October 1999 -

10 min 50 secs

00:33 My visit to France was essentially in response to an invitation from the foreign Minister of France. Mr Hubert Betrin primarily to discuss the peacekeeping operations in East Timor. As you know, under the Interfet it has been under Australian control. There has been a lot of pressure to change from that arrangement to a Command by one of the Asian countries. I have spoken and voiced our opinion of to two members of the security council, to Britain's Tony Blair in London and now Mr Betrin, our strong opposition to any change in the current command structure. The Australians are doing a very good job with responsibility, professionalism and integrity. Australia is part of the region and is close to East Timor. Therefore, we prefer that the current command structure remains in place. With Australia in command and Thailand second in command. There is no reason to change this. We have stated this in New York, London and now in France. We hear arguments that Malaysia should take over peacekeeping operations. I totally oppose this. Prime Minister Mahathir has been a strong vocal opponent of East Timor's independence. He opposes the UN veto of East Timor. This world be a political disaster. I have had discussions with France's foreign Minister, regarding the infrastructure and economic reconstruction of East Timor. We have received strong assurances from France and UK to their commitment to development of East Timor. A World Bank joint mission is now going to East Timor to assess the situation. It’s a joint mission between UN agencies, international government and local Timorean bodies. We are pleased with the efforts of the World Bank's attitude. There is real commitment from the President down to the ordinary staff. There will be transparent dialogue between us and the World Bank and then a serious assessment of our needs.

We need millions and millions of dollars for reconstruction. This is due to the destruction carried out by the Indonesian Army. They have left behind a totally destroyed landscape. I personally oppose any procurement of any aid in the form of equipment or merchandise from the Indonesians. Countries who are part of the Interfet should be the major suppliers. We should look to Australia and others for military and humanitarian aid. Indonesia should be ignored, it reacted to our inception in a hostile and barbaric way. I hope that the UN and World Bank keep such factors in mind when deciding which countries to purchase help from.

I am leaving for South Korea following an invitation from President Kim Da Jung. South Korea persuaded Indonesia to allow an international force to enter East Timor. In Korea, I will be taking part in a forum of leading democratic leaders of Asia. . In the future, I hope South Korea will play a leading role in the development and maturing of East Timor. After South Korea, we will visit China, in response to a high level invitation as well as Thailand and the Philippines.

Regarding the Malaysian elections, I want to congratulate Megawati and Wahid on their respective victories. I hope that a new chapter in our relationship will be opened. And that Indonesia and East Timor will normalise their relationship. For this to happen, all Timorese abducted and kidnapped by the Indonesians will have to be returned with out harm, immediately. And responsibilities for human right violations and those responsible for such hideous crimes will be investigated. Only in this way, after such gestures of justice and putting on trials for leading Army officers responsible for the massacres will the Indonesians regain our trust.

7.55 I am pleased about the election of Abdul Rehaman Wahid. I sincerely hope that under his leadership, the main issues between our two nations will be resolved. These include the release of all East Timorese held hostage.

I am pleased with the reception we have had in UK and France. The two important nations in the UN security council. They have and continue to play a leading role in Interfet. We had discussions with Tony Blair and Robin Cook and now have just finished a meeting with Mr. Betrin of France. There is strong support for economic reconstruction of East Timor from the European Union. We have stated to Tony Blair, to Betrin and in the UN, that we want the leadership of peacekeeping to remain with the Australians. They have performed excellently. They have our full admiration and respect. We reject Malaysian offers to take over peacekeeping operations in East Timor. We hold a majority Catholic population and Malaysia is a Muslim society. Mahathir is not well known for his respect for human rights. In fact in 1975, he advocated strong support for Suharto to invade East Timor. So we hope common sense prevails. Mahathir should give up any hope of taking over peacekeeping duties.

Thank you.

10 56 Ends.