A large, militarily powerful country invades its smaller neighbor, brutally massacring a large percentage of the population. The smaller country mounts a valiant defense, but the odds are overwhelming; outside help does not come, and ultimately the aggression stands. Tibet? Kuwait? No, the country in question is East Timor, the eastern half of a tiny island to the east of Indonesia, its huge neighbor. The date is December 7, 1975.

Some 200,000 East Timorese, roughly a third of the pre-war population, will eventually die as a result of Indonesia's presence, through fighting, executions or starvation and epidemics attributed to draconian resettlement policies. Thousands of Timorese women will be sterilized. Indigenous languages will be banned. Transmigrants from other Indonesian islands will take over the formal economy and control all key service sectors including banks, hospitals, telecommunications and transport.

The international community remains silent at best, and complicit at worst, for invasions require guns and warplanes. Ninety percent of these came courtesy of the USA. Soon, multinational corporations are eyeing the natural resources of East Timor, eager to join in the spoils of Indonesia's conquest. Indonesia is the world's fifth most populous country, with vast untapped reserves of cheap labor and natural resources (wouldn't want to alienate them!) Besides, didn't someone say that oil had been discovered in the Timor Gap, off of East Timor? Business is business, after all, and messy little details like backwater genocide and U.N. condemnation can't be allowed to interfere.

Unfortunately, the buck don't stop there. Thanks to the Washington State Investment Board, every resident of the state, like it or not, has a piece of the action. We've got over $60 million of stock in oil companies drilling in the Timor Gap, including Phillips Petroleum, Enterprise Oil, British Petroleum, Santos LTD, and Mitsubishi Oil.

These investments fuel Indonesia's illegal and murderous occupation, giving legitimacy as well as money to the effort to wipe out the East Timorese people and culture. We're receiving fenced goods, stolen from the East Timorese in violation of international law and several UN resolutions. The International Court of Justice is now considering the case of the theft of Timor gap oil, so we could get caught--this dirty business is also a risky business.

East Timor Action Network (ETAN)/Seattle has worked with State Rep. Ed Murray (D-43, Seattle) on a bill opposing state investment in companies that profit from Indonesia's occupation of East Timor, House Joint Memorial 4013. The bill recommends such investment restrictions until Indonesia withdraws its troops and allows the East Timorese self-determination.

Such bills are backed by elected representatives of East Timor's self-determination movement; Constancio Pinto from the National Council of Timorese Resistance (CNRT) has said, "We are overjoyed by the efforts of the people in Washington and other states to pass resolutions in opposition to investments in the companies who are working with the Indonesians to rob our resources. These efforts put effective pressure on Indonesia at a time when they are very vulnerable. They also tell us, the people of East Timor, that even after 23 years of brutal repression, some people on the other side of the great ocean haven't forgotten us. That helps strengthen our spirits and gives us a lot of hope for the future."

Similar bills have been introduced in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, bringing public attention to East Timor, and putting pressure on Indonesia's rulers to resolve the issue. Such pressure played an important role in ending apartheid in South Africa. Indonesia is very sensitive to this kind of pressure, whether or not the bills actually pass. Indonesia's President Habibie says that pressure from lending nations is forcing him to consider freeing East Timor: "We do not want to be burdened by the problem of East Timor as of January 1, 2000."

Such statements are a welcome deviation from Indonesia's historically defiant stance on the subject of East Timor's independence--but even as these pronouncements issue forth from Jakarta, the Indonesian army has been raising the temperature in East Timor by establishing and arming paramilitary groups.

Rep. Murray introduced HJR 4013 two weeks ago, with co-sponsors Reps. Sharon Tomiko Santos and Kip Takuda (D-37, Seattle), Dave Anderson (D-10, Skagit) and Sandra Romero (D-22, Olympia). The bill's first hurdle was to make it through the Investments and Insurance Committee. In order to have public hearings take place, the committee co-chairs, Brad Benson (R-6, Spokane) and Brian Hatfield (D-19, Aberdeen) had to agree to put the bill up for consideration.

Hearings are vital. They would make the case for East Timor part of the public record. Testimony from East Timorese speakers like Constancio Pinto and statements from experts like Noam Chomsky would build a powerful case and add momentum to push the bill through committee. Claiming a glut of legislation, however, the co-chairs said last week that they would not consider the bill at this time. Disappointing though this is, concerned citizens can thank co-sponsors for their support of this bill and urge them to make it a priority for next session. A related bill is making its way through the other Washington. Last spring ETAN, members of Congress, and the Nation magazine revealed ongoing training of some of Indonesia's most notorious military units, training Congress thought it had banned in cutting off the International Military Education and Training (IMET) programs in response to the infamous 1991 massacre in Dili, East Timor. Reps. Chris Smith (R-NJ) and Lane Evans (D-IL) have now introduced the International Military Training and Accountability Act, designed to close the loopholes by which the Pentagon has continued training despite Congressional intent. This legislation would extend the existing ban on the lethal components of the IMET programs to include loophole programs such as the Joint Combined Exchange Training Program (JCET). Smith and Evans are seeking co-sponsors. Rep. Jim McDermott (D-7,Seattle: 206-553-7170) could use some encouragement to sign on.

To find out who your state representative is and to leave them a message, call 1-800-562-6000, or see dfind.leg.wa.gov. To join ETAN/Seattle's efforts to free East Timor, go to its meetings--usually Thursdays at 7:30 PM. Call 206-633-2836 for more information or directions to the meeting.