CONTENTS:
CURRENT
URGENT ACTIONS Updated June 16
TOPICAL
THEMES Updated June 16
JUNE
2001 NEWS, ARTICLES & REPORTS Updated June 16
UPCOMING
AUSTRALIAN EVENTS Updated June 16
OTHER
RELATED LINKS
ABOUT
BACK DOOR
EMAIL
SUBSCRIPTION
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Petitions & Lobbying:
Jun
13 TAPOL: British aid agencies call for justice in East Timor
Release added June 14
“Below is a press release for the UK media.
Others may wish to do a similar release for their media.” Paul Barber,
TAPOL,
the Indonesia Human Rights Campaign
Until
Jun 22 Jakarta detainees' letter to Alexander Downer Petition
updated June 16
"The following letter has been sent to
Alexander Downer, the Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade
by the Jakarta detainees. If you would like to add your name to the list
of endorsees, please reply by email to asiet@asiet.org.au
before June 22"
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These
NEW
collections of recent items relating to particular themes
have
been added in the past week:
NEW East Timor National NGO Forum Updated June 16
NEW Capacity Building & 'Timorisation' Updated June 16
NEW East Timorese Leaders and personalities Updated June 14
These collections have been up-dated in the past week:
Financing Reconstruction Updated June 16
Timor Oil Updated June 16
'Refugees' & Missing Persons Updated June 15
Women's Issues Updated June 15
War Crimes & Crimes Against Humanity Updated June 13
Calls for International War Crimes Tribunal Up-Dated June 15
Truth, Reception and Reconciliation Up-Dated June 14
National Council of Timorese Resistance (CNRT) Updated June 12
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Until
Jun 22 Jakarta detainees' letter to Alexander Downer Petition
updated June 16
"The following letter has been sent to
Alexander Downer, the Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade
by the Jakarta detainees. If you would like to add your name to the list
of endorsees, please reply by email to asiet@asiet.org.au
before June 22"
Jun
15 AAP: Timor Gap talks on sharing oil, gas reserves bog down
News added June 16
“Being realistic, we are getting stuck
now on the three main issues, ... We’re still doing our best to have the
agreements concluded by July 15 or even before. ... We are very generous,
we are ready to give 10 per cent from 100 per cent of ours to Australia,”
Dr Mari Alkatiri, East Timor’s Minister for Economic Affairs
Jun
14 IHT: Ramos-Horta: East Timor Is Worthy of Your Help
Opinion added June 16
"We want to avoid too much dependence
on oil and gas revenues, however. For this reason,
we greatly appreciate international assistance to help diversify our economy,
improve farm productivity, and strengthen small enterprises in manufacturing
and tourism. Economic self-reliance is the cornerstone of true independence."
José
Ramos-Horta
Jun
13 ET NGO papers for Donors’ Conference June 2001 Complete
text of Presentation [210 KB] updated June 16
"Includes papers on these topics: Justice
and Human rights; Constitution;
Women
(REDE Statement); Children and Youth;
Education;
Capacity
building; Health;
Agriculture;
Environment;
Water
and Sanitation;
Refugees."
Jun
13 ET NGO: Donors’ Conference: Justice & Human Rights
Paper updated June 16
"The only remaining option for the prosecution
of those responsible for human rights violations in East Timor currently
residing Indonesia is to establish an International Ad Hoc Criminal Tribunal.
The tribunal should be established on recommendations from, and according
to terms negotiated by the East Timorese people." Forum
Nacional ONG Timor Lorosa'e / The East Timor National NGO Forum
Jun
13 ET NGO: Donors’ Conference: Constitutional Process in East Timor
Paper added June 15
" ... we recommend that there should be
a greater effort to resource the consultation process for the constitution,
and the consultation needs to be extended beyond the elections for the
Constituent Assembly. Without significant change in the timetable, the
new Constitution should only be viewed as an interim Constitution, allowing
more time for broad based input and consultation." Forum
Nacional ONG Timor Lorosa'e / The East Timor National NGO Forum
Jun
13 ET NGO: REDE: Donors’ Conference: Women's Issues in East Timor
Paper added June 15
"All policy making must be done on the
basis of gender mainstreaming. The government must ensure that there is
a mechanism which guarantees the rights of women and gender justice in
operational funds. This must be done in parallel in the allocation of programs
which strengthen civil society and organisations within it which promote
women’s issues so as to ensure the effectiveness of advocacy and measures
to progressively bring about changes in the lives of women." REDE
Feto Timor Lorosa’e (Timorese Women’s Network)
Jun
13 ET NGO: Donors’ Conference: Children & Youth Paper
updated June 16
" ... initiatives for children have been
localised and small. The net result is that there is very little service
provision for children now. ... One of the main concerns for NGOs has been
the potential crisis that may occur when the international NGOs pull out.
Some of this has started to occur already. We are concerned that the government
does not appear to have made adequate provision either in terms of planning
or budgets for the large scale central government social care that will
be required." Forum Nacional ONG Timor Lorosa'e
/ The East Timor National NGO Forum
Jun
13 ET NGO: Donors’ Conference: Education Paper added June
15
"Education should be seen as the key to
East Timor’s future. ... We believe that it is vital for ETTA and donors
to listen to civil society views about the situation in education at the
point of delivery, so that appropriate strategies can be devised. ... We
believe that the potential for national and international NGOs to contribute
human and financial resources to the education sector has yet to be fully
realized. This is particularly true with the non-formal sector where civil
society organizations have a special contribution to make." Forum
Nacional ONG Timor Lorosa'e / The East Timor National NGO Forum
Jun
13 ET NGO: Donors’ Conference: Capacity Building Paper
added June 15
"Ultimately the challenge to donors now
lies in finding ways to assist the East Timorese to lead their country
into full independence and manage the demands that will bring. The East
Timorese do not want a culture of dependence to develop with donors. Instead
they want donors to work together with leadership within both the government
and non government sectors to build the national human capacity across
the country and across all sectors." Forum Nacional
ONG Timor Lorosa'e / The East Timor National NGO Forum
Jun
13 ET NGO: Donors’ Conference: Health Paper added June
15
"The pace of transition and the resources
required for an effective transition from the post conflict situation to
the development of a sustainable health system needs to realistic. ...
[East Timorese] NGOs recognise that sufficient time is needed to consolidate
and ensure the transfer of both management and technical skills to East
Timorese both within the DHS employed staff and other civil society organisations."
Forum
Nacional ONG Timor Lorosa'e / The East Timor National NGO Forum
Jun
13 ET NGO: Donors’ Conference: Agriculture Paper added
June 15
"Efforts to reconstruct East Timor from
ruins, including rebuilding the agriculture sector, are being made by UNTAET,
ETTA, and national and international NGOs, together with donor countries
and donor institutions such as the World Bank, the
International Monetary Fund and the Asian Development Bank. However,
due to limited human and natural resources and some ineffective management
systems, these efforts have not yet yielded significant results. This is
very disturbing, because a failure to address the pressing needs of the
agricultural sector could eventually lead to social and economic instability
and increased environmental fragility." Forum
Nacional ONG Timor Lorosa'e / The East Timor National NGO Forum
Jun
13 ET NGO: Donors’ Conference: Environment Paper added
June 15
"Current environmental issues are inextricably
related to environmental management in the previous era. For this reason,
current environmental management cannot be divorced from the need to change
community perspectives, which have become unconsciously caught up in environmentally
damaging ways of exploiting natural resources. ... These challenges require
holistic and multi-sectoral approaches to environmental management, where
environmental issues are viewed as interdependent with other types of issues,
including how policy is formulated." Forum Nacional
ONG Timor Lorosa'e / The East Timor National NGO Forum
Jun
13 ET W&S NGOs: Donors’ Conference: Water & Sanitation
Paper added June 15
"Water and sanitation provision across
East Timor is still a right denied to many. An immediate manifestation
of this fact is the compromised health of communities due to both a lack
of water and the range of water-born diseases that are making an impact.
On a lifestyle level, the absence of a water distribution system is absorbed
almost exclusively by the labour of women and children,
as they are the ones who must carry water over long distances." East
Timorese National water and sanitation (W&S) NGOs
Jun
13 ET NGO: Donors’ Conference: Refugees Paper added June
15
""There are still tens of thousands of
East Timorese who fled across the border to West Timor in September 1999
and who are still waiting in the camps until they think it safe to return
to East Timor. Those of greatest concern to the NGO Forum are those who
fled from violence and crossed the border by force or in confusion. ...
it is an injustice that these persons are being denied the right to participate
in the East Timor election of 30 August 2001"
Forum
Nacional ONG Timor Lorosa'e / The East Timor National NGO Forum
Jun
13 ETNGO Forum: The voice of Civil Society calls the Donors
Statement added June 14
"Following consultation amongst the NGOs
in East Timor, the following are the key issues that national and international
NGO’s wish to draw to the attention of international donors:
1. Timeframe For Transition; 2. International
Tribunal; 3. Capacity Building As A Priority; 4. Involvement Of A Broad
Sector Of Timorese Society; 5. Monitoring And Transparency Of Reconstruction
Process; 6. East Timorese Must Direct Their Own Development." Forum
Nacional ONG Timor Lorosa'e / The East Timor National NGO Forum
Jun
13 CAA-OA: East Timor Donors must deliver Release added
June 14
"The international and national non-government
organisations in East Timor are calling for:
* A longer timeframe for political transition
– Donors are asked to support a longer time frame for popular consultation
on the constitution, so that East Timorese men and women can be consulted
effectively.
* A clear UNTAET exit plan – Donors are
asked to support clear a process for UNTAET withdrawal that includes transfer
of skills and capacity to East Timorese institutions.
* Long-term strategy for development –
Donor nations are asked deliver appropriate funding taking into consideration
the long-term needs of the East Timorese people." Oxfam
Community Aid
Jun
13 JUSTICE FOR EAST TIMOR Petition added June 13
"In the light of the above, we call upon
the international community to:
* Press the UN Security Council to take
immediate steps to set up an international tribunal to bring to justice
Indonesian military officers and others responsible for gross violations
of human rights in East Timor whenever they were committed.
* Ensure that UNTAET makes the necessary
structural and management changes to the SCIU and that it allocates sufficient
resources and personnel to the Unit so that it is able to conduct credible
investigations and prosecutions which take into account the systematic
and planned nature of the violence.
* Press the UN to provide greater professional
and financial support to inexperienced East Timor judges, prosecutors and
defenders.
* Make a commitment to support and provide
resources for serious crimes investigations in East Timor after the current
UNTAET mandate expires."
Statement endorsed by 45 Groups and Organisations
in Solidarity with East Timor from around the world
Jun
13 CAFOD/CIIR/TAPOL: British aid agencies call for justice in East Timor
Release added June 13
“Indonesia has prevaricated too long on
this issue. Jakarta does not intend to pursue justice for the East Timorese.
It is now time for the international community to act. An international
tribunal must be set up. Timely justice and the ending of impunity are
essential for peace and reconciliation in East Timor and for democracy
and stability in Indonesia.” CAFOD’s East Timor Programme Officer Catherine
Sexton
Jun
11 Visit to see Tom Hyland, East Timor Ireland Support Campaign
Email updated June 14
"All this goes to show what one person,
or one small group of people, can do and what a powerful influence they
can be in inspiring others. In fact, instead of leaving Dublin early next
morning as planned, Gareth [Smith] and I stayed an extra hour or two so
that we could pen a letter of support to the Eire Government for the active
part they were taking in Europe and America to help the people of East
Timor. Then we delivered it personally to the Minister who had responsibility
to the European Parliament. The world can be a small place, can't it?"
Maxine
Jun
10 Univ: "The Joy that freedom Brings" Article updated
June 14
“That a small nation like ours, through
diplomatic efforts, can assist other small nations such as East Timor on
the road to self- determination is a deep source of pride for us all, ...
Our involvement in the affairs of East Timor did not begin around the Cabinet
table, or in Government Buildings, it all began in a Ballyfermot living
room, with a wonderful individual, a bus driver named Tom Hyland [co-founder
of the East Timor Ireland Support Campaign]" David Andrew, former Foreign
Minister, Ireland
Jun
10-11 SMH; AAP; Reut: News reports on activists detained in Jakarta
News added June 11
"About 100 people were at the meeting
when dozens of police suddenly appeared, ... They were bristling with rifles.
I was there with my partner, Peter Boyle, and four-year-old daughter, Zoe.
We just sat tight. They blocked off the exits and used a loud-hailer and
were shouting.” Ms Pip Hinman, One of the Australians detained
Jun
9 ASIET: Indonesian government reneges on Australians’ release
Release added June 11
"Thirty-two academics, Non Government
Organisation representatives and activists are back in police custody at
the Jakarta Regional Police Headquarters Intelligence Section, detained
against their will because of their attendance at a conference. ... They
have no information on what the government intends to do with them. ...
There will be vigils and demonstrations in cities around Australia at noon
tomorrow, Sunday June 10, outside Indonesian consulates and Garuda Airlines
offices to demand the immediate release of the conference attendees and
to condemn the Indoesian government and military’s crushing of democratic
discussion." Action in Solidarity with Indonesia
and East Timor
Jun
8 CT: East Timor leader 'frustrated' by lack of justice
News added June 12
"If you steal a bicycle in Holland you
spend a few months in prison. In Indonesia you kill three humanitarian
workers in cold blood, you boast about it on television, and you get 10
to 20 months, ... When a country, a government, a society, shrugs in the
face of such destruction, at the horrendous crimes committed under its
flag, its name, I can only say I pity, and I am afraid for that country."
Jose
Ramos-Horta
Jun
7 ETNGO Forum: Donors Meeting must be for Rural People
Release added June 14
“It is crucial that those attending this
meeting do not merely discuss the political and administrative transition,
but also consider how rural communities can benefit from donor grants,”
Arsenio
Bano, Executive Director,
ET NGO Forum
Jun
6 Reut: Gusmao will be E.Timor president, Ramos-Horta says
News added June 12
“I told him [Gusmao] very bluntly that
if he doesn’t run for president then I will not be in any government, ...
The first five years he has to be there and I am persuaded he will be there.”
Jose
Ramos-Horta, Cabinet Member for Foreign Affairs, United Nations Transitional
Administration in East Timor
Jun
4 AP: No Early UN Military Withdrawal From E Timor -Ramos Horta
News added June 12
[any reduction in the present UN peacekeeping
8,000 strong force] “will be conditioned by the situation ... in West Timor,
... In order to facilitate the peace and independence of East Timor, there
should be no early withdrawal,” Jose Ramos-Horta,
Cabinet Member for Foreign Affairs, United Nations Transitional Administration
in East Timor
Jun
2 AFP: East Timorese leader says independence for territory in 2002
News added June 12
“I don’t think it’s necessary to postpone
elections for the constituent assembly in August, ... But independence
will only happen around the middle of 2002 because there will have to be
a ‘timorisation’ of the public administration.” Bishop Carlos Belo, Nobel
Peace laureate
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United Nations World Refugee Day
Refugee Rights Groups - National Day of
Action
Protesting outside the Headquarters of
the Department of Immigration, Chan St Belconnen
Wednesday 20 June, 12.30pm
Book Launch for John Martinkus book
on East Timor "A Dirty Little War",
coupled with the opening of Photo Exhibition:
Through the Eye of the Lens
CANBERRA SERVICES CLUB, Canberra Ave,
Manuka.
Also Sydney, Melbourne and Dili
on other dates
Friday July 13th, 6.30pm
Photo exhibition ends Wednesday 18 July
Australian press photographers East
Timor exhibition:
"Through the Eye of the Lens Jan 1997-
Jan 2000"
in conjunction with the launch of book:
A Dirty Little War
CANBERRA SERVICES CLUB, Canberra Ave,
Manuka.
Also Sydney, Melbourne and Dili
on other dates
Friday July 13th, 6.30pm - Wednesday 18
July
Mid July SBS screening of King/CavaDini documentary film "Starting From Zero".
Sydney Timorese Community Festival with
"Leaving the Crocodile" Exhibition.
Timorese artists working with the Liverpool
Museum; Principal Curator: Amanda Wise.
Liverpool Regional Museum, Sydney
August 25th-December 15th
August 30th East Timor National Election Date
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East Timor Ireland Solidarity Campaign (ETISC)
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