From: Human Rights Coordinator <hrcoord@igc.apc.org>
Newsgroups: soc.rights.human
Date: 28 Sep 92 09:52 PDT
Subject: HUMAN RIGHTS: East Timor issue igno
Nf-ID: #N:cdp:1476700535:000:3980
Nf-From: cdp.UUCP!hrcoord    Sep 28 09:52:00 1992


From: Human Rights Coordinator <hrcoord>
Subject: HUMAN RIGHTS: East Timor issue igno

/* Written 12:04 am  Sep 28, 1992 by newsdesk in
cdp:ips.englibrary */ Copyright Inter Press Service 1992, all
rights reserved.  Permission to re- print within 7 days of
original date only with permission from 'newsdesk'.

Title: HUMAN RIGHTS: East Timor issue ignored at Asian-European
meet

kuala lumpur, sep 24 (ips) -- a meeting between european and
south-east asian parliamentarians in jakarta this week has
condemned human rights abuses in burma and bosnia-hercegovina but
has spiked the issue of east timor.

the contradictory stance was contained in a joint statement issued
at the end of a two-day meeting wednesday.

it condemned the ''grave situation'' in bosnia-hercegovina, urged
burma to lift restrictions on freedom of movement and pledged
cooperation in the protection of human rights and freedom.

but in an apparent deference to the host country, the
parliamentarians left the issue of east timor, a former portuguese
colony invaded and annexed by indonesia, as a matter for portugal
and indonesia to resolve.

european parliament delegates said east timor, where an indonesian
army massacre last november left more than a hundred people dead,
did not figure at all in the discussions.

the killings triggered an international outcry, leading to the
suspension of aid to indonesia by some donor countries.

indonesia invaded east timor in 1975 and annexed it the following
year, a move not recognised by the united nations, portugal and
timorese rebels who have been fighting the jakarta government
since.

the head of the european parliament delegation, gunther rinsche of
germany, told reporters that members of the european parliament
intended to visit east timor. no date was set but it was
understood the visit would not be made on this trip.

''not now because there is no possibility of going there, but
certainly later,'' said rinsche.

on monday, portuguese delegate rui amaral called on jakarta to
allow the european parliamentarians to visit east timor. he said
relations between the european community and indonesia had been
adversely affected by the east timor issue.

negotiations for the extension of a cooperation agreement between
the european community and the association of south-east asian
nations (asean) were stalled earlier this year over the issue of
human rights.

rinsche said amaral was speaking in his individual capacity and
not for the delegation. he said east timor was ''one part of the
general theme of human rights'' but it should not block
cooperation between the two regions. (more/ips)

human rights: east timor (2)

to ensure the smooth working of the non-aligned movement (nam)
summit in jakarta early this month, indonesia had agreed to hold
talks with portugal on the east timor issue.

official sources in lisbon said wednesday the portuguese and
indonesian foreign ministers will meet in new york on saturday.
the talks will be held under the auspices of u.n. secretary-
general boutros boutros-ghali.

british foreign secretary douglas hurd, in a declaration to the
u.n. general assembly tuesday, condemned the indonesian army for
the east timor massacre and demanded a ''complete investigation''
into the incident.

hurd also expressed support for a u.n.-sponsored dialogue between
indonesia and portugal. britain currently holds the rotating ec
presidency.

meanwhile, a u.s. senate committee voted on wednesday to restore
2.3 million dollars in military training and aid to indonesia
which had been cut following the november massacre.

human rights advocates in washington condemned the move, saying
the committee had yielded to pressure from lobbyists representing
u.s. business interests in indonesia, one of south- east asia's
fastest-growing economies.

but they expressed optimism that the proposal would be rejected by
a joint house-senate conference committee which would take up the
issue later. (end/ips/hr/lm/ln/92)