Acehnese widow

(II no.62, January-March 2000)
I am writing with an urgent request to kindly allow me to publish a segment of 'An Acehnese widow's notes'. The venue would be the Widows of War Living Memorial, a new web site intended to honour women who have lost their husbands in wars and to promote peace. The Memorial is opening on April 30, with approximately 30 interviews of war widows from around the world. I am the content director of the site, which is sponsored by Sun Fountain Productions, a San Francisco based film company that produced the Oscar-nominated film, Regret to inform, about widows on all sides of the war in Vietnam. We intend for the web site to be a place for women from around the world to share their thoughts and perspectives on their losses and also to talk about the possibilities of peace and reconciliation.
Lesley Mackay (LesleyMackay@aol.com), director, Widows of War Living Memorial, www.warwidows.org, 16 April 2000

Stop fighting!

Pela is an inter-village alliance, a brotherhood among Ambonese Christians and Muslims. Our ancestors took an oath that we should live together peacefully. To the younger generation this might seem to be folklore, but to the older generation it isn't. How can such a close community now generate such hatred and distrust? The pictures shown to us resemble Germany after World War II, or war-torn Beirut!

No amount of money or troops can change our attitude towards each other. We have to change. So, stop the fighting! Let us work together. We are a nation of 210 million people who voted democratically last June. We have to focus on corruption, human rights abuses, poverty, health, education, environment etc.

Over the years, my family grew into a smaller version of Indonesia: Javanese, Madurese, Acehnese, Batak, Chinese, etc. What is going to happen to my family if someone decides to break up our extraordinary republic? Indonesia is worth preserving. We should not let these rioters stir up hatred among us, and for what? For identity? We already have one, we are all Indonesian.
Tirza Sugito (yes, you've guessed it, I'm married to a Javanese!), London, 28 February 2000

Semsar is OK

(II no.62, January-March 2000)
I can assure you that not only is Victoria (Canada) the scene of considerable political activity, but that Semsar has retained his political convictions and has contributed to progressive politics here. The first time we met Semsar was when he attended one of our meetings last year in the spring to protest the Nato bombing of Yugoslavia. Last summer and fall, he donated his art to be copied into posters to be used for fundraising to help our organisation. He made a huge contribution to the anti-WTO protest in Seattle last November by creating a remarkable 3 x 4 metre banner, which drew significant commentary in the streets of Seattle. Semsar does not need to restrict his activity to Indonesian-specific issues just because he is Indonesian. We are so pleased to have met Semsar and to benefit from his political and artistic activity here in Victoria.
Valerie Lannon (vlannon@direct.ca), Victoria Branch of the International Socialists/ Socialist Worker, 26 April 2000