SRSG ADRESSES SECURITY COUNCIL
In an address to the United Nations Security Council yesterday, SRSG Sergio Vieira de Mello reported that the mission is going well and listed a number of achievements.
These include increased security on the border with West Timor, returns of more than 163,000 refugees and over 35,000 tonnes of food distributed.
The recruitment and training of judges and other legal staff is continuing but the sheer lack of human resources remains a big problem, Vieira de Mello said. Another cause for great concern is the continued attacks on minority communities.
SRSG also reported that UNTAET is beginning a process of intensive consultations with the East Timorese on constitutional issues, and that the process of preparing a draft constitution should start by October, based on the broadest possible input from the local population.
EIGHTEEN WITNESSES HEARD IN HUMAN RIGHTS CASES
As of now, 18 witnesses have been heard by UNTAET investigators in the five priority criminal cases presented by the Indonesian Attorney General’s Office. Seven more witnesses are expected to be heard in the near future.
The testimonies will be translated into Indonesian and then passed on to the Indonesian authorities in July.
After that, a team from the Indonesian Attorney General’s Office is arriving in Dili to, if necessary, question witnesses and collect any resulting material evidence. This was agreed after the first working-level meeting between UNTAET’s legal and political representatives and its Indonesian counterparts in Jakarta on 8 June.
In Dili, the process of identifying witnesses started on 11 June.
THREE NEW DRAFT REGULATIONS
New drafts on broadcasting, on a taxation system and on appropriations were presented by UNTAET before the National Consultative Council today.
There will be a public hearing on the draft broadcasting regulation tomorrow. The hearing will be chaired by Deputy SRSG Jean-Christian Cady, and will include testimonies from media groups, radio stations and NGOs.
UNTAET is proposing the regulation to ensure that media serves the public interest in the territory; that the airwaves of East Timor will not be dominated by any single broadcaster. The main proposal is the creation of an Independent Broadcasting Authority.
INDONESIAN ASSET TEAM LEAVES
The Indonesian Asset Team, which came to Dili on Monday, returned to Jakarta today, after spending yesterday surveying facilities and equipment which they believe belong to Indonesian companies.
The group looked at the telecommunications building, Bank Indonesia, two power stations and Hotel Mahkota. All five facilities have been partly destroyed.
The team, which included ten people from different companies, reviewed the state of the buildings and compiled a list for future negotiations on asset claims.
The next round of negotiations will take place on 4-5 July in Surabaya, Indonesia.
The visit of the asset team was agreed to during negotiations between UNTAET and the Foreign Ministry of the Indonesian government in Yogyakarta on 24-25 May.
CAMPAIGN AGAINST MEASLES
A measles vaccination campaign has just been concluded in Ermera district. About 1,440 children have been inoculated in villages in the district so far. The Portuguese health NGO AMI and UNTAET carried out the campaign.
To date, some 4,000 children have been inoculated against the disease in East Timor.
In other health-related news, a group of surgeons from Australia’s South East Asia Rehabilitation Foundation left East Timor Saturday after a week-long visit. The doctors operated on 30 patients at the ICRC-run Dili General Hospital, providing reconstructive hand surgery and plastic surgery for burn victims.
The surgeons will return to East Timor in September to provide the patients with follow-up treatment. Plans to carry out similar tasks in Baucau have also been discussed.
COMMUNITY POLICING INITIATIVE
A pilot project to establish local committees to ensure law and order has started in Dili. The committees will consult the United Nations Civilian Police in its daily operations, assist in conflict mediation and help tackle issues such as domestic violence, among other things.
Its role will also be to facilitate dialogue between the police and the local community, and educate the population in matters concerning law and order.
In addition, CivPol announced that the area around Dili’s central market was cleaned up by its officers, the Rapid Response Unit and the Police Assistance Group today. The aim of the operation was to relocate mini-buses and taxis to a central terminal and to clear the market roundabout of stalls and rubbish in order to ease traffic congestion.
