World ups pressure on Indonesia

World ups pressure on Indonesia

AUCKLAND (Agencies): U.S. President Bill Clinton led an international chorus on Saturday calling on Indonesia to let in international peacekeeping force in East Timor.

Clinton, in Auckland for the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, said it was imperative Indonesia request a United Nations peace-keeping force.

Asked about a UN force for East Timor, Clinton said: "I think the United Nations will support such an endeavor if the Indonesians will request it. I think it is imperative that they do so."

While the tone was diplomatic, it was the strongest message yet to come from Clinton, who also announced earlier the suspension of American military sales to Indonesia.

"Today we suspended all military sales, and continue to work to try to persuade the Indonesians to support the United Nations' operation to go in and help to end the violence and secure the safety of the people there," he said during a picture-taking session with Chinese President Jiang Zemin.

The White House said the move would affect $100 million in military purchases from the United States and American commercial military suppliers.

Mike Hammer, spokesman for the White House National Security Council, said $2.5 million in pending direct government-to- government purchases had been stopped, and $40 million in direct commercial sales.

He said a portion of about $400 million in direct U.S. commercial military sales would also be stopped, bringing the total to about $100 million in suspended sales.

The UN Security Council was scheduled to hold an open debate on East Timor on Saturday to allow UN members to give their views on Indonesia's failure to stop the bloodshed in East Timor.

Council President Peter van Walsum of the Netherlands said the council would not adopt a resolution or issue a statement on Saturday, but would resume its debate after the return to New York early next week of a five-member council mission that has been in Jakarta and East Timor.

Van Walsum read a council press statement endorsing a demand by Secretary-General Kofi Annan for Indonesia to accept the assistance of an international force in in East Timor.

The statement welcomed the fact that a number of governments had indicated to Annan their willingness to participate in such a force.

Annan told Indonesia on Friday to immediately accept a peacekeeping force for East Timor or face responsibility for what could amount to crimes against humanity.

In Amsterdam, Dutch Prime Minister Wim Kok said time was running out for the international community to decide on taking further steps in East Timor if Indonesian authorities continued to oppose sending a peacekeeping force.

"We must continue to exert maximum pressure on Jakarta. But time is running out quickly. So quickly that this weekend or next weekend, we must decide on further steps," Kok said as quoted by Dutch news agency ANP.

Australian Prime Minister John Howard said in Auckland that his country, New Zealand, Malaysia, Britain, Canada, the Philippines and Portugal had given firm commitments to participate in a UN-mandated peacekeeping force in East Timor if Indonesia consented to such a force.

Howard said the United States, Sweden, Thailand and France had agreed in principle to support such a force in a way that had yet to be defined.

"The U.S. offer has gone well beyond logistical support," he said.

Howard had said previously that up to 8,000 peacekeepers would be needed for such a force, which Australia would lead.

He said such a force would need Indonesian consent. "We have no quarrel with the people of Indonesia."

Howard said Portugal had agreed to offer two battalions of troops, Canada "a couple of hundred" troops, New Zealand 400 to 500 troops and Britain a warship plus a detachment of unspecified number. He said Malaysia's offer was "significant", but that he would leave it to Malaysia to give details.

Howard said other countries would be asked to make financial contributions to the force.

New Zealand Foreign Minister Don McKinnon said he believed Indonesia had moved closer to inviting a UN-backed force into East Timor.

"Every kind of phrase coming out of either Alatas' office (or) Habibie's office is that that day is moving closer, and certainly the recognition that there will be an international force there is now more 'when' rather than 'if'.

Canadian Foreign Minister Lloyd Axworthy -- speaking to reporters in Canada by phone from Auckland -- said Indonesian Foreign Minister Ali Alatas had agreed to cooperate with a multinational aid initiative.

Humanitarian assistance would be brought to West Timor, which would be used as a staging area for helping East Timorese who have been displaced by violence by militias unhappy with an overwhelming vote to separate from Indonesia.

Axworthy said Indonesian authorities had made it quite clear that they would not be able to provide security for aid workers to cross into East Timor itself.

"There's a message there all of itself," Axworthy said.

Asked if Canada would apply economic sanctions, cutting off wheat sales or aid, for instance, Axworthy said: "There are officials looking at that, in conjunction with other countries, and that would, I think, be part of the UN discussions, because again to apply any economic measures we would be looking for a UN mandate."

Indonesia is one of Canada's biggest wheat customers, taking 719,000 tons in the 1998-99 crop season.

In Paris, the French Defense Ministry said it had decided to send a frigate currently based at Noumea, New Caledonia to the area.

The ship was one of three deployed in the Pacific, a second also being based in Noumea and a third at Papeete.

France had four light frigates that were several days sailing from East Timor, two in or near the Pacific territory of New Caledonia, one in or near Tahiti and the fourth at Reunion island in the Indian ocean.

The frigates each weighed 2,600 tons, carried anti-ship and anti-aircraft missiles as well as a 100-millimeter gun. Each had a reconnaissance helicopter aboard and was capable of embarking commandos, the sources told Reuters.

Amnesty International issued its "urgent action" scheme for an entire population, fearing for the future of East Timor.

The scheme is a system of rapid response by a worldwide network of activists which aims to rescue people from human rights emergencies, AFP reported from Sydney.

"Amnesty International fears for the entire population of East Timor as armed pro-Indonesian militias and Indonesian troops continue to have complete control of the territory," the human rights watchdog said in a statement.