In response:Of course the U.N. would look the other way at a Hitler; in fact they have. Tolerance of this sort of brutality (whether conducted by those of a communist persuasion or not) was and is quite acceptable to the 'world congress'. This was the policy of the League as well, and the Congress of Europe before it. The purpose of these bodies, whatever the stated charter might be, was and is to perpetuate the status quo, and to maintain the sort of stability necessary to foster profitable trade.
Indonesia is a major technology manufacturing site. Much in the way of cheap electronic equipment is produced here (check the back of your monitor; you might have bought some). Much like Tiannamen Square raised barely a peep from the major "Free World" powers, so also a bit of genocide and ethnic cleansing in East Timor is simply par for the course.
The Left, of course, is making what it can of the incident. At one rally, I suggested that they pressure governments to accept refugees from East Timor, before they are completely crushed altogether; the same sort of argument was made in the early Nazi period, in relation to Jews. The response was exceptionally chilly. I gathered that the main interest of the Left in this situation is fanning it into armed revolution, rather than in preserving the culture (and lives) of these harried Portuguese colonists.
As for me? This sort of thing seems to be the norm in parts of the world outside of the American bloc. I'm glad when I have the opportunity to help in some small way resolve some crisis or other that the capitalist states do see fit to act on (ethnic cleansing in Bosnia, communist terrorism in Nicaragua and El Salvador). Acting in this way seems better than moaning about what isn't done.
D.C.
