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Activists visit McCain's office

Joshua D. Trujillo Arizona Daily Wildcat Pat Birnie, of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, shares her viewpoints with staff at Sen. John McCain's downtown Tucson office while UA political science graduate student Greg Knehans holds a protest sign. McCain, R-Ariz., was not present but will be informed of the groups demands.

Members of Tucson and UA activist groups dropped by the Tucson office of U.S. Senator and presidential hopeful John McCain, to demand the removal of Indonesian military presence from East Timor.

McCain, who is currently on the campaign trail for U.S. president, was not in the office at the time.

The group of eight people included members of University of Arizona Students Against Sweatshops, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom and the School of the Americas Watch Southwest.

Also with the group was Chris Lundry, a U.N. independence referendum observer in East Timor.

Since 1975, Indonesia has had a military presence in East Timor. The occupation has resulted in many deaths and the oppression of the province, which recently held an election in favor of its own independence.

Recently, there has been an international push for Indonesia to withdraw their forces. In the past week, officials have estimated anywhere from 600 to 7,000 deaths. The numbers have not been confirmed.

At 4 p.m. yesterday, the Tucson activists met outside McCain's office with protest signs to inform him of their concerns about the United States' lack of action.

They carried signs that expressed their sentiments. "It took 24 years to end U.S. support for genocide in East Timor," stated a sign carried by Greg Knehans, a political science graduate student and a member of SAS.

The other UA student in attendance was Corey Mattson, a history senior.

"Anything people in the U.S. and the international community can do, they should," Lundry said while waiting to enter McCain's office.

The Republican senator was in Washington, D.C. at the time, according to staff aides.

Instead of expressing their concerns directly to McCain, they asked his aides what the senator's policies are about East Timor.

"We encourage his position to encompass a humanitarian point of view," said Pat Birnie from WILPF.

While his aides did not speak for the senator, they assured the group that they would receive a written response from McCain.

"What does he have better to do than talk to Arizonans?" asked Joe Bermicit, one of the group members.

While discussing their position with McCain's aides they described the situation in East Timor as an invasion rather than it being a breakaway country.

"Timor was a free country. They were invaded by Indonesia and now they have voted for independence. Even when their country is being held at gunpoint they voted for freedom," said Randy Serraglio, a member of School of the Americas Watch's southwest chapter.