[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 258 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. CON. RES. 258

 Encouraging international resolution of the political status of East 
                                 Timor.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 1, 1998

 Mrs. Lowey (for herself, Mr. Porter, Mr. Lantos, and Mr. Smith of New 
   Jersey) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was 
          referred to the Committee on International Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
 Encouraging international resolution of the political status of East 
                                 Timor.

Whereas the Indonesian financial collapse and political crisis have revealed 
        that Indonesian corruption and violent repression are a serious threat 
        to the stability of the international economy;
Whereas many nations and a wide range of international and non-government 
        organizations have called on President Suharto to move forward with 
        democratization in Indonesia and self-determination in East Timor;
Whereas Indonesia invaded East Timor in 1975 and has for the past 22 years 
        illegally occupied and systematically oppressed the people of East 
        Timor;
Whereas the Indonesian occupation has claimed the lives of over 200,000 East 
        Timorese, a third of the population, since 1975, through military 
        bombardment, torture and killings, and starvation;
Whereas Indonesia's invasion has been condemned in 8 United Nations General 
        Assembly and 2 United Nations Security Council resolutions;
Whereas on November 12, 1991, Indonesian troops opened fire on thousands of 
        peaceful mourners and demonstrators at the Santa Cruz cemetery in Dili, 
        the capital of East Timor, killing hundreds and wounding hundreds more;
Whereas Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo and Jose Ramos-Horta were awarded the 
        1996 Nobel Peace Prize for their courageous contribution to the East 
        Timorese struggle for human rights and self-determination;
Whereas both Nobel laureates have called for a United Nations-supervised 
        referendum in East Timor;
Whereas the National Council of Maubere Resistance has offered a peace plan 
        composed of gradual steps, including a withdrawal of Indonesian troops, 
        the release of Timorese political prisoners, an end to torture, a period 
        of limited autonomy, and a United Nations-supervised referendum;
Whereas the United States co-sponsored a 1997 United Nations Human Rights 
        Commission Resolution calling for Indonesia to comply with the 
        directives of existing United Nations resolutions regarding East Timor;
Whereas Indonesian human rights abuses continue in East Timor, including 
        arbitrary arrests, torture, extra-judicial executions and 
        disappearances, and general political repression;
Whereas Bishop Belo has stated that conditions in East Timor have worsened since 
        the awarding of the Nobel Prize over one year ago;
Whereas United Nations-sponsored tripartite negotiations between the governments 
        of Indonesia and Portugal have offered renewed hope for a just, 
        comprehensive, and internationally acceptable settlement on the 
        political status of East Timor but have made little progress toward that 
        end; and
Whereas the ongoing all-inclusive intra-Timorese dialogue is limited to 
        nonpolitical topics and there has been no direct Timorese participation 
        in the United Nations-sponsored tripartite talks: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That the United States should--
            (1) support an internationally supervised referendum to 
        determine the political status of East Timor;
            (2) recognize the need for direct Timorese participation in 
        the United Nations-sponsored tripartite talks; and
            (3) work actively, through the United Nations and with its 
        allies, to realize the directives of existing United Nations 
        resolutions on East Timor.
                                 <all>