8 March 2001 -- The United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) today dispatched a high-level team to the East Timorese town of Baucau following a series of violent incidents that resulted in the burning of the local mosque, damage to UN property and injuries to UN staff.
The assessment team includes Peter Galbraith, Cabinet Member for Political Affairs, as well as representatives of the international civilian police force known as "CivPol" and political officers.
The move by UNTAET was in response to a series of incidents that began yesterday when a vehicle transporting Baucau District Administrator Marito Reis and five UNTAET staff - both East Timorese and international - was attacked.
"All the windows were broken and the car eventually lost control and ran off the road," UNTAET said in a statement issued today in Dili. "The group of attackers then proceeded towards the mosque, threw rocks at it and burned it to the ground. By then, 300 East Timorese were surrounding the mosque."
According to UNTAET, a second incident occurred yesterday between the Jordanian Rapid Response Unit (RRU) and a group of East Timorese who had set up a roadblock and set tires on fire. The Jordanian troops responded by releasing tear gas. On 6 March, the RRU had arrested 16 people and detained three in jail following another incident. Today, a local restaurant was damaged and looted in Baucau, UNTAET said.
In other news, more than 300 East Timorese including Timorese leader Xanana Gusmão and some internationals marched for one kilometre today to commemorate International Women's Day in the territory. The one-hour Peace March was organized by the East Timor Women's Network (REDE), with the support of the Dili District Administration, UNTAET's Gender Affairs Unit and the UN Development Programme (UNDP).
"Today UNTAET reaffirms its commitment to empowering the women of East Timor to fully participate at every stage of East Timor's development and at every level of decision-making," UNTAET deputy head Jean-Christian Cady said today.
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