DATE=12/27/1999
TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT
TITLE=YEARENDER: EAST TIMOR
NUMBER=5-45123
BYLINE=AMY BICKERS
DATELINE=HONG KONG
INTERNET=YES
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: East Timor is slowly coming back to life after
the deadly violence that shook the territory earlier
this year. Amy Bickers reports on the tumultuous
events that nearly destroyed East Timor in 1999, and
examines the future outlook for the fledgling Asian
state and its people.
TEXT: A major rebuilding process has begun in East
Timor, following a wave of bloodshed and destruction
in September. While aid workers and U-N officials say
most people in the territory now have food and
shelter, they stress that there is an enormous amount
to be done to stabilize the former Portuguese colony.
Andrew McNaughtan, a spokesperson for the Australia-
based East Timor International Support Center,
recently spent two months in East Timor. He says the
territory, now under United Nations control, has
started to recover from the violence which followed
the independence referendum in August.
/// McNAUGHTAN ACT ///
At a small level you see stalls and shops and
markets re-emerging. They seem to be more
plentiful than before. Small roadside stalls and
the markets have certainly come back and are
very vibrant. In terms of the larger economy, I
believe the coffee industry is starting to get
on its feet. That will of course generate more
income.
/// END ACT ///
After the August 30th vote for independence, pro-
Indonesia militias went on a violent rampage. At least
hundreds of East Timorese died, buildings were burned
and crops destroyed. Witnesses allege the militia
violence was backed by the Indonesian military. It is
a claim top Indonesian officials, including former
defense chief Wiranto, deny.
Members of Indonesia's own commission investigating
human rights abuses say the officials should be held
accountable because they knew about the violence and
did not stop it. A U-N team is pushing for the
establishment of an international war crimes tribunal.
Both teams say they have plenty of evidence
implicating Mr. Wiranto and other top commanders.
The World Bank estimates that more than 75-percent of
the population was displaced in the week after the
ballot results were announced, and 70-percent of East
Timor's infrastructure was destroyed. An Australian-
led peace force, acting under the U-N's authority,
restored order, as Indonesian forces withdrew.
Today, thousands of troops continue to maintain
security in East Timor. The territory is under the
temporary stewardship of UNTAET (pron: uhn-tay-et),
the United Nations transition team which is expected
to remain in place for about three years.
Mr. McNaughtan stresses that the new administration is
saddled with tremendous challenges, since East Timor
has none of the basic elements of a functioning state
-- such as a legal system or police force.
/// McNAUGHTAN ACT ///
UNTAET is still in its teething (early)stages,
has yet to make a lot of progress. There are a
lot of discussions about a fledgling health care
and education system, the kind of systems that
will need to be set up for a future government
to work. There are many, many things that need
to be dealt with. Progress is being made on
those fronts but slowly. It will take years for
these structures to mature.
/// END ACT ///
In mid-December, international donors to East Timor
met in Tokyo and pledged more than 500-million dollars
toward the rebuilding effort. The United Nations plans
to spend more than one billion dollars on the
protection and revival of the territory.
While Mr. McNaughtan applauds the international
community's donations and efforts, he and other aid
officals say they remain highly concerned about an
estimated 160-thousand East Timorese who have yet to
come home. He says many are virtual prisoners in camps
in West Timor, or have been moved to other parts of
Indonesia against their will.
/// McNAUGHTAN ACT ///
A lot of the people are not there voluntarily,
they have been forced out they have been
intimidated. We have heard credible reports of
murders and rapes inflicted by the Indonesian
armed forces and militias they set up and train
against these people, many of whom are captives.
Some have voluntarily left East Timor because
they think the future there is not very good,
but a lot of them are people who are being held
against their will, and that is a diabolical
situation.
/// END ACT ///
Some of those who fled or were pushed out of East
Timor are trickling back. Many are showing symptoms of
malaria and other diseases. But officials from Amnesty
International and other human rights organizations say
militiamen continue to harass and intimidate refugees
in West Timor with near impunity.
Aid workers say they are trying to gain access to the
camps in West Timor and to protect the rights of the
people there. In East Timor, as rebuilding efforts
continue, a probe into reports of mass graves and
killings will also be undertaken, with forensic
experts set to arrive in early January. (SIGNED)
NEB/AB/FC/KL
27-Dec-1999 07:05 AM EDT (27-Dec-1999 1205 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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