UN team launches information compaign in E. Timor
UN team launches information compaign in E. Timor
JAKARTA (JP): The UN Assistance Mission in East Timor (UNAMET)
launched an information page in a local daily on Saturday as part
of its efforts to inform East Timorese about the options
available in the Aug. 8 ballot on self-determination.
Written in Indonesian, English, Portuguese and the native
Tetum dialect, the circular will be published on the back page of
Suara Timor Timur (Voice of East Timor) until voting day, AFP
reported from Dili.
"Welcome to meeting us on the UNAMET page," said a headline in
the first edition. Through the page, the UN mission "will explain
what UNAMET is here to do".
Consisting only of text, the page also will provide
information on Indonesia's offer of wide-ranging autonomy or an
independent state.
Indonesia and Portugal, East Timor's formal colonizer, agreed
on the autonomy package at the United Nations in New York on May
5.
It included a ballot, termed a "consultation", in East Timor
on whether people wanted autonomy under Indonesia or favored
independence.
Another headline in the first edition declared "UNAMET does
not take sides."
In the accompanying article, UNAMET underlined its impartial
role in East Timor to ensure a successful and fair campaign
starting July 20 and to guarantee a free and secret ballot.
UNAMET chief Ian Martin reminded Indonesian officials that
they were not allowed to take part in the campaign and that state
facilities should not be used.
A front-page article said that publication of the page was
through cooperation of the daily and UNAMET.
It said it will attempt to inform the population about the
special autonomy package, the process and procedures for the
registration of voters and for voting.
The page also will "explain the consequences of accepting or
rejecting the autonomy proposal".
Locals enthusiastically welcomed the information page, with
men and women reading it alone or in groups on the city's
commercial streets.
The state Radio Republik Indonesia (RRI) will on Sunday begin
broadcasting a similar information program, UNAMET spokesman
David Wimhurst said.
Crucial
In New York, the UN Security Council on Friday formally
established UNAMET, thereby allowing police and military advisers
to help organize what is dubbed a crucial vote for the province's
future, Reuters reported.
In a resolution adopted unanimously, the council invested
UNAMET with authority until Aug. 31 to organize a "direct, secret
and universal ballot" for about 400,000 East Timorese.
The council also authorized the deployment of up to 280 UN
civilian police to advise their Indonesian counterparts and some
50 military liaison officers, who will handle contacts with the
Indonesian Army.
A contingent of about 90 UN political officers are already in
East Timor and may open the first voter registration office in
the capital of Dili sometime next week.
Security leading up to the ballot has been a key issue.
But before voter registration gets under way, UN Secretary-
General Kofi Annan has to certify "that the necessary security
situation exists for the peaceful implementation of the
consultation process", according to the May 7 council resolution
endorsing the accords.
"There are security and political issues that will need to be
addressed before the secretary-general can make the determination
that we can proceed on the operational phases," Francesc
Vendrell, head of the Asia and Pacific division in the U.N.
political affairs department, told reporters.