AN INTERNATIONAL FORCE

September 13, 1999
		The United Nations and Indonesian government are working out plans for international troops to re-establish peace in East Timor. A discussion of the plans follows two background reports from Independent Television News.

Online NewsHour Special Report: East Timor Independence Sept. 3, 1999: East Timor chooses independence. Sept. 2, 1999: U.N. workers are killed as militia attacks continue. Sept. 1, 1999: Militias lead an uprising outside the U.N. compound. Oct. 25, 1996: Online Forum: Nobel Peace Prize winner Jose Ramos-Horta responds to viewer questions. Nov. 13, 1996: A discussion with Jose Ramos-Horta. Oct. 11, 1996: Two East Timorese dissidents win the Nobel Peace Prize. Browse the NewsHour's coverage of Asia.   United Nations Mission in East Timor Indonesian Embassy in Washington National Council of Timorese Resistance U.S. Embassy in Jakarta Carter Center	MARGARET WARNER: We begin our East Timor coverage with two reports, the first is by Robert Moore of Independent Television News. ROBERT MOORE: For the international community the challenge is to dispatch a military task force to East Timor now that Indonesia is allowing such an operation to go ahead. But for the United Nations, the problems are just beginning, for agreement must now be reached in New York on who contributes to the peacekeeping mission and crucially, on the rules of engagement for the force as it enters a land already occupied by the Indonesian army and its proxy militias. President Clinton at a summit in New Zealand made clear that America would assist in the logistics of such an operation.
	The international effort
	PRESIDENT CLINTON: The most important thing is for President Habibie to make good on his statement and get the details worked out, get the force in in a hurry. ROBERT MOORE: A force of up to 7,000 is being suggested, including 4,500 Australian troops and up to 250 British Gehrkers based in nearby Brunei. Other regional powers like the Philippines and Malaysia are also offering support; so too is Portugal, the former colonial power in East Timor. The operation will be launched from the North Australian port of Darwin, involving a major air and sealift. America has offered key logistical help for the mission.
	A family's tragedy
	MARK AUSTIN: These are the pictures that show the tragedy of East Timor continuing to unfold. The peacekeepers may be coming, but for the Guiteres family, they are already too late. These girls have just witnessed their mother being gunned down by Indonesian troops. Her body lies nearby. She was shot in the head. And in the hills above Dili, where the family was taking refuge, there was nothing anyone could do to save her. She is but one victim of the Indonesian military and militias. Exactly how many have died at their hands in the last few days is impossible to say. MARK AUSTIN: The cameraman who filmed these scenes for ITN has spent the last three days with the thousands of refugees, hiding in the hills from the marauding militias out to rid East Timor of anyone who voted for its independence. They took him to the plantation where the shooting took place. Indonesian troops, he was told, sprayed the area with bullets in order to frighten and intimidate the refugees. It was here that Isabel Guiteres died. Several others were injured. Suddenly someone shouts that more troops have been spotted. Here, fear is ever present, but increasingly, food and water is not. Their rice rations are running out, and aid agencies believe thousands of refugees are surviving on roots, leaves, and anything they can find.