Dili, 23 January 2001
INDONESIAN SOLDIER ARRESTED IN EAST TIMOR

Civilian Police in Balibo, Maliana district, have arrested an alleged member of the Indonesian Armed Forces, suspected of murder on 7 September 1999. The suspect, an East Timorese, tried to enter East Timor pretending to be a businessman last Saturday, but was identified by a Timorese Police Officer as a person who had participated in the post-ballot violence. The suspect was arrested and later brought to Becora prison in Dili. The investigation into the case in ongoing.

MR. RAMOS-HORTA LEAVES FOR INDONESIA,
THE UNITED STATES, AND EUROPE


East Timor Transitional Cabinet Member for Foreign Affairs, José Ramos-Horta, left on Sunday for an extensive trip to Indonesia, New York and Europe. After top-level meetings with Indonesian officials, including Indonesian Foreign Minister Alwi Shihab, on 22-24 January, Mr. Ramos-Horta will travel to New York, where he will brief the United Nations Security Council on 26 January, along with UNTAET SRSG Sergio Vieira de Mello, who left Dili today, 23 January. Mr. Ramos-Horta will then go to Davos, Switzerland, for the World Economic Forum where he is scheduled to meet with world economic leaders, take part in panel discussions and deliver a speech on “Security and Stability in the Asia Pacific”. A meeting with Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer is also on the agenda. Before leaving Switzerland, Mr. Ramos-Horta is expected to meet with Juan Antonio Samaranch, President of the International Olympic Committee, in Lausanne, Switzerland. Cabinet Member Ramos-Horta travels on to Denmark on 1 February for a meeting with Foreign Minister Niels Helveg Petersen, and to Berlin for meetings with Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer of Germany. Mr. Ramos-Horta will also give a keynote address at a conference in early February in the German capital hosted by the World Council of Churches.

TIMORESE RECEIVE OLYMPIC MEDALS OF PARTICIPATION

Tomorrow, on 24 January 2001, the four East Timorese athletes who competed in the Sydney Olympic Games will receive the Olympics Medal of Participation from the Secretary General of the Oceanic National Olympic Committees in a ceremony in Dili. Father Filomeno Jacob, Cabinet Member for Social Affairs, is expected to attend. A four-member Olympic delegation arrived in Dili yesterday, 22 January, for a follow-up visit of the games. Their task is to assess the needs of the East Timorese sports movement and help establish the East Timorese National Olympic Committee, one of the conditions to become a member of the International Olympic Committee.

FIRST CRIMINAL SENTENCE IN BAUCAU

The first criminal sentence has been delivered in the Baucau court. Four persons were found guilty of severely maltreating a man in Piteliti village in the Lautem district. Two men were sentenced to seven years imprisonment, one person received a sentence of two years and the remaining person will have to serve one year and three months in jail. The convicted have been sent to Buruma prison in Baucau. In addition, a sentence is expected soon into the case of the murder of a 62-year old woman in Los Palos in December 1999. According to the prosecution, the woman was tortured and left for dead by four men after having been accused of killing children by witchcraft.

LAST BATCH OF CIVIL REGISTRY STAFF ARRIVES IN DARWIN

Some 80 United Nations Volunteers who will work for the Civil Registry are arriving in East Timor on 29 January. Prior to their deployment, the staff will undergo four days of civil registry training in Darwin, Australia. The volunteers are part of a total of 130 staff who will coordinate the initial registration of the population on district level. They will be deployed throughout the country. The Central Civil Registry Unit of the East Timor Transitional Administration is currently working on how to accelerate the initial registration of the East Timorese population. Information will be gathered to issue identity cards to people above the age of 16 and to gather all necessary data on eligible voters for the upcoming election.

EAST TIMORESE RECEIVE HUMAN RIGHTS TRAINING

Sixty East Timorese have participated in a four-day human rights training program in Baucau. The training introduced basic human rights concepts and was facilitated by human rights officers from UNTAET’s Human Rights Unit and the NGOs Baucau Justice Peace Commission and Catholic Relief Service. Participants included students, community leaders, members of local NGOs and representatives from the East Timor Women’s Organization, OMT, from Baucau, Viqueque, Manatuto and Los Palos. The next human rights training is expected to be organized in Dili in the near future.