Annan backs extended Timor UN mission

Election campaigning marks East Timor's progress as an independent country

By Greg Barrow at the UN

United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan has recommended that a UN military contingent should remain in East Timor beyond the transitional period following elections scheduled for the end of August.

Annan believes the East Timorese are still under threat

In a report submitted to the UN Security Council, Mr Annan warned of the continuing threat to stability in East Timor from pro-Indonesian militia groups which are still able to infiltrate the country's border with West Timor.

Mr Annan said close attention should be paid to the security situation in East Timor before taking any decision on the size of the UN police or military presence.

There is concern among some UN member states that the international commitment to maintaining peace and stability in East Timor is waning.

Losing interest

In the words of one diplomat, there is a feeling that East Timor is now out of the emergency ward and the time has come to look at scaling down the UN presence.

But in a report submitted to the Security Council, Mr Annan said pro-Indonesian militia groups still pose a threat to both the internal stability of East Timor and the security of East Timorese refugees in West Timor.

The report notes the concern that some militia elements may have adopted a strategy of lying low until the full independence of East Timor in the belief that the international military presence will be scaled down.

Mr Annan suggests that instead, the current UN troops should be moved from peaceful areas of East Timor and redeployed in larger numbers in trouble spots like the country's border with West Timor.

These recommendations are likely to win support from East Timor's allies in the region who believe the country still has some way to go before peace and stability are the norm.

They fear that the huge international investment and progress in East Timor could be lost if a premature withdrawal of the UN military presence takes place.