The glowing tributes to Ford as a "nice guy" obscure his crimes.

by Peacework Co-Editor, Sam Diener. To respond to this blog entry, and/or to discuss Ford's and Kissinger's other crimes, and/or to discuss how to challenge the corporate media to cover these issues, please comment on this blog's discussion forum.

The Indonesian invasion of East Timor in 1975 resulted in the deaths at least 100,000 East Timorese (Amnesty International estimates 200,000) out of a population of only 700,000 people. After a decades-long struggle, East Timor won its independence in 2002, but the effort to rebuild, and the struggle for accountability and reparations, continues.

Too often forgotten is the role that President Ford and Secretary of State Kissinger played in these crimes. In the week since President Ford's death, on December 26, 2006, the corporate press has been filled with unctuous praise for President Ford, obscuring his historical roles. The New York Times obituary, for example, didn't even mention East Timor. Describing Ford's funeral, the corporate press referred to Henry Kissinger as a dignitary, instead of as a person guilty of war crimes.

President Gerald Ford and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger visited Indonesia's dictator, Suharto, in Jakarta in December of 1975, as the Indonesian military, using US supplied weapons, prepared to attack. Ford and Kissinger reassured the despot of US support for Indonesia's invasion.

Activists have long suspected that Ford and Kissinger supported the invasion, but didn't know just how explicit the conversation between Ford, Kissinger, and Suharto was. The following Department of State telegram, featuring a transcript of their discussions, declassified after a long FOIA struggle waged by Brad Simpson of the National Security Archives, shows that not only did Ford and Kissinger approve of the attack, Kissinger actually urged Suharto to "succeed quickly," encouraging the Indonesian military to be more brutal. Both Ford and Kissinger allude to the legal difficulties they could face if it was known they were conspiring to violate US laws which prohibit US weapons from being used by other countries to wage aggressive wars.

The transcript, dated December 6, 1975, was designated, "US Embassy Jakarta Telegram 1579 to Secretary State" (link opens the PDF). A key portion is excerpted here:

Suharto: We want your understanding if we deem it necessary to take rapid or drastic action.

Ford: We will understand and will not press you on the issue. We understand the problem you have and the intentions you have.

Kissinger: You appreciate that the use of US-made arms could create problems.

Ford: We could have technical and legal problems. You are familiar, Mr. President, with the problems we had on Cyprus* although this situation is different.

Kissinger: It depends on how we construe it. Whether it is in self-defense or is a foreign operation. It is important that whatever you do succeeds quickly. We would be able to influence the reaction in America if whatever happens happens after we return. This way there would be less chance of people talking in an un-authorized way. The President will be back on Monday at 2:00 pm Jakarta time. We understand your problem and the need to move quickly but I am only saying that it would be better if it were done after we returned.... If you have made plans, we will do our best to keep everyone quiet until the President returns home. Do you anticipate a long guerilla war there?

Suharto: There will probably be a small guerilla war.

Indonesia invaded East Timor the next day.

For more on this issue, please see the Democracy Now story which aired 2006-12-27, interviewing Brad Simpson and the investigative journalist Alan Nairn about Ford's and Kissinger's complicity with Indonesia's invasion.

The struggle for self-determination in East Timor continues. Please see, for example, information about the push for an international criminal tribunal, and reparations from the US . Information about the effort to prevent US arms sales to Indonesia is also available, along with much more information, from the East Timor Action Network.

For a broader overview of how the East Timorese policy is consistent with President Ford's policy of fueling human rights violations around the world, see Professor Stephen Zunes' article for Foreign Policy in Focus.

* The reference Ford made to Cyprus alludes to the fact that Turkey used US made weapons to invade Cyprus, and the resulting Congressional pressure, resisted by Ford, to cut off weapons transfers to Turkey.

To respond to this blog entry, and/or to discuss Ford's and Kissinger's other crimes, and/or to discuss how to challenge the corporate media to cover these issues, please comment on this blog entry's discussion forum.