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In May of 1995 at a press conference, President Clinton was asked : Q: Mr. President, Human rights sources are -- how do you plan to approach the occupation of East Timor by Indonesia, sir? Could you elaborate on that -- how do you plan to approach the problem of East Timor? THE PRESIDENT: I don't want to talk about it today.
In fact, over the years President Clinton NEVER seemed to want to actually talk about the human rights violations of his friends and campaign finance supporters in Indonesia. Now, as thousands flee from a campaign of violence by Indonesian created militias and, it now appears, the Indonesian army itself, the man who would have us believe he "took action" to stop Slobodan Milosevic from "ethnically cleansing" Kosovo, a province of Yugoslavia, is doing nothing to stop genocide in East Timor.
This is not new. However, the level of the violence and its exposure to the world is somewhat new. For the first time in East Timor's fight for independence, it's taking place in full view of the World's media, following an election monitored by the United Nations and the violence has trapped UN observers. And what is President Clinton doing? According to today's Sydney Morning Herald, "US President Bill Clinton has told Prime Minister Howard the US will do all it can to curb the escalating violence in East Timor.
"I talked to Prime Minister Howard today. I'm going to talk to Secretary General Annan later today and we will do what we can," Clinton said during a press conference at a Virginia elementary school.
And what, exactly is Clinton's idea of "doing all he can" to halt the Indonesian government's version of a final solution to the East Timor vote for independence after 24 years of Indonesian rule that already resulted in the death of at least one third of the East Timor Christians? Over 200,000 people have died from Indonesian Army killings or Indonesian government induced famine since Suharto's illegal invasion of the area in 1975.
"During the phone conversation with Howard, Clinton assured the prime minister that he would support Australian peacekeeping forces being sent the region to try to end the violence," the Sydney Morning Herald reported. "Australian troops were put on emergency alert late today but are awaiting permission to enter East Timor from the Indonesian Government."
And whose permission do the Australian troops need to move in to stop the killings? Why, none other than the people who are doing the killings - the Indonesian government and its underlings, the militia groups it created to try to intimidate the East Timor people so they would not vote for independence. Something like 99% of the people voted in Monday's referendum and over 78% voted for national independence, which prompted the militias and the Indonesian army to start slaughtering the voters.
CNN reported yesterday that there had "been discussions between US and Indonesian military officials on ways to curb the violence. It was also reported that the issue had been moved to the top of President Clinton's agenda."
What part of the Indonesia problem do you suppose has moved to the top of Clinton's agenda? The killings or the problem of future campaign finance contributions from the Lippo group which helped get him elected in 1992 and 1996? In mid-October 1996, Sen. Bob Dole's campaign manager, Scott Reed, asked Clinton in a statement, "Why have you used U.S. foreign policy in Indonesia as a fund-raising tool to help secure illegal campaign contributions from a foreigner?"
Federal campaign finance laws are designed to prevent foreigners from exerting influence in America's political system. Exceptions allow foreigners who are legal U.S. residents and U.S. subsidiaries of foreign corporations to make contributions if the money was earned in the United States. However, the Lippo Group which is based in Hong Kong and Jakarta, Indonesia, and controlled by the Riady family, friends of the now deposed Suharto, were heavy contributors to the Clinton-Gore Re-election Campaign.
The day after the election, Suharto's spokesman told Reuters that Indonesia "expected good bilateral relations with the United States to continue following the re-election of President Bill Clinton." Will Clinton's incredible efforts to help the Riady family change merely because the Indonesian Muslims are trying their best to wipe out the East Timorese Christians. Probably not. Remember, in September 1996, just before the election, Clinton removing a major source of competition for the Riady family's low-sulfur coal mines by making sure a large American source of low-sulfur coal in Utah could not be mined?
Even the Associated Press reported the connection between the Riady Family business interests and Clinton's inexplicable announcing the 1.7 million acre "monument" in Utah, after Clinton was safely elected. The report said, on December 26, 1996:
"When President Clinton designated 1.7 million acres of Utah wilderness as a national monument, he dashed plans to tap a huge reserve of environment-friendly coal.
"The White House says the president acted to preserve a beautiful, exotic place, named Kaiparowits by the Paiute Indians. Critics see a connection to Indonesia, which already mines such cleaner fuel.
"Andalex Resources, a U.S. mining company owned by a British family, holds leases on Kaiparowits and was nearly ready to break ground on a Utah mine that would produce about 3 million tons of coal. It reversed course with Clinton's announcement in September. 'Our position is that the monument designation makes the coal-mine project unfeasible,' said David Shaver, project manager at Andalex.
"The 62 billion tons of coal found beneath the area's red-rock cliffs burns hot but emits far less polluting sulphur than most coal mined in the United States. It's known as 'super-compliance' coal, because its properties meet Clean Air Act standards. Similar coal is mined in Indonesia,
" 'The whole industry was expecting to move into Kaiparowits,' says Lee Allison, director of the state's geological survey.
"Some of the coal was destined for Japan, which buys a lot of coal from Indonesia, officials said.
"A farm-trade publication and some politically conservative talk shows have raised questions in recent weeks about whether Clinton's decision might benefit Indonesia and its Lippo Group, a conglomerate at the center of a controversy over campaign contributions to the Democratic Party.
"Lippo's founder, billionaire Mochtar Riady, his family members and associates have contributed heavily to Clinton and the Democrats. Lippo has business interests related to coal: One of its subsidiaries was involved in a now-dormant joint venture to run a coal-fueled power plant in China."
And, if that's not enough, let's think about the billions of America dollars spent to bomb Yugoslavia this Spring. Does anyone remember exactly what that was all about? Why, it was because approximately 2000 people in Kosovo, 1700 Albanians and 300 Serbs, had been killed in what was termed "ethnic cleansing" by Slobadan Milosevic. So, we destroyed Serbia's electric plants, water plants, schools, hospitals, manufacturing plants, churches, etc. with bombs to put an end to "ethnic cleansing." Did we ask Milosevic's permission to bomb his country? No.
So, how come Clinton and the United Nations are waiting to get Jakarta's permission to bomb Jakarta, especially since they illegally invaded East Timor 24 years ago and there now exists no less than TEN United Nations resolutions telling them to withdraw all their troops?
And what has been the Clinton Administration's position on Indonesian genocide against East Timor? Well, you know, it's not nice to point out these inconsistencies, according to the U.S. State Department and Madeleine Albright. "Comparisons between cases where the United States intervenes, such as Kosovo, and cases where it did not, such as East Timor, are not helpful," a State Department official, who spoke on condition that his name be withheld, said recently, while announcing that the United States" favors the plan for a U.N.-organized autonomy vote in August. Washington has expressed concern about the recent violence and urged Indonesia to allow the people of East Timor to decide their own future in an atmosphere free of violence or intimidation." U.S. policy is inconsistent, he said, but that's because, as Albright is fond of saying, the United States doesn't take a "cookie-cutter approach" to foreign policy. Instead it treats each case individually, weighing myriad factors. No two cases, and therefore no two policies, are identical."
So exactly what IS the difference between the plight of the Albanian majority in Kosovo and the plight of the East Timorese majority in East Timor? That's not hard to figure out. The Albanians contributed to both Democrats' and Republicans' election campaigns and the Serbs didn't. The KLA got the US Air Force to run Air Cover for their push for a Greater Albania and Slobodan got bombed. The Indonesians contributed HEAVILY to the re-election campaigns of Clinton and Gore and the East Timorese didn't. And so far, the "inconsistent" Clinton foreign policy is running interference for the rampaging Indonesian militias and Army in East Timor by waiting for the Indonesian Government's permission to stop their killing spree.