Secretary-General thanks Australia for taking lead
in helping East Timor
21 February - Secretary-General Kofi Annan Monday personally thanked Australia for taking the lead in forming the multinational force that restored order to East Timor.
After anti-independence militia ran riot last September, "we could not have achieved much without the support and the leadership that the Australian Government" and people showed, Mr. Annan told journalists after meeting Australia's Prime Minister John Howard.
"Without that generosity and determination to help those in need, we couldn't have made it," Mr. Annan added.
"It is almost a record that a UN force is able to go down within two weeks of a crisis." That force was deployed quickly, the Secretary-General said, thanks to "the leadership, the organization, the professionalism of the Australian army and its leadership. And I want to thank Australia and all the other countries that joined in the force to bring calm to East Timor."
Asked about the possibility of a future UN rapid deployment force, Mr. Annan recalled that some Member States had originated a scheme under which each of them would develop high-readiness units, adding that such a force would be "essential" for future UN operations.
Monday was the first day of the Secretary-General's official visit to Australia -- his first. He arrived there from East Timor.
In addition to the Prime Minister, he met Foreign Minister Alexander Downer, the former Prime Minister and current Chairman of CARE Australia, Malcolm Fraser, and other Government members and politicians.
|
|
