LAST ASSEMBLY GROUP FINISHES DRAFT CONSTITUTION SECTION

The President of East Timor's Constituent Assembly today set a 26 November deadline for the completion of a draft of the country's first Constitution.

Constituent Assembly President Francisco "Lú-Olo" Guterres announced the timeframe after receiving a final report from the last of four thematic groups tasked with producing sections of the Constitution.

Lú-Olo today immediately passed the report produced by the Organization of the State/Organization of Political Power thematic group to the assembly's Systemizatiion and Harmonization Committee, which is currently molding the drafts it has received from the three other thematic groups into one single cohesive text. The current draft Constitution being prepared by the Committee now contains a total of 146 articles.

Earlier this week the assembly president underlined to the plenary the urgent need for the constitutional development process to press ahead, noting that the UN Security Council has agreed that UNTAET should transfer its sovereignty to the East Timorese government on 20 May 2002.

EAST TIMOR ANNOUNCES INDEPENDENCE CELEBRATION PLANS

East Timor's Foreign Minister today announced a month-long series of events planned to celebrate the country's full independence, which is scheduled for 20 May 2002.

"We want to use the 30 days of events to promote East Timor as an island of peace, stability, and tolerance, and as a country that is friendly to foreign investors," Foreign Minister José Ramos-Horta, who is also president of the committee on independence celebrations, said at a press conference today. "Our goal is to market all aspects of East Timor in a positive way."

The theme of the celebrations is entitled "East Timor: A Junction of Cultures and Civilizations Towards Dialogue and Peace." Events will take place throughout East Timor, as well as internationally. They include conferences, sporting contests, and traditional cultural events highlighting music, handicrafts fairs, and literature.

Other activities include pilgrimages to places of religious and historic significance; a photographic exhibition, film festival and fashion show; trade, investment and tourism promotion events; and the dedication of public areas to pay tribute to the East Timorese who lost their lives during the independence struggle.

SRSG EXPRESSES SORROW AT AFGHANISTAN JOURNALIST DEATHS

SRSG Sergio Vieira de Mello today expressed deep sorrow over the news that a group of journalists including Harry Burton - who covered East Timor several times over the past years - had been killed while covering the conflict in Afghanistan.

"Harry was a good friend of East Timor," de Mello said today upon hearing the news. "In each of his visits to East Timor, he came with professionalism, enthusiasm for the story and a sense of humour and grace. It was largely through the dedication to East Timor displayed by journalists such as Harry that the plight of the people of this country received the international solidarity it so desperately needed. Today, our deepest condolences go to Harry's loved ones, friends and colleagues."

Foreign Minister José Ramos-Horta today also expressed his condolences. "This is tragic news. I knew Harry very well. He had spent much time in East Timor, and often we shared a meal or a drink. He was a genuinely warm and wonderful human being."

A memorial service for the Reuters cameraman is scheduled to be held in Dili on Friday.

BILATERAL BORDER TALKS WITH INDONESIA CONCLUDE IN DILI

The first Joint Border Committee talks to be held with Indonesia in East Timor ended this morning in Dili.

Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs Fernando de Araújo, who headed East Timor's delegation, said the meetings had been very friendly and had helped build good relations between the two countries.

"It was a very good environment in which to hold the meetings," de Araújo said, adding that "the Indonesian delegation felt that they were very welcome."

Some 50 East Timorese and Indonesian officials took part in the meetings, which ended with a plenary session that adopted reports from sub-committees. However, most of the substantial discussions were deferred to a future date, although minor progress was achieved in a few areas.

Issues of great importance to East Timor such as transit passage to the Oecussi enclave, border demarcation and the regulation of border markets will be the subject of ongoing informal discussions with a view to achieving serious progress before high-level meetings expected in January.

This is the third time the Joint Border Committee (JBC) has convened. It is expected that the recommendations from the JBC process will be passed on to the Council of Ministers of East Timor and the Indonesian Government for discussion and approval. Agreements reached will eventually be passed on to the Border Liaison Committee for implementation.