Ten East Timorese athletes will travel to Darwin, Australia, on Wednesday, 12 July, to undergo the training and selection process for the Sydney Olympic Games.
Their departure was originally scheduled for last weekend but was delayed because of the group’s refusal to travel unless five coaches accompanied them. This however, was not included in the agreement with the International Olympic Committee.
The dispute was resolved this morning with the help of the CNRT Vice-President, José Ramos Horta, who met with the athletes, representatives from the East Timorese Sports Confederation and UNTAET.
KING’S COLLEGE DELEGATION MEETS WITH SRSG
The seven-member multinational team from King’s College Centre for Defence Studies, London University, met with SRSG Sergio Vieira de Mello and members of the Portuguese, Australian and US missions today.
A meeting with CNRT President Xanana Gusmão and CNRT Vice-President José Ramos-Horta is scheduled for tomorrow at CNRT headquarters.
On Wednesday, the team will go to Falintil’s headquarters in Aileu where they will meet commanders and veteran Falintil fighters, as well as UNTAET’s District Administrator.
The team is here to undertake an independent study on the future of the security forces of East Timor.
FALINTIL WORKING GROUP DISCUSSES DONATED FUNDS
The Falintil Working Group, consisting of representatives from UNTAET’s Office of Political, Constitutional and Electoral Affairs, the Peacekeeping Force, Civilian Police, the United Nations Military Observers and Falintil liaison officers, met on Saturday, 8 July, to discuss the disbursement of money that has been given to Falintil from the East Timorese budget.
The first part of the earmarked money will be ready for distribution by 16 July. The remaining sum shall be paid out not later than 14 August 2000.
The funds, intended to last for two months for the purchase of emergency supplies of food, will be released on a weekly basis by the UNTAET District Administrator in Aileu.
A Portuguese PKF mobile clinic is going to be stationed in Aileu every Tuesday, starting tomorrow. The clinic consists of two doctors and one nurse.
A Korean dental team will also be contacted to provide assistance to Falintil.
FIRST TRIAL IN EAST TIMOR
The first trial has started at the Dili District Court. It concerns a civil case, a divorce, which was filed on 22 June. The first hearing took place on 23 June and there have been two more hearings since. The case is still pending.
In the meantime, the Dili District Court has completed the indictment in a murder case and submitted it to the Court for trial. The judges will set the trial date soon. The case occurred last March.
In Baucau, trials are expected to commence soon. The investigating judge, three prosecutors and six panel Judges were introduced to the public in a meeting organized by Bishop D. Basilio do Nascimento on 29 June.
HOTEL AND AVIATION INVESTMENTS
UNTAET and CNRT have given an approval in principle to establish a floating hotel and a training school in Dili. The vessel, “Veksa”, will be anchored in Dili harbour, opposite the old CNRT Headquarters.
The floating hotel, operated by Central Hotels and Resorts of Thailand, will provide accommodation for visiting delegations, trade missions and tourists. The project will employ 130 local staff by the end of the year. Opening of the 127-cabin hotel is expected in August.
A training school will also be established to train hotel management and service personnel. UNTAET believes that this should contribute to East Timor’s human resource pool.
The company operates hotel chains in Thailand, China, Myanmar, Vietnam, Nepal and Bangladesh and has made a commitment to promote tourism in East Timor.
In other news related to investments, UNTAET’s Civil Aviation Department granted a licence to an Asean entrepreneurial group, the Dili Express, to start operating a flight link from Dili to Singapore via Bali. Initially, there will be two flights a week.
The service is expected to start as soon as landing rights in Singapore are approved, hopefully within this month.
CHIEF OF STAFF VISITS WEST TIMOR
UNTAET’s Chief of Staff, Parameswaran Nagalingam, left for Kupang, West Timor, today.
He will study the refugee situation in West Timor and work out strategies on how UNTAET could help to speed up the return of refugees to East Timor.
UNTAET accepts that there are some refugees who have indicated their desire to be Indonesian citizens. Over the weekend, it was reported that 100 East Timorese refugees volunteered to be relocated to the Indonesian island of Wetar, north of East Timor.
In Kupang, the Chief of Staff will also pay courtesy calls to the new Deputy Governor and the new West Timor Chief of Police.
The Chief of Staff returns to Dili on Wednesday.
Traveling with the Chief of Staff is Solomon Gomez, the new acting head in UNTAET’s Kupang office. Gomez has been seconded from UNTAET’s Office of Political, Electoral and Constitutional Affairs.
PUBLIC HEARING ON CABINET AND NCC REGULATIONS
For the first time, Radio UNTAET will tomorrow be broadcasting live a public hearing before the National Consultative Council.
The hearing is on the regulations on the future of the NCC and the establishment of the cabinet of the transitional government of East Timor.
The hearing will start at 10.30 in the morning.
KUPANG JOURNALISTS RETURN
The five West Timorese journalists who had been in East Timor at the invitation of UNTAET for the last five days returned today to Kupang.
The journalist met SRSG Sergio Vieira de Mello, visited returnees at the Dili UNHCR transit centre and interviewed representatives from the human rights NGO, Yayasan HAK (Justice and Human Rights.)
The visit also included a trip to Liquica, where the journalists met with some 40 former militia members who had been accepted by their communities.
