| Subject: No SE Asia
Nation Can Lead UN Peacekeepers - Timor Leader Associated Press October 15, 1999
No SE Asia Nation Can Lead UN Peacekeepers - Timor Leader
SYDNEY (AP)--East Timorese won't accept a Southeast Asian
nation as leader of a future U.N. peacekeeping force, resistance leader Jose Ramos Horta
said Friday.
Australia currently heads the multinational force restoring
peace to the half-island province that descended into bloody anarchy after East Timorese
voted for independence from Indonesia in an Aug. 30 U.N.-sponsored referendum.
A U.N-mandated peacekeeping force should replace the
current force within months.
"We will not accept anyone from the Asean (Association
of South East Asian Nations) countries because they're not neutral; they've been
accomplices of Indonesia," Horta said.
He said that if Malaysia, perceived by East Timorese as an
ally of Jakarta, commands the U.N. force, there would be civil disobedience.
"Malaysia is always on the side of Indonesia -
Malaysia doesn't care about human rights," he said.
Horta, who shared the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize with East
Timorese spiritual leader Bishop Carlos Belo for their peaceful campaign for independence,
accused Indonesia of abducting 100,000 East Timorese and displacing 300,000 others.
The Indonesian army and navy, were responsible for the
abductions, not the militia, he claimed.
He described the action as the "most extraordinary
criminal act since World War II.
Back to October Menu
World Leaders Contact List
Human Rights Violations in East Timor
Main Postings Menu
Note: For those who would like to fax "the
powers that be" - CallCenter V3.5.8, is a Native 32-bit Voice Telephony software
application integrated with fax and data communications... and it's free of charge!
Download from http://www.v3inc.com/ |
