World donors pledge $520m for East Timor

World donors pledge $520m for East Timor

TOKYO (AFP): International donors meeting in Tokyo on Friday
pledged more than US$520 million to help East Timor's
reconstruction on its path to statehood.

"Nearly 200 delegates from over 50 countries and international
agencies gathered in Tokyo today to pledge over $520 million in
grant funding over the next three years to rebuild East Timor and
to ensure its smooth transition to future independence," said a
statement from co-hosts the World Bank, United Nations and the
Japanese government.

Of the total, $370 million will go to budget needs and
reconstruction over the next three years, it said.

Some $215 million of the 370 million will go into two trust
funds, one administered by the World Bank for infrastructure,
farming, health and education.

The other trust fund will be run by the UN Transitional
Administration in East Timor (UNTAET), which is running the
former Portuguese colony until its independence from Indonesia,
and East Timorese representatives.

UNTAET's share will go to the costs of building up the
putative state's public administration.

Another $158 million has been pledged "for other bilateral and
multilateral reconstruction assistance," while $149 million will
go toward humanitarian relief.

A committee comprising East Timorese and UNTAET
representatives will be set up to prioritize where the aid should
go, the statement said.

"The key to success is the self-help efforts by the East
Timorese themselves," said Shozo Azuma, state secretary for
foreign affairs of Japan, which pledged 100 million dollars over
the next three years.

"I strongly hope that the participating donors and
international organizations will continue their support and that
the East Timorese themselves will make utmost efforts for self-
reliance."

The donors will meet to review East Timor's progress in six
months in the Portuguese capital Lisbon, the statement added.
In a separate statement the European Commission pledged new
funding of "at least 60 million euros ($58.67 million)" for East
Timor.

"Attention is shifting from dealing with the emergency to
putting East Timor on its feet for the long term," said Emiliano
Fossati, the commission's Asia director.

The UN's chief administrator in East Timor, Sergio Vieira de
Mello, paid credit in the joint statement to the "extraordinary
resilience, generosity and courage" of the territory's people.

East Timorese voted overwhelmingly for independence from
Indonesia in a referendum in August. The vote sparked an orgy of
violence by militia groups opposed to independence who were
backed by the Indonesian military.

The World Bank's Asia-Pacific vice president, Jean-Michel
Severino, hailed the international community for coming quickly
to East Timor's aid.

"But continued support and realizing the commitments we have
made here today is absolutely necessary for East Timor's success
and sustainability as it transitions into independence," he said.

East Timor independence leader Xanana Gusmao, in a speech
opening the one-day aid meeting, identified farm aid as the top
priority for international donors seeking to help his devastated
homeland rebuild.

"We believe that economic recovery in East Timor must be led
by the agricultural sector," Gusmao said.

"I would like to call your attention to an urgent problem --
lack of agricultural inputs to ensure planting in the current
season, before the end of the month," he said.

"In this context, I appeal to you to assist us quickly in
supplying seeds and tools for farmers."

On the sidelines of the meeting, Gusmao, who is tipped to be
East Timor's first head of state, met Japanese Prime Minister
Keizo Obuchi and vowed to strengthen the fledgling state's ties
with both Indonesia and Australia.

"I hope East Timor will maintain good relations with Indonesia
and Australia," Obuchi was quoted by a Japanese official as
telling Gusmao, who replied it was "important" to get along with
the two powerful neighbors.