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  Issue No 14 Official Organ of LaborNet 21 May 1999  

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International

Paddy's Payback

By Rico Aditjondro

But for the Timorese many Australian diggers, like retired wharfie Paddy Kenneally, would have died at the hands of the Japanese during WW2. Now it's time to return the favour...

 
 

Retired Wharfie: Paddie Kennelly

"Australia dragged East Timor into the war, and close to 60,000 of them died for us," said John "Paddy" Kenneally.

Paddy was one of the speakers at Remember East Timor Rally in Sydney held in conjunction with ANZAC day, on April 26. He spoke from experience.

Paddy was working on the Pyrmont wharves when his foreman told him that the Japanese Air Force had just bombed Pearl Harbour. It was December 7, 1941.

"I got up, dropped my tool belt and started to leave," said Paddy. "The foreman asked where I was going and I said I was going to join the army."

Six weeks later, on January 21, 1942, Paddy landed in East Timor (then Portuguese Timor) with the 2nd Independent Company, known as the 2/2 Commandos. He now realises, they should never have gone there.

"East Timor was a neutral country," said Paddy. "It wasn't at war. Us being there was an act of aggression. Even the Portuguese didn't want Australian troops there."

The Japanese army arrived in East Timor a month after the 2/2 Commandos. By that time, 80 per cent of the 300 diggers were already sick with malaria.

The Australian troops headed for the mountains for cover, and Paddy recalled how the Timorese took care of them right from the beginning of hostilities in East Timor.

"The very first day the Japanese arrived, the Timorese saved the first Australian," he said.

The 2/2 Commandos stayed in East Timor for another 10 months and fought a guerrilla campaign - something they could not have done without the support of the Timorese people. "That's the key of a guerrilla war," said Paddy.

During the 11 months of warfare, the 2/2 Commandos lost less than 40 soldiers, while the Timorese lost an estimated 2500 lives. For the whole war (1942-1945), the number of East Timorese who died because of their involvement with Australia was 60,000.

They were either killed in battle, tortured or died of disease caused by malnutrition.

After the war, RAAF planes flew over East Timor dropping flyers saying "Your friends will not forget you." However, aside from the oil in the Timor Sea, the Australian Government did forget.

But Paddy and many other maritime workers did not forget. When Portugal was busy taking care of their own backyard during the 1974 April Revolution, East Timor was left abandoned.

Both East Timor and Australia experienced a political vacuum. East Timor had no Portuguese Government to rule and Australia was going through the 1975 Australian Constitutional Crisis after the sacking of the Whitlam Government.

But news about Indonesia's intelligence activity in East Timor was reaching Darwin. Wharfie Brian Manning left the debris of cyclone torn Darwin and flew to Dili to forge new friendships.

"It was an exciting time," he said. "Fretilin had incredible support among the people."

While the populist pro-independence party, Fretilin, won the village elections, the other two main parties- Apodeti, advocating integration with Indonesia and UDT, supporting continued Portuguese rule did not accept the result.

With active Indonesian backing, civil war broke out in August 1975. Fretilin all but won the war, but Indonesia then used 'political instability' in the fledgling republic as an excuse to invade.

A meeting of maritime unions held under the auspices of the Australian Council of Trades Union met in Melbourne on November 26, 1975 and passed the following resolution on the Timorese crisis: "This ACTU executive declares support for the claim of the people of East Timor to political and economic independence and the right to determine their own form of government free of outside interference."

The next day, waterfront unions resolved to ban Indonesian registered vessels and war materials supplied to Indonesia.

Back in Darwin, Brian Manning was already setting up radio contact with the independence fighters in the hills of Maubere.

"The reception was brilliant from Darwin," said Brian. "It was not unusual to hear the strafing in the background. We complained about the cocks crowing and they had trouble hearing us over the parakeets screeching in the gums."

At first, the radio transmission was done legally. But, before long the Australian Government cancelled their license. So Manning and his comrades kept the radio hidden in safe houses. Two groups went on each mission - one lot to transmit, another to pick up the equipment and take it back to town.

Indonesian intelligence, however, was more efficient. With the help of the sophisticated Palapa satellite system, the Indonesian military was able to pinpoint Fretilin radio bases. The transmissions stopped.

The atrocities that followed Indonesian occupation are well documented. "At least a quarter of East Timor's 690,000 population has been killed since 1975," writes John Taylor in his book Indonesia's Forgotten War. The killings continue to this day.

ACTU overseas aid agency Apheda hosted two meetings in April involving Timorese activists and unionists. One of the Timorese was Maria Maia, a representative of the Popular Organisation of Timorese Women (OPMT)- an organisation formed by Fretilin to defend the rights and dignity of the Timorese women.

Maria said she became a victim of psychological and physical abuse which contributed to the genocide of her people. Maria witnessed the death and imprisonment of her sons, husband, families and friends.

But the rapes, tortures and killings did not break her spirit. In fact, it made her more determined to participate in the fight for her freedom and that of her people - a struggle that has the full support of the Maritime Union.

Maria said the Timorese people have been fighting for 23 years, and she had to pass all the obstacles facing her. Many times she was incarcerated, tortured and condemned, but she never hesitated to fight on.

Another Timorese woman, Isabella Gajos, said the Indonesian Government also used its family planning campaign as a way to "wipe out" her people.

"When I was in high school, we had doctors who came to our school to give the kids injections," said Gallos. "They said it was a tetanus shot, but later I found out that it was an anti pregnancy shot."

The doctors injected depoprovera, an American long term contraceptive drug with severe side effects. It has been used all over Indonesia to control its rapid population rise. But in East Timor it was just another name for genocide.

"The Indonesian Government was trying to wipe us out of East Timor," said Gallos.

Tales of torture, executions and political repression slowly filtered out despite an Indonesian military imposed media blockade of the region. But it was not until November 12, 1991 when a freelance cameraman caught Indonesian troops opening fire on a peaceful funeral assembly in Santa Cruz cemetery, that Timor was again under the world spotlight.

The funeral was for Sebastiao Gomes - shot dead by the military a few days earlier. The troops fired into a crowd of at least 5,000 mourners, killing at least 271 people.

Many victims lived to tell the world. Images of terrified faces fleeing gun fire entered living rooms around the world.

Maritime workers were again quick to show their solidarity for the people of East Timor. In 1992, Darwin wharfies arranged free docking of the solidarity ship, Lusitania Express when it arrived at their port. The Lusitania was carrying 120 students, journalists and dignitaries representing 21 nations.

They had sailed from Lisbon to Darwin, before heading for Dili. Their mission was to lay wreaths at the Santa Cruz cemetery to honour the victims of the November massacre.

The ship took on board an Australian contingent before leaving. Among them were trades and labour delegate and the then Seamen's Union state secretary Wally Pritchard. Also on board was widow of Channel 7 reporter Greg Shackleton, Shirley. Indonesian military killed Greg Shackleton and four other news reporters during the invasion in 1975.

The Lusitania headed for East Timor. However, the Indonesian Navy had other plans. "It got pretty hot out there," said Wally Pritchard. "At one time the Indonesians had machine guns pointing at us. One of them manned the gun as we approached the 12 mile limit."

Two Indonesian frigates had closely followed the Lusitania through international waters. Military helicopters buzzed overhead. Before reaching the sea border, they moved in front of the vessel.

"They told us to go back. The second time they threatened they would 'do something to make us leave'," said Wally. "We turned, then stopped and caste a wreath off the stern."

Now, again, East Timor is making the headlines and Darwin wharfies recently donated their labour to the loading of urgent medical and food supplies. Brian Manning, Branch Secretary for the Maritime Union in Darwin voiced union support for East Timorese independence: "We understand their suffering and we do everything we can to alleviate it."

Maritime workers have also joined local community and students from the University of Newcastle in a support group called Friends of East Timor. On April 30, the group held its first vigil night for the victims of the pro-Indonesian armed militias. Special guest at the rally was East Timor resistance spokesperson, Mahudu.

He said he was touched by the support from the Australian people. Mahudu said the Falintil independence fighters were on "stand by" refusing to be provoked by the marauding pro-Indonesian para military gangs. Resistance leader Xanana Gusmao could, if he wanted to, order the guerrillas in the mountains to come down to Dili and fight the militias.

However, that would only feed the Indonesian propaganda machine and give them what they wanted-a civil war. And like the civil war in 1975, this one would also be an Indonesia instigated war.

Fretilin NSW Organiser Harold Moucho said many East Timorese had gone up to the mountains to seek refuge. "Most of them were pro-independence men, as they were the prime targets,"said Moucho. "Some even had to leave their wives and children behind, but, there have been instances where the whole family would pack up as much as they could and join the resistance in the mountain."

Escalating violence and anarchy, deprivation and disease are taking their toll on the health of the Timorese. Dr Sergio Lobo - one of the only 16 Timorese doctors and the country's only surgeon was in Australia in April to speak about the health crisis and the need for aid from Australia.

At an Apheda sponsored luncheon in Sydney on April 20, Dr Lobo said the shortage of Timorese doctors was critical due to an exodus of Indonesian doctors.

"We can't do anything because the system is still in Indonesian Government hands," he said.

To make matters worse, the militias are preventing doctors from treating the wounded. "Every move is considered a political move by our pro-integration brothers," Dr Lobo said.

Treating the wounded could very well led to imprisonment or even death. Dr Lobo said the most effective way to run a health service at the moment was through the Catholic church network. His team located nurses in each parish as they were still the safest places in East Timor.

Although very grateful for the aid shipments from Australia, Dr Lobo said the most effective way to get medicine into East Timor was to buy it in Indonesia and ship it in by domestic routes, so avoiding the corrupt Indonesian custom officers.

Apheda is launching an East Timor appeal this May, calling on unions, their members and the general public to donate money for medical supplies. MUA members are urged to donate. It is the least we can do.

As old time wharfie and digger Paddy says, "Many of the diggers expected to die in Timor. But thanks to the Timorese, most of us survived. We owe them our lives."

NSW unionists will rally in supprt of the East Timorese this Thursday. Full details in the News Section


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*   View entire issue - print all of the articles!

*   Issue 14 contents

In this issue
Features
*  Interview: Madame President
The new President of the NSW Legislative Council Meredith Burgmann has spent most of her life opposing authority. Now she has a chance to exercise it.
*
*  Unions: The ACTU Faces the Labour Hire Challenge
The enormous growth in labour hire and contracting out employment is creating a big challenge for unions worldwide.
*
*  History: The Wartime Women�s Employment Board
During World War II policy makers were forced to embraqce a unique wage-fixing method.
*
*  Labour Review: What's New from the Information Centre
View the latest issue of Labour Review, Labor Council's fortnightly newsletter for unions.
*
*  Review: Origlass Biographer Keeps Red Flag Flying
The self proclaimed 'ultra-democrat', Hall Greenland, has described his relationship with the Balmain legend Nick Origlass as "Freudian".
*
*  International: Paddy's Payback
But for the Timorese many Australian diggers, like retired wharfie Paddy Kenneally, would have died at the hands of the Japanese during WW2. Now it's time to return the favour...
*
*  Campus: Tales from the Frontline
This week's successful VSU protests seem to have killed off Kemp's ideological agenda. We go live to the protest
*

News
»  Call For IR Crisis Talks as Country Conference Looms
*
»  Workers Sacked for Body Hire
*
»  British Union Secures Free Net Access
*
»  Cab Charge Wars: SBS Workers Fight for Their Lives
*
»  State Wage Case Smooth - Except for Brack
*
»  FOI Loopholes Could Leave Public Servants Exposed
*
»  Drug Summit Misses Tokin� Gesture
*
»  Public Will Lose Again From Rail Sackings
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»  Robin Hood Strikes Again
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»  CPSU shows it cares�
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»  Unions Take Action on Timor, Stolen Generation
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Columns
»  Guest Report
*
»  Sport
*
»  Trades Hall
*
»  Piers Watch
*

Letters to the editor
»  Faction Calls Miss Point
*
»  Don't Ignore the Class Divide
*
»  Timor: Look at the Map!
*
»  Songs of the Revolution Feedback
*

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