East Timor Crisis: U.S. Policy and Options (CRS Report for Congress)
| Release Date |
Nov. 5, 1999 |
| Report Number |
RS20332 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
Larry Niksch, Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
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.
