By Wendy Robertson
Resistance, FRETILIN (Revolutionary Front for the Independence of East Timor) Youth, UDT (Timorese Democratic Union) and AKSI (Indonesia Solidarity Action) have called a National Day of Action on October 15 in preparation for the November 12 Dili massacre commemorations.
"Australia out of East Timor!" will be the key demand of the October 15 actions. Sydney Resistance activist Andrew Watson says, "The day of action will be aimed at exposing the complicity of the Australian government and big business in recognising and supporting the Indonesian occupation of East Timor".
The October 15 action coincides with the beginning of drilling in the Timor Gap by a consortium of Australian companies headed by the Brisbane-based oil company Petroz NL in conjunction with BHP Petroleum (based in Melbourne) and SANTOS (South Australia and Northern Territory oil company).
The action also falls one day before the anniversary of the killing of five Australian journalists in East Timor in 1975.
All four organisations feel that it is important to use the day of action to focus attention on the Timor Gap Treaty. The 1989 treaty between the Australian and the Indonesian governments amounts to the legal recognition of the occupation of East Timor, which is not recognised by the United Nations. It represents the annexation of some 61,000 square kilometres of seabed which is estimated to contain up to 7 billion barrels of oil.
Activities already planned for October 15 include a Melbourne rally in Bourke Street Mall, marching to the BHP offices. Sydney and Wollongong are also planning speak-outs and pickets of BHP. The Adelaide action will centre on SANTOS and Brisbane will focus on Petroz NL.
Speaking at the Sydney launch of the campaign, which was attended by 60 people, on August 26, Resistance activist Ali Whitfield said, "The importance of strengthening the solidarity movement for East Timor in Australia cannot be overemphasised. We have the responsibility to make it known throughout the world that we in Australia are in full support of East Timor's independence. With this in mind, Resistance has launched a national East Timor campaign which we urge and invite everyone to get involved with."
The main demands of the campaign are:
- For Australia to suspend all military ties and cooperation with the Indonesian government, to cease plans for joint exercises with the Indonesian armed forces and to immediately halt the training of the elite KOPASSUS commando regiment, responsible for brutal acts of violence within East Timor;
- To halt exploration and to suspend all licences to drill in the Timor Gap while the legality of the Timor Gap Treaty is being challenged in the International Court of Justice;
- Inclusion of the legitimate representatives of the East Timorese people in any negotiations relating to East Timor. These include FRETILIN, UDT and CNRM (the National Council of Maubere Resistance).
In all major cities, Resistance will be holding petition stalls, high school and campus meetings, film nights and dinners as part of the national campaign.
As part of the campaign, Sydney Resistance is organising a demonstration against the official Australian visit of the Indonesian vice-president, General Try Sutrisno. Sutrisno will be the most senior Indonesian representative to visit Australia since 1975 and is considered by many to be a contender for the presidency.
As President Suharto's chief bag carrier and yes man, Sutrisno enjoyed a spectacular rise in the military hierarchy. As commander of the armed forces, he oversaw Indonesian military policy in East Timor. On November 14, 1991, two days after the Dili massacre, Sutrisno justified the killings by saying, "Delinquents like these [East Timorese] agitators must be shot, and they will be, whenever that is necessary".
Ali Whitfield says that the Australian government's invitation to Sutrisno sums up its attitude to the East Timorese. "The oil in the Timor Gap represents millions of dollars in profits for Australia's leading multinationals. Important arms deals between Australian and Indonesian companies are about to come on line.
"Keating and Evans can only see the dollar signs and, like successive Labor and Liberal governments, will continue to ignore the tragedy in East Timor. They are prepared to bow and scrape to the 'butcher of Dili', to prove just how important their 'special relationship' really is.
Try Sutrisno will be visiting Australia in September. The Sydney protest will be held on Friday, September 23, outside the Defence Centre, 169-183 Liverpool St, City, at 12 noon. Contact the local Resistance branch for campaign details in your city.