UN force in E. Timor gets new commander

JAKARTA (JP): United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan has appointed Lt. Gen. Winai Phattiyakul of Thailand as the new commander of the UN peacekeeping force in East Timor, the United Nations Information Center (UNIC) said in Jakarta on Monday.

Phattiyakul replaces Lt. Gen. Boonsrang Niumpradit, also from the Royal Thai Armed Forces, and will take charge on Aug. 31, UNIC said in a press release.

The 53-year-old Thai general is presently a director at the directorate of joint intelligence of the supreme command headquarters of the Royal Thai Armed Forces. He has held several command and staff positions at the armed forces headquarters in Bangkok.

The peacekeeping force in East Timor comprises some 7,900 troops, 1,400 police officers and a little over 1,000 civilian staff members.

The peacekeepers are charged with the territory's defense and security until and probably after the former Portuguese colony becomes an independent nation, most likely early next year.

Meanwhile, East Timor's Independent Election Commission chief election officer Carlos Valenzuela said in Dili on Tuesday that final preparations for East Timor's first-ever elections were nearly complete.

All polling centers for the Aug. 30 election have been selected and cleared for security, while the voter registers and ballot papers will arrive in Dili this week, DPA news agency quoted Valenzuela as saying.

"All 5,000 polling staff have been recruited and are undergoing training", he said.

More than 900 people from 40 countries have been authorized to monitor East Timor's election this month, UNIC's Jakarta office said on Tuesday.

"More than 900 local and foreign observers have been allocated to the August 30 election. The figure includes 252 international electoral observers from 40 countries, as well as 719 Timorese electoral observers from organizations covering all of East Timor's districts", Valenzuela said.

East Timorese will be voting to elect 88 representatives for a constituent assembly that will draft the nation's new constitution and set a date for a presidential election.

East Timor voted overwhelmingly to separate from Indonesia in 1999 and is under the supervision of the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) until independence is granted.

As part of the ongoing election preparations, more than 8,000 East Timorese turned out at a five-hour "Sing for Peace, Sing for Democracy and Sing for Timor" event on Monday in East Timor's capital. (anj)