Jose Ramos-Horta on Pacifica & Amy Goodman Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit [Although Ramos-Horta does not even mention his name, people who follow events in E.Timor, and in the mess of Pacifica radio, will rmember that Amy Goodman was not exactly all by herself in Timor. The freelance journalist Alan Nairn, traveling with her, had his head bashed in by a rifle butt with an Indonesian soldier at the other end of it. His xrays could tell Utrice Leid and the other scum at WBAI that yes, there was a bit of violence in E.Timor that November day. So could photographs and tape recordings made at the time. This entire campaign by the mentally disturbed, ignorant, corrupt, power-mad crew imported for the purpose of taking over the station is embarrassingly badly run. Only the blindness and complacency of the Pacifica community could have permitted this to happen after many years of clear and unmistakeable signs of what was happening. It is also unfortunate that in the stampede to defend one on-air personality, everyone else who has been victimized at WBAI -- Jose Gonzalez, Robert Knight, Mimi Rosenberg and yes, even Valerie Van Isler, to name only a few -- have been almost entirely ignored.] source - "John M.Miller" Statement by Jose Ramos-Horta Winner, Nobel Peace Prize, 1986 September 3, 2001 Dili, East Timor I was distressed to learn that Amy Goodman's reporting on East Timor has been questioned and that some have alleged that the November 12, 1991 Santa Cruz massacre may not have taken place. As an East Timorese, I want to express my outrage that her account of the massacre has been challenged by a campaign of innuendo and insult. As a former journalist, I want to express my wholehearted support for Amy Goodman and the staff of Democracy Now! As an occasional guest on her program, I can attest to her professionalism. Her reporting on East Timor, some of it done at great personal risk, has always been accurate, ground-breaking and vitally important. Her presence and actions at Santa Cruz are undisputed by observers. The massacre of hundreds of peaceful demonstrators and mourners was a turning point in our struggle for self-determination. At that tragic time, the presence of foreign journalists like Amy, was key. Their words and pictures were a vital source of accurate information on the massacre in the face of official Indonesian denials and misleading reports. This reporting inspired action and policy change worldwide. I have especially admired the non-Timorese who have dedicated themselves to East Timor. It is not their country, and journalists traveling there faced special risks. Although she knew that five foreign journalists had been murdered by the Indonesian military in East Timor at the start of the invasion in 1975, Amy went to East Timor in 1990 and 1991 to cover a story most ignored. In East Timor, we have renamed a major road Avenida Liberdade da Imprensa, or Freedom of the Press Avenue. On that road, a Dutch journalist was murdered in September 1999. We have dedicated a memorial to his memory and the memories of the other journalists killed while covering East Timor. We are now working to build our own media and train our own journalists. I can only hope, that they will contribute to our democracy by probing deeply and asking the critical questions -- the way Amy has always done. Pacifica and WBAI should be proud to have a journalist of such high caliber working for them. They should be supporting her, not attacking her, and improving her working conditions, not hindering her ability to do her job. Contact: John M. Miller (718)596-7668; john@etan.org Link to statement and additional background can be found at http://www.etan.org/news/2001a/goodman.htm etanetanetanetanetanetanetanetanetanetanetanetanetanetanetanetan John M. Miller Internet: john@etan.org Media & Outreach Coordinator, East Timor Action Network 48 Duffield St., Brooklyn, NY 11201 USA Phone: (718)596-7668 Fax: (718)222-4097 Mobile phone: (917)690-4391 Web site: http://www.etan.org Send a blank e-mail message to info@etan.org to find out how to learn more about East Timor on the Internet etanetanetanetanetanetanetanetanetanetanetanetanetanetanetanetan ================================================================= NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us 339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org e-mail: nyt@blythe.org ================================================================= nytas-09.04.01-22:16:44-2875