World Bank money starts to flow into East Timor
DILI: The head of the World Bank signed the agency's first grant agreement
with East Timor on Monday, while dismissing allegations that past aid had
been used to fund anti-independence militias there.
World Bank President James Wolfensohn formally handed over an aid grant
worth dlrs 22 million during a visit to Dili, East Timor's capital.
The money will help rebuild the former Indonesian province, which was
devastated by a wave of violence after the majority of its people voted for
independence in a U.N.-supervised ballot last year.
Wolfensohn dismissed Australian media reports suggesting that World Bank aid
allocated to the former regime in Indonesia might have been used to fund
anti-independence militias responsible for the destruction and bloodshed.
"The issue of whether the Indonesians paid the militias is an issue which is
an important and separate issue. But it's not an issue of the World Bank,
and I wish the story would go away," he said.
The World Bank chief was backed on this matter by East Timorese independence
leader Jose Alexandre "Xanana" Gusmao, who said it was impossible to know
who funded the militias.
Gusmao, who was imprisoned seven years in Jakarta for leading a guerrilla
campaign against Indonesia, said the money could have come from wealthy
Indonesian generals supportive of the militias' cause.
"They have big bank accounts. They have businesses, which is why I cannot
say that it was World Bank money or money from the generals (which paid the
militias)," Gusmao said.
The latest World Bank funding will be spent on cultural projects, including
the documentation of oral history and developing a theater in Dili for
traditional performances.
It was the first installment of dlrs 500 million promised by the
international community to help rebuild to the devastated territory.
Gusmao said the aid would help to solve the many social and economic
problems in the territory, including massive unemployment. (AP)
For reprint rights: Times Syndication Service
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