EAST TIMOR VOTES TO SECEDE

September 3, 1999
		In the first free vote to determine their future, 78.5 percent of the people of East Timor have voted to secede from Indonesia. The vote was announced in New York by United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan. -- Posted 9:40 PM ET

Online NewsHour Special Report: East Timor Independence Online Backgrounder: A look at East Timor's stormy history. 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. June 2, 1998: Indonesia attempts to form a democratic government. May 22, 1998: A discussion on changes in the Indonesian government. May 21, 1998: Indonesia in the wake of Suharto's resignation. 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

"The people of East Timor have thus rejected the proposed special autonomy and expressed their wish to begin a process of transition toward independence," Annan said late Friday night. In the East Timor capital of Dili, officials braced for violence as militia members bent on remaining part of Indonesia were expected to continue their violent protests. Aid agencies working in the province estimated that some 50,000 to 100,000 people might flee the former Portuguese colony if, as many predict, the violence worsens. Many international observers called on the Indonesian military and regional police to impose order on the region and ensure the pro-Jakarta militia does not wreak havoc. Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, whose Carter Centered had helped monitor the referendum, has already criticized Indonesia for allowing the militia attacks that have plagued Dili and other areas since the vote. "The failure by the Indonesian government to take strong, swift action to stop the escalating violence of these lightly armed militias is inexplicable," Carter said in a statement released by his office in Atlanta. "Allowing this anarchy to continue violates Indonesia's good faith pledge to uphold the results of the vote, whether it be for independence or autonomy within Indonesia," he said. "It also seriously jeopardizes the country's good international standing." Indonesian military commander General Wiranto countered saying he had sent two battalions of extra troops to East Timor at the request of the United Nations, which organized the ballot but has no armed peacekeepers, to guarantee order. "The reinforcement troops are to help the Indonesian police in carrying out their duty, in accordance with the request by UNAMET, to protect and safeguard all UNAMET facilities and their staff as well as the people in East Timor," Wiranto told reporters in Jakarta. Regardless of Indonesian efforts, U.N. officials, citing the murder of four of its team in East Timor, warned an international peace force may be needed. U.N. human rights chief Mary Robinson suggested a substantial U.N. peacekeeping force may be required to protect a "terrorized population" and international staff. "The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights is deeply concerned about the spiraling violence in East Timor and says there is an urgent need for international action," her spokesman Jose Diaz told a news briefing in Geneva. After the announcement, Security Council members immediately began closed-door consultations to consider the result and possibly to issue a statement again demanding that Indonesia maintain law and order. With autonomy rejected by the voters, the Indonesian parliament, which is due to meet in October, is to annul the annexation of East Timor, clearing the way for the United Nations to mount a major operation to help guide the territory toward independence.