What’s Happening In….
This afternoon, I showed Donovan one of my favorite examples of government attempts at cover-ups: Santa Cruz Massacre in East Timor. If you scroll down, there is a denial by an Indonesian government minister that Indonesian forces killed hundreds of people, despite it being caught on tape. It brought up the discussion of censored stories, and underreported humanitarian issues. I’ll admit I have gaps in my knowledge of current events - much like I have gaps in my knowledge of history, particularly ancient history, but it’s still sad whenever I read things like this, just how little I actually know.
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Thanks for the links. I never heard anything about East Timor until I studied in Australia. I wrote a final paper last year examining the role of the media in East Timor’s fight for independence, with a focus on the Santa Cruz Massacre. It’s amazing all the support the Indonesian government received, especially from Australia, who wanted the oil in the East Timor Gap.
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The violence in E. Timor was backed by government militias and even Special Forces (Kopassus ) who are highly trained and pretty visious.
http://www.melanesia.org/views/tapolNov1999.htm
I have a freind here in Bali who was in the Kopassus for several years and told me he trained in Russia on many occassions with their Special Forces. We discussed things such as knife and rifle types and he was very forthcoming.
I think Indonesia had a no nonsense attitude to disenters under Suharto and his successors. Jusy last week in fact I read that in Medan in north Sumatra journalists were beaten by a ‘mob’.
http://www.thejakartapost.com/yesterdaydetail.asp?fileid=20040424.D01