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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Montrealais (talk | contribs) at 13:16, 3 September 2002. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Will the page be replaced when East Timor has an entry in the CIA World Factbook?

When discussing the event in East Timor (and probably many other places) you can't ignore the effects and influence of the arms trade on the development of those events. The following are just a few of the available sources. http://www.motherjones.com/arms/indonesia.html http://www.worldpolicy.org/projects/arms/reports/indoarms.html http://www.worldpolicy.org/projects/arms/reports/indo101001.htm#weapons2 http://www.wagingpeace.org/articles/armstradecodeofconduct.htm

For British involvement http://www.oneworld.org/ips2/sept99/14_45_070.html Eclecticology 09:57 Sep 3, 2002 (PDT)

From the article:

  1. Throughout the period 1975-1995 more than a billion dollars worth of American weapons were sold to Indonesia.
  2. In addition, 80 million dollars of free equipment was provided between 1975 and 1982.
  3. The sale of arms to any country intending to use them for aggressive purposes is illegal under American law.

It would help the article if someone could document any of the above points. I'd particularly like to see a definition of the word "aggressive" in the 3rd point.

Also, in general it's more helpful (and less provocative) to attribute claims to their proponents, as in The People's Movement for a Free and Independent East Timor said that... or whatever the case may be. Then it doesn't matter so much what the US really did: the article is only reporting what the PMFIET said they did. --Ed Poor

What caused Timor to develop into East and West? Different ethnic groups? Different colonial masters? Rmhermen 11:52 Sep 3, 2002 (PDT)

I guess Bush decided to side with the separatists:

The United States salutes the establishment of East Timor, the first new nation of the millennium. With those in Dili, we celebrate the successful conclusion of the long struggle of the people of East Timor for an independent nation. We are heartened that the people of East Timor have embraced the path of democracy that will lead their nation to peace and prosperity. On behalf of the American people, I congratulate Xanana Gusmao, who was sworn in as East Timor's first President. [1]

And here's some Australian politician recounting his version of what happened:

A unilateral declaration of independence by Fretilin in November 1975 was followed by an overt Indonesian invasion of East Timor in December. The newly elected Coalition Government, led by Malcolm Fraser, was robust in its criticism of this use of force but unsuccessful in achieving its objective of a United Nations-supervised act of self-determination in the territory. Indonesia–satisfied by its own political processes that the East Timorese wished for integration with Indonesia–formally incorporated the territory on 17 July 1976, an incorporation recognised by Australia in 1979. [2]

--Ed Poor

Noam Chomsky wrote, "During the 24-year-long Indonesian military occupation, more than 200,000 people – one-third of the population – were killed." [3]

Noam Chomsky is just about the very definition of "unreliable source". His writings on human language acquisition are classic and brilliant; his writings on anything at all political are total hogwash. --LDC
Perhaps we ought to see his sources before we dismiss his figure due to a personality conflict. user:Montrealais
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