East Timor to get Olympic broadcasts

Sydney: The people of East Timor will get to see the Olympics after all thanks to the help of an Australian broadcaster.

Hours before Friday's opening ceremony that will see four East Timorese athletes parade into the stadium, Seven Network said it had stepped into the breach to ensure broadcasts to the ravaged territory.

"We think it's just great that everyone in Timor can cheer on their athletes and enjoy the Olympics as well," said a spokeswoman for the broadcaster, Fiona Hamann.

She said the signal would be available only from Saturday but that an edited recording of Friday night's ceremony would be made available.The announcement is also good news for Australian and other peacekeeping troops in East Timor.

Rights to broadcast Olympic events to East Timor are held by the Asian Broadcasting Union, but Seven Network said the ABU had been unable to supply comprehensive coverage for technical reasons.

The East Timor athletes in Sydney will march as individuals behind an Olympic flag and will have a place of honour in the ceremony just ahead of the Australian host team.

The former Portuguese colony voted to break away from Indonesian rule last year in a referendum that was followed by a wave of killings and destruction by pro-Indonesian militia. The territory is under United Nations administration.



(c) Reuters Limited.