[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 116 (Thursday, September 9, 1999)]
[House]
[Pages H8085-H8086]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           THE POLITICAL FUTURES OF INDONESIA AND EAST TIMOR

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Bereuter) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Speaker, this Member rises tonight to comment on 
the crisis in East Timor and its broader implications for the political 
future of Indonesia. This issue was a topic of a hearing of the 
Committee on International Relations' Subcommittee on Asia and the 
Pacific which this Member chairs today. It was held jointly

[[Page H8086]]

with the subcommittee's Senate counterpart committee, and Indonesia and 
East Timor will undoubtedly be a major topic at the APEC summit 
President Clinton will be attending this weekend.
  In the wake of the historic vote in East Timor, both Indonesia and 
East Timor face a future filled with portent. For Indonesia, the 
referendum comes at a time of very sensitive political maneuvering and 
a fragile economic recovery.
  When the subcommittee last held hearings on Indonesia on May 12, we 
were anxiously awaiting the June 7 national election results. Despite 
some violence, a very slow vote count and a limited amount of election 
irregularities that election was nonetheless judged by the 
international community to be a success. It buoyed optimism about 
Indonesia's ability to overcome its profound political and economic 
crises. However, that June election also created new complexities. No 
one party achieved a majority, and, in fact, the opposition, PDIP led 
by Megawati Sukarnoputri won a plurality of the vote. Therefore, for 
the first time in modern Indonesian history political coalitions will 
be needed to form in order to elect a new president, form a new 
government, carry out further economic and political reforms, address 
the subject of rescinding the 1976 law which integrated East Timor into 
Indonesia as its 27th province and address separatist sentiments in 
other parts of Indonesia like the province of Aceh in northern Sumatra. 
Indeed this is a new experience for these relatively immature political 
forces in a democratic Indonesia. How they carry out these 
responsibilities will determine the legitimacy of the new Indonesian 
government as viewed by the eyes of the Indonesian public and by the 
international community.
  Of course, the most obvious and immediate task is the crisis in East 
Timor. After years of Indonesian intransigence, President Habibie took 
bold steps towards resolving this long-standing problem. In January, he 
seemingly brushed aside the reservations of the military and others in 
the Indonesian society and surprised the world by offering the people 
of East Timor an opportunity to determine their own future through the 
ballot box. Many of us were encouraged by this bold and positive 
development. There was perhaps a general sense of guarded optimism 
prompted by the assurances of President Habibie and Armed Forces Chief 
General Wiranto that Jakarta would maintain order and create an 
environment conducive for a fair and safe election, but that proved not 
to be a realistic assessment. Despite increasing violence and 
intimidation by Indonesian militarily supported militia in the recent 
Timorese elections, a record 98.6 percent of registered voters turned 
out to vote with 78 percent of them choosing independence.
  The will of the East Timorese people is clear and overwhelming. It is 
evident by the truly horrific events in East Timor over the past week 
that the Indonesian government and particularly the Indonesian military 
has been deliberately unwilling or perhaps in some cases unable to 
uphold their responsibilities to provide peace and security.
  It must be emphasized that this is Indonesia's responsibility. 
Indonesia demanded this responsibility from the United Nations, and the 
international community entrusted it to Indonesia. It is reported the 
United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan has made very strong 
representations to the Indonesian government about their obligations 
and the negative consequences Jakarta could face from the international 
community for jeopardizing the integrity and the subsequent 
implementation of the expressed citizens' desires of this U.N.-
sponsored election. The United Nations General Assembly should do the 
same.
  Mr. Speaker, I will report more on these events after the weekend and 
after we complete work on a resolution that we intend to offer on a 
bipartisan basis early next week.

                          ____________________