Fr Pat Smythe
Parish Priest, RC Diocese of Leeds, England

Dear friend,

.

I would like to express my appreciation for the great work of the East Timor and Indonesia Action Network (ETAN) and my hope that it will continue to be as thorough and effective.

The information continually being provided by ETAN's listserv was very helpful to our campaigning efforts in Great Britain for the liberation of East Timor, in which I became actively engaged in the years following the Santa Cruz massacre in 1991 until independence was finally achieved a decade or so later.

I first became aware of the situation in East Timor through watching Max Stahl's powerful film footage of the Santa Cruz massacre in 1991 when it was broadcast  swiftly after this horrific event had taken place. My active engagement in the liberation struggle was urged on further by  Death of a Nation, the subsequent TV documentary by John Pilger, which drew attention to the shameful complicity of successive British governments and corporations in the brutal and illegal Indonesian invasion and occupation of East Timor.

"I would encourage all who can to offer financial support, according to your means, to ETAN's great work - which is so very focussed and effective."

Now I find the daily presentation by ETAN of information from a wide range of sources and ETAN's own objective and dispassionate commentary and analysis, are quite essential in keeping in touch with ongoing developments in Timor-Leste.

ETAN's list also enables me regularly to pass on accurate descriptions of the prevailing situation to the supporters of our charity, The Peter Trust (Provision for East Timorese Education and Relief). Our fund raising (now amounting to 40,000 GBP annually) and its disbursal are all the more effective because of ETAN.

ETAN is one of the main sources I rely on to ensure that I have reliable and up-to-date information about West Papua and Indonesia.   I am never disappointed and I am grateful to the team for the hard yards sourcing the information and the wide range of articles. Best wishes,   - Maire Leadbeater Aotearoa/New Zealand

Without the documentation provided by ETAN - initially in hard copy and later in digital format - I could not have written my PhD Thesis and the subsequent book, The Heaviest Blow - the Catholic Church and the East Timor Issue, published in 2004.

So in critical ways ETAN has been really valuable to me: for campaigning for justice for the East Timorese in action, in the halls of academe, and in the international Catholic Church; and in supporting Timor Leste's ongoing development through practical projects in health, education, job creation, etc. Latterly, this has included giving consideration to the welfare of the many East Timorese who now live and work in Britain in order to support their families in their distant homeland.

Well done to all at ETAN and thanks to all subscribers past and present.

I would encourage all who can to offer financial support, according to your means, to this great work - which is so very focussed and effective.

Fr Pat Smythe
Parish Priest,  RC Diocese of Leeds, England.

P.S. Please consider becoming an ETAN Sustainer by making a monthly donation by credit card. Help put ETAN on a firmer financial footing, see information here.