BY PIP HINMAN
SYDNEY — With the likelihood of all-out war erupting in Aceh, solidarity campaigners have launched an emergency campaign directed at getting the Australian government to end military ties with Indonesia and pressure Jakarta to get the troops out of Aceh.
In Melbourne, a picket outside Indonesian national airline Garuda is planned for May 20. A protest at Sydney's Town Hall steps is planned for May 23.
At a May 16 Politics in the Pub meeting on the current situation in Melanesia, about 50 people voted by acclamation to support a statement, initiated by Action in Solidarity with Asia and the Pacific (ASAP), calling on the Australian government to demand the Indonesian troops leave the war-torn province at the northern tip of Sumatra.
"If the people of Aceh are ever to live in peace, the military and police must leave the war-torn province", the statement reads.
It calls on the Australian government to: urge the Indonesian government to pull back from all-out war in Aceh, withdraw the troops and institute real negotiations and dialogue with the full spectrum of Acehnese political groups; end all military and security ties with Indonesia (including abandoning plans to resume ties with the discredited Kopassus); and initiate a special humanitarian assistance program directed to the people of Aceh.
If you'd like to get involved in the campaign, phone Jody in Melbourne on 0438 191 768 or Iggy in Sydney on 0421 322 175. To sign on to the "Solidarity with Aceh" statement, go to <http://www.asia-pacific-action.org>.
From Green Left Weekly, May 21, 2003.
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