Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/1999-12-16-Speech-4-130"
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"en.19991216.5.4-130"2
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"Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, the Commission welcomes this debate with open arms, as it does the contributions made to this debate so far, for they demonstrate that the European Union is conscious of the responsibility it has for developments in Indonesia and that it wants to continue in its endeavours to bring about a stable and democratic order there. This is the principle on which our policy is based and nothing will change in this regard.
I quite agree with those who have pointed out that, all problems aside, there have also been some extremely positive developments in Indonesia, which are deserving of support. The new government has been democratically elected. It appears to be committed to tackling the urgent problems. It is endeavouring to resolve the aforementioned regional unrest in Aceh and Irian Jaya and the ethnic tensions in the Moluccas, by means of peaceful dialogue and constitutional reform, and I believe it is crucially important that there is a national commission on human rights that is dealing with human rights issues.
As far as the Commission is concerned, it will only be possible to tackle regional tensions and demands for more autonomy or for independence if a regime, a system, is introduced in Indonesia, that truly guarantees unambiguous political accountability and transparency of statecraft, and lives up to the expectations of the large, democratically-minded majority of citizens.
The Commission is aware that there are still huge challenges to be met in Indonesia. Firstly, I might mention the fact that the army needs to be reformed, secondly that a stable system of law and order needs to be introduced. Continuing in that vein, there is a need to put a stop to corruption, to resolve the social problems arising from the economic crisis in Asia and to give renewed impetus to the badly affected Indonesian economy.
Permit me to make a few further remarks on East Timor in this connection, and then I also want to say something about the arms embargo. I believe that reconstruction in East Timor presents the international community with a very special challenge. Timor stands out on account of the scale of damage and violence and the singular political situation there. That is why we want to, and must, help achieve a comprehensive solution to the problems there, under the auspices of the United Nations. Then there is also the question as to how this state is to be constructed and how human rights are to be secured there.
The Commission has already involved itself here and will continue to involve itself. Supporting East Timor is a high-priority task as far as we are concerned. This was illustrated by Mr Nielson’s visit to East and West Timor a few weeks ago. So far, the Commission has made a total of EUR 33.5 million available for humanitarian aid and reconstruction measures. The Commission is also to participate in the Donor Conference due to take place in Tokyo tomorrow and which has already been mentioned here. A concrete programme is to be decided on there. The Commission intends to see to it that technical assistance is provided in Dili, with a view to ensuring effective implementation of the programmes.
I believe that what we need to do in the very near future in East Timor is to implement the necessary humanitarian measures efficiently. The repatriation of refugees has begun. The Indonesian government has assured us that the voluntary repatriation process will soon be concluded. We intend to keep a very watchful eye on this and, if we detect any hold-ups, then we will bring pressure to bear on the Indonesian government.
In our view, it is up to the United Nations to take the leading role in coordinating all the donors’ endeavours. That is why the Commission believes that all donors should work closely with UNTAET. The East Timorese should play a part in all aspects of the reconstruction and development process. The Commission believes that the advisory council, which also contains representatives of various political groupings, has an important role to play. And so, all in all, although there are positive signs in Indonesia and East Timor, still there is cause for concern and unease. It is for this very reason that the European Parliament considers this debate to be a necessary one and this is completely in line with the Commission’s intentions and deliberations.
You are aware that the Council has sole responsibility for the arms embargo issue, which has been discussed on a number of occasions here. Consequently, I only have a certain amount of room for manoeuvre where this is concerned, but I believe that I can say this much: the Commission hopes that the Members of the Council will not only be notified of the arguments that have been presented here but also act on them."@en1
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