10 September 1999: East Timor situation report

Situation reports were updated every few hours as the East Timor issue briefly claimed top spot in Canadian foreign policy. A situation report on 10 September (11 September in Asia) noted that militia had attacked the UN Mission (UNAMET) compound, with local Indonesian forces helping them. Habibie continued to reject an international security force, even after Canadian officials organized a joint demarche by the ambassadors of most Western governments (now including both the United States and Australia).

Canadian UNAMET officials played a key role in the mission’s political section, and were among those who refused orders to evacuate.