10th Anniversary Celebrations – Independence Vote Timor-Leste
Excerpt from letter from Lau Haumutuk in June 2009
This year will mark the 10th anniversary (30 August 2009) of the independence referendum of Timor-Leste. It was and will be a great moment for all who were involved in the Timorese cause for many years, to commemorate it with a great joy along with our fellow Timorese in Timor-Leste and elsewhere.
To celebrate the anniversary, we are organizing a number of activities, mainly in Dili, during August and early September 2009. We hope to recreate and strengthen the strong sense of solidarity among activists from around the world, including Timorese and people from other countries. Some of us live in Timor-Leste or visit regularly; others may not have been here for a decade, or perhaps never.
We will reflect on and strengthen the victories and friendships during the long struggle against Indonesian occupation that gave people here and around the world so much hope a decade ago. Learning from the past and building on our experiences, we also will explore how we can work with Timor-Leste’s people to address the challenges facing this ten-year-old nation, trying to overcome a legacy of trauma, repression, colonialism, poverty, impunity and underdevelopment in an increasingly interdependent world.
We invite you to join these events not as a guest or visitor, but, in the spirit of solidarity, as hosts and organizers, sharing ideas, responsibilities and collective work not only in August but in the years to come.
We hope that you will share your joy with us in Timor-Leste this August. Although we are not able to provide financial support for travel to Timor-Leste, we will try to make your stay here as comfortable, interesting and Timorese as possible.
Please send your feedback, ideas and suggestions to timorsolidarity@gmail.com.
We look forward to hearing that you are coming, and will keep you informed as developments progress. Check our website www.laohamutuk.org/solidarity/index.htm for the latest information.
A luta continua!
Charlie Scheiner, Abe Barreto Soares and Sisto dos Santos
On behalf of the organizing committee, including dozens of activists from Timor-Leste and around the world.
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