The United Nations Security Council mission left for Kupang, West Timor, this morning, after a two-day visit to East Timor. Ambassador Martin Andjaba, the head of the delegation, said that they were impressed by the achievements in East Timor and that the East Timorese were ready for independence.
“Of course there might be problems here and there, but they should not be impediments in the way to independence,” Andjaba said in a press conference just before leaving Dili, East Timor capital.
Ambassador Andjaba, from Namibia, also said that the mission’s mandate included reviewing the implementation of resolution 1272 of the Security Council that gave the mandate to UNTAET to prepare East Timor for independence and that the delegation was “impressed by the remarkable achievements” in the country.
Upon arrival in Kupang, the mission was welcomed by the West Timor Governor Piet Tallo, followed by the entry briefing by the Foreign Office at the Governor’s office.
The delegation will go to Atambua tomorrow, 15 November, and then proceed to Jakarta to meet the Indonesian authorities, the executive and legislative bodies, the diplomatic corps and NGOs.
