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East Timor progressing towards independence
East Timor Foreign Minister Jose Ramos says the country is progressing towards independence while also working to bring perpetrators of 1999's horrific crimes to justice.
On September 20, the first all-local cabinet was sworn in, and Mr Ramos Horta expressed optimism that by December, that 18-member council will have drafted a constitution.
It will loosely base governance on the Portugese system with clear separation of powers between the executive and judicial branches and the constitution will have a special emphasis on human rights.
Mr Ramos Horta says some 60,000 to 80,000 refugees remain in Indonesia, though he noted that nearly 190,000 had returned, thanks in part to the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
But for those who have committed atrocities against the East Timorese, including those still in the squalid refugee camps in West Timor the UN Deputy Transitional Administrator Dennis McNamara has strong warnings.
He says anyone indictable, if they return to East Timor, must expect to face charges based on their former actions.
3/10/01 10:46:14 | ABC Radio Australia News
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