moved for leave to introduce Bill C-333, an act to terminate Canadian assistance to Indonesia.
Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to be able to introduce this bill which would terminate Canadian bilateral government to government aid and multilateral aid to Indonesia. Aid to NGOs that work in Indonesia and humanitarian assistance would be exempt.
To explain the purpose of the bill, I would note that human rights abuses in East Timor perpetrated by the Indonesian government are indisputable. Human rights organizations have reported evidence of gross violations, including repression of freedom of expression, arbitrary arrests, torture and killings. Similar human rights abuses go on elsewhere throughout Indonesia, including appalling labour conditions, the banning of the country's only free trade union, and the shutting down of Indonesian weekly newspapers.
Finally I would note that the Government of Indonesia has continually flouted international law and ignored United Nations General Assembly and Security Council resolutions calling for Indonesia's immediate withdrawal from East Timor.
For these reasons I believe the Government of Canada should terminate its bilateral and multilateral aid to Indonesia and call for respect of human rights.
(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed.)