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Subject: UNOTIL Daily Media Review 22 November 2005
[Poster's note: Long repeats of international articles already sent out to the east-timor list (info@etan.org) have been removed.] UNOTIL Compiled by the Public Information Office from national and international sources Daily Media Review Tuesday, 22nd November 2005 National Media Reports President Gusmão comments on Political Parties and CAVR It is reported that President Xanana Gusmão has asked political parties not to spend all their time defending their programs and criticizing the government, because then the people will not know what their programs are about. Speaking at a press conference at the International Airport yesterday on his return from participating in an investment conference in China, President Gusmão said that even though in this democratic era political parties have the right to express their opinions, they should not spend all their time criticizing, and should concentrate on their own programs. On a separate matter, the President also said that CAVR will not close for another two months, as there has not yet been an audit on the assets and expenses of CAVR. Even though the Commission officially completed its mandate on 31 October, extra time is needed to ascertain the condition of the assets that will be handed over to the government. Additionally some documents are still being finalized, to then be handed over to the National Parliament and the government. (TP, STL) PM Alkatiri: UNOTIL Headquarters to be handed over to F-FDTL The UNOTIL Headquarters in Caicoli will be handed over to the F-FDTL when UNOTIL completes its mission in Timor-Leste next May. Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri yesterday visited the HQ accompanied by SRSG Hasegawa, Minister of Defence Roque Rodrigues, F-FDTL Commander Taur Matan Ruak, and a number of government and UNOTIL officials. Speaking after the visit, PM Alkatiri said that UNOTIL would be leaving behind many of its assets when it completes its mission, and that the site will be suitable for F-FDTL as their current headquarters is not in good condition, with insufficient communication facilities. (TP) PNTL Discussion creates division at the Parliament A discussion on the performance and behaviour of the PNTL in yesterday's plenary session in Parliament instigated a pro-contra debate on the recent behaviour of the institution. Members of Commission B for Defence, Security and Foreign Relations did not accept the accusation of ASDT MP Jacinto Andrade that the PNTL have been acting outside the limits of normalcy, reminiscent of the behaviour of the Indonesian police. He said that the Parliament has discussed the issue of PNTL behaviour many times already, but still these incidents continue to occur. He proposed therefore that renegade police officers, in particular those who maintain the POLRI (Indonesian police) way of thinking should be removed, in order to maintain the honour of the institution. Several members of Commission B protested the accusations. KOTA MP Clementino dos Reis Amaral said that the PNTL performance must be evaluated fairly and not in a biased manner. He said that the arrogant attitude of some PNTL officers does not reflect the overall attitude of the institution, and that there must be appreciation for the good work that the PNTL is doing, even when faced with a number of challenges, such as financial limitations. (STL) Martins: STAE's preparations for local leaders re-election in Jan 2006 STAE is making preparations for re-elections to be held in January 2006. According to STAE Vice-Director Edgar Sequeira, STAE has sent the calendar for the re-elections to the National Electoral Commission (CNE), and that they will now wait for approval of the calendar from CNE. Sequeira said that STAE would like to hold the re-elections as soon as possible, as the wet season is approaching which will impact upon the capacity for implementation. However the process must run according to the appropriate legal basis. He said that the funds for the re-elections will come from the government and some donors, including UNDP. (STL) Pires: Ministry of Education will issue policy to regulate schools National Director of Administration and Finance of Ministry of Education, Antoninho Pires had been reportedly quoted as saying that Ministry of Education would issue policy to regulate schools in Timor-Leste. According to Pires, the policy would be probably issued during the next school and academic year, adding that the draft of the policy had been submitted to the Council of Ministers for consideration. Moreover, Pires said that for the time being, while waiting for the new policy to be issued, each school has its own regulations to run its daily affairs as instructed by the Ministry of Education. (TP) Neto: Timor-Leste depends on foreign entrepreneur Speaking to the press on Monday, Coordinator of "Business Development Project for the Training of Trainers", José Neto stated that in general terms Timor-Leste has achieved its independence for the last four years, but in terms of economic development, Timor-Leste still depends on foreign entrepreneurs. The Timorese, he said, particularly the educated ones in the area of economics do not really a vision on how to apply the knowledge they have, adding that even though they are educated, they still depend on foreign entrepreneurs who have come to invest in Timor-Leste. Neto further stated that in order to tackle the matter, there is a need to change the mentality. (DT) TVTL News Monitoring 1. President Gusmão returns to Timor Leste: President Xanana Gusmão arrived in Timor Leste after his visits to China and Singapore on Monday. At the International Airport Nicolau Lobato, President Gusmão reportedly stated he had held discussions on Agriculture and Fisheries during his visit to these two countries. During his discussion with Chinese officials, the Chinese Government pledged to build the offices of President and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation and provide sports equipment to Timor-Leste. En-route to Timor-Leste, the President's delegation stopped in Indonesia, where he met with an Indonesian Minister, Widodo, and the Regional Udayana Military Commander in Bali, in which they discussed the future relationship between the two neighbors. 2. MPs asked the Interior Minister to pay attention to PNTL's attitude: Jacinto de Andrade, MP from the ASDT bench, reportedly called on the Interior Minister to pay attention to the police actions against the population. Andrade reportedly stated that the police attitude might have been caused by the low salary they earn, but that this should be addressed with the government rather than going after the population. Meanwhile, an MP from UDT bench, Quiteria da Costa said that she congratulated PNTL for a job well done despite all challenges. Quiteria further stated that she considered the actions of some police officers as personal rather than of the institution and hence they should not be generalized. 3. Timor-Leste's Independence Proclaimer Maria Paixão MP, the bench leader of PSD at the NP, stated that the people of Timor Leste should be told about who proclaimed RDTL in 1975. According to Paixao, it was now the time to reveal the truth of the history of Timor-Leste, after thirty years. Meanwhile, the President of National Parliament, Lu'Olo said that the constitution of RDTL clearly outlines that the person who proclaimed Timor-Leste's Independence in 1975 was Mr. Francisco Xavier do Amaral. However it does not imply that Xavier do Amaral is the Proclaimer of Independence on 28 November 1975. 4. ASDT Women congress The Timorese Social Democratic Association (ASDT) held a congress in Lecidere, Dili on Saturday to discuss the role of women. After the opening ceremony of the congress, ASDT President, Francisco Xavier do Amaral, told journalists that the objective of the congress was to assist women of ASDT in their preparations for the upcoming general elections in 2007. Regional Media Reports Thailand and Indonesia prepared for bird flu pandemic, says WHO Thailand and Indonesia are ``well prepared'' for a possible bird flu pandemic while other countries in the Asia may still need some help in responding to the health threat, a senior World Health Organization (WHO) director said on Monday. ``Thailand and Indonesia are now very well prepared and are responding to the situation,'' said Jai Narain, director of WHO's communicable diseases department. Narain and other WHO experts have gathered in Bangkok for a three-day seminar to discuss preparedness for pandemic outbreaks and other disasters with the health ministries from Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Indonesia, Maldives, Myanmar (Burma), Nepal, North Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Timor Leste (East Timor). ``We are trying to talk about how a country should prepare itself to face an influenza pandemic which we all expect will come,'' said Samlee Plianbangchang, WHO regional director. Several Asian countries, including Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam, have experienced outbreaks of avian influenza, or the H5N1 virus, among their poultry populations over the past three years, killing and leading to the culling of millions of chickens and ducks. The virus has also claimed the lives of at least 70 people, sparking fears that it will eventually mutate into a human-to-human flu of pandemic proportions. WHO experts said preparedness for a pandemic would require strong health system infrastructures and good inter-ministerial and inter-sectoral cooperation, as has been visible in Thailand's ability to cope with a host of recent outbreaks and natural disasters. ``If we look at (Thailand's) response mechanism to the avian influenza problem, it's very much based on what was already done for SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) and was employed after the tsunami, which was basically community based surveillance and rapid response teams,'' said William Aldis, WHO respresentive to Thailand. The December 26, 2004, tsunami killed more than 5,300 people in Thailand. Remarkably, none of the 13,000 people injured by the disaster died thanks to a swift and effective post-disaster health system response. The WHO team was less optimistic about the preparedness of less well-financed health systems in countries such as Myanmar, Thailand's neighbour to the west. ``In Myanmar there are some concerns about the availability of resources,'' said Narain. He noted that although Myanmar's health ministry was well run, the country lacked medicines and in many cases, government access to remote areas. ``Unless we can strengthen the capacity of each and every country, the imminence of a pandemic will be there,'' warned Narain, who added,'' It is the responsibility of the international community to support every country.'' Myanmar has been largely cut off from international aid since 1988 in response to a brutal military crackdown on a pro-democracy movement that year, and subsequent years of suppression of political opponents and widespread human rights abuses. (DPA) National News Sources Timor Post (TP) These Items Do Not Reflect the Position or Views of the United Nations. UNOTIL Public Information Office
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