UNTAET HOLDS “PRODUCTIVE” BILATERAL
TALKS WITH INDONESIA

UNTAET and the Indonesian Government have reached an agreement on the resumption of pension payments to former Indonesian state employees resident in East Timor. The breakthrough was achieved in this week’s bilateral talks between the two Governments in Denpasar, Indonesia, described by the Deputy Director of UNTAET’s Political Affairs Office Andrew Whitley as “one of the more productive meetings to date.” Two further unexpected breakthroughs were achieved. Indonesia agreed that it is necessary to include reference to a planned severance or compensation fund for former state employees in a consolidated appeal for West Timor refugees, probably to be jointly launched by Indonesia and the United Nations in July. This fund could be an inducement for the return to East Timor of thousands of refugees. “It would provide modest compensation to former Indonesian government employees residents in East Timor for loss of employment and retirement benefits,” said Whitley. The case of Juliana dos Santos, involving the rape and abduction by a notorious militia leader of a minor from Suai following the 1999 popular consultation, was further discussed. It was also agreed that Working Groups would meet soon on cultural heritage issues, notably on restoration of the looted contents of the Dili Museum and archives.

Indonesia pressed for participation by UNTAET in the registration of refugees in West Timor, now scheduled for 6 June. It asked UNTAET to take part in the preceding public information campaign for refugees and to be one of 33 international observers. It was agreed that UNTAET will be involved in informational activities, but UNTAET stressed the obstacle presented by the UN’s continued designation of West Timor as a “Phase Five” region. Ten months after UNTAET had first requested the return of a set of important land registry documents, photocopies of what was described as being the entire set, covering the districts of Dili, Aileu and Liquiça, were handed over. This was the fifth formal round of discussions between UNTAET and Indonesia.

INFORMAL TIMOR GAP TALKS

Cabinet Member for Political Affairs and Timor Sea Peter Galbraith will participate in a new round of informal talks with the Australian Government on the Timor Sea on 21-23 May in Australia. The next round of formal negotiations will be held in Dili on 28 May.

SRSG LEAVES FOR EUROPE

UNTAET SRSG Sergio Vieira de Mello leaves for Europe on Monday, 21 May, to participate in two conferences on foreign policy and for official meetings with the European Commission and the German Government. On 23 May, SRSG will participate in the annual meeting of the Henry Dunnant Center Council Meeting in Geneva. Sergio Vieira de Mello subsequently travels to Denmark to participate as an invited speaker in an International Workshop on Political Military Decision-Making at the Center for Strategic Decision Research in Copenhagen 24-27 May. On 28 May, the UNTAET SRSG will travel to Brussels, where he will have meetings with various European Commissioners, among them the Commissioner for Humanitarian Affairs Poul Nielson and the Commissioner for External Affairs Chris Patten. On 29-31 the SRSG is set to travel to Berlin, for an official visit to Germany where he will have meetings with the German Government. The SRSG returns to Dili on 5 June and leaves again for Canberra, Australia, on 12 June to chair the donor conference on East Timor.

LOS PALOS MASSACRE TRIALS STARTS IN JULY

The trial of the Los Palos massacre will start on 3 July at the Dili District Court. Eleven persons, most of whom were members of pro-autonomy militia group Team Alfa, are suspected of committing Crimes Against Humanity, including murder, torture, deportation and forcible transfer of civilian population in Lospalos, Lautem District, between 21 April and 25 September 1999. Preliminary hearings into the case have been going on since mid-February and over 600 pages of statements by the accused and 78 witnesses have been translated.

TVTL CELEBRATES ONE YEAR ON THE AIR

Televisaun Timor Lorosa’e (TVTL) celebrated its first anniversary today. The UNTAET-run TV service started out with four staff, broadcasting one hour a week. Twenty East Timorese and international staff is currently working at the station, which broadcasts in Dili 24 hours a day in Tetum, Indonesian, English and Portuguese. The districts are serviced with a three-hour videotape every week, featuring a wrap-up of the week’s programming. The tape is shown on large screens, attracting hundreds of people at each showing.

ANOTHER 50 POLICE CADETS GRADUATE

A new batch comprised of 50 Police Cadets graduated today from the Timor Lorosa’e Police Academy in Dili. During the course, the cadets attended classes on human rights, community policing, firearms, self-defense and other police related subjects. The Timor Lorosa’e Police Service now has a total of 721 officers performing police duties in all 13 districts of East Timor.

OVER 390,000 EAST TIMORESE REGISTERED

Forty-eight per cent of the estimated East Timorese population – more than 390,000 people – have been registered by UNTAET’s Civil Registration Unit as of yesterday, 17 May. On average, 15,000 people are registered each day. Seven of the 13 districts have registered over 50 per cent of the estimated population. Three districts have registered over 60 per cent and over 70 per cent in Manatuto district have registered. Eight sub-districts have registered more than 90 per cent of population and three sub-districts have completed the registration. In Dili, the daily average is around 2,000 persons. The number is likely to increase dramatically as more staff is being deployed and new mobile sites will start to operate in the near future.