11 June 2007 View all news | Send to a friend | Print
By Tito Belo
An East Timor fugitive army rebel said he would personally seek out those behind last year's violence if the government refuses to negotiate with him immediately.
Alfredo Reinado escaped last August along with 50 other inmates from a prison where he was being held on charges of involvement in a wave of violence that killed 37 people and drove 150,000 from their homes earlier that year.
"I insist East Timor authorities must hold dialogue as soon as possible, so that we can resolve the problems," Reinado told Reuters by telephone from his hideout.
"We have been very patient but if they delay the dialogue we will lose our patience. We will come down to the town to capture the perpetrators of the crisis," the former military police chief said, referring to last year's violence.
Reinado said he and his followers would not lay down arms.
"I am not a thief but I am still an active member of East Timor's defence force. We are defending the dignity of the military and are serving the nation," he said.
Reinado, East Timor's former military police chief, has been accused of raiding a police post and making off with 25 automatic weapons while on the run.
He managed to evade a raid by Australian-led troops in March, which caused thousands of his supporters to protest in the capital.
Reinado said he would only turn himself in once the ruling Fretilin party is no longer in power and foreign troops sent into East Timor after last year's violence are out of the country.
President Jose Ramos-Horta said he believed Reinado should face justice. "I told you, Alfredo Reinado's case is complicated because it is about justice, but the negotiation continues," he told reporters.
"I have given the opportunity to prosecutors and bishops to negotiate with Alfredo Reinado, so that he can face justice because we only get justice from a court, not through a political compromise," Ramos-Horta said.
Ramos-Horta, a Nobel peace prize winner who spent years abroad as a spokesman for East Timor's struggle for independence from Indonesian occupation, was installed as president last month.
His victory has raised hopes of greater stability in a nation still struggling to heal divisions five years after it won independence from Indonesia.
Brought to you by REUTERS
© REUTERS 2007
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
E Timor defiant on boost to forces
E Timor defiant on boost to forces
Mark Dodd
June 14, 2007
EAST Timor's Prime Minister has thumbed his nose at Australia by announcing plans to give military chiefs free rein to spend millions of dollars raised from oil and gas fields to upgrade the country's defence force.
Just a week after Foreign Minister Alexander Downer called on the impoverished nation to spend money on infrastructure, not weapons, Prime Minister Estanislau da Silva has endorsed pre-election military spending and argued the armed forces should have more autonomy on procurement.
While Mr Downer said last night he was confident the plan would not proceed, Mr da Silva has told East Timorese reporters that the Timor Defence Force should manage its own finance and recruitment and should pursue development of its assets.
This would weaken the current system, under which parliament oversees defence procurement.
The news triggered a warning from defence expert Bob Lowry that the tiny nation could descend into chaos if it spent its scarce resources on weapons and allowed the watering down of good governance standards.
The Australian revealed last week that East Timor had produced the equivalent of a defence white paper outlining a plan for big military spending.
Mr da Silva said: "The head of the Government agrees with F-FDTL (the defence force) on the question of financial procurement, which should be the responsibility of the defence ministry in order to allow it to improve its work. To continue this program (Force 2020), attention needs to be given to purchasing new equipment, including a naval component allowing the F-FDTL to operate in East Timorese waters."
The 2020 report, prepared without the advice of Australian defence officials or others helping keep security in East Timor, recommended the purchase of several missile-equipped corvette-class warships to enforce the country's vulnerable maritime zone.
Last night, Mr Downer played down the Prime Minister's remarks, linking them to electioneering ahead of a national poll on June 30.
"I am confident Force 2020 will not happen as East Timor does not have the resources to deliver such a large military," he said. "Australian and international defence advisers are working with their East Timorese counterparts on the 2007-2010 force development plan to develop realistic capabilities."
Mr Lowry, an expert consultant in Southeast Asian politics and defence, warned the events pointed to a real danger that East Timor's fragile democracy could be derailed.
"Some people in the Australian defence community over there (East Timor) are saying, 'don't get too worried, it's just an aspirational doctrine'. But the trouble with these sort of things (defence plans) is, they do infiltrate themselves into the political system.
"Anyone with half a brain would know there is only one role for the (East Timor) military - if they decide to have one - and that is to back up the police."
Mark Dodd
June 14, 2007
EAST Timor's Prime Minister has thumbed his nose at Australia by announcing plans to give military chiefs free rein to spend millions of dollars raised from oil and gas fields to upgrade the country's defence force.
Just a week after Foreign Minister Alexander Downer called on the impoverished nation to spend money on infrastructure, not weapons, Prime Minister Estanislau da Silva has endorsed pre-election military spending and argued the armed forces should have more autonomy on procurement.
While Mr Downer said last night he was confident the plan would not proceed, Mr da Silva has told East Timorese reporters that the Timor Defence Force should manage its own finance and recruitment and should pursue development of its assets.
This would weaken the current system, under which parliament oversees defence procurement.
The news triggered a warning from defence expert Bob Lowry that the tiny nation could descend into chaos if it spent its scarce resources on weapons and allowed the watering down of good governance standards.
The Australian revealed last week that East Timor had produced the equivalent of a defence white paper outlining a plan for big military spending.
Mr da Silva said: "The head of the Government agrees with F-FDTL (the defence force) on the question of financial procurement, which should be the responsibility of the defence ministry in order to allow it to improve its work. To continue this program (Force 2020), attention needs to be given to purchasing new equipment, including a naval component allowing the F-FDTL to operate in East Timorese waters."
The 2020 report, prepared without the advice of Australian defence officials or others helping keep security in East Timor, recommended the purchase of several missile-equipped corvette-class warships to enforce the country's vulnerable maritime zone.
Last night, Mr Downer played down the Prime Minister's remarks, linking them to electioneering ahead of a national poll on June 30.
"I am confident Force 2020 will not happen as East Timor does not have the resources to deliver such a large military," he said. "Australian and international defence advisers are working with their East Timorese counterparts on the 2007-2010 force development plan to develop realistic capabilities."
Mr Lowry, an expert consultant in Southeast Asian politics and defence, warned the events pointed to a real danger that East Timor's fragile democracy could be derailed.
"Some people in the Australian defence community over there (East Timor) are saying, 'don't get too worried, it's just an aspirational doctrine'. But the trouble with these sort of things (defence plans) is, they do infiltrate themselves into the political system.
"Anyone with half a brain would know there is only one role for the (East Timor) military - if they decide to have one - and that is to back up the police."
UN ENVOY TO TIMOR-LESTE URGES DEMOCRATIC ELECTION PROCESS
Press Release - UN News Center
Jun 12 2007
With campaigning for Timor-Leste's parliamentary elections in full swing, the senior United Nations envoy to the country today called on all concerned to ensure a democratic process.
"It is important that campaign messages be delivered freely, fairly and without violence or intimidation or misuse of state resources," he said in a news release.
So far, only four of the more than 150 campaign activities held across Timor-Leste by the 16 political parties have been marred by violent incidents, according to the UN Integrated Mission there (UNMIT).
Mr. Khare stressed that the 30 June elections should have a restorative and unifying impact and must not lead to divisiveness.
In view of a number of security incidents that occurred during this campaigning period, the Special Representative reminded all political players that justice and the rule of law will be upheld. "Those who break the law and use political campaigning as an opportunity to indulge in criminal activity will continue to be dealt with swiftly by police in Timor-Leste," Mr. Khare said.
UNMIT is mandated by the Security Council to support Timor-Leste in all aspects of the 2007 presidential and parliamentary electoral process.
Jun 12 2007
With campaigning for Timor-Leste's parliamentary elections in full swing, the senior United Nations envoy to the country today called on all concerned to ensure a democratic process.
"It is important that campaign messages be delivered freely, fairly and without violence or intimidation or misuse of state resources," he said in a news release.
So far, only four of the more than 150 campaign activities held across Timor-Leste by the 16 political parties have been marred by violent incidents, according to the UN Integrated Mission there (UNMIT).
Mr. Khare stressed that the 30 June elections should have a restorative and unifying impact and must not lead to divisiveness.
In view of a number of security incidents that occurred during this campaigning period, the Special Representative reminded all political players that justice and the rule of law will be upheld. "Those who break the law and use political campaigning as an opportunity to indulge in criminal activity will continue to be dealt with swiftly by police in Timor-Leste," Mr. Khare said.
UNMIT is mandated by the Security Council to support Timor-Leste in all aspects of the 2007 presidential and parliamentary electoral process.
Gusmao's party tipped to win Timor polls despite lack of policies: ICG
http://nationmultimedia.com/worldhotnews/read.php?newsid=30036768
Jakarta - The new party of East Timor's ex-president Xanana Gusmao appears likely to head a government after parliamentary polls this month despite a lack of policies to lure voters, a report said Wednesday.
The International Crisis Group said that ahead of the June 30 polls, personalities rather than party platforms were swaying East Timor's voters and that no party was offering concrete solutions to the tiny country's problems.
Gusmao, a former independence fighter who remains popular across the impoverished half-island nation, has formed a new party in a bid to take the prime ministership after stepping down as president last month.
But his party, the Congresso Nacional De Reconstrucao de Timor-Leste (CNRT), "has a poorly developed structure, no policies and little more going for it than its leader's charisma," the ICG report said.
"That, however, may be sufficient," it added, noting that based on last month's presidential polls, the CNRT is likely to win 20 to 25 per cent of the vote and then ally with smaller parties to form a parliamentary majority.
Gusmao's ally, President and Nobel peace laureate Jose Ramos-Horta, won 22 per cent of the vote in the first round and 69 per cent of the presidential run-off.
A CNRT-led coalition, the Brussels-based think tank said, would be more consultative and transparent than the Fretilin-led government of Mari Alkatiri, though it may be less cohesive and less competent in economic management.
Of all the parties contesting the polls, only Fretilin, the ICG said, "seems to have any understanding of the complex technical issues involved in management of revenues and regulation of the petroleum sector."
East Timor has more than one billion dollars from oil and gas revenues locked away in a Petroleum Fund, and a debate over how, and how quickly, the money should be spent has emerged.
Fretilin has dominated parliament since East Timor officially gained independence from Indonesia after decades of occupation in 2002.
Alkatiri was forced however to resign last year amid unrest in the wake of his sacking of around a third of the army.
Street battles between rival security factions led to at least 37 deaths and forced Dili to ask for international peacekeepers to be dispatched to restore a fragile calm.
The ICG said that a CNRT-led coalition would be in a better position to address the political and social divides exposed by last year's bloodshed and more open to advice on how to rebuild and strengthen national institutions.
"But implementation of programmes... will depend not just on political will, but also on professional skills," it warned.
The ICG noted that Gusmao was not widely seen as a promising prime minister "because of his impatience with detail, among other things," so his advisers are recommending he have two deputies.
The report also warned that while presidential elections were largely peaceful, "accusations and inflammatory rhetoric may feature heavily in the parliamentary campaign in a way that could heighten tensions and lead to more violence."
Nevertheless, the fact that the presidential vote took place with few serious incidents showed that the country may emerge from last year's crisis more easily than first thought, it concluded.
Agence France Presse
Jakarta - The new party of East Timor's ex-president Xanana Gusmao appears likely to head a government after parliamentary polls this month despite a lack of policies to lure voters, a report said Wednesday.
The International Crisis Group said that ahead of the June 30 polls, personalities rather than party platforms were swaying East Timor's voters and that no party was offering concrete solutions to the tiny country's problems.
Gusmao, a former independence fighter who remains popular across the impoverished half-island nation, has formed a new party in a bid to take the prime ministership after stepping down as president last month.
But his party, the Congresso Nacional De Reconstrucao de Timor-Leste (CNRT), "has a poorly developed structure, no policies and little more going for it than its leader's charisma," the ICG report said.
"That, however, may be sufficient," it added, noting that based on last month's presidential polls, the CNRT is likely to win 20 to 25 per cent of the vote and then ally with smaller parties to form a parliamentary majority.
Gusmao's ally, President and Nobel peace laureate Jose Ramos-Horta, won 22 per cent of the vote in the first round and 69 per cent of the presidential run-off.
A CNRT-led coalition, the Brussels-based think tank said, would be more consultative and transparent than the Fretilin-led government of Mari Alkatiri, though it may be less cohesive and less competent in economic management.
Of all the parties contesting the polls, only Fretilin, the ICG said, "seems to have any understanding of the complex technical issues involved in management of revenues and regulation of the petroleum sector."
East Timor has more than one billion dollars from oil and gas revenues locked away in a Petroleum Fund, and a debate over how, and how quickly, the money should be spent has emerged.
Fretilin has dominated parliament since East Timor officially gained independence from Indonesia after decades of occupation in 2002.
Alkatiri was forced however to resign last year amid unrest in the wake of his sacking of around a third of the army.
Street battles between rival security factions led to at least 37 deaths and forced Dili to ask for international peacekeepers to be dispatched to restore a fragile calm.
The ICG said that a CNRT-led coalition would be in a better position to address the political and social divides exposed by last year's bloodshed and more open to advice on how to rebuild and strengthen national institutions.
"But implementation of programmes... will depend not just on political will, but also on professional skills," it warned.
The ICG noted that Gusmao was not widely seen as a promising prime minister "because of his impatience with detail, among other things," so his advisers are recommending he have two deputies.
The report also warned that while presidential elections were largely peaceful, "accusations and inflammatory rhetoric may feature heavily in the parliamentary campaign in a way that could heighten tensions and lead to more violence."
Nevertheless, the fact that the presidential vote took place with few serious incidents showed that the country may emerge from last year's crisis more easily than first thought, it concluded.
Agence France Presse
Monday, June 4, 2007
The War On Christianity
http://www.strategypage.com/qnd/indones/articles/20070604.aspx
June 4, 2007: In West Java, Islamic terrorists have forcibly closed another Christian church. Typically, a mob of Islamic militants will invade a church, during services, and desecrate the place, drive the worshipers out, and attack any clergy, all the time shouting Islamic slogans. When the police investigate, none of the known Islamic militant groups will take credit for the attack. In the last three years, at least 30 Christian churches have been forced to close in West Java.
June 3, 2007: Pleading poverty, Indonesia has called on Japan, China and South Korea to help provide security for the Malacca Straits. This narrow sea lane carries much of the oil needed to sustain economic activity in Japan, China and South Korea. The narrow straits are vulnerable to terrorist attack (like sinking a large tanker, to block passage).
May 31, 2007: Partisan and gang violence continues in East Timor, making the capital a particularly dangerous place to be, especially whenever peacekeepers or police are not in the immediate area. Police are being accused of taking sides, and using their weapons, at some political rallies. There will be elections for the president and parliament in a month.
May 30, 2007: In East Java, villagers demonstrating over navy efforts to develop land, led to at least a dozen people getting shot by marines. The marines later claimed they had not aimed directly at the people, but too many witnesses saw what happened. The military has long owned large amounts of unused land, some of it claimed by locals. Attempts by local civilians to sort the matter out in the courts has not been successful. There's always been a lot of corruption in Indonesia, in the military and the courts.
May 27, 2007: East Timor Rebel Major Alfredo Reinado has now shown up on Indonesian television, in a recorded interview. Appearing in a clean military uniform, and looking quite confident, Reinado demanded that criminal charges against him be dropped. Australian troops believed they had Reinado on the run, but now it's possible that Reinado has escaped into Indonesian West Timor. Reinado support comes from the western part of East Timor, and friends there could have gotten him across the border. At the same time, a policeman was shot outside the capital, in an area Reinado was thought to be hiding. Reinados few remaining followers have guns.
June 4, 2007: In West Java, Islamic terrorists have forcibly closed another Christian church. Typically, a mob of Islamic militants will invade a church, during services, and desecrate the place, drive the worshipers out, and attack any clergy, all the time shouting Islamic slogans. When the police investigate, none of the known Islamic militant groups will take credit for the attack. In the last three years, at least 30 Christian churches have been forced to close in West Java.
June 3, 2007: Pleading poverty, Indonesia has called on Japan, China and South Korea to help provide security for the Malacca Straits. This narrow sea lane carries much of the oil needed to sustain economic activity in Japan, China and South Korea. The narrow straits are vulnerable to terrorist attack (like sinking a large tanker, to block passage).
May 31, 2007: Partisan and gang violence continues in East Timor, making the capital a particularly dangerous place to be, especially whenever peacekeepers or police are not in the immediate area. Police are being accused of taking sides, and using their weapons, at some political rallies. There will be elections for the president and parliament in a month.
May 30, 2007: In East Java, villagers demonstrating over navy efforts to develop land, led to at least a dozen people getting shot by marines. The marines later claimed they had not aimed directly at the people, but too many witnesses saw what happened. The military has long owned large amounts of unused land, some of it claimed by locals. Attempts by local civilians to sort the matter out in the courts has not been successful. There's always been a lot of corruption in Indonesia, in the military and the courts.
May 27, 2007: East Timor Rebel Major Alfredo Reinado has now shown up on Indonesian television, in a recorded interview. Appearing in a clean military uniform, and looking quite confident, Reinado demanded that criminal charges against him be dropped. Australian troops believed they had Reinado on the run, but now it's possible that Reinado has escaped into Indonesian West Timor. Reinado support comes from the western part of East Timor, and friends there could have gotten him across the border. At the same time, a policeman was shot outside the capital, in an area Reinado was thought to be hiding. Reinados few remaining followers have guns.
Foreign troops deployed after 2 killed in East Timor campaign violence
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/06/04/asia/AS-GEN-East-Timor-Campaign-Violence.php
The Associated PressPublished: June 3, 2007
DILI, East Timor: International troops were rushed Monday to a volatile region of East Timor where two men were fatally shot during campaigning for parliamentary elections later this month, authorities said.
One of the dead was a campaign worker for independence hero Xanana Gusmao, who is running for prime minister in the upcoming polls, seen as key to restoring stability in the tiny nation, police said.
An off-duty police officer was suspected in the killing in Viqueque district, the United Nations said, indicating bitter divisions in the country's security forces and ruling elite that exploded into violence and political turmoil last year remain a threat.
Later Sunday, Timorese police opened fire on a crowd confronting Gusmao and his supporters as they attempted to return the body to the man's family, the U.N. statement said, citing initial reports. A 24-year-old man was fatally shot and a 16-year-old boy was injured in the incident at a roadblock.
A platoon of foreign troops led by Australian soldiers was deployed to the district and the United Nations was reviewing its election security strategy, the statement said. A platoon typically contains between 30 and 40 soldiers.
"This is a very sad day for me and for East Timor's democracy," said Gusmao. "I again call on all people of our young nation to give up violence. With violence we only hurt ourselves, our country, and those that we love."
East Timor, which broke from Indonesian rule in a U.N.-sponsored 1999 ballot, had been heralded as a success in nation-building until a rift in the police and armed forces escalated into gunbattles, looting, arson and gang warfare just over a year ago. The violence killed 37 people and drove 155,000 from their homes.
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Jose Ramos-Horta was elected president on May 9, raising hopes of stability, although more than 3,000 international police officers and soldiers remain stationed in the country to maintain peace and order.
Ramos-Horta took over from Gusmao, who was imprisoned during Indonesia's occupation for leading the resistance to Jakarta's rule.
Political commentators have expressed fear that efforts by Gusmao and Ramos-Horta to sideline the Fretilin party — which currently holds a majority of seats in the legislature — could lead to more bloodshed.
Last week, a hand grenade killed a man and wounded three others, while supporters of rival candidates clashed with machetes and rocks elsewhere in the country, wounding a dozen people.
East Timor, a former Portuguese colony, is the youngest and poorest country in Asia, with an unemployment rate of around 50 percent. About two-thirds of children under age 5 are malnourished.
The Associated PressPublished: June 3, 2007
DILI, East Timor: International troops were rushed Monday to a volatile region of East Timor where two men were fatally shot during campaigning for parliamentary elections later this month, authorities said.
One of the dead was a campaign worker for independence hero Xanana Gusmao, who is running for prime minister in the upcoming polls, seen as key to restoring stability in the tiny nation, police said.
An off-duty police officer was suspected in the killing in Viqueque district, the United Nations said, indicating bitter divisions in the country's security forces and ruling elite that exploded into violence and political turmoil last year remain a threat.
Later Sunday, Timorese police opened fire on a crowd confronting Gusmao and his supporters as they attempted to return the body to the man's family, the U.N. statement said, citing initial reports. A 24-year-old man was fatally shot and a 16-year-old boy was injured in the incident at a roadblock.
A platoon of foreign troops led by Australian soldiers was deployed to the district and the United Nations was reviewing its election security strategy, the statement said. A platoon typically contains between 30 and 40 soldiers.
"This is a very sad day for me and for East Timor's democracy," said Gusmao. "I again call on all people of our young nation to give up violence. With violence we only hurt ourselves, our country, and those that we love."
East Timor, which broke from Indonesian rule in a U.N.-sponsored 1999 ballot, had been heralded as a success in nation-building until a rift in the police and armed forces escalated into gunbattles, looting, arson and gang warfare just over a year ago. The violence killed 37 people and drove 155,000 from their homes.
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Jose Ramos-Horta was elected president on May 9, raising hopes of stability, although more than 3,000 international police officers and soldiers remain stationed in the country to maintain peace and order.
Ramos-Horta took over from Gusmao, who was imprisoned during Indonesia's occupation for leading the resistance to Jakarta's rule.
Political commentators have expressed fear that efforts by Gusmao and Ramos-Horta to sideline the Fretilin party — which currently holds a majority of seats in the legislature — could lead to more bloodshed.
Last week, a hand grenade killed a man and wounded three others, while supporters of rival candidates clashed with machetes and rocks elsewhere in the country, wounding a dozen people.
East Timor, a former Portuguese colony, is the youngest and poorest country in Asia, with an unemployment rate of around 50 percent. About two-thirds of children under age 5 are malnourished.
Call for inquest into East Timor death
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200706/s1942280.htm
A Darwin-based East Timor activist says there is more than enough evidence for the Northern Territory coroner to hold an inquest into the death of an Australian man 32 years ago.
Roger East, 29, is believed to have been shot dead by Indonesian soldiers while working in East Timor.
Rob Wesley-Smith says he knows of several people who witnessed what happened, and he knows where the body is buried.
"[My] Timor activist colleague Brian Manning said that he met a Chinese woman who stopped over the body on the beach," he said.
"Other people [including] Peter Cranaher have done research to identify where we think the body is buried.
"I've been to that spot ... unfortunately it's under a large wall."
Mr Wesley-Smith says he is hoping justice will prevail soon, and international politics will not get in the way.
"I think the person handling it has been away and gets back this week and probably needs a few days to get up to speed."
A Darwin-based East Timor activist says there is more than enough evidence for the Northern Territory coroner to hold an inquest into the death of an Australian man 32 years ago.
Roger East, 29, is believed to have been shot dead by Indonesian soldiers while working in East Timor.
Rob Wesley-Smith says he knows of several people who witnessed what happened, and he knows where the body is buried.
"[My] Timor activist colleague Brian Manning said that he met a Chinese woman who stopped over the body on the beach," he said.
"Other people [including] Peter Cranaher have done research to identify where we think the body is buried.
"I've been to that spot ... unfortunately it's under a large wall."
Mr Wesley-Smith says he is hoping justice will prevail soon, and international politics will not get in the way.
"I think the person handling it has been away and gets back this week and probably needs a few days to get up to speed."
Remembering the Activist Priest Mangunwijaya and East Timor
http://english.ohmynews.com/articleview/article_view.asp?no=364797&rel_no=1
Please note this article has only been lightly edited.
The recent diplomatic row between Indonesia and Australia has once again opened the painful wounds Indonesia and East Timor had to deal with for many years.
Sutiyoso, the governor of Jakarta, was officially invited by Australia for a three-day visit (May 27-29) to renew the sister city cooperation between Jakarta and Sydney. The governor, however, decided to cut short his visit after two New South Wales' police officers bearing a subpoena tried to summon him to testify at the Deputy State Coroner Dorelle Pinch's inquest on Wednesday over the "Balibo Five" incident of Oct. 16, 1975.
Balibo Five" refers to the death of five Australian-based newsmen in Balibo, East Timor as Indonesian troops entered the area. The story's official version suggests that the British, Australian and New Zealand journalists were caught in the crossfire. But the victims' families and especially the coroner of the TV cameraman Brian Peters, however, claim a cover-up by Jakarta and Canberra.
They insisted the five were deliberately shot by the Indonesian troops entering East Timor when colonial Portugal left the area after nearly 400 years of rule. The then Captain Sutiyoso admitted to have led the troop into Balibo but denied any involvement in the incident.
It took days for Australia to apologize for the incident in Sydney. As I followed the turn of events, I could not help feeling offended as a fellow Indonesian. Indeed, there could have been a better way of handling the case within the principles of international relations. Yet as I tried to consider all aspects of what happened, I was reminded of the late humanitarian genius, Y.B. Mangunwijaya a Yogyakarta-based Diocesan Catholic priest, who in 1997 gladly accepted me as his assistant and researcher for 3 months.
Fr. Mangunwijaya, a multi-awarded architect, novelist and social worker, was a well-known freedom fighter whose deep involvement in the East Timor problems brought him into close contact with student activists, intellectuals and military officers who sought advice from him. For several decades until his death on February 10, 1999, he had been a trusted comrade-in-arms for everyone regardless of political and religious backgrounds.
Fr. Mangunwijaya's advice to all parties on East Timor was clear and unwavering: dialogue and justice building for all the people. In a letter to his friend B.J. Habibie, he reminded the then Vice President of Indonesia that if the majority through democratic means wanted independence, Indonesia had to learn to live side by side with East Timor for they share common cultural and economic ties.
The activist students who came to him belonged to two factions, those in favor of an independent East Timor and those who wanted it to remain an integral part of Indonesia. Fr. Mangunwijaya understood that East Timor's long history of suffering under Portugal’s colonial rule instilled in the pro-independence faction the belief that Indonesia was addressing the long neglected programs of poverty eradication and infrastructural development. He shared their fear of a backlash shall a disintegration from Indonesia occur.
Being Catholic, the Timorese found in Fr. Mangunwijaya the embodiment of the Christian notion of the "good shepherd." He repeatedly stressed the importance of people who often end up reduced into mere numbers of casualties. These people had faces, had names. Their well-being should be the priority of any political agenda, a conviction which times made him at odd with parties suspicious of his political leanings.
In another letter to B.J. Habibie, who was instrumental in paving the way for an independent East Timor, Fr. Mangunwijaya thanked him for his courage to cut off the "gordian knot" -- an initiative that would forever be remembered by Indonesia and East Timor. He warned Habibie of the increasing armed civilians whom he believed would plunge the people into a civil war and burdened the army with another conflict.
The priest referred to violence between militiamen, troops and civilians. Many Timorese fell victim in the riots following the 1999 UN-backed referendum. Many Indonesians were forced to leave East Timor as their properties were looted. These left them poor and jobless. The Timorese who decided to be Indonesians, on the one hand, had to leave behind their families in East Timor.
I am certain that Fr. Mangunwijaya, had he been still alive, would have given a more even perspective about the recent diplomatic row between Indonesia and Australia. As somebody who was fortunate to have spent time with him, I am sure that the so-called "hidden" hero of East Timor would have stood by the teachings he tried to convey during his lifetime: it is not politics per se that matters but politics that ensures the people's welfare. This made Bishop Carlos Belo invite him to Oslo in December 1996 when the Bishop and Jose Ramos Horta (now President of East Timor) shared the Nobel Peace Prize.
The rights of the five journalists and their families should be upheld by both Jakarta and Canberra. It should be carried out in "proper courtesy" between two equal sovereign countries, as Australian Prime Minister John Howard himself said. Similarly, Indonesia and East Timor should also find the best solution for the repatriation of the displaced Indonesians who, I believe, have the most to say about the matter.
Please note this article has only been lightly edited.
The recent diplomatic row between Indonesia and Australia has once again opened the painful wounds Indonesia and East Timor had to deal with for many years.
Sutiyoso, the governor of Jakarta, was officially invited by Australia for a three-day visit (May 27-29) to renew the sister city cooperation between Jakarta and Sydney. The governor, however, decided to cut short his visit after two New South Wales' police officers bearing a subpoena tried to summon him to testify at the Deputy State Coroner Dorelle Pinch's inquest on Wednesday over the "Balibo Five" incident of Oct. 16, 1975.
Balibo Five" refers to the death of five Australian-based newsmen in Balibo, East Timor as Indonesian troops entered the area. The story's official version suggests that the British, Australian and New Zealand journalists were caught in the crossfire. But the victims' families and especially the coroner of the TV cameraman Brian Peters, however, claim a cover-up by Jakarta and Canberra.
They insisted the five were deliberately shot by the Indonesian troops entering East Timor when colonial Portugal left the area after nearly 400 years of rule. The then Captain Sutiyoso admitted to have led the troop into Balibo but denied any involvement in the incident.
It took days for Australia to apologize for the incident in Sydney. As I followed the turn of events, I could not help feeling offended as a fellow Indonesian. Indeed, there could have been a better way of handling the case within the principles of international relations. Yet as I tried to consider all aspects of what happened, I was reminded of the late humanitarian genius, Y.B. Mangunwijaya a Yogyakarta-based Diocesan Catholic priest, who in 1997 gladly accepted me as his assistant and researcher for 3 months.
Fr. Mangunwijaya, a multi-awarded architect, novelist and social worker, was a well-known freedom fighter whose deep involvement in the East Timor problems brought him into close contact with student activists, intellectuals and military officers who sought advice from him. For several decades until his death on February 10, 1999, he had been a trusted comrade-in-arms for everyone regardless of political and religious backgrounds.
Fr. Mangunwijaya's advice to all parties on East Timor was clear and unwavering: dialogue and justice building for all the people. In a letter to his friend B.J. Habibie, he reminded the then Vice President of Indonesia that if the majority through democratic means wanted independence, Indonesia had to learn to live side by side with East Timor for they share common cultural and economic ties.
The activist students who came to him belonged to two factions, those in favor of an independent East Timor and those who wanted it to remain an integral part of Indonesia. Fr. Mangunwijaya understood that East Timor's long history of suffering under Portugal’s colonial rule instilled in the pro-independence faction the belief that Indonesia was addressing the long neglected programs of poverty eradication and infrastructural development. He shared their fear of a backlash shall a disintegration from Indonesia occur.
Being Catholic, the Timorese found in Fr. Mangunwijaya the embodiment of the Christian notion of the "good shepherd." He repeatedly stressed the importance of people who often end up reduced into mere numbers of casualties. These people had faces, had names. Their well-being should be the priority of any political agenda, a conviction which times made him at odd with parties suspicious of his political leanings.
In another letter to B.J. Habibie, who was instrumental in paving the way for an independent East Timor, Fr. Mangunwijaya thanked him for his courage to cut off the "gordian knot" -- an initiative that would forever be remembered by Indonesia and East Timor. He warned Habibie of the increasing armed civilians whom he believed would plunge the people into a civil war and burdened the army with another conflict.
The priest referred to violence between militiamen, troops and civilians. Many Timorese fell victim in the riots following the 1999 UN-backed referendum. Many Indonesians were forced to leave East Timor as their properties were looted. These left them poor and jobless. The Timorese who decided to be Indonesians, on the one hand, had to leave behind their families in East Timor.
I am certain that Fr. Mangunwijaya, had he been still alive, would have given a more even perspective about the recent diplomatic row between Indonesia and Australia. As somebody who was fortunate to have spent time with him, I am sure that the so-called "hidden" hero of East Timor would have stood by the teachings he tried to convey during his lifetime: it is not politics per se that matters but politics that ensures the people's welfare. This made Bishop Carlos Belo invite him to Oslo in December 1996 when the Bishop and Jose Ramos Horta (now President of East Timor) shared the Nobel Peace Prize.
The rights of the five journalists and their families should be upheld by both Jakarta and Canberra. It should be carried out in "proper courtesy" between two equal sovereign countries, as Australian Prime Minister John Howard himself said. Similarly, Indonesia and East Timor should also find the best solution for the repatriation of the displaced Indonesians who, I believe, have the most to say about the matter.
Author says Aust extorted East Timor over oil, gas
http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2007/s1940479.htm
PM - Friday, 1 June , 2007 18:46:00
Reporter: Mark Colvin
MARK COLVIN: "Shakedown" is a slang term for an act of extortion, and a shakedown is what the writer Paul Cleary calls the way Australia acted towards East Timor over the oil and gas in the sea between our two countries.
Mr Cleary is a former journalist who was appointed by the World Bank as an adviser to East Timor's Prime Minister in the oil and gas negotiations.
His new book on the story is called Shakedown, and I asked him first, if East Timor's case for the resources was so cut and dried, why had the Indonesians, who were in charge before Timorese independence, agreed so easily to Australia's demands.
PAUL CLEARY: Indonesia signed that agreement when international law in this area was in its infancy and subsequent to that the Foreign Minister said Australia had taken Indonesia to the cleaners.
MARK COLVIN: So you're saying that Australia kind of behaved as some kind of regional bully?
PAUL CLEARY: I think there was a lot of bully that went on. Mr Downer pounding the table saying "we're a rich country, we can sit this out for 30, 40, 50 years". And also really threatening East Timor to sever its economic lifeline to stop development in the Timor Sea unless East Timor signed over its rights to 80 per cent of the biggest field in the area.
Meanwhile Australia was already exploiting the resources, which was actually contrary to international law. I think people in East Timor would've wanted it to take longer but however I think the Government particularly in the interim period from 2000 when the UN was in control in the transitional government, there was a need to get the revenue, so that's why the Timor Sea Treaty was negotiated in 2000 and signed in 2002.
MARK COLVIN: And then we got to this point in 2004 when the East Timorese patience just ran out and one of the signals was actually on this program when Jose Ramos-Horta came on spoke to me about what the DFAT (Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade) negotiator Doug Chester had just done.
(excerpt from PM interview)
JOSE RAMOS HORTA: The Australian side basically imposed on us an ultimatum. Mr Doug Chester, the Senior Official from Foreign Affairs, DFAT, that led the Australian delegation simply said "take it or leave it".
MARK COLVIN: So what did you say to this "take it or leave it"? offer?
JOSE RAMOS HORTA: Of course we can't accept ultimatums, we cannot accept blackmail, we are poor but we have a sense of honour, a sense of dignity of our rights.
MARK COLVIN: Jose Ramos Horta is a man, usually very moderate words. What was the significance of what he said?
PAUL CLEARY: He is, I mean, in this book I call Mr Ramos Horta the consummate diplomat, he always is very measured and this is a rare example of him really loosing his cool, loosing his patience. Because this is a classic example of the bullying tactics that were being used, Mr Doug Chester telling the Timorese, "You hand over your rights to this field by 5 pm on October 28th and we'll give you $3-billion and that's it," and Timor by digging in standing up for its rights, managed to get 3 times that amount of current oil prices.
MARK COLVIN: So it was worth hanging on?
PAUL CLEARY: Oh definitely. I think the Timorese are, realized once they got the revenue under the Timor Sea Treaty, and once Australia ratified that treaty the revenue began to flow. They had a bit more comfort they could afford to stand their ground and to really get the deal they thought was fair.
And in the end I think what the Timorese got was probably the 50 per cent share of Greater Sunrise, probably the minimum acceptable to the Timorese and the maximum that Australia was willing to give up.
MARK COLVIN: So it ended without irreparable damage to the relationship between the two sides. What about the situation in East Timor, the spending of the money?
PAUL CLEARY: Timor does have a very good system to save the money. This was modeled on Norway, which really does have a very excellent system, very transparent, very robust, really cannot be tampered with.
MARK COLVIN: They used their oil to really create a massive future fund…
PAUL CLEARY: Exactly, it was a massive future fund. Something that Australia could actually think about well with all the revenue we're getting from the commodity boom.
Essentially Timor is only spending about half the money and the idea is at the end of it, when the oil runs out, they'll have this massive fund and they can live of the interest forever.
MARK COLVIN: This is to overcome what some people call the curse of oil?
PAUL CLEARY: The resource curse, that's right, or the paradox of plenty. All these problems that these countries get a huge influx of revenue, it inflates their exchange rate, political leaders go and spend money on weapons and big grandiose palaces and things. So the idea is to have the fiscal discipline.
The problem with Timor had been though is that they haven't done a very good job spending the money. And this has been the real weakness in the current government.
MARK COLVIN: Because what we see, what we tend to see on our television screens from Timor recently has been riots and poverty.
PAUL CLEARY: Well exactly, you got massive youth unemployment. I mean the East Timor economy went backwards for four years straight in per capita terms.
I mean no developing country coming out of a post conflict situation can really stay together under that situation. And that was really I think the background to this crisis that a lot of people will have overlooked.
That it was the Government's failure with the UN withdrawing rapidly and I think that was a problem Australia urged that of the United Nations to pull out the peacekeepers.
The economy imploded, and the Government was very fiscally conservative, I think they had some quite patronising ideas about the Timorese, that you can't trust them with money, and they'll have this dependency mentality but there just wasn't enough money circulating around the economy.
MARK COLVIN: Paul Cleary whose book Shakedown was released today.
PM - Friday, 1 June , 2007 18:46:00
Reporter: Mark Colvin
MARK COLVIN: "Shakedown" is a slang term for an act of extortion, and a shakedown is what the writer Paul Cleary calls the way Australia acted towards East Timor over the oil and gas in the sea between our two countries.
Mr Cleary is a former journalist who was appointed by the World Bank as an adviser to East Timor's Prime Minister in the oil and gas negotiations.
His new book on the story is called Shakedown, and I asked him first, if East Timor's case for the resources was so cut and dried, why had the Indonesians, who were in charge before Timorese independence, agreed so easily to Australia's demands.
PAUL CLEARY: Indonesia signed that agreement when international law in this area was in its infancy and subsequent to that the Foreign Minister said Australia had taken Indonesia to the cleaners.
MARK COLVIN: So you're saying that Australia kind of behaved as some kind of regional bully?
PAUL CLEARY: I think there was a lot of bully that went on. Mr Downer pounding the table saying "we're a rich country, we can sit this out for 30, 40, 50 years". And also really threatening East Timor to sever its economic lifeline to stop development in the Timor Sea unless East Timor signed over its rights to 80 per cent of the biggest field in the area.
Meanwhile Australia was already exploiting the resources, which was actually contrary to international law. I think people in East Timor would've wanted it to take longer but however I think the Government particularly in the interim period from 2000 when the UN was in control in the transitional government, there was a need to get the revenue, so that's why the Timor Sea Treaty was negotiated in 2000 and signed in 2002.
MARK COLVIN: And then we got to this point in 2004 when the East Timorese patience just ran out and one of the signals was actually on this program when Jose Ramos-Horta came on spoke to me about what the DFAT (Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade) negotiator Doug Chester had just done.
(excerpt from PM interview)
JOSE RAMOS HORTA: The Australian side basically imposed on us an ultimatum. Mr Doug Chester, the Senior Official from Foreign Affairs, DFAT, that led the Australian delegation simply said "take it or leave it".
MARK COLVIN: So what did you say to this "take it or leave it"? offer?
JOSE RAMOS HORTA: Of course we can't accept ultimatums, we cannot accept blackmail, we are poor but we have a sense of honour, a sense of dignity of our rights.
MARK COLVIN: Jose Ramos Horta is a man, usually very moderate words. What was the significance of what he said?
PAUL CLEARY: He is, I mean, in this book I call Mr Ramos Horta the consummate diplomat, he always is very measured and this is a rare example of him really loosing his cool, loosing his patience. Because this is a classic example of the bullying tactics that were being used, Mr Doug Chester telling the Timorese, "You hand over your rights to this field by 5 pm on October 28th and we'll give you $3-billion and that's it," and Timor by digging in standing up for its rights, managed to get 3 times that amount of current oil prices.
MARK COLVIN: So it was worth hanging on?
PAUL CLEARY: Oh definitely. I think the Timorese are, realized once they got the revenue under the Timor Sea Treaty, and once Australia ratified that treaty the revenue began to flow. They had a bit more comfort they could afford to stand their ground and to really get the deal they thought was fair.
And in the end I think what the Timorese got was probably the 50 per cent share of Greater Sunrise, probably the minimum acceptable to the Timorese and the maximum that Australia was willing to give up.
MARK COLVIN: So it ended without irreparable damage to the relationship between the two sides. What about the situation in East Timor, the spending of the money?
PAUL CLEARY: Timor does have a very good system to save the money. This was modeled on Norway, which really does have a very excellent system, very transparent, very robust, really cannot be tampered with.
MARK COLVIN: They used their oil to really create a massive future fund…
PAUL CLEARY: Exactly, it was a massive future fund. Something that Australia could actually think about well with all the revenue we're getting from the commodity boom.
Essentially Timor is only spending about half the money and the idea is at the end of it, when the oil runs out, they'll have this massive fund and they can live of the interest forever.
MARK COLVIN: This is to overcome what some people call the curse of oil?
PAUL CLEARY: The resource curse, that's right, or the paradox of plenty. All these problems that these countries get a huge influx of revenue, it inflates their exchange rate, political leaders go and spend money on weapons and big grandiose palaces and things. So the idea is to have the fiscal discipline.
The problem with Timor had been though is that they haven't done a very good job spending the money. And this has been the real weakness in the current government.
MARK COLVIN: Because what we see, what we tend to see on our television screens from Timor recently has been riots and poverty.
PAUL CLEARY: Well exactly, you got massive youth unemployment. I mean the East Timor economy went backwards for four years straight in per capita terms.
I mean no developing country coming out of a post conflict situation can really stay together under that situation. And that was really I think the background to this crisis that a lot of people will have overlooked.
That it was the Government's failure with the UN withdrawing rapidly and I think that was a problem Australia urged that of the United Nations to pull out the peacekeepers.
The economy imploded, and the Government was very fiscally conservative, I think they had some quite patronising ideas about the Timorese, that you can't trust them with money, and they'll have this dependency mentality but there just wasn't enough money circulating around the economy.
MARK COLVIN: Paul Cleary whose book Shakedown was released today.
EAST TIMOR: OPTIMISM ON UPCOMING ELECTIONS
http://www.adnki.com/index_2Level_English.php?cat=Politics&loid=8.0.421589641&par=0
New York, 4 June (AKI) - The head of the United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT) on Monday voiced optimism that upcoming parliamentary elections there will be as peaceful as the recent presidential ballot, and predicted the possible need for a coalition government. "They went much better than any one of us could have expected," UNMIT chief Atul Khare told reporters in New York Monday, referring to the two rounds of the presidential election in April and May, which led to the swearing in of President Jose Ramos-Horta just weeks ago.
The biggest challenge following the upcoming parliamentary elections, Khare said, would be the process of forming a government in the country.
“It is abundantly clear to me that with 14 political parties in the fray, possibilities of forming a coalition government would have to be examined very carefully. It appears as practically unlikely that that any political party would get a clear majority,” he stated.
He pointed to the need to strengthen the security sector, taking into consideration of the future role of the army and police. Justice, governance and development will also require attention, he said.
“We trust that the new government, the new leaders, would be in a position to address these challenges, supported by the United Nations, as they have been over the past several years,” Khare said.
He said agreements recently signed by the parties will facilitate the upcoming polls.
The Political Party Accord covers basic principles of governance after the elections, committing all parties to a constructive and inclusive democratic process for the new government and opposition.
The Code of Conduct signed by all political parties commits them, their candidates, their representatives and supporters to accept the results, or to challenge them only in competent courts, and to campaign positively through programmes of action not personal criticism of other candidates.
Khare said the Accord “bodes well for [the] development of a genuine multi-party, liberal democracy” in Timor-Leste.
The UN Mission, deployed following an outbreak of deadly violence last year, is helping with all aspects of the 2007 electoral processes, including technical and logistical support, electoral policy advice and verification.
New York, 4 June (AKI) - The head of the United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT) on Monday voiced optimism that upcoming parliamentary elections there will be as peaceful as the recent presidential ballot, and predicted the possible need for a coalition government. "They went much better than any one of us could have expected," UNMIT chief Atul Khare told reporters in New York Monday, referring to the two rounds of the presidential election in April and May, which led to the swearing in of President Jose Ramos-Horta just weeks ago.
The biggest challenge following the upcoming parliamentary elections, Khare said, would be the process of forming a government in the country.
“It is abundantly clear to me that with 14 political parties in the fray, possibilities of forming a coalition government would have to be examined very carefully. It appears as practically unlikely that that any political party would get a clear majority,” he stated.
He pointed to the need to strengthen the security sector, taking into consideration of the future role of the army and police. Justice, governance and development will also require attention, he said.
“We trust that the new government, the new leaders, would be in a position to address these challenges, supported by the United Nations, as they have been over the past several years,” Khare said.
He said agreements recently signed by the parties will facilitate the upcoming polls.
The Political Party Accord covers basic principles of governance after the elections, committing all parties to a constructive and inclusive democratic process for the new government and opposition.
The Code of Conduct signed by all political parties commits them, their candidates, their representatives and supporters to accept the results, or to challenge them only in competent courts, and to campaign positively through programmes of action not personal criticism of other candidates.
Khare said the Accord “bodes well for [the] development of a genuine multi-party, liberal democracy” in Timor-Leste.
The UN Mission, deployed following an outbreak of deadly violence last year, is helping with all aspects of the 2007 electoral processes, including technical and logistical support, electoral policy advice and verification.
Horta condemns rally shootings
http://www.worldnewsaustralia.com.au/region.php?id=137497®ion=2
East Timor's new president Jose Ramos Horta says the nation's police force still suffers from a lack of discipline, after police allegedly shot two activists.
Saying the deaths had embarrassed the nation, Mr Ramos Horta said those responsible for shooting dead the activists during rallies for a new party headed by former East Timor president Xanana Gusmao, should receive "severe punishment".
The United Nations yesterday stepped up security in Viqueque, south east of Dili, amid rising tensions after the deaths of the two men, supporters of Gusmao's party, National Congress for Reconstruction of Timor-Leste (CNRT).
UN Police fired warning shots and tear gas in Viqueque market on Sunday afternoon after fighting broke out between CNRT supporters and opponents following a CNRT rally in the Fretilin-stronghold.
One man, Alfonso "Kuda Lay" Guterres, died after he was allegedly shot by an off-duty Timorese police officer.
Another CNRT supporter, 24, was shot dead and a 16-year-old youth injured shortly later, as a group of CNRT supporters, accompanied by the former president, attempted to return the dead man's body to Ossu.
"Initial reports indicate that PNTL (East Timor police) fired shots to control a crowd at a roadblock near Ossu," the acting head of the UN's mission in East Timor, Eric Tan said.
The Australian-led international stabilisation force has deployed a platoon to the region.
'Discipline lax'
Mr Ramos Horta, who was due to fly to Jakarta this afternoon for his first official visit as president, said the police entrusted to safeguard the elections had failed in their duty.
"Several members of the PNTL have engaged in crime ... We see that indiscipline is still very strong within the PNTL," he said.
He warned: "There is no impunity in this country".
Reform of East Timor's security sector is considered key to the country's future, after clashes between elements of the police and defence forces sparked last year's crisis, resulting in 37 deaths.
Former president Gusmao, meanwhile, declared it a "sad day" for democracy in East Timor.
The CNRT party is likely to pose a major challenge to East Timor's ruling Fretilin party in the June 30 poll, and Mr Gusmao will become Prime Minister if it wins.
Yesterday he joined other leaders in calling for peace, warning that those responsible didn't want a peaceful election process.
"I again call on all people of our young nation to give up violence. With violence we only hurt ourselves, our country, and those that we love."
Search for shooter
Meanwhile, the UN's Mr Tan said police were still searching for the off-duty police officer believed responsible for Mr Guterres' death and the motive was unknown.
"We are treating both shootings seriously," he said.
"Neither incident suggests an attempt on Mr Gusmaos life."
Mr Tan said East Timor's leaders had met and urged political supporters to remain calm ahead of the June 30 poll.
Fretilin condemned the violence and called for a full investigation, saying the dead man had been armed.
"There also needs to be an inquiry to explain why a campaign member of a political party was armed with a gun and to determine the person that provided him with that weapon," Fretilin secretary general Mari Alkatiri said.
East Timor's new president Jose Ramos Horta says the nation's police force still suffers from a lack of discipline, after police allegedly shot two activists.
Saying the deaths had embarrassed the nation, Mr Ramos Horta said those responsible for shooting dead the activists during rallies for a new party headed by former East Timor president Xanana Gusmao, should receive "severe punishment".
The United Nations yesterday stepped up security in Viqueque, south east of Dili, amid rising tensions after the deaths of the two men, supporters of Gusmao's party, National Congress for Reconstruction of Timor-Leste (CNRT).
UN Police fired warning shots and tear gas in Viqueque market on Sunday afternoon after fighting broke out between CNRT supporters and opponents following a CNRT rally in the Fretilin-stronghold.
One man, Alfonso "Kuda Lay" Guterres, died after he was allegedly shot by an off-duty Timorese police officer.
Another CNRT supporter, 24, was shot dead and a 16-year-old youth injured shortly later, as a group of CNRT supporters, accompanied by the former president, attempted to return the dead man's body to Ossu.
"Initial reports indicate that PNTL (East Timor police) fired shots to control a crowd at a roadblock near Ossu," the acting head of the UN's mission in East Timor, Eric Tan said.
The Australian-led international stabilisation force has deployed a platoon to the region.
'Discipline lax'
Mr Ramos Horta, who was due to fly to Jakarta this afternoon for his first official visit as president, said the police entrusted to safeguard the elections had failed in their duty.
"Several members of the PNTL have engaged in crime ... We see that indiscipline is still very strong within the PNTL," he said.
He warned: "There is no impunity in this country".
Reform of East Timor's security sector is considered key to the country's future, after clashes between elements of the police and defence forces sparked last year's crisis, resulting in 37 deaths.
Former president Gusmao, meanwhile, declared it a "sad day" for democracy in East Timor.
The CNRT party is likely to pose a major challenge to East Timor's ruling Fretilin party in the June 30 poll, and Mr Gusmao will become Prime Minister if it wins.
Yesterday he joined other leaders in calling for peace, warning that those responsible didn't want a peaceful election process.
"I again call on all people of our young nation to give up violence. With violence we only hurt ourselves, our country, and those that we love."
Search for shooter
Meanwhile, the UN's Mr Tan said police were still searching for the off-duty police officer believed responsible for Mr Guterres' death and the motive was unknown.
"We are treating both shootings seriously," he said.
"Neither incident suggests an attempt on Mr Gusmaos life."
Mr Tan said East Timor's leaders had met and urged political supporters to remain calm ahead of the June 30 poll.
Fretilin condemned the violence and called for a full investigation, saying the dead man had been armed.
"There also needs to be an inquiry to explain why a campaign member of a political party was armed with a gun and to determine the person that provided him with that weapon," Fretilin secretary general Mari Alkatiri said.
East Timor deaths embarrass nation
http://www.thewest.com.au/default.aspx?MenuID=29&ContentID=30516
East Timor’s new president Jose Ramos Horta says the nation’s police force continues to suffer from a lack of discipline, after officers allegedly shot dead two activists during rallies for a new party headed by former East Timor president Xanana Gusmao.
Saying the deaths had embarrassed the nation, Ramos Horta declared those responsible should receive “severe punishment”.
The United Nations today stepped up security in Viqueque, south east of Dili, amid rising tensions after the deaths of the two men, supporters of Gusmao’s party, the National Congress for Reconstruction of Timor-Leste (CNRT).
UN Police fired warning shots and tear gas in Viqueque market yesterday afternoon after fighting broke out between CNRT supporters and opponents, following a CNRT rally in the Fretilin-stronghold.
One man, Alfonso “Kuda Lay” Guterres, died after he was allegedly shot by an off-duty Timorese police officer.
Another CNRT supporter, 24, was shot dead and a 16-year-old youth injured shortly after, as a group of CNRT supporters, accompanied by the former president, attempted to return the dead man’s body to Ossu.
“Initial reports indicate that PNTL (East Timor police) fired shots to control a crowd at a roadblock near Ossu,” the acting head of the UN’s mission in East Timor, Eric Tan said.
The Australian-led international stabilisation force has deployed a platoon to the region.
East Timor’s new president Jose Ramos Horta says the nation’s police force continues to suffer from a lack of discipline, after officers allegedly shot dead two activists during rallies for a new party headed by former East Timor president Xanana Gusmao.
Saying the deaths had embarrassed the nation, Ramos Horta declared those responsible should receive “severe punishment”.
The United Nations today stepped up security in Viqueque, south east of Dili, amid rising tensions after the deaths of the two men, supporters of Gusmao’s party, the National Congress for Reconstruction of Timor-Leste (CNRT).
UN Police fired warning shots and tear gas in Viqueque market yesterday afternoon after fighting broke out between CNRT supporters and opponents, following a CNRT rally in the Fretilin-stronghold.
One man, Alfonso “Kuda Lay” Guterres, died after he was allegedly shot by an off-duty Timorese police officer.
Another CNRT supporter, 24, was shot dead and a 16-year-old youth injured shortly after, as a group of CNRT supporters, accompanied by the former president, attempted to return the dead man’s body to Ossu.
“Initial reports indicate that PNTL (East Timor police) fired shots to control a crowd at a roadblock near Ossu,” the acting head of the UN’s mission in East Timor, Eric Tan said.
The Australian-led international stabilisation force has deployed a platoon to the region.
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Remarks on International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers
International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers
Remarks by Eric Tan
Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General
for Security Sector Support and Rule of Law
29 May 2007
Dili, Timor-Leste
Your Excellency the President of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, Dr José Ramos-Horta,
Your Excellency the Prime Minister, Eng Estanislau Da Silva,
Your Excellency the Minister of Interior, Mr Alcino Barris,
Your Excellency the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ms Adalgiza Magno
FALANTIL-FDTL Commander, BG Taur Matan Ruak
PNTL General Commander (Designate), Afonso de Jesus
Acting Commander ISF, Colonel Paul Van der Broek
Excellencies members of the Diplomatic Corps,
Fellow Peacekeepers from UNMIT, and colleagues from the larger UN family comprising Funds, Agencies and Programmes,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen, good morning,
I am delighted to see so many here today at such an early hour to commemorate the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers. This is a day set aside to honour and pay tribute to the men and women who have served, and continue to serve in United Nations peacekeeping operations. It is also a day to honour the memory of those who have lost their lives in the cause of peace. In 2002, a General Assembly Resolution designated the 29th of May as the International Day of the United Nations Peacekeepers. This was the date in 1948 when the first UN peacekeeping mission began operations in Palestine. This mission was the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO).
On a more personal note, I recall fondly the very first Peacekeepers Day in 2003, celebrated right here in Dili, on the road just in front of the Palazio das Cinzas. Then President Gusmao reviewed a combined parade of police, military and civilian peacekeepers, and awarded medals to some, including myself. A Timorese school band marched together with us. Today we are most privileged to have His Excellency, Dr Jose Ramos-Horta here with us for the fifth Peacekeepers Day.
In a statement issued today, the Secretary General of the United Nations, Mr Ban Ki-moon stated, and I quote:
“Last year, for the first time, more than 100,000 peacekeepers were deployed by the United Nations. One hundred and fifteen countries now contribute uniformed personnel to UN peacekeeping operations. Both of these figures are at an all-time high. They speak of unprecedented confidence in – and expectations of – UN peacekeeping.
The ordinary people who benefit from these unseen efforts are often among the world’s most vulnerable. Peacekeepers ensure that refugees and displaced persons can return to their homes; that ex-combatants are disarmed and reintegrated into society; that children are taken off the battlefield and sent to school; that people exercise their right to vote in democratic elections; that individuals human rights are protected, not violated, by police forces and judicial systems; and that fields and forests are de-mined so that they can be used to sustain life instead of trigger death.” End of quote.
UN personnel have been continuously deployed in Timor-Leste since 1999 to assist and support the people of this country. Today, we are here to fulfil a very different role compared to the one before. We first assisted an emerging country to rebuild itself and recover from a long struggle. Now we are assisting the second democratically elected President, and soon a new Government, to solidify, stabilize and make this young democracy sustainable. The evolution of our mandate is surely a most tangible sign that progress has been made.
Young though it may be, Timor-Leste has already demonstrated its readiness to do its part for peace in other post-conflict nations. In December 2005, 10 members of the PNTL were sent to serve in the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo. These officers continue to make the PNTL and Timor-Leste proud. We in the United Nations are truly grateful for their contributions.
Turning back to UNMIT, I am pleased to report that the mission today includes 3195 peacekeepers from 86 countries. To each of you, I say a big “Thank You”! You have left your families and homes to contribute towards Timor-Leste in the areas of security, electoral support, development and strengthening of democracy and the rule of law. Your tasks have by no means been easy, but their accomplishment has helped achieve the mandate of UNMIT.
We must also not forget the dangers peacekeepers face. To this end, I wish to take this opportunity to recognize the many United Nations peacekeepers -- civilian, police and military -- for having made the ultimate sacrifice “In the Service of Peace.” Such sacrifices are not in vain, for they avoid even more tragic losses of lives especially among the vulnerable, wherever peacekeeping missions are deployed. Nonetheless, it saddens me to announce that 71 peacekeepers have lost their lives here in Timor-Leste. To these, we owe an enormous debt of gratitude, and are here to pay them a special tribute today.
Excellencies, friends and colleagues,
Thanks to the many expressions of recognition we have received from the people of Timor-Leste, it is clear that they know and appreciate the difference the presence of peacekeepers has made. I am grateful for these expressions. At the same time, I have also welcomed, and listened carefully to the words of constructive criticism from our generous hosts. We have much to learn, and must remain willing to do so.
In closing, I would like to remind all of us UN peacekeepers, that in our interactions with the people of Timor-Leste, we project the face of UNMIT, and it is us being identified as the United Nations. Men, women and children of Timor-Leste, young and old, will remember, and either cherish our actions, our words and our compassion. Or they will take away with them a very different opinion. I therefore urge all of us to continue doing our duty with an unshakeable sense of responsibility, for on our shoulders rests the ultimate success and reputation of this mission, and of the United Nations.
I now have the pleasure and honor to call upon the President of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, His Excellency, Dr José Ramos-Horta to address us.
Remarks by Eric Tan
Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General
for Security Sector Support and Rule of Law
29 May 2007
Dili, Timor-Leste
Your Excellency the President of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, Dr José Ramos-Horta,
Your Excellency the Prime Minister, Eng Estanislau Da Silva,
Your Excellency the Minister of Interior, Mr Alcino Barris,
Your Excellency the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ms Adalgiza Magno
FALANTIL-FDTL Commander, BG Taur Matan Ruak
PNTL General Commander (Designate), Afonso de Jesus
Acting Commander ISF, Colonel Paul Van der Broek
Excellencies members of the Diplomatic Corps,
Fellow Peacekeepers from UNMIT, and colleagues from the larger UN family comprising Funds, Agencies and Programmes,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen, good morning,
I am delighted to see so many here today at such an early hour to commemorate the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers. This is a day set aside to honour and pay tribute to the men and women who have served, and continue to serve in United Nations peacekeeping operations. It is also a day to honour the memory of those who have lost their lives in the cause of peace. In 2002, a General Assembly Resolution designated the 29th of May as the International Day of the United Nations Peacekeepers. This was the date in 1948 when the first UN peacekeeping mission began operations in Palestine. This mission was the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO).
On a more personal note, I recall fondly the very first Peacekeepers Day in 2003, celebrated right here in Dili, on the road just in front of the Palazio das Cinzas. Then President Gusmao reviewed a combined parade of police, military and civilian peacekeepers, and awarded medals to some, including myself. A Timorese school band marched together with us. Today we are most privileged to have His Excellency, Dr Jose Ramos-Horta here with us for the fifth Peacekeepers Day.
In a statement issued today, the Secretary General of the United Nations, Mr Ban Ki-moon stated, and I quote:
“Last year, for the first time, more than 100,000 peacekeepers were deployed by the United Nations. One hundred and fifteen countries now contribute uniformed personnel to UN peacekeeping operations. Both of these figures are at an all-time high. They speak of unprecedented confidence in – and expectations of – UN peacekeeping.
The ordinary people who benefit from these unseen efforts are often among the world’s most vulnerable. Peacekeepers ensure that refugees and displaced persons can return to their homes; that ex-combatants are disarmed and reintegrated into society; that children are taken off the battlefield and sent to school; that people exercise their right to vote in democratic elections; that individuals human rights are protected, not violated, by police forces and judicial systems; and that fields and forests are de-mined so that they can be used to sustain life instead of trigger death.” End of quote.
UN personnel have been continuously deployed in Timor-Leste since 1999 to assist and support the people of this country. Today, we are here to fulfil a very different role compared to the one before. We first assisted an emerging country to rebuild itself and recover from a long struggle. Now we are assisting the second democratically elected President, and soon a new Government, to solidify, stabilize and make this young democracy sustainable. The evolution of our mandate is surely a most tangible sign that progress has been made.
Young though it may be, Timor-Leste has already demonstrated its readiness to do its part for peace in other post-conflict nations. In December 2005, 10 members of the PNTL were sent to serve in the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo. These officers continue to make the PNTL and Timor-Leste proud. We in the United Nations are truly grateful for their contributions.
Turning back to UNMIT, I am pleased to report that the mission today includes 3195 peacekeepers from 86 countries. To each of you, I say a big “Thank You”! You have left your families and homes to contribute towards Timor-Leste in the areas of security, electoral support, development and strengthening of democracy and the rule of law. Your tasks have by no means been easy, but their accomplishment has helped achieve the mandate of UNMIT.
We must also not forget the dangers peacekeepers face. To this end, I wish to take this opportunity to recognize the many United Nations peacekeepers -- civilian, police and military -- for having made the ultimate sacrifice “In the Service of Peace.” Such sacrifices are not in vain, for they avoid even more tragic losses of lives especially among the vulnerable, wherever peacekeeping missions are deployed. Nonetheless, it saddens me to announce that 71 peacekeepers have lost their lives here in Timor-Leste. To these, we owe an enormous debt of gratitude, and are here to pay them a special tribute today.
Excellencies, friends and colleagues,
Thanks to the many expressions of recognition we have received from the people of Timor-Leste, it is clear that they know and appreciate the difference the presence of peacekeepers has made. I am grateful for these expressions. At the same time, I have also welcomed, and listened carefully to the words of constructive criticism from our generous hosts. We have much to learn, and must remain willing to do so.
In closing, I would like to remind all of us UN peacekeepers, that in our interactions with the people of Timor-Leste, we project the face of UNMIT, and it is us being identified as the United Nations. Men, women and children of Timor-Leste, young and old, will remember, and either cherish our actions, our words and our compassion. Or they will take away with them a very different opinion. I therefore urge all of us to continue doing our duty with an unshakeable sense of responsibility, for on our shoulders rests the ultimate success and reputation of this mission, and of the United Nations.
I now have the pleasure and honor to call upon the President of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, His Excellency, Dr José Ramos-Horta to address us.
Goff to go on night patrol while in East Timor
5:05PM Monday May 28, 2007
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10442259
Defence Minister Phil Goff will go on a night patrol with the army while in East Timor.
Mr Goff heads to East Timor tonight to visit New Zealand Defence Force personnel and police working there, as well as East Timorese officials.
Mr Goff said he would visit Defence Force troops and police officers who had been working to achieve security and stability in East Timor.
"While with the New Zealanders I will accompany New Zealand army personnel on a night patrol in Dili."
Mr Goff will meet with newly-elected President Jose Ramos-Horta, whom he has known for almost 20 years, care-taker Prime Minister Estanislau da Silva and senior military and United Nations officials.
This will be Mr Goff's second visit to East Timor in his role as defence minister.
"... I am looking forward to returning and getting a first hand understanding of the current political and security situation."
He will be in East Timor from May 29-31.
Mr Goff will then go to Singapore for the 6th Asian Security Summit, commonly known as the Shangri-La Dialogue, from June 1-3.
Advertisement
AdvertisementThe dialogue was the key forum for discussing public policy on defence and security in the Asia-Pacific region, Mr Goff said.
Delegates from 26 countries were taking part and he would meeting with counterparts from Australia, Singapore, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Indonesia, the United Kingdom and Germany.
- NZPA
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10442259
Defence Minister Phil Goff will go on a night patrol with the army while in East Timor.
Mr Goff heads to East Timor tonight to visit New Zealand Defence Force personnel and police working there, as well as East Timorese officials.
Mr Goff said he would visit Defence Force troops and police officers who had been working to achieve security and stability in East Timor.
"While with the New Zealanders I will accompany New Zealand army personnel on a night patrol in Dili."
Mr Goff will meet with newly-elected President Jose Ramos-Horta, whom he has known for almost 20 years, care-taker Prime Minister Estanislau da Silva and senior military and United Nations officials.
This will be Mr Goff's second visit to East Timor in his role as defence minister.
"... I am looking forward to returning and getting a first hand understanding of the current political and security situation."
He will be in East Timor from May 29-31.
Mr Goff will then go to Singapore for the 6th Asian Security Summit, commonly known as the Shangri-La Dialogue, from June 1-3.
Advertisement
AdvertisementThe dialogue was the key forum for discussing public policy on defence and security in the Asia-Pacific region, Mr Goff said.
Delegates from 26 countries were taking part and he would meeting with counterparts from Australia, Singapore, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Indonesia, the United Kingdom and Germany.
- NZPA
Don’t withdraw too soon: The lessons of East Timor
http://www.bloggernews.net/17199
This post was written by Nancy Reyes on 28 May, 2007 (20:27) | All News, Asian News, The United Nations, Iraq War, Philippines News
Those who want a “mini lesson” on how to rebuild a civil society after years of oppression need to look at East Timor, where 200 000 people were killed since Indonesia annexed it in 1975.
Finally, with the help of the UN an election was held, and people voted for independence. Alas, after the vote, Indonesian assisted rebels started a major massacre of civilians, leading an Australian led UN peacekeeping force that had to fight to protect the people.
The intervention by Australia led to two things: One, true independence for that country.
The second was enmity by Alqaeda: The Australian intervention was cited by Islamic extremists as the reason for both the Bali bombing, where Australian tourists were targeted, and the killing of UN Ambassador de Mello when a suicide bomber attacked the UN mission in Baghdad shortly after the US liberated that country.
The UN Peacekeepers stayed in East Timor for several years, but were phased back, starting in 2004, and full removed by 2005.
However, in 2006, factional fighting broke out again, leading to over 100 000 refugess and a couple dozen deaths. The UN quickly returned with outside troops, again mainly Australian.
They oversaw the mainly peaceful election earlier this month elected Nobel Peace laureate Jose Ramos Horta as president. It is hoped that he could unite the country.
The opposition “insurgents” denounced the election while demanding the withdrawal of Australian troops.
Last week, during a protest, one of the Philippine plolicewomen was hurt by the mob. There are 155 Filipino police peacekeepers serving in UNMIT..the UN Integrated Mission in Timor Leste.
Those in the US Congress who are impatient about Iraq would do well to ponder the lessons of East Timor.
One:Building a democracy when some become corrupted with the power of the gun is not easy, but without those trying to promote peace by preventing violent men from destroying a country.
Two: That premature withdrawal can result in resurgence of violence. It was only the quick reinjection of Australian troops that stopped thousands of deaths in 2006.
Three: Americans should be aware of the peacekeeping by Australia in the Asia Pacific area.
Four: Alqaeda/Islamofascism is not the cause of much of the disorders any more than international communism was the cause of the Huk/NPA rebellion, but the ability of these outside groups to coordinate funding and illegal arms smuggling to the most extreme groups lead to instability in many places in the world.
—————–
Nancy Reyes is a retired physician living in the Philippines. Her website is Finest Kind Clinic and Fishmarket
This post was written by Nancy Reyes on 28 May, 2007 (20:27) | All News, Asian News, The United Nations, Iraq War, Philippines News
Those who want a “mini lesson” on how to rebuild a civil society after years of oppression need to look at East Timor, where 200 000 people were killed since Indonesia annexed it in 1975.
Finally, with the help of the UN an election was held, and people voted for independence. Alas, after the vote, Indonesian assisted rebels started a major massacre of civilians, leading an Australian led UN peacekeeping force that had to fight to protect the people.
The intervention by Australia led to two things: One, true independence for that country.
The second was enmity by Alqaeda: The Australian intervention was cited by Islamic extremists as the reason for both the Bali bombing, where Australian tourists were targeted, and the killing of UN Ambassador de Mello when a suicide bomber attacked the UN mission in Baghdad shortly after the US liberated that country.
The UN Peacekeepers stayed in East Timor for several years, but were phased back, starting in 2004, and full removed by 2005.
However, in 2006, factional fighting broke out again, leading to over 100 000 refugess and a couple dozen deaths. The UN quickly returned with outside troops, again mainly Australian.
They oversaw the mainly peaceful election earlier this month elected Nobel Peace laureate Jose Ramos Horta as president. It is hoped that he could unite the country.
The opposition “insurgents” denounced the election while demanding the withdrawal of Australian troops.
Last week, during a protest, one of the Philippine plolicewomen was hurt by the mob. There are 155 Filipino police peacekeepers serving in UNMIT..the UN Integrated Mission in Timor Leste.
Those in the US Congress who are impatient about Iraq would do well to ponder the lessons of East Timor.
One:Building a democracy when some become corrupted with the power of the gun is not easy, but without those trying to promote peace by preventing violent men from destroying a country.
Two: That premature withdrawal can result in resurgence of violence. It was only the quick reinjection of Australian troops that stopped thousands of deaths in 2006.
Three: Americans should be aware of the peacekeeping by Australia in the Asia Pacific area.
Four: Alqaeda/Islamofascism is not the cause of much of the disorders any more than international communism was the cause of the Huk/NPA rebellion, but the ability of these outside groups to coordinate funding and illegal arms smuggling to the most extreme groups lead to instability in many places in the world.
—————–
Nancy Reyes is a retired physician living in the Philippines. Her website is Finest Kind Clinic and Fishmarket
EDITORIAL: East Timor's troubles
05/29/2007
http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200705290078.html
East Timor is celebrating its fifth year of independence, and we well recall the feelings of uplifting joy when this country finally gained freedom after a quarter century of Indonesian rule. Today, that joy has all but disappeared, and East Timor is on the brink of becoming a "failed state."
Earlier this month, Nobel Peace Prize winner Jose Ramos-Horta was elected president. One of his first declarations in office was that his priority is to enable women, children, elderly and young people to sleep in peace at night. The fact that he felt compelled to state this at his inauguration vividly illustrates the country's troubles.
A year ago this month, the capital Dili was a center of violence when elements of the East Timor military rioted. Houses and cars were torched and order broke down. Even today, tens of thousands of people are still in refugee camps.
Since independence, the gap between rich and poor has gradually widened. Animosity between different regions and ethnic groups is strong. It was such discontent festering among the people that coalesced and erupted into the 2006 crisis.
After fighting for independence and winning control of the government and military, the new East Timor government lapsed into a mire of corruption and inefficiency, losing popular support. Horta won the presidency by campaigning against corruption and inefficiency.
The United Nations played a large role in the initial period after East Timor's independence, until the new government activities could get under way. The United Nations sent 3,500 peacekeepers, including troops from Japan's Self-Defense Forces. But all peacekeepers had left East Timor by 2005. Things disintegrated into crisis the next year.
To quell the violence, Australia and other countries sent a multinational force to East Timor. The United Nations also sent in 3,000 peacekeepers. These troops made the latest presidential election possible.
U.N. officials admit that it pulled out its earlier peacekeeping mission too early. In conflict-ridden countries, it is common for civil war to flare once international groups pull out support.
This failure must not be repeated. This is why we stressed in our recent editorial series, "Proposals for Japan's New Strategies," the importance of peace-building. Helping rebuild war-torn nations is a task in which Japan can and should play a major role.
Now more than ever, the government must do everything in its power to help rebuild peace in East Timor. In the U.N. peacekeeping mission, the core functions needed from now on will be civil administration--something that Japan excels in. But only a few Japanese staff are in East Timor to help.
The government should urge the U.N. mission to accept Japanese into senior positions so as to help direct its mission in East Timor. At the same time, Japan should provide the personnel and funds for administrators and police, and to improve the legal system and other crucial tasks highly needed for rebuilding. And to prevent the resurgence of conflict, it is imperative that order and stability be restored to East Timor. It is also essential to establish and nurture dialogue between the leaders of various political factions.
As an Asian country, Japan has a responsibility to take the lead here. Organizations like the Japan International Cooperation Agency and NGOs may also have much to contribute.
Our leaders should also start thinking about what will happen in East Timor after the U.N. mission has left again. The new U.N. Peacebuilding Commission, created only last year, is ideal for this important task. Japan should advise the commission to include East Timor in its post-conflict recovery activities.
Japan has a responsibility to lend a helping hand throughout Asia, thereby preventing the region from having a failed state.
--The Asahi Shimbun, May 28(IHT/Asahi: May 29,2007)
http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200705290078.html
East Timor is celebrating its fifth year of independence, and we well recall the feelings of uplifting joy when this country finally gained freedom after a quarter century of Indonesian rule. Today, that joy has all but disappeared, and East Timor is on the brink of becoming a "failed state."
Earlier this month, Nobel Peace Prize winner Jose Ramos-Horta was elected president. One of his first declarations in office was that his priority is to enable women, children, elderly and young people to sleep in peace at night. The fact that he felt compelled to state this at his inauguration vividly illustrates the country's troubles.
A year ago this month, the capital Dili was a center of violence when elements of the East Timor military rioted. Houses and cars were torched and order broke down. Even today, tens of thousands of people are still in refugee camps.
Since independence, the gap between rich and poor has gradually widened. Animosity between different regions and ethnic groups is strong. It was such discontent festering among the people that coalesced and erupted into the 2006 crisis.
After fighting for independence and winning control of the government and military, the new East Timor government lapsed into a mire of corruption and inefficiency, losing popular support. Horta won the presidency by campaigning against corruption and inefficiency.
The United Nations played a large role in the initial period after East Timor's independence, until the new government activities could get under way. The United Nations sent 3,500 peacekeepers, including troops from Japan's Self-Defense Forces. But all peacekeepers had left East Timor by 2005. Things disintegrated into crisis the next year.
To quell the violence, Australia and other countries sent a multinational force to East Timor. The United Nations also sent in 3,000 peacekeepers. These troops made the latest presidential election possible.
U.N. officials admit that it pulled out its earlier peacekeeping mission too early. In conflict-ridden countries, it is common for civil war to flare once international groups pull out support.
This failure must not be repeated. This is why we stressed in our recent editorial series, "Proposals for Japan's New Strategies," the importance of peace-building. Helping rebuild war-torn nations is a task in which Japan can and should play a major role.
Now more than ever, the government must do everything in its power to help rebuild peace in East Timor. In the U.N. peacekeeping mission, the core functions needed from now on will be civil administration--something that Japan excels in. But only a few Japanese staff are in East Timor to help.
The government should urge the U.N. mission to accept Japanese into senior positions so as to help direct its mission in East Timor. At the same time, Japan should provide the personnel and funds for administrators and police, and to improve the legal system and other crucial tasks highly needed for rebuilding. And to prevent the resurgence of conflict, it is imperative that order and stability be restored to East Timor. It is also essential to establish and nurture dialogue between the leaders of various political factions.
As an Asian country, Japan has a responsibility to take the lead here. Organizations like the Japan International Cooperation Agency and NGOs may also have much to contribute.
Our leaders should also start thinking about what will happen in East Timor after the U.N. mission has left again. The new U.N. Peacebuilding Commission, created only last year, is ideal for this important task. Japan should advise the commission to include East Timor in its post-conflict recovery activities.
Japan has a responsibility to lend a helping hand throughout Asia, thereby preventing the region from having a failed state.
--The Asahi Shimbun, May 28(IHT/Asahi: May 29,2007)
Political Party Accord (unofficial translation)
Timor Leste, 25 May 2007
Political Parties participating in the 2007 Parliamentary elections in Timor-Leste agree to sign an Accord as a commitment to regulate their actions in the campaign process until the Election Day on 30 June 2007 and the post-election period. This Accord is intended to be a complementary document at the initiative of Political Parties without any contradiction with the Code of Conduct as issued by CNE.
All Political Parties accept their responsibility to issue clear instructions to their members and supporters in order to respect this Accord and the Code of Conduct. Parties commit to denounce any of their members or supporters who violate this Accord.
In order to support and strengthen this Accord and the Code of Conduct, the Political Parties agree with following points:
a)Political Parties who signed this document, commit to respect and implement this Accord and Code of Conduct as issued by the CNE.
b)Political Parties shall immediately notify the CNE, in writing, the details of any alleged violations, with copies to other Parties, UNMIT and election observer organizations. Should any serious case, which merits criminal prosecution, arise witness information shall also be submitted to relevant authorities so that legal measures and processes can be undertaken.
c)Political Parties shall give due consideration to information provided by other Parties, the CNE, STAE, UNMIT, UNPOL, PNTL and election observers, and shall seek to resolve any allegations arising from their members and supporters through dialogue.
d)Political Parties agree to meet jointly together at the national, district, sub-district and village levels to discuss any reported violations and to prevent any further incidents. Such discussions shall not, however, replace any criminal prosecution, which may be required.
Therefore, all Political Parties who signed this Accord condemn all forms of violence, terror and intimidation as well as anybody who uses the opportunity of elections to address localised disputes under the guise of political affiliation or association which may be associated with the campaigns, voting and announcement of results for the Parliamentary elections.
Political Parties shall jointly denounce and condemn any irregularities or partiality of the organs administering and supervising the electoral process (campaign, election and counting of votes).
Political Parties leaders shall also provide guidance and instruction to party coordinators in districts, sub-districts, villages and sub-villages, to accept this Accord and also encourage an environment of peace, tolerance and respect for one another.
The Parties who signed this Accord reaffirm their belief in the basic principles of good governance such as inclusiveness, participation, transparency, accountability and other principles in accordance with the rules of a democratic State based on the rule of law.
The Parties or coalition that may be elected to government shall ensure a meaningful role for the opposition in parliament as well as the participation of civil society in the political, economic and social development process of this country.
Political parties agree that, should they become opposition parties, they shall make constructive contributions with a view towards pursuing the process of developing public policies and legislation and that they shall strive to secure that the National Parliament, as a sovereign organ, shall respond to the needs of the people.
Political Parties hereby pledge that they shall not politicise State institutions such as the F-FDTL, PNTL and the Public Administration.
For one people, for one nation, for national unity, for democracy and the stability of national security, for peace and progress.
Political Parties participating in the 2007 Parliamentary elections in Timor-Leste agree to sign an Accord as a commitment to regulate their actions in the campaign process until the Election Day on 30 June 2007 and the post-election period. This Accord is intended to be a complementary document at the initiative of Political Parties without any contradiction with the Code of Conduct as issued by CNE.
All Political Parties accept their responsibility to issue clear instructions to their members and supporters in order to respect this Accord and the Code of Conduct. Parties commit to denounce any of their members or supporters who violate this Accord.
In order to support and strengthen this Accord and the Code of Conduct, the Political Parties agree with following points:
a)Political Parties who signed this document, commit to respect and implement this Accord and Code of Conduct as issued by the CNE.
b)Political Parties shall immediately notify the CNE, in writing, the details of any alleged violations, with copies to other Parties, UNMIT and election observer organizations. Should any serious case, which merits criminal prosecution, arise witness information shall also be submitted to relevant authorities so that legal measures and processes can be undertaken.
c)Political Parties shall give due consideration to information provided by other Parties, the CNE, STAE, UNMIT, UNPOL, PNTL and election observers, and shall seek to resolve any allegations arising from their members and supporters through dialogue.
d)Political Parties agree to meet jointly together at the national, district, sub-district and village levels to discuss any reported violations and to prevent any further incidents. Such discussions shall not, however, replace any criminal prosecution, which may be required.
Therefore, all Political Parties who signed this Accord condemn all forms of violence, terror and intimidation as well as anybody who uses the opportunity of elections to address localised disputes under the guise of political affiliation or association which may be associated with the campaigns, voting and announcement of results for the Parliamentary elections.
Political Parties shall jointly denounce and condemn any irregularities or partiality of the organs administering and supervising the electoral process (campaign, election and counting of votes).
Political Parties leaders shall also provide guidance and instruction to party coordinators in districts, sub-districts, villages and sub-villages, to accept this Accord and also encourage an environment of peace, tolerance and respect for one another.
The Parties who signed this Accord reaffirm their belief in the basic principles of good governance such as inclusiveness, participation, transparency, accountability and other principles in accordance with the rules of a democratic State based on the rule of law.
The Parties or coalition that may be elected to government shall ensure a meaningful role for the opposition in parliament as well as the participation of civil society in the political, economic and social development process of this country.
Political parties agree that, should they become opposition parties, they shall make constructive contributions with a view towards pursuing the process of developing public policies and legislation and that they shall strive to secure that the National Parliament, as a sovereign organ, shall respond to the needs of the people.
Political Parties hereby pledge that they shall not politicise State institutions such as the F-FDTL, PNTL and the Public Administration.
For one people, for one nation, for national unity, for democracy and the stability of national security, for peace and progress.
UNMIT Welcomes the Signing of the Political Accord ahead of the June 30 Election
Dili, May 28, 2007 - The head of the UN Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT) has welcomed the signing of a document that harnesses the collective will of all political parties to a free and fair June 30 election.
Importantly, the Political Party Accord also covers basic principles of governance after the elections. It commits all parties to a constructive and inclusive democratic process for the new government and opposition.
The Accord has the agreement of all 16 political parties in Timor-Leste.
The head of UNMIT, Mr Atul Khare congratulated all parties for their participation and willingness to reach an agreement.
“The Accord commits the winning party to representing the voices of the majority while listening to and accommodating the needs of the minority. It will also ensure that the minority will adopt a constructive role as a dynamic opposition capable of providing democratic checks and balances.
The new parliament will need a strong and vibrant opposition to ensure that democracy continues to mature in Timor-Leste,” Mr Khare said.
“In the Accord, the pasties commit themselves to ensure that this takes place.”
Also in Dili on Friday, the political parties signed a “Code of Conduct” that commits all parties, their candidates, their representatives and supporters to accept the results, or to challenge them only in competent courts; and to campaign positively through programmes of action not personal criticism of other candidates.
The Code of Conduct was drafted and approved by the national authorities charged with running the parliamentary election.
“Today’s signings demonstrate clearly the agreement of all political parties to play their role freely, fairly and transparently not just during the campaign and voting period, but in the formation of the new parliament and the opposition,” Mr Khare said.
UNMIT is mandated through Security Council Resolution 1704 to “support Timor-Leste in all aspects of the 2007 presidential and parliamentary electoral process, including through technical and logistical support, electoral policy advice and verification or other means.”
For further information please contact UNMIT spokesperson Allison Cooper on +670 7230453
Importantly, the Political Party Accord also covers basic principles of governance after the elections. It commits all parties to a constructive and inclusive democratic process for the new government and opposition.
The Accord has the agreement of all 16 political parties in Timor-Leste.
The head of UNMIT, Mr Atul Khare congratulated all parties for their participation and willingness to reach an agreement.
“The Accord commits the winning party to representing the voices of the majority while listening to and accommodating the needs of the minority. It will also ensure that the minority will adopt a constructive role as a dynamic opposition capable of providing democratic checks and balances.
The new parliament will need a strong and vibrant opposition to ensure that democracy continues to mature in Timor-Leste,” Mr Khare said.
“In the Accord, the pasties commit themselves to ensure that this takes place.”
Also in Dili on Friday, the political parties signed a “Code of Conduct” that commits all parties, their candidates, their representatives and supporters to accept the results, or to challenge them only in competent courts; and to campaign positively through programmes of action not personal criticism of other candidates.
The Code of Conduct was drafted and approved by the national authorities charged with running the parliamentary election.
“Today’s signings demonstrate clearly the agreement of all political parties to play their role freely, fairly and transparently not just during the campaign and voting period, but in the formation of the new parliament and the opposition,” Mr Khare said.
UNMIT is mandated through Security Council Resolution 1704 to “support Timor-Leste in all aspects of the 2007 presidential and parliamentary electoral process, including through technical and logistical support, electoral policy advice and verification or other means.”
For further information please contact UNMIT spokesperson Allison Cooper on +670 7230453
Monday, May 28, 2007
Elections - Intel Brief: East Timor, change in the air
Continuing violence and mismanagement has led to a loss of support for the party that has dominated East Timor's political scene since independence, and June elections are likely to see a change in leadership
By Rachel F Kesselman
May 25, 2007
With the election of President Jose Ramos-Horta on 10 May 2007, it is unlikely that the contending Fretilin Party in East Timor will significantly rise above its current 30 percent voter support in the run-up to 30 June parliamentary elections. Thirty percent support in the upcoming election is likely to decimate Fretilin's dominance in the government, reducing the number of seats they hold to approximately 20 out of a 65-seat assembly.
Horta, a former Nobel Peace Prize winner, garnered approximately 73 percent of the vote in a run-off election, and high voting numbers in his favor are likely due to continuing violence and poor management on behalf of the Fretilin Party.
Horta, who spearheaded the independence struggle overseas, secured the backing of five of the candidates defeated in the first round of voting a month ago. He swept 10 of the country's 13 districts, gaining up to 15 times as many votes as his rival in some areas.
Former East Timor president Xanana Gusmao blames the Fretilin party for violent clashes in the run-up to the recent presidential vote and warned of a spiral of violence if Fretilin's candidate lost. Reuters reported that rival party supporters threw rocks at each other during the last day of official campaigning for the presidential election and injuring at least 30 people.
According to Horta, intimidation tactics have been widespread in some districts and sub-districts by hardliner Fretilin elements that include top officials. It is likely that this action will remain counter-productive to Fretilin's credibility in the upcoming election.
Fretilin has dominated the government since East Timor won its independence in 2002, and is the party most closely associated with the struggle for self-rule. Fretilin's now-disbanded military wing, Falintil, waged the guerrilla war against Indonesia in 1975.
Fretilin's party president, Francisco Guterres, earned only 27 percent of the presidential vote, and he has acknowledged that his party must work hard to retain its seats in the parliamentary election. At least 10,000 Fretilin supporters abandoned the party to vote for Horta in the presidential run-off election. It appears that Fretilin did not gain any extra votes in the second round election, while Horta gained the votes of all the losing candidates from the first round poll.
Analysts and election observers stationed in the country believe the massive win in the second-round presidential poll could signal a shift in East Timor's political scene ahead of the national legislative elections in June. They say that the weakening of Fretilin's grip on power, as suggested by the election results, could open the way for a more vibrant democracy. However, Horta points out that the party is still a very important political force.
Former president Gusmao intends to run for prime minister in June, a more powerful post in East Timor than the presidency. This move indicates that he will likely attempt to seize control of parliament from Fretilin. Gusmao has formed a new right-wing political party and aims to create a coalition government of anti-Fretilin parties following parliamentary elections, according to media reports.
Former prime minister and current Fretilin Secretary-General Mari Alkatiri insists he will continue to lead the party into the parliamentary elections even though he appears to be unpopular. The June elections will increase tensions across the country as Gusmao and Alkatiri have been political enemies for decades.
Many citizens blame Fretilin for the violence that took place in 2006 and general mismanagement of the country, according to a report in the UK-based paper The Guardian. UN officials in the capital of Dili say one of the fundamental weaknesses of the government has been the lack of administrative capability to implement programs approved in the budget. This has led to delays in government spending on improved infrastructure and services. Rural infrastructure, market buildings, country roads, clinics and homes destroyed in the militia mayhem of 1999 remain untouched. At the same time, private investment has been low.
Despite sizable offshore oil and gas deposits, nearly half of East Timor's work force is unemployed, around 60 percent of children under five are malnourished and tens of thousands of people displaced last year remain in tent camps, according to a report in The International Herald Tribune.
Violence has plagued East Timor since it gained independence in 2002. The country plunged into a political and security crisis in May 2006 after approximately 40 percent of the army went on strike over alleged discrimination in promotions and compensation. The government under Prime Minister Alkatiri fired the striking soldiers, sparking a wave of violence that drove approximately 150,000 people from their homes and killed 37 others - factors which likely lead to Fretilin's diminished support for Guterres.
Mercyhurst-ISN intelligence briefs offer foresight into issues that are likely to dominate news headlines and policy agendas. The briefs are a joint initiative of the ISN and Mercyhurst Institute for Intelligence Studies and are composed and referenced using open sources
By Rachel F Kesselman
May 25, 2007
With the election of President Jose Ramos-Horta on 10 May 2007, it is unlikely that the contending Fretilin Party in East Timor will significantly rise above its current 30 percent voter support in the run-up to 30 June parliamentary elections. Thirty percent support in the upcoming election is likely to decimate Fretilin's dominance in the government, reducing the number of seats they hold to approximately 20 out of a 65-seat assembly.
Horta, a former Nobel Peace Prize winner, garnered approximately 73 percent of the vote in a run-off election, and high voting numbers in his favor are likely due to continuing violence and poor management on behalf of the Fretilin Party.
Horta, who spearheaded the independence struggle overseas, secured the backing of five of the candidates defeated in the first round of voting a month ago. He swept 10 of the country's 13 districts, gaining up to 15 times as many votes as his rival in some areas.
Former East Timor president Xanana Gusmao blames the Fretilin party for violent clashes in the run-up to the recent presidential vote and warned of a spiral of violence if Fretilin's candidate lost. Reuters reported that rival party supporters threw rocks at each other during the last day of official campaigning for the presidential election and injuring at least 30 people.
According to Horta, intimidation tactics have been widespread in some districts and sub-districts by hardliner Fretilin elements that include top officials. It is likely that this action will remain counter-productive to Fretilin's credibility in the upcoming election.
Fretilin has dominated the government since East Timor won its independence in 2002, and is the party most closely associated with the struggle for self-rule. Fretilin's now-disbanded military wing, Falintil, waged the guerrilla war against Indonesia in 1975.
Fretilin's party president, Francisco Guterres, earned only 27 percent of the presidential vote, and he has acknowledged that his party must work hard to retain its seats in the parliamentary election. At least 10,000 Fretilin supporters abandoned the party to vote for Horta in the presidential run-off election. It appears that Fretilin did not gain any extra votes in the second round election, while Horta gained the votes of all the losing candidates from the first round poll.
Analysts and election observers stationed in the country believe the massive win in the second-round presidential poll could signal a shift in East Timor's political scene ahead of the national legislative elections in June. They say that the weakening of Fretilin's grip on power, as suggested by the election results, could open the way for a more vibrant democracy. However, Horta points out that the party is still a very important political force.
Former president Gusmao intends to run for prime minister in June, a more powerful post in East Timor than the presidency. This move indicates that he will likely attempt to seize control of parliament from Fretilin. Gusmao has formed a new right-wing political party and aims to create a coalition government of anti-Fretilin parties following parliamentary elections, according to media reports.
Former prime minister and current Fretilin Secretary-General Mari Alkatiri insists he will continue to lead the party into the parliamentary elections even though he appears to be unpopular. The June elections will increase tensions across the country as Gusmao and Alkatiri have been political enemies for decades.
Many citizens blame Fretilin for the violence that took place in 2006 and general mismanagement of the country, according to a report in the UK-based paper The Guardian. UN officials in the capital of Dili say one of the fundamental weaknesses of the government has been the lack of administrative capability to implement programs approved in the budget. This has led to delays in government spending on improved infrastructure and services. Rural infrastructure, market buildings, country roads, clinics and homes destroyed in the militia mayhem of 1999 remain untouched. At the same time, private investment has been low.
Despite sizable offshore oil and gas deposits, nearly half of East Timor's work force is unemployed, around 60 percent of children under five are malnourished and tens of thousands of people displaced last year remain in tent camps, according to a report in The International Herald Tribune.
Violence has plagued East Timor since it gained independence in 2002. The country plunged into a political and security crisis in May 2006 after approximately 40 percent of the army went on strike over alleged discrimination in promotions and compensation. The government under Prime Minister Alkatiri fired the striking soldiers, sparking a wave of violence that drove approximately 150,000 people from their homes and killed 37 others - factors which likely lead to Fretilin's diminished support for Guterres.
Mercyhurst-ISN intelligence briefs offer foresight into issues that are likely to dominate news headlines and policy agendas. The briefs are a joint initiative of the ISN and Mercyhurst Institute for Intelligence Studies and are composed and referenced using open sources
UN committed to East Timor's Parliamentary elections
The United Nations says it's committed to ensuring next month's crucial parliamentary election in East Timor is safe and secure for voters and organisers.
A deputy head of the UN mission in East Timor says UN and local police will guard polling stations for the June 30 election to choose a new prime minister and parliamentarians.
The officers are seen as crucial to helping secure the vote after East Timor descended into violence last year that left 37 people dead.
About 4,000 UN and local police, backed by Australian-led peacekeeping troops, guarded this month's presidential election, which was hailed as peaceful and produced few reports of voter intimidation.
A deputy head of the UN mission in East Timor says UN and local police will guard polling stations for the June 30 election to choose a new prime minister and parliamentarians.
The officers are seen as crucial to helping secure the vote after East Timor descended into violence last year that left 37 people dead.
About 4,000 UN and local police, backed by Australian-led peacekeeping troops, guarded this month's presidential election, which was hailed as peaceful and produced few reports of voter intimidation.
EAST TIMOR: PRESIDENTIAL WIN GIVES NO PARLIAMENTARY GUARANTEE
EAST TIMOR: PRESIDENTIAL WIN GIVES NO PARLIAMENTARY GUARANTEE
Dili, 11 May (AKI) - The clear victory of Jose Ramos Horta in the East Timor presidential race does not mean his party will neccessarily repeat that success in the parliamentary vote in June, according to Damian Kingsbury, an academic and Australian expert. In an interview with Adnkronos International (AKI) Kingsbury indicated that Fretilin, the party of the defeated candidate for president Francisco 'Lu-Olo' Guterres, will sweep the polls.
According to non official results, Horta has secured 73 percent of the vote in Wednesday's run off which passed off peacefully.
"The two main characteristics of the voting have been the high voter turn-out, and the consistency of the vote" he said.
More than 80 percent of the 524,000 eligible electors took part in the polls, the first since East Timor won its independence in 2002. In the first round, on 9 April, Guterres had obtained nearly 28 percent of the preferences. The six defeated candidates had then told their supporters to back Horta in the run-off.
Horta said he would "work to accelerate the economic development of the country promoting foreign investment, eradicating poverty and healing teh wounds of the violence of the past year."
The presidential elections come after a year of political tension and violence which has polarised much of the population, forced a change of government, forced 150,000 Timorese to abandon their homes. In the violence put down with the arrival of foreign peacekeeping troops in which scores of people were killed.
Kingsbury pointed out that Fretilin continues to have a hard core of supporters and it will probably be enough to make it win the elections on 30 June.
From this consistent voting behavior, it is now possible to assume that Fretilin will receive around 30 percent of the votes in the coming parliamentary elections in June, which should be enough to gain the majority.
http://www.adnki.com/index_2Level_English.php?cat=Politics&loid=8.0.413817958&par=0
The legislative elections are considered more important than the presidential vote as, in the Timorese political system, power resides with the prime ministers, the party member given the job of forming the government.
In any case, according to the predictions of analysts, Fretilin will need the support of the other parties to form the government and if the party of Guterres, led by the former prime minister Mari Alkatiri, does not manage to find a partner, the task of forming the government would go to the party which came second in the vote.
Among the top contenders Kingsbury indicated the party of the current president Xanana Gusmao, the National Congress for the Reconstruction of Timor, or Democratic Party.
Dili, 11 May (AKI) - The clear victory of Jose Ramos Horta in the East Timor presidential race does not mean his party will neccessarily repeat that success in the parliamentary vote in June, according to Damian Kingsbury, an academic and Australian expert. In an interview with Adnkronos International (AKI) Kingsbury indicated that Fretilin, the party of the defeated candidate for president Francisco 'Lu-Olo' Guterres, will sweep the polls.
According to non official results, Horta has secured 73 percent of the vote in Wednesday's run off which passed off peacefully.
"The two main characteristics of the voting have been the high voter turn-out, and the consistency of the vote" he said.
More than 80 percent of the 524,000 eligible electors took part in the polls, the first since East Timor won its independence in 2002. In the first round, on 9 April, Guterres had obtained nearly 28 percent of the preferences. The six defeated candidates had then told their supporters to back Horta in the run-off.
Horta said he would "work to accelerate the economic development of the country promoting foreign investment, eradicating poverty and healing teh wounds of the violence of the past year."
The presidential elections come after a year of political tension and violence which has polarised much of the population, forced a change of government, forced 150,000 Timorese to abandon their homes. In the violence put down with the arrival of foreign peacekeeping troops in which scores of people were killed.
Kingsbury pointed out that Fretilin continues to have a hard core of supporters and it will probably be enough to make it win the elections on 30 June.
From this consistent voting behavior, it is now possible to assume that Fretilin will receive around 30 percent of the votes in the coming parliamentary elections in June, which should be enough to gain the majority.
http://www.adnki.com/index_2Level_English.php?cat=Politics&loid=8.0.413817958&par=0
The legislative elections are considered more important than the presidential vote as, in the Timorese political system, power resides with the prime ministers, the party member given the job of forming the government.
In any case, according to the predictions of analysts, Fretilin will need the support of the other parties to form the government and if the party of Guterres, led by the former prime minister Mari Alkatiri, does not manage to find a partner, the task of forming the government would go to the party which came second in the vote.
Among the top contenders Kingsbury indicated the party of the current president Xanana Gusmao, the National Congress for the Reconstruction of Timor, or Democratic Party.
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Unrest in East Timor as president sworn in
By staff writers and wires
May 20, 2007 05:23pm
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,21763413-38196,00.html?from=public_rss
NOBEL peace laureate Jose Ramos-Horta was sworn in as President of East Timor today at a ceremony in Dili as police clashed with sparring groups in the capital.
Mr Ramos-Horta vowed to guarantee East Timor's stability at the ceremony, held at the heavily guarded national parliament building.
But just hours later fighting erupted in the city between supporters of the small political party supporting Mr Ramos-Horta and the ruling Fretlin party.
"About 50 UN police arrived quickly on the site and immediately set about arresting some 70 people, handcuffing them and putting them in vans," said an AFP reporter at the scene.
The arrests enraged the fighting groups who then started pelting the police vans with stones, prompting UN police to fire warning shots and tear gas.
"The glass panels of three UN police vehicles were broken by the stones and one female UN police member was hit on the arm by a stone," the reporter said.
Ceremony
Mr Ramos-Horta, who spent years abroad as a spokesman for East Timor's struggle for independence from Indonesian occupation, took nearly 70 per cent of the vote in the May 9 election.
"I will... obey the constitution to guarantee national unity and the stability of the nation," he said at the ceremony, dressed in a formal jacket.
His victory has raised hopes of greater stability in a nation still struggling to heal divisions five years after it won independence from Indonesia.
"As a new president... I will follow the steps of outgoing president Xanana Gusmao to realise peoples' dreams... I will find a way to end the crisis in the country," the 57-year-old said.
In a speech delivered in four languages – East Timor's national language Tetum, Portuguese, English and Indonesian – Mr Ramos-Horta urged street gangs to end all violence "because it just destroys the nation".
Mr Ramos-Horta took over as prime minister last year from a Fretilin leader who had been blamed for failing to control riots that left up to 30 people dead.
Activist history
Indonesia annexed East Timor in 1975 after long-time colonial power Portugal had set it free.
Pictures at the time show Mr Ramos-Horta, an anti-colonial journalist and activist under Portuguese rule, as a fatigue-wearing rebel with bushy black hair.
Today, with his short, greying hair and spectacles, he has an almost academic air.
Although he shares revolutionary roots with the Fretilin party, Mr Ramos-Horta has taken an increasingly independent path and is seen as somewhat more friendly than Fretilin stalwarts to international investment and the West.
He won the Nobel Prize in 1996 and returned to East Timor in 1999 after two decades abroad.
East Timor voted for independence from Indonesia in a violence-marred referendum in 1999. It became fully independent in 2002 after a period of UN administration.
With AFP and Reuters
May 20, 2007 05:23pm
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,21763413-38196,00.html?from=public_rss
NOBEL peace laureate Jose Ramos-Horta was sworn in as President of East Timor today at a ceremony in Dili as police clashed with sparring groups in the capital.
Mr Ramos-Horta vowed to guarantee East Timor's stability at the ceremony, held at the heavily guarded national parliament building.
But just hours later fighting erupted in the city between supporters of the small political party supporting Mr Ramos-Horta and the ruling Fretlin party.
"About 50 UN police arrived quickly on the site and immediately set about arresting some 70 people, handcuffing them and putting them in vans," said an AFP reporter at the scene.
The arrests enraged the fighting groups who then started pelting the police vans with stones, prompting UN police to fire warning shots and tear gas.
"The glass panels of three UN police vehicles were broken by the stones and one female UN police member was hit on the arm by a stone," the reporter said.
Ceremony
Mr Ramos-Horta, who spent years abroad as a spokesman for East Timor's struggle for independence from Indonesian occupation, took nearly 70 per cent of the vote in the May 9 election.
"I will... obey the constitution to guarantee national unity and the stability of the nation," he said at the ceremony, dressed in a formal jacket.
His victory has raised hopes of greater stability in a nation still struggling to heal divisions five years after it won independence from Indonesia.
"As a new president... I will follow the steps of outgoing president Xanana Gusmao to realise peoples' dreams... I will find a way to end the crisis in the country," the 57-year-old said.
In a speech delivered in four languages – East Timor's national language Tetum, Portuguese, English and Indonesian – Mr Ramos-Horta urged street gangs to end all violence "because it just destroys the nation".
Mr Ramos-Horta took over as prime minister last year from a Fretilin leader who had been blamed for failing to control riots that left up to 30 people dead.
Activist history
Indonesia annexed East Timor in 1975 after long-time colonial power Portugal had set it free.
Pictures at the time show Mr Ramos-Horta, an anti-colonial journalist and activist under Portuguese rule, as a fatigue-wearing rebel with bushy black hair.
Today, with his short, greying hair and spectacles, he has an almost academic air.
Although he shares revolutionary roots with the Fretilin party, Mr Ramos-Horta has taken an increasingly independent path and is seen as somewhat more friendly than Fretilin stalwarts to international investment and the West.
He won the Nobel Prize in 1996 and returned to East Timor in 1999 after two decades abroad.
East Timor voted for independence from Indonesia in a violence-marred referendum in 1999. It became fully independent in 2002 after a period of UN administration.
With AFP and Reuters
E Timor's interim PM sworn in
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200705/s1927573.htm
Print Email
Last Update: Saturday, May 19, 2007. 4:42pm (AEST)
Estanislau Aleixo da Silva has been sworn in as East Timor's interim prime minister, succeeding Jose Ramos Horta, who was elected president of the tiny state in a landslide earlier this month.
Mr Da Silva, a member of the ruling Fretilin party, will only serve until next month's parliamentary elections, in which outgoing President Xanana Gusmao is widely tipped to become the next prime minister.
"I feel honoured that I am trusted by my party as well as by President Xanana to hold the post of prime minister," he told reporters after a ceremony at the presidential palace, presided over by Mr Gusmao.
"I do not want to make many promises as it's only for a brief period. I only want to promise you that I'll work hard to create good conditions for the next election, to enable Timorese people to exercise their voting rights."
Mr Da Silva previously served as deputy prime minister and agriculture minister.
He confirmed rumours that foreign minister Luis Guterres had been sacked, without offering further details.
Dr Ramos Horta, who is to be sworn in on Sunday (local time), won 69 per cent of the vote in the election, defeating the Fretilin candidate and raising hopes among many East Timorese that he will bring peace after last year's deadly unrest.
The election was the impoverished nation's first since it won independence in 2002 following a bloody separation from occupying Indonesian forces.
-AFP
Print Email
Last Update: Saturday, May 19, 2007. 4:42pm (AEST)
Estanislau Aleixo da Silva has been sworn in as East Timor's interim prime minister, succeeding Jose Ramos Horta, who was elected president of the tiny state in a landslide earlier this month.
Mr Da Silva, a member of the ruling Fretilin party, will only serve until next month's parliamentary elections, in which outgoing President Xanana Gusmao is widely tipped to become the next prime minister.
"I feel honoured that I am trusted by my party as well as by President Xanana to hold the post of prime minister," he told reporters after a ceremony at the presidential palace, presided over by Mr Gusmao.
"I do not want to make many promises as it's only for a brief period. I only want to promise you that I'll work hard to create good conditions for the next election, to enable Timorese people to exercise their voting rights."
Mr Da Silva previously served as deputy prime minister and agriculture minister.
He confirmed rumours that foreign minister Luis Guterres had been sacked, without offering further details.
Dr Ramos Horta, who is to be sworn in on Sunday (local time), won 69 per cent of the vote in the election, defeating the Fretilin candidate and raising hopes among many East Timorese that he will bring peace after last year's deadly unrest.
The election was the impoverished nation's first since it won independence in 2002 following a bloody separation from occupying Indonesian forces.
-AFP
East Timor swears in new president
E Timor's new president sworn in
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/6673717.stm
Nobel Peace Prize winner Jose Ramos-Horta has been sworn in East Timor's new president.
Taking the oath of office in the capital, Dili, Mr Ramos-Horta vowed to work for national unity and stability.
Mr Ramos-Horta won the May run-off vote with almost 70% of the vote, beating parliament head Francisco Guterres.
He replaces Xanana Gusmao, who is to contest elections next month for the more powerful post of prime minister - the role vacated by Mr Ramos-Horta.
Many in East Timor hope Mr Ramos-Horta's victory in relatively peaceful polls will bring stability to a nation struggling with severe poverty and still recovering from last year's violent clashes.
'End the crisis'
Representatives from around the region gathered at parliament house for the official ceremony, which coincided with the fifth anniversary of East Timor's formal independence.
East Timor broke away from 25 years of Indonesian rule in a 1999 referendum, before being run under UN protection until May 2002.
Speaking after he was sworn in, Mr Ramos-Horta promised to find "the way to end the crisis of the country", and to tackle differences between the police and armed forces.
In May and June 2006 tensions between the two sides triggered weeks of street clashes that left more than 30 people dead and tens of thousands homeless.
Mr Ramos-Horta also appealed to young people to end a culture of clashes between street gangs.
"With vengeance and violence, we will not win over anything," he said. "With conscience in our hearts and our minds, with books and computers, we can win."
Mr Ramos-Horta has previously served as foreign minister. He spent years in exile leading the country's campaign for independence from Indonesia, for which he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1996.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/6673717.stm
Nobel Peace Prize winner Jose Ramos-Horta has been sworn in East Timor's new president.
Taking the oath of office in the capital, Dili, Mr Ramos-Horta vowed to work for national unity and stability.
Mr Ramos-Horta won the May run-off vote with almost 70% of the vote, beating parliament head Francisco Guterres.
He replaces Xanana Gusmao, who is to contest elections next month for the more powerful post of prime minister - the role vacated by Mr Ramos-Horta.
Many in East Timor hope Mr Ramos-Horta's victory in relatively peaceful polls will bring stability to a nation struggling with severe poverty and still recovering from last year's violent clashes.
'End the crisis'
Representatives from around the region gathered at parliament house for the official ceremony, which coincided with the fifth anniversary of East Timor's formal independence.
East Timor broke away from 25 years of Indonesian rule in a 1999 referendum, before being run under UN protection until May 2002.
Speaking after he was sworn in, Mr Ramos-Horta promised to find "the way to end the crisis of the country", and to tackle differences between the police and armed forces.
In May and June 2006 tensions between the two sides triggered weeks of street clashes that left more than 30 people dead and tens of thousands homeless.
Mr Ramos-Horta also appealed to young people to end a culture of clashes between street gangs.
"With vengeance and violence, we will not win over anything," he said. "With conscience in our hearts and our minds, with books and computers, we can win."
Mr Ramos-Horta has previously served as foreign minister. He spent years in exile leading the country's campaign for independence from Indonesia, for which he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1996.
Congratulations to the people of East Timor
http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2007/may/18/yehey/opinion/20070518opi1.html
Friday, May 18, 2007
EDITORIAL
The Filipinos should congratulate Nobel Peace Prize laureate Jose Ramos-Horta on his election as president of East Timor. Also to be lauded are the people of Timor Leste for taking their country one more step closer to permanent stability as a democracy, as a prosperous nation-state and (soon enough, we hope) as a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
Although foreign friends, like Australians and New Zealanders in addition to the United Nations itself, were around to help, this election was the first the East Timorese have managed by themselves since it won independence in 2002. Timor Leste’s independence followed a bloody separation from Indonesia whose occupying forces supported violent Timorese factions trying to prevent East Timor’s independence.
Voter participation was high—81 percent of the voting population. This indicates that Timor Leste’s people are eager to create for themselves a democratic government and society.
Ramos-Horta became East Timor’s officially declared president on Wednesday and will be formally sworn in on Sunday. He won 69 percent of the vote in the election, raising hopes that he will bring peace and heal divisions for good.
East Timor is the world’s youngest nation. Like the Philippines, Roman Catholics make up the majority of the 1-million population.
Until only a year ago, it was wracked by civil unrest. UN peacekeepers and local police have been keeping the peace since violence broke out between rival political groups. Killed in the series of fighting were 37 people. Forced to flee from their homes, like our collaterally damaged Muslim compatriots in Sulu, were 150,000 people.
President Ramos Horta’s first work of healing is that of placating disgruntled soldiers who were removed from the army because they had become followers of trouble-making officers.
Horta’s victory devastates Fretilin, which was the chief freedom-fighting force against Indonesian occupation and has ruled East Timor since the country gained independence five years ago.
Led by deposed prime minister Mari Alkatiri, the Fretilin party will surely slug it out with Horta’s prodemocracy coalition again in the parliamentary elections on June 30. It will have to amend its present ideology, objectives and tactics that by and large are seen as the cause of much of the unrest that Timor Leste has suffered.
Outgoing president Xanana Gusmao, another former freedom fighter, steps down on May 20 when Ramos-Horta assumes office. Gusmao has formed a party to contest the parliamentary election against Fretilin. He and Ramos-Horta are allies in the coalition. Gusmao and his candidates will not find it hard to beat those of the Fretilin in June.
With a parliament allied to Ramos-Horta and Gusmao, correct planning and hard work for East Timor’s future are assured.
Foreign election observers
President Ramos Horta will surely push for the United Nations to manage the parliamentary elections to make sure that no trouble happens and the rest of the world accepts the results.
The head of the UN mission in East Timor, Atul Khare, described Wednesday’s presidential poll, which was relatively free of violence, as a “very good result.”
If only UN mission people were watching our own midterm elections last Monday, they would have given the same assessment as Khare’s. Alas, our foreign observers were a mixed bag of US-style liberals and internationalist leftists. Some of them, even before they got the facts right and without benefit of learning the background of the places they were observing, had formed their biased and rather ignorant opinions. Their statements were immediately given global exposure by print, radio and TV media.
Now many global media audiences think East Timor is more democratic than the Philippines.
Friday, May 18, 2007
EDITORIAL
The Filipinos should congratulate Nobel Peace Prize laureate Jose Ramos-Horta on his election as president of East Timor. Also to be lauded are the people of Timor Leste for taking their country one more step closer to permanent stability as a democracy, as a prosperous nation-state and (soon enough, we hope) as a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
Although foreign friends, like Australians and New Zealanders in addition to the United Nations itself, were around to help, this election was the first the East Timorese have managed by themselves since it won independence in 2002. Timor Leste’s independence followed a bloody separation from Indonesia whose occupying forces supported violent Timorese factions trying to prevent East Timor’s independence.
Voter participation was high—81 percent of the voting population. This indicates that Timor Leste’s people are eager to create for themselves a democratic government and society.
Ramos-Horta became East Timor’s officially declared president on Wednesday and will be formally sworn in on Sunday. He won 69 percent of the vote in the election, raising hopes that he will bring peace and heal divisions for good.
East Timor is the world’s youngest nation. Like the Philippines, Roman Catholics make up the majority of the 1-million population.
Until only a year ago, it was wracked by civil unrest. UN peacekeepers and local police have been keeping the peace since violence broke out between rival political groups. Killed in the series of fighting were 37 people. Forced to flee from their homes, like our collaterally damaged Muslim compatriots in Sulu, were 150,000 people.
President Ramos Horta’s first work of healing is that of placating disgruntled soldiers who were removed from the army because they had become followers of trouble-making officers.
Horta’s victory devastates Fretilin, which was the chief freedom-fighting force against Indonesian occupation and has ruled East Timor since the country gained independence five years ago.
Led by deposed prime minister Mari Alkatiri, the Fretilin party will surely slug it out with Horta’s prodemocracy coalition again in the parliamentary elections on June 30. It will have to amend its present ideology, objectives and tactics that by and large are seen as the cause of much of the unrest that Timor Leste has suffered.
Outgoing president Xanana Gusmao, another former freedom fighter, steps down on May 20 when Ramos-Horta assumes office. Gusmao has formed a party to contest the parliamentary election against Fretilin. He and Ramos-Horta are allies in the coalition. Gusmao and his candidates will not find it hard to beat those of the Fretilin in June.
With a parliament allied to Ramos-Horta and Gusmao, correct planning and hard work for East Timor’s future are assured.
Foreign election observers
President Ramos Horta will surely push for the United Nations to manage the parliamentary elections to make sure that no trouble happens and the rest of the world accepts the results.
The head of the UN mission in East Timor, Atul Khare, described Wednesday’s presidential poll, which was relatively free of violence, as a “very good result.”
If only UN mission people were watching our own midterm elections last Monday, they would have given the same assessment as Khare’s. Alas, our foreign observers were a mixed bag of US-style liberals and internationalist leftists. Some of them, even before they got the facts right and without benefit of learning the background of the places they were observing, had formed their biased and rather ignorant opinions. Their statements were immediately given global exposure by print, radio and TV media.
Now many global media audiences think East Timor is more democratic than the Philippines.
Healing time for East Timor
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/rss/ed20070518a1.html
Friday, May 18, 2007 EDITORIAL
The landslide victory of Prime Minister Jose Ramos-Horta in East Timor's presidential election points to the people's hope that the Nobel laureate will bring unity and reconciliation to Asia's youngest nation. Mr. Ramos-Horta shared the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize with Bishop Carlos Belo for their nonviolent struggle against Indonesian occupation. He served as East Timor's first post-independence foreign minister.
On Sunday, the tiny nation with a population of about 950,000 celebrate the fifth anniversary of its independence as Mr. Ramos-Horta is sworn in as president. There will be general elections in June. Acceleration of a conflict between rival political groups cannot be ruled out. A tough job of healing political and regional divisions awaits the new president.
In a United Nations-organized referendum in August 1999, the East Timorese voted to secede from Indonesia, which had invaded their land in 1975. Still, East Timor has been plagued by political and regional conflicts and a high unemployment rate hovering at 50 percent.
In 2006, soldiers from the western part of the country complaining about favoritism for soldiers from the east mutinied. The highhanded approach to the mutiny by then Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri of the Fretilin party divided the nation, leading to riots, looting and arson. The breakdown of law and order drove more than 150,000 people from their homes. Mr. Alkatiri resigned in June and was succeeded by Mr. Ramos-Horta. In August, the U.N. revised a peacekeeping operation in East Timor.
The results of the presidential elections indicate that the people have dumped Fretilin, East Timor's biggest political party, which was the main force in the independence movement. Mr. Ramos-Horta and the departing President Xanana Gusmao, who were Fretilin leaders, chose to join hands to oppose Fretilin. In the coming general elections, Mr. Gusmao's new party will vie with Fretilin. It is hoped that the elections will serve as a chance to create a functioning multiparty system, rather than as a trigger of further political confusion and confrontation.
Friday, May 18, 2007 EDITORIAL
The landslide victory of Prime Minister Jose Ramos-Horta in East Timor's presidential election points to the people's hope that the Nobel laureate will bring unity and reconciliation to Asia's youngest nation. Mr. Ramos-Horta shared the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize with Bishop Carlos Belo for their nonviolent struggle against Indonesian occupation. He served as East Timor's first post-independence foreign minister.
On Sunday, the tiny nation with a population of about 950,000 celebrate the fifth anniversary of its independence as Mr. Ramos-Horta is sworn in as president. There will be general elections in June. Acceleration of a conflict between rival political groups cannot be ruled out. A tough job of healing political and regional divisions awaits the new president.
In a United Nations-organized referendum in August 1999, the East Timorese voted to secede from Indonesia, which had invaded their land in 1975. Still, East Timor has been plagued by political and regional conflicts and a high unemployment rate hovering at 50 percent.
In 2006, soldiers from the western part of the country complaining about favoritism for soldiers from the east mutinied. The highhanded approach to the mutiny by then Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri of the Fretilin party divided the nation, leading to riots, looting and arson. The breakdown of law and order drove more than 150,000 people from their homes. Mr. Alkatiri resigned in June and was succeeded by Mr. Ramos-Horta. In August, the U.N. revised a peacekeeping operation in East Timor.
The results of the presidential elections indicate that the people have dumped Fretilin, East Timor's biggest political party, which was the main force in the independence movement. Mr. Ramos-Horta and the departing President Xanana Gusmao, who were Fretilin leaders, chose to join hands to oppose Fretilin. In the coming general elections, Mr. Gusmao's new party will vie with Fretilin. It is hoped that the elections will serve as a chance to create a functioning multiparty system, rather than as a trigger of further political confusion and confrontation.
Guterres ready to admit defeat in E Timor poll
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200705/s1920475.htm
Last Update: Friday, May 11, 2007. 1:00pm (AEST)
East Timor presidential candidate Francisco 'Lu-Olo' Guterres says he is ready to accept defeat to Nobel Peace Prize winner Jose Ramos Horta in this week's election.
While not officially conceding, Mr Guterres shrugged off the result of Wednesday's run-off in which Mr Ramos-Horta looks set for a landslide victory.
"For me, winning or losing is a normal thing, for me personally, as Lu-Olo, it is alright [if I lose]," Mr Guterres said.
The former freedom fighter said he would now set his sights, and those of his ruling Fretilin party, on parliamentary elections in June.
"What is important now is to prepare ourselves to face the upcoming election," he said. "We will also observe how they (Mr Ramos Horta and his team) will manage the country."
Meanwhile new fighting has broken out in the troubled nation, with United Nations police reporting an outbreak of violence at Metinaro, about 25 kilometres east of the capital Dili.
Local gangs in and around a refugee camp were throwing rocks, but it is unclear whether the fighting is related to the election result.
A house was burnt down in Dili last night.
Security forces have been on extra high alert in case of trouble from Fretilin party supporters.
And the European Union (EU) has strongly criticised the conduct of both presidential candidates during the election campaign.
The EU has 40 independent observers in East Timor to monitor both the presidential and next month's parliamentary elections.
EU head of mission Jose Pomes Ruiz says Wednesday's second round vote was more peaceful and efficient than last month's poll, but he has criticised both candidates for their behaviour.
He says both Mr Ramos Horta and Mr Gutteres were unnecessarily aggressive and insulting to each other and jeopardised the country's security by accusing each other of fraud and voter intimidation.
He says such allegations were false and are dangerous in a fragile nation like East Timor, where politicians should be fostering peace.
He has urged candidates in next month's parliamentary elections to avoid such divisive behaviour.
The presidential election in East Timor was the first since the country won independence in 2002 following a bloody separation from neighbouring Indonesia.
With 90 per cent of the ballots counted, Mr Ramos-Horta held an unbeatable lead with 73 per cent of the vote, the election commission said.
Official results could come as early as today.
- AFP/ABC
Last Update: Friday, May 11, 2007. 1:00pm (AEST)
East Timor presidential candidate Francisco 'Lu-Olo' Guterres says he is ready to accept defeat to Nobel Peace Prize winner Jose Ramos Horta in this week's election.
While not officially conceding, Mr Guterres shrugged off the result of Wednesday's run-off in which Mr Ramos-Horta looks set for a landslide victory.
"For me, winning or losing is a normal thing, for me personally, as Lu-Olo, it is alright [if I lose]," Mr Guterres said.
The former freedom fighter said he would now set his sights, and those of his ruling Fretilin party, on parliamentary elections in June.
"What is important now is to prepare ourselves to face the upcoming election," he said. "We will also observe how they (Mr Ramos Horta and his team) will manage the country."
Meanwhile new fighting has broken out in the troubled nation, with United Nations police reporting an outbreak of violence at Metinaro, about 25 kilometres east of the capital Dili.
Local gangs in and around a refugee camp were throwing rocks, but it is unclear whether the fighting is related to the election result.
A house was burnt down in Dili last night.
Security forces have been on extra high alert in case of trouble from Fretilin party supporters.
And the European Union (EU) has strongly criticised the conduct of both presidential candidates during the election campaign.
The EU has 40 independent observers in East Timor to monitor both the presidential and next month's parliamentary elections.
EU head of mission Jose Pomes Ruiz says Wednesday's second round vote was more peaceful and efficient than last month's poll, but he has criticised both candidates for their behaviour.
He says both Mr Ramos Horta and Mr Gutteres were unnecessarily aggressive and insulting to each other and jeopardised the country's security by accusing each other of fraud and voter intimidation.
He says such allegations were false and are dangerous in a fragile nation like East Timor, where politicians should be fostering peace.
He has urged candidates in next month's parliamentary elections to avoid such divisive behaviour.
The presidential election in East Timor was the first since the country won independence in 2002 following a bloody separation from neighbouring Indonesia.
With 90 per cent of the ballots counted, Mr Ramos-Horta held an unbeatable lead with 73 per cent of the vote, the election commission said.
Official results could come as early as today.
- AFP/ABC
A fresh start in East Timor
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/05/11/opinion/opinion_30033920.php
Ramos-Horta's election win offers the country a chance to deal with the problems it has had since independence
The people of East Timor have elected their new president, Jose Ramos-Horta, who won a decisive victory over Francisco Guterres. From this point forward, Ramos-Horta has to prove that he has what it takes to be the leader of one of the newest and poorest countries in the world. With a population under one million, East Timor continues to struggle to make ends meet, despite the country's abundant oil reserves. Only half of the country's population is literate and almost 40 per cent of the nation's adults are unemployed.
After gaining independence in 2000, hopes were high that this nation would grow more democratic and that it would quickly be integrated into the rest of the region. This did not happen. East Timor instead slid towards anarchy recently with violence occurring day in, day out prior to the election. Internal strife has also driven foreign investors away and now the country is as poor as ever.
Ramos-Horta can make a difference for this destitute country now that he is in charge, even if the position he holds is a ceremonial one. After all, the former foreign minister has the charm and wit necessary in political life. For decades he fought quite effectively as a fighter for independence against the Indonesian government. He built a grand coalition at the international level to back his quest for East Timor's freedom and independence. He was hailed as a hero and his efforts were internationally recognised when he was later awarded a Nobel Prize.
Throughout these years and with these accomplishments, Ramos-Horta has yet, however, shown that he has the ability to govern and lead the country towards a democratic future. Over the past few years, he has chided the media and restricted their freedom, and he has also criticised foreign reports on his country. While he had previously used the media effectively to promote his cause and turn himself into a celebrity, all that has changed and the reality is entirely different. His inconsistent relations with the media have worked against him as he is now identified with leaders who deny democratic growth.
It is hoped that as president he will promote democracy and transparency in East Timor. His friend, former president Xanana Gusmao, is vying for the premiership later this year. Again, this pair working together could offer great benefit to East Timor, but they must deliver what they have pledged all along. East Timor can no longer afford to go on as it is, with public safety not guaranteed, not to mention other aspects of life.
To survive and progress, East Timor must integrate with the Southeast Asian region. Leaders there should look to Cambodia as an example. When Cambodia emerged in 1993 from a UN-sanctioned peace plan, the first free elections were held in that country with UN assistance, with subsequent polls run by the Cambodian government. The country has progressed, despite some internal problems and now has joined the ranks of Asean. As an active member of Asean, Cambodia provides a lesson for East Timor to emulate.
Dili must decide if its future rests with Southeast Asia or the South Pacific region. Ramos-Horta himself used to be ambivalent about East Timor's identity.
In the beginning, he strongly identified East Timor as a South Pacific country because countries in that region were more supportive of East Timor than Asean. He has now shifted his position following the country attaining independence and Indonesia's new attitude towards East Timor. He has said repeatedly that his country could serve as a bridge between Southeast Asia and the South Pacific, however his preferred strategy is to have it both ways. That strategy could carry a high toll.
As president, Ramos-Horta can accelerate East Timor's membership of Asean. It was believed previously that it would be another five or 10 years before the country would be able to join Asean. Some Asean countries are reluctant to take in a poor and unsettled country, however the grouping should at least give East Timor a chance. Asean's 40th anniversary to be held in Singapore in November would be an auspicious time to grant East Timor entry.
Ramos-Horta's election win offers the country a chance to deal with the problems it has had since independence
The people of East Timor have elected their new president, Jose Ramos-Horta, who won a decisive victory over Francisco Guterres. From this point forward, Ramos-Horta has to prove that he has what it takes to be the leader of one of the newest and poorest countries in the world. With a population under one million, East Timor continues to struggle to make ends meet, despite the country's abundant oil reserves. Only half of the country's population is literate and almost 40 per cent of the nation's adults are unemployed.
After gaining independence in 2000, hopes were high that this nation would grow more democratic and that it would quickly be integrated into the rest of the region. This did not happen. East Timor instead slid towards anarchy recently with violence occurring day in, day out prior to the election. Internal strife has also driven foreign investors away and now the country is as poor as ever.
Ramos-Horta can make a difference for this destitute country now that he is in charge, even if the position he holds is a ceremonial one. After all, the former foreign minister has the charm and wit necessary in political life. For decades he fought quite effectively as a fighter for independence against the Indonesian government. He built a grand coalition at the international level to back his quest for East Timor's freedom and independence. He was hailed as a hero and his efforts were internationally recognised when he was later awarded a Nobel Prize.
Throughout these years and with these accomplishments, Ramos-Horta has yet, however, shown that he has the ability to govern and lead the country towards a democratic future. Over the past few years, he has chided the media and restricted their freedom, and he has also criticised foreign reports on his country. While he had previously used the media effectively to promote his cause and turn himself into a celebrity, all that has changed and the reality is entirely different. His inconsistent relations with the media have worked against him as he is now identified with leaders who deny democratic growth.
It is hoped that as president he will promote democracy and transparency in East Timor. His friend, former president Xanana Gusmao, is vying for the premiership later this year. Again, this pair working together could offer great benefit to East Timor, but they must deliver what they have pledged all along. East Timor can no longer afford to go on as it is, with public safety not guaranteed, not to mention other aspects of life.
To survive and progress, East Timor must integrate with the Southeast Asian region. Leaders there should look to Cambodia as an example. When Cambodia emerged in 1993 from a UN-sanctioned peace plan, the first free elections were held in that country with UN assistance, with subsequent polls run by the Cambodian government. The country has progressed, despite some internal problems and now has joined the ranks of Asean. As an active member of Asean, Cambodia provides a lesson for East Timor to emulate.
Dili must decide if its future rests with Southeast Asia or the South Pacific region. Ramos-Horta himself used to be ambivalent about East Timor's identity.
In the beginning, he strongly identified East Timor as a South Pacific country because countries in that region were more supportive of East Timor than Asean. He has now shifted his position following the country attaining independence and Indonesia's new attitude towards East Timor. He has said repeatedly that his country could serve as a bridge between Southeast Asia and the South Pacific, however his preferred strategy is to have it both ways. That strategy could carry a high toll.
As president, Ramos-Horta can accelerate East Timor's membership of Asean. It was believed previously that it would be another five or 10 years before the country would be able to join Asean. Some Asean countries are reluctant to take in a poor and unsettled country, however the grouping should at least give East Timor a chance. Asean's 40th anniversary to be held in Singapore in November would be an auspicious time to grant East Timor entry.
East Timor conducts peaceful election
Published: Thursday, 10 May, 2007, 01:36 PM Doha Time
http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=148361&version=1&template_id=45&parent_id=25
DILI: East Timor held a peaceful presidential election yesterday, bolstering hopes that months of deadly political turmoil in one of the world’s newest countries could be near an end.
The orderly queues at polling stations across the former Portuguese colony were in sharp contrast to the violence of the past year, which saw foreign peacekeepers sent in to quell the unrest.
Nobel Peace Prize winner Jose Ramos-Horta was seen as the favourite ahead of the ruling party’s Francisco Lu-Olo Guterres after the two men came out on top in last month’s first round of voting.
Election officials said yesterday’s turnout appeared to be “very high” and vote counting could take up to two days.
Both candidates, who accused each other of bribing voters during campaigning, said they were confident of victory.
“Whatever the outcome, I will win,” said Ramos-Horta, the current prime minister, who won the Nobel Prize for his role in popularising the Timorese struggle for independence from neighbouring Indonesia after it invaded in 1975.
Guterres, a former resistance fighter and current leader of the ruling Fretilin party that Ramos-Horta founded and later left, echoed his words: “I am confident that I will be the winner.”
The presidency is a largely ceremonial position but could have an influence in helping to guide the nation out of more than a year of troubles. Unrest last year left 37 people dead and more than 100,000 displaced.
A split between rival factions of the military spiralled into street violence that led officials, including outgoing President Xanana Gusmao, to appeal for international troops and police to come in and restore order.
East Timor had also descended into violence after voting in a 1999 referendum for independence from Indonesia — something it won in 2002 after three years of administration by the United Nations.
Many Timorese are hoping the presidential election — the country’s first since independence — will help to unify the nation, which is one of the poorest on the planet.
“We hope that the next president, whoever that is, can get us out of this crisis, this conflict,” said George Lopes Belo, a 29-year-old sometime labourer voting at a primary school in the second city of Baucau.
Queues formed early at tightly guarded polling stations outside of the capital, but the mood was more subdued in Dili, where voters arrived at stations at scattered times and quickly cast their ballots.
“Reports so far indicate that the vote has proceeded without significant violence,” UN spokeswoman Allison Cooper said. “It’s been peaceful and we are hoping it will extend to the counting.”
A shortage of ballot papers was reported at eight polling stations, with a UN helicopter forced to rush papers to one remote location, officials said.
Turnout around the nation appeared to be “very high,” and could surpass the 81 percent reported in the first round, the Timorese Technical Secretariat for Election Administration said late yesterday.
“We have a high turnout for the second round,” administration director Tomas Cabral told a press conference.
Polling stations were being secured by 4,000 UN and local police, backed by about 1,000 troops from the Australian-led international security force sent in after last year’s violence.
The charismatic Gusmao, who is expected to run to replace Ramos-Horta in the more powerful post of prime minister in other elections next month, urged the East Timorese people to accept the result peacefully.
“We have to abide by the decision to uphold and develop democracy,” he said.
Gusmao said earlier this week that last year’s unrest severely set back efforts to rebuild the country.–AFP
http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=148361&version=1&template_id=45&parent_id=25
DILI: East Timor held a peaceful presidential election yesterday, bolstering hopes that months of deadly political turmoil in one of the world’s newest countries could be near an end.
The orderly queues at polling stations across the former Portuguese colony were in sharp contrast to the violence of the past year, which saw foreign peacekeepers sent in to quell the unrest.
Nobel Peace Prize winner Jose Ramos-Horta was seen as the favourite ahead of the ruling party’s Francisco Lu-Olo Guterres after the two men came out on top in last month’s first round of voting.
Election officials said yesterday’s turnout appeared to be “very high” and vote counting could take up to two days.
Both candidates, who accused each other of bribing voters during campaigning, said they were confident of victory.
“Whatever the outcome, I will win,” said Ramos-Horta, the current prime minister, who won the Nobel Prize for his role in popularising the Timorese struggle for independence from neighbouring Indonesia after it invaded in 1975.
Guterres, a former resistance fighter and current leader of the ruling Fretilin party that Ramos-Horta founded and later left, echoed his words: “I am confident that I will be the winner.”
The presidency is a largely ceremonial position but could have an influence in helping to guide the nation out of more than a year of troubles. Unrest last year left 37 people dead and more than 100,000 displaced.
A split between rival factions of the military spiralled into street violence that led officials, including outgoing President Xanana Gusmao, to appeal for international troops and police to come in and restore order.
East Timor had also descended into violence after voting in a 1999 referendum for independence from Indonesia — something it won in 2002 after three years of administration by the United Nations.
Many Timorese are hoping the presidential election — the country’s first since independence — will help to unify the nation, which is one of the poorest on the planet.
“We hope that the next president, whoever that is, can get us out of this crisis, this conflict,” said George Lopes Belo, a 29-year-old sometime labourer voting at a primary school in the second city of Baucau.
Queues formed early at tightly guarded polling stations outside of the capital, but the mood was more subdued in Dili, where voters arrived at stations at scattered times and quickly cast their ballots.
“Reports so far indicate that the vote has proceeded without significant violence,” UN spokeswoman Allison Cooper said. “It’s been peaceful and we are hoping it will extend to the counting.”
A shortage of ballot papers was reported at eight polling stations, with a UN helicopter forced to rush papers to one remote location, officials said.
Turnout around the nation appeared to be “very high,” and could surpass the 81 percent reported in the first round, the Timorese Technical Secretariat for Election Administration said late yesterday.
“We have a high turnout for the second round,” administration director Tomas Cabral told a press conference.
Polling stations were being secured by 4,000 UN and local police, backed by about 1,000 troops from the Australian-led international security force sent in after last year’s violence.
The charismatic Gusmao, who is expected to run to replace Ramos-Horta in the more powerful post of prime minister in other elections next month, urged the East Timorese people to accept the result peacefully.
“We have to abide by the decision to uphold and develop democracy,” he said.
Gusmao said earlier this week that last year’s unrest severely set back efforts to rebuild the country.–AFP
New president needs support to reform troubled ETimor: analysts
Time is GMT + 8 hours
Posted: 13-May-2007 09:43 hrs
Incoming East Timor president Jose Ramos-Horta's chances of achieving major reform in the troubled tiny state hinge on the outcome of next month's parliamentary elections, analysts said.
The Nobel laureate won Wednesday's presidential poll in a landslide, raising the hopes of impoverished East Timorese struggling for a better life five years after independence from occupying Indonesia.
Ramos-Horta immediately pledged to reform the fractured military, strengthen the economy and unite the country when he replaces charismatic former guerrilla leader Xanana Gusmao as president later this month.
But the role of president is largely ceremonial, leaving Ramos-Horta with few powers to implement the substantial changes that he says East Timor desperately needs, said Timor expert Damien Kingsbury.
"He basically has two roles, one is a symbolic head of state and the other is that he has power of veto over legislation passed in parliament," said Kingsbury from Australia's Deakin University.
Ramos-Horta must await the outcome of parliamentary polls in June to determine if he can work effectively with a newly elected government and prime minister to introduce change, Kingsbury said.
"That's still the main game," said Kingsbury of next month's elections.
Favourite to win the powerful post of prime minister is Gusmao, a hero for many East Timorese because of his exploits against Indonesian forces, and a close ally of Ramos-Horta.
"It (his chances of introducing change) all depends on how well Ramos-Horta can work with the new government," said Sophia Cason from Brussels-based thinktank the International Crisis Group.
"If it's a Fretilin government then he might face difficulty. But if Xanana is elected prime minister then there shouldn't be any conflict," said Cason, an East Timor analyst based in the capital Dili.
Ramos-Horta is banking on Gusmao and his new party winning a majority of seats in June over the ruling Fretilin party, although the Nobel Peace Prize winner has pledged to work with Fretilin leaders and support its members, analysts said.
Formed as a resistance movement and a symbol of East Timor's struggle for independence, Fretilin suffered a disastrous defeat to Ramos-Horta on Wednesday, and faces a tough task to win back voters for the June poll, Kingsbury said.
Although Ramos-Horta was a founding member of Fretilin, he resigned in the late 1980s and ran on Wednesday as an independent, finishing with 69 percent of the vote, compared with 31 percent for Fretilin's candidate.
The defeat is a sign of the leftist Fretilin's weakening stranglehold on the parliament that it has dominated since the state gained independence in 2002, analysts said.
"I think Fretilin .. can no longer claim that they are representing the people because they have lost the people," said Kingsbury.
"And it's going to be an uphill battle to claw back that ground at the parliamentary polls," he said.
Cason agreed, adding many East Timorese were disillusioned with Fretilin's current leaders who were closely linked with last year's deadly unrest.
Fretilin leader Mari Alkatiri was forced to resign last year as prime minister after he sacked 600 army deserters who claimed discrimination, a move that triggered firefights between military factions that degenerated into deadly gang violence.
More than 30,000 people remain displaced in Dili, fearful of returning home.
Analyst Lili Romli, from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences, said Ramos-Horta, who pushed East Timor's struggle for independence on the world stage, could encourage the international community to continue to provide assistance to the fledgling country.
But it was unclear whether he could resolve East Timor's many domestic problems, including restoring security, she said.
"This is where Xanana comes in. The Xanana-Horta combo is needed for running of domestic policies and to maintain international relations." — AFP
Posted: 13-May-2007 09:43 hrs
Incoming East Timor president Jose Ramos-Horta's chances of achieving major reform in the troubled tiny state hinge on the outcome of next month's parliamentary elections, analysts said.
The Nobel laureate won Wednesday's presidential poll in a landslide, raising the hopes of impoverished East Timorese struggling for a better life five years after independence from occupying Indonesia.
Ramos-Horta immediately pledged to reform the fractured military, strengthen the economy and unite the country when he replaces charismatic former guerrilla leader Xanana Gusmao as president later this month.
But the role of president is largely ceremonial, leaving Ramos-Horta with few powers to implement the substantial changes that he says East Timor desperately needs, said Timor expert Damien Kingsbury.
"He basically has two roles, one is a symbolic head of state and the other is that he has power of veto over legislation passed in parliament," said Kingsbury from Australia's Deakin University.
Ramos-Horta must await the outcome of parliamentary polls in June to determine if he can work effectively with a newly elected government and prime minister to introduce change, Kingsbury said.
"That's still the main game," said Kingsbury of next month's elections.
Favourite to win the powerful post of prime minister is Gusmao, a hero for many East Timorese because of his exploits against Indonesian forces, and a close ally of Ramos-Horta.
"It (his chances of introducing change) all depends on how well Ramos-Horta can work with the new government," said Sophia Cason from Brussels-based thinktank the International Crisis Group.
"If it's a Fretilin government then he might face difficulty. But if Xanana is elected prime minister then there shouldn't be any conflict," said Cason, an East Timor analyst based in the capital Dili.
Ramos-Horta is banking on Gusmao and his new party winning a majority of seats in June over the ruling Fretilin party, although the Nobel Peace Prize winner has pledged to work with Fretilin leaders and support its members, analysts said.
Formed as a resistance movement and a symbol of East Timor's struggle for independence, Fretilin suffered a disastrous defeat to Ramos-Horta on Wednesday, and faces a tough task to win back voters for the June poll, Kingsbury said.
Although Ramos-Horta was a founding member of Fretilin, he resigned in the late 1980s and ran on Wednesday as an independent, finishing with 69 percent of the vote, compared with 31 percent for Fretilin's candidate.
The defeat is a sign of the leftist Fretilin's weakening stranglehold on the parliament that it has dominated since the state gained independence in 2002, analysts said.
"I think Fretilin .. can no longer claim that they are representing the people because they have lost the people," said Kingsbury.
"And it's going to be an uphill battle to claw back that ground at the parliamentary polls," he said.
Cason agreed, adding many East Timorese were disillusioned with Fretilin's current leaders who were closely linked with last year's deadly unrest.
Fretilin leader Mari Alkatiri was forced to resign last year as prime minister after he sacked 600 army deserters who claimed discrimination, a move that triggered firefights between military factions that degenerated into deadly gang violence.
More than 30,000 people remain displaced in Dili, fearful of returning home.
Analyst Lili Romli, from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences, said Ramos-Horta, who pushed East Timor's struggle for independence on the world stage, could encourage the international community to continue to provide assistance to the fledgling country.
But it was unclear whether he could resolve East Timor's many domestic problems, including restoring security, she said.
"This is where Xanana comes in. The Xanana-Horta combo is needed for running of domestic policies and to maintain international relations." — AFP
Ramos-Horta sweeps to victory in Timor poll
http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/ramoshorta-sweeps-to-victory-in-timor-poll/2007/05/10/1178390471125.html?s_cid=rss_smh
Lindsay Murdoch in Dili
May 11, 2007
JOSE RAMOS-HORTA has secured a stunning victory in East Timor's run-off presidential election, winning 73 per cent of the 90 per cent of votes counted so far after sweeping the capital, Dili, and western mountain districts.
A spokeswoman for the election commission, Maria Angelina Sarmento, said last night that Mr Ramos-Horta had so far won 273,685 votes, against 101,374 for Francisco "Lu-Olo" Guterres of the ruling Fretilin party.
The figures would need to be verified, Ms Sarmento said.
As the count continued yesterday, Mr Ramos-Horta, the interim Prime Minister, said he planned to move quickly to heal deep divisions in the country. He also promised to placate disgruntled soldiers whose sacking last year plunged the country into violent upheaval.
However, he declined to declare victory until the final results had been announced.
The result is devastating for Fretilin, which has ruled East Timor since the country of a million people gained independence five years ago.
The party, led by the deposed prime minister, Mari Alkatiri, will be forced to rethink its campaign strategy before parliamentary elections on June 30. Mr Guterres, a former freedom fighter, polled poorly even though Fretilin has the largest political machine and the biggest grassroots networks in rural villages.
Mr Ramos-Horta, a Nobel laureate, polled second in the first round of voting last month, even though he does not have his own political party. He then emerged as the presidential frontrunner when five of the eliminated non-Fretilin candidates endorsed him.
About 1000 Australian and New Zealand troops and 3000 United Nations police remained on high alert last night amid fears that angry Fretilin supporters might seek violent revenge when they learned Mr Guterres had lost.
Fears of a violent backlash by militant Fretilin supporters grew after three Dili District Court judges dismissed an appeal by the former interior minister, Rogerio Lobato, against a 7½-month jail sentence imposed late last year.
The developments came as Australian troops' secret weapon to capture a controversial fugitive rebel leader, Alfredo Reinado, was exposed.
On May 3 an unmanned Australian spy plane crashed into a house in a crowded suburb of Dili. The International Stabilisation Forces, containing 800 Australian combat soldiers, kept the crash secret for seven days, including from Mr Ramos-Horta.
"Well it must be a UFO," Mr Ramos-Horta said when asked about it.
No one was hurt in the incident.
Brigadier Mal Rerden, the forces' commander, confirmed yesterday that his troops have been using the Australian-built planes in all of their operations in East Timor, including outside Dili, where his soldiers have been hunting Reinado since mid-February.
Yesterday Mr Ramos-Horta contradicted Brigadier Rerden when he said that the hunt for Reinado had been called off two weeks ago, paving the way for the rebel major to surrender. Brigadier Rerden insisted the hunt was continuing.
Reinado humiliated the Australians when he escaped during an SAS-led attack on his base in the town of Same two months ago. He then humiliated them further by hosting press conferences as troops continued
Lindsay Murdoch in Dili
May 11, 2007
JOSE RAMOS-HORTA has secured a stunning victory in East Timor's run-off presidential election, winning 73 per cent of the 90 per cent of votes counted so far after sweeping the capital, Dili, and western mountain districts.
A spokeswoman for the election commission, Maria Angelina Sarmento, said last night that Mr Ramos-Horta had so far won 273,685 votes, against 101,374 for Francisco "Lu-Olo" Guterres of the ruling Fretilin party.
The figures would need to be verified, Ms Sarmento said.
As the count continued yesterday, Mr Ramos-Horta, the interim Prime Minister, said he planned to move quickly to heal deep divisions in the country. He also promised to placate disgruntled soldiers whose sacking last year plunged the country into violent upheaval.
However, he declined to declare victory until the final results had been announced.
The result is devastating for Fretilin, which has ruled East Timor since the country of a million people gained independence five years ago.
The party, led by the deposed prime minister, Mari Alkatiri, will be forced to rethink its campaign strategy before parliamentary elections on June 30. Mr Guterres, a former freedom fighter, polled poorly even though Fretilin has the largest political machine and the biggest grassroots networks in rural villages.
Mr Ramos-Horta, a Nobel laureate, polled second in the first round of voting last month, even though he does not have his own political party. He then emerged as the presidential frontrunner when five of the eliminated non-Fretilin candidates endorsed him.
About 1000 Australian and New Zealand troops and 3000 United Nations police remained on high alert last night amid fears that angry Fretilin supporters might seek violent revenge when they learned Mr Guterres had lost.
Fears of a violent backlash by militant Fretilin supporters grew after three Dili District Court judges dismissed an appeal by the former interior minister, Rogerio Lobato, against a 7½-month jail sentence imposed late last year.
The developments came as Australian troops' secret weapon to capture a controversial fugitive rebel leader, Alfredo Reinado, was exposed.
On May 3 an unmanned Australian spy plane crashed into a house in a crowded suburb of Dili. The International Stabilisation Forces, containing 800 Australian combat soldiers, kept the crash secret for seven days, including from Mr Ramos-Horta.
"Well it must be a UFO," Mr Ramos-Horta said when asked about it.
No one was hurt in the incident.
Brigadier Mal Rerden, the forces' commander, confirmed yesterday that his troops have been using the Australian-built planes in all of their operations in East Timor, including outside Dili, where his soldiers have been hunting Reinado since mid-February.
Yesterday Mr Ramos-Horta contradicted Brigadier Rerden when he said that the hunt for Reinado had been called off two weeks ago, paving the way for the rebel major to surrender. Brigadier Rerden insisted the hunt was continuing.
Reinado humiliated the Australians when he escaped during an SAS-led attack on his base in the town of Same two months ago. He then humiliated them further by hosting press conferences as troops continued
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