[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2621 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







106th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2621

 To continue the current prohibition of military cooperation with the 
     armed forces of the Republic of Indonesia until the President 
 determines and certifies to the Congress that certain conditions are 
                               being met.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 24, 2000

 Mr. Feingold (for himself, Mr. Leahy, Mr. L. Chafee, Mr. Harkin, Mr. 
 Kohl, Mrs. Boxer, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Wyden, and Mr. Kennedy) introduced 
the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee 
                          on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To continue the current prohibition of military cooperation with the 
     armed forces of the Republic of Indonesia until the President 
 determines and certifies to the Congress that certain conditions are 
                               being met.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``East Timor Repatriation and Security 
Act of 2000''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) More than 100,000 East Timorese refugees remain in West 
        Timor, where they fled or were forcibly driven by militia and 
        members of the armed forces of the Republic of Indonesia 
        following the United Nations sponsored popular consultation of 
        August 30, 1999, in which 78.5 percent of East Timor's 
        population voted for independence from Indonesia.
            (2) Most of the East Timorese refugees in West Timor would 
        like to return to East Timor but have been prevented from doing 
        so by militia forces operating with the cooperation of 
        Indonesian army elements.
            (3) Hundreds of the refugees in West Timor have died from 
        preventable illnesses while many thousands continue to live in 
        a state of danger, uncertainty and severe threats, including 
        that of forced resettlement to other areas of Indonesia.
            (4) Elements of the Indonesian army have attempted to 
        infiltrate armed militia members into East Timor, and 
        reportedly have planned a militia invasion of East Timor.
            (5) Border attacks by militia groups remain a threat to 
        peace and stability in the region and to international 
        peacekeeping forces.
            (6) Much of East Timor's infrastructure was destroyed in 
        the violence of 1999 and remains to be rebuilt.
            (7) An estimated 200,000 of East Timor's original estimated 
        population of 700,000 perished from the effects of Indonesia's 
        occupation of East Timor before the violence of 1999.
            (8) Many East Timorese were killed in violence perpetrated 
        by Indonesian army elements and militia in 1999.
            (9) The prospects for justice for the victims of the 
        violence in East Timor remain unclear.
            (10) An estimated 80 percent of East Timor's population 
        remains unemployed and East Timor's Nobel Prize winning 
        Catholic Bishop, Carlos Ximenes Belo, has made a plea on their 
        behalf.
            (11) United States funds have been provided to help rebuild 
        East Timor.
            (12) Communications and logistical units of the United 
        States Armed Forces have formed part of the international 
        peacekeeping forces that entered East Timor in 1999.
            (13) Following historic elections in October 1999, 
        Indonesia's first democratically elected President, Abdurrahman 
        Wahid, has pledged reform and accountability within the 
        Indonesian government and military.
            (14) The Government of Indonesia, led by President 
        Abdurrahman Wahid and Vice President Megawati Sukarnoputri, has 
        made good faith commitments to end Indonesian military support 
        for militias and to establish a fair and transparent mechanism 
        to bring to justice the perpetrators of gross human rights 
        violations in East Timor and elsewhere, but efforts of the 
        elected leadership of Indonesia have been resisted, and in some 
        cases actively disobeyed, by elements in the military and in 
        the bureaucracy.

SEC. 3. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of the Congress that the United States Government 
should utilize all diplomatic and economic means to press for--
            (1) the safe repatriation to East Timor of all East 
        Timorese in West Timor and elsewhere who wish to return to East 
        Timor;
            (2) an end to border incidents and infiltration of militias 
        and an end to any other violent actions by militias and the 
        armed forces of the Republic of Indonesia against the people or 
        territory of East Timor;
            (3) processes and prosecutions leading to justice for the 
        victims of the violence in East Timor;
            (4) rapid reconstruction of East Timor, including maximum 
        consultation with and inclusion of local personnel; and
            (5) a significant increase in employment for East Timorese 
        in all internationally-sponsored reconstruction and United 
        Nations efforts relating to East Timor.

SEC. 4. PROHIBITION ON MILITARY COOPERATION WITH AND ASSISTANCE TO THE 
              ARMED FORCES OF INDONESIA.

    (a) Prohibition.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law (other 
than section 589 of the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and 
Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2000), United States military 
cooperation with, and military assistance for, the armed forces of the 
Republic of Indonesia suspended by the President pursuant to the 
directive of the President issued on September 9, 1999, may not be 
resumed until the President determines and certifies to the appropriate 
congressional committees that the Government of Indonesia and the 
Indonesian Armed Forces are--
            (1) taking effective measures to bring to justice members 
        of the armed forces and militia groups against whom there is 
credible evidence of human rights violations;
            (2) taking effective measures to bring to justice members 
        of the armed forces against who there is credible evidence of 
        aiding or abetting militia groups;
            (3) allowing displaced persons and refugees to return home 
        to East Timor, including providing safe passage for refugees 
        returning from West Timor;
            (4) not impeding the activities of the United Nations 
        Transitional Authority in East Timor;
            (5) demonstrating a commitment to preventing incursions 
        into East Timor by members of militia groups in West Timor; and
            (6) demonstrating a commitment to accountability by 
        cooperating with investigations and prosecutions of members of 
        the Indonesian Armed Forces and militia groups responsible for 
        human rights violations in Indonesia and East Timor.
    (b) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term 
        ``appropriate congressional committees'' means the Committee on 
        Foreign Relations and the Committee on Appropriations of the 
        Senate and the Committee on International Relations and the 
        Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives.
            (2) Crimes against humanity.--The term ``crimes against 
        humanity'' includes crimes of genocide, torture, forced 
        disappearance, extrajudicial killing, and rape, if committed as 
        part of a widespread or systematic attack against the civilian 
        population.

SEC. 5. RECOGNITION OF UNITED STATES ARMED FORCES ASSISTING THE 
              INTERNATIONAL PEACEKEEPING OPERATION IN EAST TIMOR.

    The Congress recognizes and salutes those members of the United 
States Armed Forces who have assisted the international peacekeeping 
operation in East Timor.
                                 <all>