[Marxism] Re: Australian troops are back in Timor.

[Ggregray@xxxxxxx]

There is no doubt that Clinton Fernandes - a former-I believe- Major in the
australian Army has been a passionate and committed supporter of East Timor-in
particular he has done much to expose the complicity of Various Australian Gove
rnments going back to 1975 in the invasion of and ruling of East Timor by
Indonesia.
But in his poemic against Tom O'Lincoln he exhibits much of the hubris that
has come from various segments of the left who blew their trumpets to summon
the armed forces of Australian imperialism to intervene in East Timor in 1999.
He says much about the allegedly good results of this intervention but does
not offer any explanation of how it has gone so awry. There is a growing
Petroleum Fund we are told but increasing poverty for the majority of the East
Timorese-this has blown up into brutal battles particularly on the streets of 
Dili
and yet another "humanitarian" intervention by Australian forces.
Fernandes killer point is that Australia intervened militarily many times
before 1999. This is undoubtedly true. In fact Australian troops went to the
Sudan to fight on behalf of British imperialism even before Australia existed 
as a
unified nation.
But it is far too facile to reject O'Lincoln's argument that the East Timor
intervention has set a template for justification of further Australian
intervention elsewhere on "humanitarian" grounds as "bullshit".
Fernandes nominates Xanana Gusamao as leader who is no puppet of Australia.
Well he appears to be far more in favour than Prime Minister Alkatiri.
Fernandes leaves out the egregious Jose Ramos Horta-who has taken an ever more
prominent position since the most recent Australian intervention. He has 
supported
the US invasion of Iraq-explicitly likening it to the intervention in East
Timor.
There's someone who doesn't reject the template argument but embraces it and
thinks it should be expanded. So once again we have Australian and some other
toops intervening in East Timor-and Horta benefiting from it.
One of the astonishing sights in the lead up to this latest intervention was
the Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer on TV actually outling to the
East Timorese government how to draw up the document inviting in Australian
troops and telling them exactly who should sign it. It was forthcoming the very
next day-undoubtedly a highlight in the annals of East Timorese independence
from Australian influence.
Fernandes-as I understand it-specifically rejects Marxism-as of course is his
right, However on a discussion list for Marxists he makes a comment which in
other forms has been said elsewhere on this list in other contexts by people
who apparently do identify as Marxists.
He begins by quoting O'Lincoln
"Socialist Alternative argued against sending troops"
then comments:
"CF Great courage needed to do so from the comfort of sydney and melbourne.
Perhaps a more accurate name would be 'Alternative to Socialism' "
This thing about comfort and courage only ever arises when the commentator is
disagreeing with the line put forward. Did it require any greater courage for
the many on the left comfortably ensconced in Sydney Melbourne and other cosy
Australian locations to support the intervention line along with the Howard
government and the overwhelming weight of "public opinion" as expressed thorugh
the bourgeois mass media.
Would my opinion be of more worth if as I wrote it I sat on thumb tacks so as
to reduce my comfort level. Marxists might want to take a somewhat more
analytical approach to the actual argument rather than its geographical origin.
Greg Adler




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