Dear Friends--

Let President Clinton know that you support self-determination in East Timor. Take a minute to help free East Timor.

1. Copy the following message into an e-mail to the President at president @whitehouse.gov (you can cc: or bcc: etandc@igc.apc.org if you'd like). Type:

"______ (your name) wants Self-Determination for East Timor" in the subject heading. Type your name and address after the message.

Message:

Dear President Clinton,

On July 10, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed Senate Resolution 237, calling on you to "work actively to support an internationally-supervised referendum on self-determination" in East Timor. It also urges you to

"encourage the new political leadership in Indonesia to institute genuine democratic and economic reforms."

I am writing to strongly encourage you to act on this resolution. I urge you to press the Indonesian government to free all political prisoners in

Indonesia and East Timor and to make substantial and monitored troop withdrawals from East Timor in preparation for a UN-supervised referendum

on self-determination.

I look forward to your response. Thank you.

2. Forward this message to everyone you can.

BACKGROUND (See also ETAN's web site http://www.etan.org)

East Timor, a former Portuguese colony between Australia and Indonesia, has been brutally occupied by Indonesia since 1975. Since its invasion 23 years ago, more than 200,000 East Timorese (a full third of the population)

have been killed, according to Amnesty International and the Catholic Church. Sadly, Indonesia's occupation has enjoyed extensive economic, military and diplomatic support from the United States. Five consecutive

American Presidents have ignored the atrocities perpetrated against East Timor for the sake of corporate profits in Indonesia. It's only through

public pressure for congressional action that significant bans on military training and weapons transfers to Indonesia have been achieved.

Recently brave Indonesian and East Timorese student protesters have brought their calls for human rights and self-determination, as well as an end to the brutal abuses of the Indonesian military regime, to international visibility. More pressure than ever is being brought to bear on Indonesia to respect East Timor's right to self-determination. However, the Clinton administration-- which maintains a decisive influence over Indonesian government-- has refused to express support for an internationally-supervised referendum. This will not change without

continuing congressional and public pressure. So send your e-mail today!

The East Timor Action Network/U.S. was founded in November, 1991, following the massacre of more then 271 peaceful demonstrators in Dili, East Timor.

ETAN supports genuine self-determination and human rights for the people of East Timor in accordance with the UN Charter and General Assembly and Security Council resolutions. ETAN/U.S. has 20 locals chapters.

With any luck, we will soon generate enough e-mails to flood Pennsylvania Avenue.