ACTION ALERT - House to vote soon on East Timor - CALL Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit ............................................................... source -"John M. Miller" URGENT ACTION AND LEGISLATIVE UPDATE CALL TODAY NOW IS CRITICAL TIME TO ENSURE FREE AND FAIR VOTE IN EAST TIMOR House to Vote Soon on Key Amendments Senate Unanimously Passes Two Amendments Pressure Must Continue! Call your Representative today! Urge him or her to support Rep. Patrick Kennedy's amendment to the State Department Authorization Bill (HR 2415) supporting a free and fair vote in East Timor. Congressional switchboard number: 202-544-3121 Your calls do make a difference! The July 4 congressional recess has ended, and a great deal must still happen before the East Timorese cast their ballots in the historic U.N. vote. On Thursday, the House is scheduled to vote on an amendment urging greater U.S. pressure for a free and fair U.N.-organized vote in East Timor. Urge your member of the House of Representative to support Rep. Patrick Kennedy's amendment to State Department Authorization bill (HR 2415) Similar Senate amendments were unanimously added to the Senate's versions of the State Department Authorization bill and the Foreign Operations Appropriations bill (by a vote of 98-0). These amendments call for the Clinton administration to intensity its actions to ensure the disarming of paramilitary militias, as well as other conditions necessary for a free and fair vote. Kennedy's amendment similarly urges a stronger U.S. policy. After this vote happens, stayed tuned for additional steps you can take to press Congress and the administration to support East Timor's historic decision. An expanded action alert will follow shortly. The Kennedy amendment is adapted from House Concurrent Resolution 97 (The East Timor Paramilitary Accountability Act), which currently has 43 co-sponsors. On May 5, Indonesia agreed to a historic vote by the East Timorese on their political future. The U.N.-organized vote, currently scheduled for August, is approaching quickly. Your help is urgently needed to ensure an environment in which a free and fair vote can take place. Indonesian-backed paramilitary groups continue to terrorize the population, resulting in over 150 deaths in the past few months and over 40,000 internal refugees. Recent paramilitary threats and attacks on UN personnel have further jeopardized the plebiscite. U.S. pressure on Indonesia has an impact, but much more remains to be done to ensure that Jakarta lives up to the May 5 U.N. agreement. We must keep up our pressure until the U.S, government suspends further military assistance and financial aid (both direct and through international financial institutions) to Indonesia, and until President Clinton himself warns Jakarta. Questions contact: ETAN's DC office: (202)544-6176; etandc@igc.org --- Here is sample text to use with your call: The House State Department Authorization Bill (HR 2415) will reach the House floor on Thursday, July 15. Rep. Patrick Kennedy will be offering an important amendment on East Timor to the State Department bill. This amendment calls on the U.S. administration to intensify its efforts (through State Dept., Dept. of Defense and Treasury) to prevail on Indonesia to (1) disarm and disband the paramilitaries before the U.N. vote; and (2) grant full access to humanitarian organizations, human rights monitors and the press. On behalf of myself and _______ (other constituents, the 9,500+ national ETAN network, etc.) I request that Representative _____ vote for this important amendment. [If the office is already supportive also ask them to contact Kennedy's office to offer to make a short speech on the floor.] ---- The following members of Congress are co-sponsors of House Concurrent Resolution 97. Urge them to speak out in favor of Rep. Kennedy's amendment and to tell their colleagues to support it. H Con. Res. 97 -- East Timor Paramilitary Accountability Resolution Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) Nita Lowey (D-NY) Cynthia McKinney (D-GA) Tony Hall (D-OH) Lane Evans (D-IL) Tom Lantos (D-CA) Anthony David Weiner (D-NY) Janice Schakowsky (D-IL) Barney Frank (D-MA) Robert Weygand (D-RI) Jose Serrano (D-NY) Michael Capuano (D-MA) Jim McGovern (D-MA) Darlene Hooley (D-OR) Lynn Woolsey (D-CA) Sam Farr (D-CA) Carolyn Kilpatrick (D-MI) David Minge (D-MN) Phil English (R-PA) Louis Guiterrez (D-IL) Rod Blagojevich (D-NJ) Donald Payne (D-NJ) John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) Collin Peterson (D-MN) John Lewis (D-GA) Bill Luther (D-MN) Peter DeFazio (D-OR) Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) Bobby Rush (D-IL) Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-IL) Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) Frank Wolf (R-VA) Richard Pombo (R-CA) Rep Olver, John W. (D-MA) Rep Abercrombie, Neil (D-HI) Rep Hoeffel, Joseph M. (D-PA) Rep Barrett, Thomas M. (D-WI) Rep Brown, Sherrod (D-OH) Rep Hinchey, Maurice D. (D-NY) Rep Berman, Howard L. (D-CA) Rep McNulty, Michael R. (D-NY) Rep Lofgren, Zoe (D-CA) Rep Oberstar, James L. (D-MN) Rep Pelosi, Nancy (D-CA) Rep Miller, George (D-CA) END etanetanetanetanetanetanetanetanetanetanetanetanetanetanetanetan John M. Miller Internet: etan-outreach@igc.apc.org Media & Outreach Coordinator, East Timor Action Network PO Box 150753, Brooklyn, NY 11215-0753 USA Phone: (718)596-7668 Fax: (718)222-4097 Web site: http://www.etan.org Send a blank e-mail message to timor-info@igc.apc.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 ================================================================= nytpac-07.14.99-17:05:02-18260