[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 21 (Wednesday, March 2, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: March 2, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                   UPDATE ON SITUATION IN EAST TIMOR

                                 ______


                           HON. TONY P. HALL

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, March 2, 1994

  Mr. HALL of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, for many years, I have been deeply 
concerned over the tragedy in the former Portuguese colony of East 
Timor, which was invaded and occupied by Indonesia in 1975 and has 
since been the scene of widespread repression and human suffering. At 
least 100,000 of a population of less than 700,000 perished since the 
occupation began, far from the spotlight of international attention. 
The world was also shocked by the televised images of the massacre of 
perhaps more than 250 people that took place at Santa Cruz cemetery on 
November 12, 1991. Both before the 1991 massacre and subsequently, I 
have been joined by numerous colleagues of both parties in the House 
and Senate in expressing concern about this situation.
  Last March, I was gratified to see the strong stand of the Clinton 
administration at the United Nations Human Rights Commission in Geneva, 
where the United States for the first time voted for a resolution on 
the East Timor situation. Thereafter, in July, President Clinton raised 
the issue of human rights in East Timor when he met with Indonesian 
President Suharto in Tokyo. President Clinton deserves credit for 
taking these actions.
  Nonetheless, the news from East Timor has continued to be extremely 
disturbing. A letter of January 14, 1994 by East Timor's highly 
respected Roman Catholic bishop, Carlos Ximenes Belo, outlines recent 
instances of torture and brutality, as well as problems of missionary 
priests who are seeking extension of their residency visas. These 
accounts are consistent with similar reports received by other church 
and human rights organizations over the past 6 months, and belie the 
contention that the situation in East Timor is improving. The 
consistent nature of the repression in East Timor makes it clear that 
until and unless there is an unmistakable policy decision on the part 
of the Indonesian military, systematic abuse of East's Timor's people 
will continue.
  Consistent and assiduous American diplomatic pressure on Indonesia's 
leaders is needed to encourage Indonesia to respect human rights in 
East Timor and bring about a long overdue peace for its long-suffering 
people. Now is not the time to relax such pressures. The East Timor 
question is being discussed once again in March at this year's session 
of the U.N. Human Rights Commission. I strongly recommend that the 
Clinton administration continue to support human rights and peace 
initiatives on East Timor at the United Nations in both New York and 
Geneva, and in regular high-level diplomatic exchanges with the 
Indonesian Government. I call upon my colleagues to support such 
efforts. The situation in East Timor demands no less.
  For the benefit of my colleagues, I have attached some excerpts of 
Bishop Belo's January 14, 1994 letter.

                 Excerpts From the Bishop Belo's Letter

       (1) With this letter, I would like to let you know that 
     torture continues in East Timor. On December 23, 1993 in the 
     parish of Ossu, County of Viqueque, the military captured 
     several young Catholics, beat them, tortured them and forced 
     them to declare that they participated in a subversive 
     meeting. On January 4, 1994 in Dili, the military were 
     waiting for a young man named Salvador Sarmento, who is a 
     student at the Pastoral Institute, and when he left the 
     classroom they took him, stuck him in a military vehicle and 
     took him to a place where he was kicked, beaten, tortured, 
     until he was almost dead. Then they forced his parents, who 
     are illiterate, to declare that they had seen their son 
     participate in subversive meetings. With these kinds of 
     injustices, they want to force a declaration that Father 
     Sancho Amaral is a priest who is against Indonesia.
       (2) We have problems with regard to three of our Salesian 
     missionaries. The military do not want to extend the visas of 
     Father Locatelli (Italian), Father Andres Calleja (Spaniard) 
     and Father Joao de Deus (Portuguese), because they say that 
     the three are helping Fretilin.
       (3) The third problem has to do with our young people. The 
     Indonesian authorities have taken more than 400 young East 
     Timorese to Java with the promise of work. When they arrived 
     there, they were distributed amongst a number of factories 
     without keeping the initial agreement, there were changes of 
     factory and the young people did not receive a sufficient 
     salary. Many of the young East Timorese in Jakarta suffer 
     like slaves. Two of them have died already. Others are being 
     persecuted and beaten. It is great injustice and suffering.

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