Timor Gap

Debate over position of natural gas pipeline

Radio Australia - October 2, 2002

[The Australian government has begun four days of hearings into the Timor Sea Treaty it signed with East Timor on the day of that country's declaration of independence in May this year. The Treaty covers the Joint Petroleum Development Area in the Timor Sea from which East Timor will earn most of its income for the foreseeable future. The hearings coincide with an ongoing debate about whether a natural gas pipeline should be built on Australian or East Timorese soil.]

Presenter/Interviewer: Karon Snowdon

Speakers: John Imle, energy consultant, and former President of Unocal; Jonathan Morrow, Head of the Timor Sea Office in the Office the East Timor Prime Minister

Snowdon: East Timor needs the money that will flow from the Bayu Undan gas field in the Joint Development Area. Under the Treaty it gets 90 per cent of the tax and royalty revenues. Ten per cent goes to Australia.

So East Timor is officially happy with the deal, pointing out that the thorny issue of maritime boundaries and resource sharing of other fields are separate issues and can be dealt with at a later date.

But others say East Timor is being ripped off, that the country would benefit a whole lot more if -- in particular -- the processing of the gas was done in East Timor, creating jobs, infrastructure and boosting the general economy.

Phillips Petroleum is the operator of the Bayu Undan gas field and it has gas supply contracts locked in, so has decided to build the plant near Darwin in Australia's Northern Territory.

One who is convinced it should be in East Timor is John Imle, former -- now retired President of the big gas company Unocal. He's an energy consultant for Petro Timor which lost its investments when Indonesia invaded East Timor in 1975 and now has legal proceedings underway in Australia for compensation.

Petro Timor commissioned a study which John Imle says proves Phillips wrong when one of its executives told a Senate hearing in Darwin in 1999: "for engineering reasons, it is just not possible to take the gas to the north".

John Imle says its misleading to claim, as Phillips does, a pipeline to East Timor would be too expensive and technically impossible.

Imle: Well, I can only conclude that they've been misled because the pipeline installation contractors I've talked to, and pipeline engineering firms I've talked to, tell me consistently that it is technically possible to lay pipelnes in the water depths required to get from the various fields to East Timor. And that it can be done for less money than to move the same quantity of natural gas from the same fields to Darwin. And frankly I don't believe that.

Snowdon: Water depth and pipe strength is one thing, there is a whole raft of considerations for a company to take on board when considering investments of this size. Presumably these companies are not foolish and they've done their own studies and they've drawn up commercial conclusions based on economic feasabilities and all the rest. So my question is, why do you maintain that they would not be making a commercial decision?

Imle: Well the commercial decision may have included consideration of political risk, and I think these statements about impossibility of laying pipelines for technical reasons were made at a time when there was great instability in East Timor.

Snowdon: You've said that your interest in this is to see East Timor get the best deal possible, but isn't this about Petro Timor furthering its interests in this area?

Imle: I don't know how these recommendations, even if they were adopted would affect Petro Timor and its lawsuit. I think Petro Timor is acting at least in part as friend of the nation, of East Timor, and that is certainly my interest. I've stumbled across the situation here were I think East Timor is being done an injustice.

Snowdon: But can I say that you were once head of a company that doesn't have the best record in the world when it comes to small nations and developing economies.

Imle: I would push back very hard on that, and I think you must be refering to Myanmar. I am proud of what Unocal did in Myanmar. I'm proud of my role in it and I'm very proud of what we've done there, I'll stand by that 100 per cent.

Snowdon: Energy Consultant John Imle referring to his former company, Unocal's controversial pipeline in Myanmar or Burma. He will be appearing before Australia's joint parliamentary committee on the Timor Sea Treaty in a few days time.

Phillips Petroleum did not return phone calls for this story. But East Timor agrees with the company's decision to pipe gas to Darwin and process it there.

Jonathan Morrow is the Head of the Timor Sea Office in the office of the Prime Minister of East Timor.

Morrow: Well, whatever debates might be going on elsewhere, that debate is not going on in the East Timor government. As far as were concerned, the issue of a pipeline to East Timor is a distraction from the main game which is petroleum revenues. The East Timor government, of course, will do whatever it can to encourage future investment in the pipeline to Timor and all the independant expert advice received by the East Timor government indicates strongly that East Timor's longterm petroleum revenues will be maximised when Bayu Undan gas goes to Japanese buyers from a Darwin-based LNG plant.

Oil companies criticize Timor Treaty delay

Sydney Morning Herald - October 2, 2002

Jane Counsel -- The key players developing gas resources in the Timor Sea have urged the Federal Government to ratify the Timor Sea Treaty without delay or risk losing billions of dollars in revenue.

The government's Joint Standing Committee on Treaties reconvenes in Perth today to hear public submissions on the crucial treaty, which was signed by East Timor and Australia on May 20 but is yet to be ratified.

The treaty, which sets out how both countries will share the tax revenues generated within the Joint Petroleum Development Area (JPDA) in the Timor Sea, has been dogged by accusations that Australia used unfair tactics to deny East Timor an even greater share of the oil and gas spoils.

But the key players in the JPDA, Phillips Petroleum, Woodside and the Royal/Dutch Shell group, have warned that any unnecessary delays to ratifying the treaty could affect the commercialisation of the gasfields.

"Ratification is essential to give us the legal framework on which to proceed in time for us to meet our contractual obligations," Phillips said in a submission to the committee.

Phillips has a January 2006 deadline to commence deliveries of liquefied natural gas to Tokyo Electric Power, as part of the planned second stage development of its Bayu-Undan gasfield.

"A delay in ratification would have serious financial consequences, not only for Phillips and its participants, but also East Timor for which the need for employment and revenue generation is pressing."

Woodside and its majority shareholder Shell, partners with Phillips in the larger Greater Sunrise gasfield, have also stressed the need to simultaneously ratify both the treaty and an international unitisation agreement to provide greater certainty about developing Sunrise.

The partners are already squabbling over the development options for Sunrise. Shell and Woodside argue the treaty itself does not provide the necessary certainty to develop the Greater Sunrise gas reserves because it is without prejudice to the future delineation of maritime boundaries between Australia and East Timor.

At present only 20 per cent of the Sunrise field falls under the JPDA agreed between Australia and East Timor and 80 per cent is in Australia's deemed resource zone.

But East Timor, supported by expert legal opinion, once the treaty is ratified, will push to define permanent maritime boundaries with Australia which will give the country 100 per cent of the tax take from Sunrise.

Timor rejects Petrotimor claim over Timor Sea concessions

Dow Jones Newswires - September 27, 2002

Ray Brindal, Canberra -- East Timor doesn't recognize a claim by PetroTimor Comphanhia de Petroleos SARL over energy-rich concessions in the Timor Sea, according to a senior East Timor government official.

The official, Jonathan Morrow, who heads the Timor Sea Office in the office of the East Timor Prime Minister, East Timor Government, also said late Thursday that Petro Timor's claim is impeding East Timor's development as the world's newest nation, and one of its poorest.

PetroTimor is a Portuguese-registered concern owned by Oceanic Exploration Co. of Denver, Colorado, in the US Portugal, as the colonial power, granted Timor Sea oil concessions to PetroTimor before Indonesia's 1975 invasion of East Timor, and the company now is trying to recover these through Australian courts.

But Morrow said PetroTimor's claims to a concession aren't recognized by the East Timor government.

PetroTimor's litigation in Australian courts is potentially frustrating the speedy development of Timor Sea oil and gas resources, with East Timor required to brief lawyers to follow the litigation, he said. "This is, needless to say, extremely unhelpful," he told Dow Jones Newswires.

The issue flared again this week with a visit to Australia by John Imle, a consultant to PetroTimor, to address a Melbourne conference on the history of the company, its claim, and to promote the feasibility of hauling gas by undersea pipeline to East Timor rather than as planned to the northern Australian city of Darwin.

Imle, a former president and former vice president of US-based energy company Unocal Corp., told Dow Jones Newswires this week that East Timor has been poorly dealt with by Australia and companies developing Timor Sea gas resources.

"I'm appalled at what Australia has done to East Timor on two counts," he said, citing an unresolved dispute over the seabed boundary between the nations and the pipeline running to Australia, which he described as a "huge injustice to East Timor." That is because Australia stands to gain the economic benefits by way of investment spending in onshore gas processing, he said.

But Morrow said the East Timor government believes companies will build a pipeline to East Timor "when it is a commercially attractive proposition." Energy developments in much of the Timor Sea are covered by the Timor Sea Treaty, signed in Dili by Australia and East Timor when it formally became an independent nation May 20.

The treaty is the fundamental document setting out how the economic benefits of energy developments in what is known as the Joint Petroleum Development Area in the Timor Sea are shared between the two nations.

The treaty, which hasn't yet been ratified by Australia or East Timor, was established without the setting of maritime boundaries between the two nations.

East Timor's Morrow said in the comments attributed to Imle, "he pretends to be a friend of East Timor and an authority on its needs and wishes." "He is neither. PetroTimor have time and again made it clear that they wish to frustrate and destabilize the Treaty regime endorsed by East Timor Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri in the [unrealistic] hope that they will be able to benefit from instability. They won't be successful in the enterprise."

Meanwhile, an Australian parliamentary committee is scheduled to conduct further, likely final hearings on the treaty over the next two weeks, ahead of ratification, which will also require legislation.

"The aim is to do it by the end of this year, but it's not a hard and fast guarantee by any means," an Australian official familiar with the process said Friday.

Earlier this month, Alkatiri said he signed the treaty "because it represents the best deal for my people," as it will deliver important revenues in the near term without inhibiting boundary claims.

When the two nations start negotiating permanent maritime boundaries, which he expects to begin in the coming months, East Timor will start with a clean slate, he said.

The East Timorese people desperately need the royalties from energy production in the Timor Sea, he said, with 41% of the population living on less than A$1 a day, widespread illiteracy, low life expectancy and unacceptably high infant mortality rates.

Projected annual revenues to East Timor from just one of the gas fields in the treaty area, the Bayu-Undan project, start at US$70 million in 2004,peaking at US$300 million in 2013 and continuing until 2020, he said.

East Timor's entire annual budget in 2002 is US$77 million, of which US$30million represents aid from donors, he said. "In short, well-managed petroleum revenues will be East Timor's lucky break," he said.

Alkatiri acknowledged the Timor Sea Treaty has its critics. "Like all negotiated texts, the treaty represents a number of compromises," he said. "Neither side is entirely happy, but both sides are satisfied." Moreover, investors are satisfied, he said.

Justice & reconciliation

Women put peace in its place

Melbourne Age - October 5, 2002

Jill Jolliffe, Bazartete -- Ever since Lysistrata and her sisters refused sex to their warmongering husbands in ancient Greece, women have had a special role to play in brokering peace.

In East Timor, the militia violence of 1999 was almost exclusively the work of men. They may have been bit players in an Indonesian master plan but that, too, was men's business.

One church organisation decided to harness women's peacemaking instincts to assist the new country's long haul back to health. For two years, Melbourne's Josephine Dyer has worked with the traumatised women of Liquica, west of Dili.

As country representative of the International Catholic Migrations Commission (ICMC), she has the hard job of convincing communities to accept back militiamen returning from West Timor.

The women are key to her success. Most are drawn from village administrations, ex-veterans' associations, or the OPMT (Popular Organisation of Timorese Women). "All have experienced some deep suffering in past years," Ms Dyer says.

Under a program known as Women as Agents of Tolerance and Peacemaking, they are paving the way for the return of former perpetrators, providing their crimes were not serious.

In such cases, if proof is provided, they are turned over to United Nations police for trial.

Thus, a person who burnt down houses or looted can be forgiven if they face the community and recognise their wrongdoing.

A murderer or rapist is sent to trial. It helps that the project is supported by Aurora Ximenes, Liquica's respected district administrator. She spent six years in the mountains with resistance fighters after the 1975 Indonesian invasion, and three years in a detention camp.

Bazartete is in the mountainous hinterland of Liquica. For the ICMC team, the workshop there involves a dusty journey in a four-wheel-drive vehicle.

For Elsa Sequeira, 51, it involves a three-hour walk from a neighbouring mountaintop.

This makes her even more determined to have her say. The workshop is for members of the OPMT, all articulate women. Discussion of the meaning of tolerance is not confined to militia reintegration. Polygamy is another topic.

Second wives were tolerated in Indonesian times, but the practice offends Timorese Catholic beliefs, and women see it as a cause of domestic violence. "It just increases the number of widows," a woman says.

There is also the issue of women left with babies of Indonesian soldiers, abandoned wives, ex-prostitutes and rape victims. Villagers stigmatise them, and the women sometimes reject their own babies. These are just some of the wounds still to heal.

The themes recur in Liquica township, where widow Elisa dos Santos, 32, is one of the trainers. Her husband Agostinho was hacked to death in a Liquica church during a militia massacre on April 4, 1999. She was spared seeing it only because she was in another room with her three children.

"Since my husband died, I don't feel I have anything to live for," she said, "But I like doing the workshops, and feel OK then. It's when I go home it's difficult". Mrs dos Santos belongs to Rate Laek, a food and handicrafts cooperative run by 12 widows of the massacre.

It is supported by ICMC, and its members are beneficiaries of a trauma counselling program. For Ms Dyer the experience has been rewarding. "People are changing, starting to trust each other again," she observes.

She recognises, however, that the pain is deep and there's still a long way to go.

Human rights/law

Two bodies exhumed in UN inquiry

Sydney Morning Herald - October 4, 2002

Tom Allard and Jill Jolliffe -- The bodies of two militia fighters, one of them alleged to have been summarily executed by the Australian SAS in East Timor, have been exhumed by United Nations order as part of investigations into the incident.

The alleged war crime centres on claims someone using a handgun of a senior SAS officer shot one of the militia members in the head.

Australian Defence Force investigators said 13 of the 19 allegations stemming from an ambush of SAS troops by militia in 1999 had proved groundless.

During the incident, two Australian troops were injured in gunfire and about 100 militia members were arrested. There are also allegations of torture and physical abuse of prisoners, and that one of the dead bodies was kicked.

The Department of Defence refused to disclose the precise allegations yesterday, although a spokesman said they were "very serious". Nor would the department confirm that an SAS officer had resigned during the course of the investigations.

The head of the investigation, Colonel Terry McCullagh, said more than 200 people had been interviewed over the incident, which occurred near the border with West Timor and was the first military conflict of the Timor campaign.

"We will continue to investigate this until we understand exactly what happened," Colonel McCullagh told ABC Radio.The UN, along with the ADF and the Australian Federal Police, are investigating the allegations.

Defence to probe claims of SAS torture, murder

Melbourne Age - October 4, 2002

Mark Forbes and Jill Jolliffe -- The Australian Defence Force has promised a vigorous investigation into allegations that SAS troops carried out torture and murder in East Timor, and will examine the exhumed bodies of two militia fighters.

Defence officials said more than 200 people had already been interviewed during a two-year inquiry into claims that the troops beat captives, used torture in interrogations and shot one person in the head at close range after an ambush in the Suai district in 1999.

The inquiry was investigating 18 allegations against Australian troops and has dismissed 12 of the allegations. The UN is assisting military police and Australian Federal Police officers conducting the investigation.

Defence Minister Robert Hill said the troops were entitled to the presumption of innocence. Australian forces were committed to operating within strict rules of engagement, he said.

No evidence warranting action was found over a dozen of the allegations, Defence spokesman Brigadier Mike Hannan said. "I can tell you that the investigation will be relentless. It will cover every aspect and no stone will be left unturned."

Opposition defence spokesman Chris Evans attacked the length of time the inquiry had taken and said the SAS troops, if innocent, deserved to have their names cleared as soon as possible.

The execution allegation arose from the aftermath of a militia ambush of Australian troops near the West Timor border, which wounded two SAS members. A SAS commander used his pistol to shoot dead a militia captive, it was claimed.

In a statement yesterday, investigation head Colonel Terry McCullagh said he was examining allegations of torture and brutality by the SAS.

"I'm hoping that we understand exactly how they were killed because it is important," Colonel McCullagh said.

The exhumations were not done at the army's request, but were part of a routine UN process, he said.

After Colonel McCullagh had given one radio interview and issued the statement, the Defence hierarchy gagged him.

Summary execution rumours 'scuttlebutt,' says expert

Sydney Morning Herald - October 3, 2002

Rumours a captured pro-Indonesian militiaman was summarily executed by Australian troops in East Timor had floated around special forces circles for some time, a defence commentator said today.

John Farrell, author of the recently published book on the Special Air Service -- Specwarops -- said there were many claims about purported excesses of the SASR and they needed to be treated with suspicion.

"Rumours about the fate of a militiaman have run riot over the past three years," he said. "I have heard scuttlebutt relating to an extra-judicial execution. I have also heard rumours that no execution took place and the militiaman was simply given the boot."

The incident, now being investigated by the army, allegedly occurred on October 6, 1999 as Australian troops, supported by the SASR, occupied the town of Suai in the western border region. They captured a large group of militia.

SASR troops were returning from escorting the convoy of captured militia when they were ambushed by other militia, believed to be from the Laksaur group. In a sharp firefight two SASR were wounded with two militia shot dead and nine captured.

The rumours about summary executions relate to a senior SASR soldier, angered at the injuries inflicted on his soldiers, either beating or using his pistol to shoot dead one or more of the captives back in Suai.

Mr Farrell said there many rumours flew about the SASR and he tended to take them all with a grain of salt. He said Australians should be aware that the SASR was not the Red Cross.

"They are super-conditioned special action forces. They are the last resort and the final solution. Expecting them to do anything other than lean on the bad guys with extreme efficiency is simply naive," he said.

But he said there was no justification for executing prisoners. "It is bad for a soldier's soul but it is also very bad for the overall war effort," he said.

"You want your enemy to think when they surrender to a western force that they are heading to a reasonable camp. You don't want them to think they are going to be shot dead, or they don't surrender. "It's not a good look, especially when there is no vital information to be got out of the others who are watching. It is just beyond excuse."

Bodies exhumed amid allegations of SAS torture

Sydney Morning Herald - October 3, 2002

The bodies of two Timorese militiamen shot dead in a gun battle with Australian soldiers in 1999 have been exhumed as part of an inquiry into allegations of torture and brutality by SAS troops.

Two militiamen were killed, nine were injured and more than 100 captured, while two Special Air Service soldiers were wounded in the clash on October 6, 1999, near Suai on East Timor's border with West Timor.

Australian army investigating officer Colonel Terry McCullagh said the two bodies had been exhumed from graves in a Dili suburb.

Investigators were probing whether one of the militiamen was shot in the head at close range, as well as allegations that captured militia had been tortured and mistreated during interrogation, News Ltd newspapers reported today.

"I'm hoping that we understand exactly how they were killed because it is important that we clearly understand that," Colonel McCullagh told ABC radio.

"The allegations are extremely serious. We will continue to investigate until we understand exactly what happened." Colonel McCullagh said exhumations were not done at the army's request.

"The United Nations had brought to our attention a number of months ago that as a routine matter, they were exhuming all bodies of those killed during the Interfet period.

"We took the opportunity to have a forensic examination conducted and that is yet to be done. At this stage, I don't have any evidence to charge anyone or to seek independently an exhumation order." Colonel McCullagh said the investigators did not yet know how the men were killed.

He would not confirm allegations that one of the militiamen was killed by a handgun at close range. "That's a matter for the investigation," he said.

Investigators have also probed allegations of the mistreatment of militia captured in the same area on the same day. Colonel McCullagh said the majority of those allegations had been unsubstantiated or there was insufficient evidence to proceed.

News & issues

Timor fights a new kind of Indonesian invasion

Melbourne Age - October 4, 2002

Jill Jolliffe, Dili -- East Timorese authorities are fighting an invasion by Indonesian prostitutes, who have swarmed into Dili since independence on May 20.

"We have deported 19 of them over visa infractions", Immigration Department officer Maria do Ceu Conceicao said, "but we don't have adequate means to fight it -- we have only seven officers, and not enough cars or radios".

She said some of the women were arriving alone, entering as tourists, but others were being brought in by third parties who could be involved in organised crime. There are also generalised fears that they might be modern-day Mata Haris, masking an Indonesian intelligence operation.

The influx began around June, and even Dili's venerated Hotel Turismo was not immune. The Turismo has had many past identities -- as a showcase for fine Portuguese cuisine, a hive of revolutionary activity, a bastion of the Indonesian secret police and, in 1999, an armoured bunker for InterFET peacekeeping forces. It has never, however, been known as a brothel.

Then the women from Atambua, Indonesian Timor, set up business. Several booked rooms without revealing their intentions, and the next day there were queues at each of their doors. By night there were fights, non-stop music and the constant coming and going of local taxi drivers who were taking their cut.

Controlled by two straight-backed Indonesian gentlemen in dark glasses, the prostitutes provided an unexpected disruption to the lives of the Turismo's respectable guests.

Only after assiduous efforts did manager Manuel Ferreira Borges dislodge the unwelcome tenants and assure his regulars that standards had been restored.

Interview: East Timorese President Xanana Gusmao

World Press Review - October 1, 2002

Rachel S. Taylor -- The day before his country was set to become the 191st member of the United Nations, East Timorese President Xanana Gusmao sat down for an interview with World Press Review to talk about the United Nations' role in his country's independence, bringing perpetrators of crimes against his people to justice, the challenges his country faces, his decision to grant immunity from prosecution to American soldiers before the International Criminal Court, and the role of women in East Timorese society.

On September 27, after nearly three years of UN rule, 24 years of Indonesian occupation, and more than 400 years of Portuguese colonialization, East Timor, the tiny South East Asian nation born in May of this year, received a round of applause by the United Nations General Assembly as it became the 191st member of that world body.

Diplomats for the United Nations certainly had something to cheer about. In an era when talk of the United Nations' limited capacity, relevance, and effectiveness can be heard across the globe, the focus on East Timor, often cited as one of the organization's greatest accomplishments, provided a countervailing example.

It was in September 1999 that United Nations peacekeeping troops first arrived in Dili, the capital city of what was then the Indonesian-occupied state of East Timor. Less than a month before, nearly 99 percent of the local population had turned out for a long-awaited vote on their state's independence. The vote had sparked explosive violence; militias backed by the Indonesian military who wanted to maintain the status quo wreaked havoc on the local population and, within days of the poll, an estimated 1,500 people were killed and another 250,000 fled across the border into Indonesian West Timor. An estimated quarter of the East Timorese population had already been killed during the state's 24-year occupation. When poll results indicated that 78.5 percent of the East Timorese people wanted to break ties with Indonesia, the United Nations sent troops to stop the bloodshed and enforce the will of the people.

The road leading to East Timor's independence vote was a long one. Indeed, it was 24 years earlier that the United Nations Security Council first mandated such a poll be held. In a recent speech, East Timor's foreign minister Jose Ramos Horta noted that several factors had to come together before the price of holding onto East Timor became too costly, both politically and economically, for the Indonesian government.

As Ramos Horta explained, Asia's 1997-98 financial crisis, which brought down longtime Indonesian president Suharto, opened the door for a more "pragmatic" B.J. Habibie to take over; at the same time, Portugal, the state's former colonial ruler, was putting pressure on Indonesia to allow a vote, the East Timorese armed resistance movement, led by the wildly popular Xanana Gusmao was continuing despite the fact that Gusmao had been imprisoned, and foreign leaders, including Nelson Mandela, were making much-publicized trips to visit Gusmao in jail. As Ramos Horta noted, President Habibie finally realized that "East Timor brought no benefits to Indonesia, but it brought embarrassment." In June 1999, Indonesia agreed to give East Timor its much sought-after vote on autonomy.

Since then, events have moved at lightening speed: the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) took over in October 1999, East Timor elected a 88-member Parliament in August of 2001, the first-ever presidential elections were held in April 2002, and the country became fully independent in May 2002.

In the meantime, the world's sympathy shifted from Indonesia-the fourth largest country on the globe and a strategic ally of the United States and many influential Asian countries-to East Timor. Washington even cut off funding to Indonesia's military until the country could prove it was bringing perpetrators of the East Timorese violence to justice. Indonesia did set up an ad hoc Human Rights Court on East Timor, though it recently acquitted six military and police figures for crimes against humanity allegedly committed in East Timor in 1999, and gave East Timor's former governor, Abilio Soares, who had been implicated in establishing and funding the militias, a three year sentence, significantly shorter than the ten years, six months, prosecutors had asked for. Many have called Indonesia's justice a "sham" and have called for the United Nations to set up an international tribunal for East Timor.

As Ramos-Horta noted, much of the credit for East Timor's independence must be given to the resistance leader Xanana Gusmao, a former cow herder and poet who, in April 2002, much to his own surprise, was elected East Timor's first president by a landslide. Gusmao met with World Press Review associate editor Rachel S. Taylor at his hotel in New York on September 26, the day before he was to watch his nation's flag hoisted outside the United Nations. The interview follows:

East Timor has often been called one of the United Nations' greatest successes. But it was back in 1975, in Resolution 384, that the Security Council first called for East Timor's independence. Today, a lot of people are questioning the United Nations' ability to enforce its resolutions [for example,] with regard to Iraq or Israel. I'd be interested in hearing your views on the United Nations and East Timor.

X.G.: You must remember that in 1975 it was the Cold War. ...You didn't turn too much to the United Nations. ...At least we didn't have any resolution against our right to self-determination.

So when people say the United Nations' involvement in East Timor was a huge success, do you agree with that?

I can agree. The presence of the United Nations there brought the East Timorese people a sense of security, of stability. But I must say that without the commitment of East Timorese people, without patience, without their willingness to forget war, to not take revenge, without their commitment to peace [this wouldn't have happened]. We cannot say that [success is due] only [to] the United Nations presence there. It has also internal factors. You can see in other places, the United Nations didn't succeed because internally [there were] factions, groups, who didn't want to accept each other. And we know [that in some places] the United Nations was simply expelled from the country. And in other places-I just read a few days ago that the entering president of Afghanistan was the target of a killing attempt. This is why we cannot say the success was only because the United Nations was there, but [also because of] the commitment of our people to respect the process.

I've been interested in Indonesia's Human Rights Court on East Timor and the debate about whether or not you'd like the United Nations to step in and have an International Criminal Tribunal for East Timor. As I understand it, you originally were opposed to the idea of a [international] tribunal...

I never opposed [the UN setting up an international tribunal]. I always stated that it was not my priority. And it was when I was an ordinary citizen. Now as president, unfortunately as president, I must say the same: It is not our priority. If we talk about an international tribunal, it is not an East Timorese tribunal. What I can say is that we are committed to trying East Timorese [nationals] in our national environment, in our country. If you talk about an international tribunal, I would say leave it to the international community, to the international organization, to do the job. Because, you know, we came from the ashes of a brutal destruction. Our people are demanding good life standards, good health, education, infrastructure, agriculture- and we must respond to this. I believe that if we talk about violence, killings... We'll be able to forget the past if we provide social justice and improve their lives. If not, people will keep talking about justice, justice, justice. But what is the meaning of independence? Is it to achieve justice-or social justice? It is about measuring our priorities. Among East Timorese, our priority is reconciliation. Some people say justice must be first-before reconciliation. Maybe in other countries. But in our country, reconciliation must be the first step. After people forgive each other, we can be sure that the justice that we do will be without any sentiments of revenge or hatred. It is why we are taking very seriously the problem of reconciliation and justice in order to build a new mentality, a new generation, a new society-because we don't want [this to happen again] in five years. Our people are willing to eradicate hatred, vengeance. Which is why I was never opposed to an international tribunal, I only stated it was not my priority. We believe that if the international community can do [it], yes, of course [they should]. We don't believe so much that the Indonesian government will succeed in the process that they are doing. We were very disappointed in the first stage of the tribunal. Because Jakarta keeps saying it was only the beginning, we'd like to wait for the final stage. If they respond to the demands of the international community, of course there will not be a necessity to have an international tribunal. If not, we believe that the international community can make the right decision [whether that] is the international tribunal or [something else].

You have said that part of your role as president is to be the eyes and ears of the East Timorese people. Is the position you have been explaining [for social justice and reconciliation] the sentiment of the East Timorese people generally? Do people want to put that period of your history behind them and move on or...?

I believe so. I would like to explain to you how I would like to be the eyes and ears and mouth of our people. We are the very newest democracy in the world. During our struggle, we tried to understand the weaknesses and successes of independent countries. And we saw that many countries around the world, even after being independent for 50 or 60 years, they are not democratic. Independence didn't yet mean something good to the people. That is why, right in the beginning, I must have the role of watching the bosses. We are committed to strengthening our democracy. We are committed to having good governance. We are committed to combating corruption. We are committed to making justice a fundamental [part of our] democracy. We are committed to building a strong civil society.... This is why, right in the beginning, I must have the capacity to tell people we are doing wrong or we are doing right, we are doing what we can or we are not doing what we can do. [What I have been describing] is the perception of our people because we tried to put the people's vision in the development plan of our government. We set up a mechanism of consultation with our people and our people gave [their] vision. And the vision was education for our people; health care to everybody; good infrastructure; agriculture; [creating] mechanisms [where] people [are] able to produce, to sell, to get benefits from their products; and [creating a] strong civil society; an anti-corruption policy; good governance; clean governance. It was the will of our people. It was the vision of our people.

My next question is about the United States and its war on terrorism and its funding of the Indonesian military. A number of human rights groups and organizations have written to the US Congress and asked them not to renew funding to the Indonesian military, funding that had been cut off because Indonesia hadn't fulfilled its responsibilities toward East Timor. As I understand it now, the East Timorese government is not opposed to the funding of the Indonesian military. Is that correct?

The human rights organizations have the right to have their opinion.... We don't have any problem if they renew links with some kind of pressure that Indonesia must answer to the demands of the international community.... I think it is fine if they renew with some kind of conditions, some kind of pressure. I believe it could work.

East Timor ratified the Rome Treaty for the International Criminal Court in August. Then East Timor agreed to give US troops in East Timor immunity from prosecution before the Criminal Court... What was the thinking behind those two decisions?

Our government agrees with this agreement. I believe that the thinking in East Timor is that we will not have any American soldiers there [in East Timor, so it is really a moot point]....

Another question is about the role of women in East Timorese society. I know domestic violence is reported to be a big problem. I know your wife is active in women's rights [issues]. What is the government's plan for bettering the position of women in your society?

It is a process like women's emancipation. We are a society of an underdeveloped country. We need to make a change of mentality in everything. One of the issues is domestic violence. ...Economically we have to improve the opportunities of women, [so they are] not so dependent on men. It is not only a question of raising the issue, of education-but of changes in the economic and social life of our people. We are spending more money on education. With education, we believe our people will be able to understand all these problems, and will participate to [solve] problems like domestic violence. We cannot change society in one day. ...It is a process, a social, political process.

Health & education

Timor-Leste faces shortage of doctors

Agence France Presse - October 1, 2002

Geneva -- Newly-independent Timor -Leste, formerly East Timor, has just 47 doctors for its 850,000 citizens because of large- scale emigration, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Tuesday.

As the country became its 192nd member, WHO estimated infant mortality at 70 to 95 deaths per 1,000 live births. It also said the mortality rate of children under five was "unacceptably high".

"Communicable diseases account for the majority of deaths," Rui Maria de Araujo, Timor-Leste's minister of health, said in a written statement released by the Geneva-based WHO.

The most common childhood illnesses are acute respiratory infections such as pneumonia, diarrhoeal diseases and malaria, while tuberculosis is a major health problem for children and adults.

An estimated eight mothers die of complications related to childbirth for every 1,000 live births, and there was an urgent need to put an anti-HIV/AIDS programme in place, the UN health agency added.

Current rates of infection by HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, are low but WHO said the government was determined to take all necessary steps to prevent an increase.

"Addressing the shortage of health workers is another key to improving health in Timor-Leste," WHO said, adding it continued to help with recruitment and training.

East Timor, now officially called the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, was admitted into the United Nations on September 27 as its 191st member following its independence in May.

The country has a young population with just over 48 percent of its citizens under 17 years. Average life expectancy is 57, and 85 percent of the population lives in rural areas.

Much of East Timor's infrastructure was destroyed by departing Indonesian security forces and their militias after East Timor voted in August 1999 to separate from Indonesia.

International relations

East Timor's Gusmao in Portugal

Agence France Presse - October 4, 2002

East Timor's President Xanana Gusmao appealed to business leaders in the former colonial power Portugal Friday to invest in his war-battered country, recently admitted to the United Nations.

"We still don't have the fundamental conditions to ensure confidence for businessmen ... but it would be good if they came to see us to look at the investment possibilities," he said upon arrival. He said tourism, fishing and the telecoms industry are the priority sectors for foreign investment in East Timor.

Gusmao is making a five-day visit to Portugal that will include talks with President Jorge Sampaio and Prime Minister Jose Manuel Durao Barroso.

East Timor was admitted as the 191st member of the United Nations in late September, barely four months after it became independent.

Portugal colonised East Timor for four centuries before it abruptly withdrew in 1975, leaving the territory to be overrun and annexed by Indonesia.

After 'positive' talks in Washington, Gusmao heads to Portugal

Lusa - October 3, 2002

East Timorese President Xanana Gusmao prepared to head to Portugal Thursday after a "positive" round of meetings in Washington, including talks with President George Bush.

Gusmao was expected to arrive in Lisbon Friday for a five-day official visit, his first as head of state of the newly independent Asian country. Dili's ambassador to Washington, Jose Luis Guterres, described Gusmao's separate meetings with Bush and National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice Wednesday, and earlier with other senior officials, as "positive".

He said Washington had "reaffirmed its commitment to aiding East Timor", while Gusmao had asked for continued US participation in the training of his fledgling defense force. "It is also in [Dili's] interest to reinforce cooperation in other areas" with the United States, Guterres added.

During the visit to Washington, Gusmao's delegation signed an accord establishing the legal framework covering the presence of US troops in East Timor. Earlier Dili and Washington agreed to exempting US troops from the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court. In a report Wednesday on Gusmao's visit, the Washington Post described East Timor as "an emerging [US] ally".

Ambassador Guterres, asked about the president's health, confirmed back problems had kept Gusmao from fulfilling all his schedule. But he said the president was "improving" and would likely be fully recovered by the time he reached Lisbon Friday.

During his five-day stay in Portugal, Gusmao will hold talks with President Jorge Sampaio and Prime Minister Jose Manuel Durao Barroso, among other senior officials. Lisbon, East Timor's colonial ruler over four centuries, is one of Dili's major aid partners, providing it with a strong contingent of UN peacekeepers.

Timorese urge Australia not to ratify Timor Sea Treaty

Australian Associated Press - October 4, 2002

Rod McGuirk -- East Timorese private sector groups today urged the federal government not to ratify the new Timor Sea Treaty.

Leaders of the East Timor National NGO Forum, Institute for Reconstruction Monitoring Analysis and Independent Information Centre for the Timor Sea flew to Darwin to address the Federal Parliament Treaties Committee.

The committee is hearing submissions on the treaty, due to be ratified next month, which will carve up energy resource revenue from the so-called Timor Gap.

Phillips Petroleum has set the November deadline so it can build a pipeline from its Bayu-Undan gas field to Darwin.

The East Timorese leaders argued that the treaty must be tied to new maritime boundaries struck upon a stated legal basis. And they criticised Canberra's decision not to allow the International Court of Justice to rule where the new boundaries between the two countries should lie.

"Australia government and East Timor should agree and put it in the treaty ... that the two countries will settle maritime boundaries with a clear mechanism, with a time frame and with a clear principle of law that they are going to apply," institution spokesman Adriano Nascimento said.

"You're demonstrating your civilisation, your democratic country and we want to follow this. You have already demonstrated in our country by sending troops, by humanitarian acts. We would like you to demonstrate [civilisation and democracy] in this case."

Australia has agreed to discuss new maritime boundaries but maintains that the previous boundary, which follows the deepest point off a huge continental shelf, was fair.

East Timor maintains that modern precedents in maritime law would put the boundary midway between the two countries.

The new treaty, which uses the boundaries set in the original treaty with Indonesia, states that it will not prejudice future boundary negotiations.

Xanana addresses UN, supports Palestinians, Western Saharans

BBC Worldwide Monitoring - September 27, 2002

East Timorese President Xanana Gusmao on 27 September marked his country's admission as the UN's 191st member with a defence of the right to independence of both the Palestinians and the people of the Western Sahara.

"East Timor cannot but express its profound concern at the rising level of violence in the Middle East," he told the UN General Assembly in a speech relayed live by Portuguese radio. "East Timor does not play blame-apportioning or finger-pointing games. Instead we would rather believe that there is, that there can be a solution to a conflict that has already shed so much blood and cost so many lives."

"The Palestinian people," he added, "have the right to free self-determination, independence, peace and dignity. It seems to us neither moral nor ethical that this extraordinary people should continue to be denied their right to freedom, peace and dignity."

"The Democratic Republic of East Timor declares itself ready to recognize the Palestinian state and to establish diplomatic relations at ambassadorial level with the Palestinian people's legitimate authority."

On the Western Sahara President Gusmao said: "While the case of East Timor is regarded as a UN success, the case of the Western Sahara continues to be put in abeyance by a succession of obstacles.

At this moment of assertion of our freedom and independence, we also wish to call for the resumed implementation of the UN plan for a referendum on the Western Sahara's self-determination." "Only a just, free and democratic vote like the one held in East Timor can bring to this unjust situation to an end."

The East Timorese leader condemned religious and cultural intolerance and pledged that his country would never be a haven for terrorists.

"We add our own to the world's concern at the intolerance that exists between cultures and religions," President Xanana Gusmao told the UN General Assembly, "at the systematic recourse to violence which further fosters misunderstanding and deepens hatred, thus widening the gap and making dialogue even more problematic."

"We add our own to the world's determination to fight terrorism. Despite the huge demands of our process and our country's level of underdevelopment, we shall not slacken in our vigilance and resolve to uproot any forms of extremism or radicalism likely to favour or to create conditions for acts of terrorism against innocent people.

"East Timor will never be a haven for people bent on terrorizing innocent civilians, be in the name of a religion, ideology or any other pretext."

President Gusmao said that the establishment of a world peace week every September would be a fitting way of marking East Timor's entry into the United Nations.

"I would like to propose the establishment of a World Peace Week, to be marked from 21 to 27 September, which would also mark our entry into the UN," hesaid. "For one week every year there would be debates, conferences and seminars on the subject of peace throughout the world. This would stop peace being just a theoretical concept, would bring up topics for reflection as relevant and pertinent as poverty, democracy, human rights and justice, and would make everyone realize that true peace can only come from the peace in the heart of every citizen."

President Gusmao thanked the international community for supporting his country's struggle for independence, and paid tribute to the East Timorese themselves.

"Our people have been central to our success," he told the UN General Assembly. "By rejecting the path of violence even in the face of the provocations to which they were subjected, by exercising their rights with a democratic and civic spirit even at the risk of their own lives, by looking to the future with hope in the certainty of freedom, they have proved to the world that they justly deserve the respect we all owe them, and have thus earned the credibility and admiration that they enjoy amongst all of you."

"It is to the people of East Timor that we owe the success to which you all committed yourselves. Thank you very much," the East Timorese president concluded.

East Timor press reviews

East Timor Press Review

UNMISET - September 27, 2002

Suara Timor Lorosae's front page carried a photo of the Foreign Affairs Minister, Josi Ramos-Horta speaking at the Asia Society in New York. In his speech Mr. Horta stated that East Timor would never support the Aceh and West Papuan freedom movement. But according to Mr. Horta, Aceh's and West Papua's special economy status is a good choice.

East Timor's flag will be hoisted today in the UN headquarters, New York.

A number of women from West Timor have illegally entered the country to practice prostitution reported STL. A supervisor in the immigrant unit of East Timor, Maria do Ceu da Conceicao reported that at least 300 women were sent back to their country.

ETPS Commissioner Paulo Martins stressed that people have illegally entered East Timor because there is no law of immigration at the moment in East Timor.

The STL carried a photo of the Prime Minister, Mari Alkatiri, Minister of Finance, Madalena Boavida Brites, President of Philips Petroleum, Dr. Stephen Brand, Minister of Transport, Communication and Public Works, Ovidio Amaral and the Timor Sea workers at Bayu-Undan few days ago.

In response to a comment made by Bishop Belo and reported by Lusa that there is no security in East Timor, FDTL Chief of Staff, Colonel Lere Anan said FDTL has always provided security for the country. Mr. Anan said he would like to know which security forces the Bishop is referring to as reported in the STL.

STL carried a photo of Chief of UNMISET, Kamalesh Sharma, Prime Minister, Mari Alkatiri and the Minister of Internal together with the UN Civil Police.

Vice-Minister of Health, Luis Lobato reported that in his department there is money amounting to US$ 16.2 million for rehabilitation of hospitals in all five district, Oecussi, Maliana, Maubisse, Suai and Baucau.

Timor Post's front page carried a photo of President Xanana Gusmco and the United Nations Secretary General, Kofi Annan embracing.

TP also covered the story on those that illegally entered East Timor.

The paper reported that PSD and PD walked out when the Law of Property was being put to vote in national parliament. Lucia Lobato (PSD) was quoted as saying that the walk out is because of two reasons which is that the agenda is not in the schedule and there are no delegates for the voting.

September 30, 2002

Suara Timor Lorosa'e front page carried a photo of first lady, Kirsty Sword Gusmco, Minister of Health, Rui de Araujo, Brigadier-General, Taur Matan Ruak and a few Government representatives on launch of the National Immunization Campaign day in the country. Mrs. Gusmco was at Becora immunization centre and was quoted as saying that Immunization is important to protect children from illness.

In a separate article it was reported that Minister of Justice, Ana Pessoa participated in the immunization campaign in Maliana.

Foreign Affairs Vice-Minister, Jorge Teme said the government will discuss with the Portuguese and Irish government representatives in Dili about the Timorese who left the country to seek employment in Ireland.

STL also carried a photo of East Timor athletes in the Asian Games opening yesterday in South Korea.

Vice-Minister of Health, Joao Lobato announced that his department would recruit about 370 people to work in his department.

It is reported that Viqueque district traders are complaining that they it is hard to sell their produces.

It is reported that Diarhea and Malaria are the predominant illness in Maliana.

Please note: No Timor Post today.

October 1, 2002

Suara Timor Lorosae reported Executive Director of NGO Forum, Cecilio Caminha as saying that East Timor has the right to be vocal in UN Forum. It is a new step for East Timor after becoming UN official member.

The paper reported that today President Xanana Gusmco is schedule to meet with Secretary of State, Colin Powel and afterwards with the President of World Bank, James Wolfensen. On Wednesday Mr. Gusmco will meet President George Bush at the White House after which he will be travelling to Portugal.

It is reported that East Timorese police and immigration officers sent nine Indonesian prostitutes back to their country last Friday. They were accused of practicing prostitution in a numbers of hotels in Dili.

Vice President of National Parliament Jacob Fernandes said recent conflict among youths in the capital Dili were merely juvenile delinquency, but investigation is needed to find out the motives behind it.

Jacinto Alves, a member of the Commission of Reception, Truth and Reconciliation was quoted as saying that many East Timorese are not yet aware of the meaning of reconciliation carried out by the Commission. Some conceived it as avoiding the legal process, other merely understand it as seeking the truth without further follow-ups. In related news, the Commission Vice Director, Father Juvito do Rego stressed that the two-year mandate of the Commission was too short. He said it is impossible to finish the work within two years.

It is reported that around 2-4 patients die daily at the National Hospital in Dili. The number of patients with diarrhea has dropped. The hospital dealt with 164 emergency cases in the month of September.

Arsenio Bano, Secretary of State for Labour and Solidarity said that up-to-date the Government has not had a program of sending workers overseas, to countries like: Ireland, Malaysia Singapura, and others.

East Timor Attorney General Longuinhos Monteiro said that nine witnesses refused to go to Jakarta to give their testimony at the Ad-Hoc Tribunal. They preferred to give it through tele- conference.

Head of Suai District Court Francisco Agostinho Pinto was quoted as saying that the Suai Court would function in two more months. The equipments are in place except for electricity.

Attorney General, Longuinhos Monteiro said it has been reported that four to five East Timorese companies allegedly involved in the sale of sandalwood has been identified..

Marcia Sarmento of the Justice Department said that the proceedings at Dili District Court continue to take place even though legal training were taking place for the judges, prosecutors and public defenders.

CPD-RDTL Secretary-General, Antonio Aitahan Matak said his group refuses the establishment of an international base in Timor- Leste. He said UN must quickly transfer the country sovereign like the Defense Force, Security, economy and justice sector in order for East Timor to proceed its reconstruction properly.

MP Manuel Tilman of Kota party said that in order to attract foreign investors, the guarantee of security should be prioritized.

Timor Post reported that after one-week of demands by students on lower fees, the National University has reduced the fees to $ US30 per student.

Six remains have been found in Jaco Island. It is reported that the remains are from people killed by Indonesia army in 1984.

It is reported that 136,000 East Timorese children under five years old obtained polio immunization during the National Immunization Day last week.

First Lady Kisrty Gusmao was quoted as saying that she is very concerned with the rape of children under age. She said a research is needed in this area.

East Timorese economist at the National University of East Timor Filipe Mendes said that the progress of the economic growth depends on the political elite and Government.

ILO in cooperation with Department of Labour introduce the Labour Code to five sub-distircts of Viqueque District through a workshop recently.

It is reported that President Xanana Gusmao would meet with US Secreatary of State Collin Powell today.

October 2, 2002

Suara Timor Lorosae reported that President Xanana Gusmao would visit West Timor on 20 October. He is expected to directly observe the process of repatriation as well as appealing to East Timorese refugees to return home.

The public defenders team of the accused General, Adam Damiri in 1999 on crimes committed in East Timor, asked UN Secretary General Koffi Anan to be present as witness at Jakarta Ad-hoc trial.

East Timor's embassy to UN was officially opened in New York yesterday. Director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Olimpio Branco said that the newly appointed East Timor Ambassador to UN and US, Jose Luis Guterres would soon work at the embassy.

President of Parliament Francisco "Lu-Olo" Guterres said, "The Commission of Reception, Truth and Reconciliation should have been founded by the Parliament and it should report its activities to the Parliament annually.". It is reported that so far the Commission has not presented its activities reports to the Parliament.

Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer congratulated East Timor on becoming a member of UN formally on 27 September.

Commission A of National Parliament said that anyone whose spouse is a foreigner would lose his or her nationality if they divorce.

Nine Filipinos workers were forced to return to their country for not reporting to the Immigration office after two-month stay in East Timor.

Director of East Timor Electricity, Virgilio Guterres said that during the year 2000-2002, 31 electricity centers were built with aid from Portugal Japan, and Asian Development Bank. The centers are located in each district capital and 30 sub-districts.

East Timor NGO umbrella organization, NGO Forum, yesterday organized a meeting on illegal immigration. Thirteen participants from various local NGOs attended the meeting.

Carlos Tilman of Department of Health said that due to the unpredictable change of weather during this year, various seasonal diseases such as malaria, diarrhea, ISPA have been spread throughout the country. ISPA has been reportedly the main one.

Mr. Tilman also said the real data of HIV/AIDS patients in East Timor is 0,64 percent. The numbers, he said, include foreigners as well.

General Coordinator of Public Defender, Sergio de Jesus Hornai has been reportedly concerned with the absence of judges at Court of Appeal because are delaying trial cases.

Australian Ambassador to East Timor, Paul Foley was quoted as saying that his government continues its commitment to assist East Timor in the agriculture sector development.

Minister of Telecommunication and Transportation, Ovidio de Jesus Amaral said that early March 2003, telecommunication system throughout the districts will start to function.

Department of Telecommunications and Transportation, and the Department of Public Works will soon sign an MOU with the West Timor-based Catholic University, Widya Mandiri. The MOU will focus on the provision of rules, references as well as specific product mostly needed in the work of the Public Work Department.

Timor Post reported that East Timor Ambassador to UN, Jose Luis Guterres presented his credential to the UN Secretary General, Koffi Anan yesterday.

Hotel Timor manager Tiago Barata denied rumors that his hotel provides "sex workers" for visitors.

Baucau ETPS Commander, Pedro Belo denied allegation of collision, corruption and nepotism in the police recruitment. It is reported that two members of an independent evaluation team of UN are currently conducting an evaluation on UNTAET's work in Bobonaro district.

Director of Bobonaro District Health Department is upset about the fact that some UNTAET staff members had been diagnosed with HIV/AIDS prior to their arrival in East Timor.

[Drafted by the UNMISET Spokesperson office]