Annan recommends extension of UN peacekeepers in East Timor
PLA Daily 2004-02-20
UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 19 (Xinhuanet) -- United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has recommended a one-year extension of the mandate of the UN peacekeeping mission (UNMISET) in East Timor in order to consolidate its peace and stability.
In a report to the Security Council, which was released on Thursday, Annan said UNMISET's mandate was based on the assumption that East Timor would be in a position to maintain peace and stability on its own forces two years after its independence in May 2002.
However, he said, it has become "increasingly clear" that further assistance to East Timor will be crucial in a number of areas after May 20, when UNMISET's present mandate expires.
Based on assessments made by a UN team after a visit to East Timor in January, Annan said the tiny Southeast Asian state needs UN assistance in improving the justice system and administration, developing national police and maintaining security.
In early February, both East Timor and its former colonial power, Portugal, wrote to Annan requesting a continued presence of the nearly 4,500-strong UN peacekeeping mission, which has stayed in East Timor for two years.
In his letter, East Timorese Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri said the country's armed forces "are still not ready to deal independently with our internal tensions, the general volatility of a nascent country and the general volatility in our region."
"We are therefore deeply convinced that it is necessary to extend the presence of a United Nations battalion of peacekeeping forces in Timor-Leste beyond May 2004," he said.
East Timor changed its name to Timor-Leste after gaining full independence from Indonesia in May 2002.
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