East Timor betrayed again

As The Guardian went to press the Howard Government was 
again attempting to ram through legislation that would take away 
East Timor's rightful ownership of petroleum development and 
revenue in the Timor Gap. The legislation, the Greater Sunrise 
Unitisation Agreement Amendment Bill, is also opportunistically 
being supported by the ALP.

The Howard Government has bullied East Timor and held their 
maritime sovereignty and economic future to ransom at every turn 
of the Timor Sea issue. Now the ALP and a possible future Latham 
Government will be complicit in this betrayal and bullying.

Thanks largely to the efforts of the Greens Senators, the 
Government's legislative ambush was stalled last week and the 
Bills were sent to the Senate Economics Committee. But the 
Committee is only requesting submissions on the minor customs 
tariffs Bill and not on the main Unitisation Amendment Bill, 
which poses the primary risk to East Timor's economic rights.

Under the legislation East Timor will essentially be locked into 
a commercial and revenue sharing arrangement that will be almost 
impossible to change. The East Timorese will not even share in 
the same employment and economic development benefits that 
Indonesia had under the previous Timor Gap agreement with 
Australia.

The Australian Government has also withdrawn from Law of the Sea 
negotiations through the International Court of Justice and the 
International Law of the Sea Tribunal in order to force this 
unjust deal onto East Timor.

An estimated $US38 billion will be Australia's share of the oil 
and gas revenue that rightly belongs to the people of East Timor, 
who will receive just $US8 billion.

"This is but one of a series of betrayals by an Australian 
Government of the world's newest nation", said Andrew Alcock of 
the Australia East Timor Friendship Association (AETFA). "The 
East Timorese have been betrayed by Labor and Liberal Governments 
since before their country was illegally invaded and occupied by 
the TNI [Indonesian military] in 1975 and for many years until 
now."

The AETFA is calling "on all Australians of goodwill to speak out 
against this unfair treatment of the East Timorese, our nearest 
neighbours and courageous WWII allies."