Canada was a significant foreign investor in Indonesia, ranking in the top five Indonesian sources of foreign direct investment at various periods. The largest Canadian investor was Inco, with a large nickel mining complex on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. When, after the Santa Cruz massacre, the Canadian government froze aid to Indonesia, it made sure that trade and investment were unaffected. Both rose at spectacular rates throughout the 1990s. ETAN consequently began to pressure Canadian companies investing in Indonesia, including Inco and Bata Shoes, while protesting at events that promoted trade with Indonesia. Corporate ties featured in ETAN lobbyist Sharon Scharfe’s 1996 book on Canada and East Timor, Complicity. At the same time, ETAN activists in Ottawa led by Kerry Pither created a “labour solidarity committee” that tried to replicate the success of the South Africa divestment campaign. They won the support of the Canadian Labour Congress and others for a full embargo on military exports to Indonesia.
Images, from top: João Santos Rolo and street theatre troupe at protest outside the Bata Shoe Museum, Toronto; ETAN protest image of Canadian 5-cent “nickel”; cover of Sharon Scharfe, Complicity; protest outside trade event, Winnipeg; Canadian Labour Congress president Bob White with Bella Galhos (all images ETAN).
Linking aid & human rights
As Canada’s involvement in Indonesian development rose, several Canadian universities undertook projects in Indonesia supported by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). From Simon Fraser University in Vancouver to Dalhousie University in Halifax, these projects drew protest on human rights grounds. The issue was fought out most heavily around the University of Guelph’s Sulawesi Regional Development Project. The university finally agreed to hold an external human rights review which recommended some changes. In response, the Indonesian government expelled Guelph from the country – leading to a lead editorial from the Toronto Star, Canada’s largest-circulation newspaper, suggesting Canada review its entire aid relationship.
Images: Guelph student paper and Toronto Star coverage.
Canadian solidarity with East Timor 