: 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.Taking them as refugees would be to recognize Indonesias' claim to teh island; that may be necessary as a temporary stopgap to save lives, but the island must remian in Timorese hands. indonesia is not entitled to it.
: As for me? This sort of thing seems to be the norm in parts of the world outside of the American bloc.
Except for Guatemala (a quarter of a million Mayans killed), Chile (Pinochet), Australia (repression of the Aborigines), the US itself (rampant crime, increaisng repression of freedom of speech, Kent State, My Lai, the MOVE bombing, etc.)
: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.
That's a laugh! Your beloved US government SUPPORTED the fascist terrorists and murderers against a freely elected communist democracy in Nicaragua; they helped death squads butcher innocent civilians in their war against the freedom fighters in El Salvador. Yes, we intervened in Central America; the only problem is, we were on the wrong side. Every single right-wing government in the region engaged in bloody repression, even Honduras, as recent evidence shows, was no exception. We should have been aiding the fledgling Sandinista democracy in Nicaragua, and the freedom fighters in El Salvador. instead, we supported those who razed Mayan Indian villages (Guatemala), tortured prisoners (Honduras), and murdered priests and other civilians (Salvador). The actions of the US in Central America were utterly shameful, no 2 ways about it.
None.
