Interview

The Seeds of Genocide

Interview with Peter Lewis

Brian Daluz, from the Council for the National Resistance of Timor, believes Timorese are being herded into concentration camps.

	Brian Daluz at Labor Council

What's the latest you've heard from your contacts in East Timor?

There's no communications inside East Timor at the moment, but I believe that communication lines have been reconnected. So we can't be sure. The situation in West Timor from the last information I got - which was earlier this week -is that there are people being gathered into concentration camps; women are divided from the men and a lot of the East Timorese men are being forced to go back into East Timor in army uniforms to fight against the FALINTIL forces. If they refuse to do so, their wives and children are held at ransom.

How are you getting your information?

There are some people who have escaped the concentration camps and are now in Bail and Jakarta.

How have they got out?

They managed to get out by paying Indonesian soldiers.

As far as you're aware, are there still Independence supporters within East Timor?

Dili is basically empty. The mountains of East Timor are fully occupied by refugees who have gone there requesting the protection of FALINTIL forces.

What are you asking the Australian Government to do?

All I'm asking is for John Howard and the international community to stop this jargon of 'diplomacy' and do the real stuff. We need people inside East Timor - not tomorrow, but today.

Do you understand the concerns that this would be akin to declaring war on Indonesia?

I can understand, but then I can not understand. Indonesia in 1975 illegally invaded East Timor. Since 1975 to this present moment has never been recognised by the United Nations as the 27th province of Indonesia. Portugal is the rightful administrator of East Timor. And now if the Australian Government or the United Nations needs to ask permission to go into Indonesia then it contradicts the whole issue of the resolution of the United Nations.

How do you see the situation playing out over the next seven days?

I think Indonesia is now having problems within its own political arena. I think this presents a grave problem inside Indonesia, but also for Australia and the East Timorese. because there is not political stability inside Indonesia. And given it is bound to fall into military hands you will have the same regime that Suharto had pre-1975.

Do the remaining pro-Independence supporters within Timor have any fire-power?

Quite frankly, we are out-numbered. The reason we have been maintaining our fight against the Indonesians for all these years is because we have had the support of the East Timorese people. people in Dili, in Bacau, in residential and rural areas. Now you have a different picture. These people are being removed from their homes, so those supporters are no longer there. FALINTIL has another problem - they have to worry about the large numbers of local people who have gone into the mountains seeking their protection.

So do you see any hope of Timorese independence or is it just a case of saving lives now?

I see there is still a prospect if the United Nations and the international community live up to the promisees they have given to the East Timorese community. We actually voted to choose our destiny, the options given by the Indonesian Government were to accept autonomy or reject autonomy. Overwhelmingly, we rejected the autonomy package- just 21 per cent were in favour of autonomy. That means it's clear that from 1975 to the present time the East Timorese are still very disgusted with the way Indonesians have treated us and that we want to be an independent state.

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  Issue 30 contents

»	Ramos Horta Calls for Workers� Support
»	Sydney Unionists Forced to Leave Dili
»	TWU Questions Timor Action
»	SOCOG Called to Cancel Indonesian Contracts
»	Union Busters To Go Cyber
»	Not-So Aussie Post for Sydney 2000
»	Horror Tales - the Nights of the Living Dead
»	Asbestos Sufferer Bequests $30,000 To Union
»	Woodlawn Workers Edge Towards Justice
»	Telstra Shareholders Asked to Block Union-Busters
»	Reith Letter to be Revealed in Conspiracy Case
»	Shock: Tele Thumbs Up For New Years Eve Holiday
»	Tales From the Picket Line

»	Guest Report
»	Sport
»	Trades Hall
»	Piers Watch

»	League's Working Class Takeover
»	Proverb for the Cyber Age
»	Postcard from the Emu
»	Mind Your Language
»	The Other Young Speaker
»	Timor: A Call to Action
»	A Letter to Downer

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