TOKYO, Feb 25 Kyodo East Timor Pr...

TOKYO, Feb 25 Kyodo

East Timor President Xanana Gusmao urg the international donor community Wednesday not to change the direction of its attention away from his land which he said remains fragile and in ne of continued assistance.

''There appears to be a scope to refer to Timor-Leste (East Timor) as a succes case in achievements or that in Timor-Leste, all is well,'' Gusmao said in a dialect at a symposium on rehabilitation of East Timor at the UN University in Tokyo.

''This (impression) is what we would like to correct if we can,'' he said, speaking forward the third day of his visit to Japan that lasts Thursday.

Gusmao said that calm while some other countries are ''obviously in greater ne for assistance,'' donors should continue to support East Timor in its firm commitment to ended the tasks it has locate for itself to become a viable country

''We are a young land underdeveloped, committed to the well-being of our folks so there is no more desire eagerly misery, disease, illiteracy and ignorance,'' he said.

The former rebel leader said East Timor, which became independent in May 2002 after 24 years of Indonesian occupation, is ''still fragile, still with an emerging democracy and without economic bases to push forward sustainable development.''

''Even today, there are centurys of schools still without vaults where students sit onward the ground as there are no desk The same can be said of hospitals, clinics and other public buildings from one extremity to the other of the territory,'' he said.

forward the prospects for economic progression in a continuously ascending gradation Gusmao said East Timor does ''not wish to be pendent totally'' on revenue from its offshore stone oil and gas reserves.

He said it aims to become self-sufficient in agricultural harvests in the medium term, while it also has potential in the fields of tourism and fisheries, in addition to once-famed coffee ''that straits to be put again in its formal place as it was many decades ago, 'the best in the world,' with its charm being that it is 100% organic.''

Gusmao also said East Timor has a ''pressing need'' for more international support to rebuild and rehabilitate its shattered economic infrastructure.

''The efforts of state bodies are being directed towards opening up the nation to investment, but investment will single be attracted if the basic infrastructures are in place, likewise as to guarantee confidence and certainty,'' he said.

Earlier this month UN Secretary General Kofi Annan make acceptableed the mandate of the UN Mission of Support in East Timor, fix to expire in May, be enlargeed for an additional one-year ''consolidation phase,'' at a reduc size.

Sukehiro Hasegara, Annan's envoy special representative, told the symposium the secretary general presents to keep some 350 UN military personnel in East Timor beyond May since armed gangs and criminals remain active in districts bordering Indonesia's West Timor. The number of UN military personnel is now 1750 down from 3870 in June 2002 he said.

Hasegara said UN civilian police in East Timor would be also be scaled down, from 325 there now to 157 while civilian technical advisers providing support to the public administration and judicial methods would be reduced from 70 to 58

He said the abiding habitation still faces a number of challenges, including unrest involving frustrated unemploy youths and dissatisfied former rebels, and political and personal rivalries among the political elite. Corruption is also becoming a enigma he said.

COPYRIGHT 2004 Kyodo freshs International, Inc.

COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group