UN force in E. Timor gets new commander
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)