Presented by Marco PerDuca UN observer for TRP

June 17, 1997

Mr. Chairman,

On behalf of the Honorable Olivier Dupuis, member of the European Radical Alliance to the European Parliament and General Secretary of the Transnational Radical Party, I would like to thank you for giving us the opportunity to present this petition with regards to the East Timor issue at the Committee of 24.

We salute the two 1996 Nobel Peace laureates, Bishop Ximenes Belo and Dr. Jose' Ramos Horta, and regarding this I would like to make a brief reference to a statement presented by Mr. Osorio Soares Jr. this morning in which he made serious accusations against the good character of Dr. Jose' Ramos Horta whom I have the privilege to know personally. Mr. Soares' presentation - having also questioned the decision of the Nobel Committee to award the Peace Prize to Dr. Ramos Horta - should deserve an extensive comment. I recognize that this is not the appropriate place, but next time I invite him to bring further evidence of his accusation for the sake of clarity and truth.

The Transnational Radical Party is a Non-Governmental Organization with Category General Consultative Status with the ECOSOC of the United Nations. It is a political organization that believes in nonviolence and dialogue, and this is why we have decided to present a petition at this Committee. I am also pleased to enclose in this statement the text of a resolution on Indonesia adopted by the European Parliament several weeks ago. It is a document supported by the MEPs members of the Transnational Radical Party.

The situation concerning East Timor is a very serious and preoccupying one, and an effective solution has been delayed for too many years. We believe that the time has come for a new commitment of the United Nations on this issue, a decision that will save the life of the Maubere People and grant them the right of self-determination.

Article 2 of the United Nations Charter says explicitly that "All members shall settle their international disputes by peaceful means in such a manner that international peace, security and justice, are not endangered", moreover it also says that "All members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the purposes of the United Nations"

During the 1970s and 1980s the Radical movement in Europe fought, and won, many civil rights battles, campaigns which were all carried out with nonviolence, civil disobedience and popular referenda. During the past week we have heard from some distinguished delegates that the future of a nation should be in the hands of the people itself, and it seems to us that nothing better than a referendum could respond to that statement.

The necessity to give a voice for self-determination to the Maubere people can be substantially fulfilled by the voting of a referendum that should ask the people of East Timor if they want to become an independent nation or if they want to remain an occupied, intimidated and exploited territory. The need for such a vote is shared by the majority of the Maubere people. The referendum should take place under the supervision of the United Nations. If there are democratic elections in Indonesia, why should not there be a referendum in East Timor, claimed to be part of the same country?

Mr. Chairman, distinguished delegates to the Committee,

The Transnational Radical Party welcomes the appointment by the UN Secretary-General of Ms. Mary Robinson, the President of Ireland, as the new High Commissioner for Human Rights. We are convinced that she will continue doing in the future what she has done in her past, that is a strong commitment to civil rights causes.

According to major human rights organizations the situation in East Timor is becoming worse and worse: tortures, disappearances, rapes, deportations, prevarication and violence of all kinds are perpetrated every day. For all these reasons we believe that human rights supervisors should visit the island.

The time is ripe for a radical change in humanitarian policies. We think the the world should take advantage of an international context in which the most prominent representatives for humanitarian issues of the international community are two women, Ms. Mary Robinson, and Ms. Emma Bonino, European Commissioner for Humanitarian Affairs, who share a political background rooted in the advocation of human and civil rights.

We urge a UN-EU conjoint mission to visit East Timor and report to competent international bodies about the human rights situation in the island.

During the past decades a consensus has emerged on the definition of Crimes Against Peace, War Crimes and Crimes against Humanity. Although we believe that all these acts are perpetrated in East Timor - and for these reasons we are of the opinion that the United Nations should start collecting and collating evidence of them - Contrary to some other petitioners' opinion expressed in the past, we do not consider the establishment of an International Criminal Tribunal for East Timor the best way to deal with these heinous violation of human rights.

The whole world needs peace, but there will not be any peace unless an effective fair and, most of all, international system of justice will be created. In fact, the Transnational Radical Party supports the establishment of an International Criminal Court by the United Nations, and believes that only such an institution will lead to a just world where human rights violations and wars of aggression will be judged by an international independent body. The establishment of another ad hoc International Tribunal by the Security Council will only delay the whole process, a process that will affect the entire world instead of trying to solve dramatic situations all over the planet like the one of East Timor.

Before concluding my presentation, allow me Mr. Chairman to make another reference to a claim raised this morning by a previous petitioner, Mr. Manuel Macedo. Unsure of certain passages of his petition, I have talked to Mr. Carrascalao, the person quoted by him, we both agreed that it is significant that after 22 years someone is still spreading falsehoods like the ones of the well known Balibo declaration, signed in Bali beach. Mr. Joao Carrascalao is here present today, and I must say that he vehemently denies having written the letters which Mr. Macedo makes reference to. I have discussed this issue with Mr. Carrasclao and in light of the seriousness of Mr. Macedo's claim, I ask Mr. Macedo to substantiate his claims by producing the above mentioned letters. Mr. Carrascalao also told me that he resisted all pressures from the Indonesian authorities in 1975, including taking up any Indonesian office. It is regrettable that Mr. Macedo has used this august Committee to spread lies without producing any eviden

ce of his accusations.

In conclusion, we think that this Committee has the means and duty to encourage all bodies of the United Nations and the international community at large, to be more active than they have been in the past on the issue of East Timor. The life of thousands of children, women an men is at stake. We urge you to use those means with energy and commitment, for the sake of those harmless human lives.

Thank you Mr. Chairman

Resolution on Indonesia

The European Parliament

- having regard to its previous resolutions on Indonesia,

A. whereas the Indonesian authorities continue to severely restrict civil liberties and violate human rights, both in Indonesia and in occupied East Timor, as pointed out in a resolution by the 53rd session of the UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva,

B. whereas only three parties, all of them pro-government, are permitted to take part in the general elections scheduled for 29 May 1997,

C. deeply concerned at the severe sentences passed by Indonesian courts against peaceful government critics and the many arrests of students who protest against the severely controlled election campaign,

D. whereas the Indonesian government has objected to an independent election committee monitoring the elections,

E. noting that the Indonesian government has not yet ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights or the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment,

1. Reaffirms its solidarity with the aims and goals of the Indonesian pro- democracy movement in the struggle for a just, democratic and pluralist society;

2. Condemns the harsh sentences passed against leaders of opposition parties, trade unionists and other government critics and calls on the Indonesian authorities to release all political prisoners, give international humanitarian organizations access to prisoners, respect human rights and fundamental freedoms and repeal legislation allowing for the imprisonment of peaceful political activists;

3. Reiterates its demand that the Indonesian Government bring to an end torture and executions;

4. Calls on the Indonesian authorities to accept independent monitoring of the forthcoming elections;

5. Urges the Council and the Commission to express their concern about the human rights situation in Indonesia in general and about the silencing of the opposition and the undemocratic way that elections are carried out in particular;

6. Calls on the Commission to uphold the position that trade relations with ASEAN states should be subject to respect for human rights, and to adhere to the position that these two matters cannot be discussed separately;

7. Reiterates its demand that the Member States of the European Union withhold all military assistance and all arms sales to Indonesia;

8. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Governments of Indonesia, the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.