Annan cautions on quick independence for East Timor

UNITED NATIONS - In a note of caution, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said East Timor's goal of achieving independence at the end this year was ambitious and left little room for technical or political delays.

But in a report to the Security Council, released yesterday, he said that setting such a target would speed up the transition process.

The United Nations has been running the territory since it broke from Indonesia in 1999.

Annan recommended the Security Council should extend until 31 December the mandate of the UN Transitional Administration in East Timor, known as UNTAET, which has some 7,886 peacekeepers, 1,400 police and 2,668 civilian staff, 877 of them foreigners.

But after independence, East Timor would still require substantial foreign aid that went "well beyond the kind of assistance normally provided to a developing country," he said.

Its police and army would not be fully established and the courts needed international support for several years.

In a timeline toward independence endorsed by East Timorese political leaders last month, the territory would elect a constituent assembly which would draft a constitution.

This would be followed by the establishment of a government, which will probably be a presidential form. The constituent assembly is expected to become the first legislature of the independent state.

Elections for the assembly, at the earliest, could be held in summer and independence declared later in the year, Annan said.

But he said the timetable could be affected by security, difficulties in organizing the poll and the complex East Timorese political decision-making process.

"The goal of reaching independence before the end of this year is, no doubt, ambitious and leaves little room for technical or political delays," Annan wrote.

"However, I believe that setting this target assists the process of transition, and the United Nations will certainly do all it can to help achieve it," he said.

East Timor, a former Portuguese colony was invaded by Indonesia in 1975 and subsequently annexed as its 27th province until its inhabitants in August 1999 voted for independence. It was then placed under UN administration.

To protest the vote, Indonesian army-supported militia laid waste to the territory, killing and burning buildings to the ground.

The gangs, within a month, herded over 200,000 East Timorese across the border to Indonesian West Timor where about half of them still are, an embarrassment to the world body.

Annan said infiltration by militia from West Timor had decreased in recent months but the threat remained as long as Indonesia did not disband the gangs.

"This is also an essential step toward the overdue solution of the problem of the refugees, who are still in camps in West Timor," he said.

Annan said East Timorese leaders had made a concerted effort over the past six months toward self government, including an all-Timorese National Council, and a Timorese 5-4 majority in a cabinet.

Independence leader Xanana Gusmao, was elected speaker of the council, a prelude to his expected election as East Timor's first president.

Nobel laureate Jose Ramos-Horta was put in charge of foreign affairs, one of five cabinet positions held by Timorese.

The other four ministries are still occupied by UN representatives.

- REUTERS

Herald Online feature: Timor mission

UN Transitional Administration in E Timor