Resolution passed at the Social Workers World Conference held in Sri Lanka, July 9-13, 1994
The International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW) expresses its deep concern on the continuous human rights violations committed by the Indonesian military troops occupying East Timor since its invasion in 1975.
We are concerned about the killings which have wiped out a third of the entire population of East Timor during the invasion; of the torture of those arbitrarily arrested and detained; of the children who lost their families; of the victims of Santa Cruz massacre in 1991 that killed at least 100 people and wounded scores of others including women and children; of the hundreds who have disappeared and have not been accounted for until now,
We are especially concerned about the situation of women, the reports of forced sterilization of young girls and the widespread use of rape as a means of torture.
We are concerned about the way Xanana Gusmao and other political oppositionists are being tried. Many before him have been tortured, falsely charged and convicted to long prison terms and denied their rights as political prisoners.
As social workers concerned with the promotion, protection and defense of human rights in East Timor and elsewhere in the world where human rights are similarly grossly violated, we support the United Nations resolutions, including allowing of entry of relief and other assistance by UN and NGOs to East Timor. We appeal to the Indonesian government to withdraw its troops and allow the East Timorese people to determine their own future as a separate and independent nation.
A proposal to support the resolutions of the recent International Conference on East Timor held in Manila:
a. To endorse the nomination of Bishop Belo, of Dili, capital of East Timor to the Nobel Peace Prize. Bishop Belo has been known for his humanitarian work in the war-torn East Timor.
b. To send a human rights mission to East Timor.
c. To send a high level mission composed of parliamentarians to dialogue with the Indonesian government, to visit Xanana Gusmao and other political prisoners and to look at the overall situation of the people.