AGREEMENT SIGNED ON OECUSSI FERRY

An agreement was signed today between UNTAET and the Australian shipping company Haritos East Timor Shipping on the operation of a ferry service between the Oecussi enclave and Dili, a 12-hour sea journey. A limited service for 50 passengers per week aboard a cargo vessel has been in place for the past ten months. The new, improved service starts on 21 May and will allow for 150 passengers to travel more comfortably aboard the same ship. A covered area with seats, toilets, showers, a kiosk and other facilities will be installed. The Portuguese Government has donated US$200,000 to subsidize ticket prices and US$175,000 from UNTAET’s budget will cover the building of port terminal facilities in Oecussi and Dili and the modifications and improvements of the vessel.

FOURTY-SEVEN PER CENT OF DESTOYED HOUSES REHABILITATED

A poverty study carried out by the National Planning and Development Agency shows that more than 67,000 houses in East Timor were made unlivable during the 1999 violence. Of these, 47 per cent have been rehabilitated. The report also reveals that only 20 per cent of the country’s 2,329 aldeias (villages) have electricity, ten per cent lower than before 1999. Ninety-eight per cent of East Timor’s 498 sucos (neighborhoods) reported that its households had benefited from food distribution since August 1999 and 63 per cent had received shelter kits. More than 90 per cent had been privy to the National Polio Immunization Campaign. Over 236,000 students attend the more than 900 schools that are currently operating, according to the report. It also shows that East Timor has 210 health facilities operating, eight of them hospitals. The National Planning and Development Agency is collecting numerous data with a view to making long term planning to increase the quality of development assistance to the country’s poorest families. The project is implemented in partnership with the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and UNDP.

SRSG MEETS WITH POLITICAL PARTIES

SRSG Sergio Vieira de Mello today met with the heads of all political parties to discuss political participation of women in the 30 August elections. He stressed the importance of women’s representation in the Constituent Assembly and appealed to parties to put female candidates in winnable positions. The SRSG also announced that the training for women potential candidates will be extended to 260 women, to include all applicants. The training has already started. Registration of political parties and independent candidates who want to run in the elections commences on Monday, 7 May. The fifth and last briefing with political parties on the registration took place last Wednesday. Political parties now have all the information needed to complete their lists of national and district candidate nominations. They are also aware that people may bring objections to their nominations and how to respond to them. The Chief Electoral Officer emphasized the need for party leaders to communicate all the information to their district representatives and to encourage them to get in touch with the District Electoral Coordinator of each district. The Independent Electoral Commission decided to focus next week’s meeting on the relationship between the civil registration process and the electoral process, given the expressed concern by parties on the subject.

NATIONAL COUNCIL APPROVES ARMS PURCHASE

The National Council today unanimously approved a supplementary appropriation of US$2.3 million to buy weapons for the East Timor Defence Force and Police Service. The proposal is to buy 1,200 M16 rifles and other light machine guns for the East Timor Defence Force, 750 pistols for the East Timor Police Service – one per police officer -– and equipment for the East Timor Police Service’s Rapid Response Unit. Cabinet Member for Finance Michael Francino presented the draft regulation after Brigadier-General Taur Matan Ruak appeared before the Standing Committee on Budget and Finance yesterday expressing his support for the arms purchase.

CIVPOL TAKES OVER BODY GUARD DUTIES

On 1 May United Nations Civilian Police took over from the Brazilian Military Police the duties of Close Protection in East Timor, including the bodyguard unit of CNRT President Xanana Gusmão. In related news, 200 police cadets, 50 of them ex-police officers under the Indonesian administration, started classes at the Police College in Dili this week. They will attend training on Human Rights, investigations and self-defence, among other things.