click on a picture for the full size, full quality original.
Picture taken, while driving [!], from inside my car. It shows a CML [Câmara Municipal de Lisboa] ad about the Timor situation.
@ 3:00 PM, everyone STOPPED working, left their offices and came silently to the streets, for 3 minutes.
The picture shows the CdM [Casa da Moeda], @ 3:05 PM. People still were silent...
@ 6:00 PM, there was this huge human chain, that linked 6 [six] embassies: USA, Russia, UN, UK, China and France!
The human chain required thousands of people, of all ages
Human chain @ INESC, Lisbon
Some people wore black stripes.
OK, it is enough! I try hard to avoid "touchy" subjects which may have political readings, but the current situation in East Timor is simply _unbelieavable_.
It is very hard to accept the violence against _thousands_ of people, in just some 72 hours, without expressing the strongest revolt against such barbary act! The scenario is very much worst than other massive killings, recently occurred in Ruanda-Urundi or in Kosovo @ Serbia.
Timor is a tragedy greater than Ruanda, since it is the "democratic" Republic of Indonesia that is directly commanding the killings, the burnings, the pillages, and the abductions. All the horrible violence is not coming from primitively armed, non-organized bands of murderers, but from true militias, with recent hardware, and all the resources needed to perform the most unbearable wipe of a [to be] nation.
Timor is harder to deal with than Kosovo, since Indonesia - who annexed the territory in 1975 - is going through huge economical and social difficulties, under a very unstable political weather, with rivers of money flowing in from the IMF [International Monetary Fund]. The International Community did try its best to raise Indonesia from chaos, but the locals in-charge, go on showing not being capable of solving any issue. There are signs that the whole Democracy is in risk, and that it could well be replaced by a Military Dictatorship... with non-predictable consequences.
So, after claiming to accept the results of the referendum, where Timor expressed an 80% wish for independence, Indonesia activated its "plan B" for the after-elections... This "plan B" is the current violence against Timor, in order to kill and to expel out of the territory, the very same people who voted against integration with Indonesia. Of course that a country currently running on IMF funds, couldn't do the wiping on "clear day light", so they arranged these militias, pretended not be the ones behind their actions, and closed eyes on the attacks...
That brings us to today. Indonesia is now like a coin - it has two faces. The outside face, tells the world that the country is doing its best to control the situation, that martial law has been installed, that the violence is coming to an end, an that an International Force is not needed, nor welcome. The inside face, stresses and urges the violence, because each day that goes on without emptying Timor, is one more day facing the anger of everyone with a single neuron left!!
And why does Indonesia want to wipe Timor? This is a question that may have many answers. The simplest one is that Indonesia will require a 2nd voting of the "independence / autonomy" issue, and that there won't be enough pro-independence people to vote!, or they will all be afraid of showing up, considering the previous blood bath. However, this answer makes no sense, as Indonesia did internationally recognize the referendum as valid!
Another answer, less obvious but more plausible, is that the country, under severe internal divisions, is showing off what can happen to separatists... but the lesson has already killed hundreds of people too many, in just a few days time, not counting the 1/4 of a million of innocents, slaughtered over 1/4 of a century!!
Finally, who knows the long term plans of Indonesia? May be they are killing the pro-independence folks and even accepting the referendum, just to annex Timor again, _but_ only when the time is right... ie, when the world is too much worried with other traumatic matters.
Whatever the question, whatever the answers, the facts are, that Indonesia is doing a mass killing campaign in Timor, with the most incredible and ridiculous "lets pretend were are trying to stop it" attitude... shame on Indonesia.
It really is time to ACT! I can act no more than writing this text, and run the CGI that sends protests to the UN... Can you do more? Please do!
And can the International community erase the militias? I hope so. We all once said "I don't believe in violence", but what IF everything else fails?, like it did in Kosovo?... Just do it? Remember my news on 10 May 1999...
If you are aware of what is going on in Timor, and if you think that MORE can & should be done to put an end to the violence, go ahead and send your protest to the UN, to the Indonesia government, plus a request for help, to the President of the USA. Check below.
If you want to know about other ways of showing your disapproval, check and read the pictures of the human chain @ Lisbon... [on your left]
You can have a better view of the human chain, by downloading the available "for Timor" videos. [below]
You can also check the map that spots the six embassies that got connected by a human chain @ Lisbon!
