*EPF101 08/28/00
Text: State Department August 28 Release on East Timor Independence
(Violence on the August 30 anniversary "must not be tolerated") (440)

In light of the upcoming first anniversary of the August 30, 1999 United Nations-organized vote in which the majority of the people of East Timor chose independence from Indonesia, the U.S. Department of State issued a press release congratulating the East Timorese people and the United Nations for their nation-building efforts while deploring recent violent militia activity along Timorese borders and inside East Timor.

In the August 28 press release, U.S. State Department Deputy Spokesman Philip Reeker warned that violence on the anniversary "must not be tolerated." He
also called on the Indonesian Government to restore security throughout West Timor and to work on designing a workable plan for the repatriation and resettlement of refugees now living there.

Following is the text of the statement:

(begin text)

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
For Immediate Release August 28, 2000

STATEMENT BY PHILIP T. REEKER, DEPUTY SPOKESMAN

MARKING AN ANNIVERSARY IN EAST TIMOR

This Wednesday will mark the first anniversary of the August 30, 1999 consultation organized and validated by the United Nations in which the overwhelming majority of the people of East Timor resisted violence and the threat of violence to vote for independence. We congratulate the East Timorese people for their long, difficult, and courageous struggle for independence, which is a year closer to realization. We also commend the work of the United Nations, which is continuing as it oversees East Timor's security and its transition to independence.

Sadly, over 100,000 refugees remain in camps in West Timor almost a year after the traumatic events that drove them from their homes. They live in an increasingly precarious security environment and with the second rainy season approaching. We urge the Indonesian Government to restore security throughout West Timor and to develop a workable plan for the repatriation and resettlement of these refugees. The United States and the international community stand ready to assist.

Finally, we must also note -- and deplore -- that recent militia activity along the border and inside East Timor has led to a series of increasingly violent incidents, including the death of two UN peacekeepers. The August 30 anniversary may well tempt these militias or others to resort to more violence. Such violence must not be tolerated. The militias and those that support them must be disarmed and disbanded.

(end text)

(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

NNNN