First Net Print, Tuesday, February 01, 2000
Second  Net Print, October 30 2001

5. East Timor was a colony of Portugal. On 28 November 1975, one of the East Timorese political parties, Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor (FRETLIN) declared independence from Portugal because Portugal was considering dismantling its colonies. On December 7 1975, Indonesia sent its troops into the Territory on the grounds that other East Timorese political parties and elements were seeking its intervention. The United Nations Security Council condemned the intervention by Indonesia. It adopted resolution 384/1975 calling for the withdrawal of Indonesian forces. On July 17, 1976, Indonesia formally annexed the territory and proclaimed East Timor as twenty–seventh province of Indonesia. The General Assembly rejected the claim that East Timor had been integrated into Indonesia and called for the exercise by the people of East Timor of their right to self–determination.

6. In the 1990s East Timorese resistance groups formed an umbrella organisation called the National Council of Timorese Resistance (CNRT), while the Armed Forces of National Liberation of East Timor (FALINTIL) was engaged in armed opposition to Indonesia's presence in the territory. The Indonesian authorities had reportedly used armed militia groups as a strategy to deal with the armed and other opposition groups that resisted the Indonesian presence in East Timor. In 1998 and 1999, FALINTIL's operations re portedly were mainly defensive and confined to the hills. There have been some reports on occasional abuses committed by FALINTIL during this period.

7. On November 12, 1991 Indonesian forces shot into a crowd of people who had gathered at the Santa Cruz cemetery in Dili for a memorial service for a youth shot dead by TNI in an incident on 28 October 1991. The number of mourners killed at the Santa Cruz cemetery is not clear. The incident brought back the international focus on the question of self – determination of East Timorese people.

8. For the last several years, the Commission on Human Rights and other bodies had been concerned with the serious human rights violations in East Timor, relating to continuing allegations of extrajudicial killings, torture, "disappearances" and acts of sexual violence attributed to members of the Indonesian National Army (TNI) and pro-government militias and paramilitary groups.

9. In May 1998, following the resignation of President Suharto, the new Government of Indonesia under President Habibie, committed itself to reform and respect for human rights. As a result of greater display of tolerance by the authorities, open political activity by East Timorese students and CNRT reportedly increased. However, there were also reports that in late 1998 and early 1999, new militia groups were established in East Timor by the Indonesian authorities who reportedly portrayed the emergence of new militia groups as a spontaneous reaction against the activities of supporters of independence.

10. In January 1999, President Habibie offered East Timor substantial autonomy, or independence if the offer of autonomy was rejected. In an agreement signed on 5 May 1999, Indonesia, Portugal and the United Nations agreed on a consultation process for the East Timorese people to accept or reject the Indonesian offer of autonomy. The agreement stressed that the responsibility for ensuring a secure environment devoid of violence or other forms of intimidation would rest with the appropriate Indonesian authorities. The agreement also underscored the need for neutrality of the TNI and the Indonesian police for implementing the popular consultation process.

11. The Secretary-General identified six preconditions for implementing the consultation process - these were :

• Bringing armed civilian groups under strict control ;
• The prompt arrest and prosecution of those who incite or threaten to use violence ;
• A ban on rallies by armed groups ;
• Ensuring the freedom of association and expression of all political forces and tenedencies;
• The redeployment of the Indonesian military forces ;
• The immediate institution of a process of laying down of arms by all armed groups to be completed well in advance of the holding of the ballot.

12. In June 1999, the Security Council established the United Nations Mission in East Timor (UNAMET) to organize and conduct a popular consultation. The ballot originally set for August 8 1999, was twice postponed for security and technical reasons. At the end of the voter registration period, a total of 446,666 people had registered, including 422,575 from within East Timor.

13. On August 30 1999, nearly 99 per cent of registered voters turned out for the vote. On 4 September, the United Nations announced that the East Timorese people had overwhelmingly chosen independence : over 78% of the voters had rejected autonomy within Indonesia. The violence that followed the announcement of the results of the popular consultation led to the establishment of the International Commission of Inquiry on East Timor.

Previous and Next Page