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."