Added Jan. 3, 2009: Linked with Saskia Kouwenberg – Netherlands.
ETAN is a U.S.-based grassroots organization working in solidarity with the peoples of East Timor and Indonesia. ETAN provides information about, and ways to help, East Timor, which was invaded and subjugated by U.S. ally Indonesia in 1975. East Timor chose independence in August 1999 and was soon destroyed by the Indonesian military. East Timor finally became independent on May 20, 2002. ETAN educates, organizes, and advocates for justice for historic and ongoing crimes against humanity, war crimes, and human rights violations in East Timor and Indonesia. ETAN supports democratic reconstruction of East Timor. ETAN supports restrictions on military assistance to Indonesia in order to support democracy and justice in both countries.
Latest ETAN news;
joint statement in solidarity with Burma;
site index;
what can I do;
action alerts;
for a dept free East Timor;
Human Rights & justice;
Indonesian struggles;
labor issues in East Timor;
legislative actions;
photos;
links;
Contact.
About: … The East Timor and Indonesia Action Network (ETAN) was founded in November 1991 to support genuine self-determination and human rights for the people of East Timor in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the 1960 United Nations General Assembly Resolution on Decolonization, and Security Council and General Assembly resolutions on East Timor.
Our primary focus has been to change US foreign policy and raise public awareness to support justice and self-determination and now genuine independence for East Timor and human rights in Indonesia. In February 2001, ETAN revised its mission statement to reflect East Timor’s coming independence.
ETAN has an impressive 15-year record of successful advocacy for the people of Timor-Leste and Indonesia. The depth of ETAN’s experience has provided the organization with the grassroots base, skills, contacts and passion necessary to carry this important mission forward. The emergence of Timor-Leste as a new nation offers a unique opportunity for the U.S. and the world community to live up to their oft-proclaimed ideals of human rights and democracy. However, this promise cannot be met without the active solidarity of people in the United States.
ETAN remains unique in the U.S. in its emphasis on support for Timor-Leste and few groups engage in grassroots education and advocacy on Indonesia. In addition, ETAN plays an essential role by amplifying the voices of East Timorese and Indonesian civil society activists in the U.S. Through its own efforts and in coalition, ETAN provides a much-needed counterbalance to the Bush administration?s military-based foreign policy, in particular its aggressive lobbying for unrestricted assistance to Indonesia’s security forces in the name of the war on terror.
ETAN was founded following the November 12 Santa Cruz massacre of more than 270 peaceful protestors in a cemetery in Dili, Timor-Leste. The few western reporters present exposed the brutality of the occupying Indonesian military. ETAN was founded to support Timor-Leste?s right to self-determination and to end U.S. military and political support for the illegal occupation … (full text).