Annan cautions about early E. Timor pullout

Annan cautions about early E. Timor pullout

UNITED NATIONS (Agencies): Secretary-General Kofi Annan
cautioned the Security Council not to withdraw UN civilian and
military personnel from East Timor prematurely, saying the
territory would need help well after independence.

In a Monday report to the Security Council, Annan said that
once East Timor had established a government, expected later this
year, some peacekeepers could be withdrawn gradually, while those
near Indonesian West Timor might have to stay longer.

"Given the uncertain outlook on security, it would be prudent
to maintain the military components, essentially in its present
form, until the East Timor government has established itself," he
said. The force now numbers 8,000.

The territory, which once had 800,000 residents, expects to
elect an assembly to draw up a constitution this summer, a
prelude to independence, which is expected next year. Once a new
government is in place, Annan said the military component could
be reviewed again.

In the meantime, he said, there was "a widely shared fear
among the population that the political process may not remain
peaceful." Pervasive poverty and unemployment have created
conditions that make it "relatively easy to incite people to
violence, notably disaffected youth," he said.

East Timor, a former Portuguese colony invaded by Indonesia in
1975, voted for independence in a UN-organized ballot in August
1999. In protest, militia, supported by the Indonesian army, went
on the rampage, killing, burning and herding hundreds of
thousands of people across the border to Indonesian-ruled West
Timor.

Annan said UN peacekeepers were gearing up for militia
violence ahead of the Aug. 30 elections for a new governing
assembly. While the level of violence along the border is low
compared with six months ago, the militia "remain a force to be
reckoned with," he said.

"The situation remains unpredictable," he said. "The pro-
Indonesian militias based in West Timor have continued to
advocate armed struggle to bring East Timor into Indonesia and
have not laid down their arms," he said.

Meanwhile, a prominent East Timorese cleric will travel to
West Timor later this month as part of an effort to encourage the
return of East Timorese refugees, a UN spokesperson said in East
Timor's capital of Dili on Tuesday.

Bishop Basilio Nascimento from Baucau, a town 120 kilometers
east of Dili, will visit the Indonesian province of West Timor
between May 28-31 to meet refugees and pro-Indonesian leaders.

He will be accompanied by the chief of staff of the UN
administration in East Timor, Nagalingam Parameswaran.

"This visit will help East Timor to pass on a very important
message three months before their first democratic election,"
said UN spokesperson Barbara Reis.

"East Timor is a safe country, things are moving ahead and
this a good time for those who want to register to vote in the
election to return," she said.

UN agencies have estimated that around 50,000 East Timorese
remain in refugee camps throughout West Timor.