Number: RS20332
Title: East Timor Crisis: U.S. Policy and Options
Authors: Larry Niksch, Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division 
Abstract: East Timorese voters rejected an Indonesian plan for autonomy in a referendum of August 30, 1999, thus expressing a preference for independence. Since the announcement, East Timorese para-military groups, backed by the Indonesian military, have instituted widespread violence and terror. The Clinton Administration has acted in the present crisis to pressure Indonesia to accept international peacekeepers, suspend U.S. military-related programs in Indonesia, support the suspension of aid programs to Indonesia from international financial institutions, assist the international peacekeeping force with transportation and communications, and warn Indonesia of negative consequences is Indonesia does not cooperate with peacekeepers and does not allow an estimated 200,000 East Timorese refugees in the Indonesian province of West Timor to return home.
Pages: 5
Date: Updated November 5, 1999