Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/1999-09-15-Speech-3-194"
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"en.19990915.11.3-194"2
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"Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, first I would like to thank all those who have contributed to the debate for their opinions and also for the questions they have asked. I am convinced that, with all of us working together, Parliament, the Council and the Commission, we can participate, with maximum effectiveness, in a solution to the crisis in East Timor and the arrangements that will need to be made afterwards. The resolutions approved on Monday by the Council are an indication that we feel a special sense of responsibility towards finding a solution to the issue of East Timor that will benefit its people.
One key principle of international law is the right to self-determination of nations. This issue is about establishing that right. Another principle is insistence on compliance with agreements. That we are demanding unconditionally from Indonesia. Indonesia must respect and comply with essential commitments to human rights, and, above all, the UN agreement made in New York on 5 May on the question of East Timor. This being the case, the Union will continue its forceful action in the United Nations, the Security Council and in Djakarta. An international presence is the only immediate way of improving security and safeguarding it besides, so allowing sufficient humanitarian aid to be delivered to the region.
A decision was taken this morning by the Security Council to send an international peacekeeping force and an advanced guard to East Timor immediately. The meeting at which the decision was approved was a long one: it began yesterday at 18.00. local time and ended today at 02.00. We can feel satisfied that the mandate that has been given is a so-called strong mandate. We expect the first troops to arrive in the region before the weekend. The Australians have announced that they are on twenty-four hour alert. We consider it important and positive that no preconditions were imposed in the decision to become involved. The primary criterion – the best and fastest way of restoring security – is an important one. In the long-term, we must allow other Asian countries, and especially those in ASEAN, to participate fully. In addition, the Member States of the Union have been asked to participate, and we know that many countries are now doing so. We also know that France, Great Britain and Portugal have announced their readiness to send troops.
The new problem that appears to be emerging now is the situation of the East Timorese in West Timor. The region is a part of Indonesia, and we trust that Indonesia will guarantee the safety of all those in the region, and I also hope it will. At the same time, we have to unconditionally ensure that the international humanitarian organisations and, above all the UNHCR, have safe access to the area. To show that the international community is in earnest in this matter, we are recommending a visit to West Timor in the next view days by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Mrs Ogata.
Humanitarian action is urgently needed and its main priorities are the protection of refugees in West Timor, access to the area by the UNHCR, and the commencement of airdrops of food and other supplies to take place as soon as possible. Regarding the airdrops, we can state that apparently they can start on Thursday through action on the part of the World Food Aid Programme and UNICEF. For this we must ensure there are sufficient supplies, and we will use Union relief funds to purchase these supplies. I believe humanitarian action will be in capable hands with the UNHCR, the UNDP and the ICRC. The Union and its Member States will also have a considerable part to play in the operation in the future. Furthermore, ECHO has all the while been involved in assessing the size of the aid package needed and co-ordinating Union aid so that it gets to where it is needed most right now.
The question of sanctions has been raised here, and I would now like to say that the ban on the export of weapons approved in the Council on Monday will come into force immediately. This decision will mean we will stop the export of arms to Indonesia by any Member State, and the ban will be in force for the next four months, after which it will be up for review. The legal aspects of the decision are to be finalised by the relevant bodies, and I shall not go into further detail as far as that is concerned.
Much emphasis has been put in our discussions here on the fact that human rights are being violated. We strongly condemn a state of affairs in which these violations have been carried out on such a large scale and so flagrantly. It has been said here that no one could have failed to predict that things would turn out as they have. It is absolutely true that we knew beforehand that there would be problems in the region after the referendum. However, I believe that the extent and intensity of the terror carried out came as a surprise to all the observers. The Union and the whole international community had had an assurance from the Indonesian government that they would be capable of keeping order and maintaining security in the region. They had also legally committed to this in the New York Agreement.
As Mrs Halonen said, it is probable that people in the region are also guilty of crimes that violate international human rights. For this reason, the Council has decided to give its support to the organisation of a special convention of the Commission on Human Rights and the appointment of an investigatory delegation to be sent to the region. It is also very important that we discover who is responsible for criminal acts in this crisis."@en1
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