KENYAN CONTINGENT BEGINS MILITARY DOWNSIZING PROCESS

UNTAET today began the gradual reduction of its peacekeeping component in East Timor with a ceremony in Ermera district to mark the imminent departure of the 264-strong Kenyan contingent.

Peacekeeping Force Commander Lieutenant General Winai Phattiyakul and Deputy Force Commander Major General Ian Gordon were among those who attended the formal flag handover and parade at Gleno, in Ermera district, this afternoon.

Earlier in the day SRSG Sergio Vieira de Mello had praised the Kenyan contingent for the professionalism it has demonstrated since its December 2000 deployment.

"The Kenyan contingent has been exemplary in the way it has integrated with the East Timorese community," the SRSG said, citing among other examples their willingness and aptitude in learning Tetum, the national language.

The Kenyan troops are handing over their authority and duties to a Dili-based Portuguese battalion, which, along with Civilian Police, will patrol Ermera district as well as provide emergency medical assistance. Efforts have been made by senior peacekeeping force officials in the past weeks to reassure Emera district communities that their continued security will be guaranteed despite the Kenyan contingent's departure.

This is the first in a series of downsizing moves that will reduce the current authorized level of 8,000 international troops to around 5,000 by East Timor's independence on May 20 of next year. The bulk of the downsizing will occur in the east of the country as the first battalion of the East Timor Defense Force becomes fully operational by mid-next year.

A flag-lowering ceremony will be held for the departing Kenyan peacekeepers in the capital Dili tomorrow. The contingent is scheduled to leave East Timor on 16 November.

CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY CONDUCTS PUBLIC HEARINGS

East Timor's Constituent Assembly today began a series of hearings at which ministers from the Second Transitional Government have been invited to answer questions relevant to the drafting of a new Constitution.

Minister of Education, Culture and Youth Armindo Maia appeared before a plenary session today to explain the difficulties faced by students who had failed their examinations and were thus denied access to the University of East Timor for the current academic year. The issue surfaced in mid-October when disgruntled university applicants demonstrated in the capital. The Council of Ministers subsequently approved plans for the establishment of alternative programs - such as vocational training and initiatives to promote self-employment - for students that failed to gain access to university.

Chief Minister and Minister of Economic Affairs Marí Alkatiri is scheduled to appear before an assembly plenary session on Friday to discuss the current electricity situation, as is Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries Estanislau da Silva, who will discuss environmental protection.

The assembly's Specialized Legislative Commission was also in session today. It held a public hearing at which Jan Van Houten, the head of the International Monetary Fund in East Timor, and Elias da Costa, the general manager of the Central Payments Office, answered questions pertaining to the future Central Bank of East Timor.

Meanwhile, the assembly's thematic group on "Organization of the State / Organization of Political Power" is expected to present its draft section of the Constitution to the assembly's "Systematization and Harmonization" Commission by the end of this week.

The Commission will then have received draft sections from each of the assembly's four thematic groups. The Commission is currently in the process of molding the three drafts it has already received into one single text, seeking to give it cohesion and coherence and making sure that there are no omissions, repetitions, or contradictions. The draft articles have been written in Portuguese.