Leaked East Timor report not official, says UN

Terça-feira, 17 de Maio de 2011

ABC RADIO AUSTRALIA - 17-05-2011

The United Nation says a leaked document that accuses East Timor's Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao of consolidating power, is not the official position of the UN.

The UN mission in East Timor is planning its withdrawal after elections in 2012 and the leaked document came from a January meeting about that transition.

It outlined many weaknesses East Timor's institutions, and said consolidation of power with the prime minister may undermine the role of Parliament and the courts.

At a seminar in Dili on Tuesday, Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao rejected the UN report saying he remained committed to democracy and had never interfered with the judiciary.

A spokesman from his party, Dionisio Babo Soares, says the report was a blow for trust with the UN.

"We consider it as a personal attack," he said.

The United Nations Integrated Mission In Timor-Leste spokesman, Gyorgy Kakuk, says the document was just one of many assessments of the situation in the country.

"These papers help us share and consider different perspectives," he said.

East Timor will celebrate its ninth year of independence on May 20.