YouSaid · the spoken record

Mahbubani

lines on the record

1,011

first

1999-09-11

most recent

2004-05-10

sittings or episodes

106

sources

un-security-council

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

1. “We congratulate you, Mr. President, on your decision to convene a discussion on this subject. The subject is timely. We are once again on the verge of significantly increasing the deployment of United Nations and associated personnel, and once again in more difficult situations. All these decisions to deploy will be made by the United Nations Security Council and not by any other body. Hence, the Council has to bear primary responsibility for the safety and well-being - indeed, the lives - of the United Nations personnel that it will be deploying in the field. The Convention on the Safety of United Nations and Associated Personnel was adopted in 1994 by the General Assembly. By then, more than 1,000 United Nations peacekeepers had already been killed in the line of duty since 1948.”

   2000-02-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4100 (2000) · source

2. “Indonesia is a large, diverse and complex country of 210 million people. It is also a developing country with limited resources. It is in the midst of a complex political transition. It is facing simultaneous and serious problems in many parts of its vast territories. Therefore, we should also be sympathetic to the needs and concerns of the population of Indonesia.”

   1999-09-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4043Resumption1 (1999) · source

3. “Singapore supports international efforts to end the violence and to get the independence process back on track. There is general agreement that any international assistance to Indonesia to restore order in East Timor must be clearly authorized by the Security Council and must have Indonesia's express consent. The only other alternative is for the United Nations to go on a collision course with the Government of Indonesia. We trust that no one contemplates such a foolhardy course, but we also trust that Indonesia will consider these sincere offers of assistance in the same spirit as they have been offered - to restore peace in the territory. While focusing on East Timor, we should not forget that East Timor's problem is only one aspect of the crisis in Indonesia's body politic.”

   1999-09-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4043Resumption1 (1999) · source

4. “In this regard we would like to commend the Security Council and the United Nations Secretariat for their untiring efforts regarding East Timor in the face of discouragement and danger. We also commend the Council's decision to send a five-man mission to Indonesia and to East Timor to ascertain the situation and to convey a powerful message on the views of the Council. We hope that the Council's response to East Timor's problems will set the pattern for the Council's response to future similar tragedies, wherever they may occur. Every day we learn of tragedies surfacing in Asia, Africa and Europe. Innocent people are being killed in many corners of the world. The Council has an obligation to respond objectively and fairly to tragedies, wherever and whenever they occur. Selective justice only weakens the United Nations.”

   1999-09-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4043Resumption1 (1999) · source

5. “It has asked for more time to carry out the necessary measures to restore control and law and order in East Timor. Singapore appreciates the constraints that the Indonesian Government faces. Nevertheless, we urge the Indonesian Government to act decisively and swiftly to restore stability in East Timor, so that phase II of UNAMET can be carried out smoothly and pave the way for a peaceful implementation of phase III. The international community has become seized of the situation in East Timor. Global television and media coverage have focused the world's attention on the problem. Several countries have offered to help Indonesia if the anarchy persists and Indonesia is unable to bring matters quickly under control. Efforts are under way to persuade Indonesia to accept international assistance under United Nations auspices.”

   1999-09-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4043Resumption1 (1999) · source

6. “The results have been announced to the world and have become a new political fact which must be respected. There can be no turning back of the clock. We have no choice but to press forward towards an independent East Timor. To do that, the first step is to restore law and order and to stop the humanitarian disaster that is taking place. And the United Nations must remain engaged in the process. But under the agreements reached, in phase II the primary responsibility to end the lawlessness and restore order lies with Indonesia. Indonesia has accepted these responsibilities. Indonesia must therefore carry out these responsibilities promptly, vigorously and effectively. The Indonesian Government has imposed martial law in East Timor. It is despatching more troops to East Timor.”

   1999-09-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4043Resumption1 (1999) · source

7. “The United Nations presence itself has come under siege. Unarmed United Nations personnel have been targeted for intimidation and harassment. Some local people employed by the United Nations have been killed. This has set a grave precedent, and if it is not rectified, mobs and armies in other troubled countries will imitate it and United Nations personnel in many parts of the world will be put at risk. The Indonesian Foreign Minister admitted recently that rogue elements of the army and police were among those responsible for the violence. These rogue elements and the pro-integrationist militia must be stopped. We are now at a critical point in the effort to resolve East Timor's problems. The popular consultations have been completed.”

   1999-09-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4043Resumption1 (1999) · source

8. “Phase II of the United Nations Mission in East Timor (UNAMET) would have been very difficult even under the best of circumstances. The danger of Violence and the risk that the losing side would not accept the results had indeed been widely anticipated. The authorities should have taken more effective precautions both to preempt likely problems and to deal with them. Instead, pro-integrationist militias, well-armed with modern military weapons, have been allowed to go on a violent rampage of arson, intimidation and murder. Hundreds of thousands of innocent East Timorese civilians have been forced from their homes. Many have fled to West Timor. Hundreds, if not thousands, have been brutally murdered, not randomly, but deliberately in order to intimidate others. Law and order has totally broken down.”

   1999-09-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4043Resumption1 (1999) · source

9. “But all that is behind us. Indonesia having made the decision, the United Nations, Indonesia and Portugal worked out a solemn and binding agreement to ascertain the wishes of the people of East Timor and handle a possible transition to independence. Popular consultations were held in accordance with this agreement. We were very pleased that initially this process had proceeded smoothly. The United Nations and the Indonesian Government should be commended for the calm and peaceful way in which the voting was conducted on 30 August 1999. The East Timorese exercised their right to vote in an orderly and resolute manner. Despite some allegations of bias and coercion, there is no question that the result was legitimate and unambiguous and enjoyed widespread support. It was a good outcome. But after that the situation rapidly unravelled.”

   1999-09-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4043Resumption1 (1999) · source

10. “Negotiations on an autonomy package were then in their final stages. In these negotiations, independence had been treated as an option to be considered only later. Now independence was being offered as an alternative to autonomy. Independence would be a major change in the status of East Timor. If this step were to be taken without careful preparations, it could lead to serious problems for the people of the territory. Furthermore, the move had serious implications for the unity of Indonesia. Indonesia was undergoing a difficult political transition. A decision precipitately taken without broad national consensus - a decision that had profound implications for the country - was bound to be controversial. Given all these circumstances, it did not seem the proper way to settle the fate of 800,000 people in East Timor.”

    1999-09-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4043Resumption1 (1999) · source

11. “Singapore is shocked and outraged by the recent developments in East Timor. In 1975, when the issue of East Timor first came before the United Nations, we abstained during the vote. As a small country, we felt strongly that United Nations principles opposing the use of force should be respected. We had every interest in upholding the integrity of boundaries and the rule of international law. Nevertheless, over the last quarter-century Indonesia has de facto been governing East Timor, and this has been generally accepted by the world at large. Thus, when the Indonesian Government suddenly announced in January 1999 that it was willing to grant independence to East Timor, if this was what the East Timorese wanted, many Indonesians were justifiably concerned. Singapore too was taken aback.”

    1999-09-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4043Resumption1 (1999) · source