Letter: Timor challenge

Sir: The President of Indonesia, B J Habibie, has accepted the poll in which the people of East Timor voted for independence, but the pro-Jakarta militias are still on the rampage, under the benign gaze of Indonesian troops.

In spite of repeated appeals by Robin Cook, our Foreign Secretary, Kofi Annan, the UN Secretary-General, and many others, for the restoration of order in the territory, General Wiranto, the Indonesian armed forces commander, has not acted to stop the violence.

On 22 April, I said in the House of Lords: "It is encouraging to note that a peace agreement was signed yesterday between the militia and the Timorese resistance, but ... Wiranto did not sign the deal. He merely witnessed it, acknowledging that his own troops were responsible. If Wiranto is genuinely committed to peace, he should relieve the commander of the forces in East Timor, General Adam Damiri, of his duties, as well as the colonel who is directly in control in Timor itself; he should order the disbanding of the militias.... General Wiranto's attitude has been ambivalent so far, and it is essential that he makes a public declaration of support for the consultation process".

We must now demand that President Habibie give a direct order to General Wiranto to disarm and disband the militia. General Wiranto must transmit this order in public to General Damiri, and ask him to suspend any officer who fails to take action against those who commit acts of violence in East Timor.

If this is done, international peacekeeping forces would not be necessary. If it is not done, then it is clear that the military are not implementing the government's policies, and President Habibie must call in the UN without waiting for the Parliament to approve the independence vote formally in three months' time.