Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/1999-10-07-Speech-4-043"
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"en.19991007.4.4-043"2
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"Mr President, in recent months, more disasters have occurred in Indonesia, in the shadow of the awful events that took place in East Timor. The Moluccan island group is one of the areas that has suffered terribly under the violation of human rights going all the way back to November 1998. Since November of last year, hundreds of people have been killed, many have been badly injured and tens of thousands of people have been uprooted or are fleeing their homes. In August alone, there were 65 deaths and 242 people were injured. In September, a further 40 people died and many people were injured. Thirty-five thousand people in the Moluccas are in camps or other reception centres and even larger numbers of people have fled.
In addition, many villages and houses have been burnt out and stocks of food and medicines are diminishing. The area is becoming more and more unsettled. The increasing violence between the Muslim and the Christian populations, among others, is responsible for this disastrous situation. The Indonesian army units stationed there do not offer enough protection in the face of such violence; they even instigate violence themselves sometimes, a consequence being that armed civilian groups are coming to play an increasingly provocative role. In the Moluccas too, militias are forming which appear to be in collaboration with the army. The situation is a little like that in Timor. One of the causes of the tragedy is the fact that people have been forced to migrate from other islands to the Moluccas. As a result, the traditional relationship between the population groups has been disrupted.
Of course, the economic crisis has a role to play here, too. Then there is the attitude of the army units stationed there, for they support some groups more than others and have little understanding of human rights and the rights of minorities. All this means that armed civilians can just run amok. I will give you an example of a recent atrocity: on 20 August, twenty-one Moluccans died having sought sanctuary in the Jabor church in Galala just outside Ambon city. According to eyewitness accounts, the perpetrators were dressed in the uniforms of the elite Kostrad unit of the Indonesian army. Mr President, surely it is necessary to get to the bottom of something like this.
What needs to happen? Democracy, respect for human rights and respect for religious and ethnic population groups must be established in Indonesia as soon as possible. UN and NGO reporters must be able to compile objective reports so that the situation on the ground is reflected as accurately as possible. Militias and other armed groups must be stripped of their arms because they are an out and out threat to security. Those individuals, and that includes military militias, who are guilty of provocation and acts of violence, must be tried. If necessary, a tribunal should be set up for this purpose, now that as many as 500 people have died. Action must be taken to enable the various groups to live in peace side by side. There is good will on both sides but this does mean that an end must be brought to the enforced migrations.
We must also look carefully at the presidential elections because there are plans to replace the army units that are in the region now with army units from Sulawesi. The people say that may create a dangerous situation. In that case, Mr President, there is a need for help. Tens of thousands of people have been uprooted. There is a lack of food and medicines and countless houses and villages have been burnt down. Help is also needed to rebuild those. I would like to ask the Commissioner if it would be possible to involve ECHO in this; the NGOs can also help here, as can the churches.
Mr President, I will close by saying that Timor was a tragedy that shocked the entire world. It has overshadowed the situation in the Moluccas. But in view of the fact that hundreds have died, thousands have been injured and tens of thousands of people have been uprooted, we need to turn our attention to this region as well. This kind of solidarity is a big support to the Dutch-Moluccan delegation sitting here on the platform. I am banking on the Commission’s giving serious thought to this point, on action being taken and on the points contained in the resolution being implemented."@en1
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