Rights office looks for chief

Rights office looks for chief

DILI, East Timor: The East Timor office of the National
Commission on Human Rights has yet to find the suitable person to
replace its outgoing chairman Alex Refially, a member of the
commission said.

"Refially's term expired last June. He will return to Jakarta,
and the commission is looking for a successor who can speak the
local language, Tetum, because many East Timorese cannot yet
speak Indonesian," Clementino dos Reis Amaral was quoted by
Antara on Saturday.

"The language factor is of great importance," he said.

Amaral pointed out that Refially was considered successful in
carrying out his duties as head of the rights office because he
was able to establish cooperation among the government, the
Indonesian Armed Forces and churches. (swe)