The Editor
The Age
Dear Editor
In his usual arrogant style, Paul Keating attacks John Howard for being
directly responsible for the deaths in East Timor during the period around
the independence referendum. ("Keating Again Berates PM Over Timor" The Age
30/3/200)
The fact is that neither Keating or Howard will be honoured in history for
their record on the East Timor issue. The sad thing for our nation is that
neither man values human rights as shown by their utterances and policies
over many years while the East Timorese were being mercilessly slaughtered
by the Indonesian generals.
It could be that John might actually look a little better than Paul as he
did send the peace keepers in to Timor even though it was far too late to
save thousands. Paul not only went along with a policy of appeasement of
Suharto when it was patently obvious what his policies were in East Timor,
but he went to hold his hand after he was finally dumped. Paul also
attacked Bill Clinton for putting human rights before trade when the US
president actually took positive action by banning small arms and training
for the the Indonesian military in an attempt to stop the Timor carnage.
Paul's response was to dramatically increase the number of Indonesian
officers receiving training in Australia.
While John Howard refuses steadfastly to say sorry about the wrongs heaped
on our indigenous people, Paul Keating strongly promoted reconciliation.
However, neither man will say sorry for their betrayal of our courageous
East Timor World War 2 allies over many years.
Is it any wonder that many Australians are more inspired by the humane
policies of the East Timorese leaders as they promote forgiveness and
reconciliation and try desperately to meet the human needs of their people.
They are a breath of fresh air in a world where most leaders seem more
content in maximising the profits of corporations (including arms
manufacturers) than caring for the welfare of the people who elect them and
the victims of their callous policies.
Yours sincerely
Andrew (Andy) Alcock
Phone: 61 8 82053259 (work)
Pager: 61 8 82734382
Facsimile: 61 8 82236509
Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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