Annan to hand over power to E. Timor
Annan to hand over power to E. Timor
Reuters, United Nations
United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan will travel to East Timor to hand over power when the new government celebrates its hard-won independence later this month, UN officials said on Thursday.
The United Nations has been administering East Timor since late 1999, a few months after Timorese voted for independence from Indonesia, which invaded the territory in 1975 after colonial ruler Portugal pulled out.
Annan's trip to East Timor will cap a week-long trip that will also take him to Indonesia and to Cyprus, where he hopes to spur progress in UN-sponsored talks aimed at reaching agreement by June on a plan to reunite the divided Mediterranean island.
East Timor is planning a two-day independence celebration beginning on May 19, marking the final step in its long and bloody road to nationhood.
Xanana Gusmao, independence hero and former guerrilla leader, won nearly 83 percent of the vote in April 14 presidential elections.
More than 80 countries have so far accepted invitations to attend the ceremonies, including the United States, which is sending former President Bill Clinton.
Annan will hand over power to the parliamentary president, Francisco Guterres, at midnight on May 19. The next morning, the new government will be sworn in and the parliament -- elected last August to draft a constitution -- will hold its first session.
Before going to East Timor, Annan will visit Indonesia, arriving May 17. There he will meet President Megawati Soekarnoputri and Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda.
In Cyprus, the first stop on his trip, Annan will host a May 16 dinner for Greek Cypriot leader Glafcos Clerides and Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash after meeting with them separately earlier in the day.
Cyprus has been partitioned since 1974, when Turkish troops invaded the northern third of the island in response to a coup by Greek Cypriot militants seeking union with Greece.
Reunification has taken on a new urgency as Cyprus is a front- runner for European Union membership and the European Commission is due to make enlargement recommendations in October.