KILLED PEACEKEEPERS HONORED

Hundreds of UN staff and East Timorese attended a memorial service today at the Dili Cathedral for the two Portuguese Peacekeepers who were killed in a helicopter accident on 3 October in Same district, 55 kilometers south of Dili.

Acting SRSG Parameswaran, Force Commander Boonsrang Niumpradit and the Commander of the Portuguese contingent, Col. José Ferreira, expressed their grief over the deaths of Private José Lopes and First Sergeant José Vitorino Fernandes.

Parameswaran conveyed the "deep sadness and heartfelt condolences" of SRSG Sergio Vieira de Mello, who is on his way back to East Timor after briefing the UN Security Council in New York.

He added that the killed were part of Operation Cobra, an operation executed in close cooperation with Falintil, to track down militias in Same district.

"This operation, the first of its kind in East Timor, is a commendable and determined effort by the Portuguese Battalion to combat militia activities in Sector Central [of East Timor] thereby contributing to the enhancement of peace and security in the country," Parameswaran said.

An additional ceremony was held at Dili airport before the bodies were flown to Darwin, Australia, en route back to Portugal.

The cause of the crash is still unknown and the investigation into the tragedy is on going.