[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 395 Introduced in House (IH)]
106th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. CON. RES. 395
Expressing the sense of the Congress condemning the September 6, 2000,
militia attack on United Nations refugee workers in West Timor and
calling for an end to militia violence in East and West Timor.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 12, 2000
Mr. Smith of New Jersey (for himself, Mr. Kennedy of Rhode Island, Mr.
Porter, Mr. McGovern, Mr. Wolf, Mr. Hall of Ohio, Mr. Pitts, Mr.
Kucinich, Ms. McKinney, Mrs. Lowey, Ms. Pelosi, Mr. Crowley, and Mr.
Evans) submitted the following concurrent resolution, which was
referred to the Committee on Interntional Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of the Congress condemning the September 6, 2000,
militia attack on United Nations refugee workers in West Timor and
calling for an end to militia violence in East and West Timor.
Whereas, on September 6, 2000, a militia mob attacked the Atambua, West Timor
offices of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and
brutally murdered three humanitarian aid workers, including a United
States citizen, Carlos Caceres, as well as a number of East and West
Timorese victims, while Indonesian armed forces and police stood by;
Whereas armed militias were responsible for widespread violence and destruction
in East Timor both before the August 30, 1999, United Nations (UN)
referendum and thereafter;
Whereas, notwithstanding this campaign of terror, 98 percent of registered
voters in East Timor risked their lives to cast ballots in the United
Nations sponsored referendum and 78.5 percent of those voting chose
independence from Indonesia;
Whereas, after the September 4, 1999, announcement of the independence vote,
Indonesian police, military, and militias escalated their attacks upon
the people of East Timor, razing entire towns, killing at least 1,000
civilians, destroying 70 percent of the country's infrastructure,
driving hundreds of thousands of people into the mountains, and forcing
several hundred thousand more across the border into West Timor;
Whereas Indonesian armed forces trained, organized, and armed militia forces
and, according to evidence gathered by UN personnel and local sources in
West Timor, continue to provide the militias with military, economic,
and logistical support;
Whereas the September 6, 2000, attack was the worst of over 100 such attacks on
aid workers assisting East Timorese refugees in West Timor camps;
Whereas Indonesian military and police forces, which are solely responsible for
the security of humanitarian workers and East Timorese refugees in West
Timor, have repeatedly allowed militia forces to terrorize refugee camps
in West Timor;
Whereas it is estimated that more than 100,000 East Timorese remain in refugee
camps in West Timor, trapped by ongoing militia violence and threats of
violence;
Whereas, since the September 6, 2000 attack, all UNHCR staff and other
international aid workers have been evacuated from West Timor, leaving
the remaining East Timorese refugees, local human rights activists, and
aid workers at the mercy of the militia groups;
Whereas in recent weeks militia forces have infiltrated independent East Timor,
fomenting insecurity and causing many East Timorese to flee their homes
once again for the safety of larger towns;
Whereas militia attacks have claimed the lives of two United Nations
peacekeepers during border operations;
Whereas elsewhere in Indonesia, particularly in Aceh, Papua, Kalimantan, and
Maluku, Indonesian military and militia violence has recently increased
to disturbing levels and resembles the brutal methods used to terrorize
the people of East Timor and of West Timor;
Whereas Jafar Siddiq Hamzah, a New York-based Acehnese human rights lawyer who
testified before the House Subcommittee on International Operations and
Human Rights on May 7, 1998, was murdered after disappearing from Medan,
Indonesia on August 5, 2000, in circumstances that strongly suggest the
involvement of Indonesian security forces;
Whereas in September of 1999, in response to the devastation and violence in
East Timor, President Clinton announced a suspension of United States
military assistance to Indonesia, warning that the Government of
Indonesia must stop the violence against the people of East Timor;
Whereas in section 589 of the Foreign Operations Appropriations Act, Fiscal Year
2000, the Congress prohibited United States military training and
foreign military financing for the Indonesian armed forces until six
important human rights conditions (relating to refugee return, border
security, and accountability for violence in East Timor) have been met;
Whereas none of those six conditions has yet been fulfilled;
Whereas more than a year after East Timor's independence vote, known militia
leaders continue to wage war against the people of East Timor with
impunity and militia forces have not been disarmed and disbanded,
notwithstanding repeated promises by the Government of Indonesia to do
so, and despite the pleas of United Nations officials, foreign
governments, and human rights organizations;
Whereas the people of East Timor are diligently preparing for full self-
determination and are working toward social, economic, and political
redevelopment, including national elections targeted for August of 2001;
and
Whereas the United States Government has committed its support to this
redevelopment process, which requires peace and security: Now,
therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring),
That the Congress--
(1) expresses sincere condolences to the families and co-
workers of Carlos Caceres of Puerto Rico, Samson Aregahegn of
Ethiopia, and Pero Simundza of Croatia, the UNHCR staff members
killed in the September 6 attack;
(2) calls upon the United States Government and the
Government of Indonesia to do everything possible to ensure
thorough and transparent investigations of these murders and to
bring the perpetrators to justice;
(3) believes that the United States should suspend all
military relations and cooperation with the armed forces of
Indonesia, including a cutoff of all security assistance and
joint training programs, until--
(A) the six conditions set forth in section 589 of
the Foreign Operations Appropriations Act, Fiscal Year
2000 are fulfilled;
(B) the disarming and disbanding of all militias
operating in East Timor and West Timor is accomplished;
and
(C) civilian rule and the rule of law have been
established in Indonesia;
(4) calls upon the United States Government to persist in
urging the Government of Indonesia to disarm and disband all
militias in West Timor, arrest known militia leaders, and
extradite to East Timor those who committed crimes in that
country; and
(5) believes that the United States Government should
continue economic and development assistance and other similar
support for the people of East Timor and of Indonesia.
<all>