Subject: Reuters: U.N. says threats won't delay
E.Timor vote
Date: Mon, 16 Aug 1999 02:54:35 EDT
From: Joyo@aol.comU.N. says threats won't delay East Timor vote
By Tim Johnston
DILI, East Timor, Aug 16 (Reuters) - The United Nations said on Monday that it remained
concerned about security in East Timor ahead of an August 30 ballot on independence, but
would not let ``rogue elements or hoodlums'' delay the vote.
Jamsheed Marker, the personal representative of U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, said
that despite signs of improved security there had been some threats that United Nations
Mission in East Timor (UNAMET) members would be targetted on polling day.
``But UNAMET is not going to be put off course one degree by any rogue elements or
hoodlums. We have a job to do and we will do it,'' he said.
Marker said he had received assurances from both pro-independence and pro-Indonesia
groups of their commitment to peace.
``These are very positive elements which give us the confidence that we can go ahead
with the process over the next two weeks,'' he said.
``But we are also realistic enough to know that in terms of the harsh realities of what
has happened especially over the last 30 years, the ride would not be as smooth as we
would have wished or liked.''
Marker recently held a series of meetings with both Indonesian and East Timorese
political leaders in Jakarta.
Marker was instrumental in negotiating the original agreement that laid the groundwork
for the referendum. He said he felt a moral obligation to go ahead with the vote.
``The fact that so many East Timorese came out to register gives us a moral obligation
of an enormous order,'' he said.
``We are committed to give them the chance to express their views and the
Secretary-General is determined to let nothing get in the way of that.''
The referendum will give the former Portuguese colony the choice between wide-ranging
autonomy within Indonesia or starting towards independence.
Campaigning for the ballot got off to a peaceful start on Saturday morning when some
600 supporters of autonomy gathered in a field on the outskirts of Dili.
On Sunday about 5,000 people held a peaceful rally at the opening of a pro-independence
National Council for Timorese Resistance office in central Dili.
There have been fears that the campaign could raise the political temperature, sparking
another plunge into the violence that has killed dozens of people and displaced tens of
thousands more since January.
In Jakarta, Indonesia's President B.J. Habibie said in a state of the nation speech
that independence for East Timor would not damage the unity of Indonesia, as many
Indonesians fear.
``We are sure that whatever the decision taken by the people of East Timor, the unity
and the completeness of the Republic of Indonesia will be maintained. That is a historical
fact,'' he said.
Leaders of the rival political factions, including the pro-Jakarta groups that have
been blamed for much of the trouble, have taken steps to avoid potential sources of
conflict.
They have signed a U.N.-authored code of conduct that guarantees freedom of speech and
renounces physical and verbal violence. They have also agreed not to hold simultaneous
political meetings.
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