PRESS BRIEFING BY PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF NAMIBIA ON SECURITY COUNCIL VISIT TO EAST TIMOR

Press Briefing

PRESS BRIEFING BY PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF NAMIBIA ON SECURITY COUNCIL VISIT TO EAST TIMOR

During a just-completed visit to East Timor, members of the Security Council had been very encouraged by the progress the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) had made in implementing its mandate, correspondents were told at a Headquarters press briefing this afternoon.

"East Timor was on fire just last year", Martin Andjaba (Namibia), head of the seven-member mission, said. "Looking back on the destruction which took place, the progress that has been made is very, very impressive."

Mr. Andjaba said this was the Council's second such mission to the region. This visit, which had taken place from 9 to 18 November, had included stops in West Timor and Jakarta, Indonesia. Council members had also seen first-hand the refugee situation in Kupang and Atambua.

While the mission had focused its attention on the efforts made in East Timor to ensure more effective administration and to promote reconstruction and rehabilitation, such general progress could not alter the fact that difficulties remained, he said. This was particularly true of the judicial system, and Council members had taken a keen interest in how far UNTAET had gone in addressing the question of justice. "Following the violence and killings of last year", Mr. Andjaba said, "there is a need for justice to be done as regards those who commit crimes against humanity”.

Mr. Andjaba went on to highlight the positive nature of meetings in Dili, East Timor, with the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Sergio Vieira de Mello, East Timorese independence leader Xanana Gusmao, as well as the diplomatic community. He noted that the mission had also met with military leaders. In Suai, the mission had been briefed by the Force Commander on preparations for refugee returns to that region. Overall, the visit to East Timor had been successful.

In Kupang, West, Council members had held "useful" discussions with Government representatives, as well as military and law enforcement officials. The specific mandate for that portion of the mission had been to review implementation of Council resolution 1329 (2000). That resolution, which called for the Indonesian Government to take immediate steps to restore law and order to West Timor and to ensure safety in the refugee camps, had been adopted after three United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) staff were killed in September. The mission had therefore made a special effort to visit several refugee camps and resettlement centres in order to study the plight of refugees and identify their needs. It had also been briefed on the Government's expectations and what assistance would be needed to repatriate refugees to East Timor or to resettle those that wished to remain behind.

He was pleased to note that Council members had also been able to speak directly with refugees during the mission’s visit. He was disturbed, however, that during those conversations, they had discovered that many of the refugees had been unable to express their views freely since militias were still very active in the camps.

Andjaba Press Briefing - 2 - 20 November 2000

He said that while in Kupang, the mission had also met with representatives of Uni Timor Aswain (UNTAS), a political organization supporting East Timor's reintegration with West Timor and purporting to have as a particular interest the plight of refugees. Mr. Andjaba noted that while the UNTAS representatives continued to reject the outcome of last year's Popular Consultation, they had renounced violence and condemned the murders of the UNHCR staff. During their discussions, Council members had urged the pro-integration group to accept the reality that East Timor was now moving towards independence, a process that was irreversible.

A corespondent asked if Mr. Andjaba had been leery of approaching UNTAS. Was it his view that the group was associated with the militias? "Given who they are", Mr. Andjaba said, "of course we debated whether we should meet with them". But the mission had also felt that it would be useful to hear from the group. As a result, Council members had been able to learn that UNTAS denounced violence and the killings of the humanitarian staff

Turning next to Jakarta, he said that the mission had been met there by the Vice-President of Indonesia, as well as other high officials, including the Coordinating Minister for Political, Social and Security Affairs. "We went at their invitation, stressing the point that we were their to assist them in implementing the Council resolution and identifying a final solution to the problem of refugees", he said.

He welcomed the Parliament of Indonesia's recent signing of a law on human rights. While it had not yet been ratified, it was a step forward. He hoped it would lead to the elaboration of a process for trial and prosecution of those who had been accused of human rights violations. In that regard, he noted that several militia leaders had already been arrested on charges of inciting violence in West Timor or illegal possession of arms. The cases of the two peacekeepers who had been killed were also being followed aggressively.

A correspondent wondered if Mr. Andjaba had faith in the capability of the local courts to follow up on those cases successfully. Should a criminal tribunal be established? Mr. Andjaba said the Council had decided that since the Indonesian authorities had established the mechanisms locally to deal with such issues, those mechanisms should be given time and room to operate. The whole process might be helped along now that the human rights law was in place. Still, he added, they certainly needed the Council's assistance, as Indonesia's justice system had no experience in handling cases dealing with gross violations of humanitarian law. The Attorney General's Office had even suggested seminars and training sessions on that issue. "I don't think it's time now for an international criminal tribunal", he added.

Another correspondent asked if the Council was proposing, with the Government of Indonesia's consent, a security force to go into West Timor to deal with the abuse of refugees in the region. Mr. Andjaba said that what had been proposed, in discussions with the Government, had been for United Nations security experts to be sent to the region to assess the situation along with the Indonesian military and police. It would be on the basis of their assessment that a decision would be taken as to whether the humanitarian agencies should return to West Timor.

Several correspondents wondered what would make it feasible for the humanitarian agencies to return to West Timor. How could they return when the

military had done very little to control militia activity over the past 18 months? What good did it do for UNHCR to keep going back?

"The Government has tried its best", Mr. Andjaba said. So far, food, medicine, clothing and shelter had been provided. But it was widely known that this was not enough. The disarmament and disbanding of the militias was also necessary. He noted that the Government claimed, however, that the militias had been disbanded since last December and were no longer operating under their formal structures.

He went on to say that it was certainly necessary that the United Nations security experts go to the region, assess the situation with the cooperation of Indonesian authorities and determine the appropriate time for UNHCR and other humanitarian agencies to return. He noted that the agency would make it a priority to register refugees upon its return. Among the steps taken by the Government to address the situation included the reinforcement of military and police battalions, as well as a guarantee of safety for humanitarian workers.

"We have made it very clear”, he said, “that UNHCR and others would return to West Timor only if their safety and security were guaranteed". That was the Government's duty.

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