East Timorese apply for jobs with UN team

East Timorese apply for jobs with UN team

JAKARTA (JP): Hundreds of young East Timorese have flocked to
the United Nations office in Dili to apply for jobs with the UN
team forming in the province ahead of a self-determination ballot
scheduled for Aug. 8.

The large number of applicants resulted from the plan by the
United Nations Mission in East Timor (UNAMET) to hire 4,000
locals to support its operations in the former Portuguese colony,
Antara news agency reported.

"UNAMET will recruit a number of locals as staff to help
prepare for the direct vote," team spokesperson David Wimhurst
was quoted by the news agency as saying.

Wimhurst said local staffers would work as translators,
drivers, voter registration officials and janitors.

"The local staff will be deployed to some 200 centers
scattered throughout the territory," he said.

Some 600 UN personnel are expected to arrive in East Timor by
mid-June to monitor the implementation of the ballot to determine
whether East Timorese will accept an Indonesian offer of wide-
ranging autonomy or opt for independence.

Meanwhile, the Indonesian Military (TNI) expressed objections
on Friday to the UN plan to deploy such a large number of UN
personnel in East Timor.

Maj. Gen. Syamsul Ma'arif, chief spokesman for the military,
told The Jakarta Post TNI would only comply with the May 5
agreement between Indonesia and Portugal which stipulates that
Indonesia is responsible for security in East Timor ahead of and
during the ballot. The agreement also makes provisions for the
presence of 280 civilian police advisers in the territory.

Syamsul said, however, TNI would leave the matter to the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

"The most important thing is that TNI is against the presence
of a UN peacekeeping force and an excessive number of UN
personnel," he said.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas said here on Friday the
government had not yet determined a feasible number of UN
personnel needed to organize the ballot.

Syamsul also denied allegations the military was arming
prointegration militias in the province.

People should not hastily accuse TNI of arming the militias,
he said, adding that the military and the National Police would
maintain their neutrality during the ballot.

"The people should go into the field and see whether or not
the military and the police are involved in violence and
intimidation ... And it will certainly be considered unpopular if
I say that East Timorese prointegration and proindependence
groups have been involved in violence many times in the past," he
said.

Wimhurst warned on Friday that the ballot could be canceled if
violence in the province continued. He also called on warring
factions to hand over their guns to help create a conducive
climate for the ballot.

Syamsul said TNI had armed a limited number of security
volunteers who were deployed to counter attacks launched by
rebels.

"Rebels, now living among the people in urban areas, still
possess at least 300 G-3 guns and thousands of other guns left by
soldiers of the former Portuguese colonial administration," he
said.

He said that while violence in the territory was continuing,
TNI was not behind it.

Syamsul said TNI would consider disarming the security
volunteers if the rebels were also ready to hand over their guns
under UN supervision.

He said TNI was committed to creating a conducive climate in
the province ahead of the ballot.

"The military's commitment has been shown in its support of
the April peace agreement reached by conflicting factions in the
province and the impartial enforcement of law by security
personnel," he said.

Meanwhile, Alatas said the Indonesian government would give
the green light to the proposed meeting between jailed East
Timorese resistance leader Xanana Gusmao and 1996 Nobel
colaureate Ramos Horta, as long as the meeting took place in
Indonesia.

"The government will allow the meeting between the two East
Timorese figures in Jakarta or in Dili because East Timor is
Indonesia's internal matter," he said.

Xanana recently proposed to the government a meeting with
Horta in Australia to discuss peace in East Timor. (rms/hhr)