DATE=10/27/1999
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=EAST TIMOR-U-N ADMINISTRATION (L ONLY)
NUMBER=2-255543
BYLINE=BRECK ARDERY
DATELINE=NEW YORK
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: The United Nations official who heads the
Transitional Administration in East Timor said today
(Wednesday) there is no doubt the territory will
become an independent nation but refused to predict
when. V-O-A Correspondent Breck Ardery reports on
comments from U-N Under-Secretary General Sergio
Vieira de Mello
TEXT: Mr. Vieira de Mello told reporters his
assignment to help the East Timorese people prepare
for independence will be "daunting but rewarding."
Earlier this week, he was appointed to head the United
Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor. The
Administration will exercise military, judicial and
civil authority until independence comes.
However, Mr. Vieira de Mello said it is far too soon
to provide any estimate as to when East Timor will be
ready for sovereignty. He said the immediate priority
is humanitarian relief.
///Vieira de Mello act///
We are still in the emergency phase but hoping
to move as quickly as possible from that
humanitarian-relief phase to rehabilitation,
reconstruction and development. The situation is
not yet conducive to that because several
hundred thousand people remain displaced out of
fear of returning because they are still
insecure or because they have nothing to return
to.
///end act///
Mr. Vieira de Mello said there are current estimates
of as many as 240-thousand refugees in West Timor.
The United Nations has issued an appeal for 199-
million dollars for urgent humanitarian needs in East
Timor. However, the total cost of the Transitional
Administration there, which includes almost nine
thousand troops plus civilian police could run as high
as one billion dollars in its first year of operation.
(Signed)
NEB/UN/BA/LSF/ENE/PT
27-Oct-1999 17:01 PM EDT (27-Oct-1999 2101 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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