RegEasttimor News Summaries

These summaries are compiled by ETISC, the East Timor
International Support Center, Darwin, http://www.easttimor.com


THE WEEK THAT WAS

Watching and Waiting

This week produced something that all those persons supporting
self-determination for the people of East Timor can cheer about: a
successful conclusion to the voter registration drive.

More people registered than was initially estimated. Given the air of fear
and intimidation surrounding the drive, the effort can easily be described
as a testament to the will of a people to determine their own future,
rather than having it destroyed by uncaring imperial powers.

This is only one step though. There is mounting fear of a post-ballot
attempt by Indonesia or the militias to scuttle the entire operation. The
United Nations and Australia continue to discuss the structure of an armed
force that could enter East Timor to quell any potential unrest. And, in
the background, looms the specter of a mobilization of US troops. Reports
from the Melbourne Age supposedly detailing such an operation are
difficult to confirm or deny. US officials are denying any plans for
intervention. (In a related story, the US National Security Council is
urging the public to ignore reports of an elite commando team landing in
Pakistan to take out Osama Bin-Laden.)

Certainty is rare; the components of an act of self-determination
are precarious.

Violence continues unabated. Timorese women continue to be
targets of the Indonesian army. New Zealand and Britain maintain
their close relationship with the armed forces with no regard for
consequences on the ground. Each was condemned this week for
its provision of weapons and services.

And finally, this week, in a story not appearing on Reg. East Timor,
President Bill Clinton awarded Ex-President Jimmy Carter and his
wife with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the country's highest
civilian award. Mr. Clinton said the Carters had "done more good
things for more people than any other couple on the face of the
earth."

This is certainly true.

Without Mr. Carter's provision of weapons to Indonesia, the very
weapons that allowed the invasion to proceed with the slaugher of
hundreds of thousands of people, the people at the Carter Center
wouldn't have jobs as election observers in East Timor.



EAST TIMOR

1. Hostile Groups in East Timor to Sign Code of Conduct
2. Voter Registration Period Extended in East Timor
3. Ramos-Horta Vows to Endorse Timor Ballot Results
4. American Doctor Refused Re-entry to East Timor
5. Horta Mulls Legal Action Against Some Indonesians
6. New Policing Fears as Militias Amass Arms
7. Ramos-Horta Says East Timor Violence Can Be Avoided
8. Not All Timorese Rebels Able to Register for Vote
9. Police Ignore Militia Attack
10. Close to 450,000 Voters Registered for East Timor's
Landmark Vote
11. Timorese Women Subject to Indonesian Army Abuse

UNITED NATIONS

12. UN Declares Timor Voter Registration A Success
13. Voter registration period extended in East Timor
14. UN calls for more international police in E.Timor
15. UN Backs Downer Plan to Beef up Timor Force

INDONESIA

16. Megawati on East Timor
17. Indonesia Insists it can keep Peace in Troubled
Timor

AUSTRALIA

18. Downer Denies Rift on Peacekeepers
19. Australia to Open Portuguese Embassay to Help
with Timor

INTERNATIONAL

20. East Timorese in Philipines Cannot Register
21. From the East Timor Independence Committee in
Auckland, New Zealand
22. RI's Assurances About Hawks Prove Worthless
23. ASEAN Likely to accept Independent East Timor
as Member

EAST TIMOR

1. Hostile Groups in East Timor to Sign Code of Conduct
August 4, 1999
Source: Jakarta Post

Proindependence and prointegration groups here are set
to sign a campaign code of conduct for the Aug. 30 popular
consultation.
No date for the signing has been set, but United Nations Mission
in East Timor (UNAMET) spokesman David Wimhurst said on
Tuesday the groups would sign the code of conduct later this week.
He said UNAMET delivered a draft of the campaign rules to
proindependence and prointegration groups and was now awaiting
their approval.
He also reiterated the United Nations' request that
proindependence leader Jose Alexandre "Xanana" Gusmao, who is
serving his jail sentence in a special detention house in Jakarta, be
released.

2. Voter Registration Period Extended in East Timor
August 4, 1999
Source: Agence France Presse

"The registration period has been extended for two days inside
East Timor and for four days for registration posts outside East
Timor," UNAMET spokesman David Wimhurst said.
"Although more than 400,000 people have registered already, we
wanted to make sure everyone had the opportunity to put their
name on the list," Wimhurst told AFP by phone from the East
Timorese capital of Dili.
He said the recommendation for the brief extension had been
made by UNAMET to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, and that
Annan had accepted it.
The original 20-day registration period for the August 30 vote is now
extended to Friday inside East Timor, and to Sunday for East Timorese
living outside the territory, many of them in Indonesia, Australia and
Portugal.

3. Ramos-Horta Vows to Endorse Timor Ballot Results
August 5, 1999
Source: Australian Broadcasting Corporation

East Timor independence campaigner Jose Ramos-Horta
says he will endorse the results of a fair ballot on the future
of the disputed territory even if a majority want to remain
part of Indonesia.
Mr Ramos-Horta said that after the poll, East Timorese
who are working with the Indonesians can be assured that
if the [supporters of independence] win, there'll be no persecution
and no reprisals.

4. American Doctor Refused Re-entry to East Timor
August 5, 1999
Source: East Timor Action Network

The East Timor Action Network (ETAN) today condemned the
refusal by the Indonesia government to allow an American doctor to
re-enter Indonesia.
Dr. Dan Murphy has been treating the wounded and sick in East
Timor since last November. Dr Murphy was refused entry into East
Timor as he was returning via Bali after obtaining a valid social-
cultural visa from the Indonesian consulate in Darwin.
In a statement issued in Darwin on Aug. 5, Dr. Murphy said,
"Recently I came to Darwin, Australia to apply for a renewal of visa to be
able to continue work in Timor. The Consulate granted the visa without
questions but last night, after travelling to Bali, I was refused
admittance into Indonesia and put on a return flight to Darwin."
In his statement, Dr. Murphy called the health situation in East
Timor "desperate with not only all the tropical diseases in large
numbers but also a steady stream of wounded, victims of the
paramilitary and military violence, and an ever increasing number of
starving children."

5. Horta Mulls Legal Action Against Some Indonesians
August 5, 1999
Source: Reuters

East Timor independence campaigner Jose Ramos-Horta said on
Thursday he was studying possible legal action in several countries
against Indonesian officers who he alleged were involved in
atrocities.
The aim, he said, was to send a signal that some Indonesian
officials might ``end up with the same fate as Augusto Pinochet,''
the former Chilean dictator now under house arrest in Britain
pending possible extradition to Spain.
``I have begun to assemble a very large group of attorneys...in
Australia, the United Kingdom, the United States (and) Spain to
look into national legislation, national courts, where we might be
able to have these people...put on a wanted list of Interpol,'' Ramos-
Horta said, referring to the international police agency.
``Through these measures, we hope that they (Indonesian
officials) get the clear message that they cannot get away with
such crimes with impunity,'' he said.

6. New Policing Fears as Militias Amass Arms
August 6, 1999
Source: South China Morning Post

Pressure to increase the number of UN civilian police officers is
increasing in the wake of persistent reports of pro-integration
militias preparing for conflict.
"We've had reports about the stockpiling of arms," said Randall
Garrison, of the International Federation of East Timor, an
independent monitoring group accredited as observers of the UN
ballot on autonomy for East Timor.
"In the Ainaro region, local sources reported to federation
observers that the [Indonesian armed forces] and the police were
telling people there will be much bloodshed if the pro-independence
option wins in the upcoming ballot, and they have tanks and
warplanes waiting," said a statement by the federation.
"The local police chief has even stated that the police have 100
automatic weapons in storage, in preparation for future needs," it
said.
All sides involved in the consultation process in East Timor fear what
will happen after the ballot, in which East Timorese will vote on
Indonesia's proposal for comprehensive autonomy.
A variety of sources confirm serious fears of score-settling, or
even large scale reprisals, after the vote.
"Our concern is that we can still accommodate each other after
the ballot," said Basilio Araujo, leader of the Forum for Unity,
Democracy and Justice, the political wing of the pro-integration
militias. "Power-sharing arrangements are now out of the question,
because we are having a democratic vote - the winner should take
all."

7. Ramos-Horta Says East Timor Violence Can Be Avoided
August 6, 1999
Source: Reuters

Resistance leader Jose Ramos-Horta said on Friday that
President B.J. Habibie and other moderates in the Indonesian
government had the power to prevent a feared violent backlash in
East Timor after a coming referendum.
Referring to resistance concerns that sectors within the
Indonesian army opposed to independence for East Timor were
preparing a campaign of stepped-up violence to follow the vote,
Ramos-Horta said he believed that the plans could be thwarted.
``I believe that people of goodwill in Indonesia, President B.J.
Habibie, Foreign Minister Ali Alatas...can win out over the
hardliners and that all this worrying information about possible
violence after the vote will not happen,'' he said.

8. Not all East Timorese rebels able to register for vote
August 6, 1999
Source: Agence France Presse

Some 80 members of the armed wing of the East Timorese pro-
independence movement have been unable to register in this
far-flung hideout for the United Nations-held ballot on the territory's
future, a rebel leader said here Friday.
"A total of 184 men in my area have registered while the rest, 84,
including me, have yet to do so," Deputy Falintil Commander of Region III
Falor Ratelaek said in his jungle hideout in the Manatuto district.
"I don't think we will register as we have asked the UNAMET (the
UN Mission in East Timor) to come here to register us, but they
haven't been able to," Ratelaek, 44, said.
He said his men could not go down to a registration post without
the necessary guarantees of safety from both UNAMET, which
organizes the polls, and the Indonesian authorities.

9. Police Ignore Militia Attack
August 7, 1999
Source: Sydney Morning Herald

Indonesian police stood by and watched an attack on a student
group in East Timor, independent poll monitors said.
The students were attacked by pro-Jakarta militia after they had
sought refuge in a church in the town of Same in the western part
of the disputed territory.
Three foreign observers from the International Federation of East
Timor, an umbrella human rights group, saw the violence and
helped at least one injured man reach medical care.
UNAMET, meanwhile, has reported two attacks on its staff on
Thursday. A civilian policeman attached to UNAMET was slightly
injured when about 20 men entered a meeting between UN staff
and students in the town of Ainaro in southern East Timor and
began overturning chairs and throwing rocks and concrete. "This
was a vicious and swift attack that appeared to be well organised,"
a UNAMET spokesman said.
In another incident, a truckload of 60 to 100 armed pro-Jakarta
militiamen forced their way into a UN voter registration post in the town
of Batugade and attacked two local interpreters, who were not injured. The
militiamen then loitered nearby, and the UN staff were evacuated.

10. Close to 450,000 voters registered for ETimor's landmark vote
August 7, 1999
Source: Agence France Presse

Close to 450,000 people have registered to take part in the
landmark vote on East Timor's future on August 30, a United
Nations official said Saturday.
"Preliminary figures show that 433,576 individuals registered
within East Timor and 12,680 outside, bringing the total to 446,256
registrants," the chief electoral officer of the UN Mission in East
Timor (UNAMET), Jeff Fischer, said.
But he said many displaced people, who have fled their villages
fearing violence between the pro-independence and pro-Indonesia
militias, have not been able to register.
He said it was difficult to give an accurate figure on the number of
displaced persons but cited an estimate of 60,000 in East Timor and some
5,000 in neighbouring West Timor.
He said the list of voters would be made public on August 19 to
23 and any decision on any challenge to it would be taken by the
electoral commission on August 20-28.

11. Timorese Women Subject to Indonesian Army Abuse
August 6, 1999
Source: Australian Broadcasting Corporation

A new report claims East Timorese women are being
systematically targeted as victims of sexual and emotional
abuse in the lead-up to the August 30 independence vote.
The Amnesty International report says members of the
Indonesian Army are responsible for the abuse.
The report, entitled "Women at Risk in East Timor" claims the
Indonesian Army is conducting a campaign of torture, executions,
rape, detention and intimidation on East Timorese women, ahead
of next month's independence vote in the province.
Amnesty says the abuse is being carried out in an effort to
destroy a sense of community among the East Timorese people.
It says Catholic nuns, humanitarian workers and female pro-
independence supporters are amongst the victims of the abuse.
Amnesty International's Kate Gilmore says until now the
situation of women in East Timor has been largely ignored.
"There's a number of reasons for that. We think most systems
for monitoring human rights are gender-blind," Ms Gilmore said.

UNITED NATIONS

12. U.N. Declares Timor Voter Registration A Success
August 2, 1999
Source: Reuters

The United Nations Monday declared the registration
process for East Timor's August 30 ballot on independence a
success, saying it had already registered almost all the expected
voters.
"We are on target with the numbers,'' U.N. spokesman David
Wimhurst told reporters in Dili.
"Given our initial estimates, and given that we are now three days away
from the end of the process, I think we can say that it has been a
successful exercise.''
He said that preliminary figures showed that 378,302 voters had
registered up to Saturday, the 16th day of the 20-day registration
period. The United Nations estimates that between 300,000 and
400,000 East Timorese are eligible to vote in the referendum, when
they will be asked to choose between independence and increased
autonomy within Indonesia.

13. Voter registration period extended in East Timor
August 4, 1999
Source: Agence France Presse

The UN mission in East Timor (UNAMET) on Wednesday
extended the voter registration period for a landmark referendum on
East Timor's future in order to allow more people to sign up for the
crucial ballot.
"The registration period has been extended for two days inside
East Timor and for four days for registration posts outside East
Timor," UNAMET spokesman David Wimhurst said.
"Although more than 400,000 people have registered already, we
wanted to make sure everyone had the opportunity to put their
name on the list," Wimhurst told AFP by phone from the East
Timorese capital of Dili.

14. UN calls for more international police in E.Timor
August 4, 1999
Source: Reuters

The United Nations is considering beefing up its presence in
East Timor ahead of an August 30 independence ballot in order to
head off possible violence after the vote, sources close to the
negotiations said.
A foreign official said U.N. civilian police advisers and military
liaison officers had asked for reinforcements and an expanded mandate. A
source close to the negotiations said the United Nations wanted to
increase police numbers to 350 from 270.
The source said police also wanted their mandate expanded so
they could operate independently of Indonesian police in the
territory. For now, U.N. police may only advise local police.

15. UN backs Downer plan to beef up Timor force
August 6, 1999
Source: Sydney Morning Herald

The United Nations will press Indonesia to accept an Australian plan
to double the number of international police and military personnel in
East Timor to tighten security after this month's independence ballot.
After weeks of private talks, Australia has gained crucial support from
the United States and other UN members for a confidential proposal to send
in an extra 200 to 300 police.
It has also won full UN backing for a plan to boost the
international military presence from the present 50 advisers to
between 250 and 350. Senior UN officials told the Herald last night
that they were confident of reaching final agreement with Indonesia
in a series of meetings next week with senior military and
government members in Jakarta.

INDONESIA

16. Megawati on E Timor
July 29, 1999
Source: Joyo Indonesian News
[excerpt from speech]

The policy decision of Mr. Habibie, which unilaterally overturns MPR
decision No. 6, 1978 making East Timor the 27th province of
Indonesia, constitutes an exercise of power that is unconstitutional.
If this act is accepted without objection, the concern is that it will
become a precendent of improper state behavior that will result in a
mistaken conclusion -- that a president may do whatever he or she likes,
including making policy decisions that blatantly violate the decisions of
the MPR as the symbolic manifestation of the People's Sovereignty.
A referendum within the legal boundaries of the Republic of
Indonesia may only be carried out in East Timor and in no
other regions.

17. Indonesia insists it can keep peace in troubled Timor
August 7, 1999
Source: Reuters

Indonesian ministers insisted during a visit to East Timor on
Saturday that Jakarta could ensure security despite attacks on
U.N. staff and fears of chaos after an August 30 independence
ballot.
``We can keep the peace, we should keep the peace, because
the Indonesian government is...committed to have a peaceful
solution and an actual solution to East Timor,'' Foreign Minister Ali
Alatas told a news conference in Dili.
``We have no interest in having after the vote a situation that
deteriorates into violence again.''
Pro-independence activists say Indonesia is deliberately sowing
unrest in the territory and could try to fuel chaos if East Timor votes to
break away from Indonesia.
Militias who support Jakarta's rule have been behind a campaign
of intimidation and violence this year in which scores of people have
died, and have carried out several attacks on U.N. staff and property.

AUSTRALIA

18. Downer denies rift on peacekeepers
August 2, 1999
Source: Sydney Morning Herald

The Foreign Minister, Mr Downer, said yesterday that Australia
would play a leading role in any United Nations peacekeeping force
in East Timor, but only if a "yes" vote for independence was ratified by
Indonesia's People's Consultative Assembly.
Mr Downer denied that Canberra had rejected overtures from
Washington for an Australian-led UN force, including US marines,
to be ready for deployment in East Timor immediately after, or even
before, the autonomy-or-independence ballot at the end of this
month.
He said there had been discussions about contingencies between
Australian and US officials, but denied there was any "stand off"
between his departmental secretary, Mr Ashton Calvert, and a US
Deputy Secretary of State, Mr Stanley Roth.
He had made it clear to the pro-integrationists and others in Dili that
there would be "enormous consequences" if any Australians were hurt.

19. Australia to open Portuguese embassy to help with Timor
August 7, 1999
Source: Australian Associated Press

Australia is to upgrade its diplomatic representation in Portugal to
full embassy status to help deal with developments in the former
Portuguese colony of East Timor.
"The expansion of our liaison office in Lisbon into an embassy will
help Australia to remain closely engaged with Portugal, particularly on
developments in East Timor, " Mr Downer said in a statement.
The embassy would also enable closer dialogue with Portugal on
European Union (EU) issues and provide better opportunities to
increase bilateral trade and investment.

INTERNATIONAL

20. E.Timorese in Philipines can not Register
August 2, 1999
Source: Maleto Mau

Thirty five Timorese Students in Philipines can not join the
Registration for the Self-determination plebiscite on Augost 30,
1999.
To reach this special event [registration/referendum] East
Timorese have to pay too expensive with the life their brothers-
sisters. Today (5.00 pm) is the last day of registration for that
self-determination. But some of timorese do not yet register
themselves, even, some in fact can not register because of many
factors. In Philipines, there are thirty five timorese students. They can
not register themselves because no registration opened in Manila. They
tried already go to Macau for this purpose, but finally they have to face
the problem of money. So, they only hope and believe (and pray) that the
East Timorese people will choose what is good for the future of East
Timor, according to their conscience.

21. ONGOING MILITARY TRAINING AND EXERCISING WITH THE
INDONESIAN ARMED FORCES IS CONDEMNED
August 3, 1999
Source: Press Release, East Timor Independence Committee,
New Zealand

The New Zealand Defence Force still maintains intimate training and
exercise links with the Indonesian military despite its role in the
militia terror in East Timor.
'Appeasement' is too mild a word for this ongoing complicity with the
Indonesian armed forces. The dictator Suharto may be gone now but the
evidence is clear that the Indonesian military has not changed its spots.
These links must be severed immediately! New Zealand
undermines its chances to be a constructive partner in East
Timor's future by continuing to support the Indonesian aggressor.

22. RI's assurances about Hawks prove worthless
August 3, 1999
Source: TAPOL

It has now been established beyond all doubt that
British-supplied Hawk aircraft are being used in East Timor, despite
assurances given over the years by the Indonesian authorities that this
would not happen. There is no sign however that the British Government is
willing to acknowledge this fact; it continues to adopt the same attitude
to this question in its correspondence with MPs.
[Chronology of British Government statements follows; shows
that UK obviously has no regard for ultimate role of Hawk aircraft. Given
sales, does this come as any surprise?]

23. Asean Likely To Accept An Independent E.Timor As Member
August 2, 1999
Source: Associated Press

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or Asean,
would be likely to grant membership to East Timor if the troubled
territory gains independence from Indonesia, the head of the
regional grouping has said.
The Indonesian Observer newspaper Tuesday quoted Asean
Secretary General Rudolfo Severino as saying Asean members
were deeply interested in the outcome of a U.N.-supervised ballot
on the future of the former Portuguese colony that was invaded by
Indonesia in 1975.
Leaders of East Timor's pro-independence movement have said
they would apply for Asean membership if they win the U.N.-run
referendum slated for Aug. 30.


* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
east-timor is a list server echo of a conference (newsgroup) called
reg.easttimor which originates from the Association for Progressive
Communications (APC) member networks (PeaceNet, GreenNet,
etc.). east-timor contains postings from a wide range of sources,
NGO, mainstream media, the UN and various governments
Postings average 10-15 per day, although the frequency varies with
thepace of East Timor-related events. This conference is available
by email. To subscribe access to any Internet address; write
etan-outreach@igc.apc.org or altin@atlantic.net.

* * * * * * * * * *
Weekly summaries of reg.et are produced by the East Timor
International Solidarity Center (ETISC) in Darwin, Australia and
posted on ETAN's gopher at
gopher://gopher.igc.apc.org:70/11/peace/timor.gopher/summaries
and on the web at http://www.easttimor.com/html/summaries.html.
They can also be sent to you by e-mail; just ask etan-
outreach@igc.apc.org.

*****************************

An abridged, read-only version of reg.easttimor, with an average of
two daily postings, is on APC as the conference tapol.etimor. This
is also available as e-mail; send a note to maggie@web.net to
receive it.

A list of up-to-date web sites on East Timor can be found at
http://www.etan.org/resource/websites.htm

(These summaries are prepared by ETISC, the East Timor
International Support Centre: info@easttimor.com,
http://www.easttimor.com/)