East Timor

For many years, Catholic activists and others were involved in the efforts to gain independence for East Timor, a campign that eventually proved successful. Today we read:

Crack Australian troops landed in East Timor as new fighting between the military and rebel soldiers forced thousands to flee the worst violence since independence four years ago.

The rest of the story is here.

You can learn more about East Timor and the people who struggled for independence here:

The East Timor and Indonesia Action Network/United States was founded in November 1991 to support genuine self-determination and human rights for the people of East Timor in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the 1960 United Nations General Assembly Resolution on Decolonization, and Security Council and General Assembly resolutions on East Timor. Our primary focus has been to change US foreign policy and raise public awareness to support justice and self-determination and now genuine independence for East Timor and human rights in Indonesia. In February 2001, ETAN revised its mission statement to reflect its coming independence.