| Subject: LUSA: Portuguese PM appeals for permanent
UN presence in E.Timor Date: Thu, 25 Feb 1999 21:46:28 -0500 From: "Sharon R.A. Scharfe" <pet@web.net> 25 FEV 99 - 11:08 East Timor: Portuguese Prime Minister appeals for permanent UN presence in East Timor Brussels, Feb 25 (Lusa) - Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Guterres said in Brussels on Wednesday the recent acts of violence in East Timor had once again demonstrated the need for a permanent presence of the UN in the occupied territory. Guterres made the remark on the margins of an official visit to EU institutions in the Belgian capital. He expressed "great concern" about Wednesday's incidents in Dili, stressing that a permanent UN presence would be an "essential factor" to stabilise the situation in East Timor. Guterres also said that East Timor's current transition process was an "extremely complex" matter. Pro-Indonesian militiamen reportedly fired on dozens of pro-independence supporters in Dili on Wednesday, killing two and injuring several others. The incident broke out during a funeral ceremony near an army barracks on the outskirts of Dili. Violence between rival groups has escalated in East Timor since Jakarta offered last month to consider independence for the territory it its ppulation rejects an autonomy offer.-Lusa nnnn Copyright© 1996 Agência Lusa E-Mail Agência Lusa Back to February Menu |