[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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