[Poster's note: International and other articles already sent out to the east-timor list (info@etan.org) have been removed from below.]

UNMIT United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste

Public Information Unit

Daily Media Review

Friday, 08 December 2006

UNMIT ­ MEDIA MONITORING

THE UN INTEGRATED MISSION IN TIMOR-LESTE DOES NOT VOUCH FOR THE ACCURACY OF THESE REPORTS

National Media Reports

Due to the public holidays, the newspapers were not published today.

TVTL and Radio News Reporting ­ 07 December 2006

December 8 is an important day for the Catholic Church

Bishop Ricardo said yesterday that December 8 is an important day for the Catholic Church in Timor-Leste as well as the World, noting that on this day, the faithful Timorese Catholic celebrates the Immaculate Mary Conception as the Mother of the Universal Church. The Bishop called on all the Catholic Faithful to pray more so that love, peace and tranquility can return to the country. In spite of the security and political crisis that the country is facing there is hope for the best and that soon the crisis will end. On the same occasion the Bishop said that the Award of Orders is a good move by the government to acknowledge the brave people of Timor-Leste who gave their lives and time to fight for the liberation of Timor-Leste. Bishop Ricardo further said that for those who are still alive the Awards of Orders would further motivate them to work for the development of this young nation.

December 7 is a historical day for the people of Timor-Leste

The President of the Republic, Xanana Gusmao said that December 7 is an historical day for the people of Timor-Leste, and it is a good reason to have a holiday to celebrate that it was on this day that the Timorese showed their determination to defend the nation and her people against the Indonesian occupation. Gusmao pointed out that the celebration will enable people to realize once again that division will weaken the unity and the political determination for the country and that was the reason that Indonesia invaded the country. The President appealed for all to ‘recall the suffering of our people and to try and recommit ourselves to defend and to work for our beloved nation as "said by some of the national leaders".

The appointment of the new Police Commissioner.

DSRSG, Mr. Eric Tan has announced the arrival of the new Police Commissioner who had joined the mission and said he has great length of policing experience which will enable him to contribute to the implementation of the mandate of UNMIT in the coming months.

International Media Reports

Sticky Carpet PATRICK DONOVAN, ANDREW MURFET

December 8, 2006

Giving peace a chance (Excerpt from article)

It's not often that a Prime Minister endorses a rock band - John Howard went out of his way this year to dismiss the music of Midnight Oil and U2. But East Timor head honcho Dr Jose Ramos Horta has praised the new album Increase the Peace by the Dili Allstars, saying their music would "be invaluable to help keep calm and promote peace and unity".

"This is a really great song that is certain to help heal the wounds among people in East Timor," he said. Even the opposition is into it. "It is great that for every copy sold in Australia one gets sent for free up to East Timor to be distributed among the people," said a spokesman for Fretilin.

"The band are well known and loved by the people up there." But band leader Gil Santos stresses the band is not just a political vehicle. "We . . . know that most crowds do not want to be battered with political messages. We play music to get people dancing." (The Age)

UNMIT MEDIA MONITORING www.unmit.org