Timorese ask Keating to back peace initiative

Wednesday, March 2, 1994 - 11:00

By Bernie Brian

DARWIN — Jose Gusmao, cousin of jailed East Timorese resistance leader Xanana Gusmao, has called on Prime Minister Paul Keating to support the National Council of Maubere Resistance (CNRM) peace plan.

Gusmao presented a letter containing the request to Keating on February 12, at an ALP reception. Outside members of Darwin's East Timorese community and their Australian supporters picketed.

The CNRM is gaining widespread international support for its three-phase peace plan. The plan would last 7-10 years, culminating in a referendum on independence or free association or integration with Indonesia.

Phase 1 would encompass demilitarisation and the restoration of basic human rights. Phase 2 would establish mechanisms for self-government.

The letter accused the Keating government of consistently siding with the Indonesian military dictatorship.

The United Nations Commission on Human Rights has been meeting in Geneva, and Indonesia's human rights violations are, once again, under the spotlight. Last year the commission, with Australia's support, issued a highly critical resolution. However, the Indonesian authorities have yet to act on any of its demands.

Refugees arriving in Darwin have verified that torture is still widespread in East Timor. One refugee, Vincente Ximenes, has stated that he was subjected to electric shocks and repeated beatings while he was imprisoned in Dili between February and August 1993.

According to Ximenes, he and other prisoners were often beaten with sticks for two to three hours at a time as they hung from their wrists, or were forced to crouch in a tank of water for prolonged periods and were beaten if they moved. He continues to suffer from impaired hearing, insomnia, loss of memory, panic attacks and severe pain. This story is not atypical.

The letter delivered to Keating concluded that Australia's support for a just settlement in East Timor "would be a sign of our nation's genuine rather than opportunistic involvement with the South-east Asian community".