Dili – The United Nations' top police officer arrived in troubled East Timor Saturday, saying he had little time to set up crucial security arrangements for an Aug. 8 ballot on the future of the crisis-wracked territory.
The start of his weeklong assessment mission coincided with a big show of force by militia groups opposed to independence and blamed for the deaths of dozens of civilians in recent weeks.
"Although the timeframe is short, we will manage ... we are moving fast," said Om Rathor, the chief police adviser to the world body.
He is the first UN security official to come to Dili, the territorial capital, since Indonesia and Portugal, East Timor's former colonial master, signed an agreement last week authorizing the United Nations to hold the ballot.
The poll will allow the territory's people to choose whether their homeland should become an autonomous region within Indonesia or totally independent.
Under the agreement, the UN will deploy civilian police advisers from several countries to help Indonesian police maintain law and order. A key function will be the disarmament of rival factions that are either for or against independence.
Rathor said the size of the UN police force had not been determined, "but it most probably would be between 250 to 300."
He said "senior and competent police from several nations" would make up the contingent. It had not been decided whether officers would be armed. Nor had it been decided when the officers would arrive in East Timor, he said. Hundreds of UN poll monitors and other officials will also be sent in to supervise voting.
Indonesia invaded East Timor in 1975 and annexed it a year later. Since then it has endured guerrilla war and widespread human rights abuses by Indonesia's military.
In a surprise policy reversal last January, Indonesia said it would consider letting go of East Timor if most of its people rejected the offer of autonomy.
Violence has escalated across East Timor in recent months with the rise of anti-independence militia groups who are accused of killing dozens of civilians.
Independence activists claim a small contingent of police advisers will not be enough to guarantee security and have called for the deployment of UN peacekeeping troops.
Rathor is expected to hold talks with Indonesian military and police officers as well as local political figures next week before returning to New York to report to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
Annan is expected to recommend the size and mandate of the UN presence in East Timor to the UN Security Council on May 24.
Rathor said the Indonesian government "has entered into an agreement to provide complete protection and security" for the UN ballot. "We will assess the situation," he said.
Meanwhile about 4,000 villagers attended a peaceful anti-independence rally in Liqicia, about 40 kilometers east of Dili, Saturday.
Organizers said the majority of people in the region around the town wanted to stay part of Indonesia. However, several people in the crowd told reporters they had been coerced into attending.
During Saturday's ceremony, several militia leaders handed over some weapons to local police and called on pro-independence guerrillas to do the same.