International assistance still needed, Security Council told

New York, August 25 (Lusa)- Although East Timor continues to make progress towards self-sufficiency, it still requires international assistance for the foreseeable future, a senior United Nations official has told the Security Council.

Hedi Annabi, Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, said Tuesday that demonstrations in July outside Dili`s government palace were an indication of underlying tensions in Timorese society.

"Social and economic development and the creation of jobs are essential to deal with the root causes of these problems", Annabi told the Security Council, which had met to discuss the latest report on Timor by Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

In his brief on Timor, Annan had noted that with less than a year before the UN pullout from the new nation, Dili has made significant progress to running its own affairs.

The United Nations Mission of Support in East Timor (UNMISET) concludes its mission next May and Annabi told the Security Council that much remained to be done in Timor before the mandate expires.

He said the situation in Timor would be reviewed in October to determine whether any changes would be made to the size, composition and tasks of UNMISET.

The UN downsized its mission in May, leaving only 604 police, troops and military observers after July 31, from 3,000 previously.

Annabi warned the Security Council that Timor`s justice sector continues to suffer a shortage of qualified officials and limited infrastructures, casing delays to the legal process and violations of prisoners` rights.

Timor`s UN ambassador, José Luis Guterres, said his country would continue to rely on support from international financial institutions to promote development.

Dili's state budget of about USD 70 million was almost entirely dependant on foreign aid and would remain so for several years until oil revenues began to flow into Timor`s state coffers, he told the Security Council.

New York, August 24 (Lusa) - As the United Nations readies next year`s withdrawal of its mission to East Timor, Dili is making significant progress towards running its own affairs, UN Secretary- General Kofi Annan says in a new report debated by the Security Council on Tuesday.

In his latest brief on Timor, Anan says that the world`s newest nation has made progress in reaching critical levels of self- sufficiency in administration and internal and external security.

Timor`s public administration, police and armed forces continue to develop and mature, he notes.

Preparations for Timor`s first post-independence elections in 2005 are well on course, the UN chief says.

Although there has been "significant achievements in prosecuting perpetrators of serious crimes committed in 1999" around the time of Timor`s independence ballot, "many indicted persons remain outside Timor and have not been brought to justice", says Anan.

UN member states, including Indonesia, should make all efforts to ensure that the 279 people indicted for human rights abuses in 1999 who reside outside of Timor do not enjoy continuing impunity, Anan underscores.

Key work still needs to be completed in demarcating Timor's borders with Indonesia, Anan points out, adding that "progress has not been as rapid or as conclusive as hoped".

The UN Mission of Support in East Timor (UNMISET) ends its mandate next May and Anan says continued successful nation building in Timor depends on cooperation between Dili, UNMISET and the international community.

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