[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 116 (Thursday, September 9, 1999)]
[House]
[Pages H8065-H8066]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
PORTUGUESE ASSEMBLY PASSES RESOLUTION DEALING WITH RECENT EVENTS IN
EAST TIMOR
(Mr. POMBO asked and was given permission to address the House for 1
minute, and to revise and extend his remarks, and include therein
extraneous material.)
Mr. POMBO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce into the Record a
resolution that was recently introduced and passed unanimously by the
Portuguese assembly dealing with the recent events in East Timor, and I
would like to briefly state one part of that resolution.
It is impossible for the international community and particularly for
the U.N. to allow the steadily worsening situation to continue for one
more day without jeopardizing their own credibility.
Mr. Speaker, I think we have all heard about what is going on in East
Timor right now, and it is time for the U.S. Congress for the United
States to act.
Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
Mr. POMBO. I yield to the gentleman from Massachusetts.
Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from
California (Mr. Pombo) for yielding.
He and I were privileged to meet today with an all-party
parliamentary delegation from Portugal. The people of Portugal ought to
be commended for taking such a strong moral lead in trying to prevent
the continued mass slaughter of innocent people in East Timor, and I
wish our Government and
[[Page H8066]]
other governments would follow that strong moral lead. So I am
delighted to join with the gentleman in introducing this unanimous
strong resolution, and I hope that this is something that is going to
lead the way for our own Government and other governments.
One point ought to be clear. People say we cannot intervene in
another country's affairs, but the world has never recognized
Indonesia's grab of East Timor. We have more legal right
internationally to intervene in East Timor than ever existed in Kosovo,
because the nations of the world, the United Nations and others, never
recognized Indonesia's grab of East Timor. So it is time for the world
resolutely to act, and I appreciate the initiative of the gentleman
from California (Mr. Pombo), and I am glad to join with him in
introducing this very well-done resolution.
Resolution of the Assembleia da Republica on the Situation in East
Timor
Whereas the people of East Timor accepted in good faith the
tripartite (UN, Portugal, and Indonesia) project of
consultation of the people of the territory via a referendum
ensuring self-determination of the territory's future;
The voting process was carried out with remarkable civility
and represented a rate of participation of approximately 100
percent of the registered voters;
Approximately 80 percent of the voters expressed their
clear and unequivocal desire for independence; the voters'
freedom and the honesty of the voting process were recognized
by the Secretary-General of the UN and by the President of
Indonesia;
The Indonesian authorities demanded that maintenance of
order during the following the referendum would be solely
their responsibility;
The Indonesian authorities, having at their disposal
significant military and police forces both inside and
outside the territory, were capable of ensuring maintenance
of order if they had the political will to do so;
Indonesia, to the surprise and indignation of the
international community, provided arms to civilian militias
which, following the referendum, launched an operation of
terror and death in East Timor; and sent to the territory
additional military and police elements which not only did
nothing to stop the atrocities but also abetted and took part
in them;
With the passing of time the situation has deteriorated
dramatically, as evidenced by the attacks on and destruction
of both the home of the Bishop of Dili who had departed the
territory in fear for his life and the compounds of the
International Red Cross and the UN itself;
The Indonesian military and police forces are deliberately
creating an information gap by expelling journalists and
television news personnel with the clear objective of
returning to domination of the territory and enabling
themselves to launch a second genocide which is indeed
already underway;
It is solely the opposition of the Indonesian authorities
to entry into East Timor of a multinational peacekeeping
force for maintaining order and respect for human rights--a
force ready to go in immediately--that has allowed the chaos
raging in the territory to continue;
It is impossible for the international community, and
particularly for the UN, to allow this steadily worsening
situation to continue for one more day without jeopardizing
their own credibility and their capacity to prevent the
massacre of a heroic and defenseless people being cruelly
punished for the simple fact of having exercised their right
to self-determination and their desire for independence; and
It is clearly evident that the Indonesian authorities are
unable or unwilling to guarantee peace and order in East
Timor by the means available to them, and that, on the
contrary, their military and civilian forces are sowing the
seeds of terror and conflict;
The Comissao Permanente of the Assembleia da Republica, at
their meeting of September 7, 1999, after having heard the
Primeiro Ministro and the Ministro dos Negocios Estrangeiros,
has unanimously approved the following
resolution
In concert with the Presidente da Republica and the
Government, the Assembleia da Republica is resolved.
1. To intensify political and diplomatic efforts toward
making the international community, and in particular the UN
and its Security Council, aware of the necessity for the
immediate organization, under the aegis of the Secretary-
General of the UN, of a multinational peacekeeping force
whose purpose will be to put an end to the atrocities
occurring in East Timor, to guarantee the peace, and to
uphold the rights of the Timorese with respect to their
freely-expressed wishes; and toward effecting the immediate
dispatch of such a force to East Timor, with the consent of
the Indonesian Government to the extent possible;
2. To approve any future decision of the Portuguese
Government to authorize inclusion of a Portuguese military
contingent in the aforementioned peacekeeping force;
3. To send immediately to the United States a delegation
from the Assembleia da Republica, to include a representative
of each party holding seats in the Assembleia, for the
purpose of making the President of the UN Security Council,
the US Congress, and world public opinion, aware of the
clearly inevitable and urgent requirement for organization
and deployment of the aforementioned peacekeeping force;
4. To appeal to the conscience of the world that a second
genocide of the heroic and martyred people of East Timor be
resisted by every means possible, since with their death all
confidence in the liberating force of human rights and in the
international bodies entrusted with safeguarding security and
peace in the world would die also;
5. To condemn in the strongest terms possible the behavior
of Indonesian Government, which has refused to fully comply
with the New York Accord to which it has subscribed, and
which in recent days, in a totally unacceptable manner, has
neglected its responsibility to guarantee the security of the
Timorese and respect for their will as legitimately expressed
in the referendum of August 30;
6. To appeal forcefully to the Secretary-General and the
Security Council of the UN, to the Indonesian authorities,
and to those elements of Indonesian society who sincerely
support aspirations for democracy and peace, reminding them
that this critical moment for East Timor represents for them
the essence of their historic responsibilities;
7. To applaud the release of Xanana Gusmao, historic leader
of the people of East Timor, whose voice, finally free, will
undoubtedly strengthen both the efforts underway to ensure
peace in the territory and the independence of its people,
and his own commitment to reconciliation.
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