WASHINGTON - January 25 - To mark the Australian national holiday, Australia Day, the East Timor Action Network/U.S. (ETAN) today demanded that the Australian government honor the national sovereignty and resource rights of East Timor.

This week, East Timor's supporters around the world are phoning, faxing, and e-mailing Australian diplomatic missions to urge a speedy and fair resolution of the maritime boundary between the two countries.

"This is the 21st century, not 1788. The Australian government needs to wake up and realize that it is no longer acceptable to seize territory or resources belonging to another people," said Karen Orenstein, Washington Coordinator for ETAN. "Australia must respect East Timor's sovereignty."

"What is at stake here is billions of dollars that rightly belong to East Timor under international law. The world is watching how Australia treats East Timor in boundary negotiations," said John M. Miller, spokesperson for ETAN. "Australia should negotiate in good faith a permanent maritime boundary with East Timor according to existing international principles and within three years."

"Australia's claim that it cannot afford to meet monthly for negotiations, as East Timor requested, but only twice a year is laughable. Who is the Australian government trying to fool?" asked Orenstein.

"Australia will lose any good will it generated in 1999 if it cheats East Timor out of the tens of billions of dollars of petroleum revenue," added Miller.

"It would be painfully ironic if East Timor remains the largest contributor to Australia's government budget over the next four decades," continued Miller.

The Laminaria-Corallina field, which is twice as close to Timor as it is to Australia, is now mostly depleted after generating more than (US) $1 billion in revenues for the Australian government; not a cent has gone to East Timor. If international law were obeyed, some 60% of the oil and gas entitlement that Australia is claiming would belong to East Timor.

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