COMMITTEE FORMED TO DEFINE CONSTITUTIONAL THEMES

The Constituent Assembly today established a 42-member "Harmonization" Committee tasked with assembling and sorting various political parties' Constitutional drafts and ideas into broad themes that will in turn be studied by a handful of "Thematic" working groups.

The "Harmonization" Committee includes 24 members from Fretilin, four from the Democratic Party (PD), three each from the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the Timorese Social Democratic Association (ASDT), and single representatives from each of the other eight parties in the Assembly.

The Assembly today also established the Special Legislative Committee, which will oversee the passage of all legislative business.

In other developments, one of the two Constituent Assembly members from the Timorese Democratic Union (UDT), Isabel Ferreira, resigned today to focus on her task as Special Advisor on Human Rights. Ferreira will be replaced by the next available UDT Member on the party's electoral list.

NEW ZEALAND ADVISOR ON EAST TIMOR TO VISIT DILI, SUAI

The New Zealand Government's Special Advisor on East Timor is scheduled to arrive in East Timor on Wednesday, 10 October, for a six-day visit.

Julie McKenzie will be meeting with, among others, SRSG Sergio Vieira de Mello and Deputy SRSG Dennis McNamara, and will visit Suai district to meet with members of the New Zealand battalion.

In late November New Zealand's Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Hon Phil Goff, is also scheduled to pay a visit to East Timor.

TEN EAST TIMORESE DIPLOMATS COMPLETE TRAINING IN ITALY

Ten East Timorese diplomats returned to Dili today after completing a three-week diplomatic training course in Rome and Turin, Italy.

The training, which was funded by the Italian Government, focused on diplomatic techniques such as negotiations and protocol. Aside from attending lectures, the diplomats met with high-level officials from the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and were briefed on the goals of Italian foreign policy.

The diplomats will be resuming their work at the Department of Foreign Affairs in Dili.