More poll officials stream into East Timor<\/p>\n
DILI, East Timor (JP): A group of 60 international poll
\nofficials arrived on Friday, bringing their number to 306 for the
\nAugust vote.<\/p>\n
Another 76 will arrive on Saturday, with the rest to arrive in
\nbatches until the sending of international assignees from 24
\ncountries is completed early next week, United Nations Mission in
\nEast Timor (UNAMET) spokesman Yasuhiro Ueki told a media
\nconference here.<\/p>\n
They will register eligible voters for the UN sanctioned self-
\ndetermination ballot, which is slated for the third week of
\nAugust, two weeks later than originally scheduled.<\/p>\n
\"It is expected that all the poll officials will be here next
\nweek, so that voter registration and the balloting will take
\nplace in accordance with the agreement signed in New York last
\nMay,\" Ueki said.<\/p>\n
He said the officials could start working as soon as they
\nreceived registration kits, which arrived on Wednesday from
\nDarwin, Australia, and were dispatched to 200 polling sites
\nacross the province.<\/p>\n
UNAMET first spokesman David Wimhurst, making his first
\nappearance after several days of duties in Darwin, also was
\npresent at the conference.<\/p>\n
Soon after arrival, 20 of the UN registrants were flown to
\nMaliana, 12 to Ermera, 12 to Suai and eight to Oecusse. The
\nremaining eight are posted in the provincial capital Dili. The
\nother registration centers have been set for Baucau, Lospalos and
\nViqueque.<\/p>\n
The three weeks of voter registration will commence on
\nTuesday, according to the UNAMET schedule.<\/p>\n
Over 400,000 East Timorese are expected to cast ballots to
\nchoose whether to remain part of Indonesia or become independent.<\/p>\n
Wimhurst said registration for East Timorese refugees in
\nAtambua in East Nusa Tenggara, which shares a border with East
\nTimor, were undecided.<\/p>\n
\"Arrangements for the refugees are still in process, but we
\nwant them to take part in the direct ballot,\" he said. \"It would
\nbe better for them to return home for the vote, but I know this
\nin not practical.\"<\/p>\n
Over 4,500 East Timorese took refuge in Atambua to evade
\nterrorization and intimidation from groups either in favor or
\nagainst the autonomy offered by the government in January.<\/p>\n
Wimhurst denied on Friday rumors that he was dismissed as
\nUNAMET spokesman. He said he visited Darwin to discuss with local
\npoll committees voting for East Timorese who reside in Australia.<\/p>\n
Security<\/p>\n
UNAMET chief Ian Martin and private assistant to the UN
\nsecretary-general Franscesc Vendrell visited Ermera, Covalima and
\nManufahi to inspect the availability of logistical equipment and
\nsecurity in the towns. They will report their findings to UN
\nSecretary-General Kofi Annan.<\/p>\n
Ueki said Vendrell had delayed his return to Jakarta to Monday
\nbecause he would accompany six Cabinet ministers, including
\nMinister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas, scheduled to visit here
\non that day.<\/p>\n
The U.S.-based poll watchdog Carter Center, which will again
\nsend observers to Indonesia after its stint here during the June
\ngeneral election, also expressed concern about security
\nconditions.<\/p>\n
From its headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, the Carter Center
\nannounced on Wednesday the sending of eight observers who will
\nconduct fact-finding about necessary preconditions for a free and
\nfair ballot.<\/p>\n
\"Our concern at this point is not as much about the voting
\nitself as it is about the political climate prior to balloting,\"
\nthe center said.<\/p>\n
\"True democracy requires that people be allowed to cast their
\nvotes freely and without intimidation or coercion.\"<\/p>\n
The center has opened an office here to base its eight long-
\nterm observers, who will be joined by additional observers to
\nmonitor events at the time of balloting.<\/p>\n
In its message to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday,
\nthe European Union voiced the same concern over the security
\nsituation in East Timor. The EU troika, consisting of the
\nambassadors of Finland, France and a representative of the EU,
\nrecalled the New York agreement, in which Indonesia is
\nresponsible for maintaining security, law and order in the former
\nPortuguese colony before the vote.<\/p>\n
Opposition against UNAMET continued on Friday with about 30
\nyouths grouped in the Struggle for People's Sovereignty and
\nNational Unity (Perkasa) rallying in front of the UN
\nrepresentative office in Jakarta to demand the mission be
\ndisbanded.(33\/amd)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/more-poll-officials-stream-into-east-timor-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}