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RELIGIOUS PERSPECTIVES ON HUMAN RIGHTS
E-Newsletter
Vol.1 No.12
August 30, 1999
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Religious Perspectives on Human Rights is now available online at: http://www.rghr.net
Religious Perspectives on Human Rights is a weekly e-newsletter issued by Buddhist, Muslim, Catholic and Christian Groups on Human Rights, initiated by the Asian Human Rights Commission.
Plea for free and fair
vote
By Carlos Belo
After nearly a
quarter of a century of tragedy, the people of East Timor will
vote next Monday on whether to remain part of Indonesia or become
independent. I pray that the United States and other nations will
do whatever possible to persuade Indonesian forces to allow this
choice to be made freely, and, if independence is the result, to
accept it with-out retaliating with violence.
Diplomatic intervention may be
the only hope to avert a new blood-bath in my native land. First,
civil war between Timorese groups erupted in August 1975, as
Portugal was planning to withdraw after centuries of colonial
rule.
Then the Indonesian military
intervened a few months later. By 1980, 200,000 or more of East
Timor's population of less than 700,000 may have perished from
massacres, disease and famine.
Over the past six months,
hundreds of people have been killed, most of them young people
whose only crime was their desire to be free from Indonesian
rule. They died at the hands of armed groups created by
Indonesian army elements who oppose independence for East Timor,
despite President Bucharuddin Habibie's offer in 3anuary to allow
the people of East Timor to vote on their future.
Most East Timorese oppose
continued Indonesian rule. Otherwise there would be no need to
wage a campaign of violence and coercion to prevent free
elections from taking place.
I had hoped observers from' the
UN Assistance Mission for East Timor would bring an end to such
violence. But some of the mission's employees have been attacked
as well.
Thousands of people displaced by
such violence have taken refuge in churches throughout East
Timor, but even there they are not safe. In April, scores of
people were brutally killed by armed militias at a church in
Liquica. Sadly, this was only the beginning of a series of
assaults.
Only the other day, a food convoy
organised by a Timorese nun to feed displaced people was
destroyed. Houses were burned, mothers threatened, the hands of
young people in one village slashed, all to intimidate people
from voting. Elsewhere, the military has distributed guns to
allies to force people to vote the "right" way.
I have appealed for
reconciliation with Indonesian forces and their. Timorese allies.
I have emphasised that the rights of all must be guaranteed. All
along I have made clear that the church is there for everyone and
is not to be used by any political faction. Yet I have concluded
that only international pressure on Indonesia's army can end the
violence.
Indonesia's generals, who have
long-standing ties to Washington, should be made to understand
that Indonesia will not receive any military assistance or the
loans the country so badly needs unless the army ends its
campaign of violence. And Indonesian authorities must permit the
entry of international peacekeepers. After all the suffering they
have endured, the people of East Timor deserve no less.
Carlos Belo, the Roman
Catholic Bishop of Dili, East Timor,; received a Nobel Peace
Prize in 1996.
The New York Times
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The Appeal By The Refugees
We have received the
following appeal from a refugee group in Mae Sot, Thailand, who
fear that their refugee camp may be transferred to a location
that is detrimental to them. We reproduce here their appeal.
Those who wish to respond can contact them at the address found
at the end of this appeal.
REFUGEES FEAR A TRANSFER
TO AN UNSAFE LOCATION
17th August, 1999
Re: Our
concern in relation to the relocation of Wah Ka Refugee
Tak District Officer,
Mae Sot Township officer and the Thai military held a closed-door
meeting in Mae Sot, on 17th August, 1999. The main purpose of the
meeting was to forcibly move Wah Ka Refugee Camp to a new site
which is not appropriate for human beings to live in. Thus, the
decision was that the camp will be moved starting from the 23rd
August and beyond. The new site is called
"Opion", it is about 87-88 km south of Mae Sot, Tak
Province.
Regarding this issue, we
are very much concerned, particularly because of the rainy
season; it is not appropriate to move the refugees when the
weather may endanger people's health. Moreover, we realize that
many problems could arise from strong winds, which could destroy
houses and shelters. Similarly, it is extremely cold and
the water is not clean and healthy. Beyond that, the local
people do not want to come and live at the new location. We also
worry about the issue of drugs and the effects on the refugee
population; the area is famous for drug production by the local
people.
For this reason, we are
determined not to move to a new site no matter who forces us to
go. If we go and live there, it is worse than Burmese soldiers
and DKBA coming and burning our houses.
Finally, as a result of
this, we appeal to those who are concerned about us to give
pressure to both Thai superiors and the local officials not to
forcibly relocate us to a new site, and also to pressure
UNHCR to perform its responsibilities correctly according to the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights. We are so sad that the
decision was made without our agreement. We urge you to
take actions as soon as possible.
For further contact:
Karen Refugee Committee
Tel. 055-532-947
Fax: 055-546-869
Zaw Wan Htoo
Tel. 01-8054285
Email: <
win3@loxinfo.co.th>
Faithfully,
Wah Ka Refugee Camp
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ANNOUNCEMENT
Some items from the past
issues of this E-Newsletter are colourfully presented in the
Human Rights SOLDIARITY Volume 9. No. 8, August 1999 issue:
NEW
PUBLICATIONS."The Buddha's Way to Human Liberation, A
Socio-Historical Approach" A Doctoral Thesis- By Dr. Nalin
Swaris.
"Dr. Nalin Swaris'
Magga: The Buddha's Way to Human Liberation is a work that
warrants the attention of all serious students of Buddhism. For
here is an almost unprecedented attempt to approach the early
Buddhist discourses from a multidisciplinary perspective in order
to determine the original message of the Buddha as a Way to Human
Liberation. Dissociating himself from the widespread belief that
the Buddha's ideal of human liberation "is to be
realized in solitude, away from the everyday concerns of ordinary
men and women", the author shows that the Buddha's way
to liberation is based on a morality which is out-and-out social
and is oriented towards a social liberation. The main thrust of
this argument is based on a clarification of the full implication
of anatta, the Buddhist theory of non-self and
non-substantiality. As the author rightly observes it is in the
light of this doctrine that we must seek to understand the
significance of all other Buddhist doctrines, particularly those
relating to the theory and practice of the Buddhist moral life.
Dr. Nalin Swaris's
work is a truly original contribution to Buddhist studies which
no serious student of Buddhism could ignore. Its merit as an
original contribution is to be seen not only in evolving a
coherent thesis on the original teachings of the Buddha as a way
to human liberation but also in debunking many a
misinterpretation of Buddhist teachings which has gained currency
since the academic study of Buddhism began at the turn of the 19th
century.
This is a work that must
be read by all those who are interested in ethics, religion,
philosophy and culture".
Professor Dr. Y.
Karunadasa, Director (1988 - 1998), Postgraduate Institute
of Pali and Buddhist Studies, University of Kelaniya
Posted on 1999-08-30
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