SRSG ADDRESSES WOMEN’S CONSTITUTIONAL CAMPAIGN

SRSG Sergio Vieira de Mello today opened a “Support Women in the Constitution” seminar held by the Gender and Constitution Working Group in Dili with the participation of some 50 women, including candidates for the Constituent Assembly 30 August elections and representatives of national and international organizations.

With the goal of ensuring that women’s rights are enshrined in East Timor’s yet-to-be-written Constitution, the Working Group has created a “Women’s Charter of Rights in East Timor” consisting of 10 proposed Constitutional articles of special relevance to women. Volunteers have been canvassing the country for a month and have already collected over 10,000 signatures of those who support the inclusion of the Charter in the Constitution.

In his speech, the SRSG commended the Working Group’s efforts and reiterated his support for women’s rights. He encouraged the signature campaign to reach out to men as well as women, saying that he believed a goal of 100,000 signatures would be achievable. The Working Group intends to present the signatures and the Charter to the Constituent Assembly.

“Women fought and sacrificed dearly for the freedom of East Timor,” said Maria Angelina Pereira, a member of the Working Group. “Now, we are fighting to include the aspirations of women in the constitution.”

The Gender and Constitution Working Group forms part of the Constitutional Working Group, a coalition of national and international organizations working to promote a participatory constitution-making process.

COVALIMA PRO-AUTONOMY LEADER VISITS EAST TIMOR

Pro-autonomy leader Caetano Mendonça, the former head of the Covalima Local Assembly during the Indonesian rule, arrived in East Timor yesterday for a five-day “come and see” visit.

After a brief talk with SRSG Sergio Vieira de Mello yesterday, Caetano Mendonça met today with Former Cabinet Member for Economic Affairs Mari Alkatiri, UNTAET Chief of Staff N. Parameswaran, representatives from the East Timor Defence Force and Francisco Guterres from the Truth and Reconciliation Steering Committee.

The visit follows a meeting on the border on 7 August between some 250 community representatives from Covalima, Xanana Gusmão and various pro-autonomy leaders, including Caetano Mendonça and his son Helio Moniz, deputy chief of public affairs for the pro-autonomy umbrella group UNTAS. The visit is part of the effort to bring back refugees to Covalima from camps in West Timor, Indonesia.