[House Hearing, 106 Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] MARK-UP ON H.RES. 292, A RESOLUTION EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES REGARDING THE REFERENDUM IN EAST TIMORE, CALLING ON THE GOVERNMENT OF INDONESIA TO ASSIST IN THE TERMINATION OF THE CURRENT CIVIL UNREST AND VIOLENCE IN EAST TIMORE, AND SUPPORTING A UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL-ENDORSED MULTINATIONAL FORCE FOR EAST TIME ======================================================================= MARKUP BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON ASIA AND THE PACIFIC OF THE COMMITTEE ON INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ONE HUNDRED SIXTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION ON __________ H.Res. 292 __________ SEPTEMBER 15, 1999 __________ Serial No. 106-56 __________ Printed for the use of the Committee on International RelationsU.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 59-861 CC WASHINGTON : 1999 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ For sale by the U.S. Government Printing Office Superintendent of Documents, Congressional Sales Office, Washington, DC 20402 COMMITTEE ON INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS BENJAMIN A. GILMAN, New York, Chairman WILLIAM F. GOODLING, Pennsylvania SAM GEJDENSON, Connecticut JAMES A. LEACH, Iowa TOM LANTOS, California HENRY J. HYDE, Illinois HOWARD L. BERMAN, California DOUG BEREUTER, Nebraska GARY L. ACKERMAN, New York CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey ENI F.H. FALEOMAVAEGA, American DAN BURTON, Indiana Samoa ELTON GALLEGLY, California MATTHEW G. MARTINEZ, California ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida DONALD M. PAYNE, New Jersey CASS BALLENGER, North Carolina ROBERT MENENDEZ, New Jersey DANA ROHRABACHER, California SHERROD BROWN, Ohio DONALD A. MANZULLO, Illinois CYNTHIA A. McKINNEY, Georgia EDWARD R. ROYCE, California ALCEE L. HASTINGS, Florida PETER T. KING, New York PAT DANNER, Missouri STEVE CHABOT, Ohio EARL F. HILLIARD, Alabama MARSHALL ``MARK'' SANFORD, South BRAD SHERMAN, California Carolina ROBERT WEXLER, Florida MATT SALMON, Arizona STEVEN R. ROTHMAN, New Jersey AMO HOUGHTON, New York JIM DAVIS, Florida TOM CAMPBELL, California EARL POMEROY, North Dakota JOHN M. McHUGH, New York WILLIAM D. DELAHUNT, Massachusetts KEVIN BRADY, Texas GREGORY W. MEEKS, New York RICHARD BURR, North Carolina BARBARA LEE, California PAUL E. GILLMOR, Ohio JOSEPH CROWLEY, New York GEORGE P. RADANOVICH, California JOSEPH M. HOEFFEL, Pennsylvania JOHN COOKSEY, Louisiana THOMAS G. TANCREDO, Colorado Richard J. Garon, Chief of Staff Kathleen Bertelsen Moazed, Democratic Chief of Staff ------ Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific DOUG BEREUTER, Nebraska, Chairman JAMES A. LEACH, Iowa TOM LANTOS, California DANA ROHRABACHER, California HOWARD L. BERMAN, California PETER T. KING, New York ENI F.H. FALEOMAVAEGA, American MARK SANFORD, South Carolina Samoa JOHN McHUGH, New York MATTHEW G. MARTINEZ, California RICHARD BURR, North Carolina SHERROD BROWN, Ohio PAUL GILLMOR, Ohio ROBERT WEXLER, Florida DONALD A. MANZULLO, Illinois JIM DAVIS, Florida EDWARD R. ROYCE, California EARL POMEROY, North Dakota JOHN COOKSEY, Louisiana GARY L. ACKERMAN, New York ALCEE L. HASTINGS, Florida Michael P. Ennis, Subcommittee Staff Director Dr. Robert King, Democratic Professional Staff Member Matt Reynolds, Counsel Alicia A. O'Donnell, Staff Associate C O N T E N T S ---------- APPENDIX Page Bill: H.Res. 292....................................................... 2 MARK-UP ON H.RES. 292, A RESOLUTION EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES REGARDING THE REFERENDUM IN EAST TIMORE, CALLING ON THE GOVERNMENT OF INDONESIA TO ASSIST IN THE TERMINATION OF THE CURRENT CIVIL UNREST AND VIOLENCE IN EAST TIMORE, AND SUPPORTING A UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL-ENDORSED MULTINATIONAL FORCE FOR EAST TIME ---------- Wednesday, September 15, 1999 House of Representatives, Subcommittee on Asia And the Pacific, Committee on International Relations, Washington, D.C. The Subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 1:20 p.m., in room 2172, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Doug Bereuter, Chairman of the Subcommittee, presiding. Mr. Bereuter. The Subcommittee meets today in open session to first consider House Resolution 292, a resolution regarding the referendum on East Timor and its tragic aftermath, and supporting a United Nations Security Council-endorced force for East Timor. [The exact Bill language of H. Res. 292 follows.] 106th CONGRESS 1st Session H. RES. 292 Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding the referendum in East Timor, calling on the Government of Indonesia to assist in the termination of the current civil unrest and violence in East Timor, and supporting a United Nations Security Council-endorsed multinational force for East Timor. ______ IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES September 14, 1999 Mr. Bereuter (for himself, Mr. Gilman, Mr. Lantos, Mr. Gejdenson, Mr. Hastings of Florida, Mr. Capuano, Mr. Goss, Mr. Faleomavaega, Mr. Greenwood, Ms. DeLauro, Mr. Crowley, Mr. Pombo, Mr. Underwood, Mr. Moran of Virginia, Mr. Bilbray, Mr. Hall of Ohio, Mr. Ackerman, Mr. Smith of New Jersey, and Mr. Brown of Ohio) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on International Relations ______ RESOLUTION Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding the referendum in East Timor, calling on the Government of Indonesia to assist in the termination of the current civil unrest and violence in East Timor, and supporting a United Nations Security Council-endorsed multinational force for East Timor. Whereas on May 5, 1999, the Governments of Portugal and Indonesia and the United Nations concluded an historic agreement intended to resolve the status of East Timor through a popular consultation based upon a universal, direct, and secret ballot; Whereas the agreement gave the people of East Timor an opportunity to accept a proposed special autonomy for East Timor within the unitary Republic of Indonesia or reject the special autonomy and opt for independence; Whereas on August 30, 1999, 98.5 percent of registered voters participated in a vote on the future of East Timor, and by a vote of 344,580 to 94,388 chose the course of independence; Whereas after the voting was concluded, violence intensified significantly in East Timor; Whereas the declaration by the Government of Indonesia of martial law in East Timor has failed to quell the violence; Whereas it has been reported that hundreds of people have been killed and injured since the violence began in East Timor; Whereas it has been reported that as many as 200,000 of East Timor's 780,000 residents have been forced to flee East Timor; Whereas it has been reported that East Timor militias are controlling the refugee camps in West Timor, intimidating the refugees and denying access to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, relief agencies, and other humanitarian nongovernmental organizations; Whereas it has been reported that a systematic campaign of political assassinations that has targeted religious, student, and political leaders, aid workers, and others has taken place; Whereas the compound of the United Nations Mission in East Timor (UNAMET) was besieged and fired upon, access to food, water, and electricity was intentionally cut off, and UNAMET personnel have been killed, forcing the closure of UNAMET in East Timor; Whereas Catholic leaders and lay people have been targeted to be killed and churches burned in East Timor; Whereas the international community has called upon the Government of Indonesia to either take immediate and concrete steps to end the violence in East Timor or allow a United Nations Security Council-endorsed multinational force to enter East Timor and restore order; Whereas on September 9, 1999, the United States suspended all military relations with Indonesia as a result of the failure to quell the violence in East Timor; and Whereas on September 12, 1999, Indonesian President B.J. Habibie announced that Indonesia would allow a United Nations Security Council-endorsed multinational force into East Timor: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the House of Representatives-- (1) congratulates the people of East Timor on their exemplary participation in the August 30, 1999, popular consultation; (2) commends the professionalism, determination, and courage of the United Nations Mission in East Timor (UNAMET) personnel in support of the August 30, 1999, vote on the future of East Timor; (3) recognizes the overwhelming expression of the people of East Timor in favor of independence from Indonesia; (4) condemns the violent efforts of East Timor militias and elements of the Indonesian military to overturn the results of the August 30, 1999, vote; (5) notes with grave alarm the failure of the Government of Indonesia, despite repeated assurances to the contrary, to guarantee the security of the people of East Timor and further notes that it is the responsibility of the Government of Indonesia to restrain elements of the Indonesian military and paramilitary forces and restore order in East Timor; (6) calls upon the Government of Indonesia to recognize its responsibilities as a member of the United Nations and a signatory to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to cooperate with appropriate United Nations authorities in the restoration of order in East Timor; (7) urges the Government of Indonesia to allow unrestricted access to refugees and displaced persons in West Timor and to guarantee their safety; (8) calls upon the Government of Indonesia to hold accountable those responsible for the violence and human rights abuses and atrocities in East Timor; (9) notes with approval the decision of the United States to suspend military relations with, and the sale of any military weapons or equipment to, the Government of Indonesia until order is effectively restored; (10) expresses approval of Indonesia's belated decision to allow a United Nations Security Council-endorsed multinational force into East Timor and strongly urges Indonesia to accept the rapid deployment of this force and to cooperate fully without preconditions on the composition and deployment of this force; (11) expresses support for a rapid and effective deployment throughout East Timor of the United Nations Security Council- endorsed multinational force; (12) urges that the United States consider additional measures to end the current civil unrest and violence in East Timor, including the suspension of bilateral and international financial assistance (except for humanitarian assistance and assistance designed to promote the development of democratic institutions) to the Government of Indonesia until such time as it has demonstrated cooperation with respect to the deployment of a multinational force in East Timor and such force is fully deployed, UNAMET is fully operational in East Timor, refugees and displaced persons are able to return to East Timor safely, and order and respect for human rights are restored in East Timor; (13) expresses approval of United States logistical and other technical support for deployment of a multinational force for East Timor; (14) commends Australia for its readiness to lead the multinational force for East Timor and welcomes the participation of other nations in this force; (15) urges the Indonesian People's Consultative Assembly to expeditiously ratify the vote of August 30, 1999, in East Timor and to otherwise speed the transition to full independence for East Timor; and (16) recognizes that an effective United States foreign policy for this region requires both an effective near-term response to the ongoing violence in, and progress toward independence for, East Timor and a long-term strategy for supporting stability, security, and democracy in Indonesia and East Timor. The Clerk will report the resolution. The Clerk. H.R. 292, expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding the referendum in East Timor, calling on the Government of Indonesia to assist in the termination of the current civil unrest and violence in East Timor, and supporting a United Nations Security Council-endorsed multinational force for East Timor. Mr. Bereuter. Without objection, further reading of the resolution will be dispensed with, printed in the record in full, and open for amendment. Before we begin the formal process of considering this resolution, I have just a few comments. I will then recognize the Ranking Member and other Members of the Subcommittee, if they wish to be heard, and any Member of the Full Committee for any brief comments they wish to make. I do, however, remind my colleagues that we do have two panels ready to testify for our hearing on Taiwan and that we examined the East Timor issue extensively in the Subcommittee last week. Beyond that, I think we are intending to mark this up in Full Committee tomorrow, and I believe at the moment it is the only item on the agenda. With that in mind and with the Taiwan hearing awaiting us, I would say the resolution was introduced only yesterday, referred to the Asia Pacific Subcommittee, sponsored by myself; the distinguished Chairman of the International Relations Committee, Mr. Gilman; the distinguished Ranking Democrat Member of the Subcommittee, Mr. Lantos; the Ranking Democratic Member of the Full Committee, Mr. Gejdenson; and other Members of the Committee, including Mr. Hastings, Mr. Smith of New Jersey, Mr. Faleomavaega, Mr. Ackerman, and Mr. Brown of Ohio, as well as other members on both sides of the aisle. Since the election on August 30th in East Timor, in which an overwhelming 78 percent-plus of the population voted against the autonomous position and, in effect, then for a pro- independence vote, this territory has been enveloped by violence and mayhem as pro-integration militia and elements of the Indonesian military have sought to overturn the people's choice for independence through cold-blooded killings, massive destruction of infrastructure and property, and the forced dislocation of innocent East Timor people. I think the International Relations Committee, and certainly this Member of the Committee, believes this must stop. Despite repeated assurance to the contrary, the Indonesian Government has failed miserably in its responsibilities to guarantee the security of the people of East Timor. Only now, very belatedly and under duress from significant international pressure, has the Indonesian Government accepted a United Nations Security Council-endorsed multinational force. I am encouraged that an agreement was reached late last night in New York for the deployment of the force. Given the human tragedy in East Timor, this force needs to be deployed as expeditiously as possible and without any Indonesian obstructions. It is now the United Nation's responsibility, in my judgment, to provide a safe and secure transition beyond that to independence. Australia should absolutely be commended and supported in its leadership and willingness to lead this multilateral force, and the United States should support the force's deployment with logistical and other technical support. I was in Australia at the time of the vote and a few days thereafter met with the Australian defense minister and the foreign minister and discussed the elections in detail. I just have to tell you I think the Australians are moving in an admirable fashion, and I think we should do everything we can to convey to the Indonesians that we will not tolerate violence against Australians in Indonesia or in East Timor. They are doing important work as they have often done for this country and for the international community. Less than a week ago, this Subcommittee, meeting jointly with its Senate Foreign Relations Committee counterpart, held a very extensive and thorough hearing on the situation in East Timor and the U.S. reaction to it at that point. We believe we have covered this situation in depth. This a bipartisan resolution. It is a product of many with input from myself, Chairman Gilman, Ranking Members Lantos and Gejdenson, and the other members listed as cosponsors from this Subcommittee, plus others, like Mr. Capuano of Massachusetts and Mr. Goss of Florida. Indeed, I hope we can move right to the pending resolution without a lengthy debate and amendatory process, especially given the need to begin the Taiwan hearing. As I mentioned, we will be taking this subject up in the Full Committee if the Subcommittee chooses to act. I now call on the distinguished Ranking Member of the Subcommittee, Mr. Lantos, for any comments he might like to make. Mr. Lantos. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I will be very brief. Let me commend you for presenting this resolution, of which I am pleased to be a cosponsor. I think it is important to underscore that this is a bipartisan resolution enjoying broad support in the Committee, and I am sure in the House. Let me also say one additional thing: it seems to me that with Kosovo earlier this year and with Timor at the moment, it is long overdue for Members of this body and for the Administration to understand that human rights issues are not peripheral, accidental marginal issues in the field of U.S. foreign policy. But as it has been demonstrated in the case of Kosovo, which could have been prevented years ago had the Western world displayed strength and determination to protect the human rights of Kosovar Albanians, had the western world demonstrated strength and commitment with respect to the human rights of the Catholic Timorese, we would not be in this situation. I would merely like to make a plea, both to my colleagues and to the Administration, to recognize that on issue after issue, we are confronted with major crisis involving, as in the case of Kosovo, large-scale military action, because at an embryonic stage of the conflict, the human rights concerns were swept under the rug, remained unaddressed, and viewed as peripheral concerns of do-gooders in the Congress of the United States. This has become--and it will be even more so in the 21st century--a central issue in the conduct of U.S. foreign policy. It will have to be a central issue in the conduct of NATO's affairs, and it will have to be central to the conduct of the foreign policy of all civilized nations. It is easy to dismiss the persecution of the Bahai in Iran as a small religious group about which we know little, and then realize that sooner or later the problem escalates and mushrooms and steps will need to be taken. While I am very pleased to cosponsor this resolution, which I think will be voted overwhelmingly by our colleagues in the House, it is important to go behind the resolution per se and not to look at Kosovo and East Timor as two distinct separate unrelated problems, one in the Balkans, the other in Southeast Asia. They both came about because the civilized world with the military capability chose to look away early on. It did not deal with the issue early on. Pressure should have been put on the Indonesian government a long time ago not to allow this outrage to unfold. Pressure should have been put on Milosevic in 1991 not to allow the Kosovo situation to get out of hand. Now with the example of these two cases in very different parts of the world, I hope there will be a willingness to look for a pattern. The pattern is there, in an age of instantaneous mass communication, such outrages as the one in Kosovo and the one in East Timor are not tolerated by the civilized community. Therefore, governments are forced into action. If we want to prevent military action, we have to deal with human rights violations early on. I strongly again commend you, Mr. Chairman, for crafting this resolution. Mr. Bereuter. Thank you very much, Mr. Lantos. I was disturbed by remarks made by a senior member of the Administration that--and I think I should comment briefly on that--it is not in the middle of Europe; and, therefore, we should be more reluctant to become involved. I will not specify that person, but I think it reinforces all the wrong perceptions that we are Eurocentric in our views. What happens in Asia is just as important to Americans--our national interests and our concern about human rights--as what happens in the center of Europe. I think we might have bipartisan support for that. We will go on and let this Subcommittee stand, with that kind of view. Are there other Members who wish to discuss the East Timor resolution? Chairman Gilman is recognized. Mr. Gilman. I just want to commend Chairman Bereuter for bringing this measure up in a timely manner. We are all concerned about the violations of human rights and hostility that is taking place in East Timor, and I think adopting this resolution at this time is certainly appropriate and hopefully will help bring peace to that part of the world. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Bereuter. Thank you, Chairman Gilman. Mr. Faleomavaega. Mr. Faleomavaega. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I do commend you and certainly am honored to be a cosponsor of this resolution. Mr. Chairman, although the Timorese struggle for self- determination has received much publicity, I would submit that scant attention has been paid to the people of West Papua New Guinea, who have similarly struggled to throw off the yoke of Indonesian colonialism. Like East Timor, Indonesia military forces took West New Guinea by force in 1963. In a pathetic episode, the United Nations in 1969 sanctioned a fraudulent referendum, where only 1,000 delegates, hand picked and paid off by Indonesia, were permitted to participate in this so- called independence vote. The rest of the over 800,000 West Papua New Guinea people absolutely had no voice in the undemocratic process. Like East Timor, where 200,000 East Timorese were massacred and killed, at that military takeover by the Indonesian military, this was even before the struggle that these people have taken for 24 years now, Mr. Chairman, the Indonesian military had been brutal just as much. Reports estimate that between 100,000 to 300,000 West Papua and New Guineans have died or simply vanished in the hands of the Indonesian military. Mr. Chairman, while we search for justice and peace in East Timor, I submit we should not forget the violent tragedy that continues to play on West Papua and New Guinea at this time. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Bereuter. I thank the gentleman for his statement. Are there other members who wish to be heard on the East Timor resolution? The gentleman from California, Mr. Rohrabacher is recognized. Mr. Rohrabacher. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of this resolution, and I would like to associate myself with the remarks of Mr. Lantos, who again presented to us a very thoughtful analysis of some of the basic decisions that we have to make in foreign policy. Let me just say that Mr. Lantos' remarks in suggesting that if we do not heed people's human rights and the issues of those human rights that we have to pay a penalty later on in terms of military action I think is correct. I think that where that is most demonstrable, however, is in our policy toward the mainland of China. I will say when you are talking about Tibet and you are talking about the persecution in East Turkestan and the overall human rights situation with different religious groups that are being oppressed and other organizations in communist China, we will pay a price if we do not stands up for the principles which our Founding Fathers believed America was all about. I do support that. In the case of East Timor, for many years we did close our eyes to that, and perhaps some of these other abuses that Congressman Faleomavaega just detailed. The cold war is over. It is time for the United States to realize we don't need to close our eyes to human rights abuses because of some strategic fight with the Soviet Union. That was something we had to consider in the past. But now it is time for America to return to its democratic roots and to those fundamentals that make America and the United States of America a different place than other countries of the world. Our country was founded on these principles of liberty and justice, and I think it must play a role in our decisions in foreign policy. I am very proud to be part of this resolution on East Timor. But one final thought, Mr. Chairman, and that is because we do stand for human rights and democracy and justice does not mean we are the policemen of the world. It does not mean we have to send our troops in and expend our treasury and our blood in every part of the world where tyranny threatens innocent people. But instead we should at least be willing to help those people struggle for themselves. In the case of Kosovo, we didn't bother to support the people of Kosovo over the years when they could have fought their own battle, and eventually we had to send our troops in. The same with Bosnia. Let me say in terms of East Timor, I support this resolution because the United States is not the lead player in this intervention for democracy. As should be the case, local and regional powers are committing their troops, and the United States is there in a support role, rather than having to play the lead role and rather than be the one that has to put out all the money. So as far as I am concerned, this East Timor example of what we are doing now is a good example of what we should be doing, and that is supporting regional powers like Australia, as we should have done in the case of Kosovo, supporting the Europeans, rather than trying to play the lead role. With that--I think with a policy like that we will have the support of the American people. If we try to be the policemen of the world and try to be the one that is going to take on the expense for these problems all over the world, I don't think the American people will bear that burden very long. Thank you very much. Mr. Bereuter. Thank you, Mr. Rohrabacher. I like the new rapport and cohesion in the California delegation here. I would like to say on the latter that is one of the reasons I think Australia and New Zealand, the Philippines, and Malaysia are coming forth and being willing to pick up their load. It is a good example for Africa; it is a good example for Europe and elsewhere in the world. The gentleman from New York, Mr. Ackerman, is recognized. Mr. Ackerman. I am glad you guys can find common ground, albeit so far away. Thank you, Mr. Chairman and Mr. Lantos, for expediting this matter before the Subcommittee. Mr. Chairman, the world has watched in horror as militias supported by the Indonesian armed forces and members of the armed forces themselves have ravaged through East Timor following the vote for independence. What the world is witnessing, Mr. Chairman, is the abject failure of the government of Indonesia to abide by the commitment it made to the international community to allow the referendum and to provide security before, during and after the voting. It is now well past time for the international community to intervene in East Timor. I support the resolution we are considering today, and I am proud to be a cosponsor. I agree that we should suspend military assistance to Indonesia and that we should consider suspending economic assistance until such time as a United Nations force is fully deployed. In addition, Mr. Chairman, I think the international community should look seriously at the refugee camps being set up on the border in West Timor. We should work to ensure that these camps do not become cross-border bases of operation for those militias who would deny the East Timorese their independence. I commend the Chairman and Mr. Lantos for their work on the resolution, and I urge our colleagues to support it. Mr. Bereuter. Is there further discussion and are there amendments? Seeing none, the question now is on consideration on agreeing to the resolution. As many as are in favor will say aye; as many opposed, no. The ayes have it; the resolution is agreed to. Without objection, the staff is authorized to make technical, grammatical, and conforming changes to the text just agreed to. [Whereupon, at 1:40 p.m., the Subcommittee was adjourned.]