Briefing Summary for Monday, 26 July 1999
Deputy Spokesman Hiro Ueki informed correspondents that immediately following his briefing there would be a briefing by the three Electoral Commissioners appointed by the Secretary-General - Patrick A. Bradley, Johann C. Kriegler and Bong-Scuk.Sohn.
The Special Representative Ian Martin is finalizing his mid-registration report, which will be submitted to New York today. The Secretary-General is expected to submit his recommendations to the Security Council by the end of the day (N.Y. time).
This morning all 200 registration centres are open. There was an incident in Maliana yesterday morning when approximately 20 to 30 militia appeared at the Balibo I and Balibo II registration centres and tried to register using one document. The DEOs at those centres refused to register them and the militia then threatened to return with additional men and destroy the registration centres. Mr. Ueki added that yesterday was a collection day and the centres were due to close at midday. Therefore the incident did not really aggravate the registration process. UNAMET requested the presence of Polri at the two centres which were re-opened this morning.
A correspondent asked if the militia in the Maliana incident were armed or if they destroyed anything. Mr. Ueki said he did not believe they were armed adding that there was no damage done to any UN property.
A correspondent asked if yesterday's incident was a spontaneous event or organized. The Deputy Spokesman said UNAMET had received reports of such a threat previously.
A correspondent asked whether there were many threats against UNAMET personnel in the countryside. Mr. Ueki said there have been some threats but he could not provide exact details.
A correspondent asked the Deputy Spokesman for an update on the situation of registering refugees, particularly in the area of Sare. He said UNAMET was sending a team to Sare today to assess the situation and to see how they can improve the access to registration centres by refugees. He added that the refugee problem is not in Sare alone and that UNAMET was assessing the overall refugee situation and would reinforce registration centres with additional DEOs where needed in order to cope with the large flow of refugees.
A correspondent asked what some of the difficulties were for refugees seeking to register. Mr. Ueki said that in some cases the distances are too far for them to get to registration centres and in some other cases they are afraid to come out because of the presence of militia.
Finally, a correspondent asked if UNAMET was aware of militia roadblocks on the road to Sare. Mr. Ueki said yes, and that UNAMET is looking into the matter.
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