6 May 1999
Press Release
SG/SM/6980
TRANSCRIPT OF PRESS CONFERENCE BY SECRETARY-GENERAL KOFI
ANNAN, FOREIGN MINISTER OF INDONESIA ALI ALATAS, FOREIGN MINISTER OF
PORTUGAL JAIME GAMA AND AMBASSADOR JAMSHEED K.A. MARKER
AT HEADQUARTERS, ON 5 MAY
19990506
The SECRETARY-GENERAL: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.
I notice we have a full room this afternoon, and I wonder why.
This is a historic moment. I am delighted to tell you that we
have just signed the three agreements on East Timor, as you
saw, between the Republic of Indonesia and the Republic of
Portugal. There is a basic agreement and two supplementary
ones: one covering the security arrangements for the peaceful
implementation of the popular consultation and the other the
modalities for this consultation.
As they have done throughout the negotiations, my good
friends Ali Alatas and Jaime Gama have shown an exemplary
spirit of cooperation and statesmanship. I am very grateful to
both of them, as I believe the whole international community
should be, and in particular the people of East Timor itself.
We are now moving immediately on the next phase. The United
Nations staff are already on their way to the region to begin
preparing for the popular consultation. All of us are
determined to ensure that it is free, fair and thorough. If we
are to fulfil that pledge, the United Nations must be able to
work freely and in an atmosphere of security. Security in East
Timor is the responsibility of the Indonesian Government. I
welcome the assurances given by President Habibie that his
Government will fulfil effectively its responsibility for law
and order and the protection of all civilians.
I am gravely concerned about the recent increase in violence
in East Timor. I strongly urge all elements and political
tendencies in East Timor to refrain from any resort to force
and to cooperate with the United Nations in fulfilling its
vital tasks. I cannot stress too strongly that the success of
the process on which we have embarked depends on the ability
of the United Nations to conduct its work in an atmosphere of
calm and security. I hope and trust that the United Nations
will receive the full cooperation of all concerned.
I should like once again to thank the two Foreign Ministers,
and through them their Governments, for the excellent and
constructive role they have played in bringing this long,
drawn-out negotiation to such a promising conclusion. It is my
earnest hope that today's signatures will open a new and more
peaceful chapter in the history of this troubled territory.
Mr. ALATAS: I would like simply to echo your words, Mr.
Secretary- General, and stress the importance of today. Now
that we have signed the three agreements on East Timor, I
think we can move forward towards the solution of a
long-standing question -^* a question that has already brought
a lot of sorrow and suffering to the East Timorese people, but
which we hope, by 8 August, will move towards a solution, one
way or another, at which time we will be offering the East
Timorese people a choice: whether to have a special status
within the Indonesian Republic, with wide-ranging autonomy, or
whether they would not accept such a proposition, in which
case we would take the necessary constitutional steps to go
our separate ways in an honourable and peaceful way.
So, in one way or another we hope to settle the problem by
that time. This agreement opens the door towards that
solution. We are looking forward to working very closely with
the United Nations in the implementation of these agreements.
As you rightly said, Mr. Secretary-General, an advance team is
already there and will be shortly followed by the rest of the
team, which will be there doing the necessary things in
preparation for the consultation process.
Once again, Mr. Secretary-General, I would like to record my
Government's gratitude and deep appreciation to you and to the
admirable team that has assisted you throughout these
negotiations. I think it is indeed appropriate for me to say
that without your intervention, without your assistance, Mr.
Secretary-General, we would not have reached this stage at
this point in our negotiations. Therefore, once again, Mr.
Secretary-General, thank you very much for all your efforts.
Mr. GAMA: Thank you very much, Mr. Secretary-General and
Ambassador Jamsheed Marker and his collaborators for the work
that has been done and which puts an end to long negotiations
that started in 1983. I had at that time the opportunity to
begin negotiations on this specific issue of East Timor with
the then Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar and the
former Indonesian Foreign Minister Mochtar.
We are now reaching a conclusion, and these agreements are
very important ones because they express solid principles.
First, that the East Timorese question can only be settled by
a free and fair ballot of the East Timorese. Secondly, that
this ballot will be conducted by the United Nations. Thirdly,
that from now on the United Nations, through an appropriate
mission, will be present in East Timor.
I would emphasize all this by citing what a Timorese leader,
the symbol of the Timorese people, Mr. Xanana Gusmao, said
about today. He said that this means that the way is open for
an international mechanism that will put an end to an
illegitimate situation of 23-and-a-half years in the territory
of East Timor.
This is a turning point, a very important one. I will in a
very special manner address my Indonesian colleague and say
that all of us are now committed to having this agreement be
the law and to abide by the spirit and the letter of what we
have agreed.
I would also thank the international community for the
support it is giving to this United Nations mission,
participating in and contributing to this consultation
mechanism. On behalf of the Portuguese Government I hereby
give the Secretary-General the first contribution for the
consultation, a cheque for $10 million.
[The Minister for Foreign Affairs handed the
Secretary-General a cheque].
The SECRETARY-GENERAL (spoke in Portuguese): Thank you very
much.
(spoke in English)
Jamsheed, join us. I think you all know chief negotiator
Jamsheed. He has done a great job.
QUESTION: Mr. Secretary-General and gentlemen, on behalf of
the United Nations Correspondents Association it is a pleasure
to have you here for such a ceremony. Why, in your opinion,
has the issue been resolved so peacefully?
The SECRETARY-GENERAL: Let me say that obviously, as you can
see, we are all smiles today. We are all very happy that we
brought the process this far and, as you say, in a very
peaceful manner. But we have an important and crucial phase
that we are embarking on as of today, and I hope that we will
achieve this second phase in the same constructive manner with
little or no violence, and that the people of East Timor will
have the opportunity to express themselves freely, openly and
fairly in this ballot.
QUESTION: I have a question for Mr. Alatas. Although we did
not have the opportunity to read the entire text of the
agreement, according to your words it establishes that you are
going to endeavour to disarm all of the parties. Can you now
say to all of us, and give your word and your Government's,
that you are prepared to do more than "endeavour to" -^* that
you actually guarantee that your Government will thoroughly,
completely and in a timely fashion disarm all civilian
factions no matter which side they are on? And I would like
Minister Gama's reaction to that and also the views of the
Secretary-General.
Mr. ALATAS: Well, we have agreed that we should take the
necessary steps in order to achieve disarmament, apart from
what we have already been achieving now, and that is the
laying down of arms and the cessation of hostilities. That has
been achieved.
The achievement of disarmament, however, requires some
further steps, some further efforts or endeavours, and that is
precisely the spirit and the letter of what we have agreed. In
other words, we are all agreed that we should move and achieve
disarmament, but we are realistic enough to know that several
steps still need to be taken, several efforts or endeavours
still need to be taken in order to achieve disarmament. And it
is certainly the desire and the determination of my Government
to do so.
But as I explained to you, outside, before I came in this
morning, disarmament requires the cooperation of all groups.
It is not only the disarmament of the pro-integrationist
group; it is also the disarmament of the pro-independence
group, including the Falintil, and that requires some doing.
Mr. GAMA: It is an essential point of this agreement, of the
principles we have agreed to, and now it will be essential if
the United Nations is to carry out its mission that a security
environment be respected, that freedoms will be achieved in
the Territory. Because a free consultation cannot take place
in an environment of pressure, intimidation, fear or killings.
We will strictly abide by what we have signed. The United
Nations will too. And we hope that all the negative
situations that have lasted up until now will no longer exist,
[in order to promote] the credibility of the United Nations
goal.
QUESTION: Mr. Secretary-General, could you give us some
details on this memorandum that you will be giving to the
Indonesian and the Portuguese sides concerning the United
Nations requirements for a free and fair ballot, this
disarming of the militias, the freedom to hold rallies,
meetings, etc.
The SECRETARY-GENERAL: The memorandum really tries to set out
the sort of things that need to be done for the right climate
to be created for us to be able to carry out the ballot in an
atmosphere of security and peacefully. It also sets out
certain suggestions and demands that will need to be met for
us to be able to carry out our work. It is nothing more and it
is nothing less.
QUESTION: The specific terms?
The SECRETARY-GENERAL: It's a long list, and I prefer not to
list them all.
QUESTION: Two United States Senators have just introduced a
bill in Washington to cut off all military aid to Indonesia
because of Indonesia's sponsorship of the death squads in East
Timor right now. This is a question to each of you, but
beginning with the Secretary-General. First, how can you say
that Indonesia will be in charge of the security when it has
been the perpetrator of the violence in East Timor for 23
years and killed about 200,000 Timorese? And secondly, what is
going to be done about keeping the Indonesian military away
from the Timorese when they are voting? And how many United
Nations personnel will be brought in to protect the Timorese
from the Indonesian military?
The SECRETARY-GENERAL: First of all, let me be quite clear
here. I think we have been engaged in this kind of operation
and peacekeeping operations for a long time. We are also
witnessing a situation even today, in Kosovo. In each of these
situations, in each operation that we get engaged in, whether
it is elections in Namibia or elsewhere, we deal with the
authorities. We deal with those in control. We deal with those
who are responsible for the territories. If we do not deal
with the Indonesian authorities and ask them to exercise their
responsibility for law and order, whom do you suggest we turn
to do that? Can the United Nations send in a force to do that
at this stage without the agreement of the Indonesian
authorities? We have to be realistic.
QUESTION: [inaudible]
Mr. MARKER: We are in the process of working that out now. We
have carried out a number of exercises. It is a matter of
getting in the personnel, getting them in time. It is a
logistic problem of horrendous proportions, and we are working
at it very hard, hoping that we will be able to succeed and
eventually provide some sort of manual for a situation of this
nature. But it is not possible for me to give any figures
right now.
QUESTION: I would like to go back and try to clarify some of
these disarmament issues. Are you saying that Indonesia is
solely responsible for the disarmament? Or is there any United
Nations role? Also, once you collect these weapons, what is
going to happen to them? Are they going to be stored, or can
you destroy them? It seems odd that it would be the
responsibility of only the Indonesian Government. Is there a
United Nations role?
Mr. MARKER: The United Nations will be assisting and working
with the authorities on this exercise. We anticipate having
sufficiently trained personnel to do that. We do not at the
moment have any plans for collecting the arms and stockpiling
them or anything like that. We are more concerned with the
maintenance of law and order. If arms are not used, as I
understand it, they are not quite the menace that they could
be otherwise. The most important thing, as the
Secretary-General and the two Ministers have said, is the
creation of a situation of calm, and we would rather work
towards that through persuasion, through talks, through
meetings, through the commission, and set that climate. I am
convinced that the people of East Timor have had enough of
conflict. I am convinced that under the Secretary-General a
United Nations presence there will provide a calming effect
and assurances, and certainly an assurance of impartiality,
which goes a long way towards removing suspicions, if not
healing tensions.
The SECRETARY-GENERAL: But I think we need to stress the fact
that the maintenance of law and order is the responsibility of
the Indonesian Government. I have discussed this also with
President Habibie, and the Government has given us its word
that it will do its utmost to ensure that we have law and
order. The United Nations presence will monitor, it will help,
it will assist, but we are not going to be responsible for
that.
Secondly, you have to understand that when you talk of
disarmament, you seem to be discussing it as a very easy
process. It is one of the most difficult exercises to
undertake in any situation, and so we should talk about these
issues with a sense of realism, what is possible, what can be
done. We are going to press for a secure environment, and the
Government has indicated that it will work with us.
QUESTION: Have you received any commitments or any
indications already from nations that they would be willing to
participate in a force, and if so, would any of those nations
also be carrying any sort of light arms of their own just in
case the violence does in fact continue?
The SECRETARY-GENERAL: We have had indications from
Governments that they would want to participate, that they
would want to send electoral observers, and at some point we
will need some police monitors. United Nations police monitors
normally do not carry weapons, and I do not think you have
talked about allowing them to carry weapons. We would apply
the United Nations standards.
QUESTION: Returning to the question of Indonesia being in
charge of law and order, isn't that in contradiction with the
decisions of the United Nations concerning the occupation of
East Timor? I understand it is an act of realism, but, still,
isn't that an act of faith rather than realism?
The SECRETARY-GENERAL: Let's open things up: what would you
suggest we do? I will be clear: I am open to suggestions.
What do you suggest we should do to take care of the problem
you have raised if we do not approach it in the manner we have
suggested? I am open to suggestions. What is your idea?
QUESTION: We can start by freeing Xanana, of course.
The SECRETARY-GENERAL: That is an issue we have discussed,
and I am sure that will come in time, I hope sooner rather
than later.
QUESTION: Since the Habibie Government might not be there
even next year, what will happen if a newly elected Assembly
does not agree with the reformulation of Mr. Habibie
[inaudible]. Secondly, in East Timor there are 13 districts.
What will happen if some districts are heavily pro-integration
and some heavily anti-integration? That would pose a
tremendous possibility of [inaudible].
Mr. GAMA: To answer the first question, as you know,
international agreements are binding not on Governments, but
on States, and for that reason any future Government in
Indonesia is going to abide by this agreement.
Secondly, the balloting being conducted in a universal manner
means that the results of the ballot are not necessarily going
to show the results in each polling station, but in general,
and so you cannot have that destabilizing effect.
QUESTION: The names of a few countries willing to provide
monitors or some sort of support have been raised: United
States, United Kingdom, Philippines, Australia, Japan. Have
those countries made commitments, or are they merely giving
indications that they will provide support or police monitors
or some sort of assistance to this operation?
Mr. MARKER: We have so far had one cheque for $10 million, so
that is already a start, and Australia has made commitments as
well as a contribution. We have had assurances of
contributions from other countries as well.
QUESTION: [inaudible] the United States [inaudible]?
Mr. MARKER: We are working on it, because they have their own
procedures, but I hope, with the Secretary-General's
permission, to go to Washington at some stage, talk to some
people and ask them to put their money where their mouths used
to be and get some concrete -^* which I am sure I will get.
Knowing the feeling and knowing the views, I am confident that
we will be able to raise -^* because, talking seriously now,
there has been so much concern expressed over the issue of
East Timor. There are no two views on it, there are no two
views on the fact that the United Nations should proceed with
this exercise. So I do not anticipate -^* one of the things we
have to do is to make our own assessments, and without finding
out exactly what the costing is, it is unfair to approach
donors without being more specific, and we are working on
that.
Mr. ALATAS: I just wanted to explain about the countries that
were mentioned. Those were, of course, the suggestions made by
our President for the Secretary-General to contemplate asking
them to help in the effort. But, of course, it goes without
saying that this does not in any way put the Secretary-General
in a position where he cannot exercise his flexibility. It is
up to the Secretary-General which countries he would like to
ask for assistance or for cooperation in the operation. We in
Indonesia would agree with that, but these are just some
suggestions.
If I understand correctly, this is the last question, so
therefore may I just conclude by saying a few words personally
to my old friend Ambassador Jamsheed Marker and thanking him
especially for what he has done. Without his patience, without
his vast skills in negotiation, but especially without his
empathy for both sides and their arguments, we would not have
come as far as we have come. I would also like to say a
special word to Ambassador Jamsheed Marker.
Mr. GAMA: I renew my thanks to the United Nations team -^* I
recognize in this room Mr. Samuel and Mr. Vendrell.
Ambassador Marker was an excellent chief negotiator and
created all the conditions for getting this diplomatic
accommodation. I also wish to thank the Secretary-General for
the impulse he gave himself, abiding by principle regarding
the dossier of East Timor. Without his commitment, without
his endorsement of a clear task for the United Nations in the
world today, we could not have concluded the agreement we have
just signed.
* *** *