Subject: DPA: UN Security Council supports
referendum work in East Timor
Date: Sat, 17 Jul 1999 09:35:33 -0400
From: "John M. Miller" <fbp@igc.apc.org>ROUNDUP: U.N. council supports
referendum work in East Timor meeting on East Timor
07/16/1999 Deutsche Presse-Agentur
New York (dpa) - The U.N. Security Council on Friday gave support to its mission's work
in East Timor to prepare residents there for the August referendum.
The council discussed the situation with U.N. mediator Jamsheed Marker, who was
chairing meetings with envoys from Indonesia and Portugal at U.N. headquarters in New York
to draw up the U.N. role in the post-referendum period.
Council president, Ambassador Hasmy Agam, said the body gave support to Marker's
efforts and the start of the 20-day registration of East Timorese voters on Friday.
Marker held Friday the last of two days of meetings with Ambassadors Nugroho Wisnumurti
of Indonesia and Fernando Neves of Portugal to assess the referendum process leading to
the direct ballot on or about August 22. East Timorese will either choose a U.N. autonomy
plan or reject it and gain independence from Indonesia.
He told reporters after closing the meeting that various scenarios and their
implications were discussed by him and the two ambassadors, who will return to their
capitals for more discussion.
``I am concerned by the sort of hiatus that will exist between the counting of the
ballots, the results and the subsequent actions to be taken by the (Indonesian)
government,'' Marker said.
He said security is just one of the concerns. Others deal with reconciliation and what
should be done without waiting for the outcome of the direct ballot.
The two sides were ``genuinely aware of the problems,'' he said.
East Timor was a Portuguese colony until 1975 and was annexed by Indonesia the
following year.
The U.N. mission in East Timor is responsible for organizing the referendum. It is now
involved in the phase called popular consultations under which East Timorese are appraised
of the U.N. autonomy plan and in registering the voters.
Back to July Menu
Human Rights Violations in East Timor
Main Postings Menu
June '98 through February '99 |
