SRSG VIEIRA DE MELLO TO VISIT BAUCAU AND VIQUEQUE

UNTAET SRSG Sergio Vieira de Mello will visit Baucau and Viqueque districts tomorrow, 15 March to assess the situation on the ground after the incidents that occurred in these eastern areas of East Timor. The security incidents were different in nature, but the districts are located in the same region of the country. There were no incidents reported today in Viqueque and “the situation is slowly returning to normalcy,” said UNTAET Chief of Staff N. Parameswaran today after a visit to the district. A riot took place in Viqueque town on Monday involving different villages, which caused one death, almost 40 houses burnt and at least 25 others were left badly damaged. The riot followed the death of one teenager the same day, wounded on Sunday during a fight between youth groups. At least 600 people are displaced, 350 of whom have spent the last two days at the Peacekeeping Force compound in Viqueque town. Dozens have moved up to surrounding mountains. Around 250 people are displaced at nearby Bukarin village. The UN peacekeeping Force, United Nations Civilian Police and Rapid Response Unit were patrolling the streets today and will start to help bring the people who moved to the mountains down to their homes. The UNTAET Chief of Staff stressed that a “zero tolerance” policy will be applied, meaning that no one will be allowed to carry machetes or objects that can be used as weapons in the streets when clearly showing a violent attitude. “UNTAET is going to react strongly to any future violence,” Mr. Parameswaran said.

TRANSITIONAL CABINET DISCUSSES CONSTITUTION

The East Timorese Transitional Cabinet discussed today the possible new mechanisms for consulting with the East Timorese people and gathering their views on the future Constitution so that these will be available to the democratically elected Constituent Assembly. The consultation aims at both educating the people and drawing their views from the grassroots level upwards. The Constituent Assembly will draft the new Constitution for an independent and Democratic East Timor. The Cabinet also endorsed a proposal outlining a regulation to formally establish the East Timor Police Service and the Police Academy. The regulation will, among other things, define the overall responsibilities and structure of the police services and the duties and powers of police officers. A regulation will now be finalized for the Cabinet’s endorsement, and thereafter be submitted to the National Council for consideration. The Cabinet discussed possible revisions to the Unfunded Priorities List, in preparation for the Interim Donors’ Meeting to be held on 29 March in Dili. The list includes priority projects for which East Timorese Transitional Administration (ETTA) seeks donor funding. The Cabinet also agreed that the Transitional Administrator sign, on ETTA’s behalf, a US$900,000 agreement with Canadian International Development Agency which would provide technical assistance to the Central Fiscal Authority. Finally, the Cabinet took a decision to halt the construction of Dili 2001 hotel, following extensive discussions with the private company over environmental and procedural matters. The construction site is located at the sea front near Cristo Rei Beach, in Dili.