Like all Australians I am appalled at what has been happening in East Timor and the dreadful humanitarian impact it has had on the lives of people there. Although accurate information is difficult to obtain in the current environment, we do know that a large number of people have been forcibly displaced from their homes and have either fled into the hills or have been transported into West Timor or elsewhere in Indonesia. Many of these people now lack water, shelter, medical supplies and food. Some estimates say the numbers of displaced could be as high as 150,000 in East Timor and 100,000 in West Timor.
This situation is totally unacceptable and while access to victims in East Timor is currently extremely difficult, the Australian Government is acting now to provide urgently needed help where we are able.
Australian humanitarian aid of $3 million will be provided through United Nations agencies including the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), World Food Programme (WFP) and the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) to assist with the displaced people in East Timor and West Timor. This will provide for activities such as the purchase, pre-positioning in Darwin and transport of emergency relief supplies – blankets, plastic sheeting for emergency shelter, health and kitchen kits, mosquito nets and buckets. Food and water supplies will also be purchased.
This $3 million contribution to the humanitarian situation in Timor is an initial response. The Australian Government stands ready to provide further assistance as soon as the security situation permits and we obtain a better picture of the needs of people throughout Timor.
The Government is also working with Australian Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) to develop options for assisting this humanitarian crisis. NGO representatives met with the Australian Government’s overseas aid agency (AusAID) in Canberra this morning to discuss plans for the provision of relief assistance to displaced Timorese.
10 September 1999