The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Andrews, said last night he was "shocked and appalled" at the continuing violence in East Timor and the lack of action by the Indonesian government to control the situation.
A spokesman for Mr Andrews, who is the EU's special representative on East Timor, acknowledged the possibility that a UN peacekeeping force would have to be sent to the territory but insisted that a judgment call on the issue should come from the UN mission there, UNAMET.
He said the Secretary-General, Mr Kofi Annan, would be receiving advice from UNAMET on the advisability of an intervention by the Security Council. If the situation continues to deteriorate, the secretary-general would have to act. If that meant Mr Annan seeking backing for a UN force, Mr Andrews would fully support it.
Diplomatic sources said they expect the Dutch presidency of the Security Council to convene a meeting today or tomorrow and that Jakarta is being sounded out about a peacekeeeping force. There is hope that, given his loss of control of troops on the ground, President B.J. Habibie may even be eager for UN intervention. Mr Andrews returned from Dili to report on the situation to a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Saariselka, northern Finland, where his mission won praise from six or seven ministers as having provided important reassurance to Timorese voters. He was on his way to Lithuania last night.
The informal foreign ministers' meeting agreed a declaration which "warmly welcomed" the result of the vote "as a clear expression of the will of the East Timor people".
It called on Indonesia to prevent further violence. "The EU is following the situation closely and deems early action necessary by the international community in support of the implementation of the ballot result."
