THE ANNOUNCEMENT last month that the people of East Timor are to be allowed to vote on whether to accept "autonomy" as part of Indonesia or press for independence has triggered a new round of violence. Indonesia's president Habibie hade declared three months earlier that he would let the former colony have independence if they rejected his offer of autonomy, and in March the UN was involved in hammering out a means of seeking the popular will.
But what appeared to most democrats to be a step forward to the long-awaited liberation of East Timør from the brutal 23year rule of the Indonesian military has inflamed new anger in the pro-Indonesian paramilitary squads on the island, backed by the Indonesian army and police.
The simmering threat from these forces has boiled over, reaching a peak in the brutal massacre of East Timorese refugees in a Catholic Church on April 6.
It now seems that as many as 300 may have died as gunmen opened indiscriminate fire on 2,000 unarmed Timorese who had sought sanctuary, with large numbers of bodies reportedly removed by army lorries to conceal the scale of the carnage. This, after five months of mounting indiscriminate attacks The European Marches (organiser of the mass demonstration in Amsterdam in 97) is calling another major protest (50,000 or more) in Cologne in June to coincide with the Heads of Government Summit of the EU Marchers will set out from every region of Germany and from other European cities including Prague, Luxembourg. and Paris, to converge on Cologne for the demo. There will be a (1,000 strong) march from Brussels to Cologne. Across Europe unemployment, job insecurity, social exclusion and poverty are growing. The demands will be:
* A guaranteed job for all, and a decent * For an immediate massive reduction of working hours, coordinated on a European level, without loss of wages or purchasing • May 29. Name Organisation Phone... der or race. Yes to the full right y Address (Cheques: Cologne 99)
paramilitaries has now forced Jose 'Xanana' Gusmao, jailed leader of the independence movement to call on his followers to resume the armed struggle. Of course there are no signs of NATO or UN action to support this effort by the Timorese to break the bonds of oppression. ¡two wish to be a part of the mobilisation for i the marches and demonstration in Cologne on • Please send me/us all information about the ' campaign as it develops, along with information as to how l/we can be involved. I/we , enclose a donation to help start the campaign.
Donation € Send to: Cologne 99, c/o Leeds TUC Centre, 88 North St, LEEDS LS2 7PN