S/PV.5843
5843rd meeting
Thursday, 21 February 2008, 10 a.m.
New York
The situation in Timor-Leste
Mr. Ettalhi (Libyan Arab Jamahiriya) (spoke in Arabic): I wish to express my deep gratitude to Mr. Guéhenno for his detailed briefing on the latest developments in Timor-Leste. I also commend the efforts of the Secretary-General and thank him for the information provided in his report.
I also thank Mr. Santos, Permanent Representative of Timor-Leste to the United Nations, for his statement, as well as our South African colleague for the critical role his country has played and for its efforts to draw up a draft resolution on extending the mandate of the United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT).
The report of the Secretary-General refers to progress made in terms of security in Timor-Leste, although the situation remains tenuous, as evidenced by the attacks on the President and the Prime Minister. The attacks sought to harm its immediate victims and the country as a whole, which had only just begun to restore calm and stability following last year’s elections. Libya therefore reiterates its firm condemnation of the attacks on the President and Prime Minister of Timor-Leste. We pray to God for President Ramos-Horta’s speedy recovery.
My country shares the Secretary-General’s view that the national police force of Timor-Leste requires further support in training and capacity-development if it is to fully shoulder its responsibilities for restoring order, which is under ongoing threat. The Timorese authorities need to develop a comprehensive approach to reforming the security sector in cooperation with UNMIT. That issue is of the highest priority and requires their full attention. We hope that the measures recently taken by the Government in that area, to which Mr. Guéhenno referred, will strengthen security and mark a positive step in that direction.
The Parliament and Government of Timor-Leste worked to ensure the success of last year’s elections and the establishment of democratic institutions. While duty-bound to commend those efforts, we remain concerned about the remaining differences because there has been no cooperation between the heads of the political parties, preventing the establishment of an agreed approach to such pending matters as the issue of internally displaced persons and the petitioners of the Timorese armed forces, among others. We therefore call on all Timorese parties to find common ground for launching a dialogue and reconciling so as to overcome the aforementioned differences. I would also like to welcome Mr. Guéhenno’s observation that the reaction of all parties and political groups to those deplorable attacks was in full respect for State institutions and for the constitution.
The report of the Secretary-General (S/2008/26) referred to several issues that must be addressed: poverty, continuing unemployment and socio-economic problems. There is also a need to improve coordination among security institutions, strengthen the legal framework and operational capacities and exert full control over all forces on the ground. We therefore call on the United Nations and UNMIT to cooperate with local authorities in order to achieve those goals.
We very much appreciate the observations contained in the Secretary-General’s report. We, of course, agree with him that efforts must be intensified in order to bolster dialogue, restore calm, ease tensions, bring about national reconciliation, strengthen national institutions and achieve national reconciliation. We also endorse his recommendation that UNMIT’s mandate be extended for a further 12 months.
Last but not least, we commend the efforts of Mr. Atul Khare and UNMIT to build up Timor-Leste’s national political, economic and security institutions.
