UNOTIL

Daily Press Review

Compiled by the Public Information Office from national and international sources

Daily Media Review

Friday, 22 July 2005

Difficulties Faced By TL

Upon his arrival from Portugal on Thursday Prime Minister Alkatiri told the media that during his speech organized by 'Fundação Oriente' he focused primarily on the difficulties faced by Timor-Leste during the last five years. Alkatiri said it's important to focus on the negative aspect in order to help the international community as well as the UN to better their work in the future in a similar case like Timor-Leste's. He also said that during his visit, the Portuguese company GALP, showed interest in investing in oil. On the issue of government restructuring, the Prime Minister affirmed that the reshuffle would not mean total decentralization and the new candidates have not been selected yet, although some media have already reported the names. The Prime Minister also emphasized that the tender won by Cavalo Branco Company was through legal competition and not through corruption, collusion and nepotism. (DN, TP, STL)

Australian Parliamentarians Visit TL

Two Members of Parliament from NSW met with the President of Timor-Leste National Parliament, Francisco Guterres on Thursday, reported the media. MPs Jeff Hunter and Paul Lynch visited the Timorese Parliament and met the National Parliament Secretariat as well. (TP, DN, DT)

Dialogue Continues in the Enclave

To finalized a clearly and understandable agreement, about 20 representatives from West Timor and Oecussi Enclave met last Friday to discuss among other issues the border issues between Pasabe-Oecussi and Haumeni-Ana (neutral zone). The group also discussed issues which had already been agreed upn during the first dialogue, reported Timor Post on Friday. The dialogue program is expected to continue with another four dialogues to be concluded by the month of September. (TP)

Budget for Provedor's Office Insufficient: Ximenes

The Provedor for Human Rights and Justice, Sebastião Diaz Ximenes lamented that the budget allocated to his office is insufficient to carry out the work of the office. He said $53,000 had been allocated for salaries of 20 staff including the three, and 30,000 for maintenance. $83,000 was the part of the State budget allocated for the fiscal year 2005/6 to the Provedor's Office. (STL)

Police Detained Five People in Baucau

PNTL Officers detained five suspects in Baucau on Wednesday for pelting two cars between Laga and Baucau, PNTL Commander Paulo Fatima Martins told the media on Thursday. Martins affirmed that despite the incident the situation in that District remains calm. (DN, DT)

Timorese Youth Participates in International Competition

An eleven-year-old boy from Suai is representing Timor-Leste in the Asia-Pacific drawing competition in Tokyo, Japan, sponsored by Japan National Federal Association, UNESCO and Mitsubishi. Drawings from 334 Timorese children were submitted but only 10 were selected and sent to the Steering Committee in Japan for further selection. Almeida Gusmão's drawings of landscape, the massacre in Suai Church in 1999 plus other drawings were all selected. He is representing Timor-Lese in Tokyo from 24 to 30 July. (DN, DT, STL)