East Timor.
I take an interest in East Timor. For several reasons (I'll expand this post more in days to come).
In the meantime, check out this blog - by an aid worker.
East Timor is close to Australia's north. And forms part of the so-called 'arc of instability' to our north. From a humanitarian view, these are our neighbours, and we should do what we can to help. From a purely practical point of view, or even purely out of self interest, the better these countriess do, the more safe and secure are our nothern approaches. So East Timor, Papua New Guinea, the Solomons, Fiji, Indonesia, should all be places to take an interest in.
Added Feb 26th: East Timor would seem to me to be a good example of a people who never got a decent go. They have been up against it for most of their history, and particularly their recent history.
First, they were part of the rivalry between the Portuguese and the Dutch.
Come WW2, and the Japanese made things pretty hard for them.
Then the Indonesians.
And with no background in running things themselves, it's no wonder they struggle with nationhood and self-government.
Still, I wish them well. they deserve a break, and some help from the rest of us.
In the meantime, check out this blog - by an aid worker.
East Timor is close to Australia's north. And forms part of the so-called 'arc of instability' to our north. From a humanitarian view, these are our neighbours, and we should do what we can to help. From a purely practical point of view, or even purely out of self interest, the better these countriess do, the more safe and secure are our nothern approaches. So East Timor, Papua New Guinea, the Solomons, Fiji, Indonesia, should all be places to take an interest in.
Added Feb 26th: East Timor would seem to me to be a good example of a people who never got a decent go. They have been up against it for most of their history, and particularly their recent history.
First, they were part of the rivalry between the Portuguese and the Dutch.
Come WW2, and the Japanese made things pretty hard for them.
Then the Indonesians.
And with no background in running things themselves, it's no wonder they struggle with nationhood and self-government.
Still, I wish them well. they deserve a break, and some help from the rest of us.
Labels: East Timor
posted by Phil at 9:27 pm
1 Comments:
A tremendous amount of info and analysis about what is happening and has happened in East Timor can be found at http://www.etan.org, the website of the East Timor and Indonesia Action Network (ETAN). People wanting to know more should check it out.
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