East Timor Press Review Thursday 27 June 2002

· The Timor Post quoted the director of an American coffee Company, Sisto Moniz Piedade, as saying that the purchase prices being offered to East Timorese farmers are based on international market rates. The problem of coffee prices was raised in a Timor Post editorial that said that coffee farmers are refusing to sell their product because coffee buyers had not informed them of the drop in international coffee prices. The editorial recommended that the government establish a committee to update the farmers on world coffee prices.

· Former militia leader João Tavares is quoted as saying that integration with Indonesia is no longer an option.

· A tender will be made public tomorrow for public minibuses operating in the capital.

· MP Francisco Jeronimo (FRETILIN) yesterday raised the concerns of Liquiça district residents regarding the activities of the Falintil Base De Apoio (FBA) group in the area.

· The World Vision NGO has ended its mission in Aileu district, transferring all its equipment to the local government.

· Six former militia members have returned to their village in Laulala in Ermera district following a “Come and See” visit last month. The six men say they are ready to obey the law and order of the country.

· The head of the Land and Property department of Bobonaro district, Carlos Cardozo, said regulations established by UNTAET on Land and Property applied mainly to properties left by Portugal and Indonesia, and that there are as yet no regulations in place to remove people living in these properties.

· Videoconferencing technology will connect Brazil, Portugal, Mozambique and East Timor for a CPLP (Communities of Portuguese-speaking countries) meeting at the end of next month.

· MP José Andrade was quoted as saying that a youth by the name of João Barreto has been denied recruitment by the ETPS because he was a member of the SAKA militia group.

· Suara Timor Lorosae reported that Indonesian soldiers disguised as militia members actively participated in the attack on Bishop’s Belo residence in Dili in September 1999. The accusations were made at the beginning of yesterday’s Ad Hoc Tribunal session in Jakarta.

· STL quoted former militia member João Tavares as saying, “If there is evidence [that he was involved in crimes against humanity], I am ready to stand trial.”

· Hundreds of former Indonesian civil servants demonstrated in the capital yesterday because they are unhappy with the size of their pension payments. The paper said that most of the former civil servants are elderly and are forced to go without food or water while they are waiting at the bank for their payments.

· Many vendors have reportedly been setting up stalls at the Becora public transport terminal.

· Residents of the Bairro Pite area of Dili do not feel safe due to nightly disturbances by local youths.

· A Training Center for Small Business will be soon be established at the Becora Vocational Training School, while students at the Dili Technical School will soon be taking their first examinations.

· The Director of East Timor’s NGO Forum says there needs to be a national conference on the Timor Gap.

· Many residents of Ainaro district are reportedly feeling discriminated against when applying for jobs and are complaining of rampant corruption and nepotism in the area.

· Residents of Maubisse district are appealing to the government to treat all East Timorese equally and saying that development should begin in the western part of the country. They are also calling on government officials to visit the sub-districts and explain concepts such as democracy, law, justice and human rights.

[Drafted by: Ceu Brites, UNMISET spokesperson’s office]

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