Thalif Deen, United Nations – A senior United Nations official reacted strongly Thursday to charges the UN's peacekeeping mission in East Timor is dominated by white people and Westerners.
"Let me tell you that I found the charges unfortunate and blown out of proportion in many ways," Under-Secrertary-General Sergio Vieira de Mello, head of the UN Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET), told reporters.
Vieira de Mello was reacting to comments made by his outgoing Chief of Staff, Nagalingam Parameswaran of Malaysia, who accused the United Nations of racism.
In his letter of resignation addressed to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan last week, the Malaysian diplomat said UNTAET has become "a white mission, an Eastern mission with a Western face."
Vieira de Mello noted he is a Brazilian national and that his other three senior officials were from Malaysia (until Parameswaran's resignation), New Zealand, and Thailand.
Vieira de Mello released a breakdown of staff by nationality showing that, of the 107 nationalities represented on the international staff of UNTAET, 22 percent were Europeans, 21 percent were from the Americas, 21 percent from Asia, 19 percent from Africa and 17 percent from other countries, in particular Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands.
Vieira de Mello said he had succeeded in maintaining a "geographical balance" in UNTAET. "I find it difficult to be more balanced than that," he said, adding that the mission would maintain its balance as it downsizes.
Last week, the New Straits Times newspaper of Kuala Lumpur quoted Parameswaran as saying: "I haven't received or heard anything from the UN. I don't think there are people [who agree with me] who would write similar letters like I did, because they are worried about their jobs. But I can [afford to do it], because I have a job to go back to." He also said that UNTAET had "internal problems" that reeked of "an intolerable" level of interference.
"When you have co-equals in the chain of command, and people who have been there for a shorter period of time interfere with key policies, it becomes very difficult," he said. With his resignation, he said, there were no high-level Asians represented in the mission.
"Malaysians are the best people really to interact with the East Timorese because they know Bahasa Melayu [the Malay language]. But there are more whites in this UN mission than any other I have known of in all my years with the United Nations," he added.
Parameswaran has appealed for a UN investigation of his charges. After all, he said, "doesn't the UN uphold multi-racial, multi-cultural and multi-religious principles?"
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said the explanation offered by Parameswaram justifies his decision to quit his UN job. But he said he would reserve final judgement until he got more details.
Vieira de Mello said he was taken aback by some of the "extreme comments and criticisms" in the Malaysian newspapers. "I think they were over the top, they were unfortunate, and certainly did not reflect Parameswaran's own thinking."
Jose Ramos-Horta, Nobel Laureate and Foreign Minister of East Timor, acknowledged Parameswaran's "hard work in East Timor" and commended him for his sensitivity towards the East Timorese people. But he refused to be dragged into what he called "public mudslinging".
"It is unfair to call the UN mission in East Timor a white mission, because many people from many nationalities have worked very hard here," he said.
UNTAET was established by the UN Security Council in October 1999 to oversee the independence of the former Indonesian colony, and monitor the elections for the creation of a new state. East Timor held its UN-supervised general elections in August last year.
Vieira de Mello said that UNTAET is preparing for presidential elections scheduled fr Apr. 14 and the appointment of members of the Commission on Reception, Truth and Reconciliation.