The UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan, is due to announce the result of the referendum on self-rule in East Timor in the early hours of tomorrow morning. The vote is expected to overwhelmingly endorse a move towards independence.
The Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs has said that he is appalled by the failure of the Indonesian government to provide adequate security in East Timor. David Andrews, who is the European Union's representative to the territory, added that the East Timorese people are entering a period of great uncertainty and great danger. He said that there was savage and outrageous brutality against innocent and defenceless civilians and that it can no longer be tolerated.
Mr. Andrews is to give a report on his recent visit to the region to a meeting of European Union Foreign Ministers this weekend. He is expected to urge the EU to ensure that security is provided to halt violence by pro-Indonesian militias following a referendum last Monday on independence for the territory.
The Indonesian authorities are drawing up emergency plans for a mass evacuation from East Timor, if the violence continues. Indonesia's military commander, General Wiranto, has said that he has sent two battalions of extra troops to help deal with the violence in East Timor. He said that the troops had been requested by the United Nations mission in East Timor, which organised last Monday's referendum on the territory's future. The UN has strongly criticised the Indonesian security forces for failing to prevent violence by militia groups opposed to independence. General Wiranto also said the result of the referendum would be announced tomorrow.
The UN says pro-Indonesian militias in East Timor have taken control of at least three key areas in the territory and have been stepping up their activities after the referendum earlier this week. A UN spokesman told a news conference that the militias had been very active, and he described the response of the Indonesian police as "totally inadequate". The situation in the town of Maliana, south-west of the Dili, has been a particular cause of concern, because the opposing sides had signed an agreement saying they would be reconciled after the voting. This morning the UN evacuated all of its staff from the town. They had taken refuge in the local police station after militiamen rampaged through the town.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson, has expressed concern over the violence in East Timor, which she said Indonesian forces are unable to control. In a statement issued in Geneva, the former Irish President said a substantial UN peacekeeping force may be needed to protect what she called a "terrorised population" as well as UN staff. Mrs Robinson said the Security Council should urgently consider deploying such a force. There is growing pressure for international peacekeepers to be sent to the territory. However, earlier today the UN Secretary General's spokesman, Fred Eckhart, said no immediate plans are being made to send such a force.
