DATE=9/15/1999
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=U-N TIMOR RESOLUTION APPROVED (L)
NUMBER=2-253892
BYLINE=MAX RUSTON
DATELINE=UNITED NATIONS
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: The United Nations Security Council has
(Wednesday) authorized deployment of a multi-national
force in East Timor. The Australian-led force will
attempt to end a wave of violence in the territory.
V-O-A's U-N correspondent Max Ruston reports.
TEXT: The force received its authorization in a
resolution drafted by Britain and approved unanimously
by the Security Council.
The resolution invokes chapter seven of the U-N
Charter, stating the situation in East Timor
constitutes a threat to international peace and
security. It authorizes the force to use all means
necessary to restore order in the former Portuguese
colony, facilitate humanitarian assistance and protect
United Nations officers.
Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer spoke to
the council immediately after it approved the
resolution. He pledged to deploy the force as early
as possible.
/// Downer act ///
It is vitally important that the multi-national force
be deployed quickly. Australia is working with other
contributors to ensure the earliest possible arrival
of the force.
/// End act ///
Violence broke out in East Timor after residents voted
late last month for independence from Indonesia, which
invaded the territory in 1975. Pro-Jakarta militias
and the Indonesian military have been blamed for most
of the violence since the election results were
announced.
Indonesian Foreign Minister Ali Alatas has denied
those charges. He reiterated his government's stand
on violence to members of the Security Council.
/// Alatas act ///
And while my delegation shares the deep concern of
other member states at the incidents that had taken
place, we also stressed that is not and will never be
the policy of the Indonesian government to condone any
form of violence under any circumstance.
/// End act ///
The multinational force is expected to include up to
eight-thousand troops from about 15 nations. About
half the troops will be Australian. Deployment is
scheduled to begin within the next few days.
Indonesia initially objected to Australian involvement
in the force, saying it has supported East Timor's
independence movement and therefore would not be
neutral. Jakarta dropped those objections after talks
with U-N Secretary-General Kofi Annan and repeated
assurances that the force would be multi-national and
neutral.
Pro-independence groups in East Timor have criticized
the United Nations for not moving faster to stop the
violence in the territory. But diplomats are
defending the U-N response, saying it has acted more
quickly to stop the violence in East Timor than it did
when faced with similar unrest in Rwanda and Kosovo.
(Signed)
NEB/UN/MPR/PLM
15-Sep-1999 03:41 AM EDT (15-Sep-1999 0741 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
|
Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list
|
|
|
