International NGO Observers for East Timor Consultation
01 June 1999
International Federation for East Timor (IFET)
On May 5, 1999 Indonesia and Portugal signed an agreement for the United Nations to conduct a “popular consultation” on “special autonomy” for East Timor on August 8, 1999. If the ballot is a free and fair reflection of the wishes of the people of East Timor, it will end the long-standing violation of international law resulting from Indonesia’s 1975 invasion of East Timor and the ongoing military occupation.
The accord obligates Indonesia to take the necessary steps to repeal its annexation of East Timor and transfer authority over the territory to the United Nations if the East Timorese people reject autonomy. If the voters approve autonomy, Portugal and the U.N. will legally recognize East Timor as part of Indonesia. For the first time, the people of East Timor will be able to decide their political status.
The International Federation for East Timor (IFET)* is working to support United Nations efforts to ensure that the East Timorese people are able to make that decision in an atmosphere free of coercion and terror. We are sending people to East Timor to observe the consultation process. We will not campaign for or against autonomy, but will be there to support the East Timorese people’s right to decide for themselves.
Autonomy Campaign 1999
Photo: Anna Voss
But, as numerous first-hand and journalistic accounts have documented, the Indonesian military and the paramilitary “civilian militias” it is supporting are trying to subvert the vote. Violence against supporters of independence has reached horrific levels over the last several weeks. The paramilitaries have killed more than 150 people since April, and forced more than 50,000 people to flee their homes, often inflicting violence against random civilians to create a climate of universal fear.
The people of East Timor thus find themselves at a crossroads of crisis and opportunity. We in the international community can help ensure that East Timor turns toward opportunity. For this reason, the International Federation for East Timor (IFET) is encouraging individuals and groups to join our project to send nonpartisan volunteer observers to East Timor to ensure a fair vote without prejudice to the outcome. In addition to observing and reporting on the campaign and voting process, IFET observers, by their visible presence as representatives of the world community, will help deter violent efforts to subvert the process.
Section E(f) of the “Agreement Regarding the Modalities for the Popular Consultation of the East Timorese Through a Direct Ballot” states that “International observers will be able to observe the consultation process under terms to be developed by the United Nations to regulate the process.” In this regard, international community has a role to play in reducing violence intended to prevent the East Timorese from participating in “a free and fair popular consultation process.”
IFET observers will work primarily in three areas:
1. We will provide organized accompaniment, when requested, for East Timorese human rights workers, high-profile personnel associated with local religious institutions, East Timorese people campaigning for the consultation, and others who feel threatened.
2. Our people in the field will monitor the human rights situation by personal observation and by interviews with religious personnel, public officials, local non-governmental organizations, political activists, and the population in general. These monitors will communicate their findings to an IFET office in Dili which will regularly report the information to U.N. officials, journalists, national governments and other appropriate authorities.
3. IFET personnel will observe the registration process, the campaign, the actual day of balloting (including polling sites, people travelling to and from voting, and other related matters), as well as the transportation of ballots and the tallying of votes. We will issue a report. Some of us will remain in East Timor after August 8 to observe that there is no retaliatory violence and that subsequent steps proceed smoothly.
CNRT Independence Campaign
Photo: Anna Voss
As an international federation, IFET takes no position for or against the proposed autonomy plan. We are in East Timor to ensure that the East Timorese people are able to make that decision themselves. Our observers will be non-partisan; we will work with non-aligned groups in East Timor as well as with various Indonesian non-governmental organizations, U.N. personnel, and other observer missions. IFET will also be in contact with both pro-independence and pro-autonomy advocates, as well as with Indonesian civilian and military officials, to ensure them that we are not taking sides.
The International Federation for East Timor will coordinate this project on the international level. The project will not receive any logistical, security or financial support from the United Nations, but the U.N. will provide accreditation to IFET observers and we will follow the U.N. Code of Conduct for observers. There will be other observer missions in East Timor during the consultation process. IFET will endeavor to coordinate our work with theirs – we are part of a larger effort by the international community to ensure the legitimacy of the U.N. consultation process. Our unique role is to facilitate participation by NGO and individual activists and human rights workers from all over the world, but we have no intention to preclude other observer delegations.
IFET observers will be volunteers; most observers should expect to raise their own costs of transportation, food, and lodging. At the same time, IFET will be raising substantial funds to establish an office in Dili and to hire staff to coordinate the project within and outside of East Timor. We hope that participating groups and individuals will help raise money for these common costs.
IFET-associated individuals and groups in different countries will oversee the recruitment, screening, training and coordination of observers from those countries, but they will do so according to internationally- established procedures and in close consultation with the international IFET coordinating group. IFET will also have people based in East Timor to help with logistics (lodging, deployment, etc.) as individuals arrive in Dili.
Although we will take responsibility for the people we bring to East Timor, our first priority is to support the East Timor consultation, and we will endeavor to minimize problems caused by IFET observers. Participants must be in good physical health (as certified by a medical release) and be able to work under pressure and with emotional and psychological stress. IFET observers will be mature, stable individuals. Most, therefore, will be 25 years old or older, but some will be as young as 18. The working language of the IFET observer project will be English. Facility with Indonesian, Tetum, and/or Portuguese would be of great benefit. For non-English-speaking IFET observers, other observers from their home country will provide interpretation.
In addition to agreeing to follow the U.N.-issued Code of Conduct, all observers associated with the IFET project will sign a contract by which they agree to be nonviolent, nonpartisan, and to respect IFET decisions. If we find that a participant has failed to abide by the contract and undermined the larger project, IFET could terminate that person’s relationship with our project and/or take additional steps to distance them from our mission.
IFET will carefully screen all applicants. All IFET observers will receive training before going to East Timor. Once there, IFET and/or our East Timorese and Indonesian partners will provide further orientation. Our people will have a range of experience and knowledge of election monitoring and East Timor’s situation, culture and language.
The project will deploy observers throughout the territory. While we certainly want observers to have a presence in rural areas, we will make sure that observers are stationed in towns of relative size for safety, logistical support, and ease of communication. Our observers will be deployed in pairs or larger groups.
The crucial time will be the weeks leading up to the vote. Some IFET observers will arrive by June 13, the start of voter registration. We hope to have at least 100 in place by early July, with more arriving as August 8 approaches. We encourage observers to stay for at least one month, but we will not dissuade qualified people from coming for shorter periods. Some IFET observers will stay in East Timor after the vote and the announcement of the results, especially if the voters reject autonomy. Depending on the situation and the need, this could develop into an ongoing project.
* The International Federation for East Timor (IFET) was founded in 1991 by East Timor support organizations from four continents as a clearinghouse for non-governmental initiatives on East Timor. IFET is accredited with the United Nations Department of Public Information. Our secretariat is in the Philippines and we have a representative at the U.N. in New York. IFET includes more than 30 members from 19 countries, including both single-issue East Timor groups and others with a wider range of concerns.
————————————————————- For further information on IFET or the observers project, contact: IFET U.N. Representative Charles Scheiner. P.O. Box 1182, White Plains, NY 10602 USA Ph:1-914-428-7299 fax:1-914-428-7383 ifet@etan.org IFET Secretariat: Asia-Pacific Coalition on East Timor c/o Initiatives for International Dialogue 27-D Rosario Townhouse, Galaxy St. GSIS Heights, Matina, Davao City 8000 PHILIPPINES Ph/fax. 63-82-299-2052 iiddvo@skyinet.net
IFET Member Organizations as of 1 June 1999
National Council of Timorese Resistance (CNRT, East Timor) East Timor International Support Center (Australia) East Timor Relief Association (Australia) Australia-East Timor Association Australians for a Free East Timor Friends of East Timor, Western Australia Hobart East Timor Committee (Australia) East Timor Alert Network (Canada) Canadian Action for Indonesia and East Timor Pacific Concerns Resource Centre (Fiji) Agir Pour Timor (France) Association Solidarité Timor-Oriental (France) Watch Indonesia! (Germany) Gesellschaft fur Bedrohte Völker (Germany) East Timor Roundtable (Hong Kong) East Timor Ireland Solidarity Campaign Indian Society for Human Rights Free East Timor – Japan Coalition East Timor Information Network (Malaysia) International Platform of Jurists for East Timor (Netherlands) Norwegian Cooperation Council for East Timor and Indonesia Asia-Pacific Coalition on East Timor (Philippines) Com. para os Direitos do Povo Maubere (Portugal) Paz é Justica para Timor Leste (Portugal) A Paz é Possivel em Timor Leste (Portugal) Movimento Christão para a Paz (Portugal) Instituto de Estudios Políticos para América Latina y Africa (Spain) Östtimor Kommitten (Sweden) TAPOL (U.K.) British Coalition for East Timor East Timor Action Network (USA) International Secretariat, Parliamentarians for East Timor (list in formation)
