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STORY: TIMOR-LESTE / REFERENDUM ANNIVERSARY ADVANCER
TRT: 2.26
SOURCE: UNTV / UNMIT
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: RECENT, NEW YORK CITY/ FILE
FILE –1999, DILI, TIMOR LESTE
1. Med shot, people waiting in line to vote
2. Med shot, woman voting
3. Med shot, woman voting
4. Wide shot, Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão voting
5. Med shot, Jose Ramos Horta voting
30 JULY 2009, NEW YORK CITY
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Ban Ki-moon, United Nations Secretary-General:
“On this day [30 August] ten years ago, the world watched in admiration as the Timorese people exercised their right to self-determination, showed their commitment to democracy and courageously chose their future through the ballot. After decades of violence and despair, this peaceful step was a deeply moving event. But after the results were announced, terrible destruction was unleashed, leaving Timor-Leste with major economic, political and social challenges.”
FILE –1999, DILI, TIMOR LESTE
7. Various shots post-election violence
8. Various shots, buildings on fire
9. Tracking shot, destroyed buildings
30 JULY 2009, NEW YORK CITY
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Ban Ki-moon, United Nations Secretary-General:
“Nation-building has not been easy. There have been setbacks. Timor-Leste faced a crisis in 2006, and asked the United Nations and the international community for more support.”
FILE - UNMIT – 11 FEBRUARY 2008, DILI, TIMOR LESTE
11. Various shots, Prime Minister's damaged vehicle with marks of bullets
12. Various shots, plane taking President Ramos-Horta to Darwin
FILE - UNMIT – 14 FEBRUARY 2008, DILI, TIMOR LESTE
13. Close up, women crying at Alfredo Reinado's funeral
30 AUGUST 2009 (VIDEOTAPED ON 30 JULY), NEW YORK CITY
14. SOUNDBITE (English) Ban Ki-moon, United Nations Secretary-General:
“We will continue to support your efforts to build a prosperous, inclusive society, based on democracy, rule of law, human dignity and respect for the human rights of all the country’s people.”
FILE – DATE UNKOWN, DILI, TIMOR LESTE
15. Various shots, people at Dili market
This Sunday (30 August) marks the ten-year anniversary of the historic referendum in East Timor in 1999, which led to independence from Indonesia and Timor-Leste’s emergence as the first new sovereign state of the 21st century three years later.
Marking the anniversary with a video message to the Timorese people, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon recalled how that day ten years ago “the Timorese people exercised their right to self-determination, showed their commitment to democracy and courageously chose their future through the ballot”.
He congratulated the Timorese people that “after decades of violence and despair” the country moved towards independence by peaceful means, even though East Timor lapsed back into violence after the results of the consultation were announced, leaving the country that was later officially named ‘Timor-Leste’ “with major economic, political and social challenges.”
Violence erupted in 1999 outside the United Nations Mission in East Timor (UNAMET) compound in Dili as militia members attacked pro-independence supporters. Journalists witnessing the incidents sought refuge at UNAMET headquarters, along with several hundred internally displaced persons.
Ban said that since formal independence in 2002, “nation-building has not been easy” due to several setbacks, including a political crisis in 2006 when the Timorese government “asked the United Nations and the international community for more support” and the current peacekeeping mission, the United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT) was established.
In 2008 Timorese President José Ramos-Horta was shot at his residence in Dili. Approximately one hour later, a convoy of Timor-Leste Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão was also attacked by unidentified gunmen.
The fugitive Alfredo Reinado who led the attack on the president, was shot and killed by Timorese security forces during the incident. An estimated 2,000 people attended his funeral.
Secretary-General Ban emphasized that the United Nations “will continue to support” Timor Leste’s efforts “to build a prosperous, inclusive society, based on democracy, rule of law, human dignity and respect for the human rights of all the country’s people.”
98.6 per cent of registered voters turned out to vote for the historic ballot on 30 August 1999. Counting began on 31 August and was completed in the early hours of 4 September. Secretary-General Kofi Annan read the results of the ballot in New York at the same time as Ian Martin, his Special Representative, read out the statement in Dili: 94,388, or 21.5 per cent, in favor and 344,580, or 78.5 per cent against the proposed special autonomy.
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