Annan recommends against cuts to E. Timor mission

Annan recommends against cuts to E. Timor mission

Edith M. Lederer, Associated Press, United Nations

Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Wednesday recommended against
reducing the United Nations mission in East Timor in its final
six months, saying the new nation has not reached "the critical
threshold of self-sufficiency."

In a report to the Security Council, Annan said that despite
"notable advances," East Timor's administration -- especially its
financial, banking and judicial institutions -- "remain weak and
fragile."

He said UN civilian advisers who should by now be serving as
mentors are continuing to perform important jobs in key
institutions, UN civilian police advisers remain "indispensable"
in training the national police force, and UN troops are still
needed to support security and stability.

"The capacity of the Timorese defense force continues to grow,
but it remains hampered by a lack of experienced personnel,
appropriate training regimes and equipment, and by limited
logistic capacity," Annan said.

The Security Council voted in May to wind up the UN mission on
May 20, 2005, and drastically scale back its size from more than
1,660 troops, 300 international police and 77 military observers.

Annan recommended that the council keep the current levels
until the mission ends: 310 troops, a 125-member international
response unit, 42 military liaison officers, 157 civilian police
advisers and 58 civilian advisers.

He warned that any change of the composition or size could
compromise its ability to carry out its responsibilities and
complete its work.

The people of East Timor voted for independence from Indonesia
in 1999, unleashing a wave of violence by the Indonesian military
and its proxy militias that killed 1,500 Timorese, forced 300,000
from their homes, and destroyed much of the province.

The United Nations administered the territory for 2 1/2 years,
then handed it to the Timorese on May 20, 2002.

During its final six months, Annan said the UN mission would
need to make sure that when it departed the country could
continue to function without suffering significantly.

It needs to ensure that its responsibilities can be taken over
by the Timorese, with continued assistance from the United
Nations and bilateral donors, he said.

A donors conference for East Timor, originally scheduled for
June, has been moved forward to March which Annan welcomed.

While the overall security situation in East Timor remained
"calm and peaceful" during the last three months, Annan said
smuggling and illegal trading along the border with Indonesia
continue and tensions from demonstrations by veterans groups and
violent incidents between martial arts groups could escalate.

The Sept. 9 suicide bombing of the Australian Embassy in
Jakarta "serves as yet another reminder that terrorist attacks
are a real threat within the region and that preventive measures
need to be taken," he said.

Annan expressed confidence that relations between East Timor
and Indonesia would further strengthen and he called on both
countries "to spare no efforts to solve their pending bilateral
issues, in particular the demarcation of their land border."