24 September 1999
Press Release
HR/CN/977
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IN EAST TIMOR; ADJOURNS UNTIL MONDAY
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Session to Continue after Members Have Opportunity to Review Revised Text of Draft Resolution
(Reissued as Received.)
GENEVA, 24 September (United Nations Information Service) -- Members of the Commission on Human Rights listened this
afternoon to emotional testimony from non-governmental organizations (NGOs) about alleged atrocities in East Timor, with
the Indonesian military repeatedly blamed for allowing and even participating in a calculated campaign of violence
against civilians who had voted in favour of independence for the island territory.
When its speakers’ list had been exhausted, the Commission adjourned until Monday to allow member States to review the
revised text of a draft resolution on the human rights situation in East Timor.
Jose Ramos Horta, a former Nobel Peace Prize winner speaking on behalf of Worldview International, charged during the
meeting that the same forces responsible for the catastrophe in East Timor were also responsible for damaging democracy
in Indonesia. Mr. Ramos Horta said that in the face of what he termed war crimes and genocide, there should be no talk
of compromise.
Other NGOs charged the international community with failing to act to prevent the crisis. A representative of the
International Federation of Human Rights said the organization had released a report warning Governments and the
international community that a premeditated campaign of ethnic cleansing was planned for East Timor, but the warnings
had not been heeded -- just as such warnings had been ignored in Rwanda. Human rights NGOs should be listened to as they
could serve as an alert mechanism, he said, stressing that international talk of “conflict prevention” should begin to
acquire “substantial meaning”.
The society for Threatened Peoples also contended that the “bloodbath” in East Timor could have been avoided, while
Human Rights Watch said there was strong evidence that the acts were part of a deliberate effort carried out by the
Indonesian Army to prevent East Timor from becoming independent.
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And a representative of the Catholic Institute for International Relations (Caritas) informed the meeting that the
organization had just received word that the head of Caritas East Timor, Father Francisco Barreto, had been murdered,
along with most of his staff.
Also addressing the Commission was the President of the National Human Rights Commission of Indonesia, who said East
Timor was now headed towards independence and the remaining discussion should focus on what lay ahead. The National
Commission believed it had been impossible to entirely protect human rights in East Timor, he said.
Speaking over the course of the afternoon were representatives of Association for World Education; Worldview
International Foundation; International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs; Survival International; Anti-Slavery
International; International Federation of Human Rights; Human Rights Watch; Medicins du Monde; Catholic Institute for
International Relations; International Federation of Democratic Women; Rehabilitation International; Society for
Threatened Peoples; National Human Rights Commission of Indonesia; and Finland (on behalf of the European Union).
Iraq spoke in exercise of the right of reply.
The special session of the Commission will reconvene at 3 p.m. Monday, 27 September.
Statements
DAVID LITTMAN, of Association of World Education, said the recent horrific events in East Timor could easily have been
predicted and prevented. It was no longer possible to deny the heavy responsibility of Jakarta's supreme military rulers
for the mass killings in East Timor by their so-called local militias. There had been -- and there was still -- a clear
complicity to commit genocide. The same army killed half a million Indonesians for ethnic and political reasons in
1965-1966, then imprisoned many more. Ever since Indonesia’s illegal annexation of East Timor in 1975, it was an
established fact that over 200,000 East Timorese had been killed in the ongoing genocide. But the recent debates on that
subject had often ignored the essence of the matter or turned into a narrow partisan debate between the views of
different States or political blocs.
Since 1995 -- at the Commission, the Subcommission and at other United Nations bodies -- the question of genocide had
often been raised, stressing the need to make full use of the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the
Crime of Genocide and the need for an improved early warning system. To deal with such horrendous crimes of genocide,
crimes against humanity and war crimes, the best that had been done to date was the ad hoc International Tribunals on
ex-Yugoslavia and Rwanda. But their slowness and the difficulty of dealing with ruthless leaders made their deterrent
capacity small.
JOSE RAMOS HORTA, of Worldview International Foundation, said the Jewish Holocaust had taken place for the same reasons
as the holocaust in his own country -- the powers that be in Europe were guided by realpolitik and pragmatism which
turned Europe into a wasteland. President Habibbe should be praised for trying to break with a history of war and
violence. But no one during this session had spoken about who was responsible -- the Indonesian Army.
Democracy in Indonesia was threatened by the same forces that were responsible for the atrocities in East Timor.
In the face of the war crimes and genocide in East Timor, there should be no talk of compromise. The Commission could
not shirk its responsibilities; it had ignored the draft resolution of the European Commission and rejected the report
of the Special Rapporteur. Members of the Commission should not be able to look themselves in the mirror at night; if
they did not act appropriately, they ran the risk of being accomplices to genocide.
SARAH PRITCHARD, of International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs, said the High Commissioner for Human Rights
referred in her report on the situation in East Timor to a widely accepted principle of contemporary international law
and practice that wherever human rights were being grossly violated, the facts must be gathered with a view to shedding
light on what had happened and with a view to bringing those responsible to justice, and that the perpetrators must be
made accountable and justice rendered to the victims.
In its deliberations on responses to crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes which had been committed
in East Timor, it was essential that this special session recall the international context in which such crimes had been
committed. The situation in East Timor was different from other notable recent efforts to secure accountability for
gross violations of human rights and international humanitarian law. In those cases, such as Cambodia, Rwanda and Sierra
Leone, gross violations had occurred in the context of internal armed conflict or civil war. By contrast, recent events
in East Timor had not been the expression of long-standing differences between East Timorese but symptomatic of a
consistent pattern of violence following the invasion and illegal occupation of East Timor since 1975. An independent,
impartial and effective tribunal which abided by international standards and best practice must be established to put an
end to the cycle of violence and impunity that had characterized the occupation of East Timor. Such a tribunal was
essential to begin the process of restoring respect for human rights, making reparations to victims and bringing
perpetrators to account.
CHRISTIAN RANHEIM, of Survival International, said the massive violence and displacement in East Timor was entirely
expected and avoidable.
Warnings were sent to the United Nations Mission in East Timor (UNAMET) stating that the East Timorese people were
worried about retaliation and a militia-instigated bloodbath; widespread reports of arms shipments were also passed
along. In a letter to the Secretary-General, Survival International recommended that the militias should be immediately
disarmed and disbanded and that Indonesian military personnel should be withdrawn from East Timor.
EDWIN KEIJZER, of Anti-Slavery International, said in the two weeks since UNAMET had been forced to withdraw from East
Timor, unimaginable horrors had occurred. The Indonesian military had executed a well-planned campaign to kill and
kidnap the majority of the East Timorese population. Hundreds of thousands of forcibly displaced people were held
hostage in militia-controlled concentration camps in West Timor and elsewhere, while the Indonesian Government
promulgated plans to make their dislocation permanent.
Anti-Slavery International joined the call for an international commission of inquiry to investigate crimes against
humanity committed in East Timor and Indonesia, and to hold those directly responsible accountable. It endorsed the
need for Special Rapporteurs to be given immediate and complete access to East Timor and displaced East Timorese people,
and to report on their findings. But while justice was important, it was even more pressing to prevent further crimes
from being committed. The United Nations should ensure that the perpetrators did not escape with impunity. Although
thousands of East Timorese people had been killed over the last few weeks, hundreds of thousands remained alive. The
Commission was urged to do the utmost to preserve not only their right to survive, but also their right to live without
coercion, fear or repression.
ANICETO GUTERRES, of International Federation of Human Rights, said that six months ago the organization, together with
Yaysan Hak, had released a report condemning "the double mindedness of Indonesian authorities" and expressing deep
concern about a possible deterioration of the situation in East Timor. This was at a time when the international
community was praising the changes in Indonesia. It was plain that the Government's vision was false, particularly in
terms of political prisoners and the training of militias. The organization had repeatedly warned concerned Governments
and international agencies about an impending, premeditated campaign of ethnic cleansing, yet the call was not heeded --
just as warnings had gone unheeded in Rwanda.
An international commission of inquiry should be set up for East Timor under the auspices of the Security Council. The
findings should serve as a basis for prosecuting, at the international level, human rights violations and crimes against
humanity. There was a need for the voice of international civil society. Human rights NGOs should be listened to, as
they could serve as an alert mechanism. Conflict prevention should begin to acquire substantial meaning.
JOANNA WESCHLER, of Human Rights Watch, said there was a strong indication that crimes against humanity had been
committed in East Timor. Human Rights Watch urged the Commission to set up a formal commission of experts, composed of
expert investigators and given the mandate and resources to conduct a thorough investigation. Such a body was urgently
needed to clarify the facts. Important questions remained unanswered. It was not known how many people had been killed
in East Timor. What was known, however, made it imperative that there be a detailed investigation to develop a full
account of what had taken place.
The perpetrators of the violence should be held accountable and that accountability should extend to the most senior
ranks of the Indonesian armed forces. This was no spontaneous eruption of anger by the losers of the August 30
referendum. Rather, there was strong evidence to suggest that it was part of a deliberate Indonesian Army strategy to
prevent East Timor from becoming independent. On 15 September, the Security Council, appalled by the worsening
situation, had condemned the violence perpetrated in East Timor since the referendum and had demanded that those
responsible for such acts be brought to justice.
GRACIELA ROBERT, of Medecins du Monde, said the organization had been providing medical assistance in East Timor since
last March. The organization was particularly concerned about the plight of displaced people and refugees. Those
responsible for the violence should be brought to justice; that was indispensable to allow future peace and
reconciliation.
JOSE LUIS GUTTERES, of the Catholic Institute for International Relations (Caritas), said Caritas had just been informed
by Caritas Australia of the murder of the head of Caritas East Timor, Father Francisco Barreto, and most of his staff.
Caritas had sent two United Nations-accredited observer missions to East Timor in July and August 1999. Those observers
were in Dili and Liquica on ballot day, and maintained a presence in East Timor until the announcement of the result the
following weekend. The ballot was conducted in as free and fair a manner as possible given the violence and intimidation
against the pro-independence supporters by the militias in the period preceding August 30. The observers noted that
Indonesian authorities only appeared to act on the outrages that had been perpetrated when consistent international
pressure was brought to bear.
The serious situation of internally displaced persons in East Timor and refugees in West Timor should be addressed as a
matter of the utmost urgency by the international community. Not only should full access be granted to humanitarian
organizations, so that immediate health and nutritional needs were addressed, but human rights organizations should be
permitted to search for the missing, and to document all violations. The electoral rolls compiled by UNAMET for the East
Timorese ballot should be used to establish lists of the missing. The East Timorese peace process was still moving ahead
in spite of the difficult circumstances. It was doing so in conjunction with detailed planning for the transition. These
processes should be given every support by the international community, but the East Timorese should themselves have the
lead role.
AIDA AVELLA, of International Federation of Democratic Women, said what had happened in East Timor before and after the
popular consultation was a tragedy. The international community had already been put on notice, since many promises to
the international community on the situation in East Timor had gone unfulfilled. All of the atrocities going on there
were planned acts. This situation could not be ignored or written off as a series of isolated cases.
Women had had to suffer degrading inhumane treatment, but they also had had to endure pain suffered when they saw
husbands and sons murdered. In the last few days they had been seen running with their children, looking for safe
refuge. Investigators should start work there as soon as possible, and the findings should be reported to the next
Commission. Action should be swift. Lives could have been saved if the international community had acted as soon as the
results of the referendum were known.
ORAN DOYLE, of Rehabilitation International, said it was vital for the Commission to do whatever it could to protect the
people of East Timor from the coordinated and orchestrated attack carried out by the Indonesian military.
There should be a commission of inquiry leading to the establishment of an international war crimes tribunal. All
militias should be disarmed and those operating in East and West Timor should be arrested. Humanitarian assistance was
vital and a humanitarian corridor from Kupang and Atambua in West Timor into East Timor should be set up. This would
guarantee refugees safe passage.
ERIN BREEZE, of Society for Threatened Peoples, said even after the arrival of the International Force in East Timor
(INTERFET), the genocide continued. On 21 September in Baucau, five East Timorese were shot by soldiers. At the same
time, pro-Indonesian militia members killed a Dutch journalist on the outskirts of Dili, and other journalists were
violently attacked. On 18
September, soldiers opened fire on refugees who had sought safety in front of the village church in Dare. A woman was
shot in the head and killed while saying her prayers. The list of acts of violence committed by the Indonesian Army and
their associates in the militias grew endlessly.
There was overwhelming evidence that the Indonesian Army had been cooperating closely with the militias, and the
Indonesian Government should accept joint responsibility for the crimes committed by the militias. In view of the
ongoing reality of genocide in East Timor, the Society for Threatened Peoples appealed to the Commission to set up
without delay a war crimes tribunal with a view to bringing those responsible for the genocide to account.
MARZUKI DARUSMAN, President of the National Human Rights Commission of Indonesia, said East Timor was now headed towards
Statehood; the remaining discussion should focus on what lay ahead in the future. The National Commission believed it
had been impossible to entirely protect human rights in East Timor. The National Commission endorsed the arguments for
assessing the human rights situation in a way that described the reality in East Timor. Apart from the severe massive
social disruptions, the most realistic and truthful way to do that was to view the situation as a contention between
parties which, by definition, created a source of human rights violations. The human rights situation in East Timor had
led to a gradual breakdown of law and order.
There was a great deal of sympathy for the great suffering in East Timor. But social, political and economic factors
must be considered so that justice was met on the ground. East Timor would continue to be an area of social upheaval for
some time. The conditions there following the ballot required a period of consultation, study and investigation. If
preliminary findings proved that the cases related to human rights were terrible violations, justice must be carried out
within the framework of existing law. During its inquiry into the events that had occurred in East Timor, the National
Commission was open to discussion with the Commission on Human Rights.
PEKKA HUHTANIEMI (Finland), speaking on behalf of the European Union, said there had been intensive talks throughout the
day in order to increase and enlarge the common ground to find, if possible, a consensual outcome for the special
session. There were still a number of difficulties, a number of gaps, that need to be bridged. They surrounded an
investigative mechanism, and more time would be necessary to work this out. Something useful could be reported back
around 6:30 p.m.
Work had continued to be done on the draft resolution submitted by the European Union. The co-sponsors had further
developed their positions, and had come up with a revised text. This text had been typed and was now available, and all
member States should have received it. It had become evident that many colleagues felt that more time was needed to
reflect on this new version, and the European Union recommended that the Commission reconvene on Monday after
delegations had had an opportunity to review the text.
Right of reply
SAAD HUSSAIN (Iraq), in a right of reply, said the delegation apologized for this request, but it was forced to defend
itself against an attack from a certain NGO. The session was supposed to focus on a very specific matter, and not on
anything outside that matter. The Secretariat should see to it that it
did not happen again. If the NGO in question were really concerned with problems of genocide, why not talk about the
genocide suffered by the Iraqi people because of the blockade imposed by the Americans and the British? There had been
over 2 million victims, 1 million of whom were children.
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