S/PV.1910 Security Council

The first speaker is the representative of Saudi Arabia. I invite him to take a seat at the Council table and to make his statement. 2. The situation in Timor: Report of the Secretary-General in .pursuance of Security Council resolution 384 (1975) (S/1201 1) The meeting was called to order at 11.30 a.m.

It is indeed a privilege for me to speak on the issue the Council has been discussing, if for no other reason than that the President of the Council for this month hails from China, one of the main fountains of ancient wisdom as well as the innovator of a system of government that has brought self-sufficiency to the Chinese people. The modem Chinese political system is predicated -on discipline and self-restraint-the discipline and selfrestraint of the individual-and, ultimately; the Chinese people has developed a sense of responsibility that has become exemplary. Therefore, it is a pleasure for me to salute a fellow Asian, none other than Ambassador Huang Hua, who is cool and collected and who, while being younger than me in years, is much older in wisdom. I am assured that the problem before us will be dealt with with the probity which is characteristic not only of the President of the Council but also, I hope, of each of its members. Adoption of the agenda The agenda was adopted. The situation in Timor: Report of the Secretary-General in pursnance of Security Council resolution 384 (1975) (S/12011)

In accordance with the decisions taken at the 1908th meeting, I shall now invite the representatives of Australia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Portugal to participate in the discussion without the right to vote. At the invitation of the President, Mr. Anwar Sani (Indonesia) and Mr. Galva’o Teles (Portugal) took places at the Council table and Mr. Harry (Australia) and Mr, Yango (Philtppines) took the places reserved For them at the side of the Council chamber. 6. Why should Saudi Arabia, or the representative of Saudi Arabia, take an interest in the question of East Timor? Well, Saudi Arabia, I believe, is not further in distance from East Timor than Washington or Moscow. Furthermore, we are an Asian nation, and nowadays anything that affects a land which at one time was considered distant, though it no longer is today, affects the world, for the world, whether we like it or not, it one through the development of communications and the awareness of young people everywhere.

In addition, I should like to inform the Council members that letters have been addressed to the President of the Council by the representatives of ,Saudi Arabia and Guinea-Bissau which contain requests to be invited to participate in the discussion in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Charter and rule 37 of the provisional rules of procedure. Accordingly, pursuant to the usual practice, I propose, if1 hear no objection, to invite these representatives to participate in the discussion without the right to vote. 7. I participated in the debate on this question during the last session of the General Assembly, and I was 8. There was something most unusual at yesterday’s meeting [1909rh meeting]. I listened carefully to our colleagues from Indonesia and the Philippines as well as to the representatives of certain political parties. Of course, the representative of Portugal tried to rationalize the hasty withdrawal of Portugal. We all saluted Portugal for the decolonization of its erstwhile colonies, and we still marvel that it was done with dispatch rather than step by step or in a protracted manner, as was done by some erstwhile imperial Powers. It took two world wars for them to get rid of their colonies. But I think that Portugal was too hasty; not that it had elected to be too hasty in disengaging itself, but it had its internal problems. It was suffering, labouring to produce a new ideology or regime, by whatever name you want to call it. Therefore the representative of Portugal should not have rationalized the hasty withdrawal of Portugal, although, of course, he had to rationalize it. Of course Portugal is still in the throes of deciding on its political ideology. We know that. Let us be frank. There are many people pulling strings in Portugal too. Some are called rightists, some are called leftists, some are called socialists and some are called communists; and we wish Portugal well in the long~run. I wish they would leave Portugal alone and then, I think, peace would prevail in the Mediterranean as well as in Portugal. 9. I listened to our Australian colleague, Ambassador Harry, and I think his statement was the most balanced of all the statements I heard on this question. He counselled patience and stressed the human aspect of the problem. Innocent people are suffering in East Timor, and for what purpose? Because there is a tug of war-and I am using the words “tug of war” in its figurative sense-between the various ideologies and systems that some may want to impose on those people who are still tribal. They have their chiefs. I can talk with more understanding because we in Saudi Arabia belong to a tribal system. The loyalty is to the chief of the community or communities. They had been living in peace until, as I said, Portugal had to pack up hastily. I hope that Portugal will not export any new ideological system. First let the Portuguese settle their problems in their own country-and 10.’ Therefore, I should humbly like to submit a few points to the Council, as an old-timer who has worked on self-determination, having with .some of my colleagues elaborated that principle into a full-fledged right in the international covenants on human rights. Self-determination means. not only throwing off the foreign yoke; it also means preparing a people for a new system or allowing them to maintain their system and to evolve a new one in conformity with what is nowadays expected in every country. 11. Again, I must stress for perhaps the tenth time what a good job Australia did in New Guinea, but they did not do it overnight. So if the Indonesians moved at one time it was not in order to lord it over the East Timorese.. It was in order to see what could be done so that public order could be maintained when the so-called vacuum was created by the withdrawal of Portugal. Therefore, there is no reason to molest or criticize Indonesia. 12. Of course I listened very carefully to that young gentleman, Mr. Horta, the representative of FRETILIN [Frente’ Revoluciona’ria Timor Leste Zndependente] [190&h meeting]. Did FRETILIN start in East Timor, or is it an import into East Timor from Mozambique or somewhere else? I do not know where it started. Now;,it is his privilege to espouse any sort of ideology that he thinks is most suitable, but he shouId not impose it. He may be young but he is a leader. So why not be reasonable as a young leader and, instead, of saying FRETILIN and Mozambique and this and that, go there and work without so much.partisanship and co-operate with the others I was young’once. We learn with the years. You cannot impose FRETILIN or any other sort of ideological mixture on a people to ‘whom it means nothing. 13. Then.a thing that also surprised me was that for the first time we had advocates of one party ‘or the other, and, ironically, the advocates were Australians. 14. I could talk about the ‘orderly manner in which Indonesia gained its independence. I was approached in this very United Nations by none other than Ali Sastroamidjojo, who was a nationalist, and he assured me that they had no designs on others and all,they wanted was to be decolonized and join the Unrted Nations. It was my privilege also to know many Indonesian leaders’. I could never sense in themany aggressiveness in the sense of wanting ,to incorporate people into their population because of economic ambition. In fact I have learnt that both East Timor and the Timor under Indonesian rule‘would constitute a financial burden on anyone because they are not economically viable, but still Indonesia feels a deep responsibility to maintain peace in the area, to see to it that no new ideologies are imported that may create trouble. 18. Sir, I am confident that under your Presidency members of the Council will work out a draft resolution which will be unanimously approved, so that peace may prevail. 15. Classic warfare may perhaps be relegated to the past, but sometimes one wonders whether what we call warfare by proxy is better or worse. All war is bad. Now many nations, not only the big Powers but smaller Powers, are resorting to covert intervention in the affairs of others. Beware because there might be miscalculation, and a spark may start a whole conflagration. It may start in some place, and then we may have a war of extinction of the human species; That is why I felt my responsibility to address the Council. 19. Beware, you mischievous people, of political parties that you want to import into the area. If you want to be good Timorese, go there and evolve a Timorese system, rather than some foreign system that may bring suffering to the people not only of Timor but also of the whole region. 20. I ‘wish to thank you, Mr, President, and the members of the Council for having given me this opportunity to speak. 16. What shall we do? Mr. Winspeare Guicciardi was delegated by the Secretary-General to see what could be done. I read his report [sli2011, annex]., It is not conclusive, because perhaps he was prevented from seeing everything that he would have liked to see. We can come to that conclusion by reading his report. Therefore, since there are efforts on the part of members of the Council to pursue the matter in a peaceful manner, I hope that the Special Representative of the Secretary-General will be given another chance to find out for himself what can be done to make sure that things do not deteriorate.

My delegation has closely observed developments in East Timor since the adoption of resolution 384 (1975) nearly four months ago. Although it appears to us that peace and order in the Territory have not yet been fully restored, we consider it encouraging that armed strife now seems to be confined to isolated areas in the Territory, and that life is gradually returning to normal. 22. Since last August East Timor had been plunged into bloodshed which cost the lives of many innocent people of the Territory and caused enormous suffering. In fact the world can no longer tolerate such a tragedy as the events in East Timor. We sincerely hope that peace and order will be restored as soon as possible, bringing conditions which will enable the people of East Timor to exercise freely their right to selfdetermination. 17. Although it is not for me to give advice to the so-called opposition, those who are trying to malign Indonesia, I would ask Indonesia to talk to them and perhaps, if they do not bring any new ideology, to let them be their neighbours, but without trying to be the focus of trouble. I think I have the responsibility and the right to give such advice. The ancient Arabs used to say advice was worth a camel but that nobody took it free. Now, it seems, if one wants to give advice, not for the sake of generosity but for the sake of maintaining peace, he has to pay the people to whom the advice is given so that they will take it. 23. My delegation has considered the report of the Secretary-General, which gives a comprehensive account of the activities of his Special Representative, Mr. Winspeare Guicciardi. The delegation of Japan wishes to pay tribute to the Special Representa- 24. My delegation supports the recommendation of the Secretary-General that his Special Representative continue to hold consultations with all the parties concerned. We therefore consider it desirable that the Council extend the mandate of the Special Representative to allow him to continue such consultations, including the possibility of making further visits to East Timor. As the Council has heard the contradictory statements from the representative of the “Provisional Government”, Mr. Goncalves, and from Mr. Horta of FRETILIN, another visit by the Special Representative assuredly would be most useful. In this connexion, my delegation has noted that the “Provisional Government” has invited the Special Representative to make another visit to East Timor to discuss further the implementation of resolution 384 (1975). 25. My delegation continues to believe that peace and order in the Territory must be restored as soon as possible and that the Indonesian forces there must withdraw without delay in accordance with resolution 384 (1975). In this connexion, my delegation has noted with particular attention the statement of Mr. Goncalves [1908th meeting] that the Indonesian forces began their withdrawal in February and continued it in March. My delegation welcomes also the statement made by the representative of Indonesia yesterday [1909rh meeting] that the armed volunteers started to leave the Territory in February and that the process of withdrawal is expected to be completed within a short time. Indonesia is widely acknowledged as a country which has firmly supported the right of self-determination of the peoples in colonial Territories. It gives my delegation satisfaction, therefore, to note the repeated assurances of the Government of Indonesia that Indonesia has no claims on East Timor and that it respects the right of the people of East Timor to self-determination. We are confident that the Government of Indonesia wiIl take further measures to complete without delay the withdrawal of all its remaining forces from the Territory. My delegation is convinced that the complete withdrawal of Indonesian forces from East Timor will help create conditions which assure the people of East Timor of the free. exercise of their right to self-determination. 26. My delegation considers that the future of East Timor should be decided by the freely expressed will of its entire population, according to due procedures widely accepted by the international community. It is the people of East Timor themselves who must decide their political future. 29. In order to attain these-objectives, the Council should urge all the parties concerned to provide assistance to. the Secretary-General and his Special Representative in the discharge of the responsibilities entrusted or to be entrusted to them under the relevant- Council resolutions. Also, the Council should urge all States to refrain from any action which might delay a solution or which might cause the situation to deteriorate. 30. I wish to remind the Council of the importance that the Government and people of Japan, as an Asian nation, attach to a speedy and peaceful solution of this question. We have heard statements of the opposing sides on the future of East Timor, and it is, therefore, for the Council to take the first steps which will help that people to exercise their right to determine their political future. I sincerely hope that the proposal I have outlined will provide the assistance that the people of East Timor need to decide their future, free from outside interference or intimidation. 31. My delegation hopes that the Council will take a unanimous decision, as it did last year, on the situation in East Timor which will safeguard the inalienable right of the people of East Timor to selfdetermination. We pledge our full co-operation with other delegations to achieve this objective.

Mr. Hot-ta, to whom the Council extended an invitation under rule 39 of the provisional rules of procedure, wishes to make a further statement. Therefore, I invite him to take a place at the Council table to make an additional statement. 34. We would say that such actions can only spring from a distorted view of international relations. No Government with dignity and with respect for other countries and Governments would present such individuals as petitioners to this world Organization. We heard here words of insult uttered against the people of East Timor. Indeed, the great majority of the people of East Timor cannot read and write. But certainly they feel in their flesh the exploitative and oppressive political and economic system which serves only minorities such as the Indonesian lackeys who have been brought here. 35. It is very unfortunate that the Indonesia Government has brought here a certain coffeee planter or chicken farmer who has lived in East Timor, like many other colonialists, exploiting our people. The language used by this friend of the Indonesian military junta is typical of an old and sick racist colonialist mentality. The Indonesian Government, by bringing this racist white man, only reminds us of the racist South Africans and Rhodesians, who justify apartheid because “the Africans are ignorant”. It is rather shocking that the Indonesian Government has brought here a racist-a colonist-to insult the people of East Timor, an insult which is extended to the people of Africa. 36. My delegation, faithful to my Government’s policies and to the people of East Timor, cannot tolerate that a racist, colonialist and sick mentality should have used this noble forum to vomit his hatred for people of darker skin. My delegation wonders if it is such a person himself who should.be held responsible, or the delegation that sponsors him here. I do not wish to make further comment on the presence and the statements of such individuals before the Council at this point. We believe Council members will form their own impressions. 37. While certain individuals betray their people and others come to this very place to insult the freedom fighters of East Timor and the freedom fighters of Africa, it is a great consolation for us to learn that many tens of thousands of other people throughout the world have expressed their sympathies’and support for the 38. Sections of the United States Congress have also expressed their concern about Indonesia’s military adventure in East Timor. Moves have been made to cut military aid to Indonesia by several American Congressmen. This indicates that prominent American politicians are aware that American military aid to Indonesia has been misused. We believe, though, that the Government of the United States does not approve of Indonesian use of American military aid against East Timor. Moves have also been made in Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia to cut economic and military aid to Indonesia. In spite of the efforts of the Indonesian delegation to ‘the United Nations to distort the real situation in East Timor and avoid world condemnation, the criminal record of the military junta of Djakarta is too well known, and one can hardly doubt the Indonesian act of genocide in East Timor. 39. The Council must consider Indonesian aggression against East Timor as the main issue of the discussion. The General Assembly in its resolution 3485 (XXX) and the Council in its resolution 384 (1975) have called on the Government of Indonesia to withdraw without delay all its forces from the Territory. Indonesia’s invasion of East Timor contravened the Charter of the United Nations and international law and was a breach of international peace and order. 40. The Council has the responsibility to find ways to put an end to armed aggression. At this moment, there are over 30,000 Indonesian paratroopers and marines in East Timor. This information has been independently confirmed by Australian intelligence officials. It is totally untrue. that Indonesian forces have been withdrawn from the territory of the Democratic Republic of East Timor; on the contrary, new 41. It has already been four months since the international community condemned Indonesian military intervention in East Timor and called for the withdrawal of Indonesian forces. In spite of this, the war in East Timor continues on a large scale between the nationalist forces and the Indonesian army. I wish to read out a telegram dated 12 April 1976, sent from East Timor by the Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of East Timor, Nicolau Lobato: “The harvest of rice and corn in East Timor ended last month. The main target of the Indonesian forces is to sack all the agricultural products from the people. Such food items are driven to Dili and shipped to Indonesia. Over the Indonesian controlled areas popular unsatisfaction is increasing day to day, and the people are starving. “Within the fake so-called Provisional Govemment there are two factions. One is headed by ex-UDT and the other one by ex-APODETI. It was the ‘Governor’ himself who, through the microphones of Radio Dili, released the truth. >.( “A revolt attempt was brought down’ with the cost of many lives. Adam Malik said again that the war in East Timor was over, but he forgot he said days before the Indonesian forces could not leave East Timor because they were still needed. The Indonesian Government is continuing to send new units. “How can Indonesia justify the refusal of East Timorese refugees in Indonesian territory in getting back to East Timor? Indonesia’s claim that its forces control all the territory is false. All members of the Central Committee and Government of the Democratic Republic of East Timor are moving freely, telecommunications are still operating and the National Radio goes on the air three days a week. The refusal of the Djakarta Government to grant entry permits to journalists and International Red Cross representatives is an unquestionable proof that Indonesia does not control all the territory. In the first week of April FRETILIN forces inflicted heavy losses on the enemy and captured a lot of weapons, ammunition, and other war material. We are waiting for the next visit of. the UN Special Envoy. We are not afraid of the truth. The people of East Timor are prepared to manifest their determination to freedom and independence even under the threat of Indonesian soldiers’ guns. Our fighting 42. There is no so-called Provisional Government in East Timor, but only one legitimate Government, the Government that was formed following the establishment of the Democratic Republic of East Timor. After the invasion of Dili on 7 December, a puppet so-called Provisianal Government was set up while Indonesian air andJnava1 forces were bombarding the city. If the need arises, my delegation might feel compelled to supply the Council with concrete evidence concerning the . real nature of this so-called Provisional Government. 43. ’ My Government has well in mind the way the present Indonesian regime conducted campaigns of pacification against nationalist forces and the way it conducted the so-called act of free choice..Although we do so reluctantly, there is need to remind the Council about the i so-called act of free choice in West.Irian. Djakarta claimed the right to control the former Dutch colony of West Irian. The United Nations conceded the Territory of West New Guinea to Java. The former Dutch colony was handed over to the Javanese on 1 May 1963. There was one proviso in the so-called New York Agreement: the people of West Irian must be given an opportunity to express their attitude towards incorporation into Indonesia by 1969. Between 1963 and 1966 it seemed that the Government at that time was .prepared to conduct the process of self-determination in a very progressive way. But beginning in 1966 the new military regime in West Irian conducted an intensive campaign of repression and intimidation, often resulting in outright armed conflict, to persuade the people of West New Guinea to accept incorporation into Indonesia. In 1969 the act of self-determination required by the United Nations was allowed to take place at the last possible moment by the Javanese leaders. The United Nations representative appointed to observe the West New Guinea plebiscite, Mr. Ortiz Sanz, reporting to the General Assembly at its twenty-fourth session, expressed severe reservations about the way in which Indonesia had conducted the plebiscite. He said: “The petitions opposing annexation to Indonesia, the cases of unrest in Manokwari, Enarotaii and Waghete, the flight of a number of people to the part of the island that is administered by Australia, and the existence of political detainees, more than 300 of whom were released at my request, show that without doubt certain elements of the population of West Irian held firm convictions in favour of independence. . . . “I regret to have to express my reservation regarding the implementation of article XXII of the Agreement, relating to ‘the rights, including the rights of free speech, freedom of movement and of assembly, of the inhabitants of the area’. In spite of my constant efforts, this important provision 44. I wish to stress again before the Council that my Government and the people of East Timor fully respect Indonesian territorial integrity and greatly admire the Indonesian nation. But we cannot tolerate the fact that the same people who 30, years after achieving their independence from the, colonial .Power -are now behaving in the same way the colonial Powerbehaved in the past towards them. “I,. ? 45. East Timor is not what was West Nuigini, It never was part of the Dutch East Indies. We expectand are sure that the affair of West Nuigini will not be repeated in .East Timor. *I’ :r 46. In accordance with international law.and with the Charter of the United Nations and in order not to contradict itself, this’ Council must call upon the Government of Indonesia to withdraw immediately and unconditionally all its forces from the Territory and The meeting rose at 12.30 p.m. Note ’ offirial Records of the General Assembly, Twenty-fourth Session, Annexes, agenda ,item 98, document A/7723, annex I, paras. 250 and 251. HOW TO OBTAIN UNITED NATIONS PUBLICATIONS United Nations publications may be obtained from bookstores and distributors throughout the world. 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