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.