NATIONAL COUNCIL RECONVENES
AFTER GUSMÃO’S RESIGNATION

The National Council will reconvene on Monday, 2 April for the first time after CNRT President Xanana Gusmão announced his resignation as President of the National Council. On 28 March Xanana Gusmão sent a letter to UNTAET SRSG Sergio Vieira de Mello announcing his resignation as President of the National Council. SRSG said that he “sympathized” with Gusmão and that he “understood his position.” The SRSG also said that Gusmão’s role as National Council President had been crucial, especially for the approval of a consensual regulation on the elections and the registration of political parties, signed on 16 March. Finally, the SRSG stressed that Mr. Gusmão will now have more time to work for reconciliation and national unity together with the East Timorese people and UNTAET to ensure a peaceful and responsible process towards independence.

NEW UNIVERSITY BUILDING INAUGURATED

Three new refurbished buildings of the National University of East Timor have been inaugurated today by the Mayor of Lisbon João Soares and the East Timorese Cabinet Member for Social Affairs Father Filomeno Jacob. SRSG Sergio Vieira de Mello, CNRT President Xanana Gusmão and other Transitional Cabinet Members attended the ceremony. The new buildings, former Liceu Dr Francisco Machado, former High School 3 and Escola Canto Resende will house the Faculty of Economics, Faculty of Education and Teachers Training, and the university radio and library. Around 1,000 students of education and more than 600 student of economics will use the complex, with classes starting in two weeks. The reconstruction was funded by Lisbon City Hall, a project worth US$2,5 million. Yesterday, the UNTAET SRSG met Lisbon’s Mayor and discussed the possibility of future cooperation, in particular on education. The East Timor National University opened last November with 5,000 students enrolled.

FORMAL ROUND OF TIMOR SEA TALKS
SCHEDULED FOR NEXT WEEK

The second formal round of Timor Sea talks will take place in Melbourne, Australia between 4 and 6 April. UNTAET’s delegation is jointly led by Cabinet Member for Political Affairs and Timor Sea Peter Galbraith and Cabinet Member for Economic Affairs Mari Alkatiri. The formal negotiations, which started in October last year in Dili, are on the future treaty that will govern the resources of the Timor Sea.

PRO-INTEGRATION GROUP LEAVES EAST TIMOR

A group of former pro-integration East Timorese leaders returned today to Kupang, West Timor after meeting CNRT President Xanana Gusmão, the Bishops of Dili and Baucau and SRSG Sergio Vieira de Mello over a two-day visit to East Timor. The group also visited Baucau and Maliana districts. Filomeno de Jesus Hornay, delegation’s head, said at a press conference before the departure that the visit had been part of the reconciliation process and that the group wishes to return and live in East Timor. He also stated that they will now share the information they have received and the progress they have seen in East Timor with the refugees in West Timor camps. They also said that they would take messages of reconciliation of the Bishops to the refugees, and that they agree that suspects of committing series crimes should face justice.

SEVENTY-SEVEN PER CENT OF CIVIL SERVANTS RECRUITED

A total of 8,183 East Timorese have been recruited to the East Timor Transitional Administration as of 25 March, reported the Office of Civil Service and Public Employment (CISPE). Following UNTAET’s policy to encourage a gender balance in the new Timorese public administration, almost two thousand of these new civil servants are women. This figure represents 77.3% of the staffing level approved by National Council in fiscal year budget, which ends in June 2001. In addition, through its training unit, the Civil Service Academy, CISPE has provided training to more than 2,200 East Timorese in various areas such as good governance, leadership management for top civil servants, basic management and local governance, human resources management and various skills training, such as computers, English and Portuguese.