Word: indonesia
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Perhaps no people have suffered so tragically in as much obscurity as the people of East Timor. For more than 20 years since the tiny former Portugese colony was brutally annexed by its neighbor Indonesia, the genocide and error that the East Timorese have endured has been completely ignored by the West. Only recently has the terrible story of this former nation been acknowledged, most notably when two Timorese activists were awarded the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize...
...East Timor was seized by Indonesia in an act of blatant aggression. About 200,000 East Timorese were killed because of the invasion, either in military conflict or as a result of the starvation and disease caused by Indonesia's savage policies. The occupation was greeted not by vociferous protest by the United States, but with tacit assent at the highest levels of the American government. President Gerald Ford and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger '50 assured our ally, Indonesia, that the U.S. would not contest nor attempt to rollback its illegal annexation...
...just look the other way when East Timor was overrun: Military equipment needed to subdue and slaughter Timorese resisters and civilians was readily sold to Indonesia. Diplomatic support for the invasion was also forthcoming. Kissinger, fresh from needlessly prolonging the Vietnam War and encouraging the murderous Christmas bombing of Hanoi, helpfully suggested that the Indonesian cruelty could be construed as containment of communism in East Timor if dissent was raised...
...improving foreign trade with Asia? No, blinded by jealousy, they complain that it is the Asian Americans who are reaping the wealth. What have John Huang and the Lippo Group done that is so bad? They hired American expertise to build the much needed infrastructure for new towns in Indonesia. Do Americans say thank you for your business? No, they paste up photographs of Huang as if he were a convicted criminal. CARMEN HARTONO Oakland, California...
Furthermore, although Fidel Castro is often described as a merciless dictator, he's a lot better than some leaders of some countries that the U.S. maintains friendly relations with, such as Indonesia. Or compare Cuba's progress on women's rights with Saudi Arabia's. Even Chinese totalitarians get better treatment than Fidel does...