Sir Jeremy Quentin Greenstock, KCMG
Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the UK to the UN
President of the UN Security Council
Fax: + 1- 212 421 6889

Mr. President,

As the question of Western Sahara is being discussed in the Security Council, we, the undersigned members of the international movement of solidarity with East Timor, would like to emphasize the following facts:

- the conflict in Western Sahara is a decolonization issue that must be settled according to international legality and the Charter of United Nations, which means the strict implementation of the UN-OAU Settlement Plan, by the holding of a free and democratic referendum on self-determination;

- the United Nations, which held successfully such a referendum in East Timor, cannot adopt a different approach to settle the identical conflict in Western Sahara, since both peoples were prevented by the illegitimate use of force from exercising their right to self-determination;

- any attempt to pass up the UN-OAU Settlement Plan, or to ignore the inalienable right to the Saharawi people to self-determination, will constitute a flagrant violation of international law and the Charter of the United Nations.

We would like, therefore, to urge the Security Council to enforce the immediate implementation of what had been already agreed between the two parties of the conflict: the UN-OAU Settlement Plan.

We will be very grateful if you would bring this letter to the attention of the members of the Security Council.

ETAN (East Timor Action Network/U.S.)

Karen Orenstein, ETAN Washington Coordinator, U.S.A.

East Timor Action Network/U.S.,Wiscounsin chapter

Diane Farsetta, ETAN/U.S. Field Organizer, Madison, WI, U.S.A.

John Miller, Executive Director, Foreign Bases Project, Brooklyn, NY, U.S.A.

Juan Federer, Timor Aid, Dili, East Timor

Henri Onodera, Project Coordinator, Finnish Peace Committee, Finland

Teemu Matinpuro, Secretary General, Finnish Peace Committee, Finland

Stichting Vrij Oost-Timor, Utrecht, Netherlands

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