132 tourists visit East Timor

DILI, East Timor: Only 132 tourists visited Dili throughout 1996, head of the East Timor Immigration Office, Riawan Pramudjo, said here Tuesday.

Contrary to previous years, there were no foreign journalists visiting in the guise of tourists. The local authorities usually deport such offenders.

"None of the tourists were deported for carrying out journalistic tasks without a proper license," Riawan was quoted by Antara as saying. "The immigration office will continue to prevent the illegal entry of journalists by working in coordination with all related institutions," he said.

He said some tourists were reprimanded for taking pictures at the Dili Heroes Cemetery which is against existing regulations.

"However, when we told them that picture-taking was not allowed in the cemetery, all of the foreigners said they understood and submitted their negatives," he said. (swe)