ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT: CONSTITUTION TO BE READY ON SCHEDULE

The President of East Timor's Constituent Assembly said today that the 88-member body is on track to meet its mid-December deadline for drafting the country's first Constitution.

"We are working within a very tight time-frame, and this is a great challenge, but we will make sure that we fulfill our duty," Constituent Assembly President Francisco "Lú-Olo" Guterres said at the first press conference since the assembly was sworn in on 15 September.

"If the Assembly does not meet the deadline, it will be fully accountable to the people," he added.

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.

KENYAN FLAG LOWERED AT PKF HEADQUARTERS IN DILI

The Kenyan flag was lowered at the Peacekeeping Force's headquarters in Dili this morning, marking the imminent departure of the popular Kenyan contingent, and the first phase of the overall force's scheduled downsizing.

"We are taking our flag home with pride and excitement that we have been part of this achievement and we wish the other members of the Peacekeeping Force the best in supporting East Timor in this long and justified journey to independence," Colonel Osano, the Kenyan National Contingent commander, said at this morning's ceremony.

The 264-strong contingent, the second group of Kenyans to serve the UNTAET mission, has been based in East Timor's western Ermera district. They yesterday handed over their authority and duties to a Dili-based Portuguese battalion, which, along with Civilian Police, will continue to patrol Ermera district as well as provide emergency medical assistance.

Peacekeeping Force Commander Lieutenant General Winai Phattiyakul this morning praised what he said was one of the most professional and hardworking military contingents, adding, "the lowering of a flag symbolizes change, but the Kenyan flag will never be lowered in the hearts and minds of the East Timorese people and our fellow soldiers in the Peacekeeping Force."

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, 2002. The bulk of the downsizing will occur in the east of the country as the first battalion of the newly formed East Timor Defense Force becomes fully operational by mid-next year.

The Kenyan contingent will leave East Timor on 26 November, not on 16 November as previously reported.

NORWAY CONTRIBUTES TO UNTAET TRUST FUNDS

The Norwegian Government today contributed approximately US$450,000 to the Consolidated Fund for East Timor (CFET) and an identical sum to the World Bank-administered Trust Fund for East Timor (TFET).

The fund agreements were presented in Dili today by Tove Strand, the Director General of Norway's development cooperation agency, NORAD. They were signed at separate ceremonies by SRSG Sergio Vieira de Mello and the Director of the World Bank in East Timor, Sarah Cliffe.

This is Norway's second CFET contribution this year, the first being made in June when approximately US$864,000 was donated to the fund. The CFET, which has totaled US$55 million for 2000/2001, has funded core functions of government including paying salaries for teachers, nurses, police and other civil servants, purchasing diesel for power generation, and renovating key government buildings.

TFET, which has also provided some US$55 million for this fiscal year, has funded reconstruction and development activities in areas that include health, education, agriculture, infrastructure and education.