INDONESIA -- The following letter was written by East Timorese resistance
leader XANANA GUSMAO and Indonesian People's Democratic Party leader BUDIMAN
SUJATMIKO on June 3 in Cipinang Prison. The letter was smuggled out of
the prison by a member of the Australian organisation Action in Solidarity
with Indonesia and East Timor.
To: John Howard, Prime Minister of Australia
To: All members of the Australian parliament
To: All the Australian people
All of us who are political prisoners of Suharto's New Order (now under
President Habibie) were shocked and disappointed when Prime Minister John
Howard called President Suharto a caring, sensitive and wise leader when
Howard first visited Indonesia. We now hope that he has taken note of what
the Indonesian and East Timorese people really think of the former president.
They came out on to the streets in hundreds of thousands at the risk of
death to force him to resign.
We were also shocked and disappointed when we found out that in March
1998 a big majority of the members of the Australian Senate voted against
the resolution to ask Suharto to release the political prisoners, or at
least to guarantee them a speedy and free trial.
All of us, representing Indonesians fighting for democracy and East
Timorese fighting for freedom, appeal to the government of PM Howard to
firmly urge President Habibie to immediately release all political
prisoners and guarantee all democratic rights recognised in UN declarations.
We humbly request the Australian Senate to reconsider its position and
to urge the new government in Indonesia to release all political prisoners,
including kidnapped activists.
We appeal to the Australian government to change its position on East
Timor and to become the champion of self-determination for East Timor.
To the Australian people, we offer our thanks to all those who have
actively campaigned in support of democratic rights in Indonesia and self-determination
in East Timor.
We appeal to you to continue your efforts because we all know that we
have still not secured either real democracy or self-determination. The
people of our countries have won a victory in battle, but we still must
win the war.
To all Australians who are sympathetic to our struggle, we urge you
to join all collective efforts to pressure your government to change its
position so it becomes a government which formally demands self-determination
in East Timor and political freedom in Indonesia.
The Australian, East Timorese and Indonesian people are all neighbours
who value the same thing: Freedom!
