Thursday, February 02, 2006

Australia criticised in CAVR report

Tonight Radio Australia reported that Australia is accused of supporting the delay of the 1999 ballot for East Timor’s independence by actively lobbying Jakarta and telling the Indonesian government, that it preferred instead that the tiny country remain a province of Indonesia! These accusations come on top of other criticisms that Australia knew that Indonesia was planning to invade East Timor in 1975 and turned a blind eye. You can read all about it in chapter 8 of the yet to be publicly released CAVR report, which runs to 2,500 pages.

The Australian government has gone on the defensive, choosing not to answer the accusation and instead, focusing on its “heroic” role in leading the International Force in East Timor (INTERFET) in September 1999 while continuing to paint itself as the “saviour” of Timor. Typical! Perhaps a few more of those Liberal pollies should read Clinton Fernandes’ Reluctant Saviour: Australia, Indonesia and the Independence of East Timor.

Category: Timor-Leste (East Timor)

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