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| Kissinger Watch #7 - 02 | |
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| Statement of Representative Dennis J. Kucinich (D-OH) | |
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| In favor of H Con Res 405 - regarding East Timor May 21, 2002 | |
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| Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H. Con. Res 405, an act which congratulates the people of East Timor on the occasion of their national independence and establishes official U.S. relations with the new country. We, in the United States, should take proper account of the enormous accomplishment East Timor independence represents, and with great humility, honestly recognize America's role in the suppression of East Timor. The United States government was not a reliable ally of the Timorese independence cause. Quite the opposite, in fact. The United States government consistently sided against the East Timorese people. Recently declassified documents reveal that Secretary of State Kissinger gave the go ahead to Indonesia's then-President Suharto to invade East Timor in 1975. The United States furnished Indonesia with about 90 percent of its military hardware. Over the course of the next 23 years, Indonesia occupied East Timor, and the United States continued to furnish arms and provide training to Indonesia. In all, more than 200,000 East Timorese were murdered by the Indonesian military during the occupation. The proportional scale of the killing was without rival in the 20th century. One-third of the East Timorese population was murdered. Unfortunately, in the name of anti-communism, then later global stability, the United States abetted mass murder. Apart from official Washington, the American people have been a reliable friend of the East Timorese. Americans established the East Timor Action Network, participated in Peace Brigades International, dedicated their personal savings through individual foundations and trusts - all with the goal of helping the East Timorese people overcome great odds. Americans gathered in living rooms and lecture halls throughout the country to learn the truths about the oppression of East Timor; they demonstrated on sidewalks and lobbied their Congress, they met with newspaper editors and other journalists in order to bring out the truth; and a few brave Americans sacrificed their personal safety in East Timor to shed light on the reality of Indonesian government oppression. Constructive change in U.S. policy came in late 1999, after the East Timorese had voted for independence, and after the Indonesian military invaded again to punish the people for daring to choose independence. Over 2,000 East Timorese were killed, and a large share of the population was forcibly relocated to refugee camps in Indonesia. But the impact of the American people and the confluence of world events finally forced a change in U.S. policy. The effect was dramatic. The U.S. barred Indonesia from further purchases of weapons and training, and immediately the Indonesian Government withdrew from East Timor and permitted international peacekeepers to enter. This demonstrates the importance and effectiveness of withholding U.S. military support from anti-democratic governments that oppress their people The United States government has a moral debt to repay the East Timorese people. I consider today's Concurrent Resolution as a very modest down payment on that debt. We should faithfully make the next installments. We should start with generous, unconditional financial grants to the newly independent government of East Timor for healthcare, education, rural reconstruction, refugee resettlement, reconciliation and conflict resolution, environmental protection and the judicial system. The United States should further use its influence with international financial institutions to guarantee Timorese sovereignty and, in a departure from IFI practice, permit the Timorese to design and implement their own economic policies as they see fit. This is the least the United States can do. Let us repay our moral debt to the East Timorese people fully and expeditiously. | |
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