UN warns Indonesia to halt East Timor violence

UN warns Indonesia to halt East Timor violence

SINGAPORE (Agencies): The United Nations has put Indonesia on
notice that if it fails to stop the killings in East Timor within
48 hours, the world community will consider taking steps to end
the bloodshed.

"The present chaos in East Timor cannot be allowed to fester
any longer," UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said in New York on
Monday night.

U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said time was
running out for Jakarta to curb the violence.

The East Timor issue has moved up a notch on the agenda of
Asian diplomacy, with New Zealand announcing it would host an
emergency meeting of foreign ministers from the Asia Pacific
Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum to discuss the crisis on
Wednesday or Thursday. Albright, British Foreign Secretary Robin
Cook and UN representatives will also join the meeting in
Auckland.

Indonesia is a member of APEC, which groups 21 Pacific Rim
economies in the region.

World anger has been mounting since militiamen intensified
their campaign of terror against East Timorese who voted
overwhelmingly last week for independence from Indonesia.

Hundreds of people have reportedly died in recent days.

Albright, speaking in Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam on Tuesday,
said she had told Indonesian foreign minister Ali Alatas that if
Jakarta could not deal with the chaos, then it would have to
invite the international community to help.

"I said to him (Alatas) that they did not have much time, that
they had to deal with this, otherwise it was essential for them
to invite the international community to take care of this,"
Albright told reporters traveling with her.

Indonesia declared a state of military emergency in East Timor
on Tuesday as world pressure mounted for a peacekeeping force to
go into the territory.

Annan said that if Indonesia failed to restore order within 48
hours "the international community will have to consider what
other measures it can take to assist the Indonesian government".

A UN Security Council mission comprising ambassadors from
Britain, Malaysia, Namibia, the Netherlands and Slovenia headed
to Jakarta on Tuesday to discuss the issue with Indonesian
officials.

Peacekeepers

While expressing skepticism about the success of martial law
in controlling the militias, Australia is gearing up for a
peacekeeping mission in the former Portuguese colony.

Foreign minister Alexander Downer said on Tuesday it would be
clear whether the imposition of martial was effective or not.

Asked when martial law would be judged a success or failure,
he said: "In one day it would be too short, clearly, to make a
judgment... but I think after a couple of days we'd have a
pretty good sense."

Separately, defense minister John Moore said at least 6,000
peacekeepers would be needed to end the bloodshed in East Timor
and that its forces were ready to move within days.

"The secretary-general (Kofi Annan) has asked us to lead and
we've indicated that we're quite prepared to make a substantial
commitment to it -- at least 2,000 at the initial stage rising to
over 4,000 in the full component," Moore told BBC radio.

Prime Minister John Howard, who has been in regular touch with
Annan and U.S. President Bill Clinton, said an armed UN security
presence was likely to include U.S., New Zealand, Canadian and
British forces.

Britain shared Australia's doubts, with Cook saying on Tuesday
it was vital the world answered the "real cry for freedom" that
was echoing around East Timor. He said it should not entail
giving the Indonesian Army fresh powers but by agreeing on what
form of international action to take.

"We are all appalled and alarmed at the murder of innocent
civilians, by the brutality that's going on now in East Timor and
the evidence is that the Indonesian security forces are not
intervening and indeed may themselves be helping the militias who
are carrying out the brutality," Cook told BBC radio.

"It's therefore hard to see how giving the Army more power is
going to help if the Army is not willing to exercise those powers
it already has."

Cook cut short his official visit to Japan on Tuesday to fly
to New Zealand for emergency talks with fellow foreign ministers
gathering at the APEC forum.

However, Cook argued that suspending financial aid to
Indonesia would not help solve the crisis in East Timor. Several
nations, including the U.S., have said aid to Indonesia could be
curtailed unless it does more to curb the violence.

In response to the joint threat, the Japanese foreign ministry
spokesman Sadaaki Numata said his government was not currently
thinking of withholding aid to Indonesia following the eruption
of violence in East Timor. Japan is Indonesia's largest aid
donor.

Indonesia's neighbors -- the Philippines and Thailand -- also
expressed concern over the escalating violence and were prepared
to boost their presence in the former Portuguese colony.

"We are ready to cooperate under the direction of the United
Nations," Thai Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai said.

Philippine Defense Secretary Orlando Mercado also said his
country would send troops as part of a commitment to the UN.