KENYAN CONTINGENT HOLDS DILI CEREMONY TO BID FAREWELL

The Kenyan Peacekeeping Contingent today handed the United Nations flag to SRSG Sergio Vieira de Mello, marking the contingent's imminent departure and the first phase of UNTAET's scheduled military downsizing.

"You have brought peace and security to [East Timor's] Ermera district; not just physical peace but peace of mind," the SRSG told the peacekeepers outside UNTAET's main headquarters in Dili.

Bishop Carlos Ximenes Belo, Chief Minister Marí Alkatiri, Foreign Minister José Ramos-Horta, East Timor Defence Force Commander Taur Matan Ruak, and Peacekeeping Force Commander Winai Phattiyakul were among those in attendance, as were representatives from each of the other major battalions serving in East Timor.

"You have accomplished your mission successfully and should be proud of it," Marí Alkatiri told the Kenyan contingent. "But you have also gone beyond the boundaries of the military mission by forging genuine links of friendship with our people in the villages, towns and cities of East Timor," he added.

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 20 May 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.

"As East Timor moves steadily forward to a free independent state, the need for peacekeeping troops is still desirable and we wish the remaining troops in this noble task every success in supporting East Timor in this long but justified journey," the Kenyan Contingent's commander, Colonel Richard Osano, said today.

The 264-strong Kenyan Peacekeeping Contingent, which has been based in Gleno, Ermera district, since December 2000, will depart East Timor on 26 November. The duties formerly undertaken by the Kenyan Peacekeepers have been assumed by the Dili-based Portuguese battalion, which, along with Civilian Police, is patrolling Ermera and providing emergency medical assistance.

SRSG WELCOMES ARRIVAL OF JAPANESE ADVANCE TEAM

A 26-strong Japanese Self Defence Force advance team arrived in East Timor yesterday for a survey related to the deployment of a Japanese Contingent of specialist engineers sometime next year to join the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in East Timor.

The advance team will be in East Timor until 26 November looking into several practical issues related to the planned deployment.

"I welcome the Japanese Self Defence Force advance team to East Timor, and look forward to receiving the Japanese contingent next year," SRSG Sergio Vieira de Mello said today. "Japan has been invited to join our Peacekeeping Force and I am glad that it has accepted the challenge. Japan is already a key player in assisting the reconstruction of this new country; with this deployment Japan will become even more central to the international community's engagement in East Timor."

REFURBISHED PORT TRANSFERRED TO EAST TIMOR GOVERNMENT

The Government of Japan and the United Nations today officially handed over the management of the newly refurbished Dili Port to the Government of East Timor.

The 11-month rehabilitation of the Port was carried out with US$2.65 million in Japanese funds in conjunction with the United Nations Development Programme and the UN Office for Project Services.

"The rebuilding of the Dili Port represents more than just physical inputs. It represents the rebuilding of industry, tourism, and trade in East Timor and ultimately the sustainable development of this new nation," East Timor's UNDP representative Finn Reske-Nielsen said today at the official handover ceremony. "With a fully functioning, cheaper and safer port, foreign investment will be promoted, while prices of goods could drop," he added.

The port, which in late 1999 had deteriorated almost beyond use due to vandalism and lack of maintenance, now has the capacity to provide 24-hour year-round safe passage for trading vessels and cargo ships sailing through Dili's dangerous reef entrance.

New rubber and timber fender systems protecting the concrete wharf have been installed; the platform and foundation piles of the port's entry beacon have been reconstructed and new solar powered lighting systems put in place; and a new leading light tower, also solar powered, has been constructed.

At today's handover ceremony SRSG Sergio Vieira de Mello called the rehabilitation of the port "a move towards sustainable development in East Timor" and praised the project's capacity building component that has enabled East Timorese to gain the skills to manage the renovated facility.

COUNCIL OF MINISTERS FAVOURS CLOSE LINKS TO ASEAN

The East Timorese Council of Ministers today authorized Senior Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation José Ramos-Horta to proceed with plans to sign a Treaty of Amity and Cooperation with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

The Council also approved that East Timor starts the diplomatic contacts aiming at obtaining an Observer status in the regional grouping immediately after its May 2002 independence.

Chief Minister Marí Alkatiri then briefed his colleagues on his recent visit to Portugal, Mozambique and New York, where he addressed the United Nations Security Council.

In today's meeting, the ninth since the Cabinet convened in September, the Ministers also endorsed the Ministry of Internal Administration's organizational chart and decided to hold extraordinary meetings tomorrow and on Saturday 24 November to discuss preparations for the Oslo Donor's Conference next month.

Finally, the Council decided to hold its next formal meeting in Liquiça district on 29 November as part of its ongoing efforts to bring the Government's activities to local communities.

EAST TIMOR PROSECUTOR GENERAL VISITS JAKARTA

East Timor General Prosecutor Longuinhos Monteiro is scheduled to meet Indonesian Attorney General Mohamad Abdurrahman tomorrow in Jakarta, Indonesia.

The purpose of the meeting is to discuss outstanding legal issues and cooperation between the two countries.

Monteiro is in Jakarta for a three-day official visit and will return on Thursday, 22 November. This is his first official visit abroad in his capacity as East Timor's General Prosecutor.