East Timor News Digest 28 - December 2-8, 2002

General manager Kirk MacManus said his business probably would have wound up early next year even if it hadn't been gutted by a Molotov cocktail on Wednesday.

He blamed corruption and escalating taxation rather than the downturn in trade with the withdrawal of the United Nations for his loss of faith in the country.

"The destruction of this place is very symbolic," MacManus said. "We were the city centre, we were the first people here. "When we opened this place, people were thanking us. "This place [East Timor] has gone back three years in a lot of ways."

East Timor President Xanana Gusmao assured donor nations today that the burning of buildings in Dili, including Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri's house, was an isolated event.

He also reminded the international community that they, through the UN administration, bore all responsibility for what the independent East Timor had become.

"I told them that we cannot always perceive this nation ... after independence," he told reporters. "We must remind ourselves ... that we started the [independence] process in East Timor in November 1999 [with the UN transition administration]."

MacManus, meanwhile, accused the government of creating an environment where businesses that did not pay bribes could not remain competitive.

When the Americans controlled customs, 10-15 per cent of his supermarket supplies were subjected to random inspections. He estimated that 90 per cent of his stock, including perishables, were now held up on the wharf by customs.

"We've been told by our staff that customs have told them, 'we can make your customs entries a lot cheaper and you'll never have a hold up if you just go through the back door'. "But we refused to do that [pay bribes]."

The business bought its own generators after electricity costs rose to $US11,000 a month for premises, without airconditioning. The government responded with a plan to tax the business for generating its own power, he said.

The business' bid to renew its lease had also been stonewalled for six months by the government, he said.

Attempts to have business vehicles registered were routinely stalled by public servants' advice to "come back later". "I think a lot of it's corruption, just waiting for a little something under the table," he said.

He repeatedly telephoned the police and fire brigade but neither responded.

With no insurance available in East Timor, he calculated that the business losses ran to hundreds and thousands of dollars.

"If the government can't handle it [security], they shouldn't be dealing with it," he said. "Maybe hand some of the control back to the UN, for security at least."

MacManus, a Canadian, said he had not yet decided where his next business venture would be. "I don't know anywhere but East Timor, " he said.

Poverty-stricken, a divided nation struggles to cope

Canberra Times - December 7, 2002

Antony Funnell -- East Timor's Prime Minister, Mari Alkatiri, refused my interview request when he landed in Australia last Friday. We had just traveled from Dili on the same plane. His refusal came as little surprise. Even then, people in the East Timorese capital were bracing themselves for the possibility of street protests and violence.

Alkatiri was officially in Australia for business, but his time in Darwin was also an escape from the mounting criticism of his leadership at home. Only hours before, at a ceremony to mark National Day, the down-to-earth and hugely popular President of East Timor, Xanana Gusmao, had launched a scathing attack on the Alkatiri Government for its failure to deliver benefits to ordinary Timorese and for its blatant excesses.

"We are more dependent than ever, living from the power and skills of others," the former guerilla leader said. "It is the sickness that affects many parties and newly independent countries of inefficiency, corruption and political instability, where those who govern live well, and the people live in poverty."

Around Dili it isn't hard to find examples of personal excess among East Timor's leadership group, Mr Gusmao excluded. Just out of town, on the road to Dollar Beach where the foreigners like to spend their weekends, a huge and expensive house has been under construction for the past few months. At first glance it looks like a hotel, but it is in fact the new home of Foreign Minister Jose Ramos-Horta.

In a country suffering from drought, 90 per cent unemployment and the lingering trauma of a brutal Indonesian occupation, Ramos- Horta's grandiose building project stands out like a pimple a symbol that, in the short time since independence, East Timor had indeed begun separating into two nations the Portuguese-speaking elite and the Bahasa Indonesian and Tetum-speaking poor.

The issue of language is an important one in East Timor. English and Indonesian are seen as the languages of trade, but the Alkatiri Government is busy trying to stamp out their usage in favour of a return to Portuguese.

Many are suspicious and accuse Portugal of trying to bribe its way back into a position of influence in its former colony. To outsiders, the Alkatiri Government's preference for Portuguese is surprising indeed, particularly given the fact that virtually all East Timorese under the age of 30 speak Indonesian as their first language.

Few of that generation understand Portuguese and there is still widespread resentment and hatred of Lisbon for its perceived abandonment in the 1970s.

Yet Portuguese, along with Tetum, is the declared national language of East Timor and all schools are forced to teach it. But as with so much else in East Timorese society, the Government's insistence has only led to further dissension and disillusionment.

Even among the very young, resentment of the Dili administration has taken root. In the village of Fahilebo, in the mountainous Liquica district, a teacher proudly shows off his refurbished classroom. The class is doing well for such a poor area; it has books and a blackboard, but what I immediately notice upon entering is that the lessons are being conducted only in Tetum.

"Why are they not learning Portuguese as the Government has directed?" I ask. "Because Portuguese is considered a useless language," comes the reply. "If they can't learn Indonesian or English, they would rather speak Tetum."

Like all developing countries, and East Timor is the world's sixth-poorest, the streets are always full of people. In Dili, and in the countryside, young and old alike have little to do. People don't look downtrodden, but they wear the faces of the disenfranchised and the ignored. After six months of independence they see no real or meaningful improvement in the country's economic condition.

More than 60 per cent of the population continues to live on less than $3 a day. The country's farmers have seen the price for their coffee drop from $2 a kilogram under the Indonesians to 80c under the Alkatiri Government, and they have watched prices for basic essentials in Dili skyrocket because of the influx of cash-rich UN staff. Even among the nation's large international community, for whom conditions are comfortable, there is constant talk of corruption and waste.

There is no money, the Government complains, no money for the legal system, no money for infrastructure, no money for the basics. But everyone knows there is always money for a trip to Lisbon or Madrid, or even Portuguese-speaking Mozambique, if you are among the political elite.

Last week in Dili it was very hard to get an interview with anyone in the Government in a position of seniority. They were all overseas, it seemed. Benevides Correia is the respected president of the East Timorese Lawyers' Association. He is also the director of Liberta a non-government organisation which provides free legal aid. Benevides knows all too well the feelings of injustice among the East Timorese population.

"There is no foreign investment in this country," he says, "in East Timor for the time being, it is very hard to get a job. Particularly the young generation, they are trying to get a job, but where is the enterprise where they can get a job?"

Recently Mr Correia led a month-long strike by the country's legal profession. Although the lawyers have returned to work, like everyone else they have a long list of outstanding grievances the failure of the Government to establish an appeals court, the failure of the Government to properly fund the Public Defender's Office, and the outright refusal of the Government to seek the establishment of an International Crimes Tribunal for fear of angering neighbouring Indonesia.

And, on top of all that, once again the issue of language is never far away.

Even in the courts, the elite's love affair with Portuguese is causing massive problems. There is congestion at all levels as courtroom testimony is routinely translated into four languages Tetum, English, Portuguese and Indonesian. In recent months the Government has also been actively soliciting Portuguese-speaking judges from Angola and Mozambique (two other former colonies of Portugal) ahead of more experienced English-speaking judges. This has not only caused annoyance among lawyers, but concern among international observers that East Timor might be filling its judicial system with people who have very little regard for the operations of the law in a free and fully democratic society.

For $20 at Dili Airport you can buy a Xanana Gusmao T-shirt, complete with a picture of the President's smiling face. Since taking on the largely ceremonial role, Gusmao has, for the most part, kept a low profile.

In the minds of most Timorese he is above the mess of East Timor's political landscape. Whether in future months he will be able to enjoy his semi-retirement is questionable. Still more uncertain will be his ability to bring the nation together and back on a course to stability. East Timorese have been through much worse than the violence of this past week. In 1999 more than 70 per cent of the country's infrastructure was destroyed. By contrast the destruction of recent days has been mild indeed. But what has been permanently damaged has been the new nation's reputation.

"East Timor's a bit of a basket case," said someone at my son's child-care centre in suburban Darwin. "What's the matter with them?" asked someone else. "Why are they destroying what we've given them?" International goodwill and understanding is fleeting indeed.

[Antony Funnell is a Darwin-based freelance journalist and former senior producer of the ABC's Asian satellite TV service ATV News.]

Officials, analysts see provocateurs behind Timor violence

Agence France Presse - December 8, 2002

Dili -- East Timor, still grappling with chronic unemployment and poverty six months after independence fuelled unrealistically high hopes, was according to one analyst "a dry field into which someone threw a match."

United Nations and government officials are investigating who threw the match which sparked off a day of rioting, arson and looting last Wednesday.

The violence -- in which two people died and 25 were injured -- was the worst since Indonesian troops and their militia proxies withdrew in 1999, trashing much of the country as they left. It caught UN peacekeepers and local police off guard.

"We all become complacent," said Colin Stewart, a former head of political affairs with the previous UN administration. "There had been nothing like this in three years although there were many peaceful demonstrations. Nobody was expecting this."

Stewart said that while the police and military were not geared up to cope, "1,500 very agitated people would have been a major challenge to any police force."

Government and UN officials and some analysts agree the violence was far more than a simple student protest against police which got out of control.

UN special representative Kamalesh Sharma said Friday it "appeared to be part of a planned attack against selected targets throughout Dili."

Internal Affairs Minister Rogerio Lobato has blamed people linked to a group called CDP-RDTL and called the violence a plot to overthrow the government.

Foreign Minister Jose Ramos-Horta said former pro-Jakarta militias were involved although he did not suggest they were acting under Indonesia's orders.

CDP-RDTL (whose initials in Portuguese stand for the Popular Defence Committee -- Democratic Republic of East Timor) is a fringe group made up of disaffected former members of Fretilin, which spearheaded the fight for independence against Indonesia and is now the ruling party.

The group believes that only the original independence declaration made on November 28, 1975 -- nine days before Indonesia invaded -- is valid and that all subsequent political developments are unconstitutional.

"There is circumstantial evidence they played a role but I'm not confident to say you can blame it all on them," said one analyst, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

He said no one could claim to know exactly what the violence was all about. "But it had very little to do with the students. They were the spark and other people with other agendas got on the bandwagon."

The analyst said some political figures had been very vocal in criticising the newly created police force, especially over recruitment. Many former guerrillas from the independence war have been turned down for the force at a time when a government job -- or any job -- is highly sought after.

"People for their own self-interest are trying to gain political positions. One local leader who is trying to replace the chief of police was seen to be involved in these events," the analyst said.

High unemployment, approaching 80 percent for young people, and continuing poverty was a contributing factor.

But the analyst said there were "clearly provocateurs in the crowd directing them to certain places like [Prime Minister] Mari Alkatiri's house," which was set ablaze.

He and other residents said most East Timorese appeared ashamed of the violence. "This was a minority that for short-sighted or selfish reasons did a lot of damage to the country," the analyst said.

Investors might pull out, donors would be discouraged, many foreigners would be less eager to come in and the democratic government had been shaken, he said.

"In the eyes of the world everyone had high hopes for this country. This is a pretty big bump on the road."

Another long-term observer said a climate of uncertainty contributed to the unrest. He said the resignation last month of Bishop Carlos Ximenes Belo, "a massively respected figure, created a great sense of insecurity."

"I don't know if it was disaffected students or someone behind them," the observer said. "There seems to be a lot of conflict between sections of youth and the police."

Another "very sore point" was the recruitment of the new police force, with some former policemen during Indonesian rule getting priority over former guerrillas.

"I think there would have been a lot of factors involved," said Australian NGO worker John Rouw. "It is a lot about disaffected youth, unemployment, dissatisfaction with a lack of jobs after independence -- excessive expectations that have not been met."

UN facing pressure over alleged East Timor beatings

Melbourne Age - December 8, 2002

Jill Jolliffe, Dili -- The United Nations may be facing new embarrassment in East Timor following reports that people arrested in last Wednesday's riots had been beaten in custody.

An informed source, who asked not to be named, said UN headquarters in New York had been told of the situation. "A UN inquiry has been requested, headed by an independent person from outside the Timor mission," the source said. "What happened was a total failure to provide security in East Timor, which is what the UN came here to do."

Ten prisoners are still being held and 67 others have been released. "We have taken cognisance of reports that some detainees may have been mishandled," a UN spokesman said. "We are committed to the highest standards of human rights and these reports will be investigated in that spirit."

What began as a student protest ended in a day of unchecked burning and looting. Protesting over the arrest of a classmate, the students had thrown stones at the police and attempted to storm their headquarters. The rampage began after police allegedly opened fire on demonstrators. Observers said they had first fired warning shots.

One student, Honorio Ximenes, 14, died at the scene, while Manuel da Silva, 18, died in hospital the next day. Sixteen other students were wounded and two of them remain in a critical condition.

Most of the arrests were made on Wednesday afternoon, in the wake of the the worst violence. Among the buildings burnt was the residence of Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri.

By Thursday morning, 77 people were being held at a hastily constructed detention centre on the outskirts of Dili. It was here that a few human rights officials first had access to the prisoners, who were later transferred to central Dili.

The alleged assaults ranged from light slaps to heavy punching and detainees reportedly had guns put to their heads. "Injuries consistent with these reports were witnessed at the holding centre," a source said. "There were split lips, bruises, black eyes and a suspected fracture."

The 10 remaining prisoners are due to appear in court tomorrow, although they have already been held beyond the legal period of 72 hours, an infraction that also has been the subject of complaints by human rights groups.

Jose Luis Oliveira, of the Association for Law, Human Rights and Justice, East Timor's leading human rights organisation, said police had refused to allow one of his officials to visit the prisoners.

"We have had reports of violence against the prisoners," he said. "No matter what they've done, they have a right to be well treated. Our police are ignorant on human rights and are repeating what the Indonesians did."

He said the association sees the United Nations as having final responsibility. "It was they who trained them," he said.

Timor suspects Indonesian militias behind Dili riots

Reuters - December 6, 2002

Dili -- East Timor said on Friday that Indonesian-backed militiamen responsible for hundreds of deaths in 1999 were regrouping and may have been behind this week's violent rioting in the capital.

Foreign Minister Jose Ramos-Horta told Reuters that Wednesday's violence -- in which two people were killed and 25 injured -- had been carefully orchestrated to discredit the government of the world's newest nation.

"There are growing suspicions that former militias are involved," he said, adding they were made up of elements from Indonesia, which ruled East Timor with an iron fist until the country voted for independence under a UN-brokered referendum in 1999.

"It is not possible that the attack on the prime minister's residence was spontaneous. It was carefully planned a few days before."

A mob of between 600 and 800 torched the residence of Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri as well as another property he rents to a foreign bank and a house belonging to his brother.

Alkatiri said on Thursday he had ordered an inquiry into the rioting and that unidentified "outside influences" were to blame.

The clashes were a blow to efforts to establish a peaceful democracy. The 1999 vote sparked a wave of violence by pro- Jakarta militia groups, backed by the elements of the Indonesian military, in which 1,000 people were killed, according to UN estimates.

Questions over political motivation of recent unrest

Radio Australia - December 6, 2002

[East Timor is quiet today after mob violence in the capital Dili, left at least two dead, scores injured, and key buildings burnt to the ground. The unrest began a few days ago with the arrest of a student at Dili University, and exploded after the killing of another student during protests outside UN police headquarters. What concerns many who witnessed events is the role played not by students, but other political leaders wishing to capitalise on general discontent with the government of Mari Alkatiri. That, coupled with the apparent lack of UN action during the rampage, has posed many questions about nature of this week's violence.]

Transcript:

Keady: As East Timor settles down after three days of unrest, the question now being asked on the streets of Dili is how peaceful student protests led to such an outbreak of violence.

The scenes of the last few days which include rioting, the burning of Western shops and the destruction of the Prime Minister's house have shocked East Timorese.

Gil Guterres is from the weekly new magazine Tali Takum and was one of those watching events unfold. He says nationalist and opposition political leaders were participants in the protest.

Guterres: Yes ... personally attacking Mari. So it was the fault of those parties, the rival party of Fretilin, the rival party of Mari, the aim of the protest is to bring Mari down from power.

Keady: Some of these same people have been linked to protests throughout the year, as well as the violence early last week, which saw police headquarters in Bacau, attacked.

Many are asking how did mob violence emerge in a country which still has a substantial UN police presence and why security forces were so slow to react.

Carolyn Robinson is a journalist who was in the centre of events yesterday.

Robinson: We drove around town in the early afternoon and we saw several fires raging, and we saw students running from place to place. We also saw vehicles of armed peacekeepers in full riot gear. But there was not really an attempt to stop the students that we saw running from place to place. And nor was there any attempt to put the fires out. For the United Nations to be here, there are a lot of troops. And they surely would have been able to be in several more parts of town than they were. It's a question that none of us have figured out the answer to at the moment.

Keady: The Prime Minister's office has blamed the UN for allowing things to spiral out of control. But UN spokesperson Brenon Jones, says proper procedure was followed.

Jones: Early in the morning, or mid-morning, the SRSG, the special representative of the Secretary General said the UN was prepared to exercise its mandate role of helping to maintain security. At that point, he called for the peacekeepers to come out. They were out well before noon. It may have taken a while to deploy throughout the entire city.

Keady: But if you're looking at the looting of the Prime Minister's house which occured late in the day, well after the UN had been asked to intervene, clearly this suggests that the UN and security forces are unable to control what's happening in the city.

Jones: What Xanana Gusmao, President Gusmao, said yesterday afternoon was that it seems there were forces with alternative motives and that there were alternative demonstrations that unfolded rather rapidly throughout the city. It will take an inquiry to figure out all that happened yesterday. So I really can't make any further comments than that.

Keady: Opposition parties have used this weeks events to highlight what they say is widespread disaffection with the Alkatiri government, and the plight of people affected by unemployment and drought and accuse the government of nepotism, corruption and a lack of transparency and have been calling for the creation of a 'national unity government' that would include non-Fretlin members.

Joao Goncalves is from the Social Democratic Party.

Goncalves: I think this government should realise that they cannot go alone now. They either step down or think of a possibility of going in a government of unity involving other political parties and organising policies of the national interest, not policies that are in the interest of Fretilin or those that support Fretilin. I think this is what we have to consider, you know.

Alkatiri must prove who was behind violence: Carrascalao

Radio Australia - December 6, 2002

The former Governor of East Timor, Mario Carrascalao, says the Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri must prove his claim that people with political aspirations are behind this week's violence in Dili.

Mr Alkatiri has accused "other forces" of being responsible for the violence and has set up an inquiry to identify the perpetrators. Mr Carrascalao who is also leader of the Social Democratic Party yesterday called for Mr Alkatiri to resign.

He says the Prime Minister either has to come up with proof of his claims or an apology.

I'm going today back to Dili to make myself available to answer any question of the inquiring team so that he can prove that this is right, if not, he have to apologise. Mari Alkatiri have to apologise for creating false rumours and trying to destabilise the country by creating these kind of rumours.

East Timor on the edge

Sydney Morning Herald Editorial - December 8, 2002

When an independent East Timor was finally proclaimed in May, everyone wanted to come to the party. Australians, particularly, felt a strong affinity with the East Timorese because of the role Australian troops and civilians played in restoring stability after the carnage of 1999. However, unity forged in the face of a common enemy too easily unravels as soon as that enemy has been defeated. This week's fatal riots, in which East Timor's police apparently opened fire on their people, is a sharp reminder of such fragility in the world's youngest nation.

It is easy to look backwards for the causes of Wednesday's violence, when about 600 disgruntled youths rampaged through Dili, attacking the new parliament, businesses and the houses of the Prime Minister, Mari Alkatiri.

The East Timorese are, undeniably, a traumatised people. About a quarter of the population perished between 1975 and 1999 under Indonesia's repressive occupation. The violence orchestrated by Indonesian troops in late 1999, after the UN-supervised vote which rejected Jakarta's rule, killed and injured thousands more. For an entire generation, violence has been the only language in which conflicts were resolved.

But this is only part of the story. The huge injection of international aid since 1999 has, almost certainly, raised popular expectations which can't be met, particularly in Dili, where the spending power of foreign personnel has grossly distorted the meagre local economy. Unemployment remains at about 65 per cent and few, beyond the new East Timorese political elite, have visibly benefited from the $2.4 billion of international funds spent so far securing and rebuilding the half-island territory.

With the phased withdrawal of the UN transitional administration, many of the businesses which sprang up to serve the international contingent will fail.

East Timor has no industrial base, few agricultural exports and little prospect of tourism in the short term. Nation-building remains a daunting challenge. International aid pledges are, theoretically, sufficient to support the national budget until income from oil in the Timor Gap comes on line. However, the most immediate demand is for small-scale business projects which might absorb the country's idle, and increasingly agitated, youth.

Looking forward is not easy. At the very least, the emerging wealth gap between East Timor's political elite and the rest must be addressed. With no occupying regime to blame, this may mean confronting corruption among East Timor's own. The Government, too, must establish why its police force confronted an unarmed crowd with guns loaded with live ammunition, not tear gas or rubber bullets. The announcement of an independent commission of inquiry into the violence may help defuse tensions.

Australia's offer this week of assistance for police training and support for the fledgling justice system is positive. However, there are many more long-term tasks, such as ongoing support to strengthen civil institutions at every level to guarantee basic services like health care and education.

Ultimately, East Timor's future is now in its people's hands. For Australia, much is at stake. A failed, or failing nation, directly off Australia's north coast, would pose a real threat to our national security.

Wealth divide behind Timor violence

Australian Financial Review - December 6, 2002

Tim Dodd, Jakarta -- UN administrator Sergio de Mello, who ran East Timor for 2 1/2 years until its independence in May this year, believes the country's 30-year history of violence is the main factor behind this week's riots.

At least one person died and dozens of buildings were damaged or burnt in the capital Dili. But it seems clear the violent legacy of the Indonesian invasion and occupation is only one factor behind this week's destruction.

East Timor's main problem is its large, under-employed, poorly educated, youthful population a vast pool of people who have little to do and who had unrealistic expectations of the economic benefits that independence would bring. Six months after independence, they are still idle but see wealth apparently being accumulated by the country's new political elite.

They continue to be on the wrong side of East Timor's dual economy -- one for rich, foreign military and aid workers and another for poverty-stricken East Timorese. Adding to the sense of disenfranchisement is the government decision -- made by the Lusophile elite like Alkatiri who sat out the Indonesian occupation in Portugal -- to make Portuguese the official language, meaning that fluency is a practical necessary for getting a good government job.

To the poor job-seeking youth, whose first language is Bahasa Indonesia, it is an insult. To be fair to East Timor's new government these problems are enormously difficult to solve, but unfortunately the government's approach just makes them worse.

The UN, while it was in charge, did little to try to nip these particular problems in the bud. Afraid to overrule the East Timorese elite, it did not try to change the decision on the Portuguese language, which locks about 90 per cent of the population out of government decision-making and is a barrier to even seeking justice in the courts.

Nor did the UN, working in its highly bureaucratic way, see any problem in paying large allowances of over $US100 a day to foreign soldiers and aid workers, setting high lifestyle expectations for a new East Timorese elite.

This week's riot is the first clear indication that East Timor, the country the UN has been proud to claim a success, is really a potential time bomb. Let's hope that the Alkatiri government's inquiry into the causes of the riots add resses the issues honestly and that it leads to real changes of policy. Certainly it is not good enough to just blame the country's violent past.

East Timorese wonder how things went so wrong

Melbourne Age - December 6, 2002

Jill Jolliffe, Dili -- As residents of Dili swept up the debris yesterday, they wondered how things could have gone so wrong. The toll from the previous day's rioting was two students dead, more than 20 people injured, buildings and cars burnt out and a vicious attack on the Dili mosque.

It was similar to the worst days of the 1999 militia violence, but this time it was between East Timorese who had fought and won independence against terrible odds and to world acclaim.

Since the UN arrived in 1999, millions of dollars have been spent establishing a parliamentary democracy, training a police force in human rights ideals and refurbishing the education system. But it was the police who fired at unarmed demonstrators and it was students who attacked parliament and lapsed into wanton violence and intolerance similar to that of the militia groups they had opposed.

Independent since May 20, East Timor was working hard to attract investors and sign business deals but in the space of a day it all seems to fallen apart.

"Business confidence has gone," Kym-Louise Miller, president of the East Timor Business Association, said. "Foreign investors are struggling to even set up here because of factors like the absence of an investment code, and this instability is going to deter a lot of people."

Around 100 frightened people huddled yesterday inside the Dili mosque, which survived an arson attack, although the homes of eight families within its grounds were torched. Students broke windows, burnt vehicles and invaded the mosque brandishing sticks.

"We feel destroyed, torn apart," Imam Arham said at the mosque. "It's been very hard on those with children." They now have a 24-hour military guard, but the incident could represent a setback in the improved relations with Indonesia which Foreign Minister Jose Ramos Horta has cultivated.

Worse, it could provide fuel for Islamic fundamentalists, who already have East Timor in their sights. "Who needs terrorists when you have a self-combustible democracy?" a military officer said as a downtown supermarket blazed and looters took off with everything.

It was as though the post-independence student generation was satisfying a deep frustration which all those fancy UN-sponsored workshops had failed to diagnose. The UN-trained East Timorese police have not been seen on the streets since the shootings and the inability of UN forces to intervene effectively, despite having executive police power, speaks of a deeper failure.

Foreigners flee Dili amid new clashes

Straits Times - December 6, 2002

Dili -- Foreigners fled East Timor as security forces fired warning shots in clashes with students yesterday, a day after two people were killed in riots that prompted angry mobs to loot shops and torch the prime minister's house.

The unrest was the worst in East Timor since it became the world's newest nation in May, and highlighted the rising discontent with the government.

The number of arrests went up to 80 even as the government vowed yesterday to punish those responsible for violence in which dozens of buildings were left in ruins -- including those of Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri and two of his brothers.

Mr Alkatiri announced the formation of a five-member inquiry, made up of MPs, government officials and an NGO, to "see who is behind all this".

Meanwhile, security forces fired warning shots in clashes with students yesterday. The streets in Dili were otherwise mostly empty. Witnesses say the violence was sporadic.

Trouble started on Tuesday after 500 students gathered at police headquarters in Dili to demand the release of a fellow student arrested for alleged gang violence.

Dili's airport was yesterday crowded with relatives of UN staff and other non-governmental workers trying to flee. President Xanana Gusmao walked around the city to inspect damage and visit the wounded. He took to the airwaves to call for calm.

"If you burn people's houses and steal their possessions, they will leave," he said. "If they leave, what is going to happen to us? We will be alone with our poverty, without help, forgotten."

Curfew imposed after more riots

Radio Australia - December 4, 2002

[East Timor authorities have imposed a curfew and sent troops onto the streets of the capital Dili, following a day of rioting in which as many as five people have died. Several businesses, including the ANZ bank, were targetted, after a large crowd which was demanding the release of an arrested student went on the rampage. Some government officials have blamed a radical group known as CPD-RDTL for the violence, but local East Timorese are frustrated by unemployment and poverty. The riots are the most serious challenge to East Timor since independence from Indonesia on May 20.]

Presenter/Interviewer: Sen Lam

Speakers: Maria Pires, from Plan International, Dili

Bernardino: "Initially when two students this morning were shot and then the group proceeded to enter into the assembly and they stoned the building and broke everything that was in sight."

Lam: Why have the demonstrators directed their anger against the parliament?

Bernardino: "Yeah mainly because they're not happy with the situation, they're not happy because there is corruption and nepotism and so on inside the government. They say they are still suffering even after independence, they don't see any benefits going to them, they don't feel that they are part of the reconstruction of East Timor, they've been discriminated upon, they don't have employment."

Lam: So are these demonstrators largely students or do they comprise of large numbers of members of the local communities as well?

Bernardino: "They are students as well as large numbers of local communities and 10,000 of them have come from the districts, from the mountains and for the 28th of November commemoration here in Dili and have remained."

Lam: I understand the authorities have imposed a curfew?

Bernardino: "Yes the curfew means people have to remain inside the houses and not come outside."

Lam: But you just got off a motorbike outside?

Bernardino: "Yes I've been out on the streets actually since this morning, I went to work as a normal day and then because of the tense situation and because our office is in the area of the Prime Minister's house and the focus was there early on, we had to close the office and move out and then again I couldn't get into the area where I'm living because the roads have been blocked, so I have to come back to some relative's house, which is close by the assembly. Xanana has called a meeting earlier on and it seems like there's still a lot of tension but at least they stopped the burning."

Lam: On this issue of burning I understand that a supermarket has been attacked and also a bank, what can you tell us about that?

Bernardino: "Yes the ANZ bank has been stoned, which is a foreign owned and then the Harvey World Travel, which is I believe Australian owned has been stoned and then some other foreign businesses have been targets."

Lam: And would you say that this is very damaging for East Timor and for the local economy?

Bernardino: "I would say so yes, it is very damaging but unfortunately the locals don't see that, they see that businesses come in, they are bringing in foreign workers, the benefit is going to the business and the foreign workers and there's very little going on to the local community, and they're very angry with that."

Lam: But they are also particularly angry with the police, why do you think this is so?

Bernardino: "They're angry with the police -- they have told me because the police is using violence, is using force, it is using bullets to control the situation and control the riots and the crowds. The government has met several times in the last few days to try to address the issue, unfortunately it's being very slow coming onto the communities and that I guess has added to the tension and by the way the police reacted and responded to some of these demonstrations it's added to the problem, which we saw today."

Lam: We also received reports that the police were hated because it's perceived that amongst their numbers were former supporters of the Indonesian regime? BERNARDINO: "Yes actually, while we are standing in front of our house there was a group of people running on the streets and chasing the police cars and pointing at them saying that these are militia, militia, apparently some ex-militia members have managed to get jobs as policemen."

Lam: Is there a feeling of panic in Dili tonight?

Bernardino: I believe so, there are some families at least where I am now in my relatives home, there are families around, these local people are scared, some of the local pawn shops have closed and I think the foreigners here are very terrified that you know, if something happens to them -- they don't feel safe."

East Timor in flames after five die in student riots

The Guardian - December 5, 2002

Kathy Marks, Sydney -- East Timor was placed undera virtual state of emergency yesterday, witha curfew in the capital, Dili, after student riots in which up to five people were killed and the Prime Minister's house was burnt down.

The anger erupted after police shot dead a demonstrator, according to witnesses. Hundreds of protesters looted shops and set fire to buildings, leaving part of the city in smouldering ruins.

Witnesses said police fired into the crowd, but the number of deaths was unclear. One person said he saw five people killed, while another put the figure at three.

The United Nations, which administered the country for two years until it became fully independent in May, said it had confirmed one death but the number could rise. One victim was reported to be a 16-year-old student who was shot in the head. UN peace- keeping troops and local police struggledto halt the rioting, but the streets were said to be under control by nightfall.

There has been sporadic civil unrest in East Timor, but yesterday's clashes were the most violent. The country won its independence from Indonesia in a bloody UN-backed ballot in 1999 after 24 years of iron rule by Indonesia, but it faces crisis levels of poverty and unemployment.

Five hundred students gathered in front of the national police headquarters yesterday, after police arrested a student during unrest on Tuesday. The protest began peacefully, but the mood swiftly changed and demonstrators began throwing stones.

According to witnesses, some officers -- not uniformed police -- began firing into the crowd and one student was killed. The others refused to surrender his body to the police. The demonstrators then went on the rampage and a supermarket and a hotel were burnt to the ground.

The properties belonged to Australians, whose countryplayed a leading role in East Timor's independence after it tempered its support for Muslim-dominated Indonesia, which had annexed the Catholic Portuguese territory in 1976. The Hello Mister supermarket, near the parliament, was guarded by a dozen armed peace-keepers to prevent further looting last night.

The protest moved to the parliament building, two blocks away, where further shots were fired. A journalist at the scene said police opened fire. "At least five were killed and I saw another six people in a minivan being taken to the hospital with really bad injuries," he said. "Some had gunshot wounds and some were beaten."

Gangs of men broke into an office building and dragged out furniture and computers, which they torched on the street. Televisions and motorbikes were stolen from shops.

Two hundred people gathered outside the house of the Prime Minister, Mari Alkatiri, and set it alight. His brother's house was also burnt down, while a senior member of parliament was injured by stone-throwing demonstrators.

President Xanana Gusmao declared the state of emergency so that security forces could clear the streets. Mr Gusmao, whose car was caught in the riots, broadcast a national appeal for the violence to be halted. He went to police headquarters, but was unable to restore calm and had to be escorted inside.

Jose Ramos-Horta, the Foreign Minister, who is visiting Spain, called the violence "a very serious turn of events". He said the East Timorese were stunned by the mayhem. "We have been used to having a very stable [country] here for the last two and a half years," he said.

The shaken Prime Minister, Mr Alkatiri, appealed for calm, saying: "Today's events mark a very sad note during our country's first days of independence."

One local resident said that the trouble had been brewing because of the Gusmao government's failure to keep its promises. "My impression of what happened here today is that is was due to a lot of things that have been building up over the past month but mostly, people are not happy with the government -- it seems the government has promised too much and hasn't delivered," he added.

The current unrest underlines that the honeymoon period is over in East Timor. Western diplomats agree that the riots were fuelled by frustration at the government's failure to fulfil high expectations after independence.

One cabinet minister said last night: "Things have quietened down, but the situation remains tense and there is a heavy [security force] presence on the streets." Vic Josey, acting deputy commissioner of the UN peacekeeping force, said the state of alert would be reviewed daily. "The situation is still very fluid," he said.

Five shot dead as students storm Timor parliament

Sydney Morning Herald - December 5, 2002

As many as five protesters were shot dead in the East Timor capital, Dili, yesterday when hundreds of students clashed with police near parliament, witnesses said.

United Nations peacekeepers surrounded the parliament as the crowd torched a supermarket and damaged other buildings. The witnesses said it was the police who had opened fire on the demonstrators.

"At least five were killed and I saw another six people in a minivan being taken to the hospital with really bad injuries," said a journalist. Some of the protesters had gunshot wounds and others had been beaten. A senior parliamentarian was also hurt when the crowd began throwing stones.

Another witness, who did not want to be identified, claimed that the police who opened fire were not in uniform. "The police tried to take a body from the students but they refused and there was another clash and the students set fire to a supermarket," the witness said.

East Timor's Foreign Minister, Jose Ramos Horta, called the violence a "very serious turn of events that has stunned everyone in Dili". The Government declared a state of emergency and a curfew.

Australians working in the area were moved out as the protest turned violent, and the Australian Embassy warned citizens to stay indoors.

John Rouw, an Australian living in Dili, said by phone: "I was in an internet cafe and the staff here heard there were problems so they shut the windows and we all hid in the back of the shop.

"When we finally went outside there was a UN Land Rover on fire and a lot of the shop windows were smashed. You can see black smoke on the horizon and we have heard a mosque has been torched but there are a lot of rumours flying around."

In Canberra, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said the rioting had involved up to 600 people. "United Nations and East Timorese security forces are at the scene to restore order," a spokeswoman said.

The UN, which plays an administrative role, said the country's leadership had called an urgent meeting to discuss the unrest. "The only thing I can say at this moment is that we are all concerned by what has happened here today," a UN spokesman, Brennon Jones, said, adding that at least 30 peacekeepers were called to the parliament.

The protest had begun on Tuesday after a student was arrested and yesterday's violence broke out in front of police headquarters, where dozens of police were on duty. Shots were fired and the protest then moved two blocks away to the parliament where there was more gunfire.

Some politicians had agreed to meet the students outside the parliament early yesterday but had failed to show up, which Mr Jones said may have added to the tension.

Civil unrest is not uncommon in the world's newest nation but yesterday's clash was the most serious to date and a blow to efforts to establish a peaceful democracy.

Mr Ramos Horta, speaking by phone from Madrid, said: "We have been used to having a very stable [country] here for the last 2 years. I believe it will be brought under control today."

The UN ran East Timor for nearly three years after the territory voted in 1999 to break from 24 years of often harsh Indonesian rule.

East Timor is still struggling to get on its feet following the independence vote, which triggered a bloody backlash by pro- Jakarta militia gangs, backed by elements of the Indonesian military. The UN estimates more than 1000 people were killed.

Police open fire as riots and arson grip Timor

Melbourne Age - December 5 2002

Jill Jolliffe (with Mark Forbes, agencies), Dili -- East Timor's capital, Dili, was torn by riots yesterday in the worst violence since 1999, after police shot dead at least two student protesters.

The government last night imposed a state of emergency with a 7pm curfew after student rioters trashed the parliament building and torched hotels, shops and a mosque.

Police and security forces appeared to do little to contain the rioting, which erupted after a crowd of about 500 students marched on police headquarters demanding an explanation for the arrest of a student at a secondary school on Tuesday.

Police first fired warning shots when the crowd started pelting the building with stones. A witness said shots were then fired into the crowd at close range, killing two and wounding nine.

The deputy head of the United Nations peacekeeping force, Brigadier-General Justin Kelly, said there were "unconfirmed rumours" that shots had been fired from the crowd. One witness put the death toll at five, but UN and East Timorese officials put the figure at two.

Australian troops and staff in Dili have been recalled to "secure locations" around the capital. A Defence Department spokeswoman said they had been withdrawn to safety but any United Nations request for assistance with security would be considered.

It is understood that Australian peacekeepers are not involved in attempts to restore order. About 1100 troops and defence staff are stationed in East Timor.

A Foreign Affairs spokeswoman said a bulletin had been issued to all Australians in Dili to avoid the central area and immediately leave the parliamentary precinct. They were advised to "remain indoors and monitor news reports". All Australians in the area are believed to be safe.

Officials denied speculation that Australian troops were being readied in Darwin to fly to East Timor to restore order. Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said he was concerned about the situation and officials were monitoring developments.

During yesterday's rioting, President Xanana Gusmao had to be escorted to safety when he went to police headquarters to appeal for calm. He later blamed un-named provocateurs for the violence.

East Timor's Foreign Minister Jose Ramos Horta described the violence, the worst since Indonesian-led militias laid waste to the territory after the vote for independence, as a "very serious turn of events".

After the shooting, the crowd rampaged through the city and by mid-afternoon buildings and cars were burning in various suburbs. Targets included the Australian-owned Hello Mister supermarket, which was set ablaze, as was the Dili mosque. Rioters also burnt down a house owned by the family of Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri.

In a radio broadcast, Mr Gusmao appealed for calm and called on parents to keep the students off the streets. He said he understood the students' anger, but added: "There were those among them who were not from the [arrested student's] school, and it was they who provoked it." As the riots gathered pace, he went into the street to appeal for the students to end the violence. They listened but did not obey.

Some government officials said they suspected a radical nationalist group known as RDTL was behind the rioting. "This is an orchestrated manoeuvre to topple the government," Internal Affairs Minister Rogerio Lobato told AFP, the French news agency.

Wracked by anti-government protests

Radio Australia - December 2, 2002

[East Timor's independence celebrations have been marred by a series of anti-government protests, centered on the failure of former resistance fighters to find employment. This week a police station in Baucau has been attacked by an angry mob and 3000 anti-government protestors have rallied in Dili. Adding to the pressure on the government East Timorese President Xanana Gusmao used the official independence day ceremony yesterday to launch a scathing attack on the government.]

Transcript:

Sampaio: They attacked the office and criticised the fact that former resistance people, former Falantil members were not being given priority in terms of the recruitment. This was quite a serious escalation of the attacks against police. At least one person was killed. He died a few days later in Dili. There were a number of people injured and a number of arrests. Of particular concern for the United Nations, for the Timorese government, the fact that a excessive amount in their perception of warning shots were fired by police. One of them that led to the death of Calisto Soares, a young man of 27 years old. This, for the government, was the more serious threat to the overall instability of the country, but is only one of many events that has occurred right throughout the country. And they are adding to an increase level of fear, an increased level of intimidation that is felt not just by the Timorese, but by the international presence here in East Timor.

Fitzgerald: And Antonio, I understand that yesterday around 3,000 people attended an alternative independence day ceremony to the one officially organised which had the president and the prime minister attending, and foreign dignatories. What was the behind that process? Obviously it was a continuation of the week's events. But was it seen as a challenge to the government or was it people just holding a separate ceremony, a separate group?

Sampaio: One, an attempt to celebrate, another one an attempt to ensure that a clear message of dissatisfaction was sent to the prime minister. The day before a communique was issued by the organisers of this alternative event in which they clearly asked the people if we are with the Prime Minister Mari Alkitiri, go to the official ceremony. If you are not, come to our ceremony. And 3,000 people did, so in the government's official ceremonies there would have been about 300. Clearly the government's ceremony was much more formal. It was also being transmitted live by the national TV and radio stations, so that might have led to a number of people staying at home. But the message, particularly for the organisers, was: listen, the majority of the people are with us, are dissatisfied with the government, are dissatisfied with what is occurring. The government obviously says that 3,000 people is not a large number, particularly because in that location there has been previous events of much larger scale, including events organised by the ruling party Fretilin.

Fitzgerald: What is the crux of the protesters complaints? What are they really angry about, in a nutshell?

Sampaio: The main concern is the increased frustation about the continued difficulties of the average East Timorese. Unemployment is running high. There are no large international investments in the country, the international presence in terms of the United Nations and other international organisations has been severely reduced. This has had an almost immediate impact in the service industry which, particularly in the capital, was employing a number of people. The government has a huge task ahead of itself. It's very young. It's still establishing itself. It hardly has any structure so we find that it cannot answer the calls that it's been getting for support throughout the country. There has been a dry period now that is of quite concern for agriculture, certainly for the majority of the population. All this adds to an increased feeling of frustration which is then used by radical organisations that are also trying to link up dissatisfied young people, dissatisfied former resistance members, dissatisfied former combatants into what could be a complex mix for the government, particularly as it's yet to find and present clear messages and clear policies on how to deal with the complex issue of how do you reintegrate the people that fought the Indonesians for 25 years.

Fitzgerald: And, it's not just the public who've been protesting against the government this week, is it? The East Timorese President Xanana Gusmoa has also launched an unusual attack at the official ceremony. He's timing has been criticised. He's claimed the government is corrupt and that a senior minister should be sacked immediately. What sort of context did he make these comments in and what sort of an impact have they had?

Sampaio: For some people, the worst possible forum for the message that Xanana tried to pass. He used the official Independence Day speech to level this criticism at the ruling party Fretilin, at the government, at the parliament, at the political leaders, basically saying that he is yet to see clear measures from the government to now respond these growing instabilities that I spoke a little while ago about. The issue of increased violence, increased tensions among various levels of the society.

West Timor/refugees

Theatre of the Absurd

The Guardian (UK) - December 2, 2002

David Fickling, Darwin -- Absurdity is a concept particularly popular with politicians treading on shaky moral ground. Invoke absurdity, and you immediately set yourself up on the side of reason, while ushering all right-thinking people to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with you. Those you criticise are self- evidently in the wrong. They are just making themselves look foolish by disagreeing with you.

These days, the Australian government sees a great deal of absurdity in the world. According to the prime minister, John Howard, Oxfam's criticism of the Pacific solution -- by which the government spent more than A$500m quartering a few hundred refugees on a couple of Pacific islands -- is absurd.

His immigration minister, Philip Ruddock, levelled the same criticism at federal court justice Graham Hill, when the judge suggested that Australian courts should be allowed to review the results of immigration decisions. A few years back, opposition leader Kim Beazley apparently outed himself as absurd too -- he suggested that asylum seekers should be granted temporary visas while their cases are sorted out.

For the past year such absurdities have been on the decline, as the flow of boats transporting refugees from Indonesia's southern shores to Australia's northern coasts has dried up. The government has basked in the success of its fortress Australia policy, and devoted itself to tying up loose ends.

One of those loose ends is a 47-year-old man sitting in the front room of his single-storey house, in the suburban sprawl of East Darwin. Domingos da Silva was working in Dili's Hotel Turismo 27 years ago this Saturday, when Indonesian troops parachuted into the East Timorese capital to take over the 10-day-old republic.

In the massacres which followed, a quarter of East Timor's population was killed, some 200,000 people. The beach opposite the hotel, he says, was covered in the bodies of the dead, washed up from the sea and left behind by the Indonesian army.

Like many East Timorese of his generation, he did not accept the occupation with ease. For 19 years he worked as a coordinator between the civilian independence movement and the Fretilin (the Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor) guerrillas, arranging shipment of supplies and meetings between the groups. It was not an easy or safe job. In 1989 several of his close associates were arrested by Indonesian intelligence, and he learned that someone had informed on him.

Three years later some of his Indonesian friends told him that they had seen his name on an army blacklist of suspected insurgents. Those on blacklists were routinely arrested, beaten, and, at times of unrest, killed.

Unsurprisingly, he decided it was time to leave, and after a month in Bali -- then, as now, one of Indonesia's prime gateways to Australia -- he obtained visas to come to Australia with his four children and pregnant wife.

Since 1994 he has lived and worked in Darwin, and despite the East Timorese and Fretilin flags on top of his television and the distinctly south-east Asian heat of his house in the build-up to Darwin's monsoon season, he and his family are, to all intents and purposes, naturalised Australians.

Life here has not always been perfect. Last year, his father died back in Dili, but his temporary protection visa meant that if he was to attend the funeral, he would have to give up all hope of returning to Australia. But in general the country had treated him well. Until last month.

In November, he received a letter from the immigration department explaining that, with East Timor's independence officially recognised since May this year, he was free to return to his home country. So free, in fact, that if he did not manage to persuade the refugee review tribunal to let him stay, he would be chucked out in 28 days.

The response of Darwin residents to the Da Silvas' plight has been uncharacteristically warm, in a country not always famed for its hospitality to refugees. The Northern Territory administration promised to support their case, as did state representatives in Canberra. Locals show a degree of support for the dozen East Timorese families in the city which is often absent in other, supposedly more cosmopolitan areas of Australia.

The city has always had a strong kindred spirit with its neighbour across the Arafura Sea. In the massacres which followed East Timor's independence vote in 1999, Darwin hospitals treated many of the wounded. During the long years of Indonesian subjection, East Timor and Darwin were closer to each other than either was to their own capital cities, and visitors to the Northern Territory will notice that a certain spirit of independence flourishes here too.

But the government has so far turned a stony face to such appeals. No one expects the refugee review tribunal to allow them to remain, and Mr Da Silva says he is putting his hope in the compassion of the immigration minister, Mr Ruddock.

The staunch defenders of rich-country immigration systems are quick to defend this situation. They say that the violence and civil chaos he and his family fled from have now vanished. They explain that laws must be applied blindly, without recognition of individual circumstances.

The thing is, they are missing the point. Criticising the government's adamantine attitude to these refugees is not about being merciful in the application of a law. It is about questioning the justice of the law itself. Laws should exist for a reason, not in a self-justifying vacuum. The purported reason behind the existence of temporary protection visas is that they allow a country to absorb otherwise unsustainable numbers of refugees at times of crisis, before returning them when peace breaks out.

Less than 120 Timorese do not constitute an unsustainable refugee problem. The proof of their sustainability is that they have been in Australia for the best part of a decade, without anybody noticing.

So here is a family of seven naturalised Australians who are being told they must uproot themselves to another country, which many of them do not remember and in which only three of them speak the language. Their eldest son, who is studying IT at Northern Territory university, is expected to drop out of his course quarter of the way through and look for work in a country where half the population is unemployed and 70 per cent of the infrastructure was destroyed by west Timorese militias in 1999.

Their youngest daughter, who knows no other country besides Australia, is expected to muddle by in a country with a rudimentary education system which teaches in two languages, neither of which she understands.

The Da Silvas are not the vanguard of some fictitious wave of asylum-seekers, trying to exploit the system. They are simply Australian residents who do not see why, having been embraced by this country in their time of need, they should suddenly watch it tear up the lives they have established here.

Ultimately, if the Da Silvas do fail in their appeal and are sent back to East Timor, it will not be because they tried to cheat any system, or because they are a drain on Northern Territory budgets, or because they have committed any crime in Australia. It will be because the Gradgrindian application of Australia's immigration laws pays no heed or mercy to individuals, or to families. Their lives must be toyed with, and their opportunities circumscribed, to preserve an idea. That is the real absurdity.

Timor Gap

Sunrise Gas JV abandons domestic market, way ahead unclear

Dow Jones Newswires - December 2, 2002

Andrew Trounson, Melbourne -- Plans to market natural gas from the Greater Sunrise fields in the Timor Sea to markets in Australia are to be abandoned, with the partners in the project now expected to target offshore markets, potential customers say.

But the future of the project remains uncertain, with a question mark over whether 30% field partner ConocoPhillips (COP) is prepared to back Royal Dutch/Shell Group's (RD) preference to develop the field using its floating LNG technology and targeting markets in North America.

The Greater Sunrise fields are estimated to host over US$30 billion worth of gas.

ConocoPhillips had strongly promoted the so-called domestic gas option over an LNG development, in the face of opposition from Shell with 26.6% and Australia's Woodside Ltd. (A.WPL) with 33.4%.

A decision on the way forward for the project is expected within days or next week.

Mining company MIM Holdings Ltd. (A.MIM), a potential domestic customer for Greater Sunrise natural gas, confirmed Monday that the domestic option had been abandoned.

"I can confirm that we have been advised that the [Greater Sunrise] joint venture has decided to cease work on the domestic gas activities," an MIM spokesman told Dow Jones Newswires.

MIM had been considering taking Greater Sunrise gas to power a possible metal-processing facility at its McArthur River zinc mine in the Northern Territory. Alternative energy sources are Oil Search Ltd.'s (A.OSH) and ExxonMobil Corp.'s (XOM) proposal to pipe gas from Papua New Guinea to markets in Australia, or coal-fired energy using coal from MIM's own mines.

Woodside spokesman Niegel Grazier said the joint venture partners are working to agree a unified way forward for Greater Sunrise and that a decision could be made within days.

"We are working with the joint venture to reach a fully aligned position for the forward work program," Grazier said.

However, Grazier conceded that the project's timetable of first gas by 2008, under the floating LNG option, is coming under pressure.

In addition to having to agree a market for the gas and the right development option, the partners are also waiting on the Australian and East Timorese governments to agree a so-called International Unitization Agreement on the project. Greater Sunrise lies partly in the Joint Petroleum Development Area of cooperation between Australia and East Timor.

"Any serious commitment to the design phase would require us to have the IUA issue resolved and significant comfort in our marketing efforts," Grazier said.

Australia and East Timor are aiming to agree the Greater Sunrise IUA before the end of the year. The other partner in Greater Sunrise is Osaka Gas Co. (J.OSG) with 10%.

Government & politics

Alkatiri rejects Xanana's demand he sack Interior Minister

Lusa - December 2, 2002

Dili -- East Timorese Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri has rejected President Xanana Gusmao's demand that he sack Interior Minister Rogirio Lobato, saying his cabinet is characterized by "solidarity and cohesion".

"Our government was formed for five years, not six months", Alkatiri told Lusa Saturday in response to Gusmao's demand. "If some minister shows a lack of competence it is up to the Council of Ministers to make the evaluation, and ultimately, I am responsible for the government". He said his decision to ignore Gusmao's demand, made in a speech Thursday, was "absolute".

In calling for Lobato's dismissal, Gusmao charged him with "incompetence and negligence", an apparent reference to recent clashes between mobs and police.

In parliament Monday, the leader of the small Kota party expressed its support for the president's demand. Manuel Tilman said Lobato should be dismissed "immediately" because "people beat up police and police beat up people and there is instability in the whole country".

Observers have suggested that the recent rash of violence directed against police might have been sparked by Lobato's call for police recruitment to favor former nationalist fighters. The current UN-led policy has been one of selecting officers with experience under Indonesian rule.

Human rights trials

Editorial: Doubtful justice in Indonesia

Sydney Morning Herald - December 4 2002

More than ever, Australia has a direct interest in the reform of Indonesia's corrupt, politicised legal system. With the arrests of the main suspects in the Bali bombings it is to this legal system that Australia will now look to mete out the appropriate punishment for a horrendous crime.

Unfortunately there is little good news to suggest Indonesia's courts are acquiring the independence and courage needed for such a task. The acquittals last week of four more former Indonesian security officers over the 1999 carnage in East Timor represent yet another victory for power and political influence over justice.

The prosecutions of the Indonesian soldiers and police accused of crimes against humanity in East Timor could not have been more blatantly mishandled.

Indonesia's own human rights commission and UN investigators concluded that the rampage which killed and injured thousands, and virtually destroyed East Timor's infrastructure, was orchestrated by the Indonesian military at the highest level. Yet all 10 Indonesian officers tried so far have been found not guilty. Only two men -- both ethnic East Timorese who collaborated with the Indonesian forces -- have been sentenced to jail.

The acquittals raise immediate concerns that the Indonesian military will never be held to account, not only for the abuses in East Timor but in other contested areas such as West Papua and Aceh.

Under international law a sovereign nation must be given the opportunity to demonstrate accountability in its own courts before any international war crimes tribunal may be convened. The new International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague theoretically offers East Timor's victims an alternative forum. There is no real hope, however, that the same government which has been unwilling to punish its own will now deliver them into the jurisdiction of the ICC.

The failure of the East Timor prosecutions suggests the Megawati Government lacks courage to challenge the abuses of power which have marred the nation's legal system for so long. It is a significant failure. The integrity of Indonesia's courts is vital for many reasons. One is to regain the confidence of foreign investors, a prerequisite for any economic recovery. Another is that without access to recourse through the courts, too many aggrieved ordinary citizens are taking justice into their own hands, with extreme violence.

Yet another is terrorism. The Bali bomb suspects, all hardline Islamic extremists, do not enjoy the level of influence which has allowed the Indonesian military to act with impunity. However, the Bali accused do have their own powerful patrons within the political elite who have already used Islamic militia groups to provoke instability. How far such influence reaches is still unclear.

A highly politicised legal system is also very dangerous for another reason.

The courts may be inclined to rule with reference to the expected popular reaction to a verdict rather than the justice of the case. The possibility of a radical Muslim backlash in Indonesia could blunt Indonesia's determination to move a successful police investigation on to the next stage, successful prosecution.

TNI let off the hook again

Green Left Weekly - December 4, 2002

James Balowski -- On November 27, an Indonesian court sentenced notorious militia chief Eurico Guterres to 10 years in prison for crimes committed during the violence in East Timor following the 1999 referendum for independence.

The judge said that on April 7, 1999, Guterres instructed hundreds of his militia to kill pro-independence leaders. Shortly afterwards, a pro-Indonesian mob murdered 12 people sheltering at the home of an independence leader, Manuel Carascalao, in Dili. "The judges find the defendant guilty of grave human rights violations and crimes against humanity", Judge Herman Hutapea said.

Indonesian prosecutors had sought the minimum sentence of 10 years for Guterres. The maximum penalty would have been death.

Guterres is the eighth of 18 suspects to be tried by the human rights court and the second to be found guilty. Six police and military officers were acquitted on charges similar to those faced by Guterres. The province's former governor, Abilio Soares, was found guilty and jailed for three years.

The United Nations has estimated that post-referendum violence took the lives of at least 1000 civilians and 250,000 were forcibly deported to West Timor. A number of reports -- including one by Indonesian's human rights commission (Komnas-Ham) -- have established that the militia were created and supported at the highest levels of the Indonesian military (TNI).

Hendardi, an Indonesian human rights activist, told Associated Press on November 28 that Guterres had been "sacrificed" to protect the military tops. "They are untouchable by law", he said.

Sidney Jones, from the International Crisis Group think tank, pointed out on Radio Australia on November 28: "There was nothing in the verdict that suggested that the militia led by Eurico Guterres was created, funded, equipped and so on by the Indonesian military. The whole state role in the violence in East Timor has dropped [out of] the picture." The November 28 South China Morning Post reported that the trials "have become a chance for the military to yet again rewrite history by claiming that the violence which destroyed [East Timor] three years ago was the result of warring Timorese civilians and that the armed forces were helpless to stop it".

Although the attorney-general's office had been provided with comprehensive evidence by Komnas-Ham, as well as UN prosecutors, that proved that the militia were created, trained and backed by the TNI, prosecutors used little of it.

The investigations and trials of those responsible for the terrorism committed against the people of East Timor stand in stark contrast with the investigation into the October 12 Bali bombings, which has resulted in the speedy arrest of a number of the alleged perpetrators. This success -- which the international media has attributed to the high level of cooperation between the Indonesian and Australian police -- fits neatly into Canberra's moves to reestablish military ties with Indonesia.

On a number of occasions recently, defence minister Robert Hill has said that Australia is considering resuming military links with Indonesia's notorious Kopassus special forces. Kopassus was at the forefront of the violence in East Timor and has recently been implicated by Indonesian police and the FBI in the killing of US foreign nationals at the Freeport mine in West Papua on August 31.

Unlike the Bali investigation, the Freeport investigation (led by Made Mangku Pastika, who also headed the Bali case) has stalled on the grounds that it must be handled by the military.

No justice after East Timor slaying

The Australian - December 2, 2002

Don Greenlees, Jakarta -- Shortly after dawn on April 7, 1999, independence, let alone justice, for the East Timorese seemed a distant dream in the fearful and empty streets of Liquica.

The population, which had fallen victim the day before to the worst in a long history of violent acts, had either fled to the hills or were hiding in their homes. Liquica belonged to the militia, the army and the police.

In the patchwork of bloodstains in the yard of the Ave Maria church, 200m down a slope towards the sea from the local military command and the mayor's office, were the telltale signs of a massacre.

East Timor's Catholic Bishop Carlos Belo estimated then that at least 25 people had died. United Nations investigators later put the death toll at almost 60. The victims were simple people -- farmers, fishermen and local traders, most of whom supported East Timorese independence from Indonesia.

As for the perpetrators, that was no secret. The military-backed Besi Merah Putih (Red and White Iron) militia wandered through the streets bearing their usual collection of machetes and homemade guns. They casually mingled and joked with soldiers, reclined in the shade of a tree outside the police headquarters and wandered through the grounds of the office of the mayor, Leoneto Martins.

The few locals who still ventured on to the streets trembled with fear as they spoke. Still in shock, they could give only garbled accounts of what had happened. Months later, Liquica defied the sustained intimidation and violence, and like other districts of East Timor, voted overwhelmingly to separate from Indonesia. The victory came at great cost -- 80 per cent of the town was burned out by the retreating Indonesian loyalists.

But out of this tragedy came the hope that, just like in Bosnia and Rwanda, the lofty ideals spoken about by UN officials would one day translate into justice.

In a central Jakarta courtroom on Friday afternoon, the people of Liquica received their answer. A panel of five judges from Indonesia's Human Rights Court dismissed all charges against Liquica's army commander Lieutenant Colonel Asep Kuswandi, its police chief, Lieutenant Colonel Adios Salova and Mr Martins.

"It is true there have been human rights abuses but they were carried out by the Red and White Iron group, which has no relation with the defendants," chief judge Sutiarso said.

The ruling confirmed a pattern. Of 12 defendants tried for crimes in East Timor, only two have been convicted. Both were ethnic East Timorese, now free while appealing their sentences. Every soldier or policeman brought before the court has been acquitted.

The court's performance lends credence to claims it is abiding by a deal struck between the Government and the armed forces that no member of the security forces would be convicted.

The aversion to convicting soldiers or police has been in no case more obvious than the April 6 Liquica massacre. While Judge Sutiarso said there was no connection between the militia, the mayor, police and army commanders, an Indonesian police officer who investigated shortly after the massacre had a different view.

Major Carlo Tewu wrote: "Witnesses saw the attackers were the Red and White Iron group and members of the Kodim (district army headquarters) who at the time were wearing plain civilian clothes." The court seems not to have found the report of a senior police officer relevant.

Local parish priest Father Rafael dos Santos reported seeing militia commanders mixing with the defendants when he was taken to military headquarters just after the attack started. His evidence did not count either.

An Australian embassy report, based on its own investigation, found "evidence that ABRI [the Indonesian armed forces] assisted Besi Merah Putih to take control of Liquica, creating a situation which led to the violence on April 6". "Militia personnel appeared to be in close contact with and gathering at the military district headquarters" in the days after the massacre, the report said.

Human rights groups say they have now given up any hope of justice coming from the Human Rights Courts in Indonesia.

[Don Greenlees was among the first journalists into Liquica after the massacre.]

No hope of punishment military, police in rights cases

Jakarta Post - December 2, 2002

Moch. N. Kurniawan, Jakarta -- Human rights activists see no hope that the ad hoc human rights court will uphold justice and punish military and police officers for their alleged involvement in the 1999 East Timor violence.

Ifdhal Kasim of the Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy (Elsam) said on Saturday that judges and prosecutors had seemingly perceived officers as "their colleagues, who carry out duties to safeguard territorial unity, thus they must be protected."

"With such a view, no wonder prosecutors demanded minimum sentences for the officers and seemed uninterested in calling victims as witnesses, while judges had no courage, so just acquit the officers," he said.

"Judges and prosecutors must start thinking that the officers who are tried in the rights court are those who misused their power to commit human rights abuses." Ori Rahman, coordinator of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), agreed with Ifdhal, saying there was no improvement in performance from judges and prosecutors handling human rights cases.

"Their performances are very poor. Prosecutors still fail to present key witnesses, while judges have not upheld justice," he said. "This court can't be expected to run properly anymore."

Ifdhal and Ori were commenting on the acquittal of a number of military and police officers of charges on crimes against humanity in East Timor. Ten of the total 18 defendants have already been cleared by the human rights court. Nine of them are military and police officers.

So far only two civilians of East Timorese origin -- former East Timor governor Abilio Jose Osorio Soares and militia leader Eurico Guterres -- were found guilty of human rights violations by the court. Even so, they both received below the minimum sentence.

Solahuddin Wahid of the National Commission on human rights (Komnas HAM) also expressed skepticism about the court because it only sentenced two East Timorese civilians, but acquitted Indonesian military and police officers.

"Why only East Timorese. Are they the most responsible ones?" Solahuddin said.

Ifdhal said the government must share responsibility for the acquittal of a number of military and police officers from charges of human rights abuses in East Timor in 1999.

Since the beginning, he said, the government was reluctant to bring officers to the court as none of the high-ranking officers, believed to be responsible for the chaos, were among those who were even named as defendants.

The government, through the Attorney General's Office, also failed to bring strong witnesses to the trial, which made it easy for the judges to acquit the officers.

Ifdhal also said that unknowledgeable and poorly trained judges and prosecutors made for very poor performance.

"The judges and prosecutors are not even given appropriate literature to learn about other human rights cases in other countries, although the information is very important to help them to take action.

"So only the creative prosecutors or judges, who will spend extra time and money to get the information can understand human rights," he said. According to him, the relative decrease in international pressure on the ad hoc court amid the war on terrorism also gave a certain amount of leeway to the judges in acquitting the defendants.

"Although it's unlikely, we hope that the United Nations Commissioner on Human Rights will declare disappointment over the Indonesian ad hoc court," he said The UN Commission on Human Rights was instrumental in forcing Indonesia to establish the ad hoc human rights court to try those behind the carnage in East Timor.

Some human rights groups estimated that around 1,000 people were killed in East Timor before, during and after the East Timor self-determination ballot in August 1999.

The carnage was believed to be conducted by pro-Indonesia militias, which were supported by elements in the Indonesian military. The US government then penalized the Indonesian Military for the carnage by imposing an embargo on weapon sales to Indonesia. The US has lifted the embargo on the sales of non- lethal equipment to TNI, but still maintains the embargo on other items including officer training.

The trials are a one of several necessary requirements of the Leahy Law and must be satisfied before the US can restore full military ties with Indonesia.

Health & education

'Dr Dan' hopes to make health care a right and not a privilege

Irish Times - December 6, 2002

David Shanks -- Dr Dan Murphy is at his most passionate when describing the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder on the resilient people of East Timor.

To get through the brutal 24 year occupation by the Indonesian military, a person had to develop a coping mechanism to avoid becoming a "blathering idiot on the streets". At any time, anywhere, they could be taken, tortured, raped, killed.

But that mechanism meant an attitude of "not planning for the future, living for the moment and not taking difficult decisions. It was as if someone had told you " you have got terminal cancer. You will be dead anytime soon."

This live for the moment approach to life persists and now they are being asked to take responsibility for their own country and make it all work.

But the new East Timor has a chance to be a shining example of "due process" and democracy, "and not like every other country in south-east Asia."

Dr Murphy (58), a native of Iowa whose great grandfather was from Co. Cork, is a workaholic legend of medical service to the people of East Timor. He is in Dublin as part of a busman's holiday which will take him to the US, Singapore and Australia because funding for his Baro Pite clinic has run out.

This is because East Timor is no longer seen as an emergency. He will be explaining his work to a meeting today at 6pm at the Royal college of Surgeons. The clinic needs constant $3000 a month and "we are behind on salaries". He is the only doctor there and has a staff of 31 Timorese.

He sees medical care as a right and not a privilege for those with resources." He also hopes that this philosophy will be part of the ideals of the new East Timor "but the big players in the world may have different ideas." He refers here to the World Bank/IMF model of development

He eschews the top down "pre-packaged approach of the World Health Organisation and now the health ministry in Dili and now the health ministry in Dili. He is inspired by the Brazilian model of Paolo Freire, author of The Pedagogy of the Oppressed which relies on empowering and training mainly strong women in the village. One of the drawbacks of the WHO model is that "nurses do not want to leave the capital." He says "it is not they who are going to take the pulse of the villages."

Far better to "sit under a tree with the women and listen to what they see the problems-and pay them respect."

Dr Murphy worked for six years with the United Farmworkers Union in California and as a medical officer in Mozambique. He visited Dublin in 1999 when East Timor was "falling to pieces" following an orgy of punitive burning and murder for the Timorese decision to opt for independence from Indonesia.

Since then the Baro Pite has treated 350,000 poor patients. That is 300 a day. The emphasis is now on preventable diseases like TB, malaria and diarrhoea.

The good thing about Timor is that it is so small. His vision is possible if the model can be got right early on, he says. The downside of that could be Indonesia, with its troublesome regions of West Papua, Ambon, Aceh and Kalimantan, might be see it as a threat of a good example.

Religion/Catholic church

Six thosand farewell ailing bishop

Melbourne Age - December 2 2002

Jill Jolliffe, Dili -- Thousands of people packed Dili Cathedral yesterday to hear Bishop Carlos Ximenes Belo's reasons for quitting as head of the East Timorese church and leaving the territory.

The special service followed his unexpected announcement last week that Pope John Paul had accepted his resignation on grounds of physical and psychological ill health.

"Wherever I die -- in Timor, Lisbon or any other part of the world, I ask you to back your new Bishop," he told about 6000 followers who attended the special Mass.

Given the special occasion, there was a surprising absence of Timor's senior political figures in the crowd. The Mass was celebrated with Bishop Basilio Nascimento of the neighbouring city of Baucau, who is taking over his duties in Dili for the time being.

There has been no suggestion that Bishop Belo's condition is life-threatening or could not be dealt with by an extended period of leave. He intends to undergo treatment in Portugal.

Bishop Belo came to office as a young man in 1983, and his opposition to abuses by Indonesian occupation troops in Timor earned him the Nobel Peace Price in 1996.

He said he had spoken with the Pope recently about his ill health. "My blood pressure is high, and I am no longer strong," he said, adding: "I can't sleep, for example, and I can't get around very much." After I'm better, I don't know where I'll work," he said. "The Vatican will determine whether I go to America, Africa or Timor. I am available to serve."

East Timor press reviews

East Timor Press Review

Dili - December 3, 2002

President Xanana Gusmao on Monday started a series of meetings with heads of political parties to discuss their vision about the current situation in the country. Speaking to Suara Timor Lorosae after meeting the President, PSD President, Mario Carrascalao stated that problems' arising in Timor-Leste is due to the government centralization program and not addressing the communities concerns. Carrascalao added that Prime Minister, Mari Alkatiri must take into consideration the critical remarks made by President Gusmao about the government, especially in regards to MIA, Rogirio Lobato in order to resolve some of the problems and avoid a crisis. (STL 3/12)

MP Manuel Tilman (KOTA) told the media yesterday that his party supports the President demands for a cabinet reshuffle due to incompetence within the government. Tilman said if there is no change his party will demand PM, Mari Alkatiri to resign (STL, TP, Lusa 3/12)

A report released on Tuesday by United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) estimates that Timor-Leste's populations will double to 1,41 million by the year 2050 reported Lusa. The document also pointed that infant mortality rate is high in the new country with 120 death per1000 lives. (Lusa 2/12)

CPD-RTL Sector 1 Political Commissariat, Josi Martins on Monday met Prime Minister Alkatiri on Monday to discuss the August 2002 national dialogue which up-to-date the group had not received an answer. Martins told the media the date 28 November was a good timing to remind Prime Minister, Mari Alkatiri and President Gusmao about the outcome of the dialogue. Speaking to journalists, Jose Martins said in the meeting with the Minister he requested the UN Special Representative in Timor-Leste, Kamalesh Sharma to recognize RDTL's flag and the institutions beneath it, like Falintil, 1975 constitution. He said the justice and economy sectors must be all handed to the government, and the President. Martins added it is not correct to divide the responsibilities between UN, the government and the President "because it is a big problem for the people". After meeting with CPD-RDTL representative, Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri told the media that rumors about his resignation, as Minister is false. Alkatiri said he would meet with President Gusmao to discuss about a national dialogue to hear the problems between government and the population.(STL 3/12)

UN has not been "interested" in the use of Portuguese language in Timor-Leste and is not favoring the Portuguese presence and advisors in the country, said Joao Campos, the Portuguese Deputy Secretary of State and Assistant to Minister of Justice. Campos said the position of UN "makes it difficulty" for many Portuguese professionals who have shown interested in coming to Timor-Leste. To overcome the difficulties presented by UN, Portugal will continue to use the bilateral channel to directly finance magistrates and Portuguese judges to support the Timorese in this area, said Suara Timor Lorosae. (STL 3/12)

December 2, 2002

Timorese President Xanana Gusmao dismissed on Friday a rally organized in front of the Government palace in Dili. It took the President twenty minutes of dialogue with the radical crowd of about 200 people before it dispersed, reported the media on Saturday. The demonstration, which was being staged for more than eight hours, had been organized by CPD-RDTL (Conselho Popular de Defesa-Repzblica Democratica de Timor-Leste, Popular Council for Defense-Popular Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste).

The crowd demanded the trial of all political crimes committed since November 1975 and the answer to a series of questions submitted to the political authorities in August. According to the media, President Xanana Gusmao promised that he would start a process of "national dialogue" in January, and that the crowd's demands would be answered within the framework of such dialogue. The participants in the rally distributed once more a leaflet dated 22 of August in which they protested the fact of police forces being coordinated by the UN, or in "foreign hands", as they said. They also demanded the recognition of FALINTIL, the former armed wing of the resistance movement. As a new demand, they asked for the dismissal of Prime-Minister Mari Alkatiri and changes in the Government and in the Parliament. In its report about the events, the Portuguese news agency LUSA said that the leaders of CPD-RDTL, who also signed the document, have always been absent from the demonstrations they organize. The rally was staged one day after the country commemorated the 27th anniversary of the unilateral proclamation of independence by FRETILIN. (Lusa, TP, STL)

On Sunday Bishop Belo held a mass at Dili Cathedral to explain to Dili Diocese followers the reasons for quitting as head of the church. Dom Ximenes appealed to churchgoers not to be saddened by his resignation and welcome the Bishop of Baucau, Basilio do Nascimento and his replacement.

Thousands of followers participated on Sunday's service celebrated with Bishop of Baucau and many other priests. STL reported that PM, Mari Alkatiri, the Minister of Finance, Maria Boavida and Minister of Justice, Ana Pessoa also attended the mass but could not get in the cathedral for arriving late. They joined the rest of the crowd outside the cathedral said the newspaper. Timor Post reported the Bishop as saying, "if I die, grave my site in front of the Cathedral." (STL, TP)

PM Mari Alkatiri stated that he didn't want to be forced to change the composition of the government reported STL. He said as head of the government he has the competence to make changes based on the Constitution but nothing can force him. Alkatiri made this statement in response to the demands of CPD-RDTL which were conveyed through a demonstration at the GPA on Friday Ministers will work cohesively to defend the government. Upon his arrival at Dili airport on Saturday, PM Mari Alkatiri reaffirmed that the first Timorese government will stand in cohesion and solidarity in rejecting the dismissal for Minister of Internal Administration, Rogirio Lobato. Speaking to Lusa news agency the Minister said, "Our, is a government of solidarity and cohesive principals. If a member is being criticized we will stand by and defend." Alkatiri noted: "The government was formed for a five year mandate and not six months. If minister shows lack of incompetence, it will be the Council of Ministers to do an evaluation and in the final decision will be mine as head of the government", said the Minister. Alkatiri confirmed there will not be any change to the government structure and said, " I have not spoken to (him) because I am not concern about it. I assume he has not contacted me either because he is also not concern about it", Alkatiri told Lusa news agency. (STL, Lusa)

STL reported that on Saturday the Head of World Health Organisation (WHO) in Timor-Leste, Alex Andjaparidze told participants of a seminar on HIV/AIDs in Dili that the community needs to protect itself from HIV/AIDS He said that it is the best type of prevention. Alex Andjaparidze added that other steps taken by WHO are promoting and educating the community about how to protect themselves from being infected. Andjaparidze stated that the seminar was intended to provide information about HIV/AIDS to the wider community and how it is spread as well as how to protect and prevent HIV/AIDS from being spread. Timor Post reported that Minister of Health, Dr. Rui Araujo noted that HIV/AIDS was first named in Timor-Leste as the "malae [foreigner] disease" but it has been spread in the country. The Minister added the AIDS was first diagnosed in Timor-Leste in 1996 during the Indonesian occupation. Back in that period one person was found HIV positive but the information was kept secret said the newspaper. (STL)