No change in East Timor ballot date: UN
DILI, East Timor (JP): A United Nations advance team in East Timor confirmed on Thursday that the New York-based world organization had no intention of changing the date for the vote scheduled for Aug. 8 in the troubled territory.
"We have come to East Timor to assist the implementation of the balloting on Aug. 8 -- the date which was set by the UN and agreed by Indonesia and Portugal. It can no longer be changed," David Wimhurst, spokesman for the UN mission in East Timor, said.
Speaking at a media briefing here, he reiterated that the date was set during UN-sponsored tripartite talks between Indonesia and Portugal, "and, thereby, the decision must be respected".
Wimhurst acknowledged that the Indonesian government, at the request of political parties in East Timor, had proposed bringing forward the date to Saturday, Aug. 7 out of respect for the East Timorese's Sabbath. The majority of East Timorese are Catholic.
Dili Bishop Mgr. Felipe Carlos Ximenes Belo said, however, that he had no objection to the set date because the people would pray in the morning before casting their votes.
The advance team, part of the UN Assistance Mission in East Timor (UNAMET), hoisted the UN flag at its headquarters here on Thursday, marking the start of its work on the direct ballot in the territory.
"We have hoisted the (UN) flag as the UN personnel have begun working. The official hoisting will be held on Tuesday when the UN special envoy for the ballot, Ian Martin, arrives here," Wimhurst said.
Meanwhile, the UN Security Council expressed deep concern on Wednesday over the escalating tension between prointegration and proindependence groups in the province.
The 15-member council also expressed support for the creation of the UN mission in East Timor to organize the autonomy vote, AFP news agency quoted the council's president, Denis Dangue Rewaka of Gabon, as saying in New York.
Violence between pro-independence and pro-autonomy groups in East Timor has escalated since January, when Jakarta first said it might consider letting go of the territory if its people rejected the government's offer of broad autonomy.
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said in a report on Tuesday that the Indonesian police had done nothing to curb the violence. The council reiterated its hope of a peaceful future for the East Timorese.
On Monday, 65-year-old Bonaventura, a resident of Lepoa village in Liquica, was shot dead by an unidentified group.
Capt. Widodo, spokesman for the East Timor Police, said the victim was killed on his way to a village to buy drugs.
Bonaventura's body was handed over to his family after being taken to a hospital in Liquica for an autopsy.
Foreign minister Ali Alatas on Wednesday warned of increasing international pressure placed on the government over alleged intimidation and terror campaigns by prointegration groups against people supporting independence for the province.
In a related development, Australian foreign minister Alexander Downer said on Thursday that the Indonesian government had officially approved the presence of an Australian consulate in Dili.
The first Australian consulate officials will travel to the East Timor capital next week, he said in a statement made available to The Jakarta Post.
Besides serving the consular needs of Australians in the region, the consulate will facilitate Australia's support to the UN assistance mission in East Timor.
The announcement follows an in-principle agreement to the opening of the consulate between Prime Minister John Howard and Indonesian President B.J. Habibie in Bali last month.
Ana Gomes, Portugal's envoy to Jakarta, landed at Dili's Comoro Airport on Thursday aboard a commercial flight along with the ambassadors of Poland and Hungary and several UN personnel. It is Gomes third visit to Dili since February.
A Puma transport helicopter also arrived in Dili on Thursday after flying from Darwin in Australia's Northern Territory, to support the operations of the UN mission in East Timor. (rms/33)