East Timor's displaced plea not to be ignored

DILI, June 29 (Reuters) East Timorese still taking refuge in squalid camps after fleeing their homes more than a year ago, when the tiny nation descended into chaos, say they want the next government to act swiftly to end their misery.

The former Portuguese colony holds parliamentary polls tomorrow, which may help bring more stability in a nation still showing deep divisions, but none of the 14 parties contesting the vote seem to have a clear vision for the displaced.

''This is not normal as human beings, living here for one-and-a-half years,'' said Leopoldo Pinto, speaking in his make-shift shelter in a dusty square in the heart of the capital.

The 50-year-old father of seven, dressed in a grey T-shirt and yellow sandals, said he arrived in the camp on May 4 last year after his home on the outskirts of Dili was burnt to the ground because he originated from the east of the country.

''The leaders just want to change their posts but do not want to change things for us,'' he added, drawing on a clove cigarette.

About 150,000 people were driven from their homes last year during violence that erupted after the army tore apart on regional lines.

The trouble spilled over into widespread communal violence, only stemmed when foreign troops were brought in.

There are now about 4,000 people living in the Jardim Colmera camp close to the port and flanked by the posh Hotel Timor.

They are among the estimated 10 percent of East Timor's million people still in camps or taking refuge with relatives.

A recent report by the International Crisis Group said the issue was unlikely to be high on the agenda in the election.

''All parties agree they must go home, but none seem to have a concrete plan for helping them do so, either by building new homes or reducing the threat against those afraid to return.'' PERMANENT CAMPS? Maria Frietas, a young woman heavily pregnant with her second child, said she was worried about the birth.

''It will be very difficult,'' she said, speaking outside her shelter made of plastic sheeting and corrugated iron.

She said the shelter was very hot and water flooded to ankle-height during the wet season, but she was still too afraid to go back to her home in Manienana, a district in Dili.

As the months have gone by, many of the shelters have been rigged with power and in one part of the camp, a group of young men crowded around a television to watch a soccer game.

While scruffy-haired children played nearby, women collected water from two containers next to a statue in the square built to promote integration when the country was under Indonesian rule.

East Timor voted to break from Indonesia after a UN sponsored vote in 1999 and got full independence in 2002.

The next government faces huge challenges, particularly how to ease chronic poverty and cut unemployment, both of which have helped encourage a culture of gang violence to flourish.

The election is widely seen as a showdown between Fretilin and CNRT, a party launched by charismatic resistance hero Gusmao, who after serving as president now wants the more hands-on post of prime minister.

Dili appeared calm today, with UN police in white SUVs patrolling and young men selling fish on the beach front.

Atul Khare, UN special envoy to East Timor, told a news conference on Thursday there had been 46 campaign related incidents over the month-long campaigning period, mostly minor.

The most serious incident was the shooting dead of two Gusmao backers in Viqueque district in early June, while UN police fired tear gas yesterday to break up rival political supporters who had been throwing rocks at each other.

REUTERS SLD BST1105