[stop-imf] Take Action to Keep East Timor Debt-Free

[Robert Weissman]

The following action alert comes from the East
Timor Action Network. Please take action next week to help keep one of the
world's newest independent nations -- East Timor -- debt-free (see backgrou=
nd
info. towards the bottom of this alert on East Timor's debt and financial
situation).

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
ETAN ACTION ALERT
Tell Australia to Stop Stealing
East Timor's Resources & East Timor's Future!

East Timor is facing increasing pressure to borrow from international finan=
cial
institutions for the first time in its short history as an independent coun=
try.
As East Timor confronts a budget financing gap of $126 million from 2005 to
2007, the Australian government is stealing billions of dollars of petroleu=
m
revenue from East Timor=92s waters.

In recognition of January 26, Australia Day (a national holiday
recalling the
first permanent British settlement in Australia in 1788), let the Australia=
n
government know that it is no longer acceptable to seize territory or resou=
rces
belonging to another nation.

Write, phone or fax the Australian Embassy on or after Tuesday, January
27 (the
Embassy will be closed on the 26th):

You can send a fax from ETAN's website at
http://www.etan.org/action/fax/faxaus.htm.

Prime Minister John Howard
c/o Embassy of Australia to the United States
1601 Massachusetts Ave, NW
Washington DC, 20036-2273
Tel: (202) 797-3000  Fax: (202) 797-3168
e-mail: library.washington@dfat.gov.au

If you call, ask for Ambassador Michael Thawley.

Talking Points for Phone Calls

Australia should fairly negotiate a permanent maritime boundary with
East Timor
in good faith within a maximum of three years, treating East Timor respectf=
ully
as an equal, sovereign nation;

East Timor is entitled to know its land and sea boundaries, and
Australia must
respect this right;

Australia will lose the good will it generated in 1999 if it cheats East Ti=
mor
out of tens of billions of dollars of petroleum revenue;

Australia should respect and implement international law by rejoining legal
mechanisms for resolving maritime boundary disputes. Specifically, Australi=
a
should return to the processes from which they withdrew in March 2002 (see
below).

Sample Letter (please add a date and modify and adapt to your own words)

Prime Minister John Howard
c/o Embassy of Australia to the United States
1601 Massachusetts Ave, NW
Washington DC, 20036-2273


Dear Prime Minister Howard:

I am extremely troubled by your government's disregard for East Timor's
sovereignty and rights when it comes to establishing a permanent maritime
boundary with your country.

Your government=92s bullying and delaying tactics are unacceptable. Interna=
tional
legal principles established under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea
(UNCLOS) call for setting the boundary at the median line (halfway
between the
coastlines of two countries) in cases like this. Australia should respect
international law, yet your government continues to exploit and profit
handsomely from petroleum fields in contested waters significantly
closer to
East Timor.

We urge you to set a firm timetable with the government of East Timor to
establish a boundary within no more than three years. Throughout these
negotiations, East Timor must be treated fairly as the sovereign nation
it is.
We urge your government to rejoin international legal mechanisms to resolve
maritime boundary disputes that cannot be settled by negotiation, specifica=
lly
the International Court of Justice and the International Tribunal for
the Law of
the Sea.

The interests of both countries are best served through East Timor achievin=
g
complete political and economic independence. Your refusal to fairly and
expeditiously settle maritime boundaries, along with the continued theft
of East
Timor=92s oil and gas resources worth billions, only delay this goal and ri=
sk
squandering the good will generated by Australia's support of East Timor si=
nce
1999.

I look forward to your response.

Sincerely,
Your name and contact info

For more information, see: http://www.etan.org/action/issues/tsea.htm
Go to http://www.etan.org/action/fax/faxaus.htm to send a fax via ETAN.

Background
East Timor is an independent nation entitled to know the limits of its terr=
itory
by land and sea, so that it can guarantee its security and control its
resources.

East Timor's government, dependent on foreign support after 24 years of
Indonesian occupation and destruction, needs to be able to use its own
resources. At present, East Timor is struggling not to go into debt to
the World
Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF), as it needs to cover a US$126
million financial gap between now and 2007. Yet between 1999 and today, the
Australian government has stolen more than US$1 billion in oil and gas reve=
nues
that would belong to East Timor under a fair boundary settlement. East
Timor is
among the poorest of the world's countries, suffering from very low
levels of
basic services and high unemployment.

If Australia continues to prevail with "interim" agreements negotiated unde=
r
pressure, East Timor will continue to be the largest (albeit reluctant)
contributor to Australia's government budget, running into tens of
billions of
dollars over the next four decades.

In October 2002, East Timor enacted a Maritime Boundary Law, claiming a 200
nautical mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in all directions, based on the
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). If this internati=
onal
principle were applied, many of the oil and gas fields Australia has exploi=
ted
and intends to exploit would fall within East Timor's EEZ. Where their
neighbors' claims overlap, countries need to negotiate a permanent maritime
boundary, usually halfway between their coastlines. In March 2002, Australi=
a
gave formal notice that it was withdrawing from international legal
mechanisms -
the International Court of Justice and the International Tribunal for
the Law of
the Sea - to resolve boundary issues that cannot be settled by
negotiation. East
Timor=92s leaders called this withdrawal a hostile act. The withdrawal prev=
ents
the new nation from bringing Australia to those forums to contest its
refusal to
engage in timely and cooperative boundary negotiations.

The two countries held a first negotiating session last November, more
than a
year after East Timor requested it. They will not meet again until April,
notwithstanding East Timor's request to meet monthly and resolve the
issue in
3-5 years. Australia, one of the world=92s wealthiest countries, claimed
it could
not afford to meet more frequently.
Pressure from East Timor and its international friends can put an end to th=
e
Australian government=92s arrogance. Australia must understand that East
Timor is
a sovereign nation, entitled to know the extent of its territory and to ben=
efit
from its natural resources.

To view the letter 100 organizations from around the world sent to the
Australian Prime Minister last November, see
http://www.etan.org/news/2003a/11bound.htm.

For further information, please contact: ETAN at 718-596-7668 or 202-544-69=
11;
etan@etan.org
This alert can be found at http://www.etan.org/action/action2/17alert.htm