[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 116 (Thursday, September 9, 1999)]
[House]
[Pages H8081-H8082]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     WE MUST ACT ON EAST TIMOR NOW

  (Mr. MCGOVERN asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks and include extraneous 
material.)
  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, this morning I woke up to read in the 
paper a high-level administration official comparing our choices in 
East Timor to whether he asked his daughter to clean up her room.
  I find this comment offensive, offensive to the people of East Timor 
who are paying with their lives for trusting the international 
community; paying with their lives by having 78 percent of the people 
vote for independence; offensive to the four priests I met on August 20 
in Suai, East Timor, who are now rumored to be murdered; offensive from 
a representative of the United States which for the past quarter 
century has trained, armed and equipped the Indonesian police and 
military, who in turn organized and armed the militias now rampaging 
throughout East Timor.
  Rather than talking about their kid's room, the Clinton 
administration should be announcing a cutoff of U.S. aid to Indonesia 
until the violence in East Timor stops and the people can return to 
their homes safely.
  I am proud to join with my colleague, the gentleman from Rhode Island 
(Mr. Kennedy), in introducing legislation to oppose an immediate 
suspension of all U.S. assistance to the government of Indonesia. I 
urge all my colleagues to join us and send a message to the 
administration, as well as to Indonesia, that we will not stand by 
while East Timor burns.
                                         House of Representatives,


                                Congress of the United States,

                                Washington, DC, September 8, 1999.
     William S. Cohen,
     Secretary of Defense, Department of Defense,
     The Pentagon, Washington, DC.
       Dear Secretary Cohen: I read today a summary of your 
     position on the East Timor crisis in USA Today, which 
     emphasized your absolute rejection of U.S. troops 
     participating in any peacekeeping force. While I can 
     understand your legitimate concerns regarding U.S. 
     commitments already in place around the world, as well as for 
     the safety of our troops, I was disappointed and dismayed 
     that nothing was put forward about what the Pentagon might be 
     willing to support to stop the slaughter in East Timor. 
     Hopefully, this was the fault of the reporter and does not 
     accurately reflect your complete views on East Timor.
       Laying aside for the moment the participation of U.S. 
     troops at some time as part of a multinational peacekeeping 
     force in East Timor, I would hope that you would agree the 
     U.S. could and should provide financial support to such an 
     operation, as well as warships (similar to what Britain has 
     already put in motion), helicopters, medical personnel, and 
     other transport, logistical and communications support. A 
     forceful public pledge of such support might provide the 
     signal other nations in the region are looking for to move 
     forward with their own commitments to such a peacekeeping 
     mission.
       The United States has been a strong and vocal supporter of 
     the U.N-brokered plebiscite that took place on August 30, 
     where over 78% of the East Timorese voted for independence. 
     What credibility will the United States and the international 
     community have if the reward for embracing democracy is death 
     and destruction? Is it not indeed in the U.S. interest to 
     help in stopping the current slaughter in East Timor?
       Over the past quarter century, the Department of Defense 
     spent considerable time and funds in training, equipping, and 
     arming the Indonesian military and police, who in turn, 
     organized and armed the militias currently rampaging in East 
     Timor. Just as U.S. policy now supports the democratization 
     of Indonesia and the referendum process in East Timor, so now 
     should the Pentagon help to protect the vulnerable East 
     Timorese people who embraced that process.
       Time is of the essence. As you are well aware from your 
     briefings, every hour, let alone every day, increases the 
     death toll and forcible displacement of the people of East 
     Timor. I look forward to seeing more concrete, constructive 
     and affirmative statements from you and the Pentagon on how 
     to stop the killing and resolve the crisis in East Timor.
           Sincerely,
                                                James P. McGovern,
     Member of Congress.
                                  ____


              [From the Los Angeles Times, Sept. 9, 1999]

                Only Intervention Can Stop the Violence


  East Timor: The Jakarta government, unable to control its renegade 
                       army, has lost legitimacy

       Jose Ramos-Horta shared the Nobel Peace Prize in 1996 with 
     Roman Catholic Bishop Carlos Ximenes Belo, whose home was 
     burned to the ground Tuesday by militias roaming Dili, the 
     capital of East Timor. Ramos-Horta spoke with Global 
     Viewpoint editor Nathan Gardels on Wednesday.
       Question: Why is the violence taking place now, after the 
     independence vote? Who is committing it?
       Answer: The killing is a well-designed strategy prepared 
     for a long time by the Indonesian Army intelligence and 
     special forces. They have their own agenda, and it is very 
     simple: They are not prepared to relinquish East Timor, 
     regardless of the vote in favor of independence and 
     regardless of the commitment by Indonesian President B.J. 
     Habibie.
       The so-called ``militias'' are a fiction. Most of these 
     militia members are not East Timorese opposing autonomy but 
     are Indonesians recruited from West Timor. Among the militias 
     are special forces and Indonesian police in plain clothes. 
     And it is not even these militias that are carrying out the 
     main violence. They don't have the firepower to destroy 
     buildings. And where on Earth would these local militias get 
     the means to ship tens of thousands of people out of East 
     Timor? The Indonesian army, like the Serbian army in Kosovo, 
     arranged for this mass deportation of our people. They have 
     provided the ships to take the people away.
       Q: What is the objective of their campaign?
       A: To overturn the vote. As far as the army is concerned, 
     the vote is history. They know if they don't accept it, there 
     is no one who will enforce it. Again, let me stress: The war 
     is not being waged by the 20% of the East Timorese who voted 
     for autonomy over independence. We had meetings with all 
     their leaders and they were prepared to accept the vote and 
     join us in a power-sharing arrangement. It is the Indonesian 
     Army that is waging this war.
       Q: The martial law that has been declared, then, will 
     consolidate the military control of East Timor, not stem 
     violence?
       A: Absolutely. Martial law only strengthens the power of 
     the military. Neither President Habibie nor the defense 
     minister have the power to stop the army. In the context of a 
     democratic country, the Indonesian Army is a renegade army. 
     Along with the special forces, they are a law unto themselves 
     in East Timor.
       Q: What, then, is the solution?
       A: The only solution is international intervention. If the 
     United Nations Security Council does not fulfill its 
     obligations and call for armed intervention, then countries 
     that have a conscience and resources--Australia, New Zealand, 
     Canada and the Europeans--should do it.
       Q: Even if the government in Jakarta does not invite them 
     in?
       A: A government that cannot honor its international 
     obligations because it cannot control its renegade army does 
     not exist from the standpoint of international law.

[[Page H8082]]

     The army has hijacked the legitimacy of Indonesian 
     sovereignty. It is a false issue to argue that intervention 
     by the outside world requires the approval of Jakarta.
       Q: Are you hopeful about a U.N. Security Council 
     resolution?
       A: No, I am not. Some Security Council members insist on an 
     invitation from Jakarta.
       Now that U.N. personnel have left East Timor, the violence 
     will escalate. East Timor will be betrayed once more and left 
     alone at the mercy of the Indonesian Army. Thousands and 
     thousands will die in the next few days.
       I also cannot say I am hopeful that the Australians and 
     others might take action on their own. I can only pray for a 
     divine inspiration that will summon those with decency to go 
     in and fight for justice, to save the people of East Timor.
                                  ____


                [From Human Rights Watch, Sept. 6, 1999]

     East Timor: The World Must Act or Be Complicit in the Killing

       (New York--September 5, 1999)--Human Rights Watch today 
     charged that Western governments were not doing all they 
     could to stop the violence spreading across East Timor in the 
     wake of the vote in favor of independence there last week.
       ``Indonesia seems bent on leaving East Timor the same 
     bloody way it went in,'' said Sidney Jones, Asia director of 
     Human Rights Watch. ``Western governments will be complicit 
     in the killing if they fail to use any and every means 
     possible to force the Indonesian government to either stop 
     the militia violence or allow international peacekeepers 
     in.'' Jones dismissed as ``nonsense'' the suggestion that the 
     militias--created, supported, and armed by the Indonesian 
     army--were beyond Jakarta's control or that they were acting 
     at the behest of ``rogue'' elements of the armed forces. 
     ``The only evidence one needs of Jakarta's involvement is 
     that some 15,000 army and police are in East Timor doing 
     absolutely nothing to stop the terror, arrest the 
     perpetrators, or protect the victims.''
       ``This shows every sign of being planned and coordinated 
     beforehand,'' she said. ``The Indonesian army may be trying 
     to teach a lesson not only to the East Timorese but to the 
     people of Aceh and Irian Jaya. The lesson is: if you seek 
     separation from Indonesia, even if support for separation is 
     overwhelming, we will destroy you, and no outside power will 
     come to your aid.'' She said it was absurd to explain the 
     violence simply in terms of the pro-Indonesia militias being 
     poor losers.
       The increasing invective over the last week in the 
     Indonesian press and on the part of Jakarta-based politicians 
     against the United Nations, Australia, and the U.S. was 
     serving to discredit those most visibly involved in the 
     referendum process.
       Human Rights Watch said Indonesia's major donors and 
     trading partners, including the U.S., Australia, Japan, and 
     the European Union should agree on coordinated and targeted 
     sanctions, including suspension of direct budgetary support 
     and other forms of non-humanitarian aid. That aid would be 
     resumed if and when the violence was brought under control. 
     Since it appeared that the Indonesian army had no intention 
     of bringing the militias to heel, Human Rights Watch said, 
     the leverage should be used to persuade President Habibie to 
     accept an emergency international peacekeeping force.
       Military training and transfers of equipment--such as U.S. 
     $5 million in aircraft parts pending from the U.S.--should 
     also be halted. At the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation 
     (APEC) summit convening in New Zealand later this week the 
     crisis in East Timor, and coordinating sanctions should be a 
     top priority.
       The main arguments against a peacekeeping force thus far 
     have been that Indonesia would never agree (and without 
     Indonesia's agreement, the Security Council would never 
     approve), and that it would take too long to deploy. 
     Australia, New Zealand, Portugal, and the United Kingdom have 
     been reported at various times to be considering such a force 
     that some have termed a ``Coalition of the Willing,'' the 
     bulk of whose forces would almost certainly have to come from 
     Australia. If Indonesia gave a green light, a rapid 
     deployment would probably be possible. But as of Sunday 
     afternoon New York time, there was no evidence that the 
     Indonesian government had changed its stance of rejecting 
     international peacekeepers.
       In the meantime, East Timorese are being attacked in the 
     schools and church compounds where they have sought refuge, 
     most international journalists have left, and by Sunday 
     evening Dili time, the militias were in control of most of 
     the territory.
       ``The international community paid for this referendum to 
     happen,'' said Jones. ``It sent more than 1,000 expatriate 
     staff to Dili as part of the United Nations Mission in East 
     Timor and hired more than 4,000 local staff, all of whom are 
     in serious danger of militia attack because of their UNAMET 
     association. Its failure to even try to use maximum leverage 
     has turned these people into sitting ducks for militia 
     gunfire.''
                                  ____


                [From Human Rights Watch, Sept. 7, 1999]

             East Timor: Martial Law Will Make Things Worse

       New York, September 7, 1999.--Human Rights Watch said today 
     that President Habibie's declaration of martial law in East 
     Timor, apparently at the urging of Indonesian armed forces 
     commander General Wiranto, could make a terrible situation 
     worse. It urged Indonesia's donors to continue to press 
     Habibie to invite an international peacekeeping force to East 
     Timor. The text of the September 6 decree had not been made 
     public as of Tuesday morning, Jakarta time, but was expected 
     to include authorization for the army to shoot on sight and 
     make arrests without warrants. As many as 6,000 new army 
     troops were expected to be sent to East Timor as a result. 
     Indonesian officials gave no indication of how long martial 
     law would last.
       ``The army says the violence is out of control, but in 
     fact, the army's behind it,'' said Sidney Jones, Asia 
     director of Human Rights Watch. ``It says pro-autonomy groups 
     are clashing with pro-independence groups, but this is not a 
     two-sided conflict. It's a one-sided, well-organized, 
     premeditated rampage, led by fully armed militias and backed 
     by local troops.''
       Jones said the militias were systematically attacking 
     refugees, journalists, and people associated with the United 
     Nations Mission in East Timor (UNAMET). ``The army organized 
     and armed these militias in the first place,'' she said. 
     ``Since senior officers at any time could have arrested 
     soldiers and militia leaders involved in murderous attacks 
     but did not, why on earth should anyone believe that martial 
     law and more troops will solve the problem?'' Jones said the 
     existing troops in East Timor did not need the extraordinary 
     powers that martial law confers. ``They just need the 
     political will to act,'' she said.
       Human Rights Watch said it was concerned that with almost 
     all international journalists out of East Timor and most 
     foreigners evacuated save for some 100 UNAMET staff holed up 
     in the UN compound in Dili, the army could now use martial 
     law as a cover for furthering the work of the militias. ``One 
     test will be whether members of the Aitarak militia, 
     responsible for some of the worst violence over the last 
     three days, will be arrested and charged,'' Jones said. The 
     international community has been urging Indonesia to either 
     stop the violence or invite international forces in to do so.
       A five-person delegation from the U.N. Security Council 
     left for Jakarta Monday evening New York time with a mandate 
     to insist that Indonesia take steps in the next forty-eight 
     hours to curb the violence. The martial law decree appears to 
     be Indonesia's response to growing international pressure to 
     act. In interviews with Jakarta newspapers, General Wiranto 
     continues to insist that Indonesia is fully capable of 
     resolving the problem without international assistance and 
     maintains that no international forces will be permitted in 
     East Timor until November, when Indonesia's highest 
     legislative body, the People's Consultative Assembly, 
     ratifies the results of the referendum held last August 30. 
     In that ballot, almost 80 percent of East Timorese voted to 
     reject an offer of autonomy and separate from Indonesia.

     

                          ____________________