UN mission enters final months in Dili

UN mission enters final months in Dili

UNITED NATIONS: The Security Council extended the life of a UN
peacekeeping mission in East Timor for a final six months on
Tuesday after Secretary-General Kofi Annan argued the fledgling
nation was still too fragile to stand up on its own.

A resolution adopted unanimously by the 15-nation council
renewed the mission's mandate "for a final period of six months
until 20 May, 2005," while instructing it "to focus increasingly
on implementing its exit strategy".

East Timor became independent in May 2002 after centuries of
Portuguese colonial rule, 24 years of occupation by Indonesia and
two-and-a-half years of UN administration.

The Timorese people voted overwhelmingly in an August 1999
referendum to break free of Jakarta, prompting a rampage by gangs
organized by the Indonesian military.

More than 1,000 people were killed in violence surrounding the
vote, prompting Australia to send in troops to restore order. The
United Nations then ran the territory until independence.

The UN Mission of Support in East Timor, or UNMISET, numbered
11,000 troops and civilians when first authorized in 1999 to
guide the territory to nationhood. But it has dwindled to fewer
than 1,000 now, including 472 troops and military observers.
--Reuters