HCON 258 IH1S
105th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. CON. RES. 258
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 1, 1998
Mrs. LOWEY (for herself, Mr. PORTER, Mr. LANTOS, and Mr. SMITH of New Jersey) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on International Relations
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Whereas the Indonesian financial collapse and political crisis have revealed that Indonesian corruption and violent repression are a serious threat to the stability of the international economy;
Whereas many nations and a wide range of international and non-government organizations have called on President Suharto to move forward with democratization in Indonesia and self-determination in East Timor;
Whereas Indonesia invaded East Timor in 1975 and has for the past 22 years illegally occupied and systematically oppressed the people of East Timor;
Whereas the Indonesian occupation has claimed the lives of over 200,000 East Timorese, a third of the population, since 1975, through military bombardment, torture and killings, and starvation;
Whereas Indonesia's invasion has been condemned in 8 United Nations General Assembly and 2 United Nations Security Council resolutions;
Whereas on November 12, 1991, Indonesian troops opened fire on thousands of peaceful mourners and demonstrators at the Santa Cruz cemetery in Dili, the capital of East Timor, killing hundreds and wounding hundreds more;
Whereas Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo and Jose Ramos-Horta were awarded the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize for their courageous contribution to the East Timorese struggle for human rights and self-determination;
Whereas both Nobel laureates have called for a United Nations-supervised referendum in East Timor;
Whereas the National Council of Maubere Resistance has offered a peace plan composed of gradual steps, including a withdrawal of Indonesian troops, the release of Timorese political prisoners, an end to torture, a period of limited autonomy, and a United Nations-supervised referendum;
Whereas the United States co-sponsored a 1997 United Nations Human Rights Commission Resolution calling for Indonesia to comply with the directives of existing United Nations resolutions regarding East Timor;
Whereas Indonesian human rights abuses continue in East Timor, including arbitrary arrests, torture, extra-judicial executions and disappearances, and general political repression;
Whereas Bishop Belo has stated that conditions in East Timor have worsened since the awarding of the Nobel Prize over one year ago;
Whereas United Nations-sponsored tripartite negotiations between the governments of Indonesia and Portugal have offered renewed hope for a just, comprehensive, and internationally acceptable settlement on the political status of East Timor but have made little progress toward that end; and
Whereas the ongoing all-inclusive intra-Timorese dialogue is limited to nonpolitical topics and there has been no direct Timorese participation in the United Nations-sponsored tripartite talks: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring),
That the United States should--(1) support an internationally supervised referendum to determine the political status of East Timor;
(2) recognize the need for direct Timorese participation in the United Nations-sponsored tripartite talks; and
(3) work actively, through the United Nations and with its allies, to realize the directives of existing United Nations resolutions on East Timor.
(List of Sponsors)