The East Timor iIndependence referendum result has just been announced in New York by Secretary General Kofi Annan. 78%
voted against the proposal for special autonomy an, as expected, overwhelming result in favour of independence.
Paraphrased notes from Annan's speech - we will post the full text as soon as it is available.
"The UN Security council established Unamet on 11 June to hold a referendum.
For the popular consultation 451,792 voters were registered. The Electoral Commission deemed the registration to be
sound.
On 30 August in a show of courage and determination the people of East Timor turned out in very large numbers.
The votes have been counted and checked.
Therefore in fulfillment of the task entrusted to me I now declare the result.
The result is 94,388 - 21% in favour and 344,580 - 78% against the proposal for special autonomy.
The people have expressed their clear wish to proceed down the path to independence. After 24 years of conflict East
Timor this is now an opportunity for peace. The coming days will however require patience on both sides.
I stress the importance of wisdom and reason at this stage by all those involved.
Now is the time to lay a firm foundation for peace. Those who voted to accept the autonomy must not consider this a
loss, nor should those who voted against consider this a victory.
There are no winners and no losers today. Rather this moment heralds an opportunity to begin a new beginning.
I ask all the parties to bring to an end the violence that has brought so much pain. I ask them to start a process of
reconciliation.
I call upon Indonesia whose President in a statemanlike fashion initiated this referenda to ensure a successful
trasition by keeping the peace."
In its 1PM Bulletin (9am East Timor Time) Radio New Zealand reported that East Timor is braced for violence. Aid
agencies estimate 50 to 100,000 are likely to flee. 50,000 of the approximately 800,000 inhabitants have already fled.
EARLIER RELATED LINKS
Today
The UN operation in East Timor has entered siege mode as militia violence escalates and the announcement of the
independence referendum result approaches.
Events over the past week have now brought the true situation in East Timor into the open, and in the process the
innocence and naiveté of the wider international community has been harshly exposed. Scoop's Alastair Thompson analyses
the latest ...
2 September 1999
Next week's APEC leader's meetings must surely present the perfect opportunity for a collective resolution to pending
civil war in East Timor. If this opportunity is wasted, then APEC is the lame duck its critics say it is.
1 September 1999
Here is a collection of speeches, stories, editorials and press briefings Scoop has published on the historic vote:
29 August 1999
As violence threatens to take still more lives in East Timor there are probably only three people capable of making any
difference in East Timor: The President of Indonesia B.J. Habibe, leader of the largest opposition party Megawati
Sukarnoputri, and ABRI ...
27 August 1999
The Australian army has been placed on alert to evacuate 200 Australian citizens after violence flared yesterday in
Dili, East Timor. The long-awaited independence referendum in the former Portuguese colony is due to take place this
coming Monday.