Press Briefing
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY OFFICE OF SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL
19990917.........
**East Timor
The World Food Programme (WFP) today air dropped 15 metric tonnes of rice, as well as blankets, at three locations in East Timor. The rice, transported on two C-130 aircraft provided by the Australian military, was on two-tonne pallets designed to break up in the air. Fifteen tonnes can feed about 30,000 people for a day. More air-drops are planned for tomorrow.
The high-protein biscuits that the WFP intends to deliver by the revolutionary "snow-drop" technique described earlier this week are now en route to Darwin and could be flown into East Timor on Monday. (A WFP press release is available in my Office.)
Meanwhile, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) brought in to Dili today two plane loads of mostly high-protein biscuits, some of which were then loaded on trucks and taken to Dare, in the hills behind Dili, where a substantial part of the Dili population is hiding in fear. In this convoy were also four tonnes of rice, part of a daily allotment that the Indonesian Government has been providing to a Jesuit priest in Dare who is caring for the displaced people there.
On the way up to Dare, this UN/ICRC convoy came across a military operation in which about 50 mostly uniformed Indonesian military personnel were torching a village and driving its inhabitants away. While this kind of thing is common, what was unusual was that the Indonesian military, or TNI, were openly involved.
In Dare, our people were told that, yesterday, four children going down the hill towards Dili were caught by militia and executed.
Today, UN personnel travelled to the Port area of Dili, where they noticed a dramatic decrease in the number of displaced persons that had been huddled there in recent days, from between 5,000-6,000 down to about 2,000. There were no indications as to where they went.
There continue to be reports of large convoys of trucks carrying loot towards West Timor, as the TNI gradually pull out of East Timor. About two battalions, or 4,000 troops, are expected to stay on to secure essential utilities -- water, electricity, etc. -- for the arrival of the multinational force, or MNF.
Daily Press Briefing - 4 - 17 September 1999
The Australian Mission informed us that Admiral Chris Barrie, Chief of the Australian Defence Force, had a press conference in Darwin today at 5 p.m. local time.
Regarding the composition of the multinational force, which he called International Force East Timor (INTERFET), Admiral Barrie said they had received firm commitments from eight countries: New Zealand, United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Portugal, France, Brazil and Italy. He added that they were also talking to Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, Thailand and Indonesia. Final details of the specific contributions and when they will be deployed are still being negotiated at the military planning level, he said. He also confirmed that Major General Peter Gosgrove will be the commander of the multinational force.
If you have any questions you can contact Jon Merrill, the press officer at the Australian Mission, at telephone no. 351-6634.
Meanwhile, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Sadako Ogata, is on her way to Indonesia. Arrangements are also being made for her to visit Kupang and Atambua in West Timor. In talks with Indonesian officials, the High Commissioner will raise UNHCR's concerns about the situation of East Timorese forcibly deported to West Timor and elsewhere in Indonesia.
While the humanitarian situation in East Timor is likely to improve dramatically with the deployment of peacekeepers and the arrival of many humanitarian organizations, the situation of East Timorese deported to West Timor causes huge concern.
Reports reaching the UNHCR from the border town of Atambua say pro- independence Timorese who were forcibly relocated to West Timor are scattered in groups of up to 1,000 people in the hills. Conditions in the makeshift camps are appalling. There is no shelter, food and medicine. Water is a major problem. The dry season is at its peak and, even in the best of times, little water is available at this time. In such a situation, there are deaths every day among infants, the sick and elderly. What is more worrying is the security situation. Militias are reported to be seeking out pro-independence activists and taking them away to an unknown fate.
This morning in Geneva, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson, presented her report on the human rights situation in East Timor to the bureau of the Commission on Human Rights. In the conclusion to this report, the High Commissioner says she intends to remain in contact with the Indonesian authorities on the establishment of an international commission of inquiry and is ready, if needed, to take the initiative in launching such an international commission.
Mrs. Robinson argues that to end the century tolerating impunity for those guilty of the shocking violations of human rights in East Timor would
Daily Press Brfiefing - 5 - 17 September 1999
be a betrayal of everything the United Nations stands for regarding the universal promotion and protection of human rights.
This report follows Mrs Robinson's visit to the region last weekend. Copies are available in the Spokesman's Office and on the United Nations human rights website.
We are also awaiting word from the Chairman of the Commission on Human Rights as to whether there will be a special session of the Commission to address the issue of human rights in East Timor. Portugal had requested a special session, and the deadline for responses was yesterday evening.
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