In Ballyshannon, Co Donegal, two weeks ago the Minister for Defence, Michael Smith, reviewed an Irish infantry platoon prior to its departure for a four-month peacekeeping tour of duty in East Timor. The troops are already on their way, and from my own experiences of that unfortunate land, I do not envy them in their task.

Once inside East Timor, the platoon will be based in a small village in the Kova-Lima district, close to the border with West Timor, a country which remains violently unstable and from where anti-independence militias still mount cross-border incursions with the connivance of the Indonesian army. From their base, the Irish platoon will conduct long-range patrols and establish listening posts to restore security and stability to the region.

The platoon will form the Irish contingent of the United Nations Transitional Authority in East Timor (UNTAET). This UN authority is overseeing what is, I hope, the final stages of the transition to full self-determination on the part of the East Timorese people, subjugated since 1512.

That a small nation like ours, through diplomatic or peacekeeping efforts, can assist other small nations such as East Timor on the road to self-determination is a deep source of pride for us all. Only 80 years ago, Ireland was in a similar situation, the work of our fledgling Department of Foreign Affairs almost solely being to seek international recognition for Irish independence.

Our involvement in the affairs of East Timor did not begin around the Cabinet table, in Government Buildings or in Iveagh House, but in the Ballyfermot living room of a bus driver named Tom Hyland.

In that living room, having reluctantly allowed a neighbour whose cable had been disconnected to watch his television set, while he enjoyed a game of cards with some friends, Tom Hyland overheard and became absorbed by an ITV First Tuesday programme on the plight of the East Timorese population. The programme revealed how, following 450 years of Portuguese colonisation, Indonesia mounted an illegal invasion of East Timor in 1976. East Timor was subsequently annexed as Indonesia's 27th province, despite being different in terms of religion, language and several hundred years of colonial history.

That night Olivia O'Leary's programme revealed how the invasion and annexation had led to 16 years of continuous atrocity. During the invasion and in the subsequent pacification campaign, a quarter of the East Timorese population died through massacre, disease or starvation.

Following the programme, Tom Hyland set about establishing the East Timor Ireland Solidarity Campaign. It has since worked tirelessly to ensure that the plight of East Timor has been given the attention it deserves from the members of the Oireachtas and from the country in general. I seriously doubt if there is a single member of the Oireachtas today who does not fully support Tom Hyland's stance and actions. Before the East Timor Ireland Solidary Campaign, few had ever heard of East Timor.

In the United Nations International Year of the Volunteer, it is valuable for us to examine and promote the work of people such as Tom Hyland and the East Timor Ireland Solidarity Campaign. If the energies which many in our country channel into preventing Travellers, refugees, drug addicts and the homeless establishing a presence in their neighbourhoods could be harnessed for causes of justice throughout Ireland and the world, the possibilities to effect a real change are boundless. That is the lesson to be learned from the work of the East Timor Ireland Solidarity Campaign.

THE United Nations General Assembly rejected the Indonesian annexation of East Timor and demanded self-determination for the people of that country. With the single exception of Australia, no state ever recognised the legitimacy of the annexation. Shamefully, however, few people and even fewer governments were ready to actively campaign against the illegal occupation and the reaction of the international community was largely hypocritical.

The United States, for example, although part of the United Nations Security Council which resolutely condemned the invasion, provided 90 per cent of the weapons used by the Indonesians in the invasion. Since 1975, the United States has sold over one billion dollars worth of weaponry to the Indonesian government. The Canadians, British, Dutch and Germans have also sold arms to the Indonesian regime. Plainly the deaths of 200,000 people and the illegal subjugation of nations have mattered less than profits. The freedom of 700,000 East Timorese has mattered less than the profits reaped from the 180 million consumers in Indonesia.

Once groups like the East Timor Ireland Solidarity Campaign began to spring up across the globe and began the serious work of lobbying and protesting, governments woke to the plight of East Timor and more serious pressure was exerted on Indonesia. In 1998 Indonesia was forced to propose "special autonomy" for East Timor within Indonesia. In 1999, almost 80 per cent of the population rejected the offer, opting instead for full independence.

I was appointed personal representative of the EU Presidency to the popular consultation in East Timor which took place at the end of August 1999. In April of the same year, I visited Indonesia and met then President Habibie and the foreign minister, Mr Alatas, and called to see the East Timorese leader, Xanana Gusmao, in prison in Jakarta. It was rather like meeting a latter-day Nelson Mandela! This was followed by my arrival in Dili, the capital of East Timor. I had many meetings, including one with Bishop Belo, a very brave man and a true leader of his community. He was under siege in his own home, and when our party was meeting him, a number of killings took place nearby.

The full horror of what happened the days after the result of the massive vote for independence was known in early September 1999 are now a matter of tragic record. At that stage, pro-integration militias, aided by elements of the Indonesian Security Forces, began a campaign of violence which displaced 50,000 East Timorese. The UN then authorised the International Force East Timor and Ireland sent our Ranger Wing to help restore peace and security. Shortly after this, the Indonesians recognised the will of the East Timorese people and the UN established the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor to oversee the administration of East Timor to independence. The Irish platoon from its base in a small village in the Kova-Lima is playing its part in this transition.

For Ireland, it all began in a Ballyfermot living room, in the volunteer instincts of a wonderful individual.