“EAST TIMOR SHOULD BE HIGHER PRIORITY FOR U.S. FOREIGN POLICY” published by Congressional Record on March 4, 1997

“EAST TIMOR SHOULD BE HIGHER PRIORITY FOR U.S. FOREIGN POLICY” published by Congressional Record on March 4, 1997

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Volume 143, No. 26 covering the 1st Session of the 105th Congress (1997 - 1998) was published by the Congressional Record.

The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.

“EAST TIMOR SHOULD BE HIGHER PRIORITY FOR U.S. FOREIGN POLICY” mentioning the U.S. Dept of State was published in the House of Representatives section on pages H712-H713 on March 4, 1997.

The publication is reproduced in full below:

EAST TIMOR SHOULD BE HIGHER PRIORITY FOR U.S. FOREIGN POLICY

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of January 21, 1997, the gentleman from Virginia [Mr. Wolf] is recognized during morning hour debates for 5 minutes.

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, I was pleased today to see the editorial, which I will submit for the Record, in the Washington Post about East Timor. Like many issues in Washington, one minute it is hot and the next minute it is not. The editorial writer cautions, ``The Nobel Peace Prize brought a brief flare of publicity to East Timor's just but long neglected case, and then, just as Indonesia's government hoped, world tension turn elsewhere.''

But we must not let East Timor drop off the radar screen. For over 20 years the people there have suffered and fought for their human rights, and it would be immoral to let them down now. The United States needs to focus on this issue more. We need to make it a higher priority with regard to our foreign policy.

In November, Bishop Carlos Ximenes Belo shared the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize and he was nominated for the prize by our colleague, the gentleman from Ohio [Mr. Hall]. He was nominated for his efforts to encourage peace, reconciliation and human rights.

In January, I had the opportunity to visit Bishop Belo in East Timor. I found people were scared, scared of being arrested in the middle of the night; scared of being tortured; scared of disappearing without a trace. People I talked to had had family members who were killed or who had disappeared. We heard reports of police breaking into homes in the middle of the night and arresting young people. We met one young man whose ear had been slashed by the Indonesian security forces. People were afraid to talk to us, ever conscious of the pervasive military and security presence on the island. I felt like I was back in Romania in 1985 under the tyranny of Nicolae Ceausescu.

Last week I met with Jose Ramos-Horta, who shared the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize with Bishop Belo. He came to Washington to raise awareness of the conflict and told stories of torture and repression on the island.

The United States, and the administration in particular, has an obligation to illustrate to the world that campaign donations have nothing to do with their policy in this region. We have an obligation to speak out and use our influence with the Indonesian Government.

We should encourage Jakarta to negotiate a peaceful settlement and in the meantime reduce the repressive and heavy-handed police presence on the island. We should urge them to allow human rights monitors. We should appoint a prominent American to work on this issue full time. This person would enhance the good work already being done by the United Nations and U.S. Ambassador Stapleton Roy. A more aggressive diplomatic effort by the U.S. Government is needed.

I have raised this issue with Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and National Security Advisor Sandy Berger. I have urged them to prioritize this issue in U.S. foreign policy. But I rise today to urge anyone who cares about East Timor to do the same.

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I urge Members of Congress, religious leaders, human rights activists and anybody who is concerned, contact Secretary Albright, contact Sandy Berger at the White House and urge them to focus on this issue. Write them. Call them. Fax them. These are the people in our Government who will be looking at this issue. These are the people who need to know that Americans care.

The East Timorese are entitled to decide for themselves who they want to run their affairs. Mr. Ramos-Horta is calling for a plebiscite, a referendum. This is an idea worth considering. In the meantime they are entitled to live in peace and without fear of repression. Encouraging the Indonesian Government to resolve this conflict once and for all is the least we can do as a country dedicated to freedom and justice and democracy. This is an important issue for the United States. It is an important issue for the people of East Timor, who have suffered for 20 years. Let President Clinton, let Secretary Albright, let Mr. Berger know that you care.

Mr. Speaker, I include for the Record the editorial to which I referred:

[From the Washington Post, Mar. 4, 1997]

Off the Screen Again

Last October the Nobel Peace Prize went to two leaders of East Timor, a distant South Pacific island where a small population has been valiantly resisting Indonesian colonization for more than two decades. The prize brought a brief flare of publicity to East Timor's just but long-neglected cause, and then--just as Indonesia's government hoped--world attention again turned elsewhere. Last week, one of the Nobel laureates, Jose Ramos-Horta, came to Washington, hoping to put East Timor back on the international agenda.

Over the years, the United States has offered little assistance. Anxious to please a Cold War ally, U.S. officials looked the other way when Indonesia occupied East Timor in 1975 and when tens of thousands there died from what the Nobel committee listed as ``starvation, epidemics, war and terror.'' President Clinton, early in his term, seemed ready to reverse traditional U.S. policy. His administration supported a United Nations resolution criticizing Indonesia on human rights, and in 1993 Mr. Clinton raised the issue of East Timor with Indonesian President Suharto. But then Mr. Clinton decided that trade mattered above all, and the plight of East Timor again receded from U.S. policy screens.

Last week, Mr. Ramos-Horta, a kind of unofficial foreign minister, for the first time secured a meeting with senior officials in the State Department. This is a positive, if small, step forward. It should be followed by more action. Indonesia is a modernizing nation of nearly 200 million people who live on 6,000 islands. Its own interests are not served by keeping captive 600,000 Timorese living on one of those. Mr. Ramos-Horta is asking only for a plebiscite so the East Tiomorese can decide their own future. It's a reasonable request.

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SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 143, No. 26

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