U.S. Support for Democracy and Human Rights in Indonesia and East Timor

Text: Ambassador Soderberg Nov. 28 on Indonesia, East Timor
(Indonesia must deal decisively with remaining militias)
United Nations -- Indonesia should establish ad hoc tribunals on East Timor and take decisive action to disband the pro-Jakarta militias in West Timor, U.S. Ambassador Nancy Soderberg said November 28 during a Security Council meeting with Sergio Vieira de Mello, the head of the U.N. Transitional Authority in East Timor (UNTAET).
"We all stress the need for decisive action to deal with the remaining militias, and particularly the leaders, to put an end to their activities once and for all through ongoing disarmament operations, separation of militia leaders and those engaging in intimidation from refugee communities, and expeditious prosecution of militia leaders for the serious crimes they have committed," Soderberg said.
"Those responsible for the UNTAET murders as well as the killing of two UN peacekeepers must be brought to justice and there must be a process of accountability to address the human rights violations of 1999," she said.
The ambassador said the Security Council must make sure the U.N. interim administration has the necessary resources for East Timor's transition to independence and stressed that the international community must "remain engaged" during the post-independence period as well.
The ambassador, who participated in a recent Security Council mission to Indonesia and East Timor, also said that East Timor must improve its justice system so that the concerns of the East Timorese refugees can be handled more thoroughly.
Following is the text of Soderberg's remarks:
(begin text)
Most of the Mission that was recently in East Timor is here with us today and, on behalf of all of us, we would like to reiterate our strong appreciation to the Special Representative, as well as his team, for what we all believe was a useful visit. I was not on the first mission, but those who were on the first mission were impressed and gratified for the work that you have done during the past year and we all wanted to extend extreme gratitude for your efforts there as well the impressive gains of the people of East Timor.
It's a rare partnership to witness and a privilege to watch a nation being created and it makes all of us proud to be a part of the UN system that is there working, seeing these cabinet meetings and the rebuilding that is going on. Seeing the conditions on the ground also makes us appreciate the personal sacrifices that you and your colleagues are making there on the ground month after month. And, on behalf of all of us, we want to express our deepest appreciation for the hard work and sacrifices that you're carrying out every day on the ground. The fact that we were there a couple of weeks ago and you're here today shows the importance of continued dialogue between the Security Council and your mission there. You're off, literally, at the other end of the world, about as far away as you can get from New York. Your success is also your burden because it's not on the front pages of the paper every day, and it's important for us to go on the ground, see things, but also for you to know that you have a ready ear here. This is not an easy situation -- there are still dangers. We would like to think "well, Sergio is there so we don't have to worry about it," but that's not fair to you or to the people of East Timor. I'm glad that you are here and I hope you feel that you have a ready ear here anytime that you want.
The issues that you discussed, as well as the ones that are in our report, raise some key issues there. Most of them are in our report so I won't go through them in great detail, but one that I think perhaps deserves to be highlighted is the need to begin now to plan for the role of the international community after independence. Not only do we have a lot of work to do to make sure that you have the resources to make sure that whatever timetable is established for the independence of East Timor -- that you have the resources during that transition, but I think one of the messages from our Mission to the region is that clearly the international community is going to have to remain engaged on that, and I think your visit here is well-timed to begin to define the parameters of that presence. We will be renewing the mandate of UNTAET in the beginning of the next year and your visit here today begins to lay out the milestones we will need to address in order to begin to make sure that the international community is there for the post-independence period as well. And I think all of us would like to emphasize as strongly as possible the importance of beginning that planning now. For that reason I think your visit is particularly well-timed.
The term 'UNTAET light' was used during our Mission there, and that means that we have to look at the various components of UNTAET in not only in its political, but also its security aspects. I think you've done Yeoman's work in trying to lay the ground work for that. The security presence there has already had a fair amount of work on it. There was the international conference of the international community, including the United States, to define the financial, technical and security assistance there is going to be crucial there. The other point -- that I think from the United States standpoint is important to us -- is the process of justice and reconciliation. All of the post independence questions will be greatly effected by how well the process of justice and reconciliation is addressed today and -- I think I would speak for the colleagues that were with me on the Mission -- that the key to insuring UNTAET success, as well as the success of the independence of the people of East Timor, is to put the dual track of reconciliation and justice on a progressive path that achieves both in a symbiotic fashion.
In West Timor we certainly heard repeated concerns by the refugees about what the conditions were on the ground in East Timor. They had sent their family back and hadn't heard from them. There was misinformation and rumors that created legitimate fears within the community. Having just been to East Timor we were able to reassure them that we were convinced that the people of East Timor would welcome the refugees back, that they would be treated with respect and -- as long as there was a process of Justice to insure the people of East Timor that their need for justice was taken care of. Without a process of justice, you will not get the appropriate reconciliation to solve the problems. One of the most important aspects that we came away with was the need to make sure that UNTAET and the East Timorese system has the capability to investigate crimes and to conduct prosecutions. The plan that you brought with you here and presented to us on the process of justice is very important, timely. We are already reviewing it and I certainly hope that we'll be able to look favorably on your request for the swat teams of assistance as well as staff and equipment. Unless you can have a functioning process of judicial system, all of the other wheels of progress will be much squeakier without the process of justice moving forward. As we look at this, I think we have to be sure that you don't have bureaucratic inertia causing some of these resources to be underutilized. We need to continue to work within the UN system to make sure that these requests can be dealt with urgently and efficiently.
In addition in showing that the UNTAET process and East Timorese process works, it is equally fundamental to make sure that the government of Indonesia fulfills its responsibilities on these issues as outlined in UNSC resolution 1319. The principal points for relating to justice are still germane. Further decisive action is necessary to deal with the remaining militias. Those responsible for the UNTAET murders as well as the killing of two UN peacekeepers must be brought to justice and there must be a process of accountability to address the human rights violations of 1999.
While there in Jakarta, we had very productive meetings with a number of government officials, and they briefed us on the progress. I think we were all urging strong action in Jakarta to establish the ad hoc tribunals. They are critical to insuring that the process of justice moves forward in that process. It's been over a year since the violence of 1999 and the international community has a responsibility to help insure that justice is done. We all hope that the government of Indonesia will fulfill these responsibilities with appropriate urgencies.
The second issue is the issue of disbandment of the militias. This is a crucial process of justice and the government must fulfill its responsibilities in that respect. We were in several of the camps and I think the continued presence in the camps of the militias and their hold on the camps -- and so the decisions of the people -- are impeding the process of return, as we wrote in our report. I think it's useful to recall here that we all stress the need for decisive action to deal with the remaining militias, and particularly the leaders, to put an end to their activities once and for all through ongoing disarmament operations, separation of militia leaders and those engaging in intimidation from refugee communities, and expeditious prosecution of militia leaders for the serious crimes they have committed. Progress on these issues is crucial for the success of all that the United Nations is trying to do in East Timor.
Lastly, the issue of return is one that has been a large focus of the international community and the government of Indonesia as well. There must be a credible, apolitical internationally observed refugee registration program and return program. And there has been some very encouraging developments on this front in recent weeks with the ad hoc returns of the 400 former TNI civil servants, as well as the discussions going on with the militias who had written to the President of the Security Council. Those discussions and returns could potentially trigger significant returns back, which I think we would all welcome and view as a significant way to address the problem. These do not, however, in any way mitigate the need for the international community to be present in West Timor under appropriate security conditions. During our visit, we had good discussions on trying to enable a classic UN securing staff to go and review the situation and we're hopeful that that will review so that the international community can return to West Timor in full force. I'll leave perhaps one or two questions on the table for tile special representative.
One of our key discussions in Jakarta was to try and urge that the border commission meet as quickly as possible. We're pleased that they will be meeting on Thursday and urge those meetings to be at senior level and a regular level. I think one of the clear impressions that we came away with is the need for very regular and constant discussions. And a lot of the concerns that we came away with was the need for better sources of information. Clearly these border commissions are key, so anything we can do to help on that front. The other issue is the joint commissions that are dealing with some other key bilateral issues in particular the pensions which are key to the return of the refugees and perhaps you would have some additional information on what is happening on that front. I think all of us came away with a sense that the back and forth discussions on development of working relationships so that there is mutual understanding on both sides would be key.
Let me end there and just thank you again for a very useful visit but most importantly for the work that you're doing in behalf of all of us to let the people of East Timor achieve their independence.
(end text)
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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