[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Con. Res. 109 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







107th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. CON. RES. 109

 Commemorating the independence of East Timor and expressing the sense 
 of Congress that the President should establish diplomatic relations 
                with East Timor, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 9, 2002

   Mr. Chafee (for himself and Mr. Feingold) submitted the following 
 concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 
                               Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
 Commemorating the independence of East Timor and expressing the sense 
 of Congress that the President should establish diplomatic relations 
                with East Timor, and for other purposes.

Whereas on May 20, 2002, East Timor will become the first new country of the 
        millennium;
Whereas the perseverance and strength of the East Timorese people in the face of 
        daunting challenges has inspired the people of the United States and 
        around the world;
Whereas in 1974 Portugal acknowledged the right of its colonies, including East 
        Timor, to self-determination, including independence;
Whereas East Timor has been under United Nations administration since October, 
        1999, during which time international peace-keeping forces, supplemented 
        by forces of the United States Group for East Timor (USGET), have worked 
        to stabilize East Timor and provide for its national security;
Whereas the people of East Timor exercised their long-sought right of self-
        determination on August 30, 1999, when 98.6 percent of the eligible 
        population voted, and 78.5 percent chose independence, in a United 
        Nations-administered popular consultation, despite systematic terror and 
        intimidation;
Whereas a constitution for East Timor was adopted in March, 2002;
Whereas East Timor is emerging from more than 400 years of colonization and 
        occupation;
Whereas the East Timorese people again demonstrated their strong commitment to 
        democracy when 91.3 percent of eligible voters peacefully participated 
        in East Timor's first democratic, multiparty election for a Constituent 
        Assembly on August 30, 2001, and when 86.3 percent of those eligible 
        participated in the first presidential election on April 14, 2002, 
        electing Xanana Gusamo as their first President;
Whereas, as the people of East Timor move proudly toward independence, many 
        still struggle to recover from the scars of the military occupation and 
        1999 anti-independence violence that resulted in displacement which, 
        according to United Nations and other independent reports, exceed 
        500,000 in number, and widespread death, rape and other mistreatment of 
        women, family separation, large refugee populations, and the destruction 
        of 70 percent of the country's infrastructure;
Whereas efforts are ongoing by East Timorese officials and others to seek 
        justice for the crimes against humanity and war crimes that have been 
        perpetrated in recent years, efforts that include the work of the 
        Serious Crimes Investigation Unit of the United Nations and the East 
        Timorese Commission for Reception, Truth, and Reconciliation to document 
        and assess responsibility;
Whereas Indonesian National Human Rights Commission and United Nations Security 
        Council recommendations to investigate and prosecute senior Indonesian 
        military and civilian officials for their roles in promoting the 1999 
        anti-independence violence in East Timor have not yet been fully 
        implemented;
Whereas, although the people of East Timor are working toward a plan for 
        vigorous economic growth and development, the Government of East Timor 
        will face a substantial shortfall in its recurrent and development 
        budgets over the first 3 years of independence, and is seeking to fill 
        the gap entirely with grants from donor countries; and
Whereas a large percentage of the population of East Timor lives below the 
        poverty line, with inadequate access to health care and education, the 
        unemployment rate is estimated at 80 percent, and the life expectancy is 
        only 57 years: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring), 
That (a) Congress--
            (1) congratulates and honors the courageous people of East 
        Timor and their leaders;
            (2) welcomes East Timor into the community of nations as a 
        sovereign state and looks forward to working with East Timor as 
        an equal partner;
            (3) supports United Nations and other multilateral efforts 
        to support reconstruction and development in East Timor, and 
        United Nations and other multilateral peacekeeping forces to 
        safeguard East Timor's security, including continuing the 
        periodic visits by United States military forces;
            (4) remains committed to working toward a debt-free start 
        to East Timor and just, sustainable, and secure development 
        programs as well as adequate resources for the judicial system 
        for East Timor for the foreseeable future beyond independence;
            (5) expresses continued concern over deplorable 
        humanitarian conditions and an environment of intimidation 
        among the East Timorese refugees living in West Timor;
            (6) strongly supports the prompt, safe, and voluntary 
        repatriation and reintegration of East Timorese refugees, in 
        particular those East Timorese still held in militia-controlled 
        refugee camps in West Timor, especially children separated from 
        their parents through coercion or force;
            (7) expresses a commitment to maintaining appropriate 
        restrictions and prohibitions in law on military assistance, 
        training, relations, and technical support to the Indonesian 
        Armed Forces; and
            (8) acknowledges that a United Nations International 
        Commission of Inquiry found in January 2000 that justice is 
        ``fundamental for the future social and political stability of 
        East Timor'', and remains deeply concerned about the lack of 
        justice in the region.
    (b) It is the sense of Congress that the President should--
            (1) immediately extend to East Timor the diplomatic 
        relations afforded to other sovereign nations, including the 
        establishment of an embassy in East Timor;
            (2) maintain a robust level of United States assistance for 
        East Timor commensurate with the challenges this new nation 
        faces after independence;
            (3) work to fund in a generous and responsible way East 
        Timor's financing gap in its recurrent and development budgets, 
        and coordinate with other donors to ensure the budget gap is 
        addressed;
            (4) focus bilateral assistance on the areas of employment 
        creation, job training, rural reconstruction, micro-enterprise, 
        environmental protection, health care, education, refugee 
        resettlement, reconciliation and conflict resolution, and 
        strengthening the role of women in society;
            (5) strongly urge the Government of Indonesia to step up 
        efforts to disarm and disband all militia, hold them 
        accountable to the rule of law, ensure stability along the 
        border, and promptly reunite East Timorese children separated 
        from their parents through coercion or force; and
            (6) review thoroughly information from the East Timorese 
        Commission for Reception, Truth, and Reconciliation, and use 
        all diplomatic resources at the disposal of the President to 
        ensure that--
                    (A) those officials responsible for crimes against 
                humanity and war crimes against the East Timorese 
                people are held accountable; and
                    (B) the Government of Indonesia fully cooperates 
                with the East Timorese judicial system.
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