From June 14-15 2001, Canberra will host the international donor meeting on East Timor. The third such gathering since the territory's independence ballot in 1999, this meeting takes place in the lead-up to national elections in East Timor, scheduled for August.
On June 13, ACFOA will also be hosting a number of activities in the lead-up to the donor meeting.
The HON LAURIE BRERETON, Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs, will launch the first ever guide to East Timor's political parties. 10am: Parliament, House Committee Room 1R3. Mr Brereton will also talk about Labor's policy on East Timor. A guest speaker will be Mr Klaus Roland, World Bank Director, East Asia and the Pacific. Copies of the report, East Timor's Political Parties and Groupings, researched and written by ACFOA, will be available at the launch.
PRESS CONFERENCE: East Timorese NGOs on the elections and independence 2pm: Australian Council for Overseas Aid, 14 Napier Close, Deakin. The Australian Council for Overseas Aid (ACFOA) is hosting three senior East Timorese non-government organisation representatives who will be in Canberra to attend the donor meeting.
Speakers: Mr Arsenio Bano, Director East Timor NGO Forum Mr Aderito Soares, Coordinator, East Timor Jurists Association Ms Aziza Magno, East Timor Women's Network
The East Timorese will discuss concerns over the openness and pluralism of whichever new East Timorese Government emerges from the August vote. They will call on donors to help ensure that the process of building democracy in East Timor goes beyond the first election. They will also speak on the need for a tribunal to prosecute perpetrators of serious human rights abuses.
For more information or to arrange an interview contact: Jim Redden 0414 257 446 Andrew Nette 0438 026277