IV

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. RES. 292

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding the referendum in East Timor, calling on the Government of Indonesia to

assist in the termination of the current civil unrest and violence in

East Timor, and supporting a United Nations Security Council-endorsed

multinational force for East Timor.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

SEPTEMBER 14, 1999

Mr. BEREUTER (for himself, Mr. GILMAN, Mr. LANTOS, Mr. GEJDENSON, Mr.

HASTINGS of Florida, Mr. CAPUANO, Mr. GOSS, Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA,

Mr. GREENWOOD, Ms. DELAURO, Mr. CROWLEY, Mr. POMBO, Mr.

UNDERWOOD, Mr. MORAN of Virginia, Mr. BILBRAY, Mr. HALL of Ohio,

Mr. ACKERMAN, Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, and Mr. BROWN of Ohio)

submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee

on International Relations

RESOLUTION

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding the referendum in East Timor, calling on the Government of Indonesia to assist in the termination of the

current civil unrest and violence in East Timor, and

supporting a United Nations Security Council-endorsed

multinational force for East Timor.

Whereas on May 5, 1999, the Governments of Portugal and

Indonesia and the United Nations concluded an historic

agreement intended to resolve the status of East Timor
2

• HRES 292 IH

through a popular consultation based upon a universal,

direct, and secret ballot;

Whereas the agreement gave the people of East Timor an opportunity to accept a proposed special autonomy for East

Timor within the unitary Republic of Indonesia or reject

the special autonomy and opt for independence;

Whereas on August 30, 1999, 98.5 percent of registered voters participated in a vote on the future of East Timor,

and by a vote of 344,580 to 94,388 chose the course of

independence;

Whereas after the voting was concluded, violence intensified

significantly in East Timor;

Whereas the declaration by the Government of Indonesia of

martial law in East Timor has failed to quell the violence;

Whereas it has been reported that hundreds of people have

been killed and injured since the violence began in East

Timor;

Whereas it has been reported that as many as 200,000 of

East Timor’s 780,000 residents have been forced to flee

East Timor;

Whereas it has been reported that East Timor militias are

controlling the refugee camps in West Timor, intimidating the refugees and denying access to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, relief agencies,

and other humanitarian nongovernmental organizations;

Whereas it has been reported that a systematic campaign of

political assassinations that has targeted religious, student, and political leaders, aid workers, and others has

taken place;
3

• HRES 292 IH

Whereas the compound of the United Nations Mission in

East Timor (UNAMET) was besieged and fired upon, access to food, water, and electricity was intentionally cut

off, and UNAMET personnel have been killed, forcing

the closure of UNAMET in East Timor;

Whereas Catholic leaders and lay people have been targeted

to be killed and churches burned in East Timor;

Whereas the international community has called upon the

Government of Indonesia to either take immediate and

concrete steps to end the violence in East Timor or allow

a United Nations Security Council-endorsed multinational force to enter East Timor and restore order;

Whereas on September 9, 1999, the United States suspended

all military relations with Indonesia as a result of the

failure to quell the violence in East Timor; and

Whereas on September 12, 1999, Indonesian President B.J.

Habibie announced that Indonesia would allow a United

Nations Security Council-endorsed multinational force

into East Timor: Now, therefore, be it

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives—

2 (1) congratulates the people of East Timor on

3 their exemplary participation in the August 30,

4 1999, popular consultation;

5 (2) commends the professionalism, determina6 tion, and courage of the United Nations Mission in

7 East Timor (UNAMET) personnel in support of the

8 August 30, 1999, vote on the future of East Timor;
4

• HRES 292 IH

1 (3) recognizes the overwhelming expression of

2 the people of East Timor in favor of independence

3 from Indonesia;

4 (4) condemns the violent efforts of East Timor

5 militias and elements of the Indonesian military to

6 overturn the results of the August 30, 1999, vote;

7 (5) notes with grave alarm the failure of the

8 Government of Indonesia, despite repeated assur9 ances to the contrary, to guarantee the security of

10 the people of East Timor and further notes that it

11 is the responsibility of the Government of Indonesia

12 to restrain elements of the Indonesian military and

13 paramilitary forces and restore order in East Timor;

14 (6) calls upon the Government of Indonesia to

15 recognize its responsibilities as a member of the

16 United Nations and a signatory to the Universal

17 Declaration of Human Rights to cooperate with ap18 propriate United Nations authorities in the restora19 tion of order in East Timor;

20 (7) urges the Government of Indonesia to allow

21 unrestricted access to refugees and displaced persons

22 in West Timor and to guarantee their safety;

23 (8) calls upon the Government of Indonesia to

24 hold accountable those responsible for the violence
5

• HRES 292 IH

1 and human rights abuses and atrocities in East

2 Timor;

3 (9) notes with approval the decision of the

4 United States to suspend military relations with,

5 and the sale of any military weapons or equipment

6 to, the Government of Indonesia until order is effec7 tively restored;

8 (10) expresses approval of Indonesia’s belated

9 decision to allow a United Nations Security Council10 endorsed multinational force into East Timor and

11 strongly urges Indonesia to accept the rapid deploy12 ment of this force and to cooperate fully without

13 preconditions on the composition and deployment of

14 this force;

15 (11) expresses support for a rapid and effective

16 deployment throughout East Timor of the United

17 Nations Security Council-endorsed multinational

18 force;

19 (12) urges that the United States consider ad20 ditional measures to end the current civil unrest and

21 violence in East Timor, including the suspension of

22 bilateral and international financial assistance (ex23 cept for humanitarian assistance and assistance de24 signed to promote the development of democratic in25 stitutions) to the Government of Indonesia until
6

• HRES 292 IH

1 such time as it has demonstrated cooperation with

2 respect to the deployment of a multinational force in

3 East Timor and such force is fully deployed,

4 UNAMET is fully operational in East Timor, refu5 gees and displaced persons are able to return to

6 East Timor safely, and order and respect for human

7 rights are restored in East Timor;

8 (13) expresses approval of United States

9 logistical and other technical support for deployment

10 of a multinational force for East Timor;

11 (14) commends Australia for its readiness to

12 lead the multinational force for East Timor and wel13 comes the participation of other nations in this

14 force;

15 (15) urges the Indonesian People’s Consultative

16 Assembly to expeditiously ratify the vote of August

17 30, 1999, in East Timor and to otherwise speed the

18 transition to full independence for East Timor; and

19 (16) recognizes that an effective United States

20 foreign policy for this region requires both an effec21 tive near-term response to the ongoing violence in,

22 and progress toward independence for, East Timor

23 and a long-term strategy for supporting stability, se24 curity, and democracy in Indonesia and East Timor.

Æ