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106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. RES. 191

Expressing the sense of the Senate regarding East Timor and supporting

the multinational force for East Timor.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

SEPTEMBER 29, 1999

Mr. HARKIN (for himself, Mr. CONRAD, Mr. MOYNIHAN, Mr. SCHUMER, Mr.

LIEBERMAN, Mr. LEAHY, Mr. CHAFEE, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. FEINGOLD,

and Mrs. MURRAY) submitted the following resolution; which was referred

to the Committee on Foreign Relations

RESOLUTION

Expressing the sense of the Senate regarding East Timor

and supporting the multinational force for East Timor.

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

Indonesia and the United Nations signed an agreement

that provided for an August 8, 1999, ballot organized by

the United Nations on the political status of East Timor;

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, 78.5 percent of the people in

East Timor voted for independence;
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•SRES 191 IS

Whereas after the voting was concluded, the militias in East

Timor intensified their ongoing campaign of terror;

Whereas it has been reported that thousands of people have

been killed and injured since the violence began in East

Timor;

Whereas the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has reported that as many as 200,000 of

East Timor’s 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 UNHCR,

relief agencies, and other humanitarian nongovernmental

organizations;

Whereas it has been reported that a systematic campaign of

political assassinations that targeted religious, student,

and political leaders, aid workers, and others has taken

place;

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 the UNAMET mission in East Timor;

Whereas Catholic leaders and lay people have been targeted

for killing and churches have been burned in East Timor;

and

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

Habibie announced that Indonesia would allow a United

Nations Security Council authorized multinational force

into East Timor: Now, therefore, be it

1 Resolved, That the Senate hereby—
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•SRES 191 IS

1 (1) congratulates the people of East Timor for

2 their heroic vote on August 30, 1999;

3 (2) commends the United Nations Security

4 Council for passing Resolution 1264 authorizing a

5 multinational force to address the security situation

6 in East Timor;

7 (3) expresses support for a rapid and effective

8 deployment throughout East Timor by the multi9 national force;

10 (4) commends Australia for its readiness to

11 lead the multinational force for East Timor and wel12 comes the participation of other nations in this

13 force, especially Asian participation;

14 (5) expresses approval for the United States to

15 assist in this effort in an appropriate manner;

16 (6) commends the professionalism, determina17 tion, and courage of the United Nations Mission in

18 East Timor (UNAMET) personnel;

19 (7) recognizes the overwhelming expression of

20 the people of East Timor in favor of independence;

21 (8) condemns the violent efforts of the East

22 Timor militias and elements of the Indonesian mili23 tary to overturn the results of the August 30, 1999,

24 vote;
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•SRES 191 IS

1 (9) notes the failure of the Government of Indo2 nesia, despite repeated assurances to the contrary,

3 to guarantee the security of the people of East

4 Timor and further notes that is the responsibility of

5 the Government of Indonesia to restrain elements of

6 the Indonesian military and paramilitary forces and

7 restore order in East Timor;

8 (10) calls upon the Government of Indonesia to

9 recognize its responsibilities as a member of the

10 United Nations and a signatory to the Universal

11 Declaration of Human Rights to cooperate with ap12 propriate United Nations authorities in the restora13 tion order in East Timor;

14 (11) urges the Government of Indonesia to

15 allow unrestricted access to refugees and displaced

16 persons in West Timor by UNHRC and other relief

17 agencies and to guarantee their security; and

18 (12) calls upon the Government of Indonesia to

19 hold accountable those responsible for the violence,

20 human rights abuses and atrocities and to cooperate

21 with the international community in establishing an

22 international commission of inquiry to investigate

23 human rights abuses in East Timor as a first step

24 in bringing to justice those responsible.

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