[Kabar-indonesia] Senior US official meets East Timor's president

[JoyoNews at aol.com]

lso: US envoy gets first hand look at East Timor following months of violence

Senior US official meets East Timor's president

DILI, August 2 (AFP) -- US assistant secretary of state Christopher
Hill met East Timor's president Wednesday for discussions including
the mandate of the next UN mission in the tiny nation.

Hill, who is also due to meet newly-appointed prime minister Jose
Ramos-Horta on his two-day trip, is the most senior US official to
visit East Timor since it became independent in 2002.

"We had a good discussion," Hill told reporters after meeting
President Xanana Gusmao.

Hill said they had discussed the challenges facing East Timor's
government, issues such as unemployment and the UN's next mission.

A small UN mission in Dili was due to end in May but had its mandate
extended to August 20 by the UN Security Council, with a larger
mission expected to be deployed from then.

"We also talked about the fact that at the end of the day, the people
of East Timor, they need to solve these (problems) and not the United
Nations," Hill added.

Hill said the United States supported the extension of the UN mission
in East Timor "but we want to have a good analysis and good
understanding of the problems here, so we'll do all we can to help."

In a statement issued by the US embassy in Dili, Hill conveyed his
sympathy to the East Timorese for losses caused by recent violence.

At least 21 people were killed and 150,000 displaced by factional
infighting among East Timor's security forces and street battles
involving ethnic gangs.

Some 3,200 international peacekeepers were deployed to restore calm.

"Building a newly-independent nation is hard, and as recent events
have shown, perhaps much harder than many of us thought...Now is the
time to remember what you have been able to accomplish together and to
face the future with that strength," Hill said.

A UN administration ran East Timor until 2002 after it voted for
independence from Indonesia in 1999.

Indonesia had annexed East Timor with the tacit approval of major
powers, including the United States, but the brutality of its
occupation turned world opinion against Jakarta.

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US envoy gets first hand look at East Timor following months of violence

By GUIDO GOULART
Associated Press Writer

DILI, East Timor, August 2 (AP) - A U.S. envoy told East Timor's
president Wednesday that Washington would support Asia's newest nation
as it struggled to get back on its feet following months of violence
and political instability.

Christopher Hill, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and
Pacific Affairs, also said that while the United States understood the
desire for a new U.N. mandate in the country, ultimately it was up to
East Timor to solve its own problems.

Violence erupted in East Timor in March after then-Prime Minister Mari
Alkatiri fired about 600 soldiers, sparking clashes between rival
security forces in the capital that later spilled into gang warfare,
looting and arson.

At least 30 people were killed and another 150,000 others fled their
homes in the worst unrest to hit the nation since it voted for
independence from Indonesia seven years ago. A new government was put
in place last month as part of efforts to ease tensions.

Hill arrived in Dili on Wednesday to get a firsthand look at security
and social problems, including unemployment and the need to get

internally displaced people out of camps and into their homes.

He met with President Xanana Gusmao and other government leaders.

"The United States will continue to stand beside you," he said, noting
that Washington strongly supported the continued development of a
democratic, stable, and prosperous East Timor.

It would work with the new government, civil society and international
partners to help the country rebuild, he said.

Hill said that while the United States would support a proposal for a
new U.N. mandate in the nation of 800,000. But, he said, "in the end
of the day, the people of East Timor need to solve their problem, and
not the United Nations."

The United Nations administered the territory for 2 1/2 years, then
handed it to the Timorese on May 20, 2002.

A U.N. political mission that replaced it had been scheduled to shut
down on May 20 of this year, but the mandate was extended until Aug.
20.

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Joyo Indonesia News Service
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