Sunday, January 09, 2005

Your help needed in Aceh

Friends,

The earthquake and tsunami in the Indian Ocean has hit Aceh, Indonesia, hardest of all, with more than 100,000 people killed. But the Indonesian government and military, whose role in Aceh until December 26 was mainly repression, are making it difficult to get aid to everyone who needs it.

The East Timor Action Network (ETAN) has already raised more than $50,000 to send to grassroots groups in Aceh doing emergency relief,.And we continue to solicit donations. We are also responding politically to the Indonesian government's restrictions on humanitarian agencies, violations of the cease-fire and other aspects of the crisis -- see some of our statements at www.etan.org.

With the help of Amy Goodman's Democracy Now! radio/TV program, journalist Allan Nairn, Acehnese in the U.S. and Indonesia, Nonviolence International, TAPOL and others, we are funding local organizations trusted by Acehnese people (unlike the Indonesian military). These groups know how to bypass the bureaucratic and other roadblocks to get assistance where it is needed. Many have long experience helping the many people in Aceh displaced by war and military repression. ETAN will send every cent contributed to for tsunami relief directly to local organizations.

To make a donation via credit card for Aceh relief go to
http://www.etan.org/action/action2/23alert.htm.

You can also download a leaflet to pass out to your friends, family and colleagues.

Please mail your check to (be sure to write "Aceh" in the memo line):

East Timor Action Network,
P.O. Box 15774,
Washington, DC 20003-0774

If you would like your donation to be tax-deductible, make it to

Nonviolence International (NI)
PO Box 39127, Friendship Station,
Washington, DC 20016, USA.
www.nonviolenceinternational.net
(please let ETAN know if you donate this way)


P.S. To help meet the emergency relief needs in Aceh, we have suspended some of our own end-of-year fundraising. We will be coming back to you to ask you to support our ongoing work in the US for justice and human rights in East Timor and Indonesia. If you have recently donated to ETAN's regular work, we thank your for the support -- and if you would like to do so now, you can at http://www.etan.org/etan/donate.htm.

ETAN needs your financial support: Make a secure contribution: http://etan.org/etan/donate.htm

John M. Miller Internet: fbp@igc.org

Media & Outreach Coordinator
East Timor Action Network: 12 Years for Self-Determination & Justice

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

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Take care and Good Night,