Minister Andrews expresses his horror at killings in East Timor
The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr David Andrews T.D., expressed his horror at reports that as many as 60 civilians may have been killed by troops in or near the East Timor town of Alas. The Minister condemned the killings and expressed his support for the statement made by the UN Secretary-General, Mr Kofi Annan, for an end to all military operations in the area and for respect to be shown for the safety and security of unarmed civilians.
The Minister said that Ireland had raised the issue with our European Union partners and would support action aimed at bringing the perpetrators of the killings to justice. He referred to the talks currently underway in New York between Portugal and Indonesia under the aegis of the UN Secretary-General aimed at finding a solution to the question of East Timor and said that every effort should be made to ensure that these talks were successful.
