[ETAN-key] ETAN needs your support

[John M Miller]

To contribute to ETAN
go to http://www.etan.org/etan/2006aappl.htm#online or see below

Dear ETAN activists,

When the East Timor and Indonesia Action Network (ETAN) was founded 
fifteen years ago, they took on a quixotic task: not only would they 
help a small and overlooked nation gain self-determination, but they 
would end U.S. assistance to one of the world's most brutal military 
dictatorships. At the time, it seemed most unlikely that a small band 
of human rights activists could successfully challenge a bipartisan 
belief in Washington that maintaining a strong military relationship 
with Indonesia was worth overlooking severe human rights violations 
in Indonesia and East Timor.

I can attest to ETAN's effectiveness. I watched its impact from 
inside the U.S. government when I headed the political section of the 
U.S. Embassy in Jakarta from 1996 to 1999. I recall receiving phone 
calls from ETAN at the Embassy during 1999 when military-back militia 
were targeting human rights advocates and others in East Timor. 
ETAN's pressure on the Embassy to urgently contact the Indonesian 
government to rein in the militias probably saved lives.

I retired after almost 27 years in the State Department in 2001. 
Since then, I have roamed the halls of Congress and protested on the 
streets with ETAN in support of justice, human rights and democracy 
in Indonesia and -- now independent -- East Timor.

ETAN depends on the financial support of people like you to get the 
job done. Your generous contribution is needed to continue this 
important work, now made all the more difficult by an Administration 
in Washington which thinks it can support justice and build democracy 
in Indonesia by arming its military.

For more than a decade, ETAN won one victory after another against 
the U.S. military establishment and Administrations insensitive to 
issues of justice and human rights. This increased constriction of 
U.S. military assistance helped constrain the feared Indonesian 
military, or TNI, to the point that democratic elections were finally 
held across the archipelago and the independence of East Timor became 
a reality.

These days, it can be hard to imagine victories. The Pentagon is more 
powerful than ever, and Congressional oversight of military aid is 
unconscionably lax. In the midst of this, some of the ugliest parts 
of the TNI -- having evaded accountability for past human rights 
crimes -- are regrouping and regaining their power. This trend 
constitutes a growing threat to democracy in Indonesia and renewed 
dangers for East Timor. Impunity for crimes against humanity in East 
Timor rules supreme.

Many of you have probably heard how Secretary of State Rice last 
November unilaterally lifted restrictions on weapons exports and 
foreign military financing (FMF) just two days after Congress renewed 
a ban for another year. As in many other highly suspect cases, the 
Bush Administration continues to justify this very unwise move in the 
name of democracy and the so-called "war on terror."

As the most oppressive force in the country with the world's largest 
Muslim population, the TNI remains determined to regain full access 
to U.S. military technology. And the Bush Administration is all too 
happy to oblige. The State Department's pledge to "carefully 
calibrate" assistance for the TNI as a way to promote reform was not 
worth the paper it was printed on. They have proposed a nearly 
seven-fold increase in FMF for Indonesia for next year and will give 
the TNI up to $19 million under a brand new Pentagon program, the 
largest pot of funds the TNI has seen from the U.S. in over a decade.

Last month, the commander of the Kopassus Special Forces attended a 
Pentagon conference in Hawaii. Kopassus has a reputation as one of 
the most feared and ruthless military units in Asia. Responsible for 
some of the most heinous acts throughout the occupation of East 
Timor, Kopasssus has never been held responsible for the many crimes 
against humanity its troops committed. Kopassus's tactic of creating 
militias, honed in East Timor during 1999, did not end with 
independence. It has continued to create other paramilitary forces in 
Aceh, West Papua and other regions under Indonesian control. In West 
Papua, it was behind the assassination of independence leader Theys 
Eluay, and it supported the fundamentalist militia Laskar Jihad to 
ferment unrest in Ambon and elsewhere.

In such an atmosphere, the challenges we face are immense. But that 
won't stop the East Timor and Indonesia Action Network. I know ETAN 
is up to the task. I've seen their work from inside and out. ETAN has 
learned well from the East Timorese that "to resist is to win", and 
the only way to make the impossible come true is to try. 
Unfortunately, at the same time that the challenges before ETAN seem 
the greatest, available resources are becoming increasingly scarce.

Your financial support provides a lifeline for the organization's 
survival. ETAN relies on individual donations from people like you; 
only with your help can ETAN continue its critical work for another 
year. I hope you will join me in giving what you can today.

Sincerely,

Edmund McWilliams
(Retired) Senior Foreign Service Officer



P,S,  You can make a secure tax-deductible contribution through 
ETAN's website: http://etan.org/etan/donate.htm.

You can also write a check to "ETAN/U.S." in support of its political 
advocacy work, or make a tax-deductible donation of over $50 to "A.J. 
Muste Memorial Institute/ETAN," which supports ETAN's educational 
efforts. Please mail donations to: ETAN/U.S., PO Box 15774, 
Washington, DC 20003. Thank you for your support.