[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 71 (Tuesday, May 22, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Page S5429]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
ECONOMIC ASSISTANCE FOR EAST TIMOR
Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, last week, the Standard Times of New
Bedford, MA, published an op-ed piece by Senator Kennedy on the
situation in East Timor, in which he discussed the legislation on East
Timor that he introduced with Senator Chafee, which is also cosponsored
by myself and Senators Feingold, Harkin, Kerry, Jeffords, and Reed.
This legislation recently passed the House of Representatives as part
of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act.
Senator Kennedy's legislation would provide additional economic
assistance for East Timor, which is struggling to overcome the violence
and destruction perpetrated by Indonesian militias, with the support of
the Indonesian military, after the vote for independence in August
1999. It would also provide for scholarships for East Timorese
students, funding for the Peace Corps to start a program there, and
other initiatives.
This legislation outlines a comprehensive approach to a new, positive
relationship between the United States and East Timor, including the
establishment of full diplomatic relations as soon as independence
takes place.
As one who, like Senator Kennedy, has admired the courage and
determination of the East Timorese people and their capable leaders,
Xanana Gusmao and Jose Ramos-Horta, I commend him for this legislation
and ask unanimous consent that his op-ed piece be printed in the
Record.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
[From the New Bedford, MA Standard Times, May 16, 2001]
Prepare Now for the New East Timor
Two leaders of the East Timor independence movement are in
Washington, D.C., this week for the first time since the
people of East Timor voted overwhelmingly for independence in
August 1999. Nobel Prize winner Jose Ramos-Horin spent 24
years in exile rallying support for East Timor's independence
and will be foreign minister in the new government. Xanana
Gusmao led the domestic opposition and will be a prominent
figure in an independent East Timor. The goal of their visit
is to obtain the support of the Bush Administration and
Congress for their new country, and they deserve to receive
it.
East Timor's road to independence has been long and
violent. Portugal ruled East Timor for 550 years before
pulling out in August 1975. East Timor was independent for
four months before it was invaded by Indonesia in December
that year. The U.N. General Assembly and Security Council
strongly condemned the invasion, and never recognized
Indonesian sovereignty over East Timor.
After two decades of unrest, former Indonesian President B.
J. Habibie finally agreed to a referendum in January 1999. In
August that year, the people of East Timor voted
overwhelmingly in favor of independence from Indonesia, and
they did so at great personal risk. Before, during and after
the vote, the Indonesian military and anti-independence
militia groups killed more than a thousand people and
displaced thousands more, hoping to intimidate the
independence movement.
Although the militias succeeded in destroying 70 percent of
East Timor's infrastructure, they failed to derail East
Timor's desire for freedom.
On August 30 this year, looking to America as an example,
East Timor will elect a constituent assembly to decide which
form of democratic government to adopt.
It is a process that reminds us of our own Constitutional
Convention and would make our founders proud. A few months
after that, East Timor, which is currently governed by the
United Nations, will formally declare its independence. After
years of hardship, violence and death, a new democracy will
take its rightful place in the world. The new nation is a
great success story, but it is far from complete.
East Timor is rebuilding itself from ashes following 24
years of Indonesian rule, and it needs international
assistance. It remains one of the poorest countries in Asia.
The annual per capita gross national product is $340. As many
as 100,000 East Timorese refugees languish in militia-
controlled refugee camps in West Timor, which is still part
of Indonesia and where there has been a sharply reduced
international presence since militias murdered three U.N.
workers last September.
In the aftermath of the violence in East Timor, the United
States has provided important humanitarian aid and assistance
for nation-building. But our assistance has been provided on
an ad hoc basis. We have made no commitment to a longterm
political investment in a newly independent East Timor, and
we should do so.
We should leave no doubt in the minds of any government
officials in Indonesia that the United States will recognize
and support the new nation of East Timor.
To advance this objective, I, along with Sen. Chafee, have
introduced legislation in the Senate to facilitate East
Timor's transition to independence.
Reps. Tom Lantos and Chris Smith have introduced similar
legislation in the House of Representatives. Its purpose is
to lay the groundwork for establishing a strong relationship
with East Timor, including a bilateral and multilateral
assistance program. Our legislation encourages President
Bush, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, the Trade
and Development Agency and other U.S. agencies to put in
place now the tools and programs necessary to create a
reliable trade and investment relationship with East Timor.
It provides a three-year commitment of $30 million in U.S.
assistance, including $2 million for a Peace Corps presence
and $1 million for a scholarship fund for East Timorese
students to study in the United States, and supports economic
assistance through international financial institutions.
To help professionalize the army, it authorizes the
president to provide excess defense materials and
international military education and training, if the
president certifies that doing so is in the interest of the
United States and will help promote human rights in East
Timor and the professionalization of East Timor's armed
forces. Our bill also supports efforts to ensure justice and
accountability for past atrocities in East Timor.
The bill specifically calls on the State Department to
establish diplomatic relations with East Timor as soon as
independence takes place. It took President Truman 10 minutes
to establish diplomatic relations with Israel in 1948.
President Bush should be able to do the same with East Timor
in 2001.
The people of East Timor have chosen democracy, and the
United States has a golden opportunity to help them create
their new democracy. We must prepare for that day now. The
great faith in the democratic process they showed by voting
for independence under the barrel of a gun must not go
unrewarded.
We should put U.S. governmental programs and resources in
place now to prepare for the reality of an independent East
Timor. If we wait until East Timor declares its independence
before we do the preliminary work, we will lose vital time
and do a disservice to both the United States and East Timor.
We must not miss this unique opportunity to help.
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