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Annan said that once East Timor had established a government, expected later this year, some peacekeepers could be withdrawn gradually, while those near Indonesian West Timor might have to stay longer.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