UN chief pledges support to rebuild ravaged E. Timor
UN chief pledges support to rebuild ravaged E. Timor
LIQUISA, East Timor (AFP): UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan made an emotional visit on Thursday to this devastated East Timor town to pay tribute to the victims of a refugee massacre and pledge his support to the people in rebuilding their lives.
"I wanted to come here because I know that Liquisa was particularly hard hit by the violence of the militia last year," Annan told about 5,000 people, some dressed in their Sunday best.
"I wanted to be able to tell you in person that the United Nations is here to help you rebuild. We want to help you recover from that tragic period in your history.
"It is particularly shocking to me that a house of worship should be desecrated in this manner," Annan added referring to the April 6 massacre of unarmed refugees in a church compound by machete-wielding militia.
But he warned the people that their sufferings were not over.
"These things take time ... suffering remains widespread and there will be more difficult times ahead.
"We will need to work very closely together and we will need patience."
Pastor Father Rafael do Santos embraced Annan as he walked to the churchyard, arm-in-arm with resistance leader Xanana Gusmao, to lay a wreath in tribute the 25 to 50 refugees who were slaughtered there by the militia.
Annan's wife wiped tears from her eyes as they approached a group of 20 women and girls, relatives of the dead, who stood weeping beside small floral tributes, dressed in mourning black.
The UN secretary-general, who was instrumental in setting up the Aug. 30 vote when East Timorese voted overwhelmingly for independence has said that Indonesia, which invaded the former Portuguese colony in 1975, failed in its assurances to keep the peace.
After arriving in Liquisa in a UN helicopter, hundreds of people ran alongside his car as he drove slowly past gutted shells of what had been rows of market shops.
Amid the burned-out shops, families of newly-arrived refugees sat on rag-tag piles of bedrolls. They said they did not know who the VIP was.
Annan left his car at the spot where on Sept. 4, the day the referendum results were announced, an unarmed American UN civilian policeman was shot and wounded by Indonesian army-backed militia when escorting a humanitarian aid convoy.
"Viva Secretary general," some of the welcoming crowd of 5,000 shouted as he walked slowly down a street, renamed "Independence Martyrs Way," towards the church.
"I'm quite happy to welcome Kofi Annan, but I can't help remembering that I have lost some of my family," said Marina Correira, 30, from Maubare. Not one house was left standing in the town.
"Yes," she added quietly. "The UN helped the people to gain independence."
Said Julio da Costa Martins, 32, of Liquisa said: "By his visit here, Kofi Annan is expected to see the destruction and what the deaths cost us."
Speaking of the families divided by massive forced deportations, Annan told a crowd at a local soccer field: "My message to those still in exile is simple: Come home. East Timor is your country."
"We are here to work with you," Annan said. "The task ahead is enormous -- you need jobs, shelter, clean water and more."
After leaving Liquisa, UN officials said Annan flew over the remains of the towns of Maubare and Gleno, before attending meetings in the freshly painted white governor's palace on Dili's waterfront.
Annan later praised UN staff for their dedication and slammed criticism that the UN was dragging its feet on reconstruction as "unrealistic."
His message to UN workers was the same as to the people of Liquisa. "Be patient."