Kay Bailey Hutchison: “before I leave, I want to take a moment to also talk about one other issue. That is the issue of what is happening in…”

“before I leave, I want to take a moment to also talk about one other issue. That is the issue of what is happening in Indonesia. All of us have seen atrocities and read of atrocities in many parts of the world--most recently in Indonesia where we have seen the people of East Timor vote for independence, and they were told by the Government of Indonesia that vote would be respected. Now we see bands of militia-type people that, it is said, could be connected with the Indonesian Government going in and committing terrible acts. This is a terrible thing. It is horrible. We hate to see it. I think there are many things that can be done. First and foremost, we must call on Indonesia to do what they said they would do and respect the right of the people of East Timor in their independence. I also think we should be supportive of those who are volunteering to go over there if necessary. This is where I think we can show some leadership from the United States. I would call on the President to do that. That is not to all of a sudden start talking about sending American troops into East Timor. I think by beginning to start bandying that around, all of a sudden you are going to start seeing people depend on American troops. I don't think we have to start talking about American troops in East Timor.”