---------------------------------------------------------- Visit Indonesia Daily News Online HomePage: http://www.indo-news.com/ Please Visit Our Sponsor http://www.indo-news.com/cgi-bin/ads1 ++ Pemilu Online: http://www.indo-news.com/pemilu/ ++ ---------------------------------------------------------- Antara, 10 Juni 1999 U.N. Mission Says Timing Tight for East Timor Vote Sydney, June 9 (ANTARA/Reuters) - The United Nations is working against the clock to be ready for an August 8 autonomy ballot in the troubled territory of East Timor, a U.N. official said on Wednesday. "Our biggest challenge is getting everything in and ready in time for the referendum date. We've got a very tight schedule," U.N. procurement officer Rory McLeod told Reuters by telephone from Darwin. The United Nations opened this week a staging most and supply centre in the remote Australian city of Darwin, from where it will run its complicated, US$50 million operation for the ballot to decide whether East Timor breaks with Indonesia. McLeod, a Canadian formerly based in Macedonia, and two other procurement officers will be in Darwin for the duration of the operation, ensuring the supply of everything from mobile telephones and stationery to computers and airconditioners for the U.N. Mission in East Timor (UNAMET). A U.N. spokeswoman said 400 U.N. volunteers, 272 civilian police from around the world and 60 military liaison officers would be housed and trained in Darwin before making the 800 km (500 miles) trip to the East Timor capital Dili. Mc Leod said it was important for the first U.N. volunteers to get to violence-racked East Timor as soon as possible to ensure its 400,000 voters are made fully aware of the voting process. Crucial to this would be the supply of more than 400 jeeps and four-wheel drive vehicles bought for the mission. "They are urgently required. The U.N. volunteers are arriving very shortly and they are going to need those vehicles to get out to locations, to keep the operation moving," he said. Most of the vehicles would be flown to Dili over 10 days from June 25. The United Nations is organising the ballot and UNAMET staff will set up and monitor polling stations across the territory of some 800,000 people. The unarmed civilian police contingent will have a three-month mandate to observe operations, advise Indonesian police and supervise the escort of ballot papers to and from polling sites. Indonesia is responsible for security in the run-up to the ballot. Weaponry is not on the U.N. mission's shopping list. Violence between pro-Jakarta militias and independence supporters has escalated since Indonesia in January abruptly reversed 23 years of oppositin and said it could countenance independence for East Timor if an offer of autonomy was rejected. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Didistribusikan tgl. 12 Jun 1999 jam 11:56:46 GMT+1 oleh: Indonesia Daily News Online <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> http://www.Indo-News.com/ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
