Also: EU to give direct budgetary aid to East Timor

UN's East Timor chief appeals for international support 06/13/2000 Deutsche Presse-Agentur

Luxembourg (dpa) - International aid donors must dig deep into their pockets to help finance the rebuilding of East Timor , the United Nations' top official for the territory said Tuesday.

Speaking after talks with E.U. Foreign Ministers in Luxembourg, Sergio Vieira de Mello, the U.N.'s special representative for East Timor , said he was hoping to raise the ``modest'' sum of 59 million dollars at a special donors' conference in Lisbon on June 21-23.

The figure included the territory's reconstruction needs but would also cover East Timor 's recurrent costs and capital expenditure for the year 2000/2001, he said.

``Despite the political and social situation they are confronted with, the Timorese leadership has displayed great sense of responsibility and financial restraint in putting together its first budget,'' de Mello said.

``I hope the donor community will be in a position to acknowledge these positive developments and to respond accordingly in Lisbon,'' he added.

Estimates for rebuilding East Timor were much more modest than the 700 million euros needed for Kosovo this year, de Mello added.

European Union officials say the bloc has already earmarked 40 million euros in aid for the World Bank Trust Fund for East Timor , with an additional 10 million euros being spent on building the territory's civilian administration.

``No one underestimates the scale of effort needed in East Timor ,'' European External Relations Commissioner Chris Patten said.

But international aid donors must now be ready to respond to demands for assistance to establish governments or help keep them running, Patten said.

The task did not always appear very attractive to donors but it is a ``very important one'', Patten stressed.

EU to give direct budgetary aid to East Timor 
06/13/2000 Associated Press Newswires

LUXEMBOURG (AP) - The European Union plans to give dlrs 10 million in direct budgetary aid to the U.N.-run civil administration in East Timor , Foreign Affairs Commissioner Christopher Patten said Tuesday.

The EU is already providing dlrs 15 million through its humanitarian aid office, dlrs 8.5 million in food aid and this year will provide dlrs 19 million to the World Bank Trust Fund for East Timor . Most of that money will be for health and infrastructure.

Sergio Vieira de Mello, the United Nations' coordinator for the transitional administration in East Timor , briefed EU foreign ministers Tuesday on the situation in East Timor , which the United Nations is now administering.

"The difficulties are immense," he told reporters afterward. "East Timor is remote, the infrastructure is almost entirely destroyed."

He said he hoped to keep the EU committed to East Timor militarily and financially.

Vieira de Mello said East Timor currently was operating on a very tight budget of dlrs 43.6 million, with another dlrs 15 million for capital costs.

A donors conference for East Timor is scheduled for June 21-23 in Lisbon.

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