UN team launches information compaign in E. Timor<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The UN Assistance Mission in East Timor (UNAMET)
\nlaunched an information page in a local daily on Saturday as part
\nof its efforts to inform East Timorese about the options
\navailable in the Aug. 8 ballot on self-determination.<\/p>\n
Written in Indonesian, English, Portuguese and the native
\nTetum dialect, the circular will be published on the back page of
\nSuara Timor Timur (Voice of East Timor) until voting day, AFP
\nreported from Dili.<\/p>\n
\"Welcome to meeting us on the UNAMET page,\" said a headline in
\nthe first edition. Through the page, the UN mission \"will explain
\nwhat UNAMET is here to do\".<\/p>\n
Consisting only of text, the page also will provide
\ninformation on Indonesia's offer of wide-ranging autonomy or an
\nindependent state.<\/p>\n
Indonesia and Portugal, East Timor's formal colonizer, agreed
\non the autonomy package at the United Nations in New York on May
\n5.<\/p>\n
It included a ballot, termed a \"consultation\", in East Timor
\non whether people wanted autonomy under Indonesia or favored
\nindependence.<\/p>\n
Another headline in the first edition declared \"UNAMET does
\nnot take sides.\"<\/p>\n
In the accompanying article, UNAMET underlined its impartial
\nrole in East Timor to ensure a successful and fair campaign
\nstarting July 20 and to guarantee a free and secret ballot.<\/p>\n
UNAMET chief Ian Martin reminded Indonesian officials that
\nthey were not allowed to take part in the campaign and that state
\nfacilities should not be used.<\/p>\n
A front-page article said that publication of the page was
\nthrough cooperation of the daily and UNAMET.<\/p>\n
It said it will attempt to inform the population about the
\nspecial autonomy package, the process and procedures for the
\nregistration of voters and for voting.<\/p>\n
The page also will \"explain the consequences of accepting or
\nrejecting the autonomy proposal\".<\/p>\n
Locals enthusiastically welcomed the information page, with
\nmen and women reading it alone or in groups on the city's
\ncommercial streets.<\/p>\n
The state Radio Republik Indonesia (RRI) will on Sunday begin
\nbroadcasting a similar information program, UNAMET spokesman
\nDavid Wimhurst said.<\/p>\n
Crucial<\/p>\n
In New York, the UN Security Council on Friday formally
\nestablished UNAMET, thereby allowing police and military advisers
\nto help organize what is dubbed a crucial vote for the province's
\nfuture, Reuters reported.<\/p>\n
In a resolution adopted unanimously, the council invested
\nUNAMET with authority until Aug. 31 to organize a \"direct, secret
\nand universal ballot\" for about 400,000 East Timorese.<\/p>\n
The council also authorized the deployment of up to 280 UN
\ncivilian police to advise their Indonesian counterparts and some
\n50 military liaison officers, who will handle contacts with the
\nIndonesian Army.<\/p>\n
A contingent of about 90 UN political officers are already in
\nEast Timor and may open the first voter registration office in
\nthe capital of Dili sometime next week.<\/p>\n
Security leading up to the ballot has been a key issue.<\/p>\n
But before voter registration gets under way, UN Secretary-
\nGeneral Kofi Annan has to certify \"that the necessary security
\nsituation exists for the peaceful implementation of the
\nconsultation process\", according to the May 7 council resolution
\nendorsing the accords.<\/p>\n
\"There are security and political issues that will need to be
\naddressed before the secretary-general can make the determination
\nthat we can proceed on the operational phases,\" Francesc
\nVendrell, head of the Asia and Pacific division in the U.N.
\npolitical affairs department, told reporters.<\/p>",
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