Dili, 23 February 2001
SRSG MEETS INDONESIAN OFFICIALS IN JAKARTA

On the second day of his official visit to Indonesia, UNTAET SRSG Sergio Vieira de Mello met several high level Indonesian officials, including Amien Rais, Speaker of the People’s Consultative Assembly, Hassan Wirajuda, Director-General of Political Affairs of the Foreign Affairs Department and Akbar Tanjung, Speaker of the House of Representatives. The SRSG is being accompanied by Cabinet Member for External Affairs José Ramos-Horta, Cabinet Member for Political Affairs and the Timor Sea Peter Galbraith and his Chief of Staff N. Parameswaran. The establishment of the Human Rights Tribunal in Indonesia; refugees and repatriation; payment to pensioners and the issuing of visas to East Timorese students who are finishing their studies in Indonesia were among the issues discussed today. The Human Rights Tribunal was also a subject of discussion in the meeting yesterday with the Indonesian Attorney-General Marzuki Darusman. In addition, they talked about the transference to the East Timorese justice of suspects who are in Indonesia. After the meeting with Darusman, SRSG Vieira de Mello said that UNTAET “hopes that the [human rights court] will materialize soon, because those cases need to be brought to a tribunal court as soon as possible.” “We are right now in a kind of a legal limbo, and this limbo cannot last indefinitely,” he added. The SRSG also requested that a team of United Nations investigators interview Eurico Guterres, Aitarak militia leader, from Dili, who is currently standing trial in Jakarta for offenses unrelated to the September 1999 violence.

DPKO UNDER-SECRETARY-GENERAL GUEHENNO IN EAST TIMOR

Jean-Marie Guéhenno, United Nations Under-Secretary-General of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations and Joachim Hutter, Director of the Asian and Middle East Division of DPKO, will arrive in Dili next Monday, 26 February. Mr. Guéhenno will be in East Timor until 2 March and Mr. Hutter until 5 March. While in the country, they will meet the SRSG and several high UNTAET officials, the East Timor Transitional Cabinet and representatives of the East Timorese ladership and society. They will also visit the districts and Atauro island, in front of Dili, where a pilot project of the civil registration will start on 26 February.

DEADLOCK BROKEN IN VIQUEQUE LAND DISPUTE

An historic agreement will be signed tomorrow, 24 February, between two groups involved in a long and complex land dispute in Uato Lari sub-district, Viqueque district. The signing marks the starting point of a reconciliation process aiming at ending the dispute, which dates back to the 1940s. The disputed land is an area approximately the size of Dili, ideal for rice cultivation. The two conflicting groups are occupying two separate parts of the land and are both laying claims to the entire area. The conflict stems from political and cultural rivalries between two ethnic groups, the Makassae and Naweti. While the agreement is a community based initiative, UNTAET’ Land and Property Department plays an important part as observers and advisers. The reconciliation process was initiated by representatives from East Timorese human rights NGO Yayasan HAK and the Justice and Peace Commission.

BOAT FOR EMERGENCY PURPOSES TO START OPERATIONS

A boat, which will be used exclusively for medical evacuation, provision of medical supplies and search and rescue between Dili and Atauro Island, is expected to be fully operational by next week. Two Timorese staff, currently undergoing training, will operate the 12-seat boat, which was donated to the Dili District Administration and the Department of Health by the Australian Carlton brewery. A trip to explore future points of landing around the island was conducted yesterday with UN Civilian Police training officers in charge.