UN OFFICIALS GUÉHENNO AND HÜTTER ARRIVE IN EAST TIMOR

Jean-Marie Guéhenno, United Nations Under-Secretary-General of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations and Joachim Hütter, Director of the Asia and Middle East Division of DPKO, arrived in Dili today, 26 February. Tomorrow, Mssrs. Guéhenno and Hütter will meet SRSG Sergio Vieira de Mello and his deputy Jean-Christian Cady, and the Acting Force Commander Major General Mike Smith. The delegation will then travel to Baucau to meet the District Administrator Marito Reis and Bishop Basílio Nascimento. Afterwards, Guéhenno and Hütter will fly to Viqueque district where they will stay overnight. Mr. Guéhenno will be in East Timor until 2 March and Hütter until 5 March. While in the country, they will also have discussions with members of the Transitional Cabinet and the East Timorese leadership. On Thursday, the delegation will visit Atauro island, in front of Dili, the capital, where a pilot project of civil registration started today.

PILOT REGISTRATION STARTS IN ATAURO ISLAND

The East Timor Civil Registry started a five-day civil registration pilot project today in Atauro island, in front of Dili, in preparation for the launching of the national registration in mid-March. Jean-Marie Guéhenno, United Nations Under-Secretary-General of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations and Joachim Hütter, Director of the Asia and Middle East Division of DPKO, will visit Atauro and see the operation on Thursday, 1 March. Four registration sites were set up in the island, where eight registration teams were deployed, each consisting of one international and two East Timorese Registration Officers. 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. Atauro was chosen because the island provides a good sample in terms of population numbers and density. Atauro, with a population of approximately 7,500 people, also represents a good average of East Timor in terms of geography and infrastructure, with its many remote villages.

UN TROOPS CLASH WITH MILITIA AT BORDER

The Peacekeeping Force was involved in a clash with two suspected militia members on Friday night, 24 February six kilometers east of Balibo, Bobonaro district, near the border with West Timor, Indonesia. An Australian battalion patrol encountered two suspected militia, one of whom was identified as armed with a rifle. When challenged, the armed man raised his weapon to fire. The United Nations soldiers responded by firing in self-defense. They suffered no casualties. The Acting Force Commander Major General Mike Smith praised the vigilance of the peacekeepers maintaining security in the border region under difficult conditions and reaffirmed the United Nations Peacekeeping Force’s determination to keep the people of East Timor safe from harm. “As long as the militia threat remains we must continue to be strong and will react swiftly and robustly to any threat,” said Major General Smith.