MEDIA RELEASE
MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS
ALEXANDER DOWNER
FA 78 15 July 1999
East Timor - UN Secretary General's Decision To Proceed With Voter
Registration
I support the decision taken overnight by United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan authorising the commencement of
the voter registration process in East Timor on 16 July.
At the same time, however, the United Nations also continues to underline its serious concerns about the prevailing
security environment in East Timor, and the need for the Indonesian Government to bring about an improvement on the
ground. In this respect, Australia notes with interest recent indications of Indonesian responsiveness to these concerns
- in particular the visit to Dili on 12 July by senior Indonesian ministers.
But a real improvement in the security climate is now needed to ensure that the UNAMET process stays on track.Australia
and the United Nations remain fully committed to the consultation process and will continue to exert the maximum effort
to see the ballot take place.