sample letters tribunal

Sample Letters to Congress Calling for International Tribunal for East Timor

See Legislative Action page for a list of current co-sponsors. Please note faxes and phone calls are more effective than e-mails. Postal mail to Congress is now extremely slow. The Capitol Switchboard is 202-224-3121.) Latest action alert on the tribunal is available at http://etan.org/action/action2/04alert.htm. (for contact information or to find out who your representatives see www.congress.org)

Senate
House of Representative

DATE

Dear Representative

I am very concerned that decades of crimes against humanity and war crimes committed against the East Timorese people will go unpunished if Congress does not act now. East Timor's women and men suffered under a brutal Indonesian military occupation that ended with the military and its militia proxies carrying out a devastating scorched-earth campaign in retaliation for East Timor's overwhelming vote for independence in 1999.

East Timor became fully independent on May 20. However, no Indonesian military or police have yet to be convicted for a quarter century of horrific human rights abuses. The recently-established Indonesian ad hoc Human Rights Court for East Timor is fatally flawed, meant to appease the international community, rather than hold accountable the Indonesian military commanders and political leaders responsible for the systematic human rights abuses and violence.

I am writing to urge you to uphold international human rights standards and support justice for East Timor by co-sponsoring House Concurrent Resolution 60, which urges the administration to work actively to establish an international tribunal for crimes against humanity committed in East Timor, as called for by United Nations commissions, East Timorese Nobel Laureate Bishop Carlos Belo, and many others in East Timor and internationally.

I thank you for your attention to these important issues, and would appreciate your informing me of the actions you take on these matters.

Sincerely,

___________________________

DATE

Dear Senator

East Timor will become fully independent on May 20. However, no Indonesian military or police have been brought to trial for a quarter century of horrific human rights abuses. The recently-established Indonesian ad hoc Human Rights Court for East Timor is fatally flawed, and today approximately one-tenth of the East Timorese population remains held in militia- and military-controlled Indonesian refugee camps.

I am writing to urge you to uphold international human rights standards and support justice for East Timor by co-sponsoring Senate Concurrent Resolution 9, which urges the administration to work actively to establish an international tribunal for crimes against humanity committed in East Timor, as called for by United Nations commissions, East Timorese Nobel Laureate Bishop Carlos Belo, and many others in East Timor and internationally.

I thank you for your attention to these important issues, and would appreciate your informing me of the actions you take on these matters.

Sincerely,

___________________________

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Check ETAN's Urgent Action section in the coming days for additional events. If you want to host a speaker or organize an event contact John Miller (718-596-7668, fbp@igc.org).

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