APCET meets in Manila

APCET meets in Manila

By Jon Lamb

The Asia Pacific Coalition for East Timor (APCET) held a council meeting in Manila on February 25-26. APCET involves East Timor solidarity groups from within the Asia Pacific region, but also includes affiliates from elsewhere. There were participants at the meeting from 10 nations in the Asia Pacific, including East Timor and Indonesia.

There were reports on the solidarity activities of the groups represented and discussion of future activities to be coordinated within the APCET network. This included increasing pressure upon Parliamentarians for East Timor (PET), reaffirming November 12 as an international day of action and protest actions in support of independence for East Timor and democracy for Indonesia during the elections in Indonesia in May.

An APCET poster calling for the release of East Timorese and Indonesian political activists will also be produced.

A special focus for discussion was the next APCET conference and where it will be held. Participants felt strongly that despite efforts to ban and block attempts to hold APCET conferences in the ASEAN countries (such as APCET II in Malaysia last November), that APCET III be held in Thailand. Korea is also a possible option.

From GLW issue 266