3 September 1999: Xanana to Kenneth Sunquist

Xanana wrote to Canadian ambassador Sunquist to ask that Canada “step up the present level of pressure on Indonesia and assist the Indonesian Government and military authorities in understanding the need to deploy a substantial international presence in East Timor, in the form of an International Force sponsored by individual governments.” He rejected the Indonesian claim that no such force could enter yet due to Indonesia having “sovereignty” and noted that the UN did not recognize Indonesian sovereignty over East Timor. “The International Community has the right to jointly offer an alternative solution to Indonesia's obvious inability or unwillingness to guarantee security conditions in East Timor,” Xanana wrote.