Sumario: August 29, 2000: Statement By Mr. Jean-David Levitte, Permanent Representative of France to the Security Council on behalf of the European Union. The situation in East Timor (New York)
Mr. President,
I would like to thank you, Mr. President, for organizing this debate. We would also like to thank Mr. Annabi for having presented us, as always, a fully detailed and exact description of the situation in East Timor.
I have the honor to speak on behalf of the European Union. The Central and Eastern European countries associated with the European Union - Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia - as well as Cyprus, Malta and Turkey, which are also associated with the European Union, endorse this statement.
The European Union wishes today to reaffirm its support for what the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) has done to lead East Timor to independence. A year ago, almost to the day, the East Timorese people chose independence. UNTAET, decisively spurred forward by the Secretary-General's Special Representative, Mr. Vieira de Mello, has already done considerable work, and that work must be pursued in full cooperation with the East Timorese themselves. It is essential
that all strata of the Timorese population be able to take an effective part in building the future independent State. The establishment last month of a joint Government, bringing together representatives of UNTAET and of the Timorese on an equal footing, seems to us to be quite positive in this regard.
Nonetheless, the European Union remains extremely concerned over the situation of tens of thousands of East Timorese refugees in West Timor. The European Union urges Indonesia to fulfill totally and unconditionally its commitment to help those who wish to be repatriated and to put an end to the unacceptable campaigns of disinformation and intimidation waged by the militias in the refugee camps. The European Union condemns in the strongest terms the assault on 22 August against a team from the
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and deplores the fact that that attack, far from being an isolated act, was part of an almost continuous series of acts of harassment and violence against humanitarian personnel and refugees since the end of spring. The European Union notes with particular concern that these conditions compelled UNHCR to suspend its cooperation for a number of days.
The European Union takes note of the new commitments made by the Indonesian Government to settle the refugee question. It calls upon the Indonesian Government to take effective measures to restore law and order, to create conditions of safety and security for the refugees and the international humanitarian personnel, to make it possible for that personnel to have access to the camps in full freedom and security and to immediately arrest and bring to justice the extremist militia members who are
trying to sabotage the reconciliation process. All these measures are indispensable in order to complete the registration of refugees, which will give them real freedom of choice between returning to East Timor as soon as possible or being settled in Indonesia.
The European Union is deeply concerned at the destabilizing impact of the incursion of well-trained and well-equipped militias into East Timor from West Timor. The militias' activities could make the process of transition to independence more fragile. In this context, the European Union especially condemns the killing of two UNTAET Blue Helmets, in late July and early August. It also deplores the recent death of a Bangladesh soldier.
The European Union believes that the conditions are in place in East Timor today to enable the Timorese to pursue a real and sturdy process of national reconciliation. In this context, it is vital that the international community continue to demonstrate its commitment to supporting the recovery and development of East Timor.
Timor has been the subject of an unprecedented United Nations operation. UNTAET has enjoyed considerable backing from the international community and the largest budget of all current peacekeeping operations. As has been the case for other peacekeeping operations, the costs and means of this operation need to be evaluated on an ongoing basis to ensure the best possible allocation of resources. In this context, the European Union recalls the request made by the Security Council last 3 August to
have a military assessment of security conditions and of their implications for the structure of UNTAET's military component. The European Union would especially like to have up-to-date information on UNTAET's military needs, the effective distribution of capabilities in the territory in relation to local security constraints, the tasks actually assigned to UNTAET's military component and the prospects for how it will continue to evolve.
As we stressed last June in the Security Council, the European Union considers that the transition period in East Timor is entering a crucial phase. The United Nations mission, together with the East Timorese, must facilitate the emergence of a new, democratic State, one built upon the essential foundation of the primacy of law, an independent State that is fully integrated into its region and at peace with all its neighbors.
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