Acting for a speedy independence, the National Council of Timorese Resistance (CNRT) has proposed the creation of a joint commission with the territory's transitional United Nations administration to prepare a constitutional conference next year.

CNRT Vice President Jose Ramos Horta announced the initiative Wednesday during a seminar on Timorese, Indonesian and European Union relations in Bogor, Indonesia. He said the proposal had already been presented to UNTAET chief Sergio Vieira de Mello.

"I don't know when [East] Timor may declare its independence. Perhaps August 30, 2001, or later. But we must have essential conditions in place before this, namely the formation of democratic and political institutions," Ramos Horta told Lusa.

He said the CNRT had altered its plans for a lengthy transition to independence, which some Timorese leaders had put at up to 10 years, because donors backing reconstruction "frowned" at a long timetable. "But when we speak of an 18-month or two-year transition, they are pleased," he added.

East Timor voted for independence from Indonesia last year in an August 30 plebiscite, which was followed by an anti-independence rampage led by militia groups with Indonesian military backing.

Ramos Horta also underlined that given the small size of the Territory's population – with only some 400,000 adults, he said, the CNRT wanted the future constitution "analyzed and understood by each individual."