Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/1999-09-15-Speech-3-177"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.19990915.11.3-177"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spoken text |
"Mr President, we were told by Council this morning that East Timor deserves our full support. We were told that we supplied observers that were crucial to the success of the referendum when the East Timorese said a very loud and very large “yes” to independence. We were told by the Council that the Commission is preparing social and economic assistance for a newly independent East Timor, all of which of course we welcome. But we are also told by Mrs Halunen that she was surprised at the terror that took place after the referendum. I am surprised that she was surprised. I was in Jakarta in August, as a special representative of the UNDP working with the Indonesian Parliament, the DPRK, on new rules for that parliament. It was clear to me then and more importantly to everybody else in Jakarta that firstly there would be a resounding yes in a referendum and secondly that the army, or at least large sections of the army, would try to subvert that process by engaging in and encouraging terror. We have seen that happen, but why we are surprised I do not know.
I welcome the peacekeeping force. I welcome the humanitarian aid that is going to go in to help the 200,00 to 400,000 refugees. I welcome the fact that we were told that EUR 8 million would be available for that humanitarian aid. But it must be delivered quickly. I accept that in the interim it may be delivered by air. We are told it is going to be dropped in by helicopters from 1,500 metres. If you remember the aid we saw being airlifted in and dropped to some of the Kurdish refugees from the air, it was not very successful. If I recall correctly, some of the refugees were actually killed. As soon as possible that aid needs to be delivered on the ground. We need to make sure that it happens within days rather than weeks.
I accept the need for the ban on arms. We need to stop arms sales to Indonesia and I welcome the four-month ban. It may be that it needs to be continued but at the same time we also need to be helping the Indonesians by providing them with assistance to ensure that very fragile democracy elected in the last general election is able to establish itself. Unless we do that in November or December we will be having a similar debate about Indonesia, telling each other how we knew it was all going to end in tears."@en1
|
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:unclassifiedMetadata |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples