Thank you for your email to the Minister for Defence, the
Hon John Moore MP, regarding East Timor. As the Minister is overseas, I
am responding on his behalf.
The Government has worked very hard in
recent months with the United Nations and many other countries to help
stabilise the situation in East Timor. Australia supported the decision by
President Habibie to offer the East Timorese people a free ballot on their
future under an agreement with the United Nations and Portugal. The
result of the vote, held on 30 August, was an unambiguous 78.5 per cent vote
for independence. You would be well aware of the resulting violence,
which was widely condemned by the international community, the Australian
Government, and most Australians.
The Australian Government worked
assiduously with the United Nations to allow the deployment of a
multinational peacekeeping force to Timor. We were pleased with the
decision by the Indonesian Government to accept this force, and with the wide
range of nations (including Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy,
Malaysia, New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Singapore,
Thailand, United Kingdom and the United States) that have made firm
commitments to it.
Following the decision by the Indonesian Government to
allow peacekeepers into East Timor, the United Nations Security Council
unanimously adopted resolution 1264, establishing INTERFET (International
Force East Timor). The main tasks of INTERFET are to restore peace and
security in East Timor, protect and support UNAMET (United Nations Assistance
Mission East Timor), and to facilitate humanitarian assistance
operations. All troops deployed to East Timor have been legally
authorised to take whatever action necessary to implement their
mandate. The success of INTERFET to date is a credit to the discipline
and professionalism of the soldiers and support
personnel involved.
Now that the Indonesian Parliament has ratified
the results of the August 30 ballot and the Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI -
formerly ABRI) has completed its withdrawal from East Timor, we have begun
the process of transferring from the current peace enforcement mandate being
implemented by INTERFET, to UNTAET, the UN Transitional Administration for
East Timor, which will be supported by a UN peacekeeping operation.
Australia is providing significant assistance to the UN - both in military
terms and in humanitarian aid -as UNTAET takes over. The Government is
pleased this is occurring, because our goal has been to get the UN process
back on course so that the will of the Timorese people can be given
effect. The commendable work being done by INTERFET is moving us
steadily towards this goal.
Australia's humanitarian commitment to
East Timor is already considerable. On 12 October, the Minister for Foreign
Affairs, the Hon Alexander Downer MP, announced a A$6million aid package to
assist East Timorese Internally Displaced Persons, bringing the total
Australian aid commitment to the relief effort to A$13.7million.
Humanitarian road convoys are distributing food and emergency supplies to
areas outside Dili.
These events have placed some strains on our
relationship with Indonesia. This has been regrettable, but
unavoidable. As the Prime Minister has said, the Australian Government
could choose between maintaining the relationship at all costs, or to do what
we felt was right. We chose to do the latter. With the situation in
East Timor improving, we are now working towards resuming good relations with
one of our most important neighbours. The recent democratic elections
are a positive development. The Government has welcomed the election of
President Wahid and looks forward to working with him to improve the
relationship between Australia and Indonesia.
I am also aware of the
concerns expressed regarding our defence relationship with Indonesia.
On 10 September the Government announced that all aspects of Australia's
defence relationship with Indonesia were under review, and that all current
and planned military exercises and military skills training with the
Indonesian Armed Forces would be suspended until further notice. This review
will report in due course, and is likely to recommend a shift in emphasis to
links such as staff college courses, maritime surveillance and disaster
relief exercises.
The Government has responded to the crisis in East
Timor with leadership and a range of practical and balanced proposals which
pursue both Australia's national interests and the concerns of the people of
East Timor.
Thank you for your interest in this matter and for
taking the time to share your concerns with the Minister.