Annan concerned on E. Timor

Annan concerned on E. Timor

UNITED NATIONS (Agencies): UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan
expressed concern Friday over a reported upsurge in violence in
East Timor while Indonesia and Portugal prepared for a new round
of talks aimed at resolving the conflict.

"The secretary-general has been following with concern the
reports of the recent violent incidents in East Timor, which have
resulted in the loss of life and are causing considerable human
suffering," said a UN statement.

"The secretary-general has called on all parties concerned to
exercise restraint," it added.

Annan is scheduled to hold the next in a long-running series
of meetings on East Timor with the foreign ministers of Indonesia
and Portugal on June 19 and 20 in New York.

The meeting, to try to find an internationally acceptable
solution to the issue, were initiated in 1983 by then Secretary-
General Javier Perez de Cuellar of Peru.

Police in Indonesia had reported that two police officers,
four separatist rebels and nine civilians were killed in a series
of violent incidents in several towns in East Timor in the run up
to the May 29 general election.