ASSESSMENT TEAM DISPATCHED
TO BAUCAU AFTER VIOLENCE

UNTAET's DSRSG Jean-Christian Cady dispatched Cabinet Member for Political Affairs Peter Galbraith and a team including CivPol, Political and District Affairs officers to Baucau today, following a series of violent incidents resulting in the burning of the local mosque, damages of UN property and injuries to UNTAET staff. On Wednesday, 7 March, Baucau District Administrator Marito Reis was driving a car with five UNTAET staff, both East Timorese and international, when the car was attacked, all the windows were broken down and the car eventually lost control and ran off the road. The group of attackers then proceeded towards the mosque, threw rocks at it and burnt it to the ground. By then, 300 East Timorese were surrounding the mosque. The day started with an incident between the Jordanian Rapid Response Unit (RRU) and a group of East Timorese who had set up a roadblock and set tires on fire. RRU released tear gas. The day before, RRU had arrested 16 people and had kept three in jail following another incident. Also, a local restaurant was damaged and looted today.

DEPUTY FORCE COMMANDER DEPARTS EAST TIMOR

Major General Mike Smith handed-over responsibility for the deputy leadership of the peacekeeping force to his successor, Major General Roger Powell and departed East Timor today. On 25 January last year Major General Smith joined the mission in East Timor as the Deputy Force Commander and was responsible for ensuring the smooth transition of security operations from the Australian-led Interfet Force to the United Nations Peacekeeping Force. Both Australian generals graduated in 1971 as officers from the Royal Military College, Duntroon in Canberra. Major General Powell served as the Commander of the Peace Monitoring Group on the South Pacific island of Bouganville in 1998, following the 30 April cease fire agreement between Papua New Guinea and secessionist rebels.

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY CELEBRATED IN EAST TIMOR

More than 300 East Timorese including CNRT/National Council President Xanana Gusmão and some internationals marched for one kilometer today to commemorate the International Women’s Day in East Timor. The one-hour Peace March was organized by the East Timor Women’s Network (REDE), with the support of Dili District Administration, UNTAET’s Gender Affairs Unit and UNDP. “Today UNTAET reaffirms its commitment to empowering the women of East Timor to fully participate at every stage of East Timor’s development and at every level of decision-making,” DSRSG Jean-Christian Cady said today. In her speech to the crowd, the head of REDE, Aurora Ximenes, stressed that peace and security – the theme of this year’s celebration – need to be addressed first at home and within the family.