Independence struggle

Healing hand

The Age - April 9, 2003

William Birnbauer -- A benign attitude to his country's tormentors is not widely understood, but East Timor's "Mandela" wants to move on. William Birnbauer reports.

"It is a monster," Xanana Gusmao says of war. "It is a monster." East Timor's president knows death. He knows hatred. And, after 17 years of fighting the Indonesian forces that invaded East Timor in 1975, he knows that in the end, war is the worst of outcomes.

"We kept killing each other, killing each other, increasing the hatred, increasing the animosity. Fighting each other, killing each other ... trying to maim each other," he recalls.

"After that, we talk, and say, 'why didn't we do this before we came to the war?' You feel after war it didn't solve the problem. If we could use our intelligence, if we could use a small window for tolerance or understanding ... we didn't need the war."

Gusmao laughs softly and lights another cigarette. The intellectual guerilla commander, political prisoner, and now statesman and peace advocate is in Melbourne this week addressing several groups and holding private meetings.

Television images of the war in Iraq remind him of the bombardment of Dili that signalled the start of the Indonesian invasion of East Timor in December 1975. Soon after, with other Fretilin supporters, he retreated to the mountains where he lived and fought the Indonesians until his capture in 1992.

Two years earlier, through a union official working as a journalist, Gusmao sent the world a message that peace was possible. He told Robert Domm: "I'm ready to discuss any project for a solution without pre-conditions, and under the auspices of the United Nations." But first, there had to be a cease-fire. The fighting and killing continued.

Gusmao, now 57, remembers: "The more war increased, the more people died. You started hating war."

The deaths he witnessed weigh heavily on him, still. Asked how many deaths he was responsible for, he says: "I don't know. If I say many, maybe I can lie to you; if I say I never killed people, also I lie to you. But if we talk about responsibility for deaths, I am responsible for the deaths of my guerillas. I knew that they will die in combat if I say 'you must go'. It is why now I still feel in my shoulders the suffering of widows, orphans."

Of the Indonesian soldiers, he simply says "it was a regime" and that many of them did not want to be there. But "they invaded us; it was ... self-defence".

Today, however, he believes strongly in normalising relations with Indonesia. Gusmao's benign attitude toward the Indonesian generals and militia forces that murdered his countrymen, looted and burned towns and villages and forced the expulsion of more than 200,000 people following the 1999 vote for independence has puzzled some human right activists.

He has also repeatedly opposed war crimes trials, advocating instead reconciliation between the militia and their victims.

Last month, he opposed war crimes charges against former Indonesian defence chief, General Wiranto, saying that given the economic and social problems East Timor faced, an international tribunal "is not a priority". Earlier, he had pleaded for a non- custodial sentence for the former Indonesian-appointed governor of East Timor, Abilio Soares, who was convicted of crimes against humanity.

His views have been attacked by East Timor's Prime Minister, Mari Alkatiri, and human rights groups, which say Gusmao is out of touch on the issue. But he believes that "community building" is the key to restoring East Timor's shattered social structure and that trials would only discount the value of the sacrifices made for freedom. He believes in justice, but does not support revenge.

"... The sacrifices as something that badly happened to every citizen or some families. During the difficult times of the struggle, people accepted consciously the sacrifices. We did our duty.

"Today, the cries of the widows and orphans are invoked to argue the existence of trauma, as are the frustrations of those who suffered in one way or the other. The notion of the value of sacrifice has been lost; the commitment which led everyone to accept the sacrifices demanded to liberate our homeland is in danger of being lost. The noble ideal that mobilised all is lost."

Asked if Australia's support of the United States in Iraq would have an impact on its relations with Indonesia, Gusmao says it will "in terms of feelings, at least".

Australia's leadership in 1999 of a multinational security force in East Timor has made its relations with Indonesia difficult, he says. Hostility was still evident when Prime Minister John Howard visited last year. "Now it's coming again with an anti-American feeling, now with anti-British feeling and, of course, anti- Australian feeling."

He notes that Indonesia has extremist Muslim groups, and the key question is whether the Iraqi war eliminates or increases the threat of terrorism. "I don't know," he says.

Gusmao's relations with the Alkatiri government have been tense, at times, particularly when he has used his high profile to comment on domestic issues -- especially when he asked Alkatiri to sack one of his ministers.

Having won 78 per cent of the presidential vote, Gusmao feels that provoking public debate and highlighting issues is part of his role. "I must deal with national interest. If I don't agree with something, I must say. If I can contribute with some opinions, I must say also. It doesn't mean, they must accept.

"Sometimes government officials can feel that they are doing very well; because I am outside, people come to me and complain, asking me to intervene."

The main issues facing East Timor following its "total destruction" are, he says, the need to build public institutions, including a judicial system, and resolving a basket of economic problems, including poverty, unemployment, social unrest, poor agricultural output and low growth.

Life expectancy in East Timor is 57 years. The infant mortality rate is 80 in 1000 live births. Only 46 per cent of the people have ever attended school; two in five earn about $1 a day. Social unrest and violence are big problems.

Gusmao has pleaded in Canberra for 1600 Timorese asylum seekers who came here in the early 1990s to be allowed to stay. If they are forced to return, they would "merely constitute another 1600 mouths that we are unable to feed ... that we are unable to shelter".

There is an urgent need to provide loans for small industry; laws to attract foreign investment and a plan to increase and diversify agricultural production. There's lots to be done, but he's not daunted, not completely. "Violence and destruction left imprints on the body and soul of our people. We feel under a big, big, big weight but not depressed because we are confident about the future. We have human resources.

"We need," he says pointing at his temple, "to think more and more. We suffer, we East Timorese. Maybe it is a character of Melanesian people, we suffer diseases of not thinking too much. We must think and think and think and think and produce some ideas."prawling archipelago to the south of the far smaller island state.

But the reaction in Indonesia, where people have long been suspicious of any Singaporean intervention, has become increasingly paranoid as the island state has flexed its more powerful economic muscle in recent months.

The fears are unjustified, says Anton Gunawan, a Citibank economist in Jakarta. He also downplays any potential fallout. "It's still attractive to invest in Indonesia, especially for Singapore which is a close neighbour and knows Indonesia better than other countries." There are also suspicions about how much is ideology and how much is self-interest in some of the nationalist opposition to issues such as the Indosat sale.

Mr Gunawan and other observers believe there are other interests at play, chiefly politics.

Any nationalistic argument against the sale of Indosat or other assets may be first of all intended to embarrass President Megawati's PDIP, which many see as vulnerable. But its other purpose may well be to stake out a claim for something to fill individual political parties' coffers ahead of elections a year from now.

[Additional reporting by Taufan Hidayat.]

Transition & reconstruction

Opinion: War-weary East Timor knows no boundaries

Australian Financial Review - April 16, 2003

Mari Alkatiri -- As the world watched events unfold in the Middle East, we heard talk of the territorial integrity of the nation of Iraq. The Secretary-General of the United Nations identified one fundamental principle agreed by all Security Council members: "Iraq's sovereignty, territorial integrity, and independence." He also noted a second principle, flowing from the first, which included "the right of the Iraqi people to control their own resources".

Listening to the Secretary-General's words, many Australians will recall one recent, and apparently successful, exercise in post- conflict nation-building: East Timor (or, as it is now known, Timor-Leste).

As with the people of Iraq, the hopes of the Timorese people come in large part from petroleum resources. In the case of Timor- Leste, those resources lie in the Timor Sea north-west of Australia. Although those fields are not large by world standards -- not nearly as big as those in Iraq -- they would be enough to lift the people of Timor-Leste out of poverty.

Any Australians who have come here as soldiers, advisers or aid workers in the past three years can attest to the plight of the people of Timor-Leste: families living in burnt-out shells of houses, with inadequate water and nutrition and with little or no access to schools and hospitals.

For all the poverty, there is a real hope in the hearts of the Timorese people that our hard-won political independence will be matched by economic independence.

Sadly, however, that is not necessarily the case. Only recently independent, Timor-Leste has inherited no national boundaries of any sort, including maritime boundaries. For that reason, Timor- Leste must first agree on boundaries with its neighbours, Australia and Indonesia, before it can know where its resources, including petroleum, lie.

We are in the hands of our rich and powerful neighbours who can, if they wish, decide not to talk to us, and exploit the state of uncertainty.

Timor-Leste has already made great progress with Indonesia in plotting boundaries. But no progress has yet been made with Australia.

Timor-Leste, as an independent nation, is entitled to have boundaries. We are entitled, under international law, to know the extent of our national territory.

In advance of boundary agreements, there are stopgap measures. For instance, we can enter into temporary arrangements for the development of petroleum resources. The Timor Sea Treaty between Timor-Leste and Australia, which came into force two weeks ago, will unlock petroleum revenues in one part of the Timor Sea.

But, one thing is very clear: the treaty is not enough. It may reduce poverty in the short term; but it will not satisfy Timor- Leste's right to self-determination, because it does not identify permanent boundaries.

As members of the Security Council prepare to commit themselves to the territorial integrity of postwar Iraq, Australians may wish to remember that there is unfinished business in Timor-Leste -- another poor, war-weary people who, through no fault of their own, have lost control of their resources.

[Mari Alkatiri is the Prime Minister of Timor-Leste.]

Preparing for the future

Radio Australia - April 7, 2003

President Xanana Gusmao concedes security will be a concern when United Nations peacekeepers pull out of East Timor.

The troops are due to leave next June, almost five years after the nation gained independence from Indonesia.

The President told Asia Pacific's Linda Lopresti that a national policy is needed to protect East Timor's borders from the militias who are already threatening to make a comeback.

Gusmao: What we need is national policy on conservation.

I believe that you know I am (in favour of) an amnesty after the trial, and I went a few times to West Timor, talking to the people, our people, and they put the problem to me like this: We believe that you want to do better than the other institutions.

This is why I don't believe in security in terms of security itself. Security depends on many other conditions.

The one that I said, another one is social conditions, social in terms that if we have enough jobs for the people, jobless people -- essentially the youth -- maybe we can say that we are ready.

That is why we've already talked about this issue with the special representative of Secretary-General.

The problem is not only thinking about downsizing or the withdrawal, but how to prepare not only our police, but also our army, to face the inevitable withdrawal.

Lopresti: Should the United Nations stay longer, is that a possibility that you might be lobbying for?

Gusmao: I would prefer to say it's better to focus the attention on the preparation ourselves, rather than waiting for a delay of the withdrawal.

Lopresti: You spoke earlier about reconciliation; in the last few months we've seen the echelons of the Indonesian military and militias indicted by the United Nations for their crimes in East Timor, before and after the independence vote in 1999.

And I know that you're a man who prefers to look at the future rather than the past, and you've said your focus is not on past human rights violations but rather human rights needs for the future.

But is that not going against the popular expectation that justice must be done?

Gusmao: No. It is not like this.

I told you before that we only sent to trial two militias in three years.

It is an ambition, we feel ourselves to be capable (of trying) the Indonesian generals.

We recognise that we don't have any capability, any means to get the militias back to East Timor to face trial, that is something that is -- why I continue to say an international tribunal is not our priority.

If we cannot do it with our own people, we prefer to ask the international community to help us put an international judge in East Timor -- something that is a little bit beyond our capacity now.

Lopresti: President Gusmao, you said earlier that East Timor is an evolving nation and it relies heavily on foreign aid, I guess, as well as handouts from the United Nations.

Is there a danger that East Timor could become a dependent society, given the pullout of United Nations troops next June?

Gusmao: It will depend mostly on those of us who govern right now -- the government and the legislators of parliament.

Of course we must be more proactive in terms of trying to solve our own problems.

When I say there is a lack of jobs, it means that we have to make more efforts in shaping investment law.

People are living in bad conditions and we must do something in terms of planning.

This shames us, our capacity to respond to the needs of the nation, our capacity to look forward and try to understand our potential, our needs, the needs of our people.

Lopresti: Australia was once viewed as the most likely economic saviour of East Timor.

Under the deal struck between East Timor and Australia over the oil fields in the waters between Australia and East Timor, East Timor will get a share, an anticipated 70 billion dollars, but under the deal will only get an initial 15 billion spread over 20 years because of some hard bargaining by Australia.

Are you disappointed at the way Australia has handled the matter?

Gusmao: Of course I should say, first of all, that our government, we accepted.

But as Timorese we were a little bit disappointed, because we took the friend that Australia and Indonesia to negotiate the question, the area.

Lopresti: We spoke earlier of the difficulties of the past twelve months and you've had some difficulties with the government of East Timor, Prime Minister Alkatiri.

Has that improved somewhat, do you feel that the government's now working more efficiently?

Gusmao: No difficulties, it is more the expression of the separation of the institutions.

I always tell them that if we try to walk together it is my duty to say what I don't agree (with) on behalf of the people.

If they do something good, yes, I will be the first one to applaud, but the government must do its best to serve the people.

Lopresti: President Gusmao, you said once you'd prefer to be a pumpkin farmer or a photographer than the president of East Timor. Does that still hold, 12 months on?

Gusmao: I still think I want this, this possibility. Unfortunately there was too much pressure to accept, and I felt that I should.

But if I can be free to run my pumpkin farm and to do something that in other ways can help civil society to change their mentality in the future, to look at their own duty as citizens, instead of only demanding rights.

We have too much to do and sometimes I feel that outside, maybe I could help better.

Lopresti: The people of East Timor, though, were clearly elated when you put your hand up to be president. Will you be running again?

Gusmao: I am in the process of counting down.

West Timor/refugees

East Timorese children reunite with parents

Jakarta Post - April 16, 2003

Elcid Li, Kupang -- The reunion took place in no-man's-land. Also called the tactical coordination line, a 300-meter-long strip of beach just outside of Belu regency between East Timor and Indonesia, where neither country's laws apply.

From Indonesia, several cars carrying children arrived at the beach. Then from East Timor came two cars with their parents. There were five families altogether.

A group of nine Australian United Nations peacekeepers watched over the scene, as the people stepped out of their cars, walked toward each other, hugged and cried.

It was a day the families had looked forward to for years. Separated by the violence that followed East Timor's break from Indonesia in 1999, these East Timorese parents and children met again for the first time on April 11 last week.

Some had lunch together on the beach, though few words were spoken despite the long separation. "Let's only talk about the important things," said Damiao da Costa Gomes to his 10-year-old daughter Alina Magdalena.

The short meeting was held not just for the sake of a family reunion but also to decide the children's future. The foster parents also came along and together they must decide with whom the children should stay.

Gomes and his wife Maria Babo sent Alina to school in the East Nusa Tenggara provincial capital Kupang in 1998, and did not see her again until last week. Back then no one expected East Timor's imminent independence.

The East Timorese voted overwhelmingly for independence in a UN backed referendum in 1999. But pro-Jakarta militias retaliated, laying waste to Dili in a rampage that killed thousands of people. More than 250,000 East Timorese left the territory to West Timor, some because of forced deportation by the militias. Today, thousands still linger in refugee camps in Atambua, a border town in the neighboring Belu regency in West Timor.

Alina's parents remain in East Timor. But the child shares the fate of hundreds of others who lost contact with their parents in East Timor.

Last week's reunion was one of several held. The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNCHR) organizes reunions with the help of the Jesuit Refugees Service (JSR) in Indonesia.

UNCHR dissolved its office in West Timor following the killing of two of its staff by pro-Jakarta militias in Atambua in 2000. It now relies on JSR to help find the children living on the Indonesian side of Timor island.

In 1999 there were around 3,000 children in Indonesia who were separated from their families in East Timor, according to JSR data. "Most returned to East Timor during the repatriation period between 1999 and 2001," said Cecilia Theresia of JSR. Now the number is around 700 children, 300 of whom live in refugee camps in West Timor, she added.

JSR has been patiently tracing the children, some of whom have been placed in new homes in Java, Kalimantan and Sulawesi. "A lot of the children went along with their uncles, their aunts, their grandparents or their neighbors," she said.

For some of the families, however, last week's meeting could be their last. The younger children looked less excited about meeting their real parents.

Eleven-year-old Filamona Rosa Maya was seven when she was taken to Kupang, her nine-year-old sister Christina Babo was five. Neither of them speak Tetun, which their parents now use in East Timor. "I am happy but I'm not going back [to East Timor]," said Filamona when asked how she felt about meeting Angelino de Jesus and Felismina de Jesus, her real parents.

Filamona and Christina are two of 11 children in the family. At first Angelino wanted to bring Christina back to East Timor, but Filamona refused to let go of her younger sister. The parents then decided that both sisters should stay in Indonesia to finish school, and return to East Timor afterwards.

According to the Child Convention, children under 17 may not decide for themselves their future, said an East Timor UNCHR staff member Manuel da Costa. "But we respect the wishes or the opinions of the child, and principally we seek what's best for the child," he added.

Discussions between the real parents and the foster parents however may reach a stalemate. Sometimes they let the child have the final say.

Simplicio Mario da Cruz, a fifth grader at an Indonesian elementary school, lives in Atambua with his former neighbors in East Timor. He was separated from his family and ended up in West Timor along with his neighbors when the violence erupted in 1999.

Now his real parents want Simplicio to visit East Timor to see how he likes it there. Afterwards, he may decide by himself whether he wants to return to his homeland.

Editorial: East Timorese a special case

Sydney Morning Herald - April 16, 2003

Three and half years after East Timor voted for independence, 1500 East Timorese asylum seekers are still in Australia. For many it is more than a decade since they escaped the former Portuguese colony's murderous Indonesian regime. Some had fled the 1991 massacre of about 200 East Timorese in Dili's Santa Cruz cemetery. While the bureaucracy has dithered, some have married, found work, started businesses and bought homes. Many have had children. They have done the things other Australians do. But they are not Australians. They have been here on temporary protection visas which have lately expired. The Immigration Minister, Philip Ruddock, says it is safe for them to go home.

The East Timorese have, instead, been applying -- unsuccessfully -- for refugee status. About 1200 applications have failed and the rest can be expected to meet the same fate. If their appeals also fail, the East Timorese can go to court or, more likely, to the minister. Mr Ruddock will then decide the fate of these men, women and about 600 children under 18 (many born here). Mr Ruddock has indicated that those with close links with Australia -- such as an Australian spouse -- will be viewed sympathetically. Most of the East Timorese will be able to demonstrate such links. The strength of their local ties is evident in the very vocal support they have found in Melbourne, where most live. However, Mr Ruddock has not offered the blanket support the East Timorese are seeking. He believes at least some should return to East Timor.

Mr Ruddock is concerned that making an exception for the East Timorese would become a precedent, particularly for 10,000 people of other nationalities who have also been here for 10 years, lawfully or unlawfully, and want to stay.

But the case of the East Timorese is special, dragged out for years by a government-initiated wrangle over whether they were citizens of Portugal and had claims there. That was not resolved until October 2000. In any event, they could not have returned much before then because of the instability in East Timor. The repatriation of refugees is, of course, a generally desirable goal. But after a delay of so many years, and one not of their own making, these East Timorese are, indeed, special cases demanding flexible and compassionate ministerial discretion. To expel them would most certainly be justice denied.

Ruddock rejects Gusmao visa plea

The Australian - April 12, 2003

Megan Saunders -- Immigration Minister Philip Ruddock has rejected a plea by the East Timor President, Xanana Gusmao, to allow up to 1600 temporary visa holders to remain in Australia because his country is too poor to take them back.

Mr Ruddock said that it was "a little disingenuous" of Mr Gusmao to argue that East Timor could not afford to feed them while encouraging East Timorese to return from Indonesia. "I think it's pertinent to note that there are 30,000 East Timorese in Indonesia where in fact East Timor is saying 'please send them back'," Mr Ruddock told The Weekend Australian.

"I think what's happening here is that advocacy groups are essentially pushing him to raise these matters. I don't buy the argument."

Both Mr Gusmao and East Timor consul-general in Australia, Abel Guterres, had asked the Howard Government for special consideration of the issue. The President raised the issue personally with Foreign Minister Alexander Downer a fortnight ago, while Mr Guterres met with Mr Ruddock less than a month ago.

In recent weeks, many of the group have lost their fortnightly refugee allowances after losing their cases on appeal to the Refugee Review Tribunal.

They now have to rely on charity for several months while they appeal directly to Mr Ruddock to use his discretion.

The minister is determined to deal with the situation on a "case by case" basis and has so far allowed 164 to stay on the basis of their spouse being Australian or having other close ties. A further 19 have already returned while 13 died before their cases were resolved. The rest are in limbo.

Mr Guterres this week argued that the cases of East Timorese returning from Australia and Indonesia were different. "It's another 1600 mouths to feed," he said.

"The 30,000 that are in West Timor, they are not living in the comfortable conditions as these 1600 here in Australia. They live in camps, there is a lot of problems."

Pressure is on the Howard Government to resolve the situation, which follows a protracted court battle, in a compassionate way.

Some of the group have been in Australia for more than a decade after fleeing in the wake of the Santa Cruz massacre of 1991.

The Government initially challenged the right of the East Timorese to asylum, saying they had a right to Portuguese residence during the Indonesian occupation and should go there instead.

But after one of the group successfully appealed, the Government agreed to process the claims under the usual refugee criteria -- claims that haad little chance of success once East Timor became an independent nation.

Labor's immigration spokeswoman described the situation as "absurd", and renewed pressure on the Howard Government to create a special visa class and allow them to stay.

Government criticised for cutting off support to Timorese

Australian Braodcasting Corporation - April 10, 2003

The Federal Government has been accused of leaving East Timorese asylum seekers to starve by cutting off their welfare payments while they wait to hear if they are allowed to stay in Australia.

About 85 East Timorese people living in the Northern Territory have been told they do not qualify for refugee status and must leave, despite some having lived in Australia for more than a decade. Nineteen of those have already had their welfare payments stopped while they appeal directly to the immigration minister.

The Federal Member for Lingiari, Warren Snowdon, says charities will soon be unable to provide for their needs.

"What the government has done is cut them off the support," he said. "Now if you take people's support away and if they're unemployed, how are they supposed to survive? You are putting them out to to starve."

Timorese refugees may stay in limbo

Sydney Morning Herald - April 8, 2003

Cynthia Banham -- Refugee groups are claiming the Federal Government is close to making a decision on the fate of East Timorese asylum seekers that would prolong their limbo status for three to five years.

The Government has hosed down the speculation. It has come under strong pressure to let the asylum seekers, many of whom have been in Australia for a decade and have forged close community ties, remain permanently on humanitarian grounds.

Such a move has been resisted by the Immigration Minister Philip Ruddock, who says making a special concession for the East Timorese would lead to pressure from other long-term temporary protection visa holders such as Afgh A Government spokesman conceded yesterday that there were more than 1000 East Timorese in Australia on temporary protection visas and the issue of their status was one that had to be dealt with by the Government.

However, he dismissed talk of an imminent decision. But community groups working closely with East Timorese in Australia believe there are plans to create a "special assistance category" visa that would allow the asylum seekers to remain for another three to five years.

Labor, the Greens and the advocate groups oppose any such move. The Refugee Council of Australia says it would merely "prolong the agony and the uncertainty" of the East Timorese.

Of the East Timorese in Australia, the Immigration Department says 630 are children under 18, less than half of whom were born here.

According to the co-ordinator of the Ecumenical Migration Centre, Ainslie Hannan, there are Catholic schools in inner city Melbourne, where the bulk of the East Timorese community live, with classes where a third of students are East Timorese.

The Opposition immigration spokeswoman, Julia Gillard, who last month introduced an amendment to the migration legislation which would confer permanent residency on a one-off basis on the East Timorese, said Labor would not support "anything less" than a permanent solution for the group.

"As a result of government failures they've been kept in limbo for too long, and if the Government's proposal was to keep them in limbo for another three or five years, then in our view it wouldn't be enough," she said.

Government & politics

Opposition parties unite against Fretilin

Radio Australia - April 8, 2003

As East Timor prepares to mark its first anniversary of independence, the nation's opposition parties have united to present a strong alternative to the government. The newly-formed platform of national unity is an attempt to combat what the opposition says is an undemocratic and corrupt government. It's a testing time for the players in the world's newest democracy.

Transcript:

De Masi: At the heart of the issue is the Fretilin party of Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri, which controls 55 of the 88 seats in the Legislature. Joao Saldhana is the executive director of the East Timor Study Group, a Dili-based think-tank.He describes an out-of-touch and distant executive, unwilling to consult widely with the broad spectrum of parties in the Parliament.

Saldhana: "The problem is when you come out with some good ideas, there's not much voice, I mean it's totally dominated by Fretilin and its quasi-allies, so together they make up 63 seats in parliament and they can push through whatever they want."

De Masi: Eight opposition parties are signatory to the platform of national unity, an agreement to fight the government, being driven by the PD, or Democratic Party. Spokesman John Boavida says Fretilin uses its numbers in parliament to stifle democratic processes, and multi-party participation.

Boavida: "Now with the advantage Fretilin has, it gave the party the privilege of not consulting seriously the opposition parties, of not taking seriously under consideration the ideas and opinions of opposition parties, individuals or groups."

De Masi; Before independence, President Xanana Gusmao had warned against a return to the one-party days under Indonesian rule. In an interview with Asia Pacific in late 2001, he said it was vital that all parties, large and small, had a voice in East Timor's new democracy.

Gusmao: "Just imagine the assembly, one-party, the government, one party, how can we control, how can civil society control it? How can people know things are going well, or in a bad way, the wrong way? At least two parties to control each other, to tell people there are mistakes here, errors there. Each party has the right to have a place, a place to talk."

De Masi: But according to the opposition parties, that hasn't eventuated. In most countries with a democratic system of government, opposition parties often grudgingly accept their voice will be muted if the ruling party enjoys a strong majority. But Joao Saldhana says there is a lingering taint of illegitimacy about the current administration.

Saldhana: "It was chosen to write the Constitution. There was no mandate whatsoever to transform themselves into the National Parliament and run the country for the next five years. So that's always been in the minds of the opposition."

De Masi: Helen Hill, a specialist in East Timorese politics at Melbourne's Victoria University says this argument is disingenuous. She says when the former United Nations Transitional Authority handed over power, the formation of the government had broad support, including from the opposition parties who anticipated winning a majority.

Hill: "Once Fretilin was elected, a movement started among the opposition parties to hold new elections, and had they held an election, there probably wouldn't have been a very different parliament elected, and in fact some of the smaller parties would not have been in the new Parliament."

De Masi: The opposition parties have alleged a litany of grievances against the governing party, including corruption, nepotism, and social injustice. Fretilin strongly rejects the allegations, and says the opposition parties have failed to provide evidence for the claims. Parliamentary Secretary Francisco Carlos Soares says 13 parties have a presence in Parliament, and every decision is debated and approved democratically.

Soares: "During the debate, if some political party presents a particular proposal, ideas or suggestion, if those are good enough , people will vote in favour, that's regardless of the majority party. But of course they are rejected if people think the idea is not good enough to be passed."

De Masi: He says East Timor has all the fundamentals of democracy, a free media, freedom of movement and freedom of expression. He says without these, the opposition parties could never have organised or launched their new united position. But Victoria University's Helen Hill says it looks as though democracy in East Timor is still evolving.

Hill: "I think this illustrates that Timor is really just in the very infant stages of being a democracy and people haven't learnt the democratic culture that needs to go with the actual structures that they've created for themselves."

Fretilin dismisses oppostion call for 'national unity'

Lusa - April 7, 2003

Dili -- Most of East Timor's opposition parties signed a so- called "national unity platform" Monday, bitterly criticizing Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri's cabinet and demanding the formation of a broad coalition government.

The leadership of Alkatiri's ruling Fretilin party, which commands 55 of the legislature's 88 seats, dismissed the opposition's call, saying it would not turn government into a "mini-parliament".

The seven opposition parties and one group that had consistently backed the government, the Timorese Social Democratic Association (ASDT), jointly issued a blistering attack against Alkatiri's 10- month-old administration, accusing it of "dictatorship, radicalism, authoritarianism".

They called for the creation of a "democratic, competent and credible government of national unity". The parties signing the document, dubbed "Political Platform for National Unity", took nearly 32 percent of the pre-independence vote last year, gaining a total of 28 parliamentary seats.

While there was no immediate reaction from the prime minister, Fretilin's deputy secretary-general, Josi Reis, told jounalists the ruling party, which took 57 percent of the vote, had no intention of opening the government's doors to the opposition. "Fretilin ... won the elections to serve the people and will not share power with any other party in the name of national unity", Reis said. "We don't want a mini-parliament in the Council of Ministers", he said, adding that the opposition could make its political "contribution" in the legislature. He read a Fretilin leadership statement, reaffirming the party's intention of fulfilling its five-year mandate.

Human rights trials

Top judge hits out at Amnesty over Timor trial criticism

Agence France Presse - April 17, 2003

The head of Indonesia's Supreme Court has hit out at Amnesty International for describing trials of suspects in the 1999 East Timor violence as "not honest, truthful or fair." "That group has never been satisfied with other people's work," Bagir Manan was quoted by the Koran Tempo daily as saying.

Manan said Amnesty's criticism should not be taken seriously. "The idea that human rights courts must not acquit defendants is not true. If [the defendants' guilt is] not proven, what can you do?" he said.

Amnesty, in a report issued on Tuesday, urged the United Nations to consider setting up a tribunal to try the atrocities that took place before and after East Timor's breakaway from Indonesia. "It is now time for the UN to find alternative ways to ensure that justice is delivered in an effective and credible process" the London-based rights group said.

Pro-Jakarta militiamen organised and directed by the Indonesian army waged a campaign of intimidation before East Timorese voted in August 1999 for independence, and a scorched-earth revenge campaign afterwards. At least 1,000 people are estimated to have died -- Amnesty says 1,300 -- and whole towns were burnt to the ground. The UN held off on an international tribunal following Indonesian assurances that it would try offenders itself.

A special human rights court, in widely criticised verdicts, has acquitted 10 security force members and a civilian. Five people have been ordered jailed but only one has received the minimum 10-year sentence mandated by law. All are free pending appeals.

Amnesty said indictments were weak and failed to address the role of the Indonesian military in setting up and supporting the militias.

'Jakarta, Dili not serious about human rights cases'

Jakarta Post - April 15, 2003

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta -- A human rights activist has expressed doubts that Indonesia and East Timor are serious about resolving the question of human rights abuses in the former Indonesian province as both are still lack the necessary legal instruments to deal with the cases.

Bambang Widjoyanto, who is also a former chairman of the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI), also expressed regret that both the Indonesian and East Timorese governments had decided to place more emphasis on diplomatic ties than justice.

"The two countries never sit down and discuss the legal arrangements for the trying of the perpetrators of human rights abuses," Bambang told The Jakarta Post. "They merely bring up the human rights issue to satisfy their domestic constituents, but lack any real intention of resolving the outstanding issues," he added.

He was commenting on the issue of repeat indictments by the Dili district court against the Indonesia Military (TNI) generals and mid-ranking officials who have been implicated in the spate of violence the hit the country in 1999.

The Indonesian government, however, says the Dili district court does not have extraterritorial jurisdiction, and has no power to indict non-East Timorese citizens.

The district court indicted another five TNI officers on Thursday, but refused to name the suspects or give details so as to protect witnesses. The announcement was made only one day after the court indicted 16 other Indonesians, including eight TNI officers, for human rights abuses.

Last month, six high-ranking TNI officials, including Gen.(ret) Wiranto, were also indicted for causing the mayhem that occurred before and after the 1999 self-determination ballot.

The Indonesian government has repeatedly said that it will not be influenced by the indictments arguing that the Timorese courts have no jurisdiction over Indonesians. It also points to the fact that the two countries do not have an extradition agreement.

Indonesian Minister for Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda has said that both governments had agreed to focus on the future and stop bickering over past mistakes. "These indictments are totally out of line with the good faith displayed by both governments in forging healthy bilateral ties," the minister said. He reiterated the Indonesian view that the jurisdiction of the Timorese court only covered East Timor and did not extend to Indonesian citizens.

Earlier, East Timor's President Xanana Gusmao also expressed regret at the court's move, but underlined that his government could not interfere with the judicial process.

Bambang said that there were many issues between Jakarta and Dili still pending since East Timor's breakaway, and the two countries had decided to ignore justice for the sake of these issues.

"Without adequate legal instruments, how can we extradite suspects or even send a witness to testify during a trial. And I don't see any sign that the two governments are intending to make any such arrangements," he said.

Bambang also pointed out that after the international community had lost interest in the human rights' abuses that had occurred in East Timor, only lip service would subsequently be devoted to the legal process by the two governments.

Amnesty slams Indonesia's 'dishonest' Timor rights trials

Agence France Presse - April 15, 2003

Amnesty International slammed Indonesia's trials of suspects in the 1999 East Timor violence as "not honest, truthful or fair" and urged the United Nations to consider setting up a tribunal.

The human rights group, in a report, reminded the UN of its responsibility to ensure that perpetrators of crimes against humanity before and after East Timor's bloody breakaway from Indonesia are brought to justice.

"The trials conducted by Indonesia have not been truthful, honest or fair," the London-based group said. "It is now time for the UN to find alternative ways to ensure that justice is delivered in an effective and credible process".

Pro-Jakarta militiamen organised and directed by the Indonesian army waged a campaign of intimidation before East Timorese voted in August 1999 for independence, and a scorched-earth revenge campaign afterwards. At least 1,000 people are estimated to have died -- Amnesty says 1,300 -- and whole towns were burnt to the ground.

Amnesty recalled that the UN Security Council and the UN Commission on Human Rights had demanded that offenders be brought to justice. But the UN held off on an international tribunal following Indonesian assurances that it would try offenders itself.

A special human rights court, in widely criticised verdicts, has acquitted 10 security force members and a civilian. Five people have been ordered jailed but only one has received the minimum 10-year sentence mandated by law. All are free pending appeals. Two generals are still awaiting verdicts.

Amnesty said indictments were weak and failed to address the role of the Indonesian military in setting up and supporting the militias. Most defendants were charged only with failing to prevent atrocities rather than direct hand in them.

Prosecutors were drawn from the attorney general's office, "which is widely acknowledged to be among the most corrupt of government departments." Crucial evidence was not called and prosecutors, according to one expert, appeared to be "acting out a role" and avoiding key issues. Amnesty said UN-funded prosecutors in East Timor, by contrast, have indicted more than 230 people including high-ranking Indonesian officials. But Jakarta has refused to hand anyone over for trial.

Amnesty urged the Security Council to launch an independent review of legal proceedings in both Indonesia and East Timor. This should consider options including strengthening the process in East Timor, an ad hoc tribunal set up by the Security Council and trials in third countries.

Jail urged for ex-army chief in East Timor

Straits Times - April 15, 2003

Jakarta -- Indonesian prosecutors yesterday demanded that a former military chief in East Timor be jailed for 10 years for failing to stop violence leading up to the territory's vote to split from Jakarta's rule in 1999.

Brig-Gen Tono Suratman controlled Indonesian troops in East Timor, now known as Timor Leste, until two weeks before the August 30, 1999, independence vote.

Chief prosecutor Gabrille Simangunsong said that Suratman had "clearly and convincingly failed to prevent or control" a mass rally by militia groups in Dili on April 17 that year. The rally prompted an attack on the house of Manuel Carrascalao in Dili which killed at least 12 people, including Mr Carrascalao's 16- year-old son.

Suratman, a member of the army elite Kopassus special forces, also failed to prevent the attack on a refugee-packed church in Liquica on April 6 by soldiers and pro-Jakarta militiamen in which 22 people died, Mr Simangunsong said.

"The defendant knew that the situation in East Timor was grave ... he should not have given permission for the rally to take place," he told the rights court.

Suratman's next hearing is scheduled for April 23. The judges are not obliged to follow the sentence recommendation if they find him guilty. The charge carries a maximum penalty of death. Suratman has denied any wrongdoing.

Indonesia, under international pressure to account for the bloodshed, set up the rights court to hear cases against 18 defendants.

Pro-Jakarta militia groups, with backing from elements within the Indonesian military, carried out a campaign of intimidation before the poll and then rampaged when it showed East Timorese had voted to break away. The United Nations estimates 1,000 people were killed before and after the vote.

Suratman is among the last two of 18 suspects to face trial. Maj-Gen Adam Damiri, the last defendant on trial, is the highest ranking suspect and was regional military chief at the time.

Timor prosecutors indict officers for 1999 atrocities

Jakarta Post - April 9, 2003

Dili (Agencies) -- Prosecutors in East Timor said on Wednesday they have indicted 16 people including eight Indonesian army officers for crimes against humanity before and after the territory's bloody breakaway from Jakarta in 1999.

The Serious Crimes Unit said in a statement that an indictment filed Monday accuses the 16 of 31 counts of crimes against humanity against civilians including "murder, extermination, enforced disappearance, torture, deportation and persecution." It is the second attempt in less than two months by the United Nations-funded unit to bring Indonesian officers to justice, AFP reported.

In late February it indicted Indonesia's former defence minister and military chief, Wiranto, for crimes against humanity along with six other senior officers and the then-governor.

Indonesia refuses to hand over any suspects. And East Timor's President Xanana Gusmao criticised the February indictments, saying good relations withthe former ruler should take priority.

Indonesia's military and their proxy militias waged a savage intimidation campaign before East Timorese voted in August 1999 for independence, and a revenge campaign afterwards.

At least 1,000 people were murdered. The territory finally gained independence last May after a period of UN stewardship. The latest indictment covers crimes in Covalima district between January and October 1999, including the massacre at Suai church on September 6 in which at least 31 people including three Catholic priests were killed.

Apart from the eight officers, those charged are the former Indonesian district civilian administrator, the former Indonesian district police chief and six ethnic East Timorese serving with the military.

Among the former district comanders and officials to be indicted are Colonel Herman Sedyono, the ex-district administrator; Lt. Col. Achmad Mas Agus; Lt. Col Lilik Kushardianto; police Lt. Col. Gatot Subiaktoro; Lt. Achmad Syamsuddin and Lt. Lt. Sugito.

The indictment accuses Sedyono of personally taking part in the church attack along with Kushardianto, Subiaktoro, Sugito and Syamsuddin.

It says Sedyono and Agus helped set up and fund the notorious Laksaur militia while Agus gave them military weapons.

Between January and August 1999 troops and militiamen are alleged to have colluded in over 35 cases of torture, four "disappearances" and 10 cases ofmurder in Covalima. After August, soldiers and militiamen in the district are accused of 36 murders.

The Serious Crimes Unit said all the accused are believed to be in Indonesia. Prosecutors there would be asked to arrest them and the warrants would also be forwarded to Interpol.

Sedyono, Kushardianto, Subiaktoro, Syamsuddin and Sugito have already appeared before Indonesia's human rights court and been aquitted.

The Jakarta court was set up in response to international demands for justice but has acquitted 11 out of 16 defendants in widely criticised verdicts.

News & issues

Australian soldier charged with kicking corpse after ambush

Agence France Presse - April 16, 2003

An investigation into allegations of unlawful killing and brutality by Australian special forces in East Timor led to a soldier being charged with kicking a militiaman's corpse after an ambush, Army chief General Peter Leahy said.

Leahy said another soldier was counselled over gender and workplace harrassment after the investigation, which was carried out by the Australian Defence Force with assistance from Federal Police and the United Nations.

Leahy said 19 allegations of misconduct and mistreatment against Australian soldiers carrying out peace-keeping operations following East Timor's independence referendum in 1999 were investigated. Thirteen were found to be unsubstantiated and though elements of complaints were upheld, investigators found no offence was committed.

The investigation centred on a gun battle on October 6, 1999 near Suai on East Timor's border with West Timor, in which two militiamen were killed, nine wounded and more than 100 captured. Two SAS troops were also wounded in the firefight.

Rumours of subsequent misconduct circulated in defence circles, including claims that a senior special forces soldier, angred over his soldiers' injuries, shot dead one or more of the captives.

Investigators exhumed the bodies of the two dead militia men from a cemetery in Dili late last year but found no evidence of battlefield executions and concluded the deaths resulted from "professionally conducted counter-ambush measures".

The militiamen belonged to the pro-Jakarta Laksaur group responsible for some of the worst atrocities in the violence that followed an overwhelming vote for independence by the East Timorese in August 1999.

Most of the militia escaped to West Timor and Indonesia -- never to be brought to justice for the hundreds of murders, torture, arson and destruction for which they were blamed.

Leahy said the unidentified Special Air Services soldier charged with kicking the corpse would face an open trial at a date yet to be set.

Police launch prostitution crackdown in East Timor

Associated Press - April 11, 2003

Dili -- Police in East Timor have launched a crackdown on prostitution, raiding two massage parlors in the past month and arresting four people, an officer said Friday.

Prostitution has become an increasing problem in this predominantly Catholic country, while the foreign population rises and an undermanned police force struggles with rising crime.

Last year, East Timor's Roman Catholic Bishop Carlos Belo reportedly said foreigners were bringing prostitutes and causing the spread of AIDS.

The most recent raid took place on Thursday night, when UN and East Timorese police targeted a massage parlor in the capital, Dili, said Alan King, the operations chief for the UN police. They arrested the parlor's two East Timorese owners, and questioned seven Indonesian women.

Two weeks ago, police raided another Dili massage parlor and arrested a Thai and a Singaporean, who appeared in court Friday to face prostitution-related charges, police said. "If people are engaged in prostitution, they will find themselves repatriated or out of a job," said King.

East Timor gained full independence in May, after a period of transitional rule by the world body following Indonesia's brutal 24-year occupation. The United Nations -- which administered the country in the run-up to its independence -- still has thousands of foreign workers serving as government advisers, policemen and peacekeeping troops in the world's newest nation.

Most of the prostitutes come from Indonesia, Thailand and other Southeast Asian nations. The customers are mostly foreigners working in the country.

Controversial immigration Bill under fire

Radio Australia - April 9, 2003

Human rights activists and legal experts in East Timor have condemned proposed moves to limit the freedom of foreigners. Under its controversial immigration and asylum law, the goverment aims to curtail the activities of foreigners, effectively giving it the green light to deport anyone involved in activities of a "political nature".

Transcript:

Keady: The proposed Immigration and Asylum Law, which was approved by the council of ministers in February, is seen to impose strict provisions on a foreigners right to freedom of speech and assembly.

Under Article 11 of the law, foreign citizens would not be allowed to exercise or organise activities of a political nature, and are prevented among other things from participating in demonstrations. There are also stipulations regarding foreign ownership in communications and aviation.

The laws would threaten international civic programs currently advising parliament and has been interpreted by some as an attempt to limit foreign influence on the political landscape.

In a flurry of diplomatic activity a number of concerned countries have appealed to the UN's Special Representative in Timor. It's thought that US and Australian aid programs may also be affected if the law is passed.

But in an interview with the ABC, President of Timor's parliament, Luolo Guterres defended the proposed law as protecting East Timor's sovereignty and not about keeping foreigners out.

Guterres: "East Timor lives in a very specific context. There are a lot of foreigners entering the national territory illegally and in this situation I think that the article 11 not only restrict but also give power to the Timorese people regarding their national sovereignty. This doesn't mean that we don't want foreigners entering the country but that foreigners who enter our territory have their rights but also their duties as foreigners."

Keady: He also raised the issue of foreigner's involvement in the December 4th civil unrest.

Guterres: "The government still doesn't have proof, I personally have seen foreigners getting directly or indirectly involved in those demonstrations. An important observation that I want to make about article 11 in this Bill, is that laws can be revoked at any time, but in the specific situation of East Timor now, we need an article like article 11."

Keady: Human rights groups in East Timor however, say it could jeopardise the legitimate work of international NGO's working in the country and also send dangerous signals about democratic rights in this young country. Charlie Scheiner is from East Timor's L'ao Hamatuk:

Scheiner: "The constitution of East Timor which was adopted almost exactly a year ago says very clearly that all people have the rights, freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, freedom of association. This law says that not all people have those rights only; well it doesn't say whether East Timorese citizens have the rights but clearly foreigners don't have the rights. They can only go in certain kinds of assemblies; they can only speak about certain things, they can only associate with certain people. I think it would be a concern in any country to allow an individual government official to make decisions about who he thinks offends the dignity of East Timorese people or not. It's something I think that doesn't bode well for the future of democracy in this country."

Keady: Asylum and Immigration procedures in the bill have also been roundly criticised but the government has responded by saying it gives more rights than those conferred by one of its largest neighbours, Australia.