Rob replies:
>
> >What could have worked "quite nicely" Rob?
>
> Just garrison the towns and feed who's left (btw: I see elsewhere that some
> believe the casualty figures are surprisingly low - a strange thing to say
> at a stage when nearly half a million people are still missing. I'm still
> inclined to suspect a real genocide programme was under way - and I reckon
> awful news awaits). Hang around while Falintil tries to make something of
> what's left. And then pull out, leaving East Timor to economic dependence
> and the mercies of whomever and whatever lies in the bush beyond the West
> Timorese borders (and how things pan out in Djakarta).
Rob I think youve got big illusions on the "niceness" of Aussie
'jackal' imperialism. The UN was powerless to prevent the
genocide for over 25 years. It had no interest in opposing the
arming of Indonesia and disarming Fretilin. The UN may have saved
some lives by going in belatedly, but a lot fewer than if the
Falintil had not been forced under the UN agreement to refrain from
self-defence. The genocide after the vote for independence, resulted
from fury at the referendum backfiring on the Indonesians, and
opposition to losing control of ET's resources. This could have been
hugely minimised by Falintil forces had they not been neutralised by
the UN and the Fretilin national bourgeois leadership. Gusmao kept
his bargain with the UN and the worker and peasant ET's paid
the price.
What do you mean "hang around"? The terms of the UN resolution
requires the disarming of Falintil! I spoke to a territorial soldier
here who was all keen to sign up to go. His perspective was that the
UN troops would be their for "ten years" to protect the new
Gusmao/Horta government - i.e. Aussie's client state. He thought that
part of the UN's role would be to train the E Timorese army. I told
him that he was 25 years too late. If you think that the UN are
going to allow any real independence fighters to remained armed, and
then get out, you have big illusions.
> But now Australia has seen fit to give Asia a 'white man's burden' speech,
> and has compounded it with some guff about being America's local
> arse-kicking representatives. And then they've started talking about
> entering sovereign Indonesian territory, and fanning the very nationalistic
> bellicosity I reckon the Indonesian military hopes to exploit to bend the
> presidential process to its will. Howard has already been flying the old
> 'national service' kite, and Costello is already contemplating 'reappraising
> the social welfare system' to pay for a spot of rearming. Nice. Ignore the
> Australian working class for 25 years, and then make 'em pay for it when
> it's time for someone to reap what's sown.
Yeah, this is much more likely. Now that the UN is in, it will
stay and fight for 'western democracy' and create a phoney war
against the Indonesian military which will be good for the Aussie and
Kiwi governments electoral chances. ' Our Jenny' having sucked up
to Clinton over APEC recently, appeared in battledress to send off
the 'boys and girls'. Yeah even killing or training wogs can be
gender neutral these days.
Aussie workers sound just as chauvinist as kiwi workers.
The UN mission in E Timor is being painted up here as akin to the
Rugby World Cup, America's Cup, and the Olympics, all wrapped
into one, with massive hakas performed for the TV cameras etc.
Defending democracy is so politically correct. Even the union support
for E T is to get their governments to send peacekeeping troops
to defend 'human rights', cutting across any Aussie or Kiwi class
afilliation with the E Timorese freedom fighters and the Indonesian
masses.
In reality these are imperialist troops (or in NZ's case of a
bloated semi-colony) prepared to back up the Indonesian military if
it can't keep the lid on the upsurge of mass struggles. The cross
class backing they are generating at home now will serve the
imperialists well if it comes to that.
> A lot of people are alive right now (I reckon, anyway) because we went in.
> Amelioration - possibly only short-term amelioration at that - seemed the
> limit of possibility from the off. That doesn't mean you don't give it a go
> - but their longer term fortunes seem to me, and always did seem to me,
> firmly in the hands of questionable others.
>
Who's the "we" that "went in"? This is the language of
nationalism and not class. Another way of putting this is that
upward of 300,000 people are dead because Aussie and Kiwi workers did
not oppose the rotten jackal servility with which their successive
bourgeois governments sucked up to the Yanks and Indonesian
dictators. By going in, as you put it, the bourgeosie are
trying to excuse their rotten role by claiming some redemption for
"our" past by "our" present actions. Its high time that we chucked
this whole history of bloody complicity and "our" western racist
moral superiority which we now see paraded daily on the media, for
workers class solidarity with the Timorese and Indonesian masses.
This means opposing the UN troops. I agree no hot pursuit. But the UN
troops should get out not only of W Timor but of E Timor now. Arm the
Falintil. The UN troops are not going to do that since you cannot get
a leopard to change its spots. But workers international action can
do it. For a start raise the demand among the UN rank and file troops
NOT to disarm Falintil. Build a UF for workers material aid to be
directed at the popular forces that are fighting for democracy and
who will have to mobilise as independent armed militias to win
against the Indonesian army and the UN forces. But to raise
this perspective of permanent revolution we need a bit more than
thaxchat, we need a communist vanguard.
Dave
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