Transition & reconstruction

UNMISET mandate extended, but post-UN scenario feared

Lusa - April 29, 2003

New York -- The United Nations Security Council has approved a one-year extension of the UN mission in East Timor, while diplomatic sources caution that the new nation could experience massive difficulties after the world body pulls out next year.

The Security Council approved the renewal of the UN Mission for East Timor (UNMISET) late Monday after a three-hour debate on a report by Secretary-General Kofi Annan on the situation in Timor. Annan warned in his report that Timor will face a serious shortfall of administrative officials when the UN withdraws its civil support group -- now scheduled for May, 2004. UN peacekeepers in Timor will also leave the southeast Asian nation in May of next year, with UN police departing in June.

Timor's ambassador at the UN, Josi Lums Guterres, said the new details of UNMISET's mandate could be changed "in the case of external threats", but added that "if all goes well, the UN mandate will conclude in May 2004".

Once the UN withdraws from Timor, many UN officials fear the international community will turn its back on the new nation, which is southeast Asia's poorest state and will continue to depend on the generosity of donor nations when the world body departs.

The UN's special representative for Timor, Kamalesh Sharma, warned that the development of the nation's economy would be a "long and arduous process". He also pointed out that Timor's infant mortality rate is 80 per 1,000 live births. Only 57 percent of adults are literate and 46 percent of Timorese have never attended school, meaning that the country's workforce had no technical or specialized skills, he added.

Sharma said that 40 percent of Timorese have a daily income below USD 0.55 and per capita GDP is only USD 500, while average life expectancy is 57 years. The UN diplomat said he had warned the Security Council that owing to Timor's dire poverty and fragile public institutions, the fledgling nation will need continuing international support after the UN mission terminates.

"The involvement of the UN in the building of peace and institutions will have to continue", said Sharma, adding that UNMISET plans to study "options" on how this aid can be delivered.

Security Council expected to extend UNMISET mandate one year

Lusa - April 28, 2003

New York -- The UN Security Council is scheduled to meet Monday to discuss a one-year extension of the UN mission in East Timor, a recommendation by Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

In a report to the council Friday, Annan urged the 12-month extension to May 2004, with a phased reduction of peacekeeping forces, citing "increasing proof" of the threat of armed groups seeking to "undermine stability" in the fledgling country.

Diplomats, contacted by Lusa in New York, said the Security Council would likely approve the extension of the UNMISET mission with "no problems". "The international military capacity [in East Timor] will be essential in coming months to promote security and respond in the short term to threats from armed groups whose tactics, weapons and training in a frequently difficult terrain exceed the capacity of any other security force" in the country, Annan said in his report.

He also proposed the gradual pruning of the UN peacekeeping force to 3,500 by July, 3,300 by October and 1,750 by year's end. UNMISET, which also has a civilian and police contingent, would be formally extinguished in May of next year, two years after it was set up at East Timor's independence.

Security & boarder issues

East Timor gradually resuming control of its border

Radio Australia - April 28, 2003

For the first time, the East Timorese Government has begun taking control from the United Nations over its border with Indonesia.

East Timorese and UN authorities have today opened a new facility at Batugade to streamline immigration, police and border patrol operations along the border with West Timor.

The security facility was built by soldiers from Australia's 57 battalion based in Darwin, and funded largely by Britain.

Australian Lieutenant Colonel Michael Lean says the UN is now in the process of relinquishing control of the border to the East Timorese. "The significance is that no longer is the UN responsible for maintaining that border," he said.

"What we have done by building this facility and assisting with the training is that we're giving the East Timorese people now the chance to actually take control and carry out those normal government functions that we accept as standard in Australia."

West Timor/refugees

Timor hero's grand-daughter yearns for justice

Sydney Morning Herald - May 3, 2003

Tony Stephens -- Teresinha Maia's grandfather, Loloulo, helped Australian commandos fight the Japanese in Timor during World War II. Believing he had saved their lives, the Australians gave him a slouch hat. Loloulo wore it for years. It rests now in what Mrs Maia calls a holy place in East Timor.

After the Australians were evacuated in 1942, the RAAF dropped leaflets to the East Timorese, saying: "We will remember you." At the end of the war, however, between 40,000 and 50,000 Timorese in a population of only 650,000 had been killed or starved to death, mostly for helping the Australians.

Now Mrs Maia is coming to the last round of her own battle -- to stay with her family in Australia. And the few commando survivors are fighting with her.

Teresinha was 10 when Fretilin forces kidnapped her two younger sisters and mother in 1974, during the civil war. She believes they were murdered. Their home in Lete Foho was burned down. She fled with her grandparents.

Her father has not been seen since attending the 1991 memorial service at Santa Cruz cemetery in Dili, when 200 people were massacred. Indonesian forces beat and jailed her Chinese Timorese husband, Chung Chong Lee.

The family, with four children, fled the continuing unrest at the end of 1994. A fifth child, Ami, was born in Sydney six years ago and they have been living in Cabramatta on bridging visas.

The Refugee Review Tribunal finally rejected their case four weeks ago, on the grounds that East Timor was now an independent nation to which they could return. Mrs Maia has appealed to the Immigration Minister, Philip Ruddock. About 1500 East Timorese are in a similar position.

Andy Pirie, president of the Australian Commando Association, wrote to the Prime Minister and Mr Ruddock on April 7, pointing out that the 500 commandos of the 2/2nd and 2/4th independent companies conducting a guerilla campaign against 20,000 Japanese would have been wiped out except for the East Timorese support.

"These kind and loyal people saved our commandos' lives," Mr Pirie wrote. "For this Australia owes a debt of gratitude. Australia has never honoured the debt." Mr Pirie had not received a reply yesterday.

John "Paddy" Kenneally fought with the 2/2nd, a unit attached to 2/40th Battalion, the famous Sparrow Force which lost many men on the Burma-Thailand "Death" Railway. Mr Kenneally, now 87 and living in Yagoona, fought in the mountains where Loloulo and his people helped. He said: "The Timorese fed and sheltered us.

They carried the wounded and sick. They were the eyes and ears of the 2/2nd. They paid dearly. The tracks round Mindelo were littered with dead Timorese."

Mrs Maia has worked since arriving in Australia. Her husband helps look after the children and the housework but, since the tribunal decision, they have had to rely on charity for food. "I lost my family and my education," Mrs Maia said. "I don't want that to happen to my beautiful children."

Timorese refugees demand asset compensation

Jakarta Post - April 28, 2003

Yemris Fointuna, Kupang -- More than 500 East Timorese people still taking refuge in West Timor held a protest recently in front of the East Nusa Tenggara provincial legislative council, demanding the Indonesian government compensate them for the assets they left behind in East Timor.

The protesters said that they had earlier submitted the compensation request to Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Jusuf Kalla, but had failed to attract his attention.

Should the demand be denied, the protesters plan to boycott the 2004 general election by not voting in it. As a display of affirmative action, the refugees will refuse to comply with the voter registration process. There are about 5,000 East Timorese households in East Nusa Tenggara.

"For whatever reason, all of the assets that we left in East Timor must be compensated for. Should the government fail to fulfill our demands, all refugees will boycott the election next year," said Imanuel Ndoen, coordinator of the handling of refugees' assets in East Timor.

Chairman of East Nusa Tenggara provincial House of Representatives Woda Pale and his deputy Nicolas Wolly have suggested that protesters review their boycott decision, as the government is still considering the matter.

Meanwhile, head of the Bureau of Social Affairs Stanis Tefa said that the government would soon establish branches to record the assets owned by East Timorese Indonesians. However, he declined to guarantee that the data collection process would be followed up by payment of compensation, as requested by the protesters.

"We shall submit the demand to the Department of Foreign Affairs in the near future for a reply," he said.

According to Imanuel, the total assets left behind during the period of communal violence that followed the UN-sponsored referendum in September 1999 was more than Rp 1.62 trillion (US$182 million). "The estimate was made on the basis of all the assets destroyed by fire, plus what remained after the referendum," he said.

Meanwhile, hundreds of people from Tuapukan village, in the eastern part of Kupang municipality, East Nusa Tenggara, also held a demonstration in front of the governor's office, asking the government to shut down refugee camps and relocate the occupants to new settlements. "For four years locals have been unable to work their land as it has been used for refugee camps," said Rev. Emiritos Nggadas, along with 10 other local figures.

Rev. Nggadas said that, currently, the refugee campsites, established in 1999, were on farmland that belonged to the people of Tuapukan village.

In response to the villagers' complaints, Kupang Military Resort Commander Col. Moeswarno Moesanip said that his unit planned to relocate the refugee camps from Tuapukan to Naiboat village, eastern Kupang municipality. According to Moeswarno, the government was also completing some 250 dwellings for East Timorese refugees in the Naiboat area.

Timor Gap

More talk on Timor gas share

The Australian - April 29, 2003

Nigel Wilson -- Negotiations are going ahead on the terms that will secure long-term gas supplies for Bayu Undan's $1.8 billion liquefied natural gas plant planned for Darwin.

The talks involving officials from the East Timor and Australian governments and the Bayu Undan partners, including ConocoPhillips and Santos, are aimed at a new production-sharing contract covering the gas phase of the Timor Sea project.

Similar talks are taking place over a production-sharing contract for the Kuda Tasi and Jahal reservoirs Woodside hopes to bring into production soon to help overcome the impact on its earnings of the decline in production from the nearby Laminaria/Corallina oil fields.

The existing Bayu Undan production-sharing contract covers plans for dividing up revenue from the oil that will be stripped from Bayu Undan gas through the project being built about 500km from Darwin and 250km south of East Timor.

The reservoirs which lie in the Timor Seas Joint Petroleum Development Area were discovered in 1995 contain up to 400 million barrels of liquids and 3.4 trillion cubic feet of gas.

ConocoPhillips inter national chief executive, Jim Mulva, said in Darwin earlier this month it hoped to begin site works for the LNG plant before the end of Apirl.

ConocoPhillips has signed contracts to supply LNG to Tokyo Gas and Tokyo Electric Power Co under 17-year contracts that require shipments to begin in 2006.

East Timor officials said yesterday they believed there was nothing in the PSC negotiations that would halt ConocoPhillips from going ahead with its gas project.

The plant planned for a site at Wickham Point opposite Darwin's residential area will be linked to the Bayu Undan facilities by a $1 billion pipeline.

Human rights trials

Rights groups rap UN for 'weak' statement on Timor trials

Agence France Presse - April 27, 2003

Jakarta -- Two international human rights groups have strongly criticised a United Nations commission, saying it failed to demand justice for victims of atrocities in East Timor.

Amnesty International and the East Timor Action Network took issue with a recent statement from the UN Commission on Human Rights about Indonesia's trials of suspects in the 1999 bloodshed.

"A weakly worded chairperson statement on Timor-Leste [East Timor] may hail the end of the commission's consideration of Indonesia's legacy in Timor-Leste," Amnesty said in a weekend press release.

"As the flawed trials in Jakarta near an end, this was precisely the moment for the commission to condemn Indonesia for its failure to fulfil its commitment to bring perpetrators to justice and demand that alternatives measures should be initiated, including the possibility of an international tribunal," it said.

Amnesty said the statement merely expressed "disappointment" about the conduct of the trials. Amnesty has previously slammed Indonesia's trials as "not honest, truthful or fair." It has said indictments were weak and failed to address the role of the Indonesian military in setting up and supporting the militias who launched attacks on suspected East Timorese independence supporters.

The US-based East Timor Action Network (ETAN) said the commission, by merely calling on Indonesia to improve the current legal processes, had turned its back on the East Timorese people.

The UN statement "continues the trend of ignoring Indonesia's failure to hold accountable those responsible for the massive human rights abuses in East Timor," it said. "Indonesia's ad hoc court on East Timor is fundamentally flawed," ETAN said.

"The commission, by calling for Indonesia to fix an irreparable process, is in effect saying it is willing to play along with Indonesia's farce. It is clear that only an international tribunal on East Timor can achieve meaningful justice," ETAN said, accusing the UN of "coddling Indonesia."

The Jakarta court 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 awaiting verdicts.

Militiamen organised and directed by the Indonesian army waged a campaign of intimidation before East Timorese voted in August 1999 for independence, and a 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.

Human rights/law

Sex slaves the prize for army, Timor court told

Sydney Morning Herald - May 2, 2003

Jill Jolliffe, Dili -- An Indonesian official has described the former East Timor governor Mario Carrascalao as unstable, following his allegations that the Indonesian Army systematically forced Timorese women to be sex slaves for officers and then killed their husbands.

Mr Carrascalao, head of the Social Democrat Party, spoke on Tuesday during hearings by the Reception, Truth and Reconciliation Commission into human rights violations against East Timorese women since 1974. He said the practice was "part of the system" for the Indonesian military.

"The perpetrators were military officers with territorial functions and these women were the rewards available to senior- ranking officers." In Jakarta, a military spokesman, Colonel Djazairi Nachrowi, denied the existence of such a system.

"We have to take into account that the statements came from a former governor who had betrayed his own country," he told Associated Press. "He is probably frustrated or unstable because of psychological stress."

A range of women from different districts and age groups testified at the hearings to having been raped, tortured and forced to live as sex slaves during the 24-year occupation.

Beatriz Miranda Guterres spoke as a survivor of the 1983 Kraras massacre, in Viqueque district. Her child had died at the time of the killings and the military had taken her husband away, she said.

She was later forced to have sex with a Kopassus soldier under the threat that other villagers would be murdered if she did not. She was made to live with him for a year, became pregnant, and miscarried. When he finished his tour of duty, she said, she was taken by a different soldier, by whom she had a child, and was then handed over to his successor when he too returned to Java. Mr Carrascalao said that, as the Indonesian-appointed governor of East Timor between 1982 and 1992, he had received thousands of letters from women telling of rapes and killings, which he would contribute to the archives of the truth and reconciliation commission.

He alleged that the Indonesian military had made it a policy to force the wives of guerilla fighters to live with them. "Soldiers then killed their husbands," he said. He described it as "an organised effort to crush the mentality of the East Timorese people" in order to control and dominate them.

Mr Carrascalao began his evidence by saying he had been powerless to stop the abuses because "in Indonesian law the governor had no power to punish the military, or even members of the civil administration".

"All I could do was to lodge formal complaints, and I did." It was important to speak out, he said, "because East Timor lives in the midst of so many lies. It will never have lasting peace while lies are presented as truth. The younger generation needs to know."

Concern over future of Serious Crimes Unit

Radio Australia - April 29, 2003

East Timor's Serious Crimes Unit is losing its high profile chief -- Siri Frigaard. She completes her mission this week, raising concerns about the unit's long term future. The United Nations is already cutting the number of international prosecutors from 13 to nine and says it can't guarantee any support for the project beyond June 2004.

Presenter/Interviewer: Maryanne Keady

Speakers: Siri Frigaard, the head of the East Timor's Serious Crimes Unit; Domingos Maria Sarmento, East Timor's Justice Minister; Nelson Belo, JSMP, an East Timorese justice monitoring group

Keady: Days after the indictments of General Wiranto and other senior Indonesian figures were announced, the UN publicly denied they were issued by the UN they claimed the UN was merely providing "advisory assistance" to the Government of East Timor.

East Timor's President, Xanana Gusmao, claimed it was not a Timorese decision, but a UN decision and said he was not consulted

But perhaps most telling was the dispatch of Foreign Minister Jose Ramos Horta to Jakarta where he told officials Dili would ignore the indictments, in order to maintain good relations with a very important neighbour.

The person in the middle Siri Frigaard, the international deputy prosecutor in Timor leaves this week. She denies that there was political pressure applied following the indictments, despite the fact that all new indictments are issued without the UN logo.

Frigaard: There has been no pressure on me at all. I am a public prosecutor. I'm dealing with the justice. When it comes to the politics, I leave it to the politicians.

Keady: Ms Frigaard's international stewardship of Serious Crimes has been considered one marked by efficiency and politically courageous indictments. But she admits she is pessimistic about the possibility of important generals appearing in a court of law and says there is no clear idea of what will happen after the UN leaves.

Frigaard: How many people were killed ... the list is not 100% but we still have a list of 1310 people being killed. And so far we have only investigated only 40% of those. They will not have enough skills and enough people to take over the process. So I am worried about what is going to happen. I think in June 2004, I think that is a concern, and one internationals should look into because they need help.

Keady: East Timor's Justice minister, Domingos Maria Sarmento agrees and says East Timor hasn't the money to continue the process: an international tribunal must be established.

Sarmento: I think to start the work of the Serious Crimes Unit, personally I think it will be difficult. The first thing is when UNMISET leaves East Timor, those international judges will be gone, and East Timor won't have the budget to recruit new international judges to replace them. And the second thing is there needs to be a special tribunal to proceed all of the cases, all of the crimes that have been committed.

Keady: The idea offered by some that East Timor could take over the process of this unit is seems incredulous at best, the UN funds Serious Crimes to the tune of five million dollars a year, while the fledging courts of Timor, survive on virtually nothing from the government's paltry budget. East Timorese are angry about the political football being played, and say any indictments without follow up, are a joke.

Nelson Belo is from JSMP, a justice monitoring group.

Belo: There is no memorandum of understanding in order to force Indonesia to co-operate with the East Timorese government, or within the UN about the indictments, about the custody. So they have to force Indonesian government to obey on the memorandum of understanding they are going to do.

Keady: He also says the international community is once again failing in its duties to protect Timorese:

Belo: We lose trust for the UN. When the campaign for the referendum UNAMET say that whatever going to happen in East Timor, UNAMET is not going to leave but in reality UNAMET left. And this one is going through the same things...

Keady: It would seem there is little political will to deal with justice in East Timor. Currently there is no replacement for Ms Frigaard, and Serious Crimes panels are not operating. The departing Deputy Prosecutor has this to say:

Frigaard: Then of course the questions we are getting is but my husband was killed he is not on your victim list. Why haven't you indicted his killer. So people are still very occupied about it and they are telling their stories again and again like it was yesterday. So this is strong strong feeling among the people that they want the justice to be done. So I think somebody has to take that responsibility and do it.

Indonesia military accused of sex slavery

Associated Press - April 29, 2003

Guido Guilart, Dili -- The Indonesian military systematically forced dozens of East Timorese women to become sex slaves for officers during its 24-year occupation of the half-island, a former governor said Tuesday.

During a two-day hearing on violence against women in the former Indonesian territory, witnesses said rape, torture and murder were part of an organized campaign by the military to intimidate the East Timorese people. Col. Djazairi Nachrowi, a military spokesman, vehemently denied the allegations Tuesday, saying the former governor who made them was "probably ... unstable."

East Timor finally won its independence last May following two centuries of Portuguese rule and 24 years of brutal Indonesian occupation during which thousands died. Tuesday's hearing was organized by a truth and reconciliation commission that aims to uncover past abuses and promote justice.

Mario Vegas Carascalao, governor of East Timor from 1982 to 1992, described how officers subjected the wives of pro-independence fighters to sexual violence.

"The Indonesian military forced women married to East Timorese freedom fighters to become sex slaves," he told the hearing. "Soldiers then killed their husbands." He said he received thousands of letters recounting rapes and killings. "I have kept the letters but I tore and destroyed many more to protect the women's identities," he said.

The abuse was part of "a systematic and organized effort to crush the mentality of the East Timorese people so they will be easier to control and dominate," Carascalao said.

Nachrowi, the military spokesman, said "there were absolutely no such systematic and organized operations. I think we have to take into account that the statements came from a former governor who had betrayed his own country," he said. "He is probably frustrated or unstable because of psychological stress."

Former officials and army officers in East Timor have been tried in both Indonesian and UN-sponsored East Timorese courts for crimes against humanity that took place before and after a 1999 pro-independence ballot in which more than 1,000 people were killed. Most of the military officers believed responsible for the brunt of the abuse have been acquitted in proceedings that human rights groups have called a sham.

On Tuesday, Beatrice Gutteres testified that her two teenage sons were among 116 men from the village of Craras shot to death in 1983 by firing squads under the command of ex-dictator Suharto's son-in-law, then Maj. Prabowo Subianto.

Gutteres said soldiers told her sons to attend a gathering at a field in Craras, 110 miles east of the capital Dili. She said they demanded to know the whereabouts of rebels who allegedly killed an Indonesian soldier. She never saw her sons again.

"I could not sleep. I cried, fell to my knees and prayed all night long," Gutteres said. "I could only look for them the next morning." Gutteres said she was jailed for trying to find her sons -- even though she was three months pregnant.

Subianto rose to become the commander of the feared elite forces Kopassus and Kostrad in the 1990s, but was dismissed in 1998 after the military held him responsible for the kidnaping and torture of pro-democracy leaders in Indonesia. Subianto has avoided prosecution because his alleged abuses in East Timor took place before the period covered by the current trials for abuses. Efforts to reach Subianto by telephone were unsuccessful Tuesday.

The reconciliation commission will hear from 20 women who have said they were raped, tortured and imprisoned as sex slaves.

Local media monitoring

East Timor local media monitoring

UNMISET - April 28-May 2, 2003

May 2, 2003

Suara Timor Lorosae reported that During a celebration of World Labor Day in Dili, the President of the Confederation of Unions of Timor-Leste (KSTL), Jose da Costa, said that the Timorese workers are treated "as slaves of work", but are being paid unequally.

He further reminded the Government to pay attention to the conditions of work of people employed by private companies and demanded the creation of labor regulations in the country. He also criticized the Government for bringing workers from abroad while so many young Timorese are jobless. Responding to the critics, a staff of Labor Department, Manuel Noronha, underlined the responsibility of unions in the creation of regulations for the sector. (STL)

STL reported that hundreds of labor activists yesterday staged a long march from Democracy Park (Campo da Democracia) to the Government Palace, finishing at Borja da Costa Park in Farol. STL reported that hundreds of workers gathered in the Democracy Park to listen to Joe da Conceicao da Costa, President of a Non Government Organization (KSTL). Mr. da Costa said that they are very concerned about the plight of workers in East Timor. Mr Joe da Costa said " Timor-Leste's workers have been considered slave workers with a minimum wage for increasing work hours."

Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri urged Australia to open negotiations over maritime borders with Timor-Leste. He stressed that the recent Timor Sea Treaty signed with Canberra that came into force on April 2, was only a temporary accord and did not represent a maritime border agreement. In a press release yesterday, the Prime Minister said: "At time when members of the United Nations Security Council are preparing to engage in the defense of the territorial integrity of post-war in Iraq, Australians may want to remember that there are still things to resolve in Timor- Leste."

This month President Xanana Gusmao has won two peace prizes. The Vatican's "Road to Peace Prize" will be awarded on June 13, 2003 and the UNESCO Peace Prize on June 10, 2003. STL interviewed various leaders for comment, including the Dean of the faculty of Politics and Social Sciences, Mr Valentim Ximenes and the senior researcher from the East Timor Study Group (Dili-based think tank), Mr Francisco da Costa Guterres. Both agreed Xanana Gusmao was a deserving winner of both prizes.

The Timor Post reported that in response to community criticism about the appointment of the District and Sub-District Administrators during the "Open Government" visit to the District of Same, Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri said that the District and Sub-District Administrators were appointed in accordance with the administrative selection criteria and their professional qualifications. The Prime Minnister said he wanted to reiterate that public servants need to serve the people, regardless of party affiliations. He was speaking in the Sub-district of Turiscai.

In a very confusing story, Timor Post quotes Lucia Lobato from PSD as saying that the ruling party should recognise Francisco Xavier do Amaral (the first President of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste) as the Proclaimer. Mrs Lobato said that now that the ruling party had restored Independence Day, they should also restore the Proclaimer because the Proclaimer was part of the restoration of Independence on November 28, 1975.

Speaking to Timor Post, Mr Jose de Conceicao da Costa, the President of Timor-Leste Workers Syndicate, said that: "May Day" was celebrated throughout the world to recall the historic day were hundreds of workers died in a workers versus security clash in 1886 in Chicago city.sian media have repeatedly criticized Taufik for using his presidential connection to win lucrative business deals for himself and his cronies. But, the US news agency said efforts to reach Taufik by phone weren't successful.

May 1, 2003

The Timor Post reported that President of Timor-Leste, Xanana Gusmao will be in Paris on June 10 to receive the Felix HouphouUt-Boigny prize awarded by UNESCO in 2002. The prize was been awarded to Xanana Gusmao in recognition of his efforts in promoting peace. The Felix HouphouUt-Boigny prize was announced in October last year by a team of international figures including the former President of Portugal, Mario Soares, and the former United States Secretary of State and Nobel Laureate, Henry Kissinger.

According to Monsignor Basilio do Nascimento, Xanana Gusmao is eligible and richly deserves the Vatican's Road to Peace Prize. (The story was accompanied by a large photograph of Bishop Nascimento).

The Opposition Parties' proposed amendments to articles 11 and 12 of the Immigration and Asylum Law have failed to pass in the Parliament. After the vote all the Opposition members in the Parliament took the decision to "walk out". (The article does not explain what the Opposition amemdments were. For your reference Articles 11 and 12 relate to preventing foreigners from taking part in political activity in Timor-Leste.)

April 29, 2003

The Timor Post reported that President Xanana Gusmao has won the 2003 "Road to Peace Prize". The final decision was announced by the Vatican's Ambassador to the United Nations, Monsignor Celestino Migliore yesterday in New York. The Prize is awarded by the Vatican's International Fundraising Foundation. In the announcement Monsignor Migliore said that Mr Xanana Gusmao was chosen, because of his untiring efforts defending Timor-Leste's human rights, during the struggle for independence. Mr Xanana Gusmao will receive the award on June 12 (the venue was not cited).

President Xanana Gusmao and UN authorities yesterday opened a new facility at Batugade to streamline immigration, police and border patrol operations along the border with West Timor. The security facility was built by soldiers from Australia's 57 battalion based in Darwin, and funded largely by Britain. Australian Lieutenant Colonel Michael Lean says the UN is now in the process of relinquishing control of the border to the East Timorese. "The significance is that the UN is no longer responsible for maintaining that border," he said. "By building this facility and assisting with the training we're giving the East Timorese people the chance to actually take control and carry out those normal government functions.

STL reported that in the plenary session of the National Parliament, four Opposition Parties (ASDT, PD, UDT and KOTA), yesterday launched a "political declaration". The declaration is to recognise Mr Francisco Xavier do Amaral as the first President and the Proclaimer of the Independence of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, appointed by the Comite Central da FRETILIN on November 28, 1975. According to Opposition Parties, their political declaration were intended to avoid misinterpretation and fragmentation of Timor-Leste's history once the "Restoration of Independence" was formally adopted in the Timor-Leste Constitution.

During the commemoration of the Timor-Leste Youth Easter Jubilee in Uatulari on last Saturday, Prime Minister, Mr Mari Alkatiri said "We must respect the Church". Mr Alkatiri made this statement to counter rumours saying that the Government is against the Church. Mr Mari Alkatiri declared that "it was crazy" to think that the Government is against the Catholic Church as 95% of Timor Leste's population is Catholic.

During the inaguration ceremony of the new security facility in Batugade yesterday, President Xanana Gusmao said "We still face a lot of challenges ahead in the areas of economics, social issues and politics. The entire nation needs to be cooperative at this crucial moment (STL did not explain in detail the challenges described by the President).

April 28, 2003

Timor Post's lead story: Speaking at the East Timor Youth Easter Jubilee in Uatu-Lari Sub-District, President Xanana Gusmao said that "to be a leader is to serve". President Xanana reiterated that Timor-Leste's Constitution already emphasized the need for leading by example.

Speaking at the East Timor Youth Easter Jubilee in Viqueque, Vice President of the Parliament, Jacob Fernandes, has said that the power is in the hands of the people in a democracy. He said there are two types of democracy -- "indirect democracy" and "direct democracy". He said indirect democracy was when community aspirations were channelled through their Parliamentary representatives. (The story does not explain his view of what "direct democracy".) He also read a speech to the group from the President of the Parliament, Lu-olo. The National Centre for Scientific Investigation held a workshop on Saturday at the National University auditorium to present research papers about sustainable development for Timor-Leste. Key topics included economic growth and environmental protection. The workshop was co-hosted by Oxfam International.

According to the Assistant to the Director General of the Department of Education, Culture and Youth Affairs, Evaristo Maria de Jesus, the Department is seeking to recruit 620 more teachers in 2003 to address the current shortage. He has advised those teachers who are still awaiting a response from the Department to wait patiently. East Timor Journalist's Association, called Sindikat Jurnalis and headed by Otelio Ote, has announced that they will be holding a mini-congress to establish how many journalists are operating in East Timor and the issues facing the media. No date was specified for the congress

STL's front page covered the stories about Xanana and Jacob Fernandes addressing the East Timor Youth Jubilee in Viqueque.

UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan, has asked the Security Council to extend the tenure of UNMISET and the PKF for an additional year. He said it was critical for East Timor's police to be sufficiently experienced to manage their own internal security.

President of PST, Pedro da Costa, says that the elected members of the National Parliament are not adequately representing the views of the people. He said the Parliament had failed the people when it approved a budget that the government had already begun to spend. He also criticized the distribution of funds from the new visa law which sees 80% go to government, 10% to the national police and 10% to Foreign Affairs . He said the members of Parliament were no longer articulating the people's aspirations.