As the sit-in of the Dutch embassy
entered the weekend the Suharto military
regime sent in armed goons into the
embassy to attack the peaceful protesters
and the Dutch ambassador and members
of his staff. The Indonesian Military
dictatorships open support of these armed
thugs highlights the extent that the
Indonesian authorities will stoop to
destroy any opposition to their regime. In
an attempt to repair the damage that the
goons invasion of the embassy had
caused, Alatas, the Indonesian foreign
minister promised that if the protesters
ended their sit-in they would be released
after 'normal' questioning.
The protesters in the Russian embassy
who ended their sit-in on Friday were
taken to Jakarta's police headquarters for
questioning. They were detained for over
24 hours and then released. The
protesters in the Dutch embassy ended
their sit-in on Sunday, as I write this
article they are being questioned, finger
printed, and photographed by the
authorities. Anybody who thinks that the
protesters will be released indefinitely
does not understand how Suharto and his
butchers work. Individual protesters will
be singled out for prosecution, some will
disappear, others will be beaten, lose their
livelihood and be dispersed to other parts
of Indonesia. Others will have their
families, wives and children harassed.
The Indonesian military's word is not
worth a pinch of the proverbial. They
have used and will continue to use all the
means of their disposal to crush any
opposition. You wouldn't expect less
from a group that came to power by
clambering over the bodies of 500,000
men, women and children who were
slaughtered by the thugs that control the
military today.
LAND-PAPUA NEW GUINEA AND
THE WORLD BANK'S
STRUCTURAL ADJUSTMlENT
PROGRAl\@ (S.A.P.)
There is a quiet revolution spreading over
Papua New Guinea. Three months ago
the Papua New Guinea government
mortgaged the country's soul and land to
the World Bank. It's only m the past few
weeks that the Papuan New Guinea
people have realised that their future has
been sold from undemeath their very feet.
In a cynical move the World Bank has
bailed the Papua New Guinea government
out of its present financial problems. The
cost to services this little act of self
interest will be enormous. Every person
in Papua New Guinea will be paying for
this loan for generations to come.
The World Bank has not only imposed its
normal Structural Adjustment Programs
of decreasing public expenditure on
infrastructure, health and education
services, it has also added a new sting to
its little loan. It wants the Papua New
Guinea government to open up its land
and resources to foreign investors. It also
wants to use the land as collateral for
future business expansion. Unfortunately
there is one catch for the World Bank.
Ninety seven percent of land is owned by
local community units (clans). The great
majority of land is not owned by
individuals, corporations or the State.
Banks are very reluctant to use crown
land a@, collateral for loans, as they know
that it would be almost impossible to
confiscate this land, if ventures borrowers
embark on are unsuccessful.
In an effort to downgrade community
ownership and encourage individual,
corporate or State control of land, the
Papua New Guinea government has
embarked on a program of registration of
land and landowners. Land is integral to
Papua New Guinea society. Loss of land
is normally followed by social and
cultural disintegration. Registration of
land is a precursor to the negation of
community ownership of land. The
people of Papua New Guinea are
becoming aware of what's happening.
Over the past three months the whole
length and breadth of the country has
been racked by demonstrations against
the governments attempts to force
individual, corporate or State ownership
of land on the people. As communities
are fighting for their right to exist, the
Papua New Guinea government will find
it difficult if not impossible to meet the
demands of the World B ank. As
"development" money is channelled into
Papua New Guinea and as the World
Bank waits for its windfall profits, more
and more people in Papua New Guinea
realise that they will lose what they have
if they participate in the governments
registration drive.
CH@LD WARR@ORS@
Information released by the United
Nations this week on the increasing
number of children who are being used to
fight regional conflicts across the globe,
received scant attention from most media
outlets. Over the past two decades over
two million children have been killed in
regional conflicts, over five million have
suffered permanent physical disabilities
and over one million have been orphaned.
As the world approaches the 21st century
child warriors have become an integral
feature of wars in Liberia, Mozambique,
Angola, Afghanistan, Cambodia, Somalia
and Sri Lanka.
Girls as young as six are being used as
"comfort women" by guerilla forces,
while boys as young as six are being used
to clear mines and conduct armed raids.
The changing technology of war has
made children a valuable asset in armed
conflicts. Small children are taught to
assemble and use AK47's. They can go
into places where adults could never go.
Many of these child warriors are
survivors of brutal raids that left their
parents and relatives dead. They are seen
as valuable pliable cannon fodder are
brutalised and used to fight other people's
wars.
It's sickening to think that children are
used in such a way, but they are used as
cannon fodder and continue to be used as
canon fodder. Any society, group, or
nation State that allows its children and
the children of its enemies to be
exterminated, and brutalised in the name
of personal power, political ideology or
religion is a society that is digging its own
grave. The technological advances that
have made children an invaluable asset in
war reflect sadly on the social and moral
bankruptcy of post modern society.
--------------------------------------
seasonal greetings from
FREEDOM PRESS
http://www.lglobal.com/TAO/Freedom