UNTAET PROPOSES COMMITTEE TO INVESTIGATE FATAL SHOOTING

UNTAET has proposed to the Indonesian Foreign Ministry that an Ad Hoc Committee be formed to fully review the shooting of an Indonesian soldier by New Zealand Peacekeepers on 28 July.

The proposed PKF/TNI Committee will work to reach conclusions about the incident acceptable to both sides as well as agree on preventative measures for the future.

In addition, the Peacekeeping Force has approved the formation of a Board of Inquiry, a UN internal investigation, following the initial fact-finding investigation carried out by United Nations Military Observers immediately after the incident.

The incident took place on July 28 some four kilometers southwest of Tilomar in Suai district. The initial investigation concluded that the deceased man was an Indonesian army sergeant who was out of uniform but carrying a service rifle close to the border contrary to orders from his superiors.

TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION COMMISSION OFFICE SET UP

An interim office of the Truth, Reception and Reconciliation Commission was set up in Dili this week in the ex- CNRT compound.

The office will initially be consulting with East Timor’s civil society organizations in order to establish selection panels that will solicit views from the East Timorese community over who should become Commissioners.

The panel is expected to be set up next week with 13 members, and will consult with the community after the 30 August elections. Deputy SRSG Dennis McNamara will head the selection panel.

There is currently eight staff working in the office, six of whom are East Timorese. Pat Walsh from Human Rights Unit is the office’s coordinator. The interim office in Dili was set up with the support of USAID, and six regional offices will be set up in the near future.

The Truth, Reception and Reconciliation Commission will undertake two primary functions: it will establish a truth-seeking function inquiring into the pattern of human rights violations in East Timor committed within the context of the political conflicts between 1974-1999. The commission will also create a community reconciliation body to facilitate agreements between local communities and the perpetrators of non-serious crimes and non-criminal acts committed over the same period.

The Truth, Reception and Reconciliation Commission will create a fast, community based mechanism to deal with less serious crimes committed in 1999, thus freeing up East Timor’s criminal justice system to concentrate their limited resources on those perpetrators responsible for the most serious crimes.

WATERFRONT VENDORS MOVED TO COMORO MARKET

Thirty-three fish vendors located along Dili’s waterfront were moved yesterday by the Dili District Administration with the assistance of Civilian Police and local police officials.

Most of the fish vendors went to the Comoro market where two freezers have been placed by the fisheries department. Two additional freezers will soon be placed in the Taibessi and Becora markets.

The Dili administration will next begin moving fruit vendors located on the Comoro road and at the Colmera and Taibessi junctions to the new Comoro market. Many of these fruit vendors have already registered, and may begin moving today.

UNTAET BEGINS DISTRIBUTING AUSAID WIND-UP RADIOS

District Field Officers yesterday began the distribution of 4,000 wind-up radios donated by AUSAID throughout the districts.

It is expected that in the next two weeks, some 800 radios will be distributed throughout Dili District, including to Atauro Island.

The radios are a component of the Australian Government’s development cooperation program with East Timor. The objective of the donation is to contribute to the widespread public dissemination of civic and voter education messages in the lead-up to the August election and beyond.