November 21, 2000
A report by a UN Security Council mission has questioned the slow pace of reconstruction in East Timor, 14 months after it was razed by pro-Indonesia militia. "The overall state of East Timor's infrastructure remains devastated," said the report, a copy of which was obtained by AFP Tuesday.
The seven-member mission, which visited East Timor for two days last week, introduced the report to the Security Council after a briefing on its findings at UN headquarters in New York on Monday.
The mission said it was concerned by "the small amounts so far expended on reconstruction and the uneven rate of progress of the rest of the country compared with (the capital) Dili." It highlighted slow progress in the reconstruction of roads, power supplies and buildings. The report said the mission had learned that while some funding was available for outstanding infrastructure needs, "implementation of projects had been slow to materialise."
"This area requires a priority focus."
It said resources needed to be made immediately available for some urgent reconstruction work, citing court buildings as examples.
The member for infrastructure in East Timor's transitional cabinet, Joao Carrascalao, complained to the delegation of an 85 million dollar shortfall in funding for the rehabilitation of basic services. Carrascalao told AFP that at least 100 million dollars was needed to restore basic services, but only 15 million dollars had been allocated for infrastructure rebuilding for the transitional administration's budget.
Local leaders in the southern border town of Suai, one of the worst-hit areas in last year's destruction, also complained to the delegation about the pace of reconstruction. Most homes and buildings were flattened in Suai. Some wooden huts with grass roofs have sprung up alongside charred shells of homes, a French organisation has rebuilt some of the hospital, and the UN has just begun reconstructing the marketplace.
The mission recommended increased flexibility in the use of resources allocated to peacekeeping operations such as UNTAET.
After 78.5 percent of East Timorese voted to end 24 years of Indonesian rule on August 30 last year, Jakarta-backed pro-Indonesia militias, reportedly aided by Indonesian soldiers, razed towns and cities to the ground, killed at least 600 people and forced 250,000 residents over the border into West Timor.
