Monday, June 25, 2007

East Timor -Help 99-09-09

East Timor, Time to act is now

Mirza A. Beg
September 9th, 1999.


I was pained to hear that the United Nations is withdrawing it’s personnel from East Timor, because of the pressures from the Indonesian military and paramilitary forces. In short it is leaving the place open for ethnic cleansing and genocide.

If we have learnt any thing from the crises in Bosnia and Kosovo, it is that the world community and especially the western nations have come to a juncture where not only the human rights are worth celebrating in words but also they are worth protecting with deeds. The price in hardware may be high but it is minimal compared to the innocent lives lost and the encouragement given to the future despots. By ignoring the tyranny of Muslim majority over Christian minority, we are not a silent spectator but a silent accomplice.

In Bosnia and Kosovo a Christian majority in the name of religion and nationalism was crushing mostly the Muslims of Bosnia and Kosovo. In East Timor the situation is reverse. In Bosnia and Kosovo, United States and other western Nations with no support from organized Christian institutions and Churches tried to ignore the crises, but in a very circuitous way, finally backed into doing some thing good, wholesome, decent and right.

It is time for the United States to again take the lead. Use its influence on Muslim Countries, to stop a potential genocide and ethnic cleansing from happening in East Timor. The actions should be taken today and not wait for the results of our inaction to translate into mass graves before our conscience stirs.

It is time for the leaders, temporal and spiritual to show the would-be despots that such actions will not be tolerated by any Government anywhere, be it Europe, Asia or Africa.

It may finally impel the truly religious people to stop tolerating evil done in the name of their religions. In place of dying for their religions they should start living their religions.

I urge all Muslims to petition their government as I am petitioning mine, to take immediate action to save innocent lives. At this time in East Timor and in future where ever. As a people irrespective of religion and nationality if we take immediate action against genocide, the United Nations would once again have found a true calling, and the reasons to take action will eventually not occur with such regularity.

I urge people to get involved. It is not as selfless as it sounds. Some day our kith and kin may need protection while the world will debate and indulge in "Ostrich like diplomacy" of laudable goals without actions to back them up. It happened to Kurds, Tootsies, Chechns, Bosnians and Kosovars. In case of Bosnians and Kosovars, we learnt that the nay saying Pundits were wrong. We do not have to be myopic.

Mirza A. Beg can be contacted by email at mab64@yahoo.com

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