Dili, 23 March 2000
Today, UNTAET Peacekeeping troops, with support of CIVPOL officers and members of the Rapid Response Unit, conducted their first searching operation in Dili.
They acted on intelligence reports that a house in central Dili was a hiding place for criminals who stockpiled a large quantity of weapons and ammunition. Peacekeepers and the Rapid Response Unit officers raided the house in early morning hours, after securing the area and backed by a military helicopter.
Two men were brought for questioning by CIVPOL. They were released later when no weapons were found in the house. There was no evidence implicating these two men in any wrongdoing.
MOST OF CHILDREN BACK TO PRIMARY SCHOOL
Ninety two per cent of the East Timorese children who attended primary school in 1998/99 had returned to school. More than 147,000 children are being taught by almost 6,400 teachers across East Timor.
The total number of schools registered by UNICEF now stands at 686. Schools have been rehabilitated with the efforts of UNTAET Peace keeping Force, INTERFET and US Navy. UNICEF and its implementing partners had distributed two hundred and fifty metric tones of roofing materials for primary schools across Eat Timor.
There is no standard curriculum yet in East Timor. Depending on the region, classes are taught in Tetum, Bahasa Indonesian, Portuguese or English. UNTAET is planning to establish a standard curriculum by next October when a congress of teachers is going to be held in the territory.
