East Timor Press Review Tuesday 25 June 2002

· The Timor Post quoted FRETILIN MP Maria Terezinha Viegas as saying President Gusmao would like to amnesty only those people who have been sentenced and sent to jail. She added that the parliament will soon begin debate on amnesty legislation.

· Bishop Belo wants the Korean soccer team to win the World Cup. He says, “The reason why I support South Korea is because East Timor is now one of the Asian nations, therefore I hope that we will all support them.”

· East Timor Police Commissioner Paulo Martins is reported as saying that police still do not know the cause of the death of a youth found on Farol beach, Dili, over the weekend.

· The Director of Legal Aid Foundation, Liberta Benevides Correia Barros, accused the Government of interfering with the judicial system.

· East Timorese witnesses are providing the Ad Hoc Tribunals in Jakarta with teleconferenced statements due to security fears.

· The Deputy Director of the Education Department, Antonio Pires, said that the Indonesian school curriculum is still in use in East Timor because a new curriculum has not yet been developed.

· Residents of the Bidau area of Dili are calling on the police to release a man arrested last week during a house search.

· An announcement by Minister of Finance Madalena Boavida that the government will increase taxes on imports by 20 percent has been criticized by the Timor Post, which says that the cost of goods will rise beyond the reach of most East Timorese.

· The former head of Urahou village in Ermera district, who recently returned from West Timor, is quoted as saying he is happy to be home and urges refugees still living in West Timor to ignore to any rumors and return as well.

· Timor Post reported that a reconciliation meeting scheduled for today between the former leader of a pro-integration group, João Tavares, government officials and representatives from 12 of East Timor’s districts could result in the return of thousands of refugees still living in West Timor.

· Suara Timor Lorosae reported that a total of 854 former Indonesian civil servants yesterday received pension payments.

· STL says that the East Timorese people disagree totally with the idea of compensating Indonesia for assets it lost after pulling out of East Timor.

· The Audian district of Dili is reportedly full of uncollected rubbish.

· Lahane residents of Dili, and students at the Kristal and UNAMET high schools, are complaining about the lack of public transport in their respective areas.

· STL reports that if there is a long drought, residents of Ainaro district might face food shortages.

· MP Fernando “Lasama” Araújo (PD) reportedly said it was unconstitutional for Francisco “Lu’Olo” Guterres to swear-in President Gusmao because members of the Constituent Assembly only became Parliamentarians on 20 May.

· CPD-RDTL coordinator, Egidio da Silva, reportedly said that many of his members have taken refuge in the jungle because they consider the ETPS and UN Police to be partisan and a threat.

[Drafted by: Ceu-Brites UNMISET spokesperson’s office

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