US Department of State Date: 7 Sept 2000

Lawmaker Condemns Murder of U.N. Workers in West Timor

Outrage over the murder of United Nations workers -- including one American -- in West Timor by Indonesian militias brought a call in Congress for continued suspension of U.S. military relations with the Indonesian military. There should be no U.S. military aid or relations with the Indonesian military until the Jakarta regime has disarmed and disbanded the militias committing mayhem in Timor, Representative James McGovern (Democrat of Massachusetts) said in a September 6 speech in the House of Representatives.

President Clinton, McGovern said, "must condemn these brutal murders and demand the Indonesian government disarm and disband the militias and ensure the safe return of the refugees to East Timor."

The United States, he added, "must maintain the suspension of all U.S. military aid and relations with the Indonesian military until this has been accomplished."

"The murder and mayhem in West Timor must stop today," the lawmaker said.

Following is the text of McGovern's remarks:

(begin text)

INDONESIAN MILITIAS KILL U.N. STAFF IN WEST TIMOR (House of Representatives - September 06, 2000)

Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, in 1999, militias, armed and supported by the Indonesian military, rampaged through East Timor because the people of East Timor voted for freedom and independence.

One year later, the militias are on the rampage again. Today, pro-Indonesia militias killed at least three United Nations refugee workers in West Timor.

Over 100,000 refugees from East Timor remain trapped in squalid refugee camps in West Timor, under the control of the militias. These U.N. workers were providing much-needed relief to these refugees.

Let me tell my colleagues how they died. A mob of thousands of militiamen, wielding machetes and rifles stormed the U.N. headquarters in West Timor. The militias stabbed their victims to death, dragged their bodies into the street, and then set them on fire.

President Clinton must condemn these brutal murders and demand the Indonesian government disarm and disband the militias and ensure the safe return of the refugees to East Timor.

Finally, the United States must maintain the suspension of all U.S. military aid and relations with the Indonesian military until this has been accomplished.

The murder and mayhem in West Timor must stop today.

(end text)

(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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