UNTAET MEETS WITH FORMER MILITIA IN WEST TIMOR

UNTAET's Chief of Staff N. Parameswaran and Prosecutor General Mohamed Othman yesterday met with over 90 former members of the Mahidi militia in the West Timor capital Kupang, to explain how their returns to East Timor will be handled from a judicial point of view.

SRSG Sergio Vieira de Mello has several times laid out UNTAET's position that all refugees are welcome to return, but that there will be no amnesty for crimes committed in 1999 and that suspects will face the East Timorese justice system, namely the Special Panel for Serious Crimes.

Several smaller meetings have been scheduled for the upcoming days with particular militia leaders to deal with specific problems that they might have in respect to their return.

Mahidi militia leader Câncio Lopes de Carvalho has said that he intends to return to East Timor with his followers next month. His brother Nemésio is planning to come back on 17 October.

A reconciliation meeting between Ainaro refugees in West Timor and the Ainaro community will be held at the border crossing of Salele in Covalima district on Monday, 8 October.

This is the latest in a series of meetings to pave the way for refugee returns to Ainaro. Câncio Lopes de Carvalho has frequently explained that he wishes to live in East Timor and that he accepts the result of the Popular Consultation of August 1999. He has also said that he accepts that East Timor will be independent and that he is willing to face justice and help in the reconstruction of the country. The Ainaro community has responded that it is ready to accept the militias' return as long as they uphold their commitments.

EGIDIO DE JESUS NEW DIRECTOR ON TIMOR SEA JOINT AUTHORITY

Secretary of State for Natural and Mineral Resources Egidio de Jesus has been appointed East Timor's Executive Director on the Timor Gap Joint Authority for the Zone of Cooperation, replacing Peter Galbraith, who initially performed the role.

The Joint Authority is a joint East Timor/Australia body, which administers petroleum exploration and production in the Timor Sea on behalf of East Timor and Australia. There are two Executive Directors of the Joint Authority, one appointed by Australia and one appointed by UNTAET. These Executive Directors are responsible to their respective Ministers on the Ministerial Council. Chief Minister and Minister of Economy and Development Marí Alkatiri is East Timor's representative on the Ministerial Council.