Assembly signs Constitution into force.

• Author: Rutsch, Horst
• Position: Peacewatch: East Timor

East Timor's Constituent Assembly on 22 March signed into force the territory's first-ever Constitution after six months of drafting, consultation and debate. The 170-article Constitution was officially approved by a nominal role call, with 72 of the 88 Assembly members voting in favour and 14 against; one member abstained while another was absent. Each of the 88 members signed the Constitution afterwards at a ceremony attended by the head of the United Nations Transitional Administration (UNTAET), Sergio Vieira de Mello, Deputy Administrator Dennis McNamara, presidential candidates Xanana Gusmao and Xavier do Amaral, Deputy Speaker of the Assembly, Government officials, diplomats and representatives of civil society.

Continuing a trend that began with a record number of returnees in March, nearly 2,000 refugees returned to East Timor from refugee camps in West Timor, Indonesia, during the first five days of April. Since October 1999, over 200,000 East Timorese refugees have been repatriated, with an estimated 60,000 refugees remaining in the camps across the border.

An East Timorese special panel for serious crimes on 28 March sentenced a former militia member to four years in prison for his role in a murder during the violent aftermath of the 1999 UN-run popular consultation. The three-member panel of judges sent Mahidi militia Anigio de Oliviera to prison after he was found guilty of being an accomplice to the murder of Fernando Gomes in Ainaro district on 5 September 1999. It was the first decision handed down by the panel, one of two currently deliberating serious crime cases being pursued by prosecutors with UNTAET.

On 25 March, UNTAET and the territory's transitional government released a policy paper on how to deal with returning refugees suspected of committing crimes during the 1999 popular consultation, assuring alleged offenders that they will have full rights to a free and fair trial". The four-page "Policy on Justice and Return Procedures in East Timor" clarifies the existing procedures, in order to provide returning refugees with an understanding of the new justice structures of East Timor. Returning refugees suspected of committing...