13 A Fair Go For East Timor

For more on the issues, please visit http://www.timorseajustice.org, email info (at) timorseajustice.org Melbourne Rally Around fifty people gathered this lunchtime outside DFAT in Melbourne in a protest timed to coincide with maritime boundary negotiations between Australia and East Timor... 'At maritime boundary negotiations on April 26, the Australian Government will try to short change East Timor out of billions of dollars. Despite East Timor being the poorest country in Asia, the Australian Government has already taken over two billion dollars worth of gas and oil taxation that under International Law belongs to East Timor! It now wants to take a disproportionate share of the Greater Sunrise field and deprive East Timor of a further $40 billion that would enable East Timor to overcome the widespread hunger, preventable diseases and poverty it currently faces. Demand that East Timor gets a fair go in the Timor Sea!' http://www.melbourne.indymedia.org/news/2005/04/91136_comment.php Sydney Rally An emotional Timorese women, Ina Bradbidge from HOPE, told the protest that her people did not need 'aid' but 'what is ours'. Jeff Lee from AETA asked where was the justice for Timor. Max Lane from Action in Solidarity with Asia and the Pacific described the current sea boundaries, which was negotiated with Indonesia’s dictator president Suharto as 'a border negotiated with blood' and said that the Timorese needed full sovereignty, not blood money. Meredith Burgmann from the ALP, Silvia Hale from the Greens and Claude Mostowick from Pax Christi also addressed the protest, criticising the Howard government for its treachery when so many Timorese were starving, unemployed and without hope. For more information and to get involved, check outhttp://www.TimorSeaJustice.org/ http://www.melbourne.indymedia.org/news/2005/04/91151.php