wfn.org | NCCCUSA Executive Board on East Timor

[CAROL_FOUKE.parti@ecunet.org (CAROL FOUKE)]

National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA
Contact: NCC News, 212-870-2227
E-mail: news@ncccusa.org; Web: www.ncccusa.org

NCC9/8/99  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NCC EXECUTIVE BOARD APPEALS TO PRESIDENT CLINTON, UNITED NATIONS
TO MAINTAIN PRESENCE, END ATROCITIES IN EAST TIMOR
Church World Service Explores Assistance for Refugees

 NEW YORK, Sept. 8 ---- The National Council of Churches 
(NCC) Executive Board today issued a statement urging the Clinton 
administration to support a United Nations (UN) peacekeeping 
force for East Timor and appealing to the UN to maintain a 
substantial presence in Dili and to take immediate action to put 
an effective end to all human rights violations there.

 Meanwhile, Church World Service, the NCC's emergency 
response and humanitarian assistance arm is exploring possible 
responses to refugees in West Timor and preparing to support 
other international responses once they become possible.

 The Executive Board, which carries responsibility for the 
Council's governance between annual meetings of the NCC's General 
Assembly, opened its meeting with a prayer for East Timor, where 
as many as 200,000 people, nearly a quarter of East Timor's 
population, have been driven from their homes since a UN 
supervised referendum resulted in 78.5 percent of the population 
voting for independence.  Church World Service staff in Indonesia 
reports that the people forcibly deported by militias are seeking 
refuge in West Timor.

 The Board adopted a statement detailing the current 
situation and the ways "the Indonesia effort to nullify the 
result of the referendum through violence and killings has been 
denounced by the international community."  In the midst of the 
current upheaval, "the Executive Board has been made aware of 
various urgent reports from ecumenical partners and Church World 
Service staff on the ground."  Immediate response includes "the 
churches of the Gareja Masehi di Timor (GMIT) providing shelter, 
food and basic health services to the displaced."

Additionally, church leaders in the region are meeting in 
order to plan their massive emergency response.  CWS staff in 
Indonesia is exploring a possible response through the Church of 
Kupang, a new partner.  CWS assistance for refugees in West Timor 
will likely include providing tents and providing hygiene kits 
and blankets.  CWS is also prepared to support other efforts as 
part of work by the Action by Churches Together (ACT) 
International Network, but ACT said a humanitarian operation can 
only be launched in East Timor once the security situation allows 
for it.

The statement stresses the NCC's longstanding concern for 
East Timor.  Hosted by the Protestant Church in East Timor, two 
NCC ecumenical delegations recently visited East Timor.  Through 
letters, reports and educational materials, the NCC has pressed 
the case of the 900,000 inhabitants of East Timor, who have long 
endured colonial occupation, poverty, social and economic 
stability.

On September 2, NCC General Secretary Joan Brown Campbell 
appealed to President Clinton "to make a clear statement to the 
Indonesian government that the violence must stop and that there 
will be material consequences if they do not fulfill their 
responsibility."  The Executive Board issued the statement today 
because "the situation has changed dramatically for the worse" 
since Dr. Campbell's appeal.
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