DATE=12/16/1999
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=JAPAN - E. TIMOR AID (L-ONLY)
NUMBER=2-257206
BYLINE=KARRIN AMODEO
DATELINE=TOKYO
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: Japan on Thursday pledged 100 million dollars
in aid to help rebuild the ravaged territory of East
Timor. Karrin Amodeo reports from Tokyo, the
announcement comes at the beginning of a two-day
meeting of the international donor community designed
to map long-term reconstruction plans for the
territory.
Text: Thursday's pledge by Japan is about one third of
the 300 million dollars the World Bank is seeking for
the reconstruction of East Timor. Japanese Chief
Cabinet Secretary Mikio Aoki told a news conference
the aid will be donated over the next three years
through a fund set up by the World Bank and the United
Nations.
Reconstruction is to begin within the next few months
and is expected to take years to finish.
Experts say the task will be enormous. East Timor
needs electrical power, schools, hospitals and a civil
administration. The territory was devastated after
last August's vote for independence. Pro-Indonesian
militia groups went on a rampage of murder, looting
and burning, displacing hundreds of thousands of
people, destroying most of the island's infrastructure
and bringing the economy to a standstill.
The 300 million dollars the World Bank says East Timor
needs for rebuilding does not include 199 million
dollars required annually for humanitarian aid.
Additionally, there will be the cost of funding the U-
N administration in East Timor over the next two or
three years, as the territory moves to full
independence.
Thursday's aid pledge is in addition to Japan's
previous contributions to help East Timor. It has
already given 200 million dollars to the territory,
including 30 million dollars in humanitarian aid.
Thirty nations and international organizations are
taking part in this week's donors meeting for East
Timor. The independence leader, Xanana Gussmao is also
attending.
NEB/KA/FC/PLM
16-Dec-1999 03:58 AM EDT (16-Dec-1999 0858 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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