MILITIA LEADERS FAIL TO MEET AINARO COMMUNITY AT BORDER

Militia leaders Câncio and Nemésio Lopes de Carvalho, who were scheduled to meet representatives from UNTAET and the local community of Ainaro today, failed to show up at the meeting point at the border between East Timor and West Timor, Indonesia. After a full day of waiting at the meeting point in the Salele area of Covalima district, UNTAET managed to contact Nemésio Lopes de Carvalho, who said that his brother Câncio’s son had been injured in a traffic accident earlier and that this had prevented them to travel to the border. The fact that the East Timorese delegation never received any information about the cancellation “indicates a lack of seriousness”, UNTAET’s Chief of Staff N. Parameswaran said today. “UNTAET and the community of Ainaro are reluctant to continue contacts with Câncio and Nemésio Lopes de Carvalho at this time,” he added. The two militia leaders claim they can persuade over 15,000 refugees to return from Indonesia to East Timor. The planned border meeting follows a town hall meeting on reconciliation held in Ainaro on 2 February, in which more than 150 people attended from all four sub-districts. The district said it is ready to accept the return of the two militia leaders as long as both accept the results of the 1999 popular consultation, help in the reconstruction and face justice.

INAUGURATION OF LIQUICA BRIDGE

The reconstruction of the new Maubara bridge in Liquiça district has been completed and was inaugurated by SRSG Sergio Vieira de Mello today, enabling thousands of people access from Liquiça to other districts. The bridge was washed away four weeks ago in heavy rains. The Acting Force Commander of the Peacekeeping Force, Major General Mike Smith, the Cabinet Member for External Affairs, José Ramos-Horta, the Liquiça District Administrator and other UNTAET officials attended the ceremony. The new steel bridge was named after Corporal Abdul Aziz Mia, a Bangladeshi Peacekeeper killed in an accident last year while clearing a beach in Dili of explosive devices. The bridge was reconstructed by East Timorese and Singaporean contractors in cooperation with Bangladesh engineers from the Peacekeeping Force. The material was supplied by the Bangladeshi government in a gesture of goodwill to the people of East Timor. A total of US$5,000 was provided by the East Timor Trust Fund.