PM to see flag raised on world's newest nation

8:45 am

Prime Minister Helen Clark is to hold talks with East Timor's president Xanana Gusmao as she goes to see the flag raised on the world's newest nation.

Miss Clark arrives in East Timor this afternoon and will be one of around 750 VIPs from about 90 delegations to witness the handover as East Timor celebrates its independence.

United Nations secretary general Kofi Annan will hand over power at midnight and the East Timorese flag, also the flag of the resistance movement, will be raised.

Also expected at the celebrations are former United States president Bill Clinton, who was in power when the East Timorese voted overwhelming for independence in 1999, Australian prime minister John Howard and Indonesian president Megawati Sukarnoputri.

Mrs Megawati is scheduled to make a three-hour stopover in what is seen as a gesture of reconciliation after Indonesia's harsh 24-year rule of the tiny territory.

Pro-Indonesian militia and Indonesia troops went on the rampage after the independence vote killing hundreds, ransacking the capital Dili and forcing more than 250,000 refugees across the border into West Timor.

Since the 1999 poll, the United Nations has administered the country of around 800,000 people while steps were taken towards independence.

New Zealand has provided peacekeepers and also expertise including in policing, customs and courts as East Timor began establishing the necessary infrastructure to govern itself.

That infrastructure is still scant on the ground and Miss Clark's delegation has been warned to be patient and expect long delays in getting around during the celebrations that more than 100,000 East Timorese are also expected to attend.

Rather than a hotel, Miss Clark's accommodation on the night will be the office and home -- Kiwi House -- of New Zealand's sole diplomatic representative in East Timor. The rest of the delegation, including the parents of Private Leonard Manning -- who was murdered while on patrol in East Timor -- is staying in Defence Force barracks in Dili.

As well as Mr Gusmao, a former resistance fighter, Miss Clark is also expected to hold talks with foreign minister and Nobel Peace Prize winner Jose Ramos Horta. She may also meet Mr Annan and East Timor's prime minister Mari Alkatiri.

Miss Clark has said the night's events would be a "celebration befitting the birth of a new nation".

It had been a long struggle for the East Timorese to gain independence and the many East Timorese who died and the many more who suffered must not be forgotten, she said.

The UN is reducing its operations there as it formally hands over power to East Timor's new leaders. New Zealand is also scaling back its peacekeeping force.

The first New Zealand peacekeepers went to the troubled territory in 1999 -- as one of 17 countries to initially contribute to the 9000-strong Interfet mission.

At the peak, up to 900 New Zealand soldiers were in East Timor at one time. About 700 personnel are there now.

Come November, most will have come home. Miss Clark told NZPA recently that New Zealand would continue to have a small presence in East Timor -- this could be similar to its contribution in Bosnia, where 26 peacekeepers were stationed.

A defence official said a paper was going to cabinet in July outlining options for the New Zealand contribution from November.

On Monday, Miss Clark will visit New Zealand troops based at Suai.

While security is no longer the issue it was, the problems are not over for East Timor. As Asia's poorest country, it will rely heavily on overseas aid for some years to come.

It recently received aid pledges from international donors of US$360 million ($NZ794m). New Zealand has budgeted $10m in aid over four years.

In 1999, New Zealand aid projects focused on humanitarian relief and emergency assistance.

Now, it is directed at longer term activities -- such as basic education and community development. For instance, in conjunction with Unicef, New Zealand aid money is helping set up a pre-school based on kohanga reo systems where New Zealand will assist with the curriculum at the Portuguese-language centre.

Foreign Affairs Minister Phil Goff and his associate Matt Robson are also part of the prime minister's party. Mr Robson intends staying on a couple of extra days to visit schools and see New Zealand aid projects in the regions.

Miss Clark returns to New Zealand on Tuesday after an overnight stop in Darwin.

- NZPA

Feature: Indonesia and East Timor

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