Vol. 508 No. 1
114 Mr. Callely asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will give details of the situation in West Timor; if the anti-independence militia have infiltrated into this region; the UN or international support and protection which has been put in place; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18058/99]
132 Mr. Deasy asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs his views on whether the United Nations force being deployed in East Timor will be sufficient to guarantee the safety of the civilian population on that part of the island; if he will consider extending the United Nations mandate to cover East and West Timor; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18081/99]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 114 and 132 together.
Resolution 1264 of the United Nations Security Council has authorised the establishment of the multinational force for East Timor – INTERFET – under Australian command. Deployment of the force has already started and is still continuing. I understand that the proposed final strength of the force is between 7,500 and 8,000 troops, and that this total was agreed after detailed discussions between the Security Council and Australia, including 40 members of the permanent Defence Forces.
While the Security Council retains political control of the force, operational matters are the responsibility of the commander of the force. I am not aware that the commander has given any indication that the current plans need to be revised and, in these circumstances, I believe that such matters should be left to his judgment.
Should the commander decide that the strength of the force needs to be increased, I am confident that he will follow the most appropriate course, which would be to bring any such concerns to the attention of the Security Council.
Under the terms of Resolution 1264, deployment of the INTERFET force will only take place in East Timor. Security in West Timor – which is an integral part of Indonesia – remains the responsibility of that government, and it is incumbent on it to provide protection for all persons within their jurisdiction irrespective of their national origin. This remains a particular responsibility for them now in view of the large number of East Timorese who have either fled or been forcibly removed to West Timor, or to other locations in Indonesia.
According to the reports which I have received, the number of such persons could be as high as 200,000. All of these must be given the opportunity to make known their position freely, and be allowed to return to East Timor if they so wish.
