Inter Press Service: 10 September 1999
EAST TIMOR: UNITED NATIONS WARNS OVER 'CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY'
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has told Indonesia to immediately agree to to the deployment of an international force to restore peace in East Timor or face charges of crimes against humanity.
By FARHAN HAQ at the United Nations
UN SECRETARY-GENERAL Kofi Annan
told Indonesia Friday to immediately agree to to the deployment of
an international force to restore peace in East Timor or face
charges of crimes against humanity.
''The time clearly has come for Indonesia to seek the help of
the international community in fulfilling its responsibility to
bring order and security to the people of East Timor,'' Annan
said.
If Indonesia refuses to allow international troops into East
Timor, Annan warned, ''it cannot escape responsibility for what
could amount, according to reports reaching us, to crimes against
humanity.''
Annan said that, although the United Nations did not intend to
abandon East Timor, the level of violence since the Aug. 30 self-
determination ballot was more than the UN Assistance Mission to
East Timor (UNAMET) could handle.
Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand and the Philippines, among
other nations, had assured him that they would participate in a
force for East Timor, he said..
Annan added that he thought it was premature to create a UN
tribunal to try suspects for crimes against humanity at this
stage, although he pointedly left the door open to doing so in the
future if Jakarta failed to halt the violence.
The secretary-general's statement was the clearest sign yet
that UN officials, after days of fruitless efforts to persuade
Indonesia to clamp down on the violence in East Timor, had decided
to ratchet up the diplomatic pressure on Jakarta.
A five-member UN Security Council team, led by Namibian
Ambassador Martin Andjaba, continued negotiations with Indonesian
officials on sending an international force to East Timor. But so
far, it had failed to win acceptance either by Indonesian
President Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie or Army chief Gen. Wiranto for
the deployment.
Still, after days of diplomatic haggling, the United Nations
has made headway in acquiring support for the peacekeeping force.
The United States has thrown its weight behind the force and other
Indonesian allies, including China, now said they were willing to
consider it.
Chinese Ambassador Shen Guofang said China was ''open-minded''
about deploying foreign troops in East Timor, but he reiterated
Beijing's concern that ''we should get the consent of the
Indonesian government.''
Yet the United Nations has been emboldened by the shift in the
US posture, after several days in which US officials pressed for
more time for Indonesia to demonstrate whether it could stop the
killings by pro-Indonesia militias and their military allies.
US President Bill Clinton set the tone Thursday when he said
that ''if Indonesia does not end the violence, it must invite the
international community to aid in restoring security.''
Annan asserted that Jakarta clearly had failed to provide
security for East Timor following the self-determination ballot,
in which nearly 80 percent of voters opted for independence from
Indonesia's nearly 24-year occupation.
''East Timor is descending into anarchy,'' Annan argued. ''The
anti-independence militias, who were overwhelmingly defeated at
the ballot box, have engaged in an orgy of looting, burning and
killing.''
UN officials confirmed that pro-Indonesia militias shot at the
UN compound in Dili on Thursday night, and that Indonesian troops
did nothing to prevent the attack.
According to the officials, the militias threatened to invade
the compound, and fired shots in the air while Indonesian forces
stood by.
All but some 50 UN personnel already have left East Timor,
leading to charges that the United Nations was abandoning the
Timorese to the violence by the militias and their Indonesian
military allies.
Annan conceded that Indonesia had failed to abide by its
commitments, in a May 5 peace agreement with Portugal, to maintain
security in East Timor.
But he denied that the United Nations was aware that the current
level of massacres could occur, saying that he was "shocked" by
what has happened. (END/IPS/fah/mk/99)