YouSaid · the spoken record

Vieira De Mello

lines on the record: 513
first: 1999-01-21
most recent: 2003-07-22
sittings or episodes: 16
sources: un-security-council

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“The experience that we are gaining in UNTAET shows that we are going to have to review both our thinking and our administrative mechanisms if we want the United Nations to be able to undertake any other operations of this type and scope in the future. To review, UNTAET is entrusted with a governance operation without precedent in the history of the United Nations; preceding missions have only shared this responsibility or partially exercised it. UNTAET is starting from scratch, and quite rightly a great deal of rapid, appreciable progress is expected of it. This new type of mandate compels the United Nations to confront pressures never before faced in the field.”
2000-06-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4165 (2000) · source
“Before I enter into the heart of the subject, allow me a short digression. Many others before me have emphasized that resolution 1272 (1999) was innovative in its ambitiousness and in the breadth of the mandate given to UNTAET. Although this deserves to be emphasized, words can but weakly describe the challenges we have been facing every day in East Timor, and I must note that in many respects we are very poorly equipped to face those challenges. In fact, the United Nations has almost everything to learn at the same time as it is trying to build and manage a country - a task that we have never had to accomplish before.”
2000-06-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4165 (2000) · source
“It may be that the principal achievement thus far is that we are now much more aware than we were at first of the uniqueness, magnitude and complexity of UNTAET's mission, and of the fact that our long-term success will certainly depend on the extent to which the Timorese themselves will be able to participate in and take over the transition process. It seems to me that our main interlocutors understand better and better that, as far as they are concerned, the exercise of power does not mean simply influencing the decision-making or participating in it; it also means assuming responsibility for their choices. This is the general context in which we have recently been discussing the ways and means of making progress in the transition, a question that I would like to elaborate on today for the Council.”
2000-06-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4165 (2000) · source
“May I first of all, a bit belatedly, congratulate you, Mr. President, on your appointment to New York, and may I thank you for having been willing to give me this opportunity under your presidency to report on the situation in East Timor. The United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET), the Timorese and the international community continue to make progress towards reconstructing East Timor. The summary sheet that I have distributed to the Council recapitulates some of the activities that we have been undertaking in certain key areas.”
2000-06-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4165 (2000) · source
“This will include a very brief visit to refugee camps in Atambua, which is a very powerful message that he will be conveying to those refugees, and is to be preceded by the visit of President Sampaio of Portugal and to be followed by the visit of President Abdurrahman Wahid. These visits, and many more that are scheduled for the month of February and subsequent months, will be extremely important in boosting this unity of purpose of the East Timorese people, which we are determined to cultivate and further support.”
2000-02-03 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4097 (2000) · source
“Xanana Gusmao, to delay somewhat the discussion of issues such as the new constitution, a law on political parties or a law on elections - that is, all those questions that are likely to divide or to lead to a premature politicization of the environment and to political competition, which in turn are likely to weaken the unity and the commonality of purpose that we have managed to develop within the CNRT and the National Consultative Council. Last but not least - and I agree with those members who mentioned these visits as important in consolidating unity within the CNRT, and ultimately unity among all East Timorese, including those who campaigned for autonomy and integration - I would refer to the visit of our Secretary-General on 17 and 18 February.”
2000-02-03 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4097 (2000) · source
“Ambassador Chowdhury also mentioned the importance of the ASEAN countries and of the region as a whole in the reconstruction and development of East Timor. I think I have already addressed this in my reply to Ambassador Andjaba. Ambassador Shen Guofang referred to the importance of safeguarding the unity of the CNRT. I certainly could not agree more. That is a priority for all of us. That is a very important message from this Council. We have attempted to achieve that goal through the participatory way in which the National Consultative Council has been operating and through the consensus-building efforts within the National Consultative Council and other consultative bodies at the central and district levels. Secondly, I have indicated why we decided, with Mr.”
2000-02-03 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4097 (2000) · source
“I have taken note of their suggestions and will make sure that both are integrated into our plan of action for education in the year 2000 and in subsequent such plans. Ambassador Chowdhury also raised the question of the prevention of recurrence of human rights Violations in the future. I can report that, on Tuesday in Geneva, I met with Mrs. Mary Robinson and we discussed technical cooperation activities that her Office is eager to launch in East Timor to reinforce the East Timorese preventive capacity. One such activity is the creation of a national human rights commission, and I have encouraged her to send a mission to discuss with us and with the East Timorese leadership the contents and the timetable for the implementation of such a programme of technical cooperation.”
2000-02-03 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4097 (2000) · source
“Ambassador Dejammet also suggested that we try, as recommended in paragraph 18 of Security Council resolution 1272 (1999), to reduce UNTAET's military component, which would allow us to reallocate its funding to governance and reconstruction. As I said in my presentation and discussed with General De los Santos, we periodically re-evaluate the security situation and, thus, our military requirements on the field. I would be the first to recommend to the Security Council that there be a gradual reduction in the United Nations military component. (spoke in English) Ambassador Chowdhury of Bangladesh, supported by the Ambassador of Jamaica, raised a number of issues related to education and adult literacy.”
2000-02-03 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4097 (2000) · source
“Ambassador Granovsky identified the connection between normalized relations and the resumption of economic activity in Timor. One thing is certain: all this will depend on the reopening of the borders between East Timor and the western part of the island. This is one of the matters that we shall be negotiating with Indonesia. Jakarta would like the borders to reopen as soon as possible, but that will come about only when security has been made credibly to prevail there - in other words, once the threat of incursions, such as those that have occurred in recent weeks, becomes a thing of the past, as we hope it will.”
2000-02-03 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4097 (2000) · source
“(spoke in French) Ambassador Dejammet asked me whether we knew how many Timorese living in exile would be likely to return to Timor. I am afraid that we do not have a comprehensive list of these human resources, but since December the National Council of Timorese Resistance (CNRT) has given us a few lists containing a few dozen names of East Timorese who would, apparently, be prepared to return. We are trying to get in touch with them and to see under what terms they would be prepared to return for a few months or a few years in support of our efforts. He also noted that the resumption of economic activity would hinge on East Timor's normalizing relations with Indonesia and with the western part of the island of Timor. I agree with him entirely.”
2000-02-03 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4097 (2000) · source
“There does not exist sufficient confidence on the part of private investors in the region and beyond for them to come in in any significant way and help us in this critical short term to deal with the problem of unemployment. My hope is, after contact with some investors in countries of the region - be it Australia, Indonesia, Thailand and, I am sure, others that Mr. Xanana Gusmao has visited in recent days, including countries of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN), China and the Republic of Korea - that there will be, in the medium term, much interest on the part of private investors in coming to East Timor, but only after we have managed to establish a durable climate of stability and a proper economic and fiscal regulatory environment, which, as I indicated, we are actively working on.”
2000-02-03 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4097 (2000) · source
“Finally, as I mentioned in my presentation, some flexibility in the use of assessed contributions for those expenditures that are directly related to the implementation of our mandate - which is to create a viable East Timorese administration - would also be welcome. The Secretary-General, for members' information, has convened a meeting this afternoon, such is his personal interest in allowing us this flexibility - needless to say, with the support of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions and the Fifth Committee. Ambassador Andj aba asked me what other job-creating prospects we could count on - private investment and so on. I am afraid that, in the very near future, such prospects are remote and minimal.”
2000-02-03 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4097 (2000) · source
“Bilateral contributions - such as have been made by some countries represented in this room, for which we are most grateful - have enabled us to launch small projects that have kept electricity and water going, in Dili in particular, and have made possible the launching of some projects which Ambassador Hasmy referred to, particularly in terms of road maintenance and repair and a number of other infrastructure-related activities. Such contributions are welcome, and there are enough implementing partners - be they the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), other United Nations agencies or non- governmental organizations on the ground - that are more than willing to implement them in earnest.”
2000-02-03 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4097 (2000) · source
“I will be asking them if it will be possible to have the Bank agree to rapid disbursements of funds intended for reconstruction projects in the different areas we identified in early January without in any way interfering with the normal progress of the project formulation, approval, international tender and procurement process that the World Bank cannot deviate from. We will also discuss with them the possible allocation to the United Nations Trust Fund, as distinct from the World Bank trust fund, of some of the unearmarked pledges made in Tokyo. This would give us the possibility to proceed with badly needed reconstruction projects, in particular, as I said, of public buildings all over the country, while the Bank proceeds with the preparation of its own reconstruction sector and reconstruction programmes.”
2000-02-03 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4097 (2000) · source
“Ambassador Eldon, later supported by Ambassadors Dejammet, Andjaba and Holbrooke, asked me concretely what we could do in order to improve our ability to access those funds pledged in Tokyo in December last year. Let me limit my comments to reconstruction only. We will be discussing with World Bank officials today and tomorrow how to accelerate the implementation of the six-month reconstruction plan that I referred to in my presentation, while, of course, adhering fully to established World Bank procedures.”
2000-02-03 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4097 (2000) · source
“I can assure him that that indeed will be part of their training in the new police academy, whenever we manage to repair and equip that academy because, as I said, that is one of our chronic problems: how to rebuild public buildings, where to find funds to rebuild and equip public buildings such as this academy, as well as the academy for the new civil service, and so forth. Ambassador Chowdhury asked me what we would be doing to accelerate the deployment of civilian policemen. This is an issue we have been discussing with our colleagues here in the Secretariat. We will have a series of meetings today and tomorrow to ensure the rapid deployment of the remaining 1,100 civilian police that we badly require.”
2000-02-03 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4097 (2000) · source
“Finally, I think I should also mention that 17 tons of weapons have been collected, found in caches or retrieved from individuals in East Timor by the International Force in East Timor, INTERFET, during the last four to five months. We shall soon be disposing of these weapons by dumping them into the high seas off the shores of East Timor with a small symbolic ceremony at the centre of Dili. Ambassador Eldon also asked me to make sure that the new East Timorese police force will be trained so as to act in accordance with established international standards.”
2000-02-03 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4097 (2000) · source
“I think I have indicated what General Syahnakri and his predecessor have been doing with the help of the Indonesian police and what additional measures he intends to take. As far as disarming inside the Territory of East Timor, as members know, the Armed Forces for the National Liberation of East Timor, Falintil, have been cantoned on the basis of the 5 May 1999 Agreement. They have been extremely disciplined. They have respected fully that Agreement. They are not allowed to carry their weapons outside the single cantonment area that now exists in Aileu on the hills above Dili. They have fully complied with that requirement.”
2000-02-03 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4097 (2000) · source
“I am told that, unfortunately, it is still the hard line that seems to have prevailed, which further demonstrates the need for us to engage the pro-autonomy leaders in continued systematic dialogue. They must not be excluded. I think this would be a dangerous course of action. They must be involved. They must be reassured that if they opt for democratic, non-Violent means, they can, they must return and engage in normal political activities in the new framework that we shall establish in due course for the functioning of political parties in East Timor. In other words, they should abandon their past aspirations, which were defeated by the majority on 30 August, look towards the future and work within the new framework we are establishing. Ambassador Hasmy asked me what could be done to disarm ex-combatants.”
2000-02-03 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4097 (2000) · source
“For that to happen I strongly believe that political dialogue must be increased and must be strengthened with the many different political leaders representing the pro-autonomy, pro-integrationist cause that continue to live and operate out of West Timor. I met with some of them last week. They have just held a congress, which was not entirely conclusive in terms of unifying the pro-autonomy groups and certainly not terribly successful, I am told, in terms of providing the moderate course of action which the Indonesian Government, UNTAET and Xanana Gusmao have been promoting, the broad majority support of pro-integrationist groups in West Timor.”
2000-02-03 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4097 (2000) · source
“I have requested General De Los Santos, the new Philippino Force Commander of the United Nations in East Timor, to establish and maintain with General Syahnakri and his superiors in Jakarta at the headquarters of the TNI, the Indonesian armed forces, headquarters the closest possible relations so as to build upon previous agreements: the one signed in the presence of Ambassador Holbrooke in late November, and the one mentioned here signed between General Cosgrove and General Syahnakri on 12 January. Repression of these hard-core, hard-line, die-hard militia leaders is not sufficient. They must be deprived of their political base or of their political command and control structures.”
2000-02-03 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4097 (2000) · source
“General Syahnakri also reiterated to me all the steps he had taken since his appointment to search camps for weapons, to establish checkpoints - which I have seen with my own eyes - around refugee settlements in Atambua, as well as in areas close to the border between East and West Timor. He also indicated to me that despite his limited resources he would increase patrols around the Oecussi enclave on the Indonesian side of the border. All of this is extremely encouraging.”
2000-02-03 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4097 (2000) · source
“Most of these small groups appear to be under the command of one individual whose name is well known and is mentioned in the Secretary-General's report and which I have mentioned repeatedly; Major General Cosgrove has also repeatedly mentioned it to the military and civilian authorities of Indonesia. General Syahnakri promised me last week that this person would be detained. I have received this morning a report which indicates that he will in fact be interrogated by the joint investigative team of our civilian police on the basis of evidence gathered inside the Oecussi enclave, as well as by the Indonesian National Police, POLRI, who will fingerprint him and photograph him for further judicial action, we hope.”
2000-02-03 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4097 (2000) · source
“There are different ways in which this can be addressed. I referred, as does the Secretary-General's report, to the primary role of the Indonesian Government, in particular the Indonesian armed forces and the Indonesian police. I have mentioned to you that this has been raised repeatedly by both Major General Cosgrove and by myself, including last week, and the indications I have received, in particular from General Kiki Syahnakri, who is the Udayana regional commander based in Den Pasa, are encouraging. What we are dealing with are the remnants, the vestiges, of militia groups. These are small bands of 15 to 30 elements each, who have been particularly active, as you know, around the Oecussi enclave, both on its eastern and western borders.”
2000-02-03 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4097 (2000) · source
“Mr. Vieira de Mello: Thank you all for your words of encouragement. Let me say how greatly strengthened and stimulated I feel after again meeting with you in this Chamber and hearing your supportive statements. I have taken note of all the observations and suggestions that you have made, and I will take them back with me to Dili over the weekend to relay to my colleagues there. Mr. President, you have just asked me to respond to some of the specific questions that have been put to me, and I will do so with pleasure. Ambassador Eldon put a question to me that was also formulated in different words by Ambassadors Yel'chenko, von Walsum, Holbrooke and by yourself. He specifically requested me to provide the Council with an assessment of future potential militia activity and asked what could be done to tackle this problem.”
2000-02-03 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4097 (2000) · source
“At a time of flagging confidence and growing cynicism with respect to the multilateral system, East Timor provides us with the opportunity to prove - to the East Timorese, who for so long were without support, as well as to ourselves - that UNTAET can be a paradigm of nation-building in future latest- generation United Nations operations approved by the Council.”
2000-02-03 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4097 (2000) · source
“Nevertheless, the people of East Timor have fought and suffered for decades to achieve their independence, and until very recently they did so in the face of general indifference - with the exception of this Organization and the Security Council. Thus, I believe, the United Nations owes East Timor a debt. Equally, East T imor represents an unprecedented challenge for the United Nations. We are called upon to administer and govern a territory which is starting from nearly nothing in terms of resources.”
2000-02-03 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4097 (2000) · source
“Given the urgent problems we now face, both humanitarian and relating to reconstruction, it is too early to politicize the environment and distract ourselves and the East Timorese from the many pressing issues to be faced during this initial emergency phase. I believe, however, that in the second half of 2000 we will start reflecting and perhaps acting on these issues - constitution, political parties and elections - and on a related calendar leading to independence. In conclusion, I would like to summarize what I believe is at stake for the United Nations in East Timor. As a remote country of some 800,000 people, with relatively few resources, East Timor is, in the final analysis, of little strategic importance.”
2000-02-03 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4097 (2000) · source
“I wish to pay tribute here to Major General Peter Cosgrove, with whom I have worked very closely indeed since my arrival, and to his officers, men and women of different contingents for INTERFET's remarkable achievements in restoring and maintaining security in East Timor and along its borders. As the Secretary-General indicates in his report, I shall remain very mindful of the Council's expectation of regular assessments of the necessary United Nations military strength with a view to achieving possible early reductions. In terms of the political future and the related timetable, it is premature to predict when a process of drafting a constitution should begin. This would lead, as members can imagine, to two other fundamental questions, relating to a regulation on new political parties and to another on elections.”
2000-02-03 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4097 (2000) · source
“I also wish to urge members of the Council to use their influence to ensure that the Transitional Administration has access as early as possible to the funds necessary to carry out its mandate. This is especially essential for all the many costs related to the actual governance functions with which the Council has entrusted us in what is a devastated country. Let me briefly report on the military situation. A carefully planned, progressive takeover of the International Force in East Timor (INTERFET) by the UNTAET military component began on 1 February with the transfer of the entire eastern section to United Nations command. This gradual process will continue in the next three weeks, until full transfer has taken place in the latter part of February.”
2000-02-03 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4097 (2000) · source
“I am confident that we can continue to enjoy the very strong support that the Council has thus far provided UNTAET, and that the Council will continue to be our greatest asset. In particular, East Timor will rely on the Council's assistance to ensure that the recent harassment along East Timor's borders will not be allowed to continue and that the pro-autonomy groups and political militias in West Timor accept the outcome of the popular consultation and opt for a moderate, democratic course of action. The remaining extremist groups and militias in West Timor should be disarmed and disbanded once and for all; I have discussed this once again with the Governor of West Timor, with General Kiki Syahnakri, regional military commander, and with the Government in Jakarta last week, and have been given assurances that this will happen.”
2000-02-03 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4097 (2000) · source
“Establishing a new East Timorese administration calls for the urgent creation of a civil service. As recently agreed in the National Consultative Council, we have this very week begun paying stipends to those thousands of individuals who have been engaged in voluntary civil- and public-service functions. This will be a provisional measure pending the recruitment of new civil servants against a new salary scale to be decided by the Public Service Commission over the next three months. In 2000 the civil service will employ only some 7,000 or so persons, and, clearly, the problem of unemployment will have to be addressed by other means, such as the rapid implementation of rehabilitation and reconstruction projects.”
2000-02-03 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4097 (2000) · source
“In the coming months, UNTAET will need to meet a number of serious challenges. First among them are the high expectations of the Timorese, who will have displayed tremendous patience regarding the slow pace at which the destruction of last September is being addressed. Also, East Timor has been sheltered from the outside world for the last two decades, and now the influx of foreigners, civilian and military alike, is proving to be a source of some tension and resentment. I am also concerned that our presence should not have an adverse impact, as I saw in other, similar operations in the past, on East Timorese society and culture, and for that reason I have issued a code of conduct drawn up in consultation with our East Timorese colleagues for all UNTAET staff to follow.”
2000-02-03 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4097 (2000) · source
“It is essential that the information from these sources be consolidated and catalogued. Over 300 bodies have been found, 71 different crime scenes identified and 71 bodies exhumed so far. In Liquica, a mass grave of up to 17 persons has recently been found; likewise, in Oecussi, a grave site of up to 60 bodies has been discovered. Further sites are waiting to be examined. The United Nations civilian police has registered a total of 467 murders alleged by eyewitnesses, which would point to the likelihood that further victims may yet be found. A human rights centre has been established in Dili, which will serve as the centre for such investigations, evidence collection and cataloguing, and training, as well as to house a small, very basic but essential mortuary facility.”
2000-02-03 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4097 (2000) · source
“Therefore, quick advance disbursements against the World Bank fund, flexibility in the use of assessed resources, and generous bilateral contributions will be essential to prevent social unrest until the World Bank comes in full strength. As the members of the Council are aware, the International Commission of Inquiry on East Timor, as well as the Indonesian Commission of Inquiry, submitted their reports last Monday. While it remains to be seen what mechanisms might be established to deal with this matter, UNTAET's human rights component has assumed the lead in the coordination of the investigative process in line with the recommendations of both Commissions. Thus far, investigations into past human rights violations have been carried out by INTERFET, United Nations civilian police and other international actors.”
2000-02-03 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4097 (2000) · source
“I am extremely grateful to the World Bank for its energetic involvement and for the exceptional partnership that we have established in East Timor. The Tokyo donor conference in December, as members know, was most successful, with $522 million being pledged for a variety of activities in the next three years. I would repeat that the first six-month plan for reconstruction was formulated and submitted to a donor meeting in Washington last week. Notwithstanding the Bank's real sense of urgency, UNTAET faces a gap in time which may well result in the perception among East Timorese during the next few months that little is being done to repair infrastructure, save for the United Nations own facilities, for which assessed contributions will be available.”
2000-02-03 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4097 (2000) · source
“Each regulation enacted since the establishment of the Consultative Council was drafted by technical committees in which East Timorese were in the lead, with UNTAET providing advice and support, and all have been adopted by full consensus. The effort to re-establish basic services and infrastructure and thereby move from the humanitarian phase to a more sustainable administration of East Timor will be extremely difficult in the short term. Members of the Council should be aware of my main concern at present, as I indicated earlier, that infrastructural and development projects provided for in the six-month reconstruction plan and that will be funded under the World Bank's labour-intensive trust fund will not, in all likelihood, actually be implemented for some months.”
2000-02-03 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4097 (2000) · source
“Regulations concerning the registration of commercial enterprises, the use of currency, the new legal tender and the licensing of foreign exchange bureaus have also been passed. In the coming weeks, regulations on a range of pressing issues will be tabled, including the organization of ports, the licensing and supervision of banks, and Government procurement procedures. The International Monetary Fund has provided us with invaluable support and advice from the very early stages of this operation. Regulations to establish a border control service, a prosecutorial service and sub-district-level councils are also being drafted. Also, a regulation to amend the currently applicable criminal procedure code will be necessary.”
2000-02-03 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4097 (2000) · source
“Through the Consultative Council and its sectoral committees, UNTAET has set about building the regulatory framework necessary to underpin the administration of East Timor in all areas, including the economy, local governance, justice, and public and civil services. In addition to the first regulation, which defined the legal framework applicable in East Timor during the transitional period, and a number of other decisions that were of a more administrative nature, regulations have now been enacted to establish the Judicial Service Commission that I mentioned earlier; a central fiscal authority, which is the embryo of the future ministry of finance; the central payments office, which is a proto-central bank; and the Public Service Commission.”
2000-02-03 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4097 (2000) · source
“Following the Visit of Xanana Gusmao and his delegation to Jakarta in early December 1999, I have myself twice Visited Indonesia officially, with very encouraging results in political, economic, humanitarian and security terms. Last week, we agreed with Foreign Minister Alwi Shihab and other senior Indonesian officials to launch comprehensive bilateral negotiations on a host of issues involving complex assets and liability claims. An agenda and timetable should be discussed and approved before President Abdurrahman Wahid visits Dili on 24 February, in exactly three weeks. I must say that he and I found the attitude in Kupang and in Jakarta, as well as in Denpasa, where the regional military commander resides, very constructive.”
2000-02-03 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4097 (2000) · source
“Results have been mixed in the dialogue with this latter group, with some pro-autonomy groups or militia displaying continued hostility towards the United Nations, as I experienced myself in Kupang, while others are not only open to dialogue, but keenly interested in strengthening communications and obtaining reassurances that could lead to their decision to return and participate fully, democratically and peacefully in the future political life of the country. Xanana Gusmao has gone out of his way in promoting reconciliation. Additional combined efforts, which I began discussing with him over the telephone yesterday, are, however, undoubtedly required. Relations with Indonesia are key in this and in many other respects.”
2000-02-03 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4097 (2000) · source
“I and other UNTAET staff have held many similar open information meetings and dialogues with East Timorese across the country. From the date of my arrival in mid-November, I have established a pattern of daily consultations with Mr. Xanana Gusmao and other members of the CNRT on all important matters outside the context of the Consultative Council. We have also developed regular dialogue with pro-autonomy groups, either in the margins of the Consultative Council meetings or through visits to West Timor and Jakarta, such as the one I paid last week.”
2000-02-03 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4097 (2000) · source
“With its emphasis on consensus, the National Consultative Council reflects the basic philosophy which guides UNTAET's work in East Timor, namely, that our mission is to work not so much as an interim Administration appointed to govern, but as co-architect, along with the East Timorese, of a national administration that will serve the country long after UNTAET's departure. The effective consultation established at the national level is also being pursued at the district level. This emphasis on consultation extends also to other mechanisms. For example, the Transitional Judicial Service Commission, composed of East Timorese and UNTAET commissioners and chaired by Baucau Bishop Basilio do Nascimento, has held town hall-type meetings to discuss justice issues.”
2000-02-03 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4097 (2000) · source
“The National Consultative Council, which I established in late November of last year and which is composed, as the Council is aware, of seven members representing the National Council of Timorese Resistance (CNRT), the broad coalition that campaigned for independence, three representatives of pro-autonomy political groups, one member representing the Catholic Church and four UNTAET members, including myself, who chair it, has met on five occasions since early December and reached consensus on eight fundamental regulations. It reviewed and gave its approval to development and reconstruction priorities; it established an independent Public Service Commission responsible for developing the new civil service; and it discussed a full range of issues facing the East Timorese population and UNTAET at present.”
2000-02-03 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4097 (2000) · source
“Until then, however, there is an immediate need for funding through the United Nations and humanitarian trust funds for rapid start-up projects to provide employment and allow returnees and residents alike to set about rebuilding their communities immediately. This, I must say, is the greatest frustration of the East Timorese population at present and our greatest challenge. Since UNTAET's establishment, very good progress has been made in developing consultative mechanisms to ensure the full participation of East Timorese in decision- making processes, particularly at the central level.”
2000-02-03 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4097 (2000) · source
“Many people whom I spoke to last week in Atambua and Kupang, especially among those who were previously employed by the Indonesian administration - civil servants, soldiers and policemen - are hesitating until they are provided with a clear indication of their future benefits, if any, including pensions, as well as of their chances of joining the new East Timorese civil service. Once the reconstruction and development projects supported by the World Bank trust fund begin to come on line and to have a tangible impact in East Timor, these programmes will clearly also serve to support the return of refugees.”
2000-02-03 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4097 (2000) · source
“With regard to refugee repatriation, the Council has already been informed that the rate of return of refugees from West Timor has slowed down over the last two months as the rainy season has set in. The reasons for this are complex, stemming in part from militia intimidation in some of the camps and widespread misinformation, disinformation or lack of adequate information regarding the true situation in East Timor. But this slow rate of return, I believe, is also attributable to other factors, ranging from the lack of basic services and the destruction of infrastructure inside East Timor to genuine concern about the safety of returnees.”
2000-02-03 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4097 (2000) · source
“While 10 East Timorese judges and prosecutors have been appointed and are working, these judges have little practical experience on the bench and need further mentoring and support. Thirty more candidates for positions as judges, prosecutors and defence lawyers are currently being trained, but the pool of candidates remains, as the Council can see, very limited. Courts lack even basic support staff, equipment and furniture. The prisons are in worse shape still, and with the INT ERFET detention centre at full capacity, prisons in both Dili and Baucau, which UNTAET is to reopen soon after some repair work is completed, must be gradually refurbished and staffed with qualified wardens, which we do not have, if UNTAET is to be able to arrest and hold criminals.”
2000-02-03 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4097 (2000) · source
“As an immediate measure, over the next few weeks UN TAET will institute a police assistance programme, in which former East Timorese police officers of known quality are to serve as auxiliaries of our civilian police. This programme will be phased out once enough fully fledged East Timorese police are trained at the new police academy scheduled to begin operations in March. We have also entered discussions with the former Armed Forces for the National Liberation of East Timor (Falintil), which has indicated that it would be willing, unarmed, to lend its standing in the local communities to efforts to develop crime-prevention strategies through community education and provide intercession to reduce community tensions. It is also critical that the judiciary become fully functional.”
2000-02-03 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4097 (2000) · source