Resistance helps form Blue Mountains solidarity group

By Nicole Berrell SPRINGWOOD, NSW — The Blue Mountains East Timor Association (BMETA) was formed at a meeting of activists here on January 21. The meeting was the second of a series of East Timor solidarity meetings held in the Blue Mountains, which were initiated by the socialist youth organisation, Resistance. Through last year's campaign against nuclear testing many young people, in particular secondary school students, from the Blue Mountains and Sydney's western suburbs joined Resistance. Last November, Resistance members organised a successful speak-out against nuclear testing in the Parramatta mall, at which they sold many copies of Green Left Weekly and joined more young people to Resistance. The first meeting of activists in the west was held last December. Resistance members and some Blue Mountains residents felt the political vacuum and were eager to fill it. The first action organised by BMETA was a picket of the Labor Party offices in Springwood to protest against the signing of the Security Treaty between the Indonesian and Australian governments. This treaty is likely to translate into stepped up harassment of people fighting for democracy in Indonesia, and of East Timorese independence supporters in Australia. The picket was reported in the local newspaper which also advertised the next meeting, helping to triple the turn out on January 21. A highlight of the afternoon was a screening of John Pilger's film on East Timor, Death of a Nation.