II

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2621

To continue the current prohibition of military cooperation with the armed

forces of the Republic of Indonesia until the President determines and

certifies to the Congress that certain conditions are being met.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

MAY 24, 2000

Mr. FEINGOLD (for himself, Mr. LEAHY, Mr. L. CHAFEE, Mr. HARKIN, Mr.

KOHL, Mrs. BOXER, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. WYDEN, and Mr. KENNEDY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

A BILL

To continue the current prohibition of military cooperation

with the armed forces of the Republic of Indonesia until

the President determines and certifies to the Congress

that certain conditions are being met.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘East Timor Repatri5 ation and Security Act of 2000’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 The Congress finds the following:
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1 (1) More than 100,000 East Timorese refugees

2 remain in West Timor, where they fled or were forc3 ibly driven by militia and members of the armed

4 forces of the Republic of Indonesia following the

5 United Nations sponsored popular consultation of

6 August 30, 1999, in which 78.5 percent of East

7 Timor’s population voted for independence from In8 donesia.

9 (2) Most of the East Timorese refugees in West

10 Timor would like to return to East Timor but have

11 been prevented from doing so by militia forces oper12 ating with the cooperation of Indonesian army ele13 ments.

14 (3) Hundreds of the refugees in West Timor

15 have died from preventable illnesses while many

16 thousands continue to live in a state of danger, un17 certainty and severe threats, including that of forced

18 resettlement to other areas of Indonesia.

19 (4) Elements of the Indonesian army have at20 tempted to infiltrate armed militia members into

21 East Timor, and reportedly have planned a militia

22 invasion of East Timor.

23 (5) Border attacks by militia groups remain a

24 threat to peace and stability in the region and to

25 international peacekeeping forces.
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1 (6) Much of East Timor’s infrastructure was

2 destroyed in the violence of 1999 and remains to be

3 rebuilt.

4 (7) An estimated 200,000 of East Timor’s

5 original estimated population of 700,000 perished

6 from the effects of Indonesia’s occupation of East

7 Timor before the violence of 1999.

8 (8) Many East Timorese were killed in violence

9 perpetrated by Indonesian army elements and militia

10 in 1999.

11 (9) The prospects for justice for the victims of

12 the violence in East Timor remain unclear.

13 (10) An estimated 80 percent of East Timor’s

14 population remains unemployed and East Timor’s

15 Nobel Prize winning Catholic Bishop, Carlos

16 Ximenes Belo, has made a plea on their behalf.

17 (11) United States funds have been provided to

18 help rebuild East Timor.

19 (12) Communications and logistical units of the

20 United States Armed Forces have formed part of

21 the international peacekeeping forces that entered

22 East Timor in 1999.

23 (13) Following historic elections in October

24 1999, Indonesia’s first democratically elected Presi25 dent, Abdurrahman Wahid, has pledged reform and
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1 accountability within the Indonesian government and

2 military.

3 (14) The Government of Indonesia, led by

4 President Abdurrahman Wahid and Vice President

5 Megawati Sukarnoputri, has made good faith com6 mitments to end Indonesian military support for mi7 litias and to establish a fair and transparent mecha8 nism to bring to justice the perpetrators of gross

9 human rights violations in East Timor and else10 where, but efforts of the elected leadership of Indo11 nesia have been resisted, and in some cases actively

12 disobeyed, by elements in the military and in the bu13 reaucracy.

14 SEC. 3. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.

15 It is the sense of the Congress that the United States

16 Government should utilize all diplomatic and economic

17 means to press for—

18 (1) the safe repatriation to East Timor of all

19 East Timorese in West Timor and elsewhere who

20 wish to return to East Timor;

21 (2) an end to border incidents and infiltration

22 of militias and an end to any other violent actions

23 by militias and the armed forces of the Republic of

24 Indonesia against the people or territory of East

25 Timor;
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1 (3) processes and prosecutions leading to jus2 tice for the victims of the violence in East Timor;

3 (4) rapid reconstruction of East Timor, includ4 ing maximum consultation with and inclusion of

5 local personnel; and

6 (5) a significant increase in employment for

7 East Timorese in all internationally-sponsored recon8 struction and United Nations efforts relating to

9 East Timor.

10 SEC. 4. PROHIBITION ON MILITARY COOPERATION WITH

11 AND ASSISTANCE TO THE ARMED FORCES OF

12 INDONESIA.

13 (a) PROHIBITION.—Notwithstanding any other provi14 sion of law (other than section 589 of the Foreign Oper15 ations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appro16 priations Act, 2000), United States military cooperation

17 with, and military assistance for, the armed forces of the

18 Republic of Indonesia suspended by the President pursu19 ant to the directive of the President issued on September

20 9, 1999, may not be resumed until the President deter21 mines and certifies to the appropriate congressional com22 mittees that the Government of Indonesia and the Indo23 nesian Armed Forces are—

24 (1) taking effective measures to bring to justice

25 members of the armed forces and militia groups
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1 against whom there is credible evidence of human

2 rights violations;

3 (2) taking effective measures to bring to justice

4 members of the armed forces against who there is

5 credible evidence of aiding or abetting militia

6 groups;

7 (3) allowing displaced persons and refugees to

8 return home to East Timor, including providing safe

9 passage for refugees returning from West Timor;

10 (4) not impeding the activities of the United

11 Nations Transitional Authority in East Timor;

12 (5) demonstrating a commitment to preventing

13 incursions into East Timor by members of militia

14 groups in West Timor; and

15 (6) demonstrating a commitment to account16 ability by cooperating with investigations and pros17 ecutions of members of the Indonesian Armed

18 Forces and militia groups responsible for human

19 rights violations in Indonesia and East Timor.

20 (b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:

21 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT22 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com23 mittees’’ means the Committee on Foreign Relations

24 and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate

25 and the Committee on International Relations and
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1 the Committee on Appropriations of the House of

2 Representatives.

3 (2) CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY.—The term

4 ‘‘crimes against humanity’’ includes crimes of geno5 cide, torture, forced disappearance, extrajudicial kill6 ing, and rape, if committed as part of a widespread

7 or systematic attack against the civilian population.

8 SEC. 5. RECOGNITION OF UNITED STATES ARMED FORCES

9 ASSISTING THE INTERNATIONAL PEACE10 KEEPING OPERATION IN EAST TIMOR.

11 The Congress recognizes and salutes those members

12 of the United States Armed Forces who have assisted the

13 international peacekeeping operation in East Timor.

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