Sun, 19 Sep 1999

Humanitarian aid for East Timor

We express our great concern about the fate of the people of East Timor. Hundreds of thousands of East Timorese people are displaced. Many of them took refuge in the mountains and the jungles. These internally displaced people, most of them women and children, are without food, without medical care and without shelter. A major disaster of starvation might occur if immediate humanitarian aid is denied to these people.

We therefore strongly appeal to the government of Indonesia and the military to allow humanitarian organizations to start relief operations within East Timor immediately and to guarantee their safety and security.

FRANS VAN DIJK

Regional Director

Terre des Hommes

Netherlands