Agence France-Presse
January 8, 2002
Senior UN official in East Timor quits in protest
One of the top United Nations officials running East Timor has resigned,
complaining of poor morale, interference in management and a lack of senior
Asians in the UN administration.
Malaysian N. Parameswaran told AFP Tuesday he had quit as Chief of Staff
of
the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET)
and
would leave his post Sunday.
In his resignation letter to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, a copy
of which
was obtained by AFP, Parameswaran alleges that interference from UNTAET
deputy administrator Dennis McNamara hampered his efforts to bring home
refugees.
He says UNTAET "has become very much a 'white' mission, an Eastern
mission
with a Western face."
His resignation comes just over four months before the former Indonesian
province attains full independence on May 20.
Parameswaran, a Malaysian career diplomat for 32 years, complained that
his
job functions changed constantly after he took over his post in January
2000
and that he was often sidelined.
"Even though I am at the second level of command... and had to take
charge of
the mission on various occasions, I was often excluded from key policy
decisions made in the mission."
The Malaysian diplomat says in his letter that "a select group of
junior
officers" was empowered to undertake important responsibilities far
beyond
their levels.
"This has undermined the chain of command and the standing and authority
of
the senior officers, contributing also to demoralisation."
Parameswaran said he worked closely for a year with East Timorese
independence leader Xanana Gusmao on various ways to promote refugee returns
and reconciliation.
"My functions relating to refugee returns were encroached upon by
the new
Deputy SRSG (McNamara) and his 'Senior Adviser" whom he brought along
with
him, among others.
"My reconciliation efforts were similarly affected by his intervention
in the
work of the Serious Crimes Unit in the Prosecutor General's Office."
Parameswaran alleges political interference in the prosecution authority
and
adds: "In my view, the Serious Crimes Unit today is virtually decimated."
McNamara, a New Zealander, took over in July as deputy to Sergio Vieira
De
Mello, whose official title is special representative of the secretary
general (SRSG).
In the months surrounding East Timor's August 1999 vote for independence
from
Indonesia, pro-Jakarta militias backed by the Indonesian military went
on a
bloody rampage.
They killed hundreds of people, burned towns to the ground, destroyed
80
percent of the half-island's infrastructure and forced or led more than
a
quarter of a million villagers into Indonesian-ruled West Timor.
The Serious Crimes Unit is charged with bringing offenders to justice
in East
Timor.
The UN took over the running of the ruined territory in October 1999
to
prepare it for independence.