| Subject: Militia Less
Capable Of Destabilizing East Timor - Report Associated Press November 1, 1999
Militia Less Capable Of Destabilizing East Timor - Report
UNITED NATIONS (AP)--The capacity of pro-Indonesian
militias to destabilize East Timor has been reduced to a very low level, according to a
report to the U.N on the operations of the multinational force released Monday.
In areas where militias are active, the Australian-led
international force known as INTERFET said it "has demonstrated its ability to
respond quickly and deal effectively with these incidents."
"While small groups of militiamen remain in East
Timor, their ability to physically threaten the local population is largely gone,"
the INTERFET report said.
The U.N. Security Council authorized the international
force to restore order after pro-Indonesian militias went on a killing, looting and
burning rampage after the East Timorese voted overwhelmingly for independence in an Aug.
30 U.N.-supervised ballot.
Secretary-General Kofi Annan sent the report on INTERFET's
activities, which he received from Australia's U.N. Mission, to the Security Council.
The council on Oct. 25 authorized the U.N. to run East
Timor during a two- to three-year transition to independence and voted to send a
9,150-strong U.N. peacekeeping mission to replace the 8,000-strong international force.
Bernard Miyet, the U.N. undersecretary-general for
peacekeeping, said it would probably take two to four months for U.N. peackeepers to take
over.
INTERFET said it would welcome early deployment of the U.N.
force commander and his key staff to coordinate the hand over. Annan hasn't yet named a
commander of the U.N. force.
Since INTERFET's arrival on Sept. 20, "the security
situation has improved dramatically," the report said.
The most serious militia activity has been near East
Timor's border with West Timor, which is still an Indonesian province.
"Although the western border regions pose a challenge
to the maintenance of peace and security, the situation in East Timor has greatly improved
over that facing INTERFET upon its arrival," the report said.
"Overall, the INTERFET coalition has achieved a very
significant proportion of its mandate concerning the restoration of peace and security,
with the key indicators being the increased level of security in towns and on roads, and
the reduced incidence of violence against INTERFET," the report said.
"On the basis of progress to date, the expectation is
that INTERFET will have achieved its mandate in time for the transition" to the U.N.
peacekeeping operation, it said.
With the growing level of security, the report said the
ability to distribute humanitarian aid continues to increase.
"The major humanitarian challenges facing the relief
effort in East Timor at present are the return of large numbers of displaced persons (from
both internal areas and West Timor) and the commencement of the wet season," it said.
Back to November Menu
World Leaders Contact List
Human Rights Violations in East Timor
Main Postings Menu
Note: For those who would like to fax "the
powers that be" - CallCenter V3.5.8, is a Native 32-bit Voice Telephony software
application integrated with fax and data communications... and it's free of charge!
Download from http://www.v3inc.com/ |
