Notícias - em inglês

UNMIT - 31 October 2006

High-Level Team Arrives In Timor To Prepare For 2007 Elections

A high-level international team overseeing the integrity of Timor-Leste’s 2007 presidential and parliamentary elections has arrived in Dili this week on its first mission ahead of next year’s polls. The Electoral Certification Team members are Reginald Austin (Zimbabwe), Lucinda Almeida (Portugal), and Michael Maley (Australia). They were appointed by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on October 13th.

The team’s visit marks the first in a series over the coming months. Its job will be to assess that the overall election process is proceeding in accordance with the Constitution, laws, and internationally accepted electoral standards. Among issues it will examine are the electoral environment, the legal framework, electoral authorities, voter registration, political party and candidate registrations, the campaign period, polling day activities, ballot tabulation procedures, and adjudication of challenges.

The certification team will work independently of the United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste, and will submit its findings and recommendations to the Secretary-General and the Timor-Leste authorities. The reports and recommendations of the team will be made public in a timely fashion. UNMIT will provide logistical and administrative support.

Details of the three certification team members are as follows:

Mr. Reginald Austin - Mr. Austin has been an independent electoral consultant since 1992. He served as Chief Electoral Officer in UNTAC (Cambodia), UNOMSA (South Africa) and UNAMA (Afghanistan), in addition to other shorter UN missions where he was a consultant. He has also conducted several technical and observation missions on behalf of the Commonwealth Secretariat. Mr. Austin is the team coordinator.

Lucinda Almeida - Ms. Almeida is on leave from her position as Director of Procedures and the Secretariat of the Parliament of Portugal. She is the former Director General of Elections of Portugal, and she has conducted several UN missions (Angola, Mozambique, Sao Tome and Principe) and EU missions (Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Nigeria and South Africa). Ms. Almeida has participated in cooperation missions in several Portuguese speaking countries, including Timor-Leste.

Michael Maley - Mr. Maley is on leave from his position as Director of the International Services Section of the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC). He served in several UN missions, including Cambodia, Eastern Slavonia, Namibia, South Africa, Western Sahara, and Timor-Leste (were he was an International Commissioner in 2001). He has also conducted several other cooperation missions on behalf of the AEC in several countries in the region.

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ABC - Tuesday, October 31, 2006. 11:02am (AEDT)

Dili rumours making peacekeepers' work difficult

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) say rumour mongering in the East Timorese capital of Dili is making the work of Australian peacekeepers difficult.

Gang violence in East Timor has resulted in 10 deaths in the last week.

Youth workers have told the ABC illicit drugs are causing major problems among the nation's youth.

AFP Commander Steve Lancaster says he has not seen clear evidence of drugs causing violence.

He says rumours are a bigger problem.

"They're just scurrilous and they're bordering on the bizarre," he said. "But unfortunately some of the locals, or quite a few of them, do believe it and they're looking for a reason to punch on. "But that's just the way it is - we just keep focussed and keep our head down and know we've got a job to do."

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AAP - October 31, 2006 - 8:00PM

UN urges peace ahead of Timor vote

Political differences in tiny East Timor must be sorted out at the ballot box not on the streets, the UN declared as it began preparations for next year's vital poll.

Dili remains in a state of tense calm, with international forces, including 1,000 Australian troops and 900 UN police, working to contain sporadic violence among rival gangs.

The UN is stepping up security ahead of the May 2007 poll, and unveiled a new high-level team of experts to oversee the integrity of the election.

The team is charged with certifying that the preparations for next year's poll is proceeding in accordance with the country's constitution and internationally-accepted standards.

Primary responsibility for the elections remains with Timorese authorities.

Acting head of the current UN mission in East Timor, Finn Reske-Nielsen, said next year's elections were important to the future of the country.

"Political differences need to be sorted out at the ballot box," Reske-Nielsen said. "Political differences are not sorted out through street violence. "That is why the elections in 2007 are so important."

Both the UN and the head of the Australian troops have said they believe the gang violence - involving hundreds of youth armed with knives, guns and rocks - is being organised and authorities have launched an investigation to track down those responsible.

It comes as a report, by AusAID, linked the gangs with powerful Timorese figures with political ambitions and the country's main political parties, media reported.

Fairfax said some of the gangs had infiltrated East Timor's security forces.

The International Crisis Group has warned the elections may be another flashpoint in the fledgling nation.

But Reske-Nielsen said at this stage, he saw no reason why the elections should not proceed as scheduled. "Clearly security is a critical part of what the UN mission is doing and will be doing in the coming months," he said. "We have been building up our police capacity over the past several weeks."

Next month the UN would begin deploying police to the districts outside Dili, he said.

"As we move closer to the elections, we would have a significant further increase in the number of UN police across the country, precisely with a view to ensuring that we have sufficient capacity on the security front," Reske-Nielsen said.

The UN will also provide 460 staff to provide technical and logistical support for the upcoming poll.

Spokesman for the independent Electoral Certification Team, Reginald Austin, said next year's election was important in the "consolidation process of the building of democracy and stability". "Our task will be essentially to hold up ...a mirror to the efforts of the authorities, both national and international, to ensure this will be a credible and effective election," he said.

East Timor's parliamentary speaker Fransisco Guterres said the Australian-led peacekeepers in East Timor had failed to restore order in Dili and should be replaced by UN troops.

"At the onset, the soldiers arrested no-one, so arson attacks on homes continued taking place and they said it (arresting criminals) is the job of the police. But now, they are arresting people and doing the job of the police," Guterres said. "There are a lot of troops in East Timor but they are unable to arrest criminals. What kind of work is that?"

He said East Timorese had complained to him about alleged wrongful arrests and assaults on civilians made by the Australian-led troops. "To me, this is an intolerable act and as an elected official, I am saying no-one can raise their hands and beat up my child in my own house," he said.

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