN needs your support.
In 2007, ETAN spearheaded an election observer mission to monitor East Timor’s presidential election and run-off and its first-ever parliamentary election. ETAN undertook this ambitious project in response to concerns from friends in East Timor that the elections might inflame simmering political and social tensions in the young country, with violence again threatening the Timorese people.
Working on a shoestring budget, ETAN initiated the Solidarity Observer Mission for East Timor (SOMET), making it possible for 34 international election observers to work side-by-side with a similar number of observers from East Timorese civil society. You can read SOMET’s three thorough, well-received reports on ETAN's website (http://etan.org/etan/obproject/default.htm).
SOMET -- the only international non-governmental observer group present in East Timor for all three elections -- included longtime East Timor solidarity activists with well-established links to East Timorese groups, local government, and the international agencies focused on the elections. ETAN was thus able to truly support a free, fair and peaceful process, while maintaining its independence.
Through SOMET, ETAN helped dozens of activists experience the reality of East Timor, many for the first time. ETAN’s electoral monitors returned home with renewed and deepened commitment to East Timor solidarity work. ETAN will support and amplify these continued efforts. You generous contribution will help ETAN to build on this new energy.
The still nascent nation of Timor-Leste needs our strong support. Its newly-elected government is struggling to fulfill promises and meet expectations. Fledgling justice, education and health systems need attention. Those most responsible for the many human rights crimes perpetrated during the brutal Indonesian occupation have yet to be held accountable.
Democracy and human rights activists in Indonesia also benefit from ETAN’s work. They know that anti-militarist pressure on Washington is key if there is to be any hope for military reform in their homeland. The Bush administration and a compliant Congress undercut concrete steps forward for reform and human rights accountability by lifting all restrictions on military assistance to Indonesia. ETAN is doggedly working to reverse this decision and to monitor the impact of such assistance on a military which continues to commit atrocities in West Papua and elsewhere.
With your support, ETAN will organize future solidarity delegations, while continuing to advocate for justice and restrictions on military support for Indonesia. ETAN plans to hold a conference in 2008 to bring activists, academics, religious and governmental leaders together to deepen our understanding of the current situation and strengthen solidarity with the Timorese people.
I’ve long admired ETAN’s ability to do so much with so few resources. While its budget is small, it is tenacious in its pursuit of justice and accountability. This persistence has accomplished much over the last decade and a half. But ETAN’s budget is tight, and it relies on donors like yourself to continue its important work. By giving generously, you can help strengthen ETAN to meet the challenges of the coming year.
Thank you for joining me in supporting ETAN’s invaluable work.Sincerely,
/s/
Noam Chomsky
P.S. You can contribute
safely through ETAN's website: http://etan.org/etan/donate.htm. Or you
can mail your donation. To support ETAN’s political advocacy work, write
a check made out to “ETAN.” For ETAN’s educational efforts,
tax-deductible donations of over $50 can be made out to “A.J. Muste
Memorial Institute/ETAN.”
Please mail your donations to: East Timor and Indonesia Action
Network (ETAN), PO Box 21873, Brooklyn, NY 11202-1873.
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How to Donate to ETAN
To support ETAN’s advocacy work, please make your check out to
“ETAN” and send it to Click here for a form you can print out and mail. o donate by credit card (not tax-deductible) - click here:Make a monthly pledge via credit card click here. (a PayPal account is not required) Donations of any size for ETAN's political and advocacy work should be made out to ETAN and are not tax-deductible. Tax-deductible checks for over $50 can also be made out to "AJ Muste Memorial Institute/ETAN" and will be used to support our educational work. Please mail donations to:
Thank you for your support. |