Jakarta Post: Wiranto changes stance on UN troops

rc-am rcollins at netlink.com.au
Sat Sep 11 20:05:52 PDT 1999


"Wiranto signals change in stance on UN troops

12 September 1999 - 00:27 JAKARTA (JP): In an apparent shift in position, the Indonesian Military said on Saturday it might consider inviting an international peacekeeping force to help restore order in East Timor, admitting that some of its troops encountered "psychological constraints" to quell rampaging pro- Jakarta militias."

_apparent_ shift is right. all going according the schedule i would have thought.

check this out, from August:

From: "Alan Griffiths" <composer at alphalink.com.au>

The following excerpt from a Department of Foreign Affairs report presented to a Senate committee in August establishes an exhaustive foreknowledge of the militia danger to UNAMET and the civilian population of East Timor. It includes the definitive statement:

"There is evidence available to the Australian Government that TNI [the Indonesian military] has been actively involved in encouraging and supporting pro-integrationist militias in East Timor, including through the supply of arms."

And yet, according to a record leaked to journalist Brian Toohey, the head of DFAT, Ashton Calvert argued strongly against a peacekeeping force during talks in Washington in February with a senior American State Department official, Stanley Roth. Toohey's full report can be seen on the web at http://www.multiline.com.au/~johnm/armsaid.htm

The Australian Government has claimed credit for prompting BJ Habibie to authorise the holding of the fateful consultation plebiscite. It is now obvious that, in pursuit of Indonesian trade interests, the Australian Government also connived to remove any chance of an armed UN peacekeeping presence at the time when it was needed and when it would probably have prevented the subsequent slaughter.

Not the least of the consequences has been the exposure of the Australian nation to justified charges of cowardice - and pressure on a small force of young Australian soldiers to offer themselves as cannon fodder to appease the shame of the so-called international community.

Brian Jenkins StopMAI Coalition (Western Australia)

* * * [Excerpt from August 1999 submission by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFAT) to the Australian Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade References Committee Enquiry into East Timor .]

Full text (pdf): http://www.dfat.gov.au/geo/sea/indonesia/et/east_timor0899.pdf

Angela _________



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