Free East Timor
Edited by Jim Aubrey
Contributors include Noam Chomsky, John Pilger, Jose Ramos Horta, Ken Fry and Justice Marcus Einfeld
Vintage Books, 1998
Review by Jon Land
This book examines Australia's aiding and abetting of the Indonesian dictatorship's brutal and illegal occupation of East Timor. Free East Timor is exceptionally timely, coming amidst a major political and social crisis afflicting the Indonesian dictatorship.
Protests on June 6 and 10, involving thousands of East Timorese in Dili, are the largest since the severe military clampdown began last November.
Protesters stated clearly that the offer of "special status" by Suharto successor B.J. Habibie is totally unacceptable. While the release of 15 East Timorese from detention is positive, many more activists remain behind bars or "disappeared".
Pro-independence activists are demanding the release of resistance leader Xanana Gusmao, a Timorese referendum on independence, the return of the bodies of the victims killed at the 1991 Dili massacre, and that Suharto and his supporters be put on trial for their crimes against East Timor.
The contributions brought together by Jim Aubrey in Free East Timor provide a rounded look at the disgraceful role of successive Labor and Liberal governments, including the present one, which have blocked the efforts of the East Timorese people in their fight for freedom. The book offers an insight into the activity of individuals and organisations around the world campaigning for a free East Timor.
Harold Moucho, Fretilin NSW coordinator, who spoke at the launch of Free East Timor at the Sydney Writers Festival on May 14, said: "This book is another record that one day can be used to make people like Gough Whitlam and the former Australian ambassador to Indonesia, Richard Woolcott, answer for their part in genocide".
Justice Marcus Enfield, who also spoke at the launch, has a compelling essay on the denial of justice to the people of East Timor. He condemns those in Australia who have put forward the view that countries in the region should not be criticised on human rights because this is an "internal affair".
Other essays cover topics such as East Timor in World War II, the maintenance of radio links with East Timor after the invasion, the historic interview with Xanana Gusmao by Robert Domm and an eyewitness account of the Dili Massacre by Lismore-based activist Russell Anderson.
The contribution from Noam Chomsky on East Timor and global politics is excellent, as is George Aditjondro's on the abuse of East Timor's women.
The essay on the Sanctuary Network for the East Timorese refugees by Sister Kath O'Connor is another poignant reminder that current and previous federal governments have sought to improve relations with the Indonesian dictatorship by callously attempting to deport refugees to face the wrath of the military butchers.
Photographs in the book give a disturbing glimpse of the human rights abuses that are a daily reality for the Timorese — the reason that more than 1500 refugees are seeking asylum in Australia.
If there is a shortcoming, it is that there is no section which refers to the development of the pro-democracy movement in Indonesia and organisations such as the People's Democratic Party (PRD).
The PRD and its affiliate, Indonesian People in Solidarity with the Maubere (SPRIM), have consistently campaigned for the right of self-determination for the Timorese people. The campaigns and protests by the PRD and others for real democratic reforms will play a crucial role in winning support for East Timor's right to independence amongst the Indonesian people, who have been fed lies by the dictatorship about the "pebble in Indonesia's shoe" for 23 years.
Support for the PRD and other Indonesian pro-democracy groups has become a significant focus for activists in the solidarity movement in Australia in recent years. The regime is still refusing to release key Indonesian and East Timorese political prisoners because they are considered "subversives" and "criminals". The campaign for their release will be a major theme of solidarity actions and protests in the months to come.
Free East Timor will motivate those who read it to take a stand against our own and other governments' adoption of a "business as usual" attitude to the dictatorship.