Fwd (GLW): Dita Sari: `Allow the people of Aceh and West Papua to choose'

["Alan Bradley" <abradley1@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

>From Green Left Weekly, May 15, 2002.

Dita Sari: `Allow the people of Aceh and West Papua to choose'

Dita Sari is a former Indonesian political prisoner and is chairperson of
the militant Indonesian National Front for Labour Struggle (FNPBI) union
federation. She is also a leading member of the left-wing Peoples Democratic
Party (PRD). Green Left Weekly's Sam Wainwright asked Sari about the PRD's
attitude to the movements for national self-determination in West Papua and
Aceh. Sari was in Australia in early April for the second Asia Pacific
International Solidarity Conference, held in Sydney.

If anything illustrates the precarious and limited versions of democracy and
human rights in Indonesia today, it is the Indonesian government's continued
repression of the peoples of Aceh and West Papua. President Megawati
Sukarnoputri is opposed to independence in both cases, much as she opposed
East Timor's independence to the very end.

"The broader pro-democracy movement in Indonesia, including non-government
organisations and the student movement, generally do not understand the
independence struggle in Aceh. They know people in Aceh are struggling
against military repression and the Indonesian armed forces' domination of
Aceh's social and political life. But they don't see independence as the
solution to the situation.

"The PRD, and the mass organisations close to it, believes that the solution
for Aceh has to be a referendum that includes independence as an option. A
referendum needs to be called, in conditions free from military repression,
so that the people can vote in peace", Sari explained.

< The remainder of the article can be found at
http://www.greenleft.org.au/current/492p12b.htm >

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ACEH: Freedom movement demands independence referendum

Kautsar, chairperson of the Acehnese Peoples Democratic Resistance Front
(FPDRA), attended the second Asia Pacific International Solidarity
Conference in April to build support for the Acehnese people's struggle for
self-determination. Kautsar spoke with Green Left Weekly's John Gauci.

Kautsar was the founding coordinator of Student Solidarity for the People
(SMUR), the main pro-referendum student-led mass organisation in Aceh
established in 1998. He helped lead the mass campaign in Aceh which, along
with mass actions across Indonesia, finally toppled Suharto in May 1998.

FPDRA is an increasingly promeninent organisation struggling for
independence for Aceh, operating openly in the urban centres. Unlike the
Free Aceh Movement (GAM), FPDRA also advocates the fundamental
democratisation of Acehnese society in the interests of the workers and
peasants.

< The remainder of the article can be found at
http://www.greenleft.org.au/current/492p12.htm >

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EAST TIMOR: Dirty deals in the Timor Sea

BY JON LAND

On the eve of East Timor's independence on May 20, the crucial issue of the
Timor Gap has still to be fully resolved. East Timor may lose billions of
dollars in oil and gas royalties if the Australian government and the large
petrochemical companies get their way.

The Australian government is pressuring East Timor to sign the terms of the
Timor Sea Arrangement, which was established last July. This memorandum
replaced the Timor Gap Treaty (signed between Australia and Indonesia in
1989) and will form the basis for a new treaty on the disputed maritime
boundary between East Timor and Australia.

According to the Timor Sea Arrangement, East Timor will receive a 90% cut of
the royalties in the Joint Petroleum Development Area. East Timorese
political leaders, non-government organisations and solidarity groups have
expressed concerns that a treaty based on this memorandum will still prevent
East Timor from receiving its fair share of royalties.

In April, East Timor's chief minister Mari Alkatiri stated that East Timor
would like to sign a new treaty on May 20, but that "the agreement should
not compromise East Timor's position and that we will approve legislation on
the basis that our maritime frontiers are very clear". Australian foreign
minister Alexander Downer stated there might be delays with the signing of
the treaty due to "technical differences".

< The remainder of the article can be found at
http://www.greenleft.org.au/current/492p13.htm >



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