| Subject: IPS: Donors
pledge $520 million for East Timor
DEVELOPMENT: East Timor Gets 522 Million
Dollars in Aid Pledges
By Suvendrini Kakuchi
TOKYO, Dec 17 (IPS) - Donor countries and
agencies on Friday pledged 522 million U.S. dollars for the reconstruction
of devastated East Timor, but kept a low profile on the touchier issue of
seeking justice for the thousands estimated killed by pro-Indonesian
militia.
''I am grateful for the generosity
extended by the donor community, which is beyond our expectation,'' Xanana
Gusmao, president of the National Council of Timorese Resistance (CNRT)
and widely expected to be East Timor's first president, said as the
two-day aid meeting hosted by Tokyo ended Friday.
''Reconciliation, however, is a more
complex issue with other political nuances involved, which is above what
is pledged by the international community,'' added Gusmao, who arrived in
Tokyo Thursday to attend the meeting.
Governments and donors at the aid
meeting, organised by the World Bank and the United Nations, pledged 522
million dollars in grants over the next three years.
This figure is well over the 307 million
dollar figure that was expected from the meeting, attended by nearly 200
delegates from 50 countries and international agencies.
Of the 522 million dollars pledged, 149
million dollars will be geared toward humanitarian assistance.
The remaining 373 million dollars is for
development and reconstruction, from which 215 million dollars will be
allocated to two trust funds to be monitored by the World Bank and the
Asian Development Bank.
The trust fund will oversee sectors such
as infrastructure, agriculture, health, education and macro-economics.
The second trust fund will by
administered by the United Nations Transitional Administration in East
Timor (UNTAET) and East Timorese representatives will be responsible for
approving projects and overseeing their implementation.
The 158 million dollars remaining from
the fund for development and reconstruction has been pledged for other
bilateral and multilateral reconstruction assistance.
Japan will provide 100 million dollars to
East Timor, out of which 28 million dollars will be geared for
humanitarian assistance. ''It is natural for Japan, as the leading player
in Asia, to make the large pledge,'' explained Shozo Azuma from the
Foreign Ministry.
He stressed however that East Timor is
not only as Asian issue but an international one that requires the global
community to cooperate in the nation-building process.
Japan also said that while its
contribution will be disbursed through the UN trust fund, aid will also be
provided to Japanese non-governmental organisations envisaged to be part
of relief activities for East Timorese refugees and also to send a team of
experts to study further assistance to East Timor.
Activists say the fact that grants
instead of loans had been pledged to East Timor is particularly welcome,
so that it can start its development ''debt-free''.
Human rights organisations reiterated
their support for processes of justice and reconciliation and promotion of
human rights, noting that healing of past wounds will take some time.
In a press conference held Thursday, East
Timorese NGOs and their foreign supporters pledged to make the process of
nation-building a simple process with active participation by the people
themselves.
''The country may be devastated, but that
does not mean the local mechanisms, such as grass-root organisations, and
community leaders and educated East Timorse are not capable of playing a
vital role in the reconstruction of their country,'' said Rieko Inoue, of
the Pacific Resources Centre, a Japanese NGO.
Other NGOs involved were the East Timor
NGO Forum, Amnesty International, the Australian Council for Overseas Aid
and Oxfam International.
Meantime, Gusmao, answering questions
from reporters, said it is important to deal with elections as quickly as
possible.
As for the question of providing amnesty
to people guilty of the massive killings, Gusmao said there is still
''much work to be done'' on this issue which, he described as is ''a
political act''.
''We could use South Africa's example,''
he said referring to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. But then, he
added, ''we cannot speak of justice and impunity here.''
In earlier remarks made at the aid
conference, he explained that inclusiveness does not mean impunity. ''The
question of justice will administered in East Timor and whether it will be
punitive or restorative in nature is a question vital to our future and to
the confidence the people will have in their governing institutions and
leader,'' he said. (END/IPS/ap-if-dv/sk/js/99)
Donors pledge 520 million dollars for
East Timor
TOKYO, Dec 17 (AFP) - International
donors meeting in Tokyo on Friday pledged more than 520 million dollars to
help East Timor's reconstruction on its path to statehood.
"Nearly 200 delegates from over 50
countries and international agencies gathered in Tokyo today to pledge
over 520 million US dollars in grant funding over the next three years to
rebuild East Timor and to ensure its smooth transition to future
independence," a statement from co-hosts the World Bank, United
Nations and the Japanese government said.
In a separate statement the European
Commission pledged new funding of "at least 60 million euros (58.67
million dollars)."
"Attention is shifting from dealing
with the emergency to putting East Timor on its feet for the long
term," said Emiliano Fossati, the commission's Asia director.
He said East Timorese must not be swamped
with development projects but should be helped "to set up an
effective administration."
"They have to be fully involved at
the centre of the process," he added.
Gusmao woos donors at Tokyo meeting on
East Timor
TOKYO, Dec 17 (AFP) - East Timor
independence leader Xanana Gusmao called on the international community
Friday to take immediate action to boost food production and set up ways
of helping foreign aid to his devastated territory.
"We believe that economic recovery
in East Timor must be led by the agricultural sector," Gusmao said in
a speech at the opening of a one-day meeting of donors to East Timor in
Tokyo.
"I would like to call your attention
to an urgent problem -- lack of agricultural inputs to ensure planting in
the current season, before the end of the month," he said.
"In this context, I appeal to you to
assist us quickly in supplying seeds and tools for farmers."
The meeting, which followed a dinner late
Thursday, has brought together more than 100 officials from 30 countries
mainly from Asia, North America and Europe as well as representatives of
20 international institutions.
The donor countries are expected to
announce a package of assistance to the territory and to the UN
Transitional Authority for East Timor (UNTAET), which is running the
former Portuguese colony until independence from Indonesia.
In his speech, Gusmao called on the
donors to forge a mechanism to facilitate the aid flow through a UN trust
fund and a World Bank-administered trust fund.
"We need to see that all
international assistance is well spent, and for this are seeking to
establish a body composed of UNTAET and East Timorese representatives to
oversee the delivery of foreign aid," he said.
"The situation in East Timor
requires immediate action.
"Hence I also appeal to donors to
ensure that the trust fund mechanisms established are as simple and
flexible as possible, with clear coordinating reponsibilities, to enable
quick and efficient disbursement of funds."
Gusmao, who is tipped to be East Timor's
first head of state, is scheduled to meet Japanese Prime Minister Keizo
Obuchi later Friday to seek help for East Timor.
East Timorese voted overwhelmingly for
independence from Indonesia in a referendum in August. The vote sparked
rampant violence by militia groups opposed to independence who were backed
by the Indonesian military.
The foreign ministry said Thursday that
Japan had decided to extend 100 million dollars in aid to East Timor over
the next three years to help its rehabilitation and development.
The sum would be Japan's contribution to
a three-year, 307-million-dollar aid package expected to be agreed upon at
the aid conference, Kyodo News quoted government sources as saying.
An official at the foreign ministry's
Southeast Asia division said the figure could not be announced ahead of
the meeting.
But he noted a World Bank mission had
estimated East Timor would need 260 to 300 million dollars over the next
three years.
Gusmao arrived here late Thursday after
receiving the European parliament's annual Sakharov human rights prize in
the French city of Strasbourg on Wednesday.
He will travel on to the Portuguese
colony of Macau on Saturday to attend ceremonies marking its handover to
China.
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