[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.
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