Transition & reconstruction

Disagreement over UN police or peacekeepers

Radio Australia - February 23, 2004

A proposal to extend a peacekeeping presence in East Timor has received widespread support from the United Nations Security Council, and strong support from East Timor itself. But some countries, including Australia, believe a UN police presence is more than adequate to the task.

Presenter/Interviewer: Anita Barraud

Speakers: Jose Guterres, East Timor's Ambassador to the UN; Professor James Fox, director- Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, the Australian National University; Alexaner Downer, Australia's Foreign Affairs Minister

The familiar blue berets of the UN peacekeeping forces have provided both security and comfort to a country less than two years old.

After East Timor voted to become independent in 1999, the United Nations took over the running of the former Indonesian province.

Producing his report on the worlds 191st nation's transition to a democracy, the head of the UN praised East Timor's rapid development to self sufficiency -- but felt there were still areas of concern.

Secretary General Kofi Annan said a weak legal system and reports of armed gangs and criminal elements could destablise the fragile nation

He urged the UN Security Council to vote to maintain a reduced force of small peacekeeping force beyond the May 20 withdrawal deadline.

While grateful for the recommendation UN ambassador to East Timor Jose Guterres was hoping for double the number of peacekeepers.

Guterres: We thought one battalion is better for us, to guarantee stability, but today recently of course we ahve asserted the proposal by the secretary general that is just 310 peacekeeping soldiers, it's practically half what we requested.

Barraud: Mr Guterres says criminal elements violent gangs, and possible border incursions of former militia in West Timor could undermine East Timor's already fragile political stability.

Some members of the security council and influential non members such as Australia believe a peacekeeping force is no longer necessary.

Speaking on Asia Pacific late last week, Australia's foreign minister Alexander Downer says an armed UN police force is adequate because there is no direct evidence that external criminal elements are a threat to the political stability of east timor.

Downer: I don't think people in West Timor are going to come pouring across the border and destabilise East Timor. I think the situation is that the people who are coming across the border now from West Timor into East Timor in a criminal sort of a way are smugglers.

Barraud: Mr Guterres believes there is new evidence that criminal and violent elements with an unclear agenda could threaten stability a problem he believes is best handled by UN peacekeepers rather than UN police.

Guterres: The militia have been infiltrating and [according to] the news we have, some are in the border area already- don't forget Indonesian army commanders recently admitted in an interview with the Jakarta Post, that he knows elements of the opposition from East Timor have been visiting refugee camps to ask for support from the former militia in order to create destabilisation in my country, after the UNMISET leaves East Timor.

Barraud: Mr Guterres believes UN peacekeepers are more respected in East Timor than police, giving them a psychological edge, but a leading analyst says the difference goes beyond reputation and costume differences.

Guterres: With due respect to the police presence, but for example, we believe in December last year when we had a riot, the international police were very inefficient and were not able to avoid the riot, and when we speak about criminal elements, in a country like ours you need a military presence. That would be a psychological deterrent to anyone that wants to create instability.

Barraud: Professor James Fox is the director of the Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies at the Australian National University.

Fox: Basically, the difference is the peacekeeping force is sent to deal with external threats. The police on the other hand are concerned with issues of law and order, and internal differences. I think it's a sensible and reasonable move on the part of the UN. It has the effect of allowing the quasi-demilitarisation of the border. If the East Timor defence force is kept away from the border or only patrols the border with UN peace-keeping forces, then it doesn't create any potential for a kind of cross-border conflict.

Annan wants UN to shift focus in East Timor

Assoicated Press - February 18, 2004

United Nations -- Secretary-General Kofi Annan called for the withdrawal of almost all UN peacekeepers in East Timor and a shift in the UN's focus to helping the newly independent country consolidate its political institutions.

In a report to the Security Council on Wednesday, Annan proposed a one-year extension of the UN mission. Such extensions are routine for UN missions and peacekeeping operations. The council is expected to debate the report Friday.

The report follows a visit last month by a UN team to Asia's poorest country, which gained independence in 2002 following four centuries of Portuguese rule and 24 years of brutal Indonesian occupation.

Annan said that while East Timor has made considerable progress in building the structures of a nation, such as a judicial system and police force, it still needs help as the current UN mandate prepares to run out on May 20.

"I am convinced that a comparatively modest additional effort can make a crucial difference in broadening the scope and increasing the sustainability of the remarkable achievements that have already been made," Annan wrote in the report.

When the people of East Timor voted for independence in 1999, the Indonesian military and its proxy militias responded by laying waste to the former province, killing 1,500 Timorese and forcing 300,000 from their homes.

The United Nations administered the territory for 2 1/2 years, then handed it to the Timorese on May 20, 2002 -- after establishing a new administration, judiciary, police force and army, in addition to overseeing the first democratic elections.

About 3,000 international peacekeepers are now stationed in East Timor to support its fledgling army, along with about 500 UN police officers. Another 1,000 UN staffers provide technical assistance for government departments, including in banking, civil aviation and public works.

Annan said in the report he wants to cut that down to 310 military personnel -- including an infantry company and air support -- 58 civilian advisers, 157 police advisers and 42 military liaison officers.

Under the modified mandate designed to cover a "consolidation phase", the UN mission would provide assistance to the country's justice system and core administrative structures, contribute to development of the national police and help maintain security, UN spokesman Fred Eckhard said.

East Timor Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri has said the United Nations should stay in the country until 2006.oval from either the central government or regional administrations.

The bill was initiated under pressure by the World Bank through its US$300 million Water Sector Adjustment Loan commitment in 1999. It is also said to protect the private sector as it shifts much of the risk to the government.

Dozens of drinking water companies -- including several foreign- owned firms -- have occupied a number of springs to produce bottled water in the country. The drinking water business takes 4.1 billion cubic meters of water in 2001.

Critics have warned that the government would not be able to control the growth of commercialization in the water sector as the law authorizes either the central government or regional administrations to issue permits to individuals or corporations to commercialize water resources.

"The law keeps on saying that commercialization needs public consultation, but it fails to name who the public is or what agency responsible for that," Nila Ardhiani of the Coalition for People's Access to Water.

Timor welcomes Annan's call to extend UN mission

Agence France Presse - February 19, 2004

Dili -- East Timorese officials Thursday welcomed a proposal by United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan to extend the UN support mission in the new nation for one more year.

"The president welcomes and fully supports the recommendations of the secretary-general," said Agio Periera, chief of staff to President Xanana Gusmao.

He said preparing for the UN's eventual departure was "a challenge for the Timorese nation as a whole. We will look ahead with the same positive attitude that we have shown in recent years."

Annan presented his report Wednesday to the UN Security Council, which was expected to vote on it Friday.

He proposed a one-year extension for the UN Mission of Support in East Timor (UNMISET) after its current mandate expires on May 20, but with a big cut in the current number of peacekeeping troops and support staff.

The UN took over the running of the country in 1999 after the departure of Indonesian troops and their local militia proxies, who left much of the former Indonesian province in ruins.

East Timor became independent on May 20, 2002, but a UN mission stayed on to help Asia's poorest nation through its early years.

Annan said a "comparatively modest additional effort can make a crucial difference" in preparing the country fully to stand on its own feet.

He proposed a 310-strong peacekeeping force plus 42 military liaison officers, 157 civilian police advisers and 58 advisers to support the public administration and justice system.

There are currently 1,750 UN peacekeepers, 125 police officers, 200 police advisers and 70 civilian advisers.

Annan said no new recent violence had been reported by former pro-Jakarta militiamen.

But "reports of signtings of armed gangs and criminal elements in districts bordering (Indonesian) West Timor continued, as did suggestions of preparations for destabilising activity by Timorese groups with unclear agendas".

The secretary-general praised East Timor's "extraordinary achievements" but said that "formidable challenges remain".

Annan said the court system remained especially weak and the behaviour of the country's own police force was a concern.

"Disturbing reports of the excessive use of force, assaults, negligent use of firearms, criminal activities and corrupt practices continue to be received," he said.

UN, Dili fight Canberra push to replace peacekeepers

The Australian - February 20, 2004

Rodney Dalton/New York, Sian Powell/Jakarta -- Australia is trying to convince a divided UN Security Council that peacekeepers in East Timor should be replaced by police under a new mandate.

As well as arguing for the extension of the UN mandate, Australia's UN ambassador, John Dauth, will tell council members tomorrow that an armed emergency police response group, not soldiers, should deal with criminals along the border with West Timor.

It is understood Australia has convinced Britain and the US that peacekeepers are no longer needed. Its position puts it at odds with UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who has released a report calling for a reduced peacekeeping operation of about 350 soldiers after the mandate ends on May 20.

It has also dismayed East Timor. Foreign Minister Jose Ramos- Horta told The Australian: "We are all quite puzzled as to why Canberra, London and Washington want to differ from everybody else on this issue."

Mr Ramos-Horta will tell the Security Council East Timor needs a continued peacekeeper presence. "We, the Timorese, maintain a very close working relationship with the UN and they listen to us," he said. "Certain countries do not seem to think that our own views are very relevant."

In a detailed report on East Timor's progress towards self- sufficiency since achieving independence two years ago, Mr Annan concludes that "further assistance" to East Timor will make a "crucial difference". He argues the UN peacekeeping operation should remain for another year to maintain security and help East Timor develop judicial and administrative systems and a national police force. His special representative would remain in East Timor to oversee the civilian, police and military arms of the UN operation.

"At a time when either calm or instability can become self- reinforcing, it would be advisable to retain a military component ... for a further year, with modified tasks, to reduce the risk of destabilising incidents," Mr Annan says. He proposes that this "minimal" presence of 350 military, including 42 advisers, would "focus on the western districts, where the risk is greatest".

The UN has 2000 troops and police in East Timor, with Australia providing 309 soldiers, 21 police and seven observers. Under the Australian proposal, it would still provide up to a half of the military personnel.

UN chief proposes sharp cut in Timor peacekeeping force

Lusa - February 18, 2004

Dili -- United Nations Secretary- General Kofi Annan has recommended that the UN's peacekeeping mission in East Timor continues after its planned May withdrawal, but with a significant reduction in personnel.

Lusa has seen a report prepared by Annan on the UN's role in Timor beyond its scheduled May 20 pullout and this document will guide discussions between the 15 members of the UN Security Council, who meet Friday to recommend the scale of the extended mission.

In his report, Annan describes the one-year prolongment of the UN Mission of Support in East Timor (UNMISET) as a "consolidation phase". Outlining his plans for the UN's future support to Timor's civil structures, Annan recommended "the extension of UNMISET for another year in a reduced form and with another type of mandate".

"I recommend the maintenance of a group of 58 civil advisors to support public administration and the judicial system".

A UN 1,750-strong peacekeeping force is currently stationed in Timor and Annan said only 310 "blue berets" should remain in the nation after May 20.

The trimmed down force of peacekeepers would be deployed in "border areas" and have "rapid reaction capability" with an airborne infantry company, he said.

Annan also proposed that he UN's police force in Timor, currently comprising about 500 officers, should be reduced to just 157 personal and have the main role of advising Timor's national force.

Forty-two military liaison officers would also be required in the enclave of Oecussi and border regions, he said, with the UN police and military liaison teams being protected by the main peacekeeping force.

The UN Security Council will only take a final decision of Annan's proposals in March, but observers in Dili said this week's talks on the scale of the extended mission "will give a true picture" of the world body's presence in Timor after May 20.

Timor braces for UN pullout

Asia Times - February 12, 2004

Thalif Deen, New York -- The United Nations plans to withdraw its 3,500 peacekeepers from East Timor in May, despite calls from the government in Dili and civil-society groups that the body's work in the world's newest country is not finished.

"Certainly, the United Nations did not complete its job of readying Timor fully to manage its affairs, and any expertise the government requests should be provided to finish that transition," said John M Miller, media and outreach coordinator for the East Timor Action Network.

Miller, whose group was one of the earliest non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to campaign for an independent East Timor, said that there are worries about possible sinister plans by neighboring Indonesia, which virtually colonized the territory when it annexed East Timor as its 27th province in 1976.

In May 2002, East Timor became an independent nation. The UN Mission of Support in East Timor (UNMISET) was created that same month. The mission has 495 civilian police, 439 international civilian staff and 890 local staff. Its annual budget is about US$195 million. UNMISET's mandate expires on May 20.

Ambassador Jose Luis Guterres, the permanent representative of East Timor to the UN, said that his government has formally requested that a battalion of UN peacekeepers -- about 800 soldiers -- remains after the mandate expires.

"We have also requested for UN advisers on finance, police, economics and justice. We need UN assistance to consolidate the process of national reconciliation and for a stable country," he said on Tuesday.

In an interview, Miller warned: "Indonesia seems to be testing East Timor now that the peacekeepers have pulled back from the border areas ... they recently bombed a disputed island to help assert their claim. Some strong signal needs to be sent to Indonesia and the remaining militia that Timor must not be pushed around," he added.

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan told reporters last week: "Obviously, all peacekeeping operations do come to an end at one time or another. What we want to do is to be able to make sure that the gains we have made are not lost when we withdraw."

Annan also said the world body plans to send a team to East Timor to assess the situation. "We will be looking at objective achievements we made to determine how to withdraw, when to withdraw and what sort of follow-up mission will be established in East Timor."

Asked whether he envisages the possibility of rioting such as that which followed the independence referendum in 1999, Annan said, "Honestly, I have not received any reports that the dramatic events and the tragic events that you refer to are likely to be repeated." The United Nations is "working very hard" to train East Timorese police and security forces, "who will be able to sustain or maintain law and order and the efforts that we have made", he added. And even if the UN decides to withdraw its peacekeepers in May, Annan said, it is quite likely a "follow-up mission" will remain in East Timor to assist the government.

Guterres said Dili did not say how long UN advisers and peacekeepers should remain in the country. "We have left everything to the UN Secretariat and the Security Council to work out the technical details. The healing process takes time -- and the presence of the United Nations will help," he added.

In a letter to Annan last year, the Dili-based East Timor Institute for Reconstruction, Monitoring and Analysis warned that the UN has not yet finished the task it is mandated to perform. "East Timor is now politically independent, but dependencies caused by past and current international ineffectiveness still abound," the letter said. "If the international community intends to keep its promises, an international presence will be needed in East Timor after June 2004."

The letter added: "Many in the UN community think of East Timor as one of the organization's great success stories. But if that success is to be more than mere mythology, many adjustments and much work remains to be done."

At a press conference in Dili last month, Foreign Minister Jose Ramos Horta told reporters he was convinced the UN would continue its mandate in some form beyond May. "The United Nations has invested so much in East Timor that I am convinced they will maintain a visible and credible presence," he said, adding that the "conditions of security and peace [in East Timor] are still fragile".

The 15-member UN Security Council is expected to meet on February 20 to discuss the future of UNMISET.

Along with UNMISET, the U also created a joint UN-East Timorese special court to investigate and indict those accused of committing "serious crimes" after 1999. Since the court has very limited powers, more than two-thirds of those who have been indicted have not been prosecuted. As a result, there have been demands for an international criminal tribunal.

Miller said the UN Secretariat is probably agreeable on a short extension, as are most members of the Security Council, "although I imagine France, the United States and some others don't want something too big or expensive". "Everyone I've talked to sees something after May 20, but the exact shape is still being discussed," Miller said.

At the same time some groups are pushing for the creation of an international criminal tribunal to investigate the serious crimes and human-rights violations committed during Indonesia's occupation of East Timor. The East Timor National Alliance for an International Tribunal, a coalition of mostly local and international NGOs, said in a January 15 letter to the UN that the primary responsibility lies with the international community.

"We are, however, disillusioned by the half-hearted support for justice shown thus far, and offer some suggestions for post- UNMISET involvement by the United Nations, which can help end immunity for perpetrators of crimes against our people and against humanity between 1975 and 1999."

East Timor, the alliance said, is a new, small and impoverished nation with a flawed judicial system. "It would be unreasonable and unrealistic to expect our government alone to pursue justice. Yet justice must be pursued, holding accountable the masterminds and commanders of atrocities committed against our people during the [former Indonesian president] Suharto regime's brutal invasion and 24-year occupation of our country."

'Very probable' UN will maintain a security presence: Horta

Lusa - February 6, 2004

Dili -- The UN Security Council will "probably" opt for a continued civilian and security presence in East Timor following the end of its current UNMISET mission in May, Foreign Minister Josi Ramos Horta said Friday.

Ramos Horta also said Dili was "convinced" that neighboring Indonesia was committed to quelling any possible "instability" on the common border, though he acknowledged "some worries" about security along the divided island's frontier.

When the Security Council decides in March on its post-UNMISET engagement with East Timor, he said, it would "probably, very probably, support the continuation of a mission with three components: civil, military observers, and security, which could be either police or military".

Such a scenario would meet Dili's repeated pleas for a continued robust UN presence following the end of UNMISET's mandate on May 20, the second anniversary of the country's independence.

"I'm fully convinced and tranquil that the post-May scenario will not present great worries for the East Timorese people", Ramos Horta said, adding, however, that Dili wanted a "credible" UN persence for "deterrence and prevention".

Both Timorese and Indonesian authorities have recently expressed concern about armed outlaw bands operating in border areas.

Last month the commander of Indonesian forces in West Timor warned that one of those bands, Kolimau 2000, was seeking cross- border contacts with former anti-independence militias to provoke "chaos" after the scheduled departure of UN peacekeepers.

Some 28,000 East Timorese, including an estimated 3,000 former militias, remain in West Timor.

Ramos Horta's comments to journalists came on his return from the Indonesian island of Bali, where he participated in a regional ministerial conference on anti-terrorism measures.

In a related development, a Dili court sentenced a former pro- Jakarta militiaman Friday to seven years in prison for murdering an independence activist in 1999, days after East Timor's plebiscite to end a quarter-century of Indonesian occupation.

Timor dissident signals constitutional challenge

Radio Australia - February 2, 2004

A political dissident in East Timor says he is preparing to challenge the government when the United Nations mission to the country ends on May 20.

East Timorese police last week cracked down on the CPD-RDTL political group, which operates in an around the border town or Bobonaro. The organisation does not recognise the country's constitution and has advocated widespread reform.

The UN mission to East Timor -- known as UNMISET -- comes to an end in May, although UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has hinted the mandate may be extended.

CPD-RDTL leader, Cristiano Da Costa, has warned he intends to force constitutional change once UN peacekeepers have left the country.

"This is a political battle and we have to wait and see what is going to happen next, whether the government is going to be able to hold its position after the UNMISET withdrawal" he said.

"We have to wait and see before we come out with some plan, or action, which will force for a constitutional readjustment."

Security & boarder issues

Uneasy calm on island frontier

The Australian - February 23

Sian Powell -- The son of one of East Timor's most feared militia leaders stares deadpan as he says he is a man of peace. "We don't intend to remain opposed to our brothers there [in East Timor]," explains Arnaldo da Silva Tavares, whose father, Joao Tavares, ruled the East Timorese border region like a particularly manic king through most of 1999.

The young Tavares, a long-time member of Suharto's Golkar party, has decided to stand for office in Indonesia's coming regional elections. Flashing an enormous ring with a glittering diamond- like stone, he says he has inherited his father's mantle and is now a liurai, or hereditary clan ruler: yet he and his followers want to garner power in a democratic way.

"As citizens of Indonesia, we just want to follow the elections in a good way," he says. "Most of us have already forgotten East Timor." Only about 800 one-time militia members live in West Timor now, he says, and they are all men who want peace. The killing of a militia stalwart at the border last year shows the East Timorese "talk peace, but it's only in their mouths".

The man was shot dead by East Timorese police when he tried to cross the river into East Timor. He was armed with a bow and arrow, and an investigation in East Timor into his killing is continuing.

The half-island of West Timor has slowly come to terms with the influx of militias, the notoriously violent proxies of the Indonesian military. Five years ago, these gangs helped terrorise their homeland of East Timor, forcing 250,000 East Timorese to flee, laying waste to towns and killing as many as 1000 people.

Experts estimate there are still at least 100 militia leaders in West Timor. Yet tensions have eased considerably over the past year; not least because the militia kingpin, Joao Tavares, was moved out of the border regions last September.

A sleight-of-hand saw the Indonesian military (funded by the European Union) buy his Atambua house and get him to sign a two- year no-return guarantee. Tavares was behind the cross-border raids into East Timor early last year, asserting his power when his negotiations for an amnesty failed. Once able to marshall a force of hundreds of willing killers, he is now dandling grandchildren on his knee in a Yogyakarta suburb.

Yet his legacy remains. Agustina Hoar doesn't like the swaggering militia who dominate her new village, bossing everyone around. The 25-year-old East Timorese woman says Naimana resettlement village in West Timor has swarms of mosquitoes, a well that has gone to salt, and a problem with murderous thugs.

"Yes, they are here," the young mother-of-three says. "They order everything -- work, everything."

Still, like the other 28,000 East Timorese living over the border in Indonesia, she doesn't want to go home. "Life is better here," Hoar says, shrugging.

With her husband and young children, she now lives in a simple new shack, with split-timber walls and a corrugated iron roof. Her resettlement village of Naimana, near the East Timor border, is a small part of a big resettlement project run by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees bureau in Indonesia and funded by the EU.

Hoar is one of the few refugees willing to talk frankly about militias. "Don't know" and "no" are the usual answers to questions about their presence, accompanied by grimacing.

Carlino Santos, 24, is typical. Living in a resettlement house in Tubaki, in West Timor, Santos says he fled to Indonesia from his home in the East Timorese hill town of Ainaro because he rejected independence in the 1999 ballot. He says he and his family thought they would be killed by independence supporters.

Why did he choose autonomy? "Don't know". Was there any pressure on him from militias? "No. Don't know." Are there any militia members in West Timor now? In this very village? A great deal of grimacing follows these questions. "Don't know. No."

The potential for the much-feared and much-hated militia gangs to reform, rearm and start making cross-border raids into East Timor has raised questions in the highest circles.

The UN Security Council met last week to debate East Timor's future needs. The council will soon decide whether all peacekeepers should be pulled out of East Timor in May this year, as Australia wants, or whether a reduced number should stay on, as UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan recommends.

Australia still has about 400 peacekeepers in East Timor, mostly deployed along the border, close to the river. Belu district police commissioner Leonardus Wodo says the local government has already committed more security to the border on the West Timor side, in anticipation of a peacekeeper pullout.

He fears renewed violence in East Timor and says he intends to take every step possible to prevent another flood of refugees barrelling over the border. "I think we still don't have enough [police and troops] to guard the border," he says. "Maybe more should be added."

The West Timor militia issue grates sorely on the UNHCR staff working on the refugee resettlement project. In September 2000, rampaging militia gangs in Atambua, near the East Timor border, chopped three of their colleagues to death. Indonesian police stationed at the office vanished from the scene just before the militia arrived.

In the hours before he was killed, UNHCR officer Carlos Caceres- Collazo sent an email message to a friend in Macedonia. "We are waiting for this enemy. We sit here like bait."

Ever since those bloody murders, the UN has rated West Timor at its highest danger alert of phase five -- more dangerous than Baghdad, than Afghanistan, than Liberia. UN staff are not permitted to live in West Timor, and are allowed to visit only with permission from New York.

Indonesia's poorest province has writhed under savage reduction of aid, but negotiations to lift the alert have reached an impasse: neither Jakarta nor the UN is prepared to take the next step.

Yet nearly everyone agrees that much of the tension has dissipated over the past year, and the phase-five alert is verging on ridiculous. There has been no real violence for months. Many refugees have been rehoused.

As a physical symbol of changed times, the opulent house once owned by Joao Tavares, the site of massive militia meetings, has been transformed into a school. In some kind of parallel, Atambua's UNHCR office, site of the three militia murders, is now owned by Indonesia's notorious paramilitary police -- Brimob.

UNHCR regional representative Robert Ashe says that despite hiccups, the trend in the West Timor border regions is towards calm. The housing project has helped a lot. "I think overall, it's on the way to success, but I don't think you can call it successful yet," he says.

For instance, he says, a flood of East Timorese refugees swamped the Wemer Forest near Betun on the border, where they cut down swaths of trees, built themselves shacks, and planted fields of corn, much to the horror of local communities who regard the forest as sacred.

The refugees have since been moved to resettlement villages, but the corn continues to flourish: ready for the refugees' harvest -- a continuing irritation.

Having housed nearly 900 families, Ashe says the next stage is to consolidate -- ensure a clean water supply, schools, some kind of work projects.

"A lot of them are waiting to see what will happen when the UN finally pulls out of East Timor," he says. "They're waiting to see if [East Timor President] Xanana [Gusmao] will offer them an amnesty."

Some observers have questioned UNHCR's wisdom in housing so many once-violent refugees within handy reach of the border. The answer, Ashe says, is that they refused to move. They had smuggling interests, or they wanted to be close to family left in East Timor, or they just didn't want to be uprooted again.

The East Timorese newcomers lost their refugee status more than a year ago (having declined to return to East Timor). But as early as 2002, UNHCR staff could see trouble brewing and put the long- term housing projects in train. As well as militia members and their families, the exiles include former Indonesian government employees such as police officers who want to keep their pensions.

Between them, the Indonesian Government and the Indonesian office of the UNHCR have now rehoused about half the refugees. That leaves a further 15,000 who need a "durable solution", as UNHCR would put it.

Belu police chief Agus Nugroho says he is sure life is improving for most of the refugees. "There are still ex-militias," he says, "but we have hold of the leaders, and they will help us maintain security in West Timor."

[Additional reporting by Sandra Nahdar.]

UNPKF pessimistic over security in East Timor after May 20

Antara - February 18, 2004

Kupang -- The United Nations Peacekeeping Force (UNPKF) in East Timor aired its pessimism over the security conditions there following the withdrawal of the UN mission scheduled for May 20, an Indonesian Military officer said on Wednesday.

"UNPKF is pessimistic after assessing reports on security in East Timor," said Col. Moeswardi Moesanip of the Wirasakti Military Command. "There are also rumors being circulated that there are security problems along the border line," he added.

Moesanip was attending an intern command meeting (ICM) between the Indonesian Military (TNI) and UNPKF, in Denpasar, Bali.

Present at the meeting were Udayana Military Commander Maj. Gen. Supiadin AS, UNPKF chief Lt. Gen. Khairuddin Mat Yosuf, Brig. Gen. Bras Marcos of the United Nations Military Observers (UNMO) and East Timor Defense Force (FDTL) chief Brig. Gen. Taur Matan Ruak.

The Udayana Military Command oversees the provinces of Bali, East Nusa Tenggara and West Nusa Tenggara while the Wirasakti Regional Military Command is in charge of East Nusa Tenggara province, which share borders with East Timor.

However, Moesanip said, TNI and UNPKF had agreed not to act on any rumors as this would only add to problems on the border.

"TNI also expected UNPKF to be able to manage the situation in East Timor to prevent any turmoil after the withdrawal," he said. "We emphasized that any problem in East Timor would also burden Indonesia."

East Timorese refugees flocked to Indonesia soon after the civil war broke out following Portugal's exit in 1975, and during the riots following the UN-sanctioned referendum in 1999.

Illegal border crossing from East Timor hard to control

Antara - February 15, 2004

Atambua -- Illegal border crossing into Indonesia's East Nusa Tenggara province from East Timor is something hard to control, a local military official said.

"Illegal border crossing is something hard to prevent or control because many of the border-crossers take narrow paths and do so at night," chief of the Security Border Task Force, Col Djoko Setiono said here Friday.

According to Setiono, people cross the border for traditional reasons like visiting relatives , shopping and other purposes but they do it without carrying the required immigration documents.

He pointed out many border crossers were also frequently found not to bring visas with them when they were about to enter East Nusa Tenggara.

"As illegal border crossing still occurs, we are intensifying our control on border areas," he said.

Setiono said Indonesian military personnel deployed in border areas numbered 1,500 compared to the 316.7-km border line -- 172-km border line covering East Nusa Tenggara's district of Belu bordering on East Timor's districts of Bobonaro and Covalima, and 144.7-km line covering Timor Tengah Utara bordering on Oecusse district in the newly-born country.

"The number of Indonesian military personnel assigned in border areas is inadequate compared to the lenght of the border line," he said.

Border, security concerns fuel calls for UN to stay

Radio Australia - February 2, 2004

Radio Australia -- The United Nations has announced it may maintain a presence in East Timor beyond the end of its peacekeeping mandate on May 20. The announcement comes amid concerns that East Timor's troubled border with Indonesia still poses a major threat to future political stability.

Presenter/Interviewer: James Panichi

Speakers: Ingvar Anda, Caritas Australia; Gary Gray, chief of political affairs, UNMISET; Robert Ash, regional representative, UNHCR; Cristiano Da Costa, leader, CPD-RDTL- West Timor

Panichi: Last week, police moved to close down what it believed was a subversive political organisation in the town of Bobonaro, on East Timor's side of the border. The group in question -- known as CPD-RDTL -- is led by Australian educated Cristiano Da Costa.

He's unhappy with recruitment procedures which led to the formation of East Timor's armed forces. And now, he says his campaign to change the constitution will intensify if UNMISET -- the UN's peacekeeping and assistance mission -- wraps up its operations in May.

Da Costa: "This is a political battle and we have to wait and see what is going to happen next, whether the government is going to be able to hold its position after the UNMISET withdrawal.

"We have to wait and see before we come out with some plan, or action, which will force for a constitutional readjustment."

Panichi: Well, what type of action would you consider in this case?

Da Costa: "Well, we don't want to be seen as inciting violence in East Timor. But of course it is a political battle.

"We rule out any kind of violence. So we will try to press this government first to accept the CPD-RDTL as a legitimate organisation. And secondly, we will continue to push for a national dialogue."

Panichi: But in spite of reassurances that it won't use violence, the organisation's eagerness for the UN to leave the country appears to have unnerved East Timor's government, which ordered the operation against the group.

Gary Gray is UNMISET's chief of political affairs, in the capital Dili.

Gray: "The groups themselves tend to be a bit murky. We haven't seen any hard evidence that there is a highly organised threat out there from these groups.

"But, I think the government looks upon them as a kind of threat because they are outside the establishment.

"They are unofficial, they are not within any formal structures and have tended to collect together a number of people who have grievances abouit the current dispensation who may have felt they played an important role in the struggle in the past and maybe haven't achieved the awards that maybe they think they are due.

Panichi: The government argues members of both the CPD-RDTL -- and a more mysterious group called Kolimau 2000 -- are being supported by East Timorese living across the border in Indonesia.

There are about 28,000 of them still in camps, with up to 3,000 believed to be former members of pro-Indonesian militia.

None of them are classified as refugees, and they've been offered resettlement by the Indonesian government.

However, those who work along the border say there's no evidence to link West and East Timorese miltants.

Robert Ashe is the regional representative for the UN's High Commissioner for Refugees. He's just returned from a visit to a European-funded housing project in West Timor.

Ashe: "The people now are really looking forward to trying to establish new lives as Indonesian citizens within East Timor. They are looking more to try to find employment or land to farm so that they can take care of their families.

"We found no evidence to suggest any of them are thinking of mounting cross-border activities to destabilise the [East Timorese] government."

Panichi: Although, while the anti-government groups may simply be a domestic problem for East Timor, those living in remote areas close to the border still say they don't want UN peacekeepers to leave.

Communities in Oecussi -- an East Timorese enclave surrounded by Indonesian territory say former militia members are still too close for comfort.

Ingvar Anda works with aid agency Caritas Australia in remote parts of the Oecussi border region.

Anda: "The former militia leaders were recognised by my staff. The most active leadership -- people like Marco Suares, who was responsible for the worst massacre in Oecussi -- he's still operating on the other side, working for the local government. He's got a job... "

Panichi: Could that be a disruptive presence for the people of East Timor?

Anda: "Well, potentially. Because these people have committed serious crimes against humanity and there's been no attempt to bring them to justice.

"So, if at some times in the future there were better relations and a better attempt to bring these people to justice, these people would stand at risk. So it's in their interest to maintain a relatively unfriendly attitude."

West Timor/refugees

Locals, ex East Timorese abandon resettlement areas

Antara - February 19, 2004

Atambua, E Nusatenggara -- At least 319 resettlement units in Belu distrit set up in Indonesia's East Nusatenggara province between 2000 and 2002 for local people and former East Timor refugees have been abandoned, an Indonesian official said here Thursday.

More than 300 houses have been neglected by local people and former East Timorese refugees without any clear reason, Belu district deputy head Gregorius Mau Bili said in a meeting with local leaders.

"We will take certain measure to save the abandoned resettelement units," he said.

Many local residents who have a home in Belu have applied as a resipient of the resettlement unit but they do not want to move to the resettlement area, he said.

He alsosaid many former East Timorese refugees who have received keys of the new resettlement have chosen to stay in emergency camps.

The refugees only come to the resettlement areas if the Indonesian government distributes humanitarian assistance, he said.

Gregorius expressed regret with the local residents and the former East Timorese refugees unreadiness to hand over the keys to other people who want to stay in the resettlement area.

Data from the Belu district office showed the provincial administration set up 200 resettlement houses in Lakekun village, 250 in Bakustulama village, 250 in Leosama village, 450 in Umakalaran village, and 100 each in Aitoun and Asumanu villages between 2000 and 2002.

Timor Gap

Timor calls on Australia to stop exploiting disputed oil field

World Socialist Web Site - February 13, 2004

John Roberts -- Long-running disagreements between Australia and East Timor over their maritime border and therefore control of Timor Sea oil and gas erupted again late last year, focusing on revenues from the Laminaria-Corallina fields. East Timor's Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri and Foreign Minister Jose Ramos Horta both accused Canberra of taking royalties that rightly belonged to Dili.

After talks between the two countries over the border last November, Alkatiri declared that Canberra was violating international law by unilaterally exploiting oil fields in a disputed maritime area. The prime minister claimed that Australia had gained $US1.2 billion in royalties while East Timor had received nothing. He called for a halt in production in the fields until the maritime boundary had been settled and indicated that East Timor may seek repayment of the royalties.

The Laminaria-Corallina oil fields are operated by the Woodside, BHP Billiton and Shell corporations and began production in November 1999. Until recently, Laminaria-Corallina was Australia's largest oil field. At startup, output averaged 142,500 barrels a day, peaking at up to 180,000 barrels a day, before declining to just 50,000 barrels a day. Logistical support for the operation is based in Darwin in northern Australia.

Laminaria-Corallina was just one of several lucrative oil and gas fields that came under effective Australian control as a result of the Timor Gap Treaty signed with the Suharto dictatorship in Indonesia in 1989. Under the terms of the treaty, Jakarta allocated Canberra much of the seabed wealth in return for formal recognition of Indonesia's military takeover of East Timor in 1975.

East Timor's leaders, however, refuse to recognise the 1989 treaty and insist instead that the border should be based on the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). For the tiny, impoverished state, which was granted formal independence in May 2002, oil and gas royalties offer one of the few possible sources of revenue and jobs. Well aware that East Timor desperately requires the income, the Howard government in Canberra has used delaying tactics to bully it into unfavourable agreements.

An initial treaty concerning the Bayu-Undan gas field was agreed at the time of East Timor's independence. Amid considerable publicity, the Howard government announced that it would cede 90 percent of the revenue to East Timor. The terms of the deal, however, maintained the joint development zone established by Indonesia and Australia and held out the prospect that Australia would retain control of the more lucrative Greater Sunrise field. Canberra deliberately delayed ratifying the agreement-a move that threatened the development of the Bayu-Undan field-to force East Timor to accept Australian demands for 80 percent of the Greater Sunrise field.

The fact that tensions have reemerged over the Laminaria- Corallina field is a measure of Dili's desperation to resolve the border dispute and ensure the flow of oil and gas revenues. If Dili were to receive part of the royalties from Laminaria- Corallina, it would provide immediate financial relief. Income from the Bayu-Undan development will not materialise until 2006 when gas deliveries to Japanese customers are due to begin.

East Timorese leaders are urging Canberra to speed up the negotiations over a final boundary settlement, hoping to secure a larger share of the seabed resources. For its part, the Howard government has arrogantly dismissed calls for a halt in Laminaria-Corallina production and is dragging out talks over the boundary, knowing full well that time will allow Australia to exploit existing fields.

East Timor's Foreign Minister Horta attempted to speed up negotiations during a visit to Canberra last December. He told the media that if the "middle-line approach" specified by UNCLOS were adopted, East Timor would control the entire Greater Sunrise field, potentially worth billions of dollars in royalties, as well as Laminaria-Corallina.

Horta explained that East Timor had been pressing for monthly meetings and a time limit of three to five years to resolve the border dispute. But Australia had rejected the proposal, agreeing only to meet twice a year-a recipe for dragging negotiations out indefinitely. The next round is not due until April. The Howard government has unilaterally ruled out any arbitration through the International Court of Justice or the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea.

Following talks last year, Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer made clear that Canberra was in no hurry to settle the boundary issue. "Although negotiations on a permanent maritime (boundary) may take some time, legal arrangements are already in place to ensure that benefits from the development of Timor Sea petroleum resources will flow to both countries," he said.

Limited independence

Australia's ongoing bullying of East Timor highlights once again that its military intervention into the half island in 1999 under the auspices of the UN had nothing to do with concern for the plight of the East Timorese. Rather throughout all the twists and turns of Australian policy toward East Timor-beginning with Canberra's tacit green light for the Indonesian invasion in 1975-a major goal has been to secure control of the Timor Sea oil and gas.

The ruling elite in Dili-having welcomed the Australian-led intervention as a means of gaining power-is in no position to strenuously resist. The so-called independent state of just 800,000 people is entirely dependent on the major powers, economically and militarily.

At the same time, the East Timor government is in desperate need of funds. The government budget was only $77 million for 2002. Its total revenue, excluding foreign aid, is about $75 million and the 2003-2004 budget will be $60 million in deficit. While Dili wants access to oil and gas revenues, it wants to avoid alienating Canberra, which currently provides $40 million annually to assist in policing and security.

The UN mandate for East Timor is due to expire on May 20 next year. Dili has already appealed to Canberra to maintain police and troops in the country, both to deal with any external threat and as a guarantee against internal opposition. High levels of poverty and unemployment have generated sharp social tensions and protests by workers, farmers and young people. Officially, 40 percent of the population lives below the poverty line of 50 cents per day.

In its contemptuous dismissal of East Timor's latest criticisms over the border dispute, the Howard government is well aware that the tiny nation is heavily reliant on Australian assistance. There is little doubt that in the discussions over the form and size of a continued Australian military and police presence, the issue of oil and gas will also be on the agenda.

Start of gasfield production welcomed

Agence France Presse - February 13, 2004

Dili -- Production has begun at an offshore gasfield which is expected to earn impoverished East Timor more than $US100 million a year, a government statement said.

The Timor Sea Office said operator ConocoPhillips confirmed a regular flow of "wet gas" from the wells of the Bayu-Undan field in the Timor Sea.

"The start of production is an historic milestone in Timor- Leste's [East Timor's] struggle for economic independence," Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri was quoted as saying.

"The Bayu-Undan project is expected to provide a significant source of revenue to our economy over the next 20 years, averaging more than $US100 million ($A127.11 million) a year."

East Timor was Asia's poorest nation when it became independent in May 2002.

The Bayu-Undan joint venture has invested $US1.8 billion ($A2.29 billion) in the first phase of production.

A treaty between neighbouring Australia and the new nation created the Joint Petroleum Development Area in part of the Timor Sea, within which Bayu-Undan is located.

East Timor earns 90 per cent of the tax and royalty revenues from companies working in the area.

The statement said Bayu-Undan contains estimated recoverable reserves of 400 million barrels of condensate (light oil) and liquefied petroleum gas, and 102 billion cubic metres of natural gas.

It is about 250km south of East Timor and 500km northwest of Darwin.

Platforms will process "wet gas" in the first development phase. Condensate, together with propane and butane, will be separated and shipped while dry gas will be reinjected into the reservoir.

The dry gas will be recovered and piped to Darwin during the second phase expected to begin in early 2006.

The statement said ConocoPhillips and its partners have signed contracts for the sale of nearly all the natural gas reserves with Tokyo Gas and Tokyo Electric.

Australia and East Timor are still in dispute about exploiting a larger gasfield called Greater Sunrise. Dili wants speedier negotiations on the maritime border between the two countries, the key to who receives the bulk of the future revenue.

One more time, Australia!

Timor Post Editorial - February 12, 2004

Australia -- East Timor's neighboring nation, which East Timor has known since the Second World War, the Australian political position during the Indonesian invasion is still in East Timor's memory, finally Australia's most recent clear position in leading InterFET to quickly enter East Timor, in order to have a successful international force in East Timor. The East Timorese remember this history, it is hard to forget, although these memories have no value when the Australian government continues to refuse to recognize and consider Timorese rights to discuss and know our maritime boundary according to international law.

Gilberto Ximenes, SE, lecturer in the Economic Faculty of the National University of Timor Leste says Australia is really using its own "force" to "teach" us according to their wishes because their position is very likely to prevail. From another part, Deputy Manuel Tilman of KOTA party said that he doesn't believe that the Sunrise project would be based in East Timor. As a large, rich nation with a good political culture, it's better for the Australian government not to use such maneuvers against a small, poor nation like East Timor, very clearly "seizing" what belongs to the people of this poor land -- the Bayu-Undan project that has been going on since the Timor Gap Treaty between Australia and Indonesia in 1986 -- treaty that is no longer valid because East Timor is already independent.

As a very advanced country, Australia must show their dignity as a big nation -- facing a small and poor country like East Timor. It is necessary to clarify that what the Australian government has done in relation to the Timor Sea has not won the sympathy of the people -- particularly their moral responsibility as a rich neighboring country. It is now time for the Australian government to raise the maritime boundary case, to resolve it according to international law, as a neighbor Australia must have known what they should have done for East Timor after the latest evolution of their history. We hope!

Government & politics

East Timorese bishop reveals presidential ambitions

Radio Australia - February 23, 2004

East Timor's Roman Catholic Bishop Carlos Belo says he will consider running for president in three years time.

Bishop Belo, who shared the Nobel Peace Prize in 1996 with Jose Ramos Horta for their opposition to Indonesian rule in East Timor, says his decison would depend on President Xanana Gusmao choosing not to seek re-election.

The bishop also told Portuguese state broadcaster RDP he would consider whether he had sufficient popular support to mount a successful campaign for office.

However, he says if the Vatican felt he should not run he would not become a candidate. Bishop Belo stood down as Bishop of Dili in Novemebr 2002, citing health reasons.

A poll carried out last year in East Timor found that more than 80 per cent of the population would like to see Bishop Belo run for president.

Gusmao in Japan

President Gusmao is visiting Japan where he urged the government to continue help rebuilding the world's youngest nation, following more than two decades of fighting for independence from Indonesia.

Arriving in Tokyo on a four-day visit, President Gusmao said Japan had built schools, hospitals and job-training facilities. In 1999, Japan pledged $US130 million in aid with an additional $60 million on offer from 2002 to 2005.

Apart from the monetary contribution, the East Timor leader said Tokyo had sent up to 600 ground troops to East Timor since 1999 as part of a United Nations mission to build bridges and roads.

Last week, United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan presented a report to the UN Security Council to extend the global body's support mission for one more year.

Human rights trials

Judge gives Wiranto breathing space

Melboune Age - February 19, 2004

Dili -- Indonesian presidential candidate General Wiranto has won a political reprieve in East Timor after a UN judge denied a prosecutor's demand for a public hearing over a requested arrest warrant.

Lawyers from the UN-backed Serious Crimes Unit have accused international judges of stalling on their February 2003 request to charge the general with crimes against humanity allegedly committed in 1999. Their case was supported by 1300 pages of evidence.

A fortnight ago, SCU head Nicholas Koumjian formally requested a public hearing of the supporting evidence and invited General Wiranto to participate.

American judge Phillip Rapoza ruled yesterday that there was no precedent for a public hearing on whether an arrest warrant should be issued.

He said the panel of judges would continue its review of the evidence, which could lead to an eventual trial.

General Wiranto to testify at public hearing

Radio Australia - February 9, 2004

Indonesia's former military chief, General Wiranto, has agreed to testify to a public hearing of war crimes charges against him, relating to post-independence violence in East Timor in 1999. The presidential candidate is among a group of people indicted by the Special Panel for Serious Crimes in February last year.

Presenter/Interviewer: Linda LoPresti

Speakers: Longuinhos Monteiro, East Timor's chief prosecutor

Monteiro: General Wiranto is willing to give his testimony through the visual link and also it is a good opportunity for him to defend himself, to give his answer on our demands. The next arrangement is will be for me, my office and those from Indonesia who will provide the link for video conference, etc.

Lopresti: And who made the proposal of the video link? Was it General Wiranto's lawyers?

Monteiro: There are two possibilities regarding our criminal procedures in attending the hearing. First is the direct hearing, which means that he could come to Dili and attend straight away in the court. And the second is that our criminal procedures allow for video link or teleconference which can also be used for this. So they choose the teleconference.

Lopresti: And is that because they had concerns of General Wiranto going to Dili?

Monteiro: No they chose to use the teleconference, they prefer to use that facility.

Lopresti: Could you clarify for us, is this a trial of the war crimes charges against General Wiranto?

Monteiro: No it a crimes against humanity on command responsibilities.

Lopresti: So is it going to determine whether there are reasonable grounds for an arrest warrant?

Monteiro: Exactly, exactly. It's the objective of the hearing.

Lopresti: Given that it's been a year since the indictments and there's been no progress, why go through this extra procedure?

Monteiro: Because it seems to me that we have waited for a long time, in a few days it'll be one year exactly and still there has been no answer from the court. So at least we make this motion again to the court to answer us and to agree with our proposal for a hearing.

Lopresti: And you're confident this hearing will go ahead?

Monteiro: I hope for the sake of justice that it shall be done.

Lopresti: Have the judges in Dili agreed to the hearing?

Monteiro: Not yet, I have not contacted them yet but we'll try to make all the arrangements and all the approaches on this issue, and I have to explain to them that the suspect is willing to attend so maybe the judges might put it under consideration for justice.

Lopresti: What kind of timeframe are you looking at? When do you think General Wiranto will give evidence by video link?

Monteiro: If the judges determine a date then I'll make sure that two weeks from the date it probably can be done this teleconference. I presume it can be done in maybe one and a half months from now.

Lopresti: And can you put into some sort of perspective how important it is to have these matters aired in public and on the record?

Monteiro: I think this is a very good opportunity for everybody so we make it open, so no one can get suspicious or can politicise this matter. For the prosecutor it is also good because it means we can make our argument through the link, and also this is a good opportunity for the suspect to also defend himself and to answer all of the demands put on his shoulders.

Wiranto to testify in war crimes hearing

Sydney Morning Herald - February 6, 2004

Indonesian presidential candidate General Wiranto has agreed to testify to a public hearing of war crimes charges against him, East Timor's chief prosecutor said.

Longuinhos Monteiro said that he met the former military chief's lawyers in Bali on Saturday. "They told me the suspect is available and will testify by video link." The retired general is facing charges of crimes against humanity, including murder and persecution, for his role in Indonesia's scorched earth withdrawal from East Timor in 1999. Towns were burnt, more than 1000 independence supporters died, and 250,000 people were deported to West Timor under his command, after East Timorese voted to reject Jakarta's rule.

Nicholas Koumjian, head of the UN-funded Serious Crimes Unit, stressed the hearing would not be a trial, and invited General Wiranto to testify, using a video link if he feared arrest on arrival in Dili.

Human rights/law

Former militia commander sentenced to 7 years in jail

Associated Press - February 17, 2004

Dili -- A former militia commander was sentenced to seven years in jail Tuesday for killing a pro-independence leader during East Timor's bloody break from Indonesia in 1999.

Lino de Carvalho, of the pro-Indonesian Saka Loromonu militia, plead guilty to his role in the kidnapping and fatal stabbing of Sabino Pereira on September 6, 1999, a week after Timorese voters approved a UN-sponsored independence referendum.

Lawyers for the 40-year-old Carvalho said they would appeal the verdict, though the former militiaman told reporters that he would accept it.

During the trial, Carvalho apologized for the killing and relatives of Pereira said they forgave him during a village reconciliation ceremony.

Carvalho is the 48th suspect convicted by the UN-funded court since it was set up in 2001 to try Indonesian soldiers and their proxy militias responsible for the violence that left 1,500 dead and the half-island in ruins.

Of the 369 charged in East Timor, 280 remain free in Indonesia and the government there has refused repeated request to extradite them to face trial. They include 32 senior commanders and the country's former military chief Gen. Wiranto.

Indonesian efforts to try those responsible for the Timor violence have been dismissed a sham. It convicted just six of 18 accused Indonesian military and government officials. All six remain free pending appeal.

Timor court jails former militiaman for murder

Agence France Presse - February 6, 2004

An East Timor court has jailed a former pro-Jakarta militiaman for seven years for murdering an independence supporter during the territory's bloody breakaway from Indonesia in 1999.

Joanico Gusmao, a former member of the Laksaur militia, had admitted the murder in Suai in September of that year, according to a statement from prosecutors in the Serious Crimes Unit. It said judges took his guilty plea into account in fixing the sentence.

The Special Panels for Serious Crimes, which hears cases linked to the bloodshed, has since 2001 convicted 47 people. They include East Timorese who formerly served with the Indonesian army, militia members and an East Timorese pro-independence guerrilla.

Indonesian army troops and their local militia proxies waged a savage but futile intimidation campaign before East Timorese voted overwhelmingly in August 1999 to split from Indonesia, and a revenge campaign afterwards.

An estimated 1,000 people were killed before and after the ballot and whole towns were burnt to the ground.

United Nations-funded prosecutors have indicted 369 people including former Indonesian armed forces chief and presidental aspirant General Wiranto. But 281 of them are in Indonesia, which refuses to hand anyone over for trial.

Indonesia

Soldiers to be deployed to Batek Island

Antara - February 16, 2004

Mataram -- The Indonesian military will deploy soldiers to Batek Island in neighboring East Nusa Tenggara province, which borders East Timor, a senior officer said on Monday.

"So far we have not stationed any soldiers on the island because there have been no serious threats," Udayana Military Commander, Maj. Gen. Supiadin AS, said.

The Denpasar-based military command oversees Bali, East Nusa Tenggara and West Nusa Tenggara provinces.

There have been concerns that East Timor would plunge into chaos following the withdrawal of the United Nations mission there scheduled for May 20, leading to refugees flowing into East Nusa Tenggara province which shares a land border with the former Portuguese colony.

East Timorese refugees flocked to Indonesia soon after civil war broke out in East Timor following Portugal's exit.

Supiadin, however, admitted that military presence was important on islands bordering neighboring countries.

Currently there is a lighthouse on Batek Island sporting the red-and-white Indonesian flag.

"We also suspect that there are black market activities on the island related to East Timor," said Supiadin on the necessity of deploying troops to Batek Island.

News & issues

Tourism in Timor?

Travel + Leisure - March 2004

Less than two years after winning independence, war-ravaged East Timor is hoping to lure travelers to its coral reefs and colonial towns. Christopher R. Cox reports on the country's prospects for success

by Christopher R. Cox

Jesus is hard to miss. Nearly 100 feet tall, he beckons from atop an enormous metal globe on a promontory overlooking Dili, the capital of East Timor. It's said that Cristo Rei is the second- tallest such statue in the world, exceeded only by Rio de Janeiro's Cristo Redentor. Some note that the figure, erected by Indonesia during its bloody occupation here, doesn't face this devoutly Roman Catholic country. With embracing arms, Jesus instead looks west-toward Jakarta.

The orientation is fitting: for centuries, it seemed that even God had turned his back on East Timor. But on May 20, 2002, after decades of struggle for independence, the tiny country became the world's newest nation.

For several years, East Timor (now officially called Timor-Leste) has profited from a massive, multi-billion-dollar rebuilding effort led by the United Nations.

By the time the organization's mandate expires this May, though, most staffers will have departed, leaving the country to grapple with a tremendous loss of income. As in other battle-scarred places (such as Afghanistan), East Timor has proclaimed tourism a linchpin of its development strategy. That notion plays well in press releases, but can a remote, impoverished place best known for bloody conflict hope to attract even the most adventurous tourists?

The fact that East Timor is secure enough to contemplate a tourism industry indicates how far the Connecticut-sized country has come. Portugal established a foothold here in the mid 16th century, but during the 400-plus years of its rule barely gave the colony a thought. Naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace, who passed through Dili in 1861, noted that "nobody seems to care the least about the improvement of the country ... There has not been a mile of road made beyond the town."

Things hadn't progressed much by 1975-the colony then had a grand total of eight miles of paved road-when newly socialist Portugal finally divested itself of its colonies. In East Timor, civil war erupted. The pro-independence Fretilin party triumphed, leading Indonesian president Suharto to worry that other secessionist movements in the sprawling nation might be emboldened. Just 48 hours after a December 1975 state visit to Jakarta by President Gerald Ford, Indonesian paratroops seized Dili. Fretilin fighters took to the mountains and began waging a guerrilla war. The decades-long struggle would ultimately claim more than 100,000 lives-a devastating total in a nation of fewer than 1 million.

In 1999, weary of international criticism and the expense of occupation, Jakarta allowed a referendum on self-determination; about 78 percent of the Timorese voted for independence. The Indonesian army and its local militias retaliated by slaughtering civilians, scuttling ships, and destroying three-quarters of the country's buildings. "I felt like an ambulance driver arriving at the site of a car crash and finding a dismembered body in a state of clinical death," said the late Sergio Vieira de Mello, the UN troubleshooter sent to oversee the country's resuscitation.

Five years on, the UN considers East Timor a success story. There is an elected government, led by the charismatic guerrilla poet- turned-president Josi Alexander "Xanana" Gusmco, who keeps his Dili office in a half-ruined building dubbed Palacio das Cinzas (Palace of the Ashes). Offshore oil and natural-gas fields are being developed; they are projected to generate $3 billion over a 20-year period, beginning in 2005. And although soldiers still patrol the capital's somnolent streets, and power blackouts remain a daily vexation, Dili echoes with the sound of jackhammers and smells of fresh cement.

Beyond the capital lies a harshly beautiful land. Sere mountains rise dramatically from the water's edge. Monsoon forest drapes the island's south side. Driving eastward from Dili with Rui Gongalves, who runs Timor Mega Tours, the only tour operator in the country, we passed empty beaches and fallow rice-paddy terraces before arriving at the town of Baucau, where lovely colonial buildings were spared from destruction in 1999. Another scenic route took us inland, snaking up slopes swathed in coffee plantations, to Maubisse, a hill station with panoramic views of 9,721-foot Mount Tatamailau, the country's highest peak.

Not surprisingly, the ghosts of East Timor's tragic past were everywhere we went: the mangroves near Metinaro, where students had been massacred; the gutted villas of Alieu, a mountain town nearly leveled during the occupation; the pastel-pink Pousada Baucau, which once served as a torture center. Communicating with the Timorese proved difficult-most speak only Tetum, a Portuguese-Malay argot-but I was struck by their affability and optimism. It reminded me of my travels in rural Cambodia, where everyone seemed to have a personal story encompassing both hope and horror.

One of Timor's greatest assets is offshore: warm, clear seas with pristine coral reefs. In a single one-hour dive, it's possible to see a multitude of tropical fish, as well as manta rays, sea turtles, sharks, and dugongs. Best of all, no charter is required: the shore diving is superb.

One morning I met up with Australian Mark Mialszygrosz, who runs Dive Timor Lorosae. Engine problems scuttled our planned run to Atauro Island, so we dropped anchor 10 minutes from Dili off Cristo Rei Beach. Except for a few fishermen, the place was deserted. After our snorkel, we motored back around the point, passing Cristo Rei. "One day he'll fall into the sea," said Mialszygrosz, smiling at the thought. "It'll be a hell of a dive site."

Although East Timor's natural and historical assets are compelling, to attract more-and more mainstream-visitors the country will have to improve its infrastructure. Dili is less than two hours by air from two popular vacation destinations, Australia and Bali, but air links are still limited and expensive. There's one daily flight, on Merpati, from Bali (about $260 round-trip) and a pair of Air North puddle jumpers that fly from Darwin, Australia (about $600). A new joint venture, Air Loro Sae, also plans to begin the Darwin-to-Dili hop this year.

Accommodations likewise present a challenge; the country has only 550 guest rooms, including converted shipping containers and a small ocean liner originally brought in to house UN staff. The UN's presence meant good times for hoteliers, with the coffin- like container spaces running $100 per night. Prices have slid, but for the rates I paid-$35 anight at Dili's Hotel Turismo and $55 a night at the Pousada Baucau-I expected at least reliable electricity, hot water on tap, and a working telephone, none of which I got. The government has encouraged small guesthouse projects, but any large-scale developments are on hold until the country enacts foreign-investment and land-title legislation.

Josi Teixeira, the country's secretary of state for tourism, environment, and investment, is forthright about the situation. "Timor is very much a raw product and it will interest some people, not everybody," he told me while we sipped beers in the Hotel Turismo's garden-like courtyard. "This is a developing country, but there are a lot of positives at this stage of development. We have a more stable government than many countries that became independent twenty years ago."

Last October, the country had its coming-out party, tourism-wise, at the Pacific Asia Travel Association Travel Mart in Singapore, where representatives met with a steady stream of curious travel companies. The meeting's opening address was delivered by Xanana (everyone calls him by a single diminutive, like a soccer star): "We are developing our tourism industry from ground zero," he allowed. "The challenge we face is by no means small."

East Timor welcomed 4,000 foreign visitors in 2002; most had some connection to relief organizations. Within five years, Teixeira hopes to more than double that figure, to 10,000 a year, a sizable increase but still a fairly modest number. "We don't want to be another Bali," he notes. "We don't believe that's sustainable for a place like Timor." Most experts agree that keeping things small and focused is the country's best strategy. "There are enough destinations in the Pacific-Asia region that Timor probably would be best off as a niche market," says PATA vice president Peter A. Semone, ticking off diving, ecotourism, and cultural and historical tours as promising areas.

Sure enough, people with those interests-who tend to be both motivated and affluent-are already starting to make the trip. "Divers are always looking for the newest, most remote, untouched destination," Mialszygrosz explained. "We saw the possibility that people would spend a little extra money to come and not be too upset about the accommodations, as long as they could go on a great dive and have a cold beer."

Melbourne-based Intrepid Travel began bringing in small groups, primarily Australian, last May, and has a half-dozen 15-day rambles planned for this year. "Most of our travelers are quite deeply interested in the history," says Jane Crouch, the firm's responsible-travel coordinator. "They're not just coming for a holiday. There is an incredible variety of landscape and scenery and things to do."

East Timor is also working to develop new tourism products. The east end beyond Los Palos, where water-buffalo skulls decorate chieftains' graves and birdlife abounds, has been proposed as the country's first national park. On the Dili waterfront, a 1627 Portuguese garrison has been restored and will soon open as a cultural museum. But in a nation where many people live on less than $2 a day, it can be difficult to justify such initiatives. "Where do you place all of this stuff in the midst of trying to get all the kids to school and trying to eradicate tuberculosis and polio?" Teixeira asks rhetorically.

Still, the swift progress in East Timor is heartening. Photojournalist Daniel J. Groshong, who covered the conflict and has returned to record the country's natural wonders, knows his way around war-torn nations and believes Timor stacks up favorably. "It's doing very well," he says. "I was in Somalia-not doing well. Kashmir-a lot of potential, but there are security problems. If Timor can hold it together when the UN leaves, it's going to come out of this looking pretty good."

Standing outside the Hotel Timor after an excellent lunch of pan-fried barramundi, I had my own vision of the young nation's new measure of normalcy, when an old van with a layered, tiramisu-toned paint job trundled to a halt a few feet away. It was Mr. Yummy, East Timor's version of the Good Humor ice cream man, hawking double-chocolate-dipped cones for $1.25. Yes, I thought, this place has a real chance.

[Christopher R. Cox, a feature reporter for the Boston Herald, last wrote for Travel + Leisure about the island of Molokai.]

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Cloud over army role in East Timor

Sydney Morning Herald - February 20, 2004

The rumours started four years ago. SAS troops in conflict with an Indonesian-backed militia group near Suai on October 6, 1999 had overstepped the rules of battle. They had tortured East Timorese militiamen, the rumours said. They had kicked corpses. They had taken photographs of bodies as trophies. One militiaman had been executed. Eleven months later, the Australian Defence Force opened an investigation into 19 allegations of misconduct, without saying what they were.

Last April the chief of the army, Lieutenant-General Peter Leahy, said the investigation was complete. There had been no execution. Thirteen of the allegations were unsubstantiated. Four were substantiated and required improvements in management. One serviceman was disciplined over workplace and gender harassment, apparently during the investigation. Another was charged with mistreating a corpse. Lieutenant-General Leahy declined to release the report.

Disquiet persisted. Investigators complained that they received no co-operation from the SAS. Under pressure the army released details of the allegations that an Australian soldier's suicide was related to events in Suai; that a militiaman's arm was "unnecessarily amputated"; that prisoners were forced to look at dead colleagues. The serviceman's trial over the corpse-kicking charges was delayed, then abandoned, as witnesses backed away from their statements. In October the army announced that an internal review by the serviceman's commander had cleared him. This week, Lieutenant-General Leahy apologised to the serviceman for the length of the investigation and the procedures followed during it.

So here we are. Allegations serious enough to warrant a 3 1/2- year investigation were made, but the full report of the investigation was never released. The only charge brought was dismissed as witnesses wilted and sought levels of anonymity the court would not grant. None of the allegations was ever tested in court. The review said to clear the serviceman was conducted in secret. There is not the slightest hint of openness or transparency in any of this.

Last April, Lieutenant-General Leahy said: "The Australian army occupies a place of pride, trust and respect within the Australian community. We treasure this relationship, and once these allegations were made, there was no alternative than to conduct a thorough, rigorous and comprehensive review." He was half-right. To maintain that relationship, the army has no alternative but to ensure that serious allegations such as these are investigated openly, and the results are open to public scrutiny. Until that happens, doubts will persist.

Army admits mistakes in SAS investigation

Australian Associated Press - February 17, 2004

The Army today admitted it made mistakes in investigating the case of a senior Special Air Service (SAS) soldier accused of kicking the corpses of two militiamen shot dead in East Timor in 1999. An apology had been made to the unnamed soldier.

Army chief Lieutenant General Peter Leahy said the unnamed soldier had complained to the defence inspector-general and a senior lawyer had been appointed to review the case.

"I acknowledge there were errors in the process and I have provided an unreserved apology to the soldier involved," he said in a statement.

The soldier was charged following a protracted defence investigation into allegations of misconduct by SAS troops during operations in East Timor in October 1999.

That related to a militia ambush on an Australian vehicle convoy near the town of Suai in which two SAS soldiers were wounded and two militia shot dead and others captured.

The investigation focused on whether a militia member was killed in an execution-style shooting, whether there was abuse of the corpses of two militia who died and whether militia were beaten or mistreated during interrogation by SAS members.

General Leahy said these were serious allegations that needed to be pursued vigorously. He said the SAS soldier was found not guilty on all charges.

"I acknowledge there were organisational failures such as the length of the investigation," he said. "I also acknowledge problems with the quality of statements taken from witnesses and with Army press releases."

General Leahy said the inquiry upheld the SAS soldier's complaints, concluding that the military police investigation was deficient in a number of respects and had taken too long.

"The administrative action taken against the soldier, of which he was also found not guilty, while possible under current policy, in this case, on reflection would have been best not taken," he said.

"Throughout the lengthy investigation the soldier in question continued to perform his duty in the service of the nation despite the additional stress and scrutiny placed on him and his family.

"I thank him for his professionalism and his family for their patience and understanding during an enormously difficult and stressful time."

General Leahy said he appreciated the constructive and open manner in which the soldier was now working with Army authorities to ensure that deficiencies in Army procedures were rectified.

He said the soldier was unable to be deployed to Iraq earlier this year as he was required to be available to assist the investigation and during the subsequent prosecution.

"I am pleased that he is now able to deploy," he said. "The newly established office of Inspector General ADF has demonstrated that as a means of review and audit of the military justice system independent of the ordinary chain of command it is effective and can help to correct errors."

Business & investment

Healthy dark magic

Melbourne Age - February 3, 2004

Melbourne coffee roaster Wells Trenfield is the second-last person in a global coffee chain. Before him are the brokers, importers, exporters, processors and, at the head of the chain, the growers. After everyone has taken their cut, growers may receive about 16 cents a kilogram for their freshly harvested coffee cherries. In Australia the final product, roasted coffee beans, sells for about $25-$30 a kilogram.

Trenfield, director of Jasper Coffee, has felt irked by this disproportionate deal for some time and thinks it's time to even things up. "What I want to do is to make people aware that good coffee comes from people's endeavours in third world countries," he says. "Many coffee drinkers have little idea where or how their coffee is grown. There are some people who believe that coffee just appears in the cup. There's even an erroneous notion that coffee comes from Italy! Real coffee is about real people."

To help bring about this change, Trenfield's company recently completed a nine-month accreditation process that qualifies him as one of five roasters in Australia permitted to sell Fairtrade coffee. Fairtrade is a global, non-profit brand that has already met with success in Europe, Canada and the US.

A Fairtrade logo on a packet means the third-world growers are paid above-market prices for tea, coffee, cocoa, sugar, fruit and other primary products. This extra cash allows them not only to cover the cost of production, but to invest in their crops and homes and their children's education. Fairtrade is seen by many as the benevolent side of globalisation.

One of the Fairtrade coffees on Trenfield's shelves is East Timor Maubese Certified Organic. The first thing you notice about the East Timorese coffee is the taste: heavy, rich, long, with refined aromatics and a clean finish. The second thing is the price -- $38 a kilogram, a third more than most coffees.

It is at this point that the idea of a Fairtrade purchase comes under question. Is the consumer just paying for coffee, or are they involving themselves in charity -- a consumer-era alms to the poor, as it were?

For nearly 20,000 East Timorese farmers and their families, the extra paid for their coffee in Melbourne makes a difference. Members of Cooperativa Cafe Timor receive 21 cents a kilogram for raw coffee cherries -- up to 25 per cent more than market price and amounting to an extra $470,000 distributed among the growers. The CCT also runs health services, such as immunisation and antenatal programs. Scott Bennett is a Melbourne coffee importer from H.A. Bennett and Sons who has seen East Timorese coffee- producing villages at first hand. "It's like Northern Australia crashes into Papua New Guinea," he says. "On the slopes the vegetation is sparse -- like inland from Cairns. But on the rich flats you have these lush (coffee) plantations growing under shade trees. Life in CCT-associated villages is pretty good by comparison with others. They have electricity, brick houses and some tarred roads. But the only medical services these people were receiving were from the CCT clinics."

Fairtrade products are scarce here, but this is likely to change in May, when Australia gets its own arm of Fairtrade. Chairwoman of the Fairtrade Association of Australia and New Zealand, Dr Sasha Courville, is responsible for introducing the Fairtrade process in Australia. One part of her job is to monitor the certification scheme. The other part is to act as a matchmaker and promoter, linking manufacturers and distributors in Australia with certified producers in the third world. "At present there are four FTAANZ-certified coffees from around the globe and tea from Sri Lanka, but as we head towards our official launch in May we're hoping to be able to identify a local chocolate producer who can work with some of the Third World chocolate producers," Dr Courville says.

Until more FTAANZ-certified imports come on line, consumers can buy Fairtrade products certified by Fairtrade bodies in Britain, Europe or the US. The largest Fairtrade retailer is Oxfam, with 17 shops in Australia selling about 20 different Fairtrade products. This is just a drop in the ocean compared to Fairtrade sales in Oxfam's home in Britain, where organic and Fairtrade sales are about B#1.7 billion ($A4 billion) a year and where big supermarkets such as Tesco and Sainsburys stock Fairtrade goods as everyday items.

In Australia, no Fairtrade products are sold in Coles or Woolworths supermarkets. Oxfam's Jeff Atkinson, who promotes Fairtrade, says it's an economic necessity to sell Fairtrade in supermarkets here "and until that day we're making some difference, but really we're just pissing into the wind."

"There's got to be the demand from the community, and when that happens we're still going to have to pay to get Fairtrade on the shelves -- that's the way the supermarkets work."

The other big supplier of goods that have been traded fairly is Sydney-based Tradewinds -- an importer and retailer that shares its meagre profits with the growers from whom it buys tea and coffee. Tradewinds shares the same aims as Fairtrade, but as yet only a few of its products carry the Fairtrade label. Tradewinds director Richard Zoeller explains. "Tradewinds formed after a UN forum in the 1980s where representatives from developing nations said: 'If you want to help us buy value-added products from us directly, not from the transnationals'." The first product Tradewinds imported was tea grown and processed in Sri Lanka and packed in hand-woven reed baskets, which means the village co- operative need not buy imported cardboard. The women harvested and wove wild reeds, providing a cash income for their families. "Profits made by the co-op are still being ploughed back into education and medical facilities," Zoeller says.

The final person in the global food chain is the consumer. Fairtrade hopes to eventually redirect some of what we spend each week to products that help third world countries. This will rely both on the product's "feel-good" factor and its quality.

Wells Trenfield understands this well. He says of his new Fairtrade Costa Rican coffee: "It has been graded from a vast range of coffee beans grown by 3500 different growers. Some of these people are only growing three bags of coffee a year. From these beans we have a smooth and creamy coffee that we're serving in our Brunswick Street shop and the Prahran market. It makes me feel terrific that our customers are sipping a coffee that is helping a little grower in Costa Rica."

Military/police force

Amnesty condemns police use of lethal force

Reuters - February 23, 2004

London -- Many people are shot dead by police forces who do not follow United Nations standards on using lethal force only where necessary and in self-defence, Amnesty International says.

Among other countries, the human rights group singled out Jamaica, where it said police have shot dead 140 people a year on average over the last ten years, and Brazil where killings by police rose sharply in 2003. "International standards do exist to control the use of guns and other methods of force by police and law enforcement officials -- but in too many countries around the world these standards are not being followed," Amnesty said on Monday.

"Too many police forces ... are trained in how to fire a gun, but not in how to decide whether it should be fired, or when," Amnesty said.

East Timor's new, UN-trained police were equipped with new guns but training had focused on how to shoot rather than how to assess threats or exercise restraint, Amnesty said.

In a report, the London-based rights group called on countries to train police fully and to incorporate UN standards into local law. It said countries should take account of how closely UN standards were followed before exporting firearms to foreign police forces.

Police and security officers had unlawfully killed civilians in more than 80 countries between 1997 and 2000, Amnesty said. Police shootings worsened the cycle of violence by undermining public trust in the police and making it less likely civilians would give up their own weapons.

"In Jamaica, which has the highest rate of police shootings per capita in the world, evidence repeatedly contradicts police claims that they were fired upon first and indicates instead a disturbing pattern of extrajudicial executions," Amnesty said.

And the group said repeated testimony from Rio de Janeiro showed police discrimination that often ended in civilian deaths.

On so-called "less-than-lethal" weapons, the report said a number of people had been killed in North America by tasers, dart-guns that stun targets with a 50,000 volt electric shock.

Amnesty called for an independent investigation into taser guns, which were used by police in the US and 17 other countries in 2002, to determine their "compatibility with human rights standards".

The report also highlighted examples of good practice. South Africa had recently changed an apartheid-era law permitting police to shoot at suspected thieves, drug dealers and fleeing suspects posing no direct threat to the lives of the police or public, Amnesty said.

Local media monitoring

East Timor media monitoring February 3-28, 2004

February 3

Timor Post -- The Prime Minister, Dr Mari Alktiri, has made a surprise visit to a pre-secondary school to find out first-hand what difficulties the school is confronting. He said that the community in the surrounding area also needs to support the school. Dr Alkatiri said that community support is vital to prevent people from destroying schools that the Government has rehabilitated. Dr Alkatiri said that the students in the pre- secondary school had requested chairs, tables, doors and windows that are not available as well as a library.

The Vice-Minister for Development and Environment, Abel Ximenes, said that next month RESPECT will give financial support of USD100.000 to the Dili District Administrator for projects in agriculture, forestry and infrastructure.

Mr Ximenes said that some districts have not received support from RESPECT because they were late in submitting their project papers.

Suara Timur Lorosae -- A farmer in the District of Maliana, Jose da Conceicao, said that due to the high price demanded for hiring a tractor, farmers cannot plough their rice fields. He said that the private business are asking between $50 to $60 to plough a hectare of land, and farmers cannot afford it.

The District Coordinator for EDTL in the District of Bobonaro, Antonio de Carvalho, said that the 334 consumers in Bobonaro have started paying their electricity bills an averga amount of 3 dollars per household per month. Mr de Carvalho said that the community is very happy with the financial support given by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) that allowed them to acquire a generator and electrical cables.

A District Coordinator of Health for the Clinic of Virgin Mary of Fatima, Florindo Araujo, said that 20 people from the Sucos Lete Foho and Lauana have contracted leprosy. He said they have not received any medical assistance. Mr Araujo said that the clinic has also registered 125 cases of tuberculosis in Ermera last year. He added that with the rainy season, the clinic sees 50 to 70 patients a day seeking treatment for lung infection and malaria.

February 9

Timor Post -- The Minister of Interior, Rogerio Tiago Lobato, said that in the future the Government will establish a unit within the police force to combat terrorism designated as Unit Against Terrorism (UAT). He said that it is necessary to create this unit to face the current global situation. Mr Lobato said that the Unit Against Terrorism will also support the current police activities in other areas, but fundamentally will focus on terrorism.

The Secretary of State for Public Works, Joao Alves, said that in the near future the Department of Public Works will be relocating people who are from the districts, but living in Dili, back to their districts to enable the Government to extend and develop the city of Dili. Mr Alves said that his department has plans to regulate and prevent people from building homes everywhere without any basic conditions whatsoever.

The RESPECT project and the Department of Labour and Solidarity have selected 30 people including veterans in the District of Liquica to receive training on agriculture, and how to operate a tractor. The RESPECT training will last three months, and the objective is to support local produce activities.

Suara Timur Lorosae -- The Coordinator of CPD-RDTL, Antonio Ai- Tahan Matak, said that people in Government and within the National Parliament who want to close CPD-RDTL activities in Timor-Leste will face a new popular resistance. He said that CPD-RDTL has a great number of followers, especially from the poor in rural areas. Mr Matak said that people who had the idea to close CPD-RDTL are people who want see the implementation of a dictatorship regime, like the former President Suharto, in Timor-Leste.

The United Nation Development Programme (UNDP) and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries will start their reforestation campaign next week in Taci Tolo, for which they have employed 40 local labourers. The General Director of the Department of Agriculture, Cesar Jose da Cruz, said that the objective for the reforestation campaign in Taci Tolo is to develop a National Garden of Peace. He said that the project was financially supported by RESPECT with an amount of USD 150,000.

The Director of the Pre-Secondary School in the District of Baucau, Januario Xavier, said that people in the District of Baucau had no power for more than a month. He said that the Government should take urgent steps by sending a technician to repair the faulty generator. Mr Xavier said that the people understand that in every nation people have to pay for their electricity, and people in Baucau are no different and are ready to pay.

February 11

Suara Timur Lorosae -- The Prime Minister, Dr Mari Alkatiri, said that the Government of Malaysia will assist PNTL with M16 riffles and other necessary equipment. He said that the Minister of State, Ana Pessoa would be departing for Malaysia soon to take care of the matter. Dr Alkatiri underlined the support that the government of Malaysia has been giving to the Government of Timor-Leste in the establishment of a special police unit. Apart from equipment, Malaysia will also provide instructors for police training, reported the newspaper.

Regional Director of the International Labour Organization (ILO) in Asia and the Pacific, Yasuyuki Nodera, arrives in the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste on Wednesday for a three-day official visit. Timor-Leste became the ILO's 177th Member State in August 2003, and three ILO projects will be fully operational in the country during 2004. The ILO welcomed Timor-Leste into the fold at a Sub-Regional Tripartite Forum on Decent Work in October 2003 in Auckland, New Zealand. Prior to Timor-Leste formally gaining membership to the Organization, the ILO had been providing technical support and training in areas such as labour market information systems, entrepreneurship, vocational skills and development and labour administration.

The completion of the second phase of the Dili port rehabilitation project, which was started in early 2003, will be officially marked with a ceremony on 12 February 2004. It will inaugurated by the Prime Minister, Dr Mari Alkatiri and Japanese ambassador, Mr Hideaki Asahi, the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary General and UNDP Resident Representative, Mr Sukehiro Hasegawa. The Government of Japan which contributed a total of $2,999,000 USD funded the rehabilitation project. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Office jointly carried out the project's implementation for Project Services (UNOPS) in cooperation with the Port Authority.

The Coordinator of the National Dialogue (ND), Miguel Manetelu, said that a team from the National Dialogue will be sent around the 13 Districts to "socialize" with the population on the judicial system. He said that informing and educating the community was important due to the fact that the judicial system is still facing lots of difficulties. Mr Manetelu said that there many cases that have not been decided upon and the judicial system lacks coordination. He said it also needs more quality authors in laws within the judicial system.

The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Dr Ramos Horta, said that he had asked the President of the Portuguese National Parliament, Mota Amaral, for continued support at the EU. Dr Horta said that in a way portugal was Timor-Leste "godfather" in the European Union (EU). He said that as a member of the EU, Portugal can influence the rich countries to support Timor-Leste.

The District Administrator of Viqueque, Francisco da Silva, said that there is good coordination between the Health Department and his Department, but the health department still needs to reach people in remote areas like Suco Uai-Mori, Posto Lacluta and Lia-Sidi. Mr da Silva said that people from these remote areas have to walk two hours just for medical assistance when they are sick.

The sub-District Administrator of Maubisse, Jose Mendonca, said that people in the Sub-District of Maubisse and District of Ainaro are without water and have to search for it everyday. He said that JICA has done a survey recently but said that it will be 2006 before they will commence the works for water supply.

A stall vendor in the District of Gleno, Bendita Fatima Soares, said that its been very difficult for vendor's to sell their vegetables at reasonable prices because people just don't buy them. She said that if people don't buy, she and others like her don't make money to buy food.

A staff member of the UNMISET Human Rights Office, Sabino Mendonca, said that 30 members of the National Police Force in Bobonaro participated in the 2 day workshop on human rights. He said that the workshop objective was to teach the police how to avoid use of force and to respect human dignity.

A priest in the District of Bobonaro, Cyrus Bangue, said that he sought support from an International NGO and Community Empowerment Project (CEP) after hearing that 40 widows in the sub-district of Bobonaro were in desperate need of food. He said that the financial support that came from CEP made it possible for him to buy thermos and 20Kg of rice that was distributed to the 40 widows.

The Prime Minister, Dr Mari Alkatiri and the Vice-Minister of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport, Rosalia Corte Real, made a surprise visit to the secondary school in Balide this week. During the visit the school children asked the Prime Minister to help them solve problem with cleaning the school and the repair of tables and chairs. The Prime Minister said that the head of the school should make a report on the basic needs and the condition of the school for him to be able to solve the problem.

Timor Post -- The Vice-president of the Commission C in the National Parliament, Manuel Tilman, said that he does not believe that the Australian Government will open Bayu-Undan and Sunrise projects in Timor-Leste because they would have to spent a lot of money. He said that he has doubts that the Australian Government will invest in building new facilities for the oil and gas exploration. Mr Tilman said that it is important for Timor-Leste to insist that the international community and the NT Government allow development of the Bayu-Undan and sunrise projects as a "test case" in seeking alternatives for the oil exploration.

The Vice-Minister of Health, Luis Lobato, said that the financial support given by the World Health Organization (WHO) to facilitate training of Timorese nurses for a year brought good results to the clinics. He said that the training consisted of how to treat sick people with due care, and the implementation of health practices in the field. Mr Lobato said that so far, the nurses have applied what they have learned well and the results have been very encouraging especially in the districts of Baucau, Viqueque and Lospalos.

February 12

Suara Timur Lorosae -- The Prosecutor General, Longuinhos Monteiro, said that the Serious Crime Unit (SCU) does not have a budget of its own to support its activities. He said that having no budget of its own, but instead a budget managed by the Ministry of Justice, is one of the major problems faced by SCU. Mr Monteiro said that he believes that the Council of Ministers soon will solve this problem.

The Japanese Ambassador in Timor-Leste, Hideaki Asahi, said that the Government of Japan will continue with its finance assistance to the people of Timor-Leste through OISCA to support capacity building on the area of agriculture. He said that with this support, Japan and Timor-Leste will further strength their relationship. Mr Asahi said that he has requested further assistance from OISCA to establish more agricultural training centers for the Timorese.

After a meeting between the Prime Minister, Dr Mari Alkatiri, and the President, Xanana Gusmao, Dr Alkatiri said that they discussed a range of topics, but infrastructure was the main theme of the discussion. He said that the Government has set up plans already for the infrastructure rehabilitation which will create jobs for the people. Dr Alkatiri said that he has seen that the conditions of the roads that are deteriorating rapidly, and the President's house was damaged by a tree that feel on it.

The Prime Minister, Dr Mari Alkatiri, said that the Government does not have a plan to send workers to Japan and people should not believe "false promises'. He said that the only project that the Government has that involves sending workers abroad is with the Government of Malaysia. Dr Alkatiri said that when the agreement is finalized between the Timor-Leste and Malaysia Government's than the Secretary of State for Labour will conduct the recruitment process.

The Minister for Telecommunication, Transport and Public Works, Ovidio de Jesus Amaral, said that everyone needs to take part on the development of Timor-Leste, and seek the best ways to develop the housing system for the people. Mr Amaral said that the involvement of the community is very important to help development, and they should not just wait for the Government.

The Chief Mechanic for the Power Station in the District of Ermera, Raimundo da Cruz Mau Rema, said that heavy rain and lightning during the month of December and January caused short circuiting and damaged the high voltage regulator (HVR) in Railaco, leaving people in dark. Mr Rema said that a report on this had been sent to the head office of EDTL in Dili, but so far he has not received any reply.

The District Vice-Administrator of Bobonaro, Beatriz Ximenes Martins, said that the Government of Japan (through RESPECT) has financed an amount of USD100,000 for the rehabilitation of roads in the District of Bobonaro. Mrs Martins said that RESPECT has also plans for a second faze of road rehabilitation for the six Sub-Districts of Bobonaro. She said that the project also includes agricultural workshops to enhance the community knowledge and capacity of self-sustainability.

The Head of the Village of Caibada Uaimua in the Sub-District of Baucau, Carlos da Costa, said that having no transport link has made it very difficult for the people to take their goods to the market. He said that the road is in such a bad condition that the transport owners don't dare to go, for fear of damaging their cars. Primary school in Gleno needs help

The Primary School Director in Gleno in the District of Ermera, Certorio Martins Babo, said that the primary school D. Ana Lemos Gleno needs urgent attention from the Government, because there is no wall to protect the children from wind and rain. Mr Babo said that with the strong winds and heavy rain that had fallen for the last few days, it had made it very hard for the children to attend school. He said that the school has 920 students and only three classrooms are protected. Three buildings still without any walls. Meanwhile in the District of Bobonaro students were not able to attend school due to heavy rain that has fallen in recent days. The Head of the Primary School Santo Agustinho, Marcal dos Santos, said that for the entire week, heavy rain and strong gusty winds caused havoc throughout the community and schools with few teachers and students attending.

Timor Post -- The Vice-President of the National Parliament, Francisco Xavier do Amaral, said that the Government should arrest and put Ai-Tahan Matak behind bars after he publicly declared that a new resistance will emerge if CPD-RDTL is banned and close. Mr Amaral also said that the Government should not allow CPD-RDTL or the group Orsnaco to play games, and try to destabilize the country. He said people want to work and live in peace to help with the development of this country. Mr Amaral said the Government should take measures to stop those people (CPD-RDTL and Orsnaco) who are trying to divide the nation, when the Government is working hard to solidify the independence and strengthen national unity.

The Coordinator for the Health Department of Mental Illness in the District of Bobonaro, Gil Bernardo Vicente, said that of the 74 patients who have sought treatment for mental disorders' 70% better than before receiving any treatment.

He said that most of the patients have returned to their homes. Mr Vicente said that 44 of the patients were women. He said 30 men were suffering from schizophrenia, psychotic episodes and depression. He said that are another 33 women and 18 men who are suffering from psychotic episodes and are dangerous.

The speaker of the Portuguese Parliament, Joao Bosco Mota Amaral, began an official visit to East Timor on Monday with a call for the creation of a parliamentary assembly binding the legislatures of all eight Portuguese-speaking countries. In a speech to the Timorese legislature, Mota Amaral said "the day is not far off" when the Lisbon-head-quarter Community of Portuguese-speaking Countries (CPLP) would have a "parliamentary assembly". Such an initiative, he added, would give the CPLP a "new dynamic" and would allow the "democratic control" of the eight-nation bloc's "activities". His visit aimed, he said, to "assure the Timorese Parliament and people of the fraternal friendship of the Portuguese Parliament and people". Mota Amaral will sign a new cooperation accord between the two countries' legislatures.

February 17

Timor Post -- The Production of gas has started at an offshore gas field, which is expected to earn Timor-Leste more than US$ 100 million a year. The Timor Sea Office, said a regular flow of "wet gas" from the wells of the Bayu-Undan field in the Timor Sea. "The start of production is an historic milestone in Timor- Leste's struggle for economic independence," said the Prime Minister Dr Mari Alkatiri. A treaty between Australia and Timor- Leste created the Joint Petroleum Development Area in part of the Timor Sea, within which Bayu-Undan is located. Timor-Leste earns 90 per cent of the tax and royalty revenues from companies working in the area.

The Bayu-Undan field contains an estimated recoverable reserves of 400 million barrels of condensate (light oil) and liquefied petroleum gas, and 102 billion cubic meters of natural gas. It is about 250 kilometers south of Timor-Leste and 500 kilometers northwest of Darwin. Australia and Timor-Leste are still in dispute about exploiting a larger gas field called Greater Sunrise.

During a seminar on capacity building in the institution the Prime Minister, Dr Mari Alkatiri, said that Timor-Leste will still needs about 60 advisors after the end of UNMISET mission in May 2004. He said that the Ministry of Finance is the department that needs most of the support from the advisors.

The Vice-minister of Transport, Telecommunications and Public Works, Cesar Vital Moreira, said that the Government has set up a plan to reduce costs in maintenance of government vehicles. He said that the Police have been advised to stop any government vehicle that circulates on the weekends. Mr Moreira said that many government cars have been detained by the police for unauthorized use of government cars on the weekend.

The Prime Minister, Dr Mari Alkatiri, said that Timor-Leste and Portugal should negotiate a dual nationality status in the interests of both countries. Dr Alkatiri said that he had respect for Portugal's prerogatives on the issue. He said that limiting access to dual nationality could also be in Dili's interest given that many Timorese students were taking advantage of Portuguese generosity.

After surprise visits to five pre-secondary schools by Prime Minister, Dr Mari Alkatiri, action has been taken by the Ministry of Education in locating chairs, tables and books for the children. The Vice-Minister of Education, Rosalia Corte Real, said that the Prime Minister was sad to see students attending class while sitting on floor. She said that an order has been given to start a tender process for local carpenters as soon as possible to make chairs and tables.

Suara Timur Lorosae -- The Minister for the Internal Administration, Rogerio Lobato said that F-FDTL and PNTL should have discipline and "spirit of constitution". He said the incident between F-FDTL and PNTL showed that certain individuals who joined the two institutions do not serve the people and the country. Mr Lobato said that the President's speech last Friday as a call to remind each member of F-FDTL and the Police to take their responsibilities seriously in order to maintain good relation.

More than 40 people attended the inaugural meeting of the Timor Sea Justice Campaign on January 21. The article says that many others, they were concerned with the Australian government's exploitation of Timorese oil. The campaign was set up to support efforts by Timorese organizations to pressure the Australian government for a fairer maritime boundary. The Melbourne-based campaign group is demanding that Australia returns to the negotiating table and the jurisdiction of international law in arbitrating the dispute.

East Timor Alliance for an International Tribunal was reportedly shocked to learn of a secret meeting between high officials from East Timor and an accused perpetrator of crimes against humanity according to this article in STL. The article says this meeting compounds the many problems the East Timorese face in obtaining justice, and raises uncomfortable questions about the rule of law, independence of the judiciary and whether the governments hears the victims' cry for justice. The article states that the Alliance has received reliable information that on 31 January or 1 February 2004, President Xanana Gusmco, Foreign Minister Josi Ramos Horta and General Prosecutor Longuinhos Monteiro held secret talks with Indonesian former general Wiranto at the luxury Oberoi Hotel in Seminyak, Bali. According to the New York based Wall Street Journal, this is the second time Xanana and Wiranto have met "to discuss reconciliation".

A Senior US judge visited East Timor government officials and members of the judiciary recently to help them understand the challenges and opportunities facing the country's emerging justice sector. Judge J. Clifford Wallace serves on the US Court of Appeals for the ninth Circuit and acts as a senior advisor on legal systems and judicial administration to the Asia Foundation. Among the issues discussed during Judge Wallace's visit were how to strengthen the independence of the judiciary and how to develop means to enforce high standards of judicial performance.

February 19

Suara Timur Lorosae -- President Xanana Gusmco and Foreign Minister Jose Ramos Horta have denied the allegation that they had recently met former Indonesian Minister of Defense, General Wiranto, in Bali, together with Prosecutor General, Longuinhos Monteiro.

Interviewed by Timor Post, President Gusmco commented on the contents of a press communiqui issued on Monday by an international NGO, the East Timor Alliance for an International Tribunal. The media release said the meeting had taken place, following the announcement by the Serious Crimes Unit (SCU), of the General's indictment for crimes against humanity. The Alliance media release said it had received "reliable information" that on 31 January or 1 February 2004, that Gusmco, Ramos-Horta and Longuinhos Monteiro held "secret talks" with Wiranto, and that "partial reports" of the meeting have appeared in Australian, Portuguese and American newspapers. According to the NGO, it was the second time Xanana and Wiranto had met "to discuss reconciliation." In a statement issued by his office on Tuesday, Foreign Minister Ramos Horta said he had not met Wiranto and "have no plan to meet the gentleman". Ramos Horta added that the only time he met Wiranto was in June 1999, before the referendum and in October 1999, and that both meetings were official and public.

The School Director of SMAN 2 in Baucau, Carlos de Jesus Freitas, said that the school board had adopted a regulation to penalize students who are late for school with an amount of $USD 1.50. He said that the regulation was well received by the students and the number of attendees had doubled.

The Minister of Health, Dr Rui Maria de Araujo, said that USD$ 8.4 million dollars finance by TFET, and administered by the World Bank, can be used by the Health Department on the development of infrastructure. He said that one of the important areas for his Ministry is to build clinics in remote areas for both specialist doctors and general practitioners to be able to work. Dr Araujo said that the Government of Timor-Leste will still need support from international staff advisors mainly in management, policy development and legislation.

The Director of the EDTL, Virgilio Guterres, said that if all the electricity consumers pay their bills on time then power can stay on 24 hours a day. He said that because the consumers are not paying their bills, the Government finds it hard to maintain the supply of diesel. Mr Guterres said that the budget allocated by the Government to the EDTL is not enough to maintain the operation costs.

The Australian Army admitted it made mistakes in investigating the case of a senior Special Air Service (SAS) soldier accused of kicking the corpses of two militiamen shot dead in East Timor in 1999. An apology has been made to the unnamed Australian soldier. The soldier was charged following a protracted defence investigation into allegations of misconduct by Australian SAS troops during operations in East Timor in October 1999. The allegation related to a militia ambush on an Australian vehicle convoy near the town of Suai in which two SAS soldiers were wounded, two militia were shot dead, and others captured.

The investigation focused on whether a militia member was killed in an execution-style shooting, whether there was abuse of the corpses of two militia who died, and whether militia were beaten or mistreated during interrogation by SAS members. Army Chief Lieutenant General Peter Leahy said these were serious allegations but that the Australian SAS soldier was found not guilty on all charges.

Timor Post -- A Member of the National Parliament, Rui Meneses, said that revenues from the Timor Sea are vital for this country but the Parliament needs Government clarification about the management of the Timor Sea, who is the beneficiary, and where the account is held. He said that this information was not clear when he read the report done by the International Auditor Ernst and Young. Mr Meneses said that people want to know where the money is deposited and who are the signatories. He said that the report presented by Ernst and Young, shows that the royalty deposit of USD$ 0.07 million earns less than 1% per annum.

The Vice-Minister of Telecommunication, Transport and Public Works, Cesar Vital Moreira, said that the Government has taken a decision to ban the importation of cars manufactured before 1993 to reduce the number of vehicles, and to protect the environment. Mr Moreira said that the number of vehicles circulating in Timor are closed to 25,000. 80% of those are legal, while 20% were imported illegally and no duty has been paid. He said that the 80% are the ones circulating in the capital Dili. Mr Moreira said that due to the high numbers of cars on the roads, the Government took also a decision not to allow anymore registration of taxis and microlets.

Indonesia will send troops to an uninhabited island whose ownership it disputes with East Timor, the Antara news agency has reported. The Indonesain military commander for West Timor, Major General Supiadin, was cited by Antara Monday saying, "the troops will really be sent". Jakarta officials indicated they were considering a permanent troop deployment to the island. The East Timor Foreign Minister, Jose Ramos Horta, had described Indonesia's combined sea, land and air show of military muscle as illegal, as the small island was an integral part of Timor under international law. A senior Indonesian officer said this week "until now, we have not stationed any personnel on the island as there have been no threats. We are not concerned. It is they (the Timorese) who are worried". Asked to comment on the lasted development in the territorial dispute, the Prime Minister, Mari Alkatiri, told Lusa: "As Fatu Sinai is our, any Indonesian activity that occurs there is a provocation'.

A Member of the National Parliament, Maria Paixao, said that people in the Sub-District of Atauro are facing starvation because grasshoppers have destroyed their corn fields. She said that people in Atauro are waiting for the Department of Agriculture to find a quick solution to combat the grasshoppers.

A member of the National Parliament, Pedro da Costa, said that 400 children from the Suco Laline in the Sub-District of Lacluta, District of Viqueque, does not have access to education because there is no school building. He said that the 200 families in the village of Laline have pleaded for an urgent attention from the Government to allow their children access to education.

The head of the Village in Vemassi taci, Sub-District of Baucau, Carlos Freitas, said that it has been three years since the people in Vemasse have had irrigation for their 82 hectares of rice fields. He said that to complicate their lives, heavy rain has also destroyed 10 hectares of rice paddies. Mr Freitas said that the people at Vemassi have requested and pleaded with the President of the National Parliament, the President, and the Government for help but they still wait.

The President of the Commission C from the National Parliament, Francisco Kalbuadi Lay, said that he congratulates the Portuguese Bank (BNU) in Timor-Leste for giving credit to people who want to start businesses. He said that since September 2003, the economy had picked up between 40 to 50%. Mr Lay said that BNU knows the risks in lending money, but importantly it is giving credit to poor people to help develop the country's economy.

February 25

Suara Timur Lorosae -- Crucial issues are being overlooked in the Security Council debate over a future United Nations mission for East Timor. The discussions currently taking place at the Security Council have focused on whether a peacekeeping or police force is the most appropriate way of securing law and order under a new Un mandate.

Alarmingly, the article says that the future of the Serious Crimes Unit and funding for the trials before the Special Panels for serious Crimes has not attracted sufficient attention. JSMP is of the opinion that the serious crimes process is closely linked with the future peace and security of East Timor.

Serious crimes trials that meet international standards are an integral aspect of the reconciliation process and only through adequate and sustained funding can the objectives of the Special panels be achieved. JSMP has just released a report entitled "The Future of the serious Crimes Unit" (available at http://www.jsmp.minihub.org) which discusses the impact reduced funding would have on the body that prosecutes serious crimes before the Special Panels.

Tiago dos Reis becomes the second Timorese to serve as a United Nations Volunteer by joining the UN Mission in Liberia. His specific duties included the maintenance of a complex vehicle inventory for UN peacekeeping troops in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The F-FDTL Commander Brigadier General, Taur Matan Ruak, said that it's impossible to guarantee a professional army for Timor- Leste in two years. He said that it will take a long time before any professionalism can be achieved within the Timorese army.

A Member of the National Parliament, Jose Soares, said that development in the District of Ermera have reached the 65% target, but due to some difficulties, it will de some time before it can achieve the 100%. Mr Soares said for example, when looking at better quality coffee production people don't want to what they should do. He said that only 50% of the people that really trying hard to improve the coffee quality.

Timor Post -- The Vice-Minister of Health, Luis Lobato, said that people have to take responsibility for avoiding being bitten by mosquitoes carrying dengue. He said that 198 people have been infected, and so far, 9 have died. Mr Lobato said that cases of dengue have been widespread in Timor-Leste and the rate is higher than usual. He said that people with symptoms like high fever should seek treatment as soon as possible.

A Member of the National Parliament, Cipriana Pereira, said that the Portuguese National Bank (BNU) cannot close the doors to the people who are seeking credit. She said that BNU needs to continue facilitating credit to people to help develop the country's economy. Ms Pereira said that BNU had made a positive step in giving credit to people to help them improve their lives in the future.

A Member of the National Parliament, Antonio Lelan, said that for two months the people in the District of Oe-Cussi have been without power due to shortage of diesel for the generator. He said that people have asked the Secretary of State for Water and Electricity and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to seek an accord with Indonesian Government to allow diesel into Oe-Cussi from Kefa or Kupang, West Timor. Mr Lelan said that the civil servants have no access to computers and most of documents are hand written. He said that until now, peoples' request have not been fulfilled, and they are still waiting for an answer.

February 26

Suara Timur Lorosae -- Secretary-General Kofi Annan called Wednesday for the withdrawal of almost all UN peacekeepers in East Timor while bolstering efforts to help the newly independent country consolidate its political institutions. In a report to the Security Council, Annan proposed a one year extension of the UN mission to Asia's poorest country, which gained independence in 2002 following four centuries of Portuguese rule and 24 years of Indonesian occupation. Annan said that while East Timor has made considerable progress in building the structures of a nation, such as a judicial system and police force, it still needs help as the UN mandate prepares to run out on May 20. "I am convinced that a comparatively modest additional effort can make a crucial difference," Annan wrote in the report.

Timor-Leste is the latest country offering to supply workers to meet Malaysia's manpower needs. Its state management minister Ana Pessoa Pinto called on Human Resources Minister Datuk Dr Fong Chan Onn yesterday to convey the offer. Dr Fong who met minister Pinto at the Socso headquarters, said Timor-Leste had offered to supply workers for the agriculture industry. "The minister discussed the offer with the Ministry officials to discuss the possibility of formulating and MoU for their workers to come here," said Dr Fong. He added that the Government would look into the offer as well as study the feasibility of acquiring the workers for the agriculture sector.

The Bishop of Diocese of Baucau and Dili, D. Basilio do Nascimento, said after a meeting with the President that the young generation needs to use their heads to be able to solve problems in the country. The Bishop said that when looking at the incident in Lospalos between F-FDTL and the National Police, it is a reflection of young people who do not think clearly nor control themselves.

Bishop Nascimento said that these two institutions (Police and F-FDTL) have to understand that people are closely watching them and depending on them.

A member of the National Parliament, Antonio Ximenes, has said that the Timorese refugees in West Timor, Atambua, are facing enormous difficulties both economically and financially. He said that some of the Timorese refugees are now begging on the street. Mr Ximenes said that the pro-autonomy leaders in the refugee camps have reaffirmed that they are willing to return, but the information about the internal situation in Timor-Leste UNMISET has been so negative that they are concerned about returning.

A vulnerable group in the District of Manatuto has received financial support of USD$6,100 from CEP for a project called Timor Oan Hit-Rasik-CEP. The coordinator of the CEP in the District of Manatuto, Antonio Alves, said that the objective in financing this group of 15 people is to help them "set up for life economically". He said that he has requested that the group use the money wisely to guarantee their future.

A Member of the National Parliament, Alexandre de Araujo Corte Real, said that from 1999 until 2004, Ainaro has developed in various aspects, but is still far from a fully developed. He said, for example, the main road is in such bad condition that people are complaining and it needs urgent rehabilitation.

Timor Post -- A Member of the National Parliament, Francisco Miranda Branco, said that the pre-paid electricity meters installed in consumers houses, are a good measure taken by the Government to help educate people to have better control over their electricity bills. He said that pre-paid meters will help reduce the power consumption and people will start using less energy. Mr Branco said that the pre-paid meters are working to stop people wanting free electricity without contributing to it. He said that people have to change their views and their behaviour. He said they need to learn to turn off their lights and not leave them on all day long.

February 27

Suara Timur Lorosae -- The Secretary of State for Mineral and Energy, Igidio de Jesus, said that the pre-paid electricity meters are good idea and they are cost effective for everyone to use. He said that the pre-paid meters will help the consumers have a better grasp on their electrical bills. Mr de Jesus said that the pre-paid meters will also stop consumers blaming the Government for not doing their accounts well and charging them too much for electricity.

The Sub-District Administrator of Nain Feto, Adriano Soriano da Silva, said that the pre-paid electricity meters are here to stay and people have to understand that this Government program has to be implemented. He said that those who do not want to pay their electricity bill will see their power lines cut. Mr da Silva said that the pre-paid meters are not that expensive. He said that according to reports he has received, with a USD$ 50 card, you run a house for more than a month.

The Head of the team of the Commission for National Debate for Veterans and Ex-Combatants, Andre L-4, said that the objective of the national debate is about the definition of a veteran to seek input from everyone. He said the establhisment of agreed criteria will benefit everyone. He said that after the consultation, a report will be presented to the President Xanana Gusmco and he will send the final report to the National Parliament.

According to a report published in today's edition of STL, a staff from the CAVR office in Dili received an SMS message from an anonymous person saying that he was an Indonesian army officer and in 1999 he placed a bomb in the building and was due to explode yesterday, 26 February, 2004. The National Police Force and the Bomb Squad Experts were called to the site but could not find any bomb.

Timor Post -- Following an urgent meeting between the Secretary General of FRETILIN and the President of FRETILIN, Lu Olo, said that the meeting had been called to discuss the involvement of International Republican Institute (IRI) in political campaigns with other political parties throughout the country. He said that they both talked about the involvement of IRI in political activities in the country.

Mr Lu Olo said that the conversation centred on the IRI involvement with political parties and the need to find more about this. According to Timor Post, a source from the National Parliament said that a member of the Democratic Social Party (PSD) at the National Parliament has been absent for a week as he is involved in political campaign in the district with members of IRI.

A Member of the National Parliament, Rui Menezes, said that was very important to approve the proposed law for the establishment of the Office of the Provedor.

He said that with the establishment of the Office of the Provedor as an independent body, it will function has a watchdog for nepotism, human rights abuses and justice for all.

The Vice-minister of Health, Luis Lobato, said that the Government of Cuba will send 15 doctors to Timor-Leste 2 of whom will be posted 2 in every districts. He said that 3 specialists doctors will be working in the National Hospital in Dili.

February 28

Suara Timur Lorosae -- The Secretary of State for Minerals and Energy, Egidio de Jesus, said that his department has installed 30.000 pre-paid meters since it started in February 2003. He said that was a significant jump from 20,000 last year to 30,000 in 2004. Mr de Jesus said that some consumers are criticizing and refusing to accept the pre-paid meter. He said that EDTL started an information campaign in 2001throughout the 13 districts involving Chefe do Sucos and District Administrators and will continue throughout this year.

Mr de Jseus said that some consumers are happy with their pre- paid meter saying that now they can have better control of their electrical usage and are thus paying less.

The National Hospital Director, Antonio Caleres Junior, said that the National Hospital just in the month of February has assisted roughly 600 people a day, seeking medical treatment for children with high fever and flu. Mr Caleres Junior said that compared to the month of December 2003 the numbers have doubled, and the nurses in the paediatric wing are working around the clock just to keep up with the demand. He said that the Hospital cannot cope due to the shortage of beds.

The Catholic Justice and Peace Commission of Brisbane has welcomed the recommendation by the UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, that the Security Council approve an extension of the mandate for the UN's peacekeeping mission in East Timor. Commission Executive Officer, Peter Arndt, said the secretary- General has recognized the great progress achieved by the people of East Timor since independence, but has understood the realistic concerns by East Timor's leaders about a premature withdrawal by the UN. "Our Commission's contact with East Timor over the past six months indicates that the country's leaders were concerned about the UN's withdrawal in May because they did not think that their police and military were ready to provide adequate security for the country," Mr Arndt said. "I hope that the Australian Government will be lobbying members of the Security Council to ensure that Mr Annan's recommendation is accepted," he said.

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