08 September 1999

Bonn, Germany: Some 500 district electoral officers and medical personnel fielded by the Bonn-based United Nations Volunteers programme ahead of East Timor’s “popular consultation” ballot on 30 August are currently safe in Darwin, Australia, or have been repatriated.  The last group left the territorial capital Dili on Tuesday amid widespread violence near the UN compound and throughout the territory.

Three UN volunteers, including a doctor and a nurse, have remained behind in Dili while some 60 are on stand-by in Darwin for an eventual return to the former Portuguese colony to work in the areas of civil affairs or humanitarian relief. All UNVs are safe, according to UNV officials.

The ballot saw more than 98 per cent of registered voters participate in a decision on the territory's political future. Some 78.5 per cent of voters favoured independence from Indonesia. The total population of the territory is about 800,000.