A New Zealand soldier from the Peacekeeping Force was killed yesterday North-West of Suai, Cova Lima district, near the border with West Timor, following an incident with an armed group.
The soldier, 24-year old Private Leonard William Manning, died as a result of a gunshot wound in an exchange of fire with the armed group. According to the spokesperson for the Peacekeeping Force, Lieutenant Colonel Brynjar Nymo, the assailants appeared and acted as if they had received some kind of military training.
The killed soldier was part of a five-man tracking team that was following up on information from people living in the area of a sighting of nine armed individuals dressed in green fatigues, and with balaclavas over their heads.
The patrol moved from south to north, following the suspected militia tracks. The incident occurred in a rugged mountainous area close to the border south of Nanu village at approximately 10.40 yesterday morning. The group fired at the New Zealanders from a distance of about ten meters and the peacekeepers withdrew. Once the New Zealand group had reassembled, they noticed that Private Manning was missing.
About half an hour later, the Peacekeeping Force informed the Indonesian Armed Forces of the incident. Shortly thereafter, an Immediate Reaction Force of 15 soldiers was deployed to a nearby location. Two observation helicopters were deployed to maintain continuous over watch.
The body of Private Manning was found near the location of the firefight. He had been shot in the head and shoulder and his weapon was missing.
Whether the group is pro-integrationist militia having crossed from West Timor, or a group that for some time has been operating within East Timor, is unclear at this time.
The body of the killed soldier was flown to Darwin today, and will be flown back to New Zealand as soon as possible.
This is the first fatal battle casualty since the deployment of the Peacekeeping Force, on 1 February.
FIRST CRIMINAL COURT CASE
The first criminal trial of the East Timorese judicial system will start tomorrow at 10 a.m. at the Dili District Court. A man stands charged with the murder of a 12 year-old boy on 5 March 2000 in Becora, Dili.
The case was submitted to the court by the prosecutor on 6 July 2000.
The trial will have a panel of three judges.
Among other witnesses, the Canadian pathologist who conducted the autopsy of the victim at the time, will be back in Dili next week to testify.
The prosecutors of the Dili District Court submitted the second criminal case yesterday. The case is against a man from Aileu who is accused of assault.
A Portuguese neurologist will this week carry out a psychological examination to attest the mental capability of the accused.
He is accused of stabbing three people with a knife and a machete. His victims survived.
In other news from UNTAET’s Judicial Affairs Department, the first pre-trial hearing under the serious crime category, defined by the National Consultative Council, took place last Friday for the extension of the detention period of a suspected murderer belonging to a militia group. Yesterday, a Dili District Court panel of Timorese judges decided to extend the detention period for three more months.
EAST TIMOR DELEGATION MEET FOREIGN MINISTERS
The delegation representing East Timor at the ASEAN ministerial summit met the Foreign Ministers of Papua New Guinea, Vietnam and Cambodia today. A meeting with the UNDP acting chief of the Regional Bureau of Asia and Pacific took place this afternoon.
Yesterday, the delegation attended an ASEAN open session and was warmly welcomed by the member-states. Meetings were held between the East Timorese representatives and the Foreign Minister of Thailand and the General-Secretary of ASEAN.
The representatives paid a visit to the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand yesterday evening, which was over-shadowed by the tragic death of the United Nations Peacekeeper.
Before returning to Dili on Thursday, SRSG Sergio Vieira de Mello is expected to meet with the West Timor Commander Kiki Chinakri in Denpasar tomorrow, 26 July.
FIRST CLASS OF DIPLOMAT STUDENTS
The first batch of students will start their studies to become diplomats this coming Monday. Fifty students have been selected to attend the course, out of some 100 applicants. About forty per cent of the selected students are women.
The students of the Diplomatic Training Program will be trained by international professionals over a four-week period in technical skills, protocol, understanding of the region and of East Timor.
The students will then be sent overseas to serve as interns at the foreign ministries of countries sponsoring their training.
An opening ceremony at the Civil Service Academy, attended by SRSG Sergio Vieira de Mello, CNRT President Xanana Gusmão and the initiator of the Diplomatic Training Program, José Ramos-Horta, will take place on Sunday, 30 July.
The program is sponsored by the governments of Australia, Portugal, the United States of America and the United Kingdom.
Another course started at the Civil Service Academy yesterday. Ninety-one East Timorese have signed up for a workshop on Foundations for Governance and Public Administration. The week-long seminar will focus on good governance, ethics and rules of conduct, project management and public policies.
Most of the trainees have a college degree and 35 per cent are women.
The workshop is the first activity of the UNDP-organized project Partnership for East Timor. The training course is carried out by the Portuguese National Institute for Administration. The trainers are from Portugal, Cape Verde, Mozambique and Brazil.
