| Subject: AP: U.N. Extends East Timor Mission Until
End Of September Date: Sat, 07 Aug 1999 09:54:45 -0400 From: "John M. Miller" <fbp@igc.apc.org> Received from Joyo Indonesian News: August 3, 1999 U.N. Extends East Timor Mission Until End Of September UNITED NATIONS (AP)--The U.N. Security Council Wednesday unanimously extended the U.N. mission in East Timor until the end of September following the postponement of a U.N.-supervised ballot on the province's future until Aug. 30. The date of the vote was originally set for Aug. 8 and had initially been postponed to Aug. 21 or 22. Last week, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan delayed the ballot again, until Aug. 30, because of the security situation and the need to ensure a reliable list of voters. Because voting is scheduled for three weeks later than the original date, Annan asked the Security Council to extend the mandate for the U.N. Mission for one month. It had been scheduled to end Aug. 31. By a vote of 15-0, the council extended the mandate of the U.N. Mission until Sept. 30. The ballot will decide whether the 800,000 people in East Timor want wide-ranging autonomy within Indonesia or to move toward full independence. Back to August Menu |