[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 195 (Friday, December 8, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2319]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         20TH ANNIVERSARY OF INDONESIA'S INVASION OF EAST TIMOR

                                 ______


                             HON. JACK REED

                            of rhode island

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, December 7, 1995

  Mr. REED. Mr. Speaker, on December 7, 1975, Indonesia invaded the 
small country of East Timor and began two decades of violent occupation 
and repression. More than 200,000 East Timorese have been killed or 
have died of starvation since the invasion of the Indonesian 
Government. Portugal continues to protest Indonesia's invasion, and the 
United Nations has never recognized Indonesia's claim on East Timor. 
Both the Security Council and the General Assembly have issued numerous 
resolutions reaffirming East Timor's right to self-determination. 
However, these actions have been ineffective.
  Tragically, we are still witnessing the harsh reality of this 
invasion. Massacres, disappearances, suppression of free speech, and 
human rights abuses have consistently been reported since the invasion. 
In November 1991, the world was outraged by the Santa Cruz massacre 
where Indonesian soldiers opened fire into an unarmed crowd, killing 
more than 250 people; in June of 1994, Indonesian troops committed acts 
of sacrilege against the East Timorese Church and clergy; in July 1994, 
a clash between East Timorese students and Indonesian troops in 
response to this incident left 18 students injured; and in January of 
this year, Indonesian soldiers kidnapped, tortured, and murdered six 
civilians.
  At a joint hearing before the International Relations Subcommittees 
on Asia and the Pacific and International Operations and Human Rights 
on March 16, the Director of the Human Rights Watch stated: ``In East 
Timor, violations of fundamental rights has been especially severe, and 
have worsened dramatically since the APEC summit meeting in Jakarta 
last November.''
  Congress has acted on behalf of the people of East Timor, but I 
believe we must do more. The United States must not tolerate continued 
human rights abuses by the military in East Timor. We must not turn our 
backs on the East Timorese, who, against great odds, have resisted the 
Indonesian invasion for 20 years. The U.S. should not let another 20 
years of human rights abuses and oppression pass. I commend my 
colleagues Representatives Kennedy and Lowey for their efforts to 
recognize this anniversary on behalf of the people of East Timor, and 
for introducing the East Timor Human Rights Accountability Act of 1995. 
I urge my colleagues to continue to condemn acts of violence by the 
Indonesian Government against the people of East Timor.

                          ____________________