Lisbon, Lahore, Los Angeles
Demonstrations worldwide
Albert Park as part of a larger gathering protesting the APEC In Lahore, Pakistan, the Labour Party Pakistan (LPP) in Lahore organised a demonstration front of the US consulate at
Solidarity activists around the Portuguese world have swung into action, organising emergency protests to demand that the will of the East Timorese people for independence be respected.
Europe's largest demonstrations were in the Portuguese capital, Lisbon (see p.4). On September 8, demonstrators joined hands to form a 10km human chain linking the embassies of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council - France, China, Britain, Russia and the United States.
In Paris, France, more than 2,000 people participated in an emotional demonstration, organised at only 48 hours notice!
The action was endorsed by more than 40 organisations. The central demands were that the Indonesian-backed militias be disarmed, that the Indonesian police and armed forces be withdrawn and that an international peacekeeping force intervene to stop the killing.
Demands were also addressed to the French government and president, the European Union and the World Bank-led Consultative Group on Indonesia.
The range of organisations that came together was unusually broad. They included France's two solidarity committees with East Timor, human rights groups, pacifist associations, religious and medical groups, anti-racist and migrant movements, associations of union federations, the Peasant Confederation and other international solidarity committees.
Several hundred people also demonstrated in Amsterdam,
In Brussels, Belgium, the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICTU) and the Belgian trade union centre FGTB organised a demonstration outside the Indonesian embassy on September 7. Dozens of trade union activists, led by FGTB general secretary Mia Devits, responded to the call.
The ICTU called on its affiliates in 144 countries to take part in an international trade union campaign to pressure Indonesia to put an end to the killings and to respect the results of the August 30 referendum.
All parts of Australia report massive demonstrations, with good representation of labour and Timorese immigrant groups, and an impressive willingness of high school students to walk out in protest at the massacres. [See main article for more details.]
In Auckland, New Zealand, a range of actions were organised to coincide with the meeting of APEC ministers. A vigil was maintained outside the APEC meeting venue. On September 11, a march was held to "welcome" Indonesian officials and to condemn the violence in East Timor. Supporters of East Timor independence gathered in eight hours' notice. It was Pakistan's first demonstration around East Timor. Demonstrators chanted slogans in favour of East Timor's independence and demanding the immediate withdrawal of the Indonesian army
The criminal inaction of the United Nations was denounced by LPP general secretary Farooq Tariq, who condemned the UN role in East Timor and demanded that UN special envoy for East Timor Jamsheed Marker immediately resign.
A delegation went to see US officials and handed over a petition to send to the UN that condemned the UN for leaving the Timorese masses in the hands of the killers.
Tariq called on the international labour movement to take "firm, speedy and effective measures to force Indonesia to withdraw from East Timor and disband the militias".
Over 100 demonstrated in front of the Indonesian embassy in Katunayaka, Sri Lanka. The who included Buddhist monks, delivered a petition calling for an end to the bloodbath in East Timor, the disarming of the pro-Jakarta terror: i gangs, Indonesian troops/police out now, a UN peacekeeping force to be sent to East Timor and recognition of independence. [GLW/JD]* Source: Compiled from reports in Green Left Weekly.
International Viewpoint #315 October 1999 7
----- pull-quotes on this page -----
poritual parties, several trade
East Timor
* can be formed. Six months is preferable, but definitely no more than two years.
"We would like to see a second referendum, about re-establishing the Democratic Republic of East Timor that was proclaimed in 1975." Political struggle
Kosi doubted that Jakarta would abide by the results of the referendum. There was still a question whether the Indonesian army would withdraw as required and whether it would leave armed militias behind.
"Again, we will need to mobilise people's power. We will need stronger organised bases among the people."
Kosi stated that people's power would be as effective as the role of
Indonesian troops trained and armed Timor's pro-integration militia
Falintil, the resistance army. History had shown that guerilla struggle and people's power can be a very powerful combination. "We also have no prob-