Rights body's plan welcomed

Rights body's plan welcomed

DILI, East Timor: The plan of the National Commission on Human
Rights to set up a branch office here has been warmly welcomed by
Oscar Da Costa Belo, an influential local scholar.

The branch office is expected to directly monitor human rights
issues in the former Portuguese colony.

"I don't think the establishment of the branch office will
encounter any problems because it will be very useful for the
locals to channel their opinions," said Oscar, the dean of the
school of social and political science at East Timor University.

He said that human rights in East Timor had often been highly
politicized in international fora.

"Human rights violations occur everywhere in the world, but it
is a big issue when the abuse happens in East Timor," he said, as
quoted by Antara. (pan)