A document establishing a Joint Border Committee, consisting of civilian representatives from UNTAET and the Indonesian Government, was signed yesterday night in Denpasar, Indonesia, between both parties.
Under the agreement, both countries pledge to seek mutually agreeable solutions to all practical issues or problems of a cross border nature. These range from the demarcation of the definite political border between East Timor and Indonesia, to the facilitation of people and goods across the border, environmental issues, cross-border police cooperation, etc.
A system will also be worked out which will allow East Timorese and Indonesians who live close to the border to cross freely for family and other personal reasons, in a so-called Soft Border Management arrangement.
A Border Liaison mechanism, consisting of officials from both sides, will be set up to exchange information on developments in the border area, as well as formulate, establish or amend practical procedures in regard to the agreement.
The establishment of the Joint Border Committee was decided on during the third round of negotiations between the two parties in July in Surabaya.
However, no advances were made on the main issue of the Denpasar meeting – the volatile situation in West Timor.
SRSG Sergio Vieira de Mello and CNRT President Xanana Gusmão emphasized that militias in West Timor must be disarmed and that those responsible for the killings of three UNHCR staff in Atambua last week be brought to justice.
The Indonesian counterpart at the meeting, General Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Indonesian Coordinating Minister for Political, Social and Security Affairs, said that a comprehensive plan is being worked out to disarm militias, bring the Atambua murderers to justice, and to register and repatriate refugees. This plan, however, has failed to materialize.
Francois Fouinat, director of UNHCR for Asia, Peter Galbraith, Cabinet Member for Foreign Affairs and Deputy Force Commander General Michael Smith also took part in the meeting.
The UNTAET delegation returned to Dili today.
FIRST ROUND OF TIMOR GAP NEGOTIATIONS
The first formal round of negotiations between UNTAET and the Government of Australia on the Timor Gap will take place in Dili between 9 and 11 October.
UNTAET is negotiating on behalf of the East Timorese.
The negotiations are on the future treaty that will govern the resources of the Timor Gap.
UNTAET’s delegation will be led by Peter Galbraith, Director of Political Affairs, and the Australian delegation by Michael Potts, First Assistant Secretary of International Organizations and Legal Division in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
CIVPOL TO INVESTIGATE DEATHS OF AUSTRALIAN JOURNALISTS
A multinational team of UNTAET Civilian Police is investigating the murder of five Australian journalists in Balibo, East Timor, on 16 October 1975.
The investigation team, consisting of CivPol officers from Nepal, Canada, Nigeria and Australia, have already heard a number of new witnesses.
Over the last three months, more than half the work of collecting information has been done. The investigation is expected to take several months to complete.
MOTOR VEHICLE REGISTRATION STARTS
UNTAET will start registering cars and other vehicles, starting in late September. Fees will range from US$ 5 for motor cycles to US$ 100 for trucks.
A regulation on the registration of motor vehicles in East Timor has been drafted and will be presented to the National Consultative Council at the end of the month, after approval by the Transitional Cabinet.
The East Timorese Transitional Administration established the Vehicle Registration Unit as part of the Department of Infrastructure on 1 August.
An estimated 20,000 motor vehicles in East Timor will be registered in the exercise. The first batch of license plates is coming from Australia. Subsequent plates will be made in East Timor according to specifications in the regulation.
A motor vehicle office will be established where vehicle licensing, the issue of license plates and the collection of fees are carried out.
NEW CHAIRMAN OF JUDICIAL SERVICE COMMISSION APPOINTED
SRSG Sergio Vieira de Mello appointed the new chairman of the Transitional Judicial Service Commission and one of its members yesterday.
Father José António da Costa is the new chairman of the Commission, replacing Bishop Basilio do Nasimento, and Siphosami Patrick Malunga is replacing Michelle Brandt.
The Commission now comprises five members, three Timorese and two internationals. Father José António da Costa, Aniceto Guterres, from Yayasan HAK, and Judge Lucia Lobato, and Gita Welch, Cabinet Member for Judicial Affairs, and the lawyer Siphosami Patrick Malunga.
The purpose of the Commission is to draft the rules and code of ethics for the judiciary, and to interview candidates for positions as judges, prosecutors and to recommend them to the SRSG, who in turn appoints them.
RIZA GOES TO THE GAMES
Iqbal Riza, the United Nations Secretary-General’s Chief of Cabinet was appointed to replace SRSG Sergio Vieira de Mello to attend today’s opening ceremony of the Sydney Olympics Games.
Riza, from South Africa, will also visit East Timor from 19 September to 21 September. He will meet SRSG Sergio Vieira de Mello and visit Suai district.
Due to time constraints because of the volatile situation in West Timor, SRSG Sergio Vieira de Mello could not be representing the United Nations Secretary General at the Sydney Olympics, as planned.
Today, hundreds of Timorese attended the three public venues in which TV UNTAET broadcast the opening ceremony of the games live.
