BACK DOOR Newsletter on East Timor

A collection of recent reports, articles and news concerning complicity in war crimes and crimes against humanity through the provision of military, economic or diplomatic support to Indonesia by corporations, international agencies and countries (other than Australia, Britain, Japan & the United States)

NEW = Added to BACK DOOR Website since last Monday's Emailout

Military Aid from European Union, United Nations, etc

European Union:
Feb 13 Prague Post: Human rights groups want limits on Czech arms to Indonesia  Article added Feb 16
"The Czech Republic continues to play an important role as a [world arms] supplier and middleman. Murky deals with Sri Lanka and Yemen have provoked skepticism from human rights groups and even some of the country’s NATO allies. Still, with EU countries also selling weapons to Indonesia, there is little chance Kavan’s move will face domestic opposition." Michael Mainville, Staff Writer, The Prague Post

European Union:
Feb 5 JP: Czech Republic offers Indonesia wide-range defense equipment  News added Feb 6
"Currently, the Czech Republic is fighting to become a member of the [European] union. The EU lifted its military embargo on Indonesia two years ago." Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

European Union:
Jul 24 IHT: Gareth Evans: Indonesia's Military Culture Has to Be Reformed  Article added July 25
“The European Union lifted its ban on arms sales only four months after September 1999. France led the sales push, followed by Britain. ... While it is probably too much to expect anyone to provide direct budgetary support for the military (although the World Bank should certainly consider this), outside players can have a constructive role here." Gareth Evans, Australia’s foreign minister from 1988 to 1996, President of the Brussels-based International Crisis Group

United Nations:
Jul 19 Newsday: UN Is Weak-Willed in Fighting Genocide  Article added July 25
"During the 1990s, United Nations and world leaders proved unwilling to stop crimes against humanity and genocide in civil wars throughout the globe. The UN’s responses ranged from weak-willed and ineffectual - Cambodia and the former Yugoslavia - to absolutely shameful, Rwanda, East Timor and Sierra Leone. ... The Australian-led military response [to end 24 years of Indonesian occupation] came after a thousand civilians had been killed, 70 percent of the nation’s buildings had been destroyed and 200,000 civilians had been moved to concentration camps in West Timor." Peter H Maguire, author of “Law and War: An American Story”

Military Aid from other countries:
Czech Republic, Germany, Russia, Sweden, etc

Czech Republic:
Feb 13 Prague Post: Human rights groups want limits on Czech arms to Indonesia  Article added Feb 16
“It [military aid to Indonesia] would send a signal that the international community and the Czech government is happy to endorse the military when it is not under effective civilian control, ... (The Czech government) must insist on getting assurances that these weapons would not get into the hands of units (in disputed regions) and that it also would have the ability to track where these weapons are going, ... Giving a blank check to the Indonesian military would be irresponsible.” Lisa Misol, Human Rights Watch

Czech Republic:
Feb 5 JP: Czech Republic offers Indonesia wide-range defense equipment  News added Feb 6
"Visiting Czech Deputy Prime Minister for Foreign and Security Policy/Minister of Foreign Affairs Jan Kavan, ... said that Czech arms factories were known worldwide and were ready to supply defense products to Indonesia. ... Indonesia’s traditional arms supplier, the United States, has imposed a ban on arms sales to the Jakarta government following human rights abuses in its former province of East Timor in 1999, where massive destruction and human rights violations were allegedly conducted by the Indonesian Military (TNI) after the province opted for independence in a United Nations-sponsored referendum. ... Currently, the Czech Republic is fighting to become a member of the [European] union. The EU lifted its military embargo on Indonesia two years ago. ... “We perceive Indonesia as the stabilizing factor in the region,” he [Kavan] remarked." Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Bahasa Indonesia/Malay:
Desember 2001 BLH: Tinjauan Tentang Bantuan Bilateral untuk Timor Lorosa’e
Artikel ditambahkan tanggal 1 Januari 2002
"Sampai dua tahun yang lalu, masyarakat internasional umumnya mengabaikan Timor Lorosa’e. Pendudukan militer Indonesia yang ilegal menurut hukum internasional telah menghalangi banyak negara untuk mengirimkan bantuan ekonomi kepada Timor Lorosa’e. Tetapi, dengan berakhirnya pendudukan itu, banyak negara mendanai proyek-proyek di sini. Bantuan ekonomi ini tidak bisa menggantikan pengabaian itu, dan jumlah uang yang dikirim para donor tidaklah cukup untuk mengganti kerugian akibat penindasan Indonesia selama hampir 24 tahun – penindasan yang juga didanai dan didukung oleh banyak negara donor yang sama – tetapi penting untuk membuat Timor Lorosa’e kembali berdiri di atas kakinya sendiri." La'o Hamutuk: Institut Pemantau dan Analisis Rekonstruksi Timor Timur

Britain, Germany, Russia, Sweden and many others:
Jul 17 ETAN/US: Scheiner: "Guns Know No Borders" rally NY  Speech added July 22
"The guns used by the Indonesian military to kill 200,000 East Timorese civilians were almost all “legal.” They were fired by soldiers following orders from a recognized government. They were sold according to the laws of the countries - principally the United States, but also Britain, Germany, Russia, Sweden and many others - which profited from Indonesia’s need for ever more bullets in their effort to exterminate East Timor’s freedom. ... Indonesia’s annexation of East Timor was never recognized by the United Nations, ... During the most intense killing in the 1970s and 80s, United States businesses and government supplied 90% of Indonesia’s arms, double the amount before the 1975 invasion. These weapons violated a 1958 treaty that banned their use for “aggressive purposes.” And the human and legal rights of the people of East Timor, their rights to life and to self-determination, were violated every day of the quarter-century of occupation." Charles Scheiner, National Coordinator, East Timor Action Network