By Holly Doel and Sujatha Fernandes
SYDNEY — Try Sutrisno, commander of the Indonesian armed forces and vice president, arrived here on September 21 on his official visit. It has been suggested that Sutrisno's visit is a trial run for a visit by President Suharto in 1995.
Sutrisno is well known for his defence of the occupation of East Timor by Indonesia. On November 14, 1991, two days after the Dili massacre, he defended the actions of his troops by saying, "Delinquents like these agitators must be shot, and they will be, whenever that is necessary".
Later that month, in an address to the Indonesian parliament, Sutrisno maintained that only 19 East Timorese people were killed and that the army did not use excessive force. In fact 240 East Timorese were murdered during their peaceful demonstration, and a further 300 were killed in the aftermath.
The Australian establishment media tacitly endorse Indonesian atrocities in East Timor by ignoring or downplaying the deeds of both Indonesia and Australia. For example, the Australian described Sutrisno as a "warm, cheerful extrovert", when in reality he is a cold-blooded mass murderer.
On September 21, Sydney Uni Resistance held a banner drop calling for freedom for East Timor. In order to heighten public awareness of the East Timor issue, banners were painted and placards held up asking drivers during peak hour on City Road to "toot for East Timor". This was combined with a petition and handing out of leaflets to students.
Later the same day, Resistance staged a banner drop from the top of University of Technology, Sydney. The very large banner and called for freedom for East Timor and publicised the September 23 protest against the Sutrisno visit.
At 4pm, Sydney Resistance in cooperation with the Australian East Timor Association, Aksi (Indonesia Solidarity Action), Fretilin and the East Timorese community called an emergency picket outside the Regent Hotel in response to the information that Sutrisno was arriving in Sydney at that time.
The picket was attended by about 30 people and was animated by banners, placards and some street theatre. The message was clear with chants such as "Sutrisno is a butcher, Free East Timor now" and "Try Sutrisno, What for? War crimes". Sutrisno sneaked in through the back door.
The final protest for the week here was organised outside the Defence Centre on Friday. This was a fitting location, given the strong military ties the Australian government has with Jakarta. Around 150 people turned out, and the broad base of support for the campaign was apparent from the many groups who attended, including RSL members, the East Timorese community, members of church groups and youth organisations.
Speakers addressed the role of the Australian government and stressed the need for people to get involved in the campaign. Resistance speaker Ali Whitfield said, "The Australian government is sending out a message of wholehearted support for the Suharto regime and telling the East Timorese people, 'We don't care'." Fretilin speaker Harold Mucho made a plea to Australian people to show that we do care for the plight of the East Timorese people by getting active in campaigns here.
A speaker from Aksi reported that earlier this year troops from the Indonesian crack commando KOPASUS battalion were being trained in Perth. These troops are responsible for some of the worst violence in Indonesia and East Timor. The Australian government also has plans for military exercises between Australia and Indonesia next year.
There was a commitment from the rally to build the national day of action of October 15 and the November 12 march in commemoration of the Dili massacre.