Sir, - The people of East Timor are facing genocide. In Rwanda in 1994, the UN stood by and watched people being slaughtered, and then left the country. The Indonesians have learned this lesson very well and are now forcing the UN and international media to leave East Timor so that they can continue their awful project to overturn the result of a free vote and make the territory ungovernable.
I have never been so dismayed at the inaction of the international community. Trocaire and many others, including Tom Hyland of the East Timor Ireland Solidarity Campaign, have warned that these events would happen and that the Indonesian government and military had no intention of giving up East Timor without a campaign of terror and murder.
Why are we so powerless in this situation? Why do the people of East Timor not rate a due level of international attention and protection?
So that the conscience of our country can be clear when we ask ourselves what we did to defend these innocent people, I have a number of questions for our Government:
1. Have you demanded an end to all IMF and World Bank loans to Indonesia until the terror stops?
2. Have you telephoned President Clinton and asked him to suspend these loans?
3. Have you sought information on any EU loans or development assistance to Indonesia? If these exist, have you sought their suspension?
4. Have you informed the UN that you want a peace-keeping force deployed in East Timor immediately?
5. Have you contacted the British Prime Minister and asked him to stop selling arms to Indonesia and to withdraw invitations to arms trade events?
We heard on Tuesday that Bishop Belo had to leave East Timor for his own safety and we have received many e-mail messages from East Timor describing the terror and pleading for help. When I was with Bishop Belo in Dili a few weeks ago he was extremely fearful that something like this would happen. The faith the people still retain in the outside world is amazing. How much longer will we continue to betray them? - Yours, etc.,
John Kirby, Bishop of Clonfert, Chairman of Trocaire, Booterstown Avenue, Blackrock, Co Dublin.