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1 1 (November 5, 1999)

handle is hein.crs/crsahfi0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Order Code RS20332 Updated November 5, 1999 East Timor Crisis: U.S. Policy and Options Larry Niksch Specialist in Asian Affairs Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division Summary East Timorese voters rejected an Indonesian plan for autonomy in a referendum of August 30, 1999, thus expressing a preference for independence. Since the announcement of the results of the referendum, East Timorese para-military groups, backed by the Indonesian military, have instituted widespread violence and terror. A United Nations-sponsored international peace-keeping force entered East Timor in late September 1999 led by Australian forces. The United States, including the Congress, has been involved in the issue of East Timor for many years. The Clinton Administration has acted in the present crisis to pressure Indonesia to accept international peacekeepers, suspend U.S. military-related programs in Indonesia, support the suspension of aid programs to Indonesia from international financial institutions, assist the international peacekeeping force with transportation and communications, and warn Indonesia of negative consequences if Indonesia does not cooperate with peacekeepers and does not allow an estimated 200,000 East Timorese refugees in the Indonesian province of West Timor to return home. Background to the Crisis On September 4, 1999, United Nations officials announced the results of a U.N.- sponsored referendum of August 30, 1999, in East Timor; 78.5% of the voters rejected an Indonesian government plan for East Timor to receive a special autonomy arrangement within Indonesia. This means, in effect, that the East Timorese expressed a preference for independence. In an agreement of May 5, 1999, between Indonesia and Portugal (East Timor's colonial ruler until 1974) under U.N. auspices, the Indonesian government promised that if the East Timorese voted against autonomy, the government shall take the constitutional steps necessary to terminate its links with East Timor, and the U.N. Secretary General shall ... initiate the procedure enabling East Timor to begin a process of transition toward independence.' Congressional Research Service + The Library of Congress CRS Report for Congress Received through the CRS Web 'Congressional Research Service. East Timor's Coming Decision on Autonomy or Independence. CRS Report RS20256. July 9, 1999. pp. 1-2.

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