IV
106TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. CON. RES. 395
Expressing the sense of the Congress condemning the September 6, 2000,
militia attack on United Nations refugee workers in West Timor and
calling for an end to militia violence in East and West Timor.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
SEPTEMBER 12, 2000
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey (for himself, Mr. KENNEDY of Rhode Island, Mr.
PORTER, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. WOLF, Mr. HALL of Ohio, Mr. PITTS, Mr.
KUCINICH, Ms. MCKINNEY, Mrs. LOWEY, Ms. PELOSI, Mr. CROWLEY,
and Mr. EVANS) submitted the following concurrent resolution, which was
referred to the Committee on Interntional Relations
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of the Congress condemning the Sep-
tember 6, 2000, militia attack on United Nations refugee
workers in West Timor and calling for an end to militia
violence in East and West Timor.
Whereas, on September 6, 2000, a militia mob attacked the
Atambua, West Timor offices of the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and brutally mur-
dered three humanitarian aid workers, including a United
States citizen, Carlos Caceres, as well as a number of
East and West Timorese victims, while Indonesian armed
forces and police stood by;
•HCON 395 IH
Whereas armed militias were responsible for widespread vio-
lence and destruction in East Timor both before the Au-
gust 30, 1999, United Nations (UN) referendum and
thereafter;
Whereas, notwithstanding this campaign of terror, 98 percent
of registered voters in East Timor risked their lives to
cast ballots in the United Nations sponsored referendum
and 78.5 percent of those voting chose independence from
Indonesia;
Whereas, after the September 4, 1999, announcement of the
independence vote, Indonesian police, military, and mili-
tias escalated their attacks upon the people of East
Timor, razing entire towns, killing at least 1,000 civil-
ians, destroying 70 percent of the country’s infrastruc-
ture, driving hundreds of thousands of people into the
mountains, and forcing several hundred thousand more
across the border into West Timor;
Whereas Indonesian armed forces trained, organized, and
armed militia forces and, according to evidence gathered
by UN personnel and local sources in West Timor, con-
tinue to provide the militias with military, economic, and
logistical support;
Whereas the September 6, 2000, attack was the worst of over
100 such attacks on aid workers assisting East Timorese
refugees in West Timor camps;
Whereas Indonesian military and police forces, which are
solely responsible for the security of humanitarian work-
ers and East Timorese refugees in West Timor, have re-
peatedly allowed militia forces to terrorize refugee camps
in West Timor;
•HCON 395 IH
Whereas it is estimated that more than 100,000 East Timor-
ese remain in refugee camps in West Timor, trapped by
ongoing militia violence and threats of violence;
Whereas, since the September 6, 2000 attack, all UNHCR
staff and other international aid workers have been evac-
uated from West Timor, leaving the remaining East
Timorese refugees, local human rights activists, and aid
workers at the mercy of the militia groups;
Whereas in recent weeks militia forces have infiltrated inde-
pendent East Timor, fomenting insecurity and causing
many East Timorese to flee their homes once again for
the safety of larger towns;
Whereas militia attacks have claimed the lives of two United
Nations peacekeepers during border operations;
Whereas elsewhere in Indonesia, particularly in Aceh, Papua,
Kalimantan, and Maluku, Indonesian military and militia
violence has recently increased to disturbing levels and
resembles the brutal methods used to terrorize the people
of East Timor and of West Timor;
Whereas Jafar Siddiq Hamzah, a New York-based Acehnese
human rights lawyer who testified before the House Sub-
committee on International Operations and Human
Rights on May 7, 1998, was murdered after disappearing
from Medan, Indonesia on August 5, 2000, in cir-
cumstances that strongly suggest the involvement of In-
donesian security forces;
Whereas in September of 1999, in response to the devasta-
tion and violence in East Timor, President Clinton an-
nounced a suspension of United States military assist-
ance to Indonesia, warning that the Government of Indo-
•HCON 395 IH
nesia must stop the violence against the people of East
Timor;
Whereas in section 589 of the Foreign Operations Appropria-
tions Act, Fiscal Year 2000, the Congress prohibited
United States military training and foreign military fi-
nancing for the Indonesian armed forces until six impor-
tant human rights conditions (relating to refugee return,
border security, and accountability for violence in East
Timor) have been met;
Whereas none of those six conditions has yet been fulfilled;
Whereas more than a year after East Timor’s independence
vote, known militia leaders continue to wage war against
the people of East Timor with impunity and militia
forces have not been disarmed and disbanded, notwith-
standing repeated promises by the Government of Indo-
nesia to do so, and despite the pleas of United Nations
officials, foreign governments, and human rights organi-
zations;
Whereas the people of East Timor are diligently preparing
for full self-determination and are working toward social,
economic, and political redevelopment, including national
elections targeted for August of 2001; and
Whereas the United States Government has committed its
support to this redevelopment process, which requires
peace and security: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate
concurring), That the Congress—
(1) expresses sincere condolences to the families
and co-workers of Carlos Caceres of Puerto Rico,
Samson Aregahegn of Ethiopia, and Pero Simundza
•HCON 395 IH
of Croatia, the UNHCR staff members killed in the
September 6 attack;
(2) calls upon the United States Government
and the Government of Indonesia to do everything
possible to ensure thorough and transparent inves-
tigations of these murders and to bring the per-
petrators to justice;
(3) believes that the United States should sus-
pend all military relations and cooperation with the
armed forces of Indonesia, including a cutoff of all
security assistance and joint training programs,
until—
(A) the six conditions set forth in section
589 of the Foreign Operations Appropriations
Act, Fiscal Year 2000 are fulfilled;
(B) the disarming and disbanding of all
militias operating in East Timor and West
Timor is accomplished; and
(C) civilian rule and the rule of law have
been established in Indonesia;
(4) calls upon the United States Government to
persist in urging the Government of Indonesia to
disarm and disband all militias in West Timor, ar-
rest known militia leaders, and extradite to East
•HCON 395 IH
Timor those who committed crimes in that country;
and
(5) believes that the United States Government
should continue economic and development assist-
ance and other similar support for the people of
East Timor and of Indonesia.
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