29 September 1999Text: U.S. to Provide $5.1 Million for East Timor Assistance
(Statement by Deputy Spokesman James Foley) (460) The United States will be providing $5.1 million in humanitarian assistance to victims of the recent violence in East Timor, Deputy State Department Spokesman James Foley announced September 29. "This contribution is part of a larger U.S. government response to the violence and subsequent displacement of hundreds of thousands of East Timorese following the August 30 vote for independence," Foley said in a prepared statement. He noted that the U.S. government has already provided more than $10 million to the relief effort. Following is the State Department text: (begin text) U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE Office of the Spokesman For Immediate Release September 29, 1999 #99/840 STATEMENT BY JAMES B. FOLEY, DEPUTY SPOKESMAN U.S. Provides $5.1 Million for East Timor Assistance The Government of the United States is pleased to announce a contribution of $5.1 million for the humanitarian needs of the people of East Timor. The United Nations Interim Inter-Agency Appeal for East Timor will receive $4.1 million, and the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) will receive $1 million. This initial, FY 99 donation to the U.N. appeal provides $2.6 million to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), $1 million to the World Food Program (WFP), and $500,000 to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). This contribution is part of a larger U.S. government response to the violence and subsequent displacement of hundreds of thousands of East Timorese following the August 30 vote for independence. The U.S. government has already provided over $10 million to the relief effort. USAID will provide $4.9 million in food provisions that will arrive in mid-November. United Nations agencies are also responding with food, medical supplies, shelter, and water for more than 200,000 internally displaced persons in East Timor and another 170-200,000 refugees in camps in West Timor. The contribution will help establish OCHA's Humanitarian Assistance Coordination Unit (HACU) in Dili that will help ensure a timely and effective response to emerging humanitarian requirements. The contribution to WFP will help fund the creation of a UN logistics unit in Dili. UNHCR's activities will include emergency interventions in shelter, water and sanitation, refugee protection and repatriation. USG funding will also support ICRC activities in emergency relief, medical services, protection, and tracing. Additional contributions will be forthcoming from the USG in the new fiscal year. This funding comes from the State Department's Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM). It follows on the heels of PRM Assistant Secretary Julia Taft's recent visit to the region with senior humanitarian aid officials from Japan, Thailand, the U.K, and Sweden. (end text)
