POLITICAL PARTIES AGREE TO PACT OF NATIONAL UNITY

After a 6-hour marathon, heads of political parties agreed tonight to a 14-point Pact of National Unity, which will guide the electoral campaign activities for the 30 August elections for a Constituent Assembly, and the inter-party relations for the months ahead. It is expected that all 16 political parties registered with the Independent Electoral Commission will sign the document on Friday, 6 July, although one political party reserved its final commitment for later. The Pact of National Unity calls for the support, respect and dissemination of the principle of non-violence; the unconditional acceptance of the 30 August 1999 popular consultation results; and the respect of the results of the upcoming elections for a Constituent Assembly. In addition, the text calls for the support of a multiparty democracy, peace and stability; the respect for non-discrimination principles and the Constitution that will be approved by the Constituent Assembly.

Finally, political party leaders expressed their full commitment to widely disseminate the text to the East Timorese population. The heads of political parties also agreed to invite prominent independent figures as guarantors of the content of the Pact. SRSG Sergio Vieira de Mello, Xanana Gusmão, bishops Carlos Ximenes Belo and Basílio do Nascimento, Cabinet Member for Foreign Affairs José Ramos-Horta, and the President of the Dili District Court will be invited. Xanana Gusmão and Ramos-Horta addressed the meeting today, stressing their satisfaction with what they called “a demonstration of the East Timorese political parties maturity.” The SRSG Vieira de Mello, who has been calling for a Pact of National Unity for several months, said earlier this week that the pact is “an essential part of our strategy to guarantee security during the electoral campaign.The Pact of National Unity is intended to reassure those East Timorese who are fearful that the electoral process will be marred by political violence,” he added.

NATIONAL COUNCIL APPROVES ELECTORAL OFFENCES

The National Council today gave its approval to a proposed regulation on Electoral Offences for the Election of a Constituent Assembly. The regulation, which was passed unanimously, creates a set of electoral offences for the coming election of a Constituent Assembly. The National Assembly approved the regulation with amendments proposed by the Council’s political affairs committee, which examined the regulation in great detail. The main amendment makes it a crime to bring a weapon to a polling station. The regulation, which was drafted on the recommendation of the National Council, was passed by the East Timor Transitional Cabinet in May and is intended to enhance the safety, secrecy, freedom, fairness and credibility of the elections and deter disruptions of the electoral period. The electoral offences include infringement of secrecy of the vote; obstruction of electoral officers; bribery; destruction of ballot boxes; interference in political liberty; interference in ballot counting and incitement to violence. The regulation has three categories of penalties corresponding to the seriousness of the offences. The maximum penalty is up to five years imprisonment and/or US$5,000 in fines.

DEPUTY SECRETARY-GENERAL MEETS
UNTAET AND NGO OFFICIALS

United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Louise Fréchette today began the third day of her visit to East Timor with a briefing from Civilian Police officials and a tour of the Police Training College in Dili. She was later briefed on post-UNTAET planning and capacity development by a range of UNTAET and specialized agency officials, and then attended the weekly formal Transitional Cabinet meeting. Fréchette also held meetings with NGO representatives, Cabinet Minister for Justice Gita Honwara-Welch, and a delegation of East Timorese women’s group representatives. Ms.Fréchette is on a four-day visit to East Timor looking at reviewing preparations for the upcoming elections and ensuring optimum coordination within the UN system. Yesterday the Deputy Secretary-General traveled to Baucau and Aileu districts. In Baucau town she joined an Open Dialogue Civic Education session led by SRSG Sergio Vieira de Mello. In Alieu district she met with district officials to assess electoral progress to date.

EAST TIMORESE HEAD ALL THIRTEEN
DISTRICT ADMINISTRATIONS

Fifteen District and Deputy District Administrators were sworn in today by SRSG Sergio Vieira de Mello at the Civil Service Academy in Dili. Each of East Timor’s 13 districts now have an East Timorese District and Deputy District Administrator. The administrators have completed a two-week District Administrator Training Course in Management and Organizational Methods. This latest intake of East Timorese District and Deputy District Administrators marks the last phase in the “timorization” process for these positions. “This is another milestone in the evolution of the Transitional Administration and its primary function of at once providing a government structure, and handing the reins of that structure over to the people of East Timor,” the SRSG Sergio Vieira de Mello said today at the ceremony. “You are now the principal representatives of the central government in the districts,” the SRSG added.

The “timorization” process began with the appointment of 13 international District Administrators in November 1999, followed by the appointment of the first nine East Timorese District and Deputy District Administrators in September 2001. At the district level, the devolution of power from UNTAET to the East Timor Transitional Administration is now complete. Eight of the 26 East Timorese District and Deputy District Administrators are women, approximately 30 per cent of the total. The former international District Administrators are now United Nations Coordinators and Advisors.

MINISTERS DOWNER, MINCHIN ARRIVE
TO SIGN TIMOR SEA ARRANGEMENT

Australia’s Foreign Minister Alexander Downer and Minister for Industry Nick Minchin arrived in East Timor today, for tomorrow’s signing in Dili of the Arrangement between the East Timor Transitional Administration and the Australian Government on the Timor Sea. Mr. Downer and Minchin met this evening with SRSG Sergio Vieira de Mello, Cabinet Members for Foreign Affairs José Ramos-Horta, Economic Affairs Mari Alkatiri and Political Affairs and Timor Sea Peter Galbraith, among others. The Arrangement between the two countries was approved by the East Timor Transitional Cabinet yesterday, giving East Timor 90 per cent of the revenues from the oil and gas reserves in the Timor Sea. Before coming into force, the Arrangement must be approved by the elected government of East Timor in accordance with its Constitutional processes. The Australian delegation returns tomorrow.

CABINET AGREES ON SECURITY, LABOUR AND BUDGET ISSUES

Today, the Cabinet endorsed a National Security Management Framework. The intention of the Framework is to establish a simple and efficient capacity to manage and respond to any security situation or civil disorder at the national and district level in a co-ordinated manner. The Framework outlines the functions of the following bodies: the Council for National Security, the National Operations Centre, the District Security Committee, and the District Operations Centre. The Cabinet approved a proposed labour law and referred it to the National Council for its consideration. The law was developed through extensive consultation between ETTA, labour and employer representatives, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and other relevant actors. The law provides for the establishment of a labour administration and labour relations system. It sets out labour conditions in the private sector, in compliance with ILO standards. The law also aims to ensure a stable labour system designed to attract investment to East Timor.

The Cabinet also approved proposed amendments to Regulation 2000/7 on the Establishment of a Legal Tender for East Timor. The amendments will provide the legal basis for the accelerated transition of prices and payments in East Timor to the US Dollar. These amendments will be referred to the National Council, for its consideration. The Cabinet agreed to the 2001-2002 Consolidated Fund for East Timor (CFET) Budget, as amended by the National Council. The Cabinet also agreed to a proposed amendment to Regulation 2000/19 on Protected Places. The effect of the amendment is to make illegal the purchase, not only the sale, of endangered species or the products made from endangered species. The amendment will shortly be referred to the National Council. Finally, the Cabinet endorsed a plan for the improvement of the National Council Hall to accommodate the immediate requirements of the Constituent Assembly.