*EPF312 05/22/2002
Transcript: Peace, Democracy in East Timor Long-Term U.S. Goals
(Kelly, Clinton remarks at opening of U.S. Embassy in Dili) (1920)

The United States has sought peace and democracy in East Timor through Republican and Democratic administrations, according to Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs James Kelly.

In remarks May 20 at a flag-raising ceremony marking the opening of the U.S. Embassy in Dili, East Timor, Kelly told an audience of U.S. dignitaries and East Timorese officials and citizens that "(p)eace, democracy and a smooth transition for East Timor is something on which (former) President Clinton worked personally and wishes a continued effort, of which this current Administration is very strongly dedicated."

"On behalf of President Bush, on behalf of Secretary of State Colin Powell, on behalf of the U.S. Department of State, it is my honor to declare that the United States has today recognized the government of the Democratic Republic of East Timor and we are establishing, therefore, an American Embassy," Kelly said.

Kelly said the United States would continue to have a prominent role in helping the new nation develop, with the U.S. Agency for International Development mission, the Department of Labor, the Department of Justice, and the Peace Corps all playing a part.

The United States seeks to build "a strong relationship between the United States and East Timor," he said.

Former President Clinton, who was asked by President Bush to lead a U.S. delegation to East Timor, stressed that "America stands behind the people of East Timor in the cause of freedom in the Pacific."

"Even though it is far from our nation it is in our nation's best interest and consistent with our deepest values," he continued.

"We raise the American flag today to make a statement that in the 21st century the United States still stands for freedom and the proposition that we cannot have a globalized economy in an interdependent world unless, in that world, our common humanity matters most," Clinton said.

Following is a transcript of the event:

(begin transcript)

Flag-Raising Ceremony
at U.S. Embassy Dili, East Timor
May 20, 2002

The Honorable James A. Kelly, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs: Charge d'Affaires Villarosa, first a word of thanks. A word of thanks to President Clinton for coming all this way on behalf of us and I also want to thank my boss, President Bush, for having invited me here today.

What this is about is something that transcends Administrations. Peace, democracy and a smooth transition for East Timor is something on which President Clinton worked personally and wishes a continued effort, of which this current Administration is very strongly dedicated. It is also an honor to welcome Ambassador Holbrooke who was my predecessor once upon a time when he was just a boy. In any event, on behalf of President Bush, on behalf of Secretary of State Colin Powell, on behalf of the U.S. Department of State, it is my honor to declare that the United States has today recognized the government of the Democratic Republic of East Timor and we are establishing, therefore, an American Embassy.

Our interest is, as shown here visibly by those who are present, something that is not instant or new. This is something that goes back many years, our Agency for International Development mission has been present and active in East Timor for at least twelve years. We will, of course, have continuing effort from various parts of the U.S. Government, including USAID, the Department of Labor, the Department of Justice is playing a role, and the Peace Corps is with us and is going to be with us in greater strength as our relationship develops. This is all part of what we are trying to work in the interest of a strong relationship between the United States and East Timor. So it is a special pleasure to declare this an American Embassy on behalf of the United States, the Department of State, and the President of the United States. Charge d' Affaires Villarosa this concludes my speech. Thank you.

Former President, The Honorable William Jefferson Clinton: Let me first of all say that on behalf of our delegation I want to thank all of you who have been here representing the United States during this historic and profoundly important period. I want to congratulate you on being able to come back to East Timor, a country that is free, democratic, and free of oppression. I want to thank Secretary Kelly for his remarks. I think that I can speak for all the members of our delegation, those who have been introduced, and there are a few in the back, the Deputy Chief of Protocol and Maria Sotiropoulos, I want to thank them for coming, we are honored to be here.

I am grateful that President Bush asked me to represent the United States to make a clear and unambiguous statement that America stands behind the people of East Timor in the cause of freedom in the Pacific, and even though it is far from our nation it is in our nation's best interest and consistent with our deepest values. I want to thank all the people here that have helped to bring this day about.

The United States had an opportunity in 1999 to stand up for the cause of the East Timorese people with Indonesia; to try to work to support an Indonesia that was more open and more free and to help our friends in Australia and the ASEAN countries to bring their troops in here. And, thanks again to Ambassador Holbrooke who passed a great resolution in the United Nations, we were able to do those things and the rest is history.

I want to say I am particularly grateful to the Carter Center for the work they did in monitoring the elections and helping with the constitution. I am grateful to the members of our military who were here then and those who remain today, those of you who wear the UN patches and work in law enforcement, those who will be part of the Peace Corps contingent, and others who performed the basic functions of the American government here.

For the people who don't know, they may think this is just a small country in a distant part of the world, a long way from America. But the suffering of the East Timorese through hundreds of years of colonial experience and through an oppressive relationship with past Indonesian governments became symbolic of the drama that now dominates the world's stage. One in which America must be heard, not just when we feel it at home, as we did so painfully on September 11, but when we see it around the world. The great question today is whether the world is going to be defined by differences or by common goals. I have argued as long as I could that the only way we can ever respect and celebrate our differences is if we live in a world in which common humanity matters more. Wherever you are from and whatever you are doing here, never think this is a little thing. We raise the American flag today to make a statement that in the 21st century the United States still stands for freedom and the proposition that we cannot have a globalized economy in an interdependent world unless, in that world, our common humanity matters most. I thank you. The world is in your debt and America stands behind you. God bless you all.

Question: Mr. Clinton, you sold weapons to the Indonesian military and offered them F-16s. The next day a White House official told the New York Times Suharto was "our kind of guy." Your administration under the JCET program sent Green Berets into Indonesia to train the Indonesian KOPASSUS Special Forces in advanced sniper technique urban warfare and similar tactics. In 1999, in April, when the Indonesian military and militias massacred ...

Former President Clinton: Get to the point.

Question: I am getting to the point. Yes, I am getting exactly to the point.

Former President Clinton: You want to make a speech. Give him a hand, he is making a good speech.

Question: In 1999, in April, the Indonesian military and their militias massacred 50 people in the rectory in Liquica. They hacked them with machetes. Two days later, Admiral Blair, the Commander for the Pacific, your commander, met with General Wiranto, the Indonesian commander. He offered to help him in lobbying the U.S. Congress to get full U.S. military training restored. He made no mention of the Liquica massacre. During that same period, the Indonesian militias rampaged here in downtown Dili. They attacked the house of Manuel Carrascalao, and they massacred the refugees there. Yet you continued for months with aid to the Indonesian military. Why?

Former President Clinton: What is your question?

Question: Why did you continue with aid to the Indonesian military if they were killing civilians?

Former President Clinton: First of all I cannot answer the question you asked about Admiral Blair, you will have to ask him because I am not aware of that. I say first of all I don't believe America or any of the other countries were sufficiently sensitive in the beginning, for a long time, a long time before 1999, going all the way back to the 1970s, to the suffering of the people of East Timor.

I don't think we can defend everything that we did. I think that our objective, was to try to keep Indonesia from coming apart and from having some of the influences that I think we still worry about when Indonesia dominates. Which, in my judgment, made us not as sensitive as we should have been to the suffering of the people here. And all I can say is that when it became obvious to me what was really going on, and that we couldn't justify not standing up for what the East Timorese wanted, and some decent treatment for them, this under the guise of trying to hold Indonesia together at first and a larger foreign policy issue, I tried to make sure we had the right policy. And that is what I said today, that is what we tried to do.

I can't say that everything we did before 1999 was right. I am not here to defend everything we did. We never tried to sanction or support the oppression of East Timorese, but I think if you look in there at the foreign policy for the 30 or 40 years before that, all during the cold war, there were times when there were all kinds of reasons we thought we needed to support countries in holding them together and keeping them going in certain directions, which made us insufficiently attentive to what was happening to some minority groups. So, that's my answer. I think we are doing the right thing in New Zealand. I think we did the right thing in the UN. I think we did the right thing in bringing the Australians and ASEAN troops here. And I think the right thing to do is to do what the leaders of East Timor said. They want to look forward, and you want to look backward. I am going to stick with the leaders. You want to look backward, have at it, but you will have to have help from someone else.

(end transcript)

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

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