International Armed Forces East Timor
| INTERFET | |
|---|---|
| operation area | East Timor |
| German name | International Armed Forces East Timor |
| English name | International Force East Timor |
| Based on UN resolution | 1264 (September 15, 1999) |
| Beginning | September 1999 |
| The End | February 28, 2000 |
| Location of the operational area |
|
The International Force East Timor ( International Force East Timor , INTERFET ) were a multinational protection force provided by the United Nations , was asked about the security situation and humanitarian crisis in East Timor between 1999 and 2000 until the arrival of the official UN peacekeepers to stabilize. INTERFET was under the command of the Australian Major General Peter Cosgrove . The representative was Songkitti Jaggabatara from Thailand .
history
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In view of the wave of violence caused by Operation Donner , the United Nations unanimously passed UN Resolution 1264 on September 15, 1999, which enabled an international peacekeeping force to protect the population of East Timor from further terrorism. The protection force with the strongest contingents from Australia, the USA , Thailand and New Zealand had the task of ensuring peace and security and restoring public order. In addition, it should support the civilian UN mission UNAMET and enable the orderly return of the refugees. The trigger for the violence was the independence referendum of August 30, 1999 , in which 78.5% of the inhabitants of occupied East Timor spoke out in favor of independence from Indonesia. Pro-Indonesian militias and the Indonesian armed forces tried to intimidate the population by force. 2,000 people died, three quarters of the population was displaced and 75% of the infrastructure was destroyed.
On September 20, 1999, the first Australian units landed at Dili airport and controlled the region after minor clashes with the pro-Indonesian militias. Many members of the population, but also many members of the militia, fled to the mountains or the western part of the island. From there the militias carried out sporadic raids, mainly on the southern part of the border controlled by the New Zealand Army. When these raids were repelled and Indonesian support ended due to international pressure, the militias dispersed. When they left they burned down many houses. The Oe-Cusse Ambeno exclave was pacified by INTERFET in October. At the end of October, Indonesia declared the occupation invalid and with UN resolution 1272 the UN interim administration UNTAET was empowered on October 25th to organize the reconstruction of the country from February 14th, 2000 and to replace INTERFET. On February 28th, INTERFET handed over responsibility to UNTAET. But refugees in West Timor were held in camps and murdered months after they were officially handed over to the UN peacekeeping mission. At a conference on December 17, 1999 in Tokyo , Japan , grants totaling over 417 million euros were approved.
The INTERFET mission ended with the handover of responsibility to the UNTAET Peace Keeping Forces on February 28, 2000.
Attendees
A total of 9,900 soldiers from 17 countries were initially involved in INTERFET. The following countries participated in INTERFET: Australia , Brazil , Germany , France , Ireland , Italy , Canada , Kenya , Republic of Korea , Malaysia , New Zealand , Norway , Philippines , Singapore , Thailand , United Kingdom and the USA . Later Portugal , Pakistan , Fiji , Jordan and another country were added.
A threat to INTERFET from Indonesian armed forces was also seen as a potential threat, for example an Indonesian submarine was located in East Timorese waters. In order to counter possible threats from the Indonesian armed forces, the following ships were subordinated to the INTERFET as a naval unit: the cruiser USS Mobile Bay , the destroyer HMS Glasgow , the frigates HMNZS Te Kaha , HMNZS Canterbury , FNS Prairial , FNS Vendemiaire , HMAS Adelaide , HMAS Darwin , HMAS ANZAC , HMAS Sydney and unspecified submarines. Other ships were later used, including those from Italy, Canada, Portugal, Singapore and Thailand.
Furthermore, the Australian and New Zealand Air Forces were available to support the INTERFET fighter jets . These were Australian F / A-18 , F-111 and New Zealand A-4K . In addition, there were Australian Lockheed P-3 reconnaissance aircraft .
After Australia with 4,400 soldiers, Thailand provided the second largest contingent with 1,600 men. A humanitarian task force came from the Philippines, supplemented by a medical team in West Timor.
On September 16, 1999, the German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer presented to the German Bundestag the plan for the dispatch of a medical contingent from the Bundeswehr to support the peacekeeping forces and further development aid amounting to 511 million euros . On October 7, 1999, the Bundestag approved the dispatch of the medical contingent with up to 100 soldiers to Darwin in Australia. Defense Minister Rudolf Scharping then ordered the dispatch of the German Air Force Contingent (DtLwKtg) to East Timor. The Luftwaffe stationed two C-160 Transall transport aircraft with MEDEVAC equipment from the Air Transport Wing 63 from Hohn and the Air Transport Wing 62 from Wunstorf together with medical specialists in Darwin. The German task force was subordinated to INTERFET on October 17th. The first operation took place on October 21, 1999, when injured INTERFET soldiers and a civilian UN employee were evacuated from Dili .
The "INTERFET frog"
In 2008, allegations were made by Timorese farmers that Australian soldiers brought cane toads to Timor in 1999 to fight poisonous snakes. There was also speculation about an unwanted introduction of the poison toads, which are considered a plague in Australia, through military and aid transports. The toad, known by the locals as the "INTERFET frog", eats domestic chickens and, with its strong poison, also threatens humans and wild animals. President José Ramos-Horta therefore asked Australia to help fight the toad. Australian experts, however, identified the INTERFET frog in a photo as an Asiatic black-scarred toad that has spread from mainland Asia to Indonesia in recent years.
Web links
- Australian Defense Department INTERFET website
- INTERFET Military Personnel Chart
- Strategic and Military Lessons from East Timor
Individual evidence
- ↑ Thai General Honored for Service in East Timor. In: Australian Department of Defense website. October 6, 2000, accessed March 23, 2012 .
- ^ A b Statement by the Prime Minister the Hon JW Howard MP on East Timor, November 23, 1999
- ↑ INTERFET website of the Australian Armed Forces
- ↑ Pakistan Army: East Timor (Oct 1999 - To Date) ( Memento of the original from January 28, 2018 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed January 27, 2018.
- ↑ Prime Minister of East Timor: 20 Years Independence Referendum , accessed on August 5, 2019.
- ↑ a b c David Stevens: Strength through diversity: The combined naval role in Operation Stabilize, Working paper No. 20, Sea Power Center - Australia ( Memento of September 10, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ a b Strategic and Military Lessons from East Timor ( Memento of the original from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Wikinews, September 12, 2008, Toad Plague does not originate in Australia?
