wfn.org | Support continues for East Timor

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG>]

Sept. 22, 1998	Contact: Linda Bloom*(212) 870-3803*New York
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By United Methodist News Service

Recent votes in the U.S. House of Representatives have strengthened
support for self-determination in East Timor, but the congressional
measures await final action.

United Methodists having been among those urging Congress to support the
tiny Southeast Asian nation, which has been under military occupation by
Indonesia since 1975. 

"The support for this issue and the awareness of this issue have really
been building up in Congress," said Rebecca Asedillo, a United Methodist
who serves as staff for the National Council of Churches' East Timor
working group.

In September, the U.S. House Appropriations Committee endorsed
self-determination and called for an "internationally supervised
referendum" on East Timor when it passed the foreign operations
appropriations bill. The committee also called for an end to human
rights abuses in Indonesia and East Timor. The appropriations bill still
faces a vote by the entire House.

More than 100 members of the House also sent separate letters to
President Clinton and Indonesian President B.J. Habibie urging a just
solution in East Timor based on the wishes of its citizens, Asedillo
said.

On Sept. 3, the Senate banned the use of U.S. weapons in East Timor in
its version of the foreign operations appropriations bill. Earlier, on
July 10, it had passed Senate Resolution 237, which urges the Clinton
administration to work with the United Nations and with its allies to
support the referendum on self-determination.

Asedillo said United Methodists still should encourage their U.S.
representatives to vote for House Concurrent Resolution 258, which also
supports East Timor's right to self-determination. 
 
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