- Author(s):
- Parliamentary Assembly
- Origin
- See Doc. 6441, report of the Political Affairs Committee, Rapporteur : Mr Pontillon. Text adopted by the Standing Committee, acting on behalf of the Assembly, on 28 June 1991.
- Thesaurus
1. East Timor was annexed by Indonesia on 17 July 1976 in total disregard for the rules of international law and the rights and obligations of Portugal, which was the governing power. The annexation was accompanied by violations of human rights and a policy of forcible assimilation.
2. The annexation has been condemned not only by the General Assembly and Security Council of the United Nations but also by the Conference of Non-Aligned Countries, the Inter-Parliamentary Union, the European Parliament, the ACP-EEC Joint Assembly and many other international, parliamentary, political and religious organisations.
3. From the outset, the Indonesian occupying forces were involved in violent confrontation with an armed East Timor resistance movement which has always had the support of the East Timorese people and in recent years more particularly of the young.
4. The Assembly condemns the annexation of East Timor by Indonesia, which it regards as a violation of international law and more particularly of peoples' right to self-determination and independence.
5. The Assembly likewise condemns the continual grave violations of human rights which the Indonesian occupying forces have inflicted on the people of East Timor and affirms the right of the Timorese people to decide their own political destiny and preserve, develop and assert their cultural, linguistic and religious identity.
6. It points out that Portugal, which is the governing power recognised by the United Nations General Assembly, is morally and legally obliged to ‘‘promote and guarantee the right of the people of Timor to self-determination and independence'' (Article 297 of the Portuguese Constitution), and supports Portugal's many representations in this matter since 1975.
7. It endorses the mediation endeavours of the Secretary General of the United Nations and encourages parliamentary and other initiatives aimed at enforcing the United Nations resolutions.
8. The Assembly demands that the Indonesian Government :
8.1 end all violation of international instruments establishing human rights and peoples' right to self-determination and independence ;
8.2 open East Timor's borders and allow international aid and human rights organisations, starting with the Red Cross, to carry on their work there ;
8.3 order an immediate cease-fire with the Timor resistance forces, withdraw its armed forces from East Timor and create the political preconditions for free exercise of self-determination.
9. Lastly, the Assembly calls on Council of Europe member states :
9.1 to insist upon a political solution negotiated within the United Nations and involving Portugal, Indonesia and the East Timorese people ;
9.2 to urge countries which have economic links with Indonesia to bring pressure to bear on Indonesia to halt all violation of human rights and all appropriation of East Timor's natural resources and assets ;
9.3 to support food and health aid to the East Timorese people ;
9.4 to implement an arms embargo in respect of Indonesia until the objectives set out in paragaph 8 have been achieved.
