By Jill Hickson
Action in Solidarity with Indonesia and East Timor (ASIET) will launch the second phase of its "Free the Political Prisoners" campaign at its national conference, in Sydney over the August 22-24 weekend.
The conference — at the University of Technology, Sydney — will bring together activists, academics and all those interested in the region, to discuss and debate action for the Australian solidarity movement.
Attending will be ASIET members from all over Australia, members of the East Timorese communities in Melbourne, Sydney and other parts of Australia, Indonesians studying here and activists from organisations such as Christians in Solidarity with East Timor.
A public meeting, entitled "Free the Political Prisoners in Indonesia and East Timor: Let the Refugees Stay!", will feature two overseas guests attending the conference. They are Edwin Gozal, a leader of the People's Democratic Party (PRD), and Naldo Rai, an East Timorese author and activist. The public meeting will launch a national speaking tour featuring Gozal and Rai.
Gozal, who started his political life as a student activist and who will be in Australia until early next year, will highlight the plight of the political prisoners in Suharto's jails and explain the background to the political situation in Indonesia, characterised by a discontented population willing to struggle for democracy and against the repression of the Suharto dictatorship.
Last year Suharto imposed a military crackdown and greater repression, which the population saw as a desperate measure to maintain his dictatorship and to prepare for power to be passed to his children, now rich businesspeople.
Fourteen members of the PRD, who were arrested around the July 27, 1996, crackdown, have been sentenced to prison terms of 18 months to 13 years. Budiman Sujatmiko, chairperson of the PRD, received the harshest sentence. Dita Sari, president of the illegal Indonesian Centre for Labour Struggle (PPBI) and the only woman to be arrested, was sentenced to six years.
In June, Wilson, leader of the Indonesian People in Solidarity with the Maubere People (SPRIM), received a five-year sentence, and Astika Anon, head of the education section of the PRD, was sentenced to four years.
They join Xanana Gusmao, leader of the East Timorese struggle for independence, who is serving a 20-year sentence, and Ferdinand de Araujo, leader of Denetil, the East Timor student movement in Java, who is serving a 12-year term.
A number of people are still awaiting trial, including Muchtar Pakpahan, chair of the Indonesian Trade Union for Workers' Welfare (SBSI), and Sri Bintang Pamungkas, chair of the United Democracy Party (PUDI).
Further arrests of pro-democracy activists during the July 27 anniversary actions and election campaign in May show the regime is willing to fill the jails with young democracy activists.
ASIET will launch the second stage in its campaign to free these prisoners and alert the Australian people to the political situation in Indonesia.
The campaign will include a petition calling on the Australian government to demand that all the political prisoners in Indonesia be released and that all Australian military aid, training and equipment supply be ended until democracy has been restored.
Materials to be produced include a leaflet outlining the situation and containing the petition. ASIET is also producing a booklet on the political prisoners containing profiles of those arrested, histories of their involvement in the movement and excerpts from their letters and speeches.
There will be two colour posters for sale and a range of T-shirts, badges and stickers to help raise the funds for the campaign.
On December 10 — International Human Rights Day — the petition will be presented to the Senate and actions will be held in cities throughout the country.
For more details about the ASIET national conference, fill out and send the clip-off on this page.