Foreign Correspondence

[fuagf]

Obama Nominee Admiral Dennis Blair, torture, Indonesia, East Timor and Australia
.. lol .. i found it hard to believe that, John Howard ex PM, got his Blair House spot
to the exclusion of, Obama, president elect .. that's politics and ummm, friends. .. rotfl!

the ""United States has appropriated 127 billion dollars for military efforts in Afghanistan since 2001 .. currently spending nearly 100 million dollars a day .. close to 36 billion dollars a year .. Yet the volume of all non-military international aid amounts to only 7 million dollars a day, ACBAR says. .. "in the two years following international intervention, Afghanistan received 57 dollars per capita, whilst Bosnia and East Timor received 679 dollars and 233 dollars per capita respectively.""
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=28226390

Obama Nominee Admiral Dennis Blair Aided Perpetrators of 1999 Church Killings in East Timor (Part II)
Blairweb

Part II of our conversation with investigative journalist Allan Nairn, who reveals Admiral Dennis Blair played a critical role in backing the Indonesian occupation of East Timor during the 1990s. At the height of a wave of ruthless attacks on Timorese that killed hundreds and displaced tens of thousands, Blair personally informed top Indonesian general, Wiranto, of unwavering US support. He continued to support the Indonesian military until international outcry forced the Clinton administration to withdraw its military and diplomatic backing. [includes rush transcript]
http://www.democracynow.org/2009/1/7/obama_nominee_admiral_dennis_blair_aided

November 30, 2005
Australia 'must pay E Timor'
The Sunday Times (Australia)
Sian Powell and Richard Lloyd Parry

(Carried by The Australian, the Brisbane Courier Mail, News.com.au, and The Mercury.)

THE Australian, British and US Governments and international arms makers should pay compensation for
their part in Indonesia's brutal 24-year occupation of East Timor, a commission of inquiry has demanded.

The Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation in East Timor (CAVR), an independent organisation
established by the East Timorese Government, is calling for reparations for victims of torture, rape
and violence perpetrated by Indonesia from its invasion in 1975 to its bloody withdrawal in 1999.

The 2500-page report, which President Xanana Gusmao presented to East Timor's
Parliament on Monday, contentiously recommends East Timor's victims be paid
compensation by the colonisers Indonesia and Portugal, as well as by those nations
that sold weapons to Indonesia and supported its annexation - including Australia.

Mr Gusmao spelled out the detail of the recommendation, and told Parliament he was "truly concerned" by it.

The commission also recommended a continuation of the UN-backed investigation
and prosecution of war crimes in East Timor during the Indonesian occupation.

"This recommendation does not take into account the situation of political anarchy and social chaos that
could easily erupt if we decided to bring to court every crime committed since 1974 or 1975," Mr Gusmao said.

East Timorese and international activists condemned the President's stance, and
demanded the immediate release of the full report, which has been put on hold indefinitely.

A hero of East Timor's guerilla war against Indonesia, Mr Gusmao has long
signalled his determination to stay on good terms with Indonesia. A pragmatic
leader, he has repeatedly said East Timor's future matters more than its past.

Part of the CAVR report says: "The Permanent Members of the Security Council, particularly the US but also Britain and France, who gave military backing to the Indonesian Government between 1974 and 1999 and who are duty-bound to uphold the highest principles of world order and peace and to protect the weak and vulnerable, (should) assist the Government of Timor-Leste in the provision of reparations to victims of human rights violations suffered during the Indonesian occupation. Business corporations that profited from the sale of weapons to Indonesia during the occupation of Timor-Leste (should) contribute to the reparations program."

The commission, established in 2002 by the East Timorese Government, investigated the killings during
the occupation, interviewing hundreds of people and compiling the first accurate estimates of the deaths.

In the report, the commission appealed to the international community to hand over those suspected
of human rights abuses, freeze their assets and stop them from travelling as a prelude to a series of trials.

In a long and discursive statement to Parliament, Mr Gusmao took pains
to distance the Government from the commission's recommendations.

"The grandiose idealism that (the commissioners) possess is well manifested
to the point that it goes beyond conventional political boundaries," he said.

The US-based International Centre for Transitional Justice has
demanded the immediate release of the report in the pursuit of justice.

"After decades marked by suppression of the truth and impunity for human rights abuse, the immediate
dissemination of the final report's findings and recommendations is essential," the organisation said.

"The commission's legal mandate to research and report the facts, contribute to victims' dignity and
recommend measures to prevent future abuses cannot be discharged without publicising the final report."

Mr Gusmao is required to submit the final report to UN Secretary-General
Kofi Annan, so its eventual release is inevitable. It is likely the President
simply wants to forestall the criticism of Indonesia coming directly from East Timor.

Indonesia has prosecuted 18 soldiers, police officers, civil servants and civilians in
connection with East Timor atrocities. In a judicial process widely condemned as a white-
wash, they were all were found innocent, or their convictions were overturned on appeal.

Additional reporting: The Times
http://www.ictj.org/en/news/coverage/article/456.html
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Further .. excerpts:
Australia and Indonesia were the only nations in the world to recognize East Timor as a province
of Indonesia, and soon afterwards began negotiations to divide resources found in the Timor Gap.
........................
Those suspected of opposing integration were often arrested and tortured. In 1983 Amnesty International published an Indonesian manual it had received from East Timor instructing military personnel on how to inflict physical and mental anguish, and cautioning troops to "Avoid taking photographs showing torture (of someone being given electric shocks, stripped naked and so on)". In his 1997 memoir East Timor's Unfinished Struggle: Inside the Timorese Resistance, Constâncio Pinto describes being tortured by Indonesian soldiers: "With each question, I would get two or three punches in the face. When someone punches you so much and so hard, it feels as if your face is broken. People hit me on my back and on my sides with their hands and then kicked me.... [In another location] they psychologically tortured me; they didn't hit me, but they made strong threats to kill me. They even put a gun on the table.
..........................
During the Balibó raid, members of an Australian television news crew – later dubbed the "Balibo Five" –
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balibo_Five
were killed by Indonesian soldiers. Indonesian military officials say the deaths were accidental, and East
Timorese witnesses say the journalists were deliberately killed. The deaths, and subsequent campaigns
and investigations, attracted international attention and rallied support for East Timorese independence.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indonesian_occupation_of_East_Timor

Aside: One of the Balibo Five was a friend of mine
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Further .. excerpt: February 18, 2006
The report alleged that the military used starvation and sexual violence as weapons to control the
territory. It also accused soldiers of using napalm and chemical weapons to poison food and drinking water.

The CAVR report mentioned the massacre of 102,000 East Timorese
when East Timor was still part of Indonesia between 1974 to 1999.

Jakarta has rejected the findings, and legislators have said Indonesia should sever ties with East Timor.

In the speech, Xanana clearly stated that he would continue with
the settlement of past problems between the two countries through the KKP.

"What is important for me is we will stick to the commitment and agreement that we have
made. Problems end with justice, truth and reconciliation but we will not sacrifice the
two countries' hopes and interests to build better relations in the future," he said.

The two leaders also discussed the need for cooperation in the border regions of the two countries.

The two leaders also agreed to meet again to realize their
cooperation especially in the fields of investment and economy.
http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200602/18/eng20060218_243834.html

To wrap up ..

ABSTRACT
The notion of justice is broad and complex. When we pursue justice too harshly after a conflict, we create new injustice and more victims; when we do not, the offenders usually keep hurting others and the violence is prolonged. As a matter of fact, only a few perpetrators can be punished. On the other hand, does punishment of the offender alone heal the victim or restore peace and harmony in society? Moreover, when the victim forgives, should the society still punish the offender? What role do truth recovery, state tribute (paid to the victims) and monetary compensation play in finding the balance between punitive justice and restorative justice? This paper takes up these issues of justice and, while discussing certain aspects of the relationship between punitive justice and restorative justice in some processes of social (national) reconciliation, tries to present some answers.
http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/119390934/abstract

i would even be a bit more optimistic if Obama had used 'will not torture' rather than 'does not torture' in this quote,

"I was clear throughout this campaign and was clear throughout this
transition that under my administration the United States does not torture.."

It's a tiny tense thing only, yet he is stretching things a little there, isn't he.
Forget that, it's obvious and he does tend to have his mind on the 'I' .. 'me' .. 'my' a
lot. Don't get me all wrong, i do wish him luck and hope he is the very best for all of us

Note: Mr. Gusmao is known as a pragmatic man.
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