World leaders invited to E. Timor

World leaders invited to E. Timor

UNITED NATIONS: United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has
invited the leaders of all 189 UN Member States -- the Holy See
and Switzerland -- to attend the May 20 ceremony marking the
independence of East Timor.

United Nations Information Center in Jakarta said in its
release on Friday that East Timor Foreign Minister Jose Ramos-
Horta had left Dili for New York to attend a Security Council
meeting on the future of UN involvement in the new nation.

The Council is scheduled to discuss the current situation in
East Timor on Jan. 30. It will hear from Ramos-Horta and Sergio
Vieira de Mello, the head of the UN Transitional Administration
in the territory (UNTAET). Both will request an extension of
UNTAET's mandate to May 20 and May present plans for the
transition to independence and the launch of UN' s successor
mission in East Timor.

Ramos-Horta is also expected to attend the World Economic
Forum's annual meeting and deliver a speech at a gala event
hosted by the Ford Foundation. -- JP