NATIONAL COUNCIL BRIEFED ON TIMOR GAP

The National Council Standing Committee on Infrastructure today invited Mari Alkatiri, Cabinet member for Economic Affairs and Peter Galbraith, Cabinet Member for Political Affairs and Timor Sea, to speak on the issue of the Timor Gap negotiations. Alkatiri began by explaining the agreement between Australia and Indonesia, negotiated in 1989, noting that if one were to abide by international law and norms, 100 per cent of the oil reserves of the Timor Gap belong to East Timor. The Cabinet members outlined the starting point for the negotiations – the agreement signed in 1972 between Australia and Indonesia regarding the Seabed Treaty which delineated a seabed boundary between Indonesia and Australia. Portugal, then the administering power of East Timor, did not accept the boundaries that were negotiated, making the definition of the boundary of the seabed between East Timor and Australia the primary matter for negotiation. The Council members raised many questions, which led to further discussion on a range of related issues. Both Cabinet members agreed to return to the Committee to update the members following the next round of Timor Gap negotiations in Brisbane, Australia, on 2-4 May.

Earlier today, The National Council Committee on Infrastructure, together with two members from the Committee on Internal Affairs, presented its recommendations on its enquiry into garbage pollution in East Timor. Its recommendations include, among other things, that there be funds allocated for the collection of garbage throughout the country in the next budget, that the Cabinet Member for Infrastructure develops an information plan concerning the harmful effects of garbage and that a coordinated scheme for communication between districts and the national Water and Sanitation Services is ensured. The Council debated the recommendations and approved the report. The next sitting of the National Council will be on Wednesday, 2 May.

ANOTHER SEVENTY-SEVEN POLICE CADETS GRADUATE

A new group comprised of 77 Police Cadets graduated last Saturday from the Timor Lorosa’e Police Academy in Dili. During the course, the cadets attended classes on human rights, community policing, firearms, self-defense and other police related subjects. The 77 Cadets have previously served as officers in the Indonesian police and have all been vetted in consultation with the East Timorese community. The Timor Lorosa’e Police Service now has a total of 706 officers performing police duties in all 13 districts of East Timor.