---------------------------------------------------------- FREE for JOIN Indonesia Daily News Online via EMAIL: go to: http://www.indo-news.com/subscribe.html - FREE - FREE - FREE - FREE - FREE - FREE - Please Visit Our Sponsor http://www.indo-news.com/cgi-bin/ads1 ---------------------------------------------------------- ANTARA, JULY 20 1999 E. Timor: Many E Timorese Still Ignorant About Wide-Ranging Autonomy Offer, Says NGO Activist Dili, E Timor, July 20 (ANTARA)- Although the UN Mission in East Timor (UNAMET) is supposed to have familiarized the East Timorese people with Indonesia's wide-ranging autonomy offer, many East Timorese apparently are still ignorant about it, a local non- governmental organization activist said. "There is an impression the UNAMET has been paying little attention to this matter. So, while registration of voters for the direct ballot has already started, thousands of East Timorese still lack a proper understanding of what wide-ranging autonomy is all about," said Mateus Maia, chairman of the Forum for Unity, Democracy and Justice (FPDK) said here Tuesday. Maia said proof that many East Timorese still lacked the right knowledge about the offer they are to vote on in the scheduled UN_administered direct ballot late next August, could be obtained in many districts, including the region in which Dili, East Timor's provincial capital is located. Commenting on Mateus Maia's statement, Wimhurst said the mission would soon print about 500,000 pamphlets or brochures on the wide- ranging autonomy package in four languages, namely Indonesian, Portuguese, English and Tetun (the East Timorese native vernaculer). The pamphlets/brochures would be distributed among the East Timorese people to enable them to follow all developments relating the ballot. UNAMET's programs and activities were regularly broadcast through the local station of Radio Republic of Indonesia (RRI) and the nono-governmental station Radio Timor Kmanek. UNAMET had so far spread information on the wide-ranging autonomy package and the ballot through the RRI, the state-owned television station TVRI and Suara Timor daily, he said. UNAMET was also exploring the possibility of cooperating with ANTARA News Agency to communicate everything about the ballot overseas but the exploration was not yet finished. Wimhurst confirmed that there was a secret document which was leaked, namely a document on the viewpoint of an assistant to the Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affair concerning the method of evacuating civil servants from East Timor, if the wide-ranging autonomy offer was rejected. He declined to futher comment on the document sayinmg that at present Indonesian and Portuguese high-ranking officials in New York were discussed the situation and actions which would be needed after the balloting in East Timor. He admitted that a copy of the document was in UNAMET's possession. (T.DLI-03/ND-08/PTU-05/INT-KT/15:00/INT-AJM-16:32/ri3/16:42/TB05) ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Didistribusikan tgl. 23 Jul 1999 jam 06:43:34 GMT+1 oleh: Indonesia Daily News Online <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> http://www.Indo-News.com/ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
