Timor Gap

Timor ads compared government to Skase

Australian Associated Press - March 23, 2005

Canberra -- Australia's treatment of East Timor over oil and gas revenues has been compared to the actions of the late disgraced businessman Christopher Skase.

Melbourne businessman Ian Melrose has funded television advertisements, which will air over the Easter weekend, criticising Australia's position on talks with East Timor over sea boundaries.

East Timor has argued that the permanent boundary of the section of Timor Sea known as the joint petroleum development area should be midway between the two countries.

This would hand the struggling nation most of the sea's oil and gas resources, to which it is entitled under international law, proponents say.

But Australia says the boundary should be at the edge of the continental shelf which puts the line much closer to Timor and gives Australia many of the known resources.

Mr Melrose said the situation was similar to that of Mr Skase, who died in Spain in 2001. Mr Skase fled Australia without facing court in 1991 when his business collapsed with personal debts of $170 million and corporate debts of $1.7 billion.

"Christopher Skase stole money and then refused to come back to Australia to face the courts," Mr Melrose said. "The Australian government has stolen oil and gas royalties and is now refusing to obey international law and face the courts."

Mr Melrose said the ads marked the anniversary of the government's decision to withdraw from the International Court of Justice (ICJ). "Permanent maritime boundaries established in accordance with current international law would see billions of dollars worth of oil and gas revenue flow to East Timor, the poorest country in Asia," he said.

A second ad, also to air this week, compares the Australian government withdrawing from the the ICJ, to a person withdrawing recognition from a local court to avoid paying parking fines.

Canberra bullies Timor over sea boundaries

Asia Times - March 17, 2005

Bob Burton, Canberra -- The Australian government has been accused of hypocrisy in its attempt to draw maritime boundaries with its neighbors. While setting a mid-point boundary with New Zealand, after ratifying a treaty, Canberra has refused to adopt the same standard with East Timor, which lays claim to rich oil and gas deposits beneath the Timor Sea.

Coordinator of the Timor Sea Justice Campaign, Tom Clarke, accused the Australian government of "breathtaking hypocrisy" by adopting different standards for different nations.

"It seems that Australia wants to adopt one standard which is consistent with international law to ensure good relations with a developed Western country but rejects exactly the same proposal when it is made by East Timor," he told Inter Press Service.

"It is an appalling attempt by the government to try and bully the region's poorest country into giving up both territory and valuable resources, even though they are entitled to them under international law," added Clarke.

Under the United National Convention on the Law of the Sea, of which Australia and New Zealand are signatories, both countries are entitled to claim a continental shelf and Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) extending 200 nautical miles.

At a hearing of the Joint Committee on Treaties of the Australian parliament on Monday, Canberra submitted a "national interest analysis" of the treaty between Australia and New Zealand stating that "the boundary described in the treaty is a common maritime boundary dividing both the EEZ and continental shelf of the two countries. It is a fair an equitable outcome in accordance with the principles of international law."

The final treaty, which has been under serious negotiation since 1999, resolves the overlapping claims that the national interest analysis states by "being divided along the line of equidistance between the nearest points of Australian and New Zealand land territory".

"The boundaries represent an equitable and fair outcome for Australia... The settling of the maritime boundaries between Australia and New Zealand greatly reduces the potential for future disputes and serves as a model of bilateral cooperation in the region," the treaty states.

Appearing before the Senate committee on Monday, William Campbell, the general counsel for international law in the Attorney General's Department said, "Each delimitation has its own unique circumstances so that what is agreed in one will not necessarily apply in the other. That said, the principles underpinning our New Zealand boundary and those we are advancing with East Timor are consistent." Campbell stated that the critical issue is the extent of the continental shelf.

It was an argument that bemused the deputy chair of the Joint Committee on Treaties, Kim Wilkie, an opposition Labor member of the House of Representatives.

"This committee considered in detail the Timor Sea Treaty, where the boundaries were of some issue, and we were told that we weren't to apply that particular method [a mid-point boundary]... Now we are being told that in the case of New Zealand we have applied those same sort of conditions in determining those boundaries. You can't have it both ways," he said.

Just last week the Australian government refused to discuss a median-line maritime boundary in talks with East Timor. Instead, it proposed deferring the resolution of a permanent boundary by up to a hundred years while the major oil and gas deposits beneath the Timor Sea are exhausted.

Canberra proposed that it would make a US$3 billion to $4 billion one-off payment if East Timor agrees to these conditions. Critics argue that under the same standard as adopted with New Zealand, East Timor would stand to gain more than $40 billion of gas and oil royalties.

At the conclusion of three days of talks with East Timor last week, Australia's Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer was upbeat: "I think we've got the framework of an agreement nutted out; we've got more details still to work through, but I think we're making very good progress with East Timor," he added.

The chief negotiator for East Timor, Jose Teixeira, was more circumspect. He stated only that a further round of talks would be held soon.

While the Australian government has endorsed a mid-point boundary with New Zealand as consistent with international law, in a February 24 briefing for journalists on Timor Sea issues an Australian government official dismissed East Timor's bid for a mid-point boundary as an "ambit claim".

Australia has frustrated East Timor's ability to seek arbitration on the maritime boundary by the International Court of Justice by withdrawing from the court's jurisdiction on the issue just two months before East Timor gained independence in May 2002.

In the analysis tended to the Senate committee on the New Zealand treaty, the Australian government stated that the issue of where the boundary of the continental shelf lies is only relevant where it continues beyond 200 nautical miles -- the area a country may claim as its EEZ.

Beyond that, it stated, a nation may claim up to a maximum of 350 nautical miles if approved after a submission to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS), a United Nations agency responsible for adjudicating international boundaries.

As part of the deal of settling on a mid-point boundary, the Australian government informed the Senate committee that it would ensure New Zealand supports Australia's submission to the CLCS seeking a 350 nautical mile boundary.

Campaigners supporting East Timor's bid for a mid-point sea boundary argue that Australia has a powerful economic incentive for bullying East Timor into settling for less than New Zealand.

"It wants to steal billions of dollars worth of oil and gas that, if international law were to prevail, belongs to the poorest nation in the region," said Timor Sea Justice Campaign's Clarke.

As talks between Australia and East Timor were underway early this month in Canberra, Australian businessman Ian Melrose renewed a prime-time television advertising campaign bluntly criticizing the Australian government's negotiating position over the boundary.

"The Howard government has stolen A$2 billion [US$1.57 billion] in tax revenue from gas and oil royalties which East Timor needs to create a working health system," stated the advertisement.

The majority of East Timorese live in rural villages that are often isolated and far from medical facilities or hospitals. Roads are impassable during the wet season, electricity is scant and telecommunications are next to non-existent. Curable and preventable diseases are life threatening for most in these circumstances.

(Inter Press Service)

Howard's attempted bribery to steal Timor oil

Green Left Weekly - March 16, 2005

Jon Lamb -- "We went to East Timor to help those people, and now we are slapping them in the face and stealing their oil." This is what Chip Henriss-Anderssen, a former major in the Australian military who served with the International Force for East Timor, told reporters on March 7. "We thought we were doing something decent. Now we have to ask the very real question of whether or not we went to East Timor to secure oil assets that aren't ours."

The latest round of talks between Australia and East Timor in Canberra on disputed oil and gas fields in the Timor Sea took place on March 7-9, but concluded with little else other than an announcement that further talks will take place again soon.

Just prior to the talks, a foreign affairs and trade department official told reporters in Canberra that the Australian Coalition government was prepared to hold out for up to 99 years -- referring to a "Hong Kong" scenario -- if the government of East Timor maintained its demand that the maritime boundaries be settled according to international law.

Two months before East Timor gained independence, Canberra withdrew recognition of the maritime boundary jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice, leaving East Timor with no legal avenue to contest the current boundary dispute.

At the centre of discussions is the Greater Sunrise gas field, the largest known reserve of gas in the Timor Sea. Negotiations stalled last year after the October federal election, when the East Timorese government refused to accept the terms on offer for a "creative solution" regarding Greater Sunrise.

The Coalition has reportedly made an offer of $3 to $5 billion (over 30 years) to East Timor if it drops the demand for a greater royalty share than the 18% of total royalties on offer at present. Australian negotiators are arguing that this new "creative solution" should be concluded separate to finalising the maritime boundaries, hence the threat to hold out for decades if East Timor does not relinquish its claims.

While the estimates of the wealth expected to be generated from Greater Sunrise vary, based on current world prices the total government take from royalties is in the order of US$30 billion. The latest offer is clearly a miserly one that the Coalition government hopes cash-strapped East Timor will be forced to accept.

A delegation of prominent supporters of East Timor, including Greens Senator Bob Brown, Bishop Hilton Deakin and businessperson Ian Melrose, gathered in Canberra outside the venue of the talks on March 7 and condemned the Australian government's stance.

According to Bishop Hilton Deakin, "The majority of Australians want our government to offer a fair deal that reflects East Timor's rightful entitlement under current international law." Melrose has vowed to spend more than $6 million on a media campaign in support of East Timor's claims, "if I don't think it's getting the momentum required".

Many former Australian military personnel, including Second World War veterans who were stationed in Timor, have spoken out in support of East Timor's rights.

A letter signed by 17 US senators and representatives was also recently sent to PM John Howard, calling for "Australia to move quickly and seriously to establish a fair, permanent maritime boundary with Timor-Leste".

The letter said: "An equitable sharing of oil and gas revenues would enable Timor-Leste to provide better health care and other essential services to its citizens. Such equitable sharing of revenue is not a question of charity; rather it is a matter of self-determination, sovereignty and Timor-Leste's future." On March 10, Tom Clarke, coordinator of the Timor Sea Justice Campaign in Melbourne said: "Unless the Australian government acknowledges East Timor's legal entitlements under current international law and stops trying to short-change the East Timorese people, then future negotiations are not going to result in a just and fair outcome."

Referring to Australia's "creative solution" of bribing East Timor to drop its claim for greater royalties, Clarke said, "The East Timorese resisted a brutal occupation for 24 long years, why would they give up on their struggle for self-determination for a one-off payment that falls well short of what East Timor is legally entitled to?" Clarke claims the Howard government is ignoring international law "so it can take billions of dollars from one of the poorest nations in the world. East Timorese children are dying from preventable diseases and the Australian government is taking $1 million a day of contested oil royalties. It's bringing shame to all Australians."

Australia: Timor Leste's best friend or big bully?

Straits Times - March 11, 2005

Michael Richardson -- The latest round of negotiations between Australia and Timor Leste -- formerly known as East Timor -- on how to share energy reserves in the Timor Sea ended this week with an agreement to hold more talks soon.

If some of the heated rhetoric that has been flying around is a guide, Australia has descended in recent months from the rank of Best Friend to Big Bully in its dealings with Timor Leste. But is this a fair description?

The immediate issue is whether to negotiate a permanent maritime boundary in the 600km of the Timor Sea that separates the two countries and, if so, where to put the line.

The seabed in this area contains valuable oil and gas fields that are being exploited or explored by Australian and foreign companies, and may well contain even greater petroleum riches that have not yet been discovered or proven.

So the position of the boundary will determine how much of the royalties, or taxes, from development of these fields goes to Australia and how much to Timor Leste. A lot of money is at stake. The energy reserves in the area are worth an estimated US$32 billion.

Linked to this issue: What kind of relationship should Australia, one of the world's richest societies, have with Timor Leste, one of the world's poorest nations?

Australia played a major role in the United Nations operation in 1999 that helped protect and revive Timor Leste after its vote for independence from Indonesia triggered mayhem by pro- Indonesian militias supported by nationalist elements in the Indonesian armed forces. Since then, Australia has been generous with aid and other assistance to its close northern neighbour.

However, Timor Leste's leaders argue that the key to their plans to shift the economy from heavy dependence on foreign aid to self-reliance and rising living standards is an assured stream of future oil and gas revenue from the Timor Sea. If Timor Leste has a viable economy, it will be better placed to join Asean.

Timor Leste's leaders want a maritime boundary to be fixed halfway between their country's southern coastline and Australia's Northern Territory.

Some of Timor Leste's officials have accused Canberra of bad faith and stealing resources that rightfully belong to Timor Leste.

The country's former guerilla leader turned president, Mr Xanana Gusmao, put it this way: "How can we prevent poverty if we don't have the money?" he asked last year. "How can we reduce disease, how can we stabilise the country, how can we strengthen the democratic process, how can we strengthen tolerance?"

Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer retorted that Timor Leste was making "a very big mistake thinking that the best way to handle this negotiation is trying to shame Australia... accusing us of bullying, when you consider all we've done for Timor Leste."

There is an interim arrangement between Australia and Timor Leste known as the Joint Petroleum Development Area covering a large zone in the Timor Sea. Timor Leste gets 90 per cent of royalties from energy reserves exploited in this zone. This amounts to long-term revenue of about US$8 billion. Australia gets 10 per cent of the royalties.

But the joint zone is positioned much closer to Timor Leste than to Australia because of an earlier deal Canberra worked out with Indonesia, which invaded Timor Leste in 1975 and occupied it for the next 24 years.

The deal was based on a legal argument advanced by Australian officials that the seabed boundary between northern Australia and Timor Leste was naturally determined where Australia's continental shelf plunged into a trough some 3,000m deep about two-thirds of the way to Timor Leste.

Since then, international law has evolved and a median line has become the generally accepted principle in fixing seabed boundaries between close neighbours. Indeed, Australia accepted the equidistant approach in more recent seabed border negotiations with the Solomon Islands, New Zealand and France in the Southern Ocean.

Some of the oil and gas fields in the Timor Sea -- including Greater Sunrise, one of the biggest -- lie outside the joint development area in waters claimed by Australia and now Timor Leste. If Timor Leste can get the border placed at the halfway mark, many billions of dollars in extra royalty and tax revenue will flow to Timor Leste, not Australia.

Both sides were playing hardball until recently. Australia withdrew the dispute from the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice and continued to take tax revenue of about US$1 million a day from several of the disputed oil fields that lie much closer to Timor Leste than Australia.

Canberra is concerned that if it makes major concessions to Timor Leste on the maritime frontier, its credibility with oil and gas companies will be undermined. It is also worried that Indonesia will demand a renegotiation of its adjacent seabed boundaries with Australia in the Timor Sea that were fixed in the early 1970s, much closer to Indonesia than Australia.

Meanwhile, Timor Leste refused to ratify an agreement between the two nations to split revenues from the disputed Greater Sunrise gas field 80 per cent to Australia and 20 per cent to Timor Leste. As a result, the project was shelved late last year, although it may still be revived.

Australia insists that any solution must give the companies that have invested in the US$5 billion Greater Sunrise project the legal certainty to proceed.

It wants any agreement on a permanent maritime boundary with Timor Leste postponed for at least 50 years until the seabed energy reserves are exhausted. Australia will pay Timor Leste compensation if it accepts these terms.

In essence, Canberra appears to be offering more money to Timor Leste through an extra revenue transfer, instead of boundary negotiations. While a deal has yet to be finalised, Timor Leste Foreign Minister Jose Ramos-Horta said shortly before the latest round of negotiations this week that he was confident an agreement could now be reached, possibly by mid-year.

[The writer is a visiting senior research fellow at the Institute of South-east Asian Studies in Singapore. This is a personal comment.]

Australia, Timor are near an accord on oil, royalties

Associated Press - March 11, 2005

Canberra -- Australia and East Timor have agreed on a framework for sharing US$30 billion in seabed oil and gas royalties, Australia's foreign minister said.

Negotiators representing one of the region's richest nations and one of the poorest met in Canberra for three days this week to discuss where their common maritime boundary should lie in the Timor Sea.

"I think we made very good progress, though there have been times in the past where I thought we were really getting there and it's gone backward," Foreign Minister Alexander Downer told reporters Thursday in Melbourne.

"I think we've got the framework of an agreement nutted out; we've got more details still to work through but I think we're making very good progress with East Timor," he said.

Mr. Downer and his East Timorese counterpart, Jose Ramos Horta, a 1996 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, had predicted last year that an agreement would be settled by last Christmas. But monthlong negotiations broke down acrimoniously in October, with each side accusing the other of derailing a solution.

East Timor's head negotiator, Jose Teixeira, said the new round this week ended with agreement to continue talks soon.

East Timor wants the border to lie in the middle of the 600 kilometers of sea separating the two countries. But Australia wants the same boundary it set with Indonesia, which occupied East Timor from 1975 to 1999. That boundary is much closer to East Timor.

Australian officials said before the most recent talks that they would seek a "creative solution" that would enable the $5 billion Greater Sunrise gas field -- the largest in the Timor Sea -- to be tapped without the permanent-boundary question being settled.

Woodside Petroleum Ltd. of Australia, one of the companies hoping to pump oil and gas out of the region, shelved the Greater Sunrise project last year because the two countries had failed to broker a revenue-sharing deal by the company's Christmas deadline.

Australia insists that any solution must provide Woodside and its partners with legal certainty to proceed and must postpone any agreement on a permanent maritime boundary for at least 50 years.

Postponing the boundary agreement is aimed at ensuring that it remains in place until the seabed energy reserves are exhausted. Australia would pay East Timor compensation for accepting those terms.

Miners damaging Timor Sea: activists

Australian Associated Press - March 10, 2005

Rob Taylor -- Australian companies exploiting huge oil and gas reserves in the Timor Sea were destroying marine life and threatening its fragile environment, an Indonesian watchdog group said today.

As Australia and East Timor argue over on how to divide $US30 billion ($38 billion) worth of seabed oil and gas royalties in the area, the West Timor Care Foundation accused Australian resource companies of not protecting the marine ecosystem.

The watchdog said oil leaks had already occurred in the disputed area.

Woodside Petroleum Ltd, one of the companies hoping to pump oil and gas out of the region before it shelved the project amid the continuing dispute between East Timor and Australia, had been aware of the damage, foundation director Ferdi Tanoni said.

"Woodside left the site because of the environmental damage that occurred and this is what worries us," Mr Ferdi said.

He said the foundation had sent an open letter to Prime Minister John Howard protesting about the damage and he called for Indonesia's government to reach an agreement with Australia which would assign responsibility to Canberra in the event of a serious leak.

"We are afraid that the gas pipe from the area to Darwin will leak and it will cause a disaster," Ferdi said.

"The ecosystem of the Timor Sea is threatened and may be destroyed.

"There must be implemented an international agreement between Indonesian and Australia if there were effects form those activities, because it is natural if those problems become Australia's responsibility."

A Woodside spokesman Rob Millhouse acknowledged two leaks had occurred from Woodside's floating production and storage ship, Northern Endeavour.

The first occurred in November last year and the most recent leak was in February, when about 50 cubic metres of oil leaked from flow lines attached to the facility.

"We not entirely sure of the cause yet. We are still investigating. But as soon as we noticed it we shut down operations," he said. "We disclosed the leaks and apologised."

He said the leaks occurred in Australian waters near the Laminaria-Corallina fields to the west of the disputed area, which Australia exploits unilaterally at 150,000 barrels a day.

Mr Millhouse said Woodside's mining operations in the area were governed by tough Australian environmental laws. Mr Ferdi said the operation ignored the rights and interests of Indonesian West Timorese.

The accusations came as the latest round of negotiations between Australia and East Timor broke up with no resolution.

East Timor is demanding that the dispute be settled in accordance with the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which would see the maritime boundary placed midway in the 600km sea gap between the two countries

But Canberra is holding to a boundary agreed with Indonesia following the 1975 invasion of East Timor and which placed the border just 150km from the Timor coast.

If Dili is successful, East Timor would be able to claim the bulk of the disputed fields and its share of oil and gas revenues would rise from $US4 billion to $US12 billion. Australian officials said before the most recent talks that they would seek a "creative solution" that would enable the $US5 billion Greater Sunrise field, the largest in the Timor Sea, to be tapped without the permanent boundary question being settled.

Oil and gas are vital to Timor's long-term viability

Andrew Hewett - March 9, 2005

A lot is riding on the outcome of the negotiations between the Australian and East Timorese Governments over the resource rich Timor Sea which concludes today. Not least the Australian Government's reputation. With a millionaire businessman running pro-Timor advertisements on prime-time TV, a mob of US congressmen, and World War II diggers calling for a just outcome for the East Timorese, the Australian Government's spin doctors will be closely watching the public reaction to the negotiations between the Timorese David and the Australian Goliath.

The mood is vocal in East Timor too. Public forums, held late last year by the Timorese Government throughout the rural districts, revealed great public curiosity -- and some anger -- about the negotiations over the permanent maritime boundary in the Timor Sea. People wanted to know why Australia was claiming most of the Timor Sea resources for itself.

They wanted know why Australia would not allow East Timor to develop the fields jointly and to build its own oil processing industry for the benefit of current and future generations.

Prime Minister John Howard made the politically risky decision to send troops to East Timor during the post independence ballot violence of 1999. Australia's support for Timor-Leste, from the INTERFET troops and ongoing aid, are acknowledged by the East Timorese. These achievements in East Timor should not be put at risk and undermined by allowing East Timor to become a pauper and politically unstable in the future.

While the current dispute -- which ended in a breakdown in talks last October -- is about competing interpretations of the maritime boundary and who has the larger control of natural resources lying in the sea bed between the two countries, the East Timorese position has common sense and international law on its side.

While parents in Australia wrestle with the decision over whether to send their children to a public or private school, East Timorese parents, face a lack of schools and trained teachers. While Australians have to decide whether to take out private health insurance, many of the one million East Timorese have no access to health clinics and few doctors outside the capital Dili. The case for development for current and future generations is compelling.

Australia has reportedly increased last October's offer of $3 billion revenue over 30 years, to $4 billion in exchange for the so called Hong Kong model: signing away the right to discuss maritime boundaries for 99 years. This is unacceptable to the East Timorese, particularly given the knowledge that the under sea oilfields are still revealing undiscovered riches.

The East Timorese feel it would be irresponsible to sign away the rights to negotiate over future finds and legal certainty over development of future resources.

The East Timorese believe that the maritime boundary is the median line between the two nations under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Furthermore their Government cannot accept any interim agreement that does not include their full participation in the development of the resources.

Full participation includes open discussion on the decision of when to develop the resources and the possibility of on-shore processing of the gas and oil in East Timor. The East Timorese see that such development could bring many spin-off industries, providing an enormous boost to their stagnant economy.

The Timorese have no intention of becoming another Nauru, and nor do they want to be a Solomon Islands in years to come, calling on Australian assistance to rebuild after an economic and political collapse.

The right to development is vital to the negotiations. The quicker the maritime boundary is settled according to international law and Timorese participation in the development of the Timor Seas resources commences, the better the economic and political future will be for the people of East Timor.

[Andrew Hewett is executive director of Oxfam Community Aid Abroad.]

Tussle over Timor Sea oil and gas resumes

Asia Times - March 7, 2005

Canberra -- Canberra and Dili entered a new round of negotiations -- the third so far in a year -- as Australian and East Timorese officials on Monday again deliberated on how to divide up oil and gas deposits under the Timor Sea.

After nearly a year of negotiations, both sides may finally be willing to compromise on carving up the oil-rich Timor Sea energy reserves, worth an estimated US$32.07 billion. East Timorese Foreign Minister Jose Ramos Horta said he is confident an agreement can be reached, possibly as early as the middle of the year.

This week's discussions will focus on a compromise that would involve setting aside permanent maritime boundary talks for up to a century. East Timor is also keen to look at ways it could benefit from downstream processing projects, as well as the potential for jobs based in Darwin to go to East Timorese workers.

Negotiations reached a stalemate at the end of last year, with East Timor accusing Australia of issuing ultimatums and adopting a "take it or leave it" attitude toward its smal neighbor. This time around, however, the Australian government is under increasing domestic and international pressure to expedite the resolution of a fair sea boundary with East Timor, one of the world's poorest countries.

A delegation of community leaders, led by Catholic Bishop Hilton Deakin, presented a letter to a Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade representative in Canberra on Monday afternoon, urging Australia to respect East Timor's legal entitlements under international law. The group, which includes Australian Greens Senator Bob Brown, claims negotiators have not accurately reflected the Australian peoples' values of fairness and justice, and it is urging the government to set the maritime boundaries halfway between the coastlines of East Timor and Australia. Senator Brown said the government was thinking of delaying a decision on boundaries because more time would work in its favor.

"By attempting to postpone an agreement on maritime boundaries, the Australian government is conveniently ignoring the fact that most, if not all, of these oil and gas fields would belong to East Timor if permanent maritime boundaries were drawn in accordance with current international law," he said.

Meanwhile, Australian businessman Ian Melrose has renewed a prime-time television advertising campaign bluntly criticizing the Australian government's negotiating position over the boundary. "The (Prime Minister John) Howard government has stolen A$2 billion (US$1.57 billion) in tax revenue from gas and oil royalties, which East Timor needs to create a working health system," the advertisement states.

Melrose, who has pledge to run a multi-million dollar campaign over the next three years on the issue if necessary, is not confining his efforts to television.

Full-page advertisements appeared on Monday in a number of major newspapers, featuring an open letter from community leaders. "We strongly believe that the positions you take to these meetings should reflect the views of the people of Australia, the people you represent, and our values of fairness and equity," the advertisement adds. "While we recognize the dire need East Timor has for revenue, we understand that this is not a matter of charity, but one of justice," it continues.

The dire economic and social conditions that most East Timorese face are no better reflected than in the area of health care, as highllighted by Melrose's advertising campaign. The majority of the population lives in rural villages, often isolated and far from medical facilities or hospitals. The roads are impassable during the wet season, electricity is scant and telecommunications are next to non-existent. Curable and preventable diseases are life threatening for most in these circumstances.

The United States has also gotten in on this latest debate. Last Friday 17 members of the US Congress, including Republicans, Democrats and an independent representative, wrote to the Australian government urging the adoption of a fair boundary. The letter stated their hope that an expeditious resolution of the boundary would allow the people of East Timor to escape "the oppression of poverty that is preventing them from progressing as one of the world's newest democracies". In September 2004, under growing domestic and international condemnation, Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer expressed optimism that an agreement could be reached by the end of December in order to facilitate the proposed Greater Sunrise oil and gas project, estimated to be worth $35 billion.

But after the Howard government was re-elected on October 9, talks broke down, with East Timorese representatives arguing that Australia had reneged on its earlier offer of more generous revenue sharing.

Earlier this year the proponents of the Greater Sunrise project, a consortium of global oil and gas companies including Woodside, ConocoPhillips, Shell and Osaka Gas, put the project on hold after East Timor refused to legislate in support of the project before the resolution of the sea boundary dispute.

East Timor, which broke away from Indonesian rule in 1999 but remains largely dependent on foreign aid, says the border in the sea should be drawn at the midpoint between the two countries. Australia says the boundary should be defined by the continental shelf, which in some places lies less than 80 kilometers from East Timor's southern coastline.

Australia opposes any change to the boundary it negotiated with the Indonesian government. This established a Joint Petroleum Development Area (JPDA) over the bulk of the most prospective oil areas with revenues to be shared between the two countries.

According to this agreement, East Timor would gain 90% of the royalties from projects such as the small Bayu-Undan oil and gas project that is currently being exploited within its portion of this area. However, the entire Laminaria-Corallina field and the bulk of the Greater Sunrise deposit lies on Australia's side of the current boundary.

In a background briefing for journalists two weeks ago, a Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade official said Australia was only willing to discuss a "creative solution" involving the current boundaries but not the resolution of a permanent maritime boundary. "Our position is that the permanent boundaries should be put off for quite some considerable time. At least until the resources have been exploited," the official said.

East Timor's supporters argue that the Australian government has every incentive to drag its feet in the negotiations for as long as possible.

Since 1999 the Australian government has received more than $1.5 billion in revenue from the Laminaria-Corallina field, which is far closer to East Timor than Australia. If the maritime boundary were drawn as a mid-point between the two countries -- as is current international standard -- the royalties owing to East Timor would triple.

Proposals by East Timor's supporters that the revenue from this project should be set aside in a separate fund until the boundary is resolved have been repeatedly rejected by Australia.

East Timor has also proposed the boundary dispute should be arbitrated by the International Court of Justice. But in March 2002, just two months before East Timor gained its independence from Indonesia, Australia withdrew from the section that deals with maritime boundary disputes.

Ahead of this week's talks, Foreign Minister Ramos Horta told reporters that his fledgling country could be amendable to putting the permanent boundary issue aside if it obtains a fairer division of the economic benefits.

However, East Timorese suggestions that the processing plant associated with the Greater Sunrise project be located in East Timor and a proportion of jobs be filled by East Timorese workers are opposed by Australia.

Whatever the outcome, Tom Clark, spokesperson for the Timor Sea Justice Campaign, said he hopes that in this week's talks "Australia stops trying to short-change East Timor and ensures that it guarantees what East Timor is entitled to under international law".

(Asia Pulse/Inter Press Service)

War veterans to front Timor gas protest

Australian Associated Press - March 7, 2005

World War II veterans will appear in ads on Anzac Day aimed at embarrassing the federal government over the carve up of oil and gas reserves with East Timor.

East Timor has argued it is being cut out of billions of dollars through an incorrect understanding of the sea boundaries.

At stake are oil and gas deposits worth an estimated $41 billion and negotiations between the two countries are continuing. Australian businessman Ian Melrose, who is funding the TV ads from his own pocket, said the Anzac Day ads would feature Australian World War Two veterans who fought the Japanese on Timor. All were angry about Australia's stance on the deal, Mr Melrose said.

Mr Melrose is part of a so-called people's delegation including Catholic Bishop Hilton Deakin and Greens Senator Bob Brown, which on Monday delivered a letter of protest signed by prominent Australians.

"We're here today to try and encourage the Australian government to act honourably [and] to not use time as a weapon against the East Timorese, which is what the Australian government has been doing, and it's unacceptable to do so," Mr Melrose told reporters.

"We're also here today to impress on everyone that the Australian government did the wrong thing on March 25, 2002, which is the day on which the Australian government withdrew recognition of the international court to hear the dispute about the ownership of oil and gas." Catholic Bishop Hilton Deakin said he wanted to speak for all Australians of good will and people who believed in a fair go.

"The way in which our governments have behaved in the past in ignoring jurisdictions by withdrawing from them, redefining boundaries and redefining principles about boundaries, is nothing short of a very sophisticated way of depriving the people of what nature gave them," he said.

Australia offers Timor cash-for-oil

ABC Radio PM - March 7, 2005

Reporter: Ian Melrose

Mark Colvin: Negotiations between Australia and East Timor on a seabed boundary resumed in Canberra this afternoon, with oil and gas reserves worth tens of billions of dollars at stake.

Australia is offering East Timor a cash-for-sovereignty deal -- put aside a final boundary settlement and take an extra $3- billion.

As the negotiators were getting ready to resume talks inside the Foreign Affairs Department in Canberra, a group of Australians gathered outside to attack the Australian approach as "wicked". This report from Graeme Dobell.

Graeme Dobell: Australia wants to defer a final decision on a seabed boundary in the Timor Sea for 50 to 100 years to allow oil and gas projects to go ahead now.

Canberra has offered Dili $3-billion over 30 years to accept the cash-for-sovereignty formula -- take the money now and deal with the final border issue in a few generations time.

The talks broke down in Dili last October, when East Timor rejected the formula, saying that control of resources, not just the cash, had to be part of the solution. Australia, in turn, took fright at Timor's demand that the pipeline from the seabed field should run to Dili, not to Darwin.

As the negotiations resumed in Canberra, a group of Australians from the Timor Sea Justice Campaign delivered a letter, calling for the boundary to be set at the mid-point between Timor and Australia, so the resource royalties can flow to Dili.

The median line is the Timorese demand. Canberra says if a boundary is set, it should be based on Australia's continental shelf, which runs much closer to Timor.

One of the group was Chip Henriss-Anderssen, who went into East Timor as a major with Australian Army at the start of the UN intervention.

Chip Henriss-Anderssen: What our government is doing today is criminally wrong and it goes against the real spirit of ANZAC. It's un-Australian and it's not about the Australian ethos of a fair go. We're really not helping these people that we, as soldiers, came to know and really love.

We landed in Dili on September 20th 1999, and personally, and I know for a lot of soldiers, it was one of the proudest days in our careers, we did a lot of very good work there. The actions of our government are now dishonouring that service and discrediting the spirit of ANZAC.

Graeme Dobell: Australia says the boundary dispute should be settled by negotiation, not by arbitration or litigation, and to ensure that Australia, in March 2002, announced that it would no longer submit to rulings by the International Court of Justice on maritime boundaries. Greens Senator Bob Brown says Australia is trying to steal resources.

Bob Brown: Look, the line should go halfway between the two countries, and East Timor's call for any independent international agency to arbitrate on the matter should be heeded by the Howard Government.

The Howard Government is not heeding that call for independent arbitration because it is in the business of theft, theft from the poorest nation in our neighbourhood, a nation that needs this money for hospitals, for schools, for police stations, for its army, to stop kids from starving.

Graeme Dobell: And Australians are going to keep hearing that message, theft of resources costing innocent lives in East Timor, through advertising. Having made his millions in business, Ian Melrose has already spent $2-million on an ad campaign since September, and promises to spend another $6-million on marketing East Timor's case. He wants Australians to get angry with their government's negotiating tactics.

Ian Melrose: I've scheduled $2-million a year for the next three years, however having said that, if it doesn't get the result, if I don't think it's going and getting the momentum required, I'll spend more.

Graeme Dobell: How would you define momentum?

Ian Melrose: Um, sufficient public concern, people visiting politicians, causing the Government to rethink its position.

Graeme Dobell: What of the argument that, yes, East Timor's needs are great, and that rather than negotiate for years with Australia they should take the offer on the table of $3-billion over 30 years and go and spend that money which is on offer?

Ian Melrose: That's treating East Timor in a patronising way, and that's unacceptable. What the Australian Government should morally do is reinstate the International Court as the proper jurisdiction to hear the matter and have the matter resolved independently by the UN.

Mark Colvin: Businessman Ian Melrose, of the Timor Justice Campaign, with Graeme Dobell.

Transition & reconstruction

East Timor a nation on its knees

The Australian - March 14, 2005

Sian Powell, Dili -- Pigs nose about in the flooded playground of Rumpia primary school in Caecoli, a poor suburb of Dili. None of the classroom windows has any glass, some of the children have no shoes.

"Pity them," says teacher Carlota Morilius da Silva. "There are those families who can afford shoes and books, and there are those who can't."

East Timor, long held up as a successful example of UN intervention and foreign aid, now has more to deal with than grinding poverty. The UN and the US State Department both recently documented unchecked police abuses, the deliberate hampering of political opposition and government refusal to listen to open criticism. It is ominously reminiscent of 1980s and 90s Indonesia -- the nation that ruled East Timor until 1999.

Meanwhile, all 22 East Timorese probationary judges have failed their evaluations, and most can no longer hear cases. It is thought all East Timorese prosecutors and public defenders will soon also fail their evaluations, leaving the judicial system near standstill.

Observers are concerned that this potent mix of poverty, police abuse, a stumbling justice system and the emergence of oppressive leadership is a harbinger of worse to come, and a sign of a nation on its knees.

"Progress has been made but much more needs to take place before you could have any confidence East Timor will make it," says one international observer who has had a long association with the nation. "The Government operates in secret and can't stand criticism or even questions."

A frightening level of dysfunction is one matter, he says, but of more concern are the increasing police abuses and government crackdowns.

In the Dili district court last week, Emiliano Nosolini, a judge from Guinea Bissau, was hearing a case involving a police officer who had allegedly attacked a colleague. Nosolini is one of four international judges hired to tide East Timor over until the local judges can be trained - an expensive option the nation may not be able to afford for much longer.

On the other side of Dili, a hearing connected with the savage violence of 1999 was presided over by two international judges and one failed East Timorese probationary judge. Four of the failed East Timorese judges are still hearing special cases because some trials must by law have a national judge on the panel.

East Timor's Chief Justice, Claudio Ximenes, says he hopes proper funding for training will lead to a fully functioning judicial system by 2006.

"We are trying to get the funds," he says, explaining that if the resources are not available, all the failed judges will have to become probationary judges again. But these judges have failed a test he terms "not difficult at all", and if they return to the bench, they could be sending people to prison.

"The main problem for us is money," Justice Ximenes says. "Even if we didn't have these problems we need the money."

Like many other officials and politicians in East Timor, Justice Ximenes hopes Australia and East Timor will come to an agreement soon, and resources from the disputed Timor Sea oilfields will start rolling in. The money is desperately needed for training and to pay salaries.

Police abuses have soared, and a former MP and human rights lawyer, Aderito de Jesus Soares, blames the lack of resources. He says the three-month preliminary training of police recruits is inadequate, and a monthly salary of $US80 ($100) is asking for trouble.

"Something I keep criticising is training and education," he says, pointing out that problems riddle the institution. "The mechanisms for people to complain are not sufficient at this stage. We need to take measures against those who abuse their powers, including the big guys in charge of the institutions."

Funds are needed to shore up the police force, he says, and like others, he looks to the Timor Sea oil. "The money is there. We need the money. We keep begging, begging, begging," Mr Soares says. "We need to be independent, not dependent for 10 to 15 years on a rich country like Australia."

The white hope of aid agencies and the UN, and the recipient of billions of dollars in international aid, East Timor seems to be foundering. The vision of vast wealth from oil to help establish the infant nation is receding as the needs of the people multiply.

In Dili's markets last week, there were plenty of vegetables and meat, but this is the "hungry time" of year, before the harvests, and many of the poorer families are subsisting on rice and sago, especially in the districts outside Dili.

The children in the Rumpia school are not starving, but many of them are painfully thin. "They are poor," says Ms da Silva. "There is no work here, their parents have no work." And with a tiny annual budget, East Timor cannot afford unemployment benefits or food aid.

International assistance might soon begin to wane, exacerbating the problems. The UN has to decide whether to extend its mission in East Timor, and by how much. The armed peacekeepers are the most likely to be pulled out.

Five years ago, Australia led an intervention force into a devastated nation, where a wave of violence from the Indonesian military and its militia proxies had left 1400 people dead and whole towns destroyed.

Australia still has 105 armed peacekeepers stationed in its tiny northern neighbour. But in recent weeks, Australia and the US opposed UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan's recommendation to extend the mission of the peacekeeping troops in East Timor. Altogether 438 peacekeepers are now deployed in the new nation.

Although Mr Annan says the numbers can be reduced, he stresses that a residual force is essential. He told the UN there have been recent sightings of former militia groups, the border remains porous, and clashes, smuggling, illegal border crossings and crime are escalating. Pulling out the peacekeepers would leave the border in the hands of the much-criticised local police.

The deputy force commander, Australian Robert Van Kampen, says the Australian troops in East Timor mostly provide logistical support by maintaining the main border roads. Peacekeepers from other nations are stationed at three points along the border, about 5km back, and do some limited patrolling. Unarmed military liaison officers help East Timor's border patrol police negotiate with the Indonesian military and settle any difficulties that arise.

Whether an armed international presence is still needed on the border is a delicate question that is resonating in the corridors of the UN in New York. "The UN mission's point of view is that an international military presence is needed because there's no surety being provided by East Timor for the security of the military observers and other UN personnel," Van Kampen says.

Joaquim Fonseca, a human rights activist and one of the leaders of the 1999 resistance, says many of East Timor's problems are the legacy of an Indonesia ruled by former despot Suharto.

"It should have been clear from the beginning that given the history of this country, every single person who lived in East Timor needs to unlearn things," he says. "It's more urgent for those working in vulnerable areas, like the armed forces."

Like most East Timorese, he wants the Timor Sea money to start coming in, and believes that with more cash in hand the nation can solve problems and get to work. "That's a very important resource for our country," he says.

"We need to establish the conditions for the money to be effectively used, both for the best interests of the people now, and also the best interests of future generations."

The US State Department's recent report on human rights in East Timor found "numerous reports of excessive force and abuse of authority by police officers". In his report, Mr Annan warns of the recent increase in reported cases of abuse of police power, rarely properly handled, and a new tendency to use the police to hamper political opposition.

About 1700 police officers completed the first phase of UN skills training last December, but half failed to achieve the desired level of competence.

By the end of last year, there was a backlog of 75 cases of severe misconduct that had been reported to an interior ministry committee, according to the State Department.

"In March a district police commander was suspended after he refused instructions from his superiors to stop a rally in Suai held by an opposition party," the report found. In July, a member of an opposition movement was arrested after he hung up anti- government banners.

"Who trusts them? No one trusts them," says Jose, a hotel worker who declined to give his last name, and who curled his lip when asked about the police.

Australia partly funds a large police training program in East Timor, but supporters of retaining peacekeepers point out that fostering professionalism and accountability takes time, and they are both qualities still in short supply in the police service.

Strains have also emerged between elements of the armed forces. Ominously reminiscent of similar dramas in Indonesia, about 20 armed soldiers attacked a local police station in December, injuring two officers.

Despite the manifest problems, criticism of political leaders is unwelcome. Irritated by one newspaper, the Government cancelled subscriptions and banned interviews with its journalists. Parliament has still failed to elect a provedor (ombudsman) for human rights, and there are reports of low-level corruption beginning among port officials.

Difficulties have emerged in other areas: imposing Portuguese on a nation accustomed to speaking the local language of Tetum and Indonesian has become a major obstacle.

Trainees at the justice training centre, run by the UNDP and funded in part by Australia, asked for a translator because they were having trouble keeping up with the Portuguese instruction. None was provided, because the Government felt this would militate against thorough teaching in Portuguese.

Sophia Cason, international adviser to the program monitoring the judicial system in East Timor, says many of the problems besetting the judiciary stem from the complete lack of training for local officials in court administration and case management.

"The Ministry of Justice and the president of the Court of Appeal need a plan as to how they can fix all the fundamental problems," she says. With a backlog of perhaps 3000 cases, the judicial system is in trouble.

The courts' phone bills are sometimes not paid, Ms Cason says, which hampers communication. Far more seriously, dangerous criminals are sometimes set free. For example, a man who allegedly raped his young daughter was released because no judge could be found to extend the 72-hour detention period. Ms Cason says the man was later found by police threatening his neighbours with a machete, accusing them of informing on him.

On another occasion, police took a case of a young girl assaulted with a rock to the Dili district court. Despite the girl's head wound, which needed five stitches, police were told by the judge, through the prosecutors, this was not a serious enough crime to warrant the court's attention.

Money is needed everywhere. Of nearly a million people in East Timor, as many as three-quarters still rely on subsistence agriculture. Health and education are desperately underfunded. About a quarter of primary school-age children are not in school. One in 10 never begin.

More than half of all children under two have never been vaccinated, and at least four died of measles recently in the enclave of Oecussi.

Parasites are rampant, but a comprehensive worming program has only been undertaken in one district. With pigs in the playground, the children of the Rumpia school are in constant contact with animals, leading to a cycle of parasite reinfection that is hard to break.

Keryn Clark, Oxfam's director in East Timor, says unemployment is a big problem, and many of the rural poor are drifting into Dili, straining the city's resources. East Timor has one of the highest birth rates in the world, and almost half the population is under 15. Unemployment, especially rural unemployment, looks set to worsen.

"We recognise a lot more needs to be done," the Australian aid worker says. "But for it to be sustainable it needs this period of time."

To begin with, she says, aid was poured into rehabilitating the physical infrastructure of the nation, which was devastated in 1999. Now more can be done with long-term plans for fostering employment in the rural economy, and improving health and education across the board.

Joaquim Fonseca says the East Timorese will eventually overcome all their difficulties, given time and some assistance from the oil wealth under the sea. "There are so many problems," he says with a grimace. "But I refuse to be pessimistic."

[Sian Powell is The Australian's Jakarta correspondent.]

Land/rural issues

East Timor faces food shortage

Voice of America - March 3, 2005

Dini Rahim, Washington -- Food shortages in East Timor, two and half years after the territory achieved independence from Indonesia, are causing complaints that the government is paying too little attention to agriculture.

There have been press and human rights organization reports since last October that people are suffering from starvation in East Timor. The Los Palos, Suai and Manufahi districts are among areas of the region where a food crisis reportedly has affected thousands of people. At least 50 people are said to have died in one village, alone.

A severe drought causing food shortages is not uncommon for the East Timorese. It happens almost every year. The most severe occurred between 1977-1979, while the country was under Indonesian rule, when thousands of East Timorese died. The Indonesian military was accused of causing the food shortages in order to weaken the local political resistance movement.

But reports about starvation in the former Indonesia's territory this year have raised concerns that the government has not done enough to ease the problem of food shortages.

In Washington, Constancio Pinto, Deputy Chief of Mission at East Timor's embassy, says some of the complaints of food shortages may originate with opponents of the government's decision to send aid to Indonesia's tsunami-stricken province, Aceh.

"I am very cautious about the news since the news has come out few weeks after some allegations against the [East Timorese] government decision of providing relief assistance to Aceh. I understand some of the political party leaders criticize that. I hope that this is not a politicized-news," he said.

Mr. Pinto acknowledges there are some food shortages. But he says the government is working hard to deal with the problem. "The government is investigating it and trying to provide some food delivery," he said.

The government's efforts have come under some criticism. Dionisio Soares is Deputy Chief of the Asia Foundation in Dili. He calls the government policy "too centralized." Mr. Soares says all decisions are being made by the central government in the capital, Dili, including the distribution of food to areas across the country. The government may want to prevent corruption in pursuing this policy, says Mr. Soares, but its overwhelming control has brought about unintended results, that is, corruption by some officials.

Manuela Pereira, an activist with Fokupers, The East Timorese Women's Communication Forum, based in Dili, says starvation is a burning issue now in East Timor. She visited Suai district recently and says she witnessed people there suffering from hunger.

Manuela Pereira says the East Timorese rely heavily on farming, which, in turn depends on the weather. They do not, she says, have adequate food supplies and in Suai, people are so desperate for food that they are forced to sell their houses at bargain prices -- $120 -- to be able to buy rice.

According to some analysts, a food shortage in East Timor cannot be blamed on any single factor. Poor infrastructure and soil quality in most parts of East Timor have contributed to the continuing lack of food in that country.

Domingus Saldanha, the managing editor of the Suara Timor Lorosae newspaper in Dili, says he has monitored the situation and found there is starvation in several areas.

However, Mr. Saldanha says he does not believe that the government policy is the prime cause of the food shortage. One of the major factors, he argues, has been the inability of local communities to afford irrigation systems for their farms, that could mitigate the effects of drought. Nevertheless he believes the government should do much more for the nation's farmers.

Mr. Saldanha says East Timor is an agrarian country. The majority of the people are engaged in farming. But, he says, the government does not make agriculture a priority in its budget. Agriculture accounts for only five percent of the budget. He also says the village remain a central part of the people's life in East Timor and the government should help villagers to become productive farmers.

East Timor is one of the poorest countries in the world. Basic income, literacy and health are among the world's lowest. According to the United Nations Development Program, with a total population of more than 800,000, East Timor has a per capita annual income of $478.

The world's newest nation faces many challenges and raising the living standard of its people is one of those challenges.

Government & politics

Amaral resigns citing government failures

Associated Press - March 14, 2005

A man who served as East Timor's temporary leader in 1975 before it was invaded by Indonesia resigned Monday from his country's legislature, citing the government's failure to attract foreign investment and saying he wants to prepare for 2007 elections.

Francisco Xavier do Amaral, who lost to popular resistance leader Xanana Gusmao in the territory's first free presidential election in 2002, said he was powerless to solve East Timor's problems, including weak economic growth, because of the failures of the ruling nationalist party, Fretilin.

"It is already three years since our independence but no investors have yet come to East Timor to invest here and offer job opportunity to the people," do Amaral said. He said he would begin preparing for 2007 parliamentary and presidential polls.

Do Amaral served as East Timor's acting president during the 10 days in 1975 between Portugal's withdrawal as its colonial ruler and Indonesia's invasion of the territory of 600,000 people.

Like other Fretilin leaders, do Amaral escaped into the mountains and led a guerrilla war against the occupiers. But he soon fell out of favor with Fretilin, saying he was unwilling to continue the struggle in which about 200,000 people -- a third of the population -- perished.

In 1978, he was captured by Indonesian troops and taken to Jakarta, where he remained a prisoner for over two decades.

In 1999, East Timor opted overwhelmingly for independence in a UN-organized referendum that sparked widespread retaliatory violence by the Indonesian army and its proxy militias. The territory achieved full independence in 2002 following a period of UN transitional rule, but remains Asia's poorest country.

Do Amaral returned to Dili in 2000 and set up his own political party, the Association of Timorese Social Democrats, which he hoped would challenge Fretilin's dominance by attracting more foreign aid and investment.

But he garnered only 17 percent of the presidential vote when he challenged Gusmao in 2002.

Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri criticized do Amaral's resignation. "If he is not satisfied with any area of the government's work he should offer alternative solutions, not just resign from Parliament," he said.

Justice & reconciliation

Truth and Friendship commission criticised by NGOs

Kompas - March 19, 2005

The establishment of a Commission of Truth and Friendship (CTF) by the Indonesian and East Timorese governments has been severely criticised by a group of non-governmental organisations in East Timor and Indonesia.

They see this as a hasty move and suspect that it is the result of political deals struck between the two states.

These strong criticisms were contained in a joint statement issued by NGOs in Indonesia and East Timor at a press conference on Friday, held at the office of the Commisision for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence in Jakarta. They called on the two states to render an account for the establishment of the CTF to the parliaments and the public in both countries.

The NGOs from East Timor consist of Perkumpulan Hukum, Asasi Manusia dan Keadilan (HAK), Judicial System Monitoring Program, Fokupers, Lao Hamutuk, SAHE, Forum Tau Matan and Khadalak Salimutu. The NGOs from Indonesia are the Human Rights Working Group, Kontras, PBHI and Imparsial.

The statement was read out at the press conference by Usman Hamid of Kontras, in the company of Amado Hei of Perkumpulan HAK, Choirul Anam of the HRWG, Atnike Sigiro of Elsam and Alex Flor of Watch Indonesia.

Amado said that they reject the establishment of the CTF because it is in grave conflict with the real situation in East Timor. Moreover, the decision taken by the two governments is unconstitutional as it fails to comply with the constitutions of the two countries which mandate the states to deal with crimes against humanity perpetrated in East Timor in 1999.

"At the present stage, we are awaiting the evaluation of the UN and the formation of the Commission of Experts by the UN. We regard the CTF as ignoring all the procedures undertaken up to the present by the UN in East Timor, namely the Commission for the Recognition of East Timor Truth and Reconciliation which is to complete its report in July this year," said Amado.

The two groups of NGOs therefore deeply regret the establishment of the CTF which they consider as disregarding justice for the victims of serious human rights violations in East Timor.

At the same time, the NGOs welcome the establishment of the Commission of Experts set up by the General Secretary of the UN.

"We suspect that political deals lie behind the hasty establishment of the CTF. This is also evident from the shoddy wording of the CTF," said Usman.

Legal impunity

Measures to revise the CTF wording amount to nothing more than changing a few words while the content remains the same. For instance, the word "amnesty" in 14 (e) was replaced by "forgiveness", and the sentence "rehabilitation for those accused of arbitrarily violating human rights" was replaced by "rehabilitation for those accused of violating human rights where the accusation was erroneous". "This paragraph legalises impunity for perpetrators who have already been tried in the two countries," Usman said.

Under "objectives", the sentence which reads "to affirm conclusive truth" has now been reworded as "to affirm the final truth".

These revisions show that the CTF has been set up for purely practical reasons, while failing to establish firmly-based long- lasting mutual relations between the countries. On the contrary, they forgive the violators of human rights.

The CTF as at present constituted is not in accord with the joint statement issued by Indonesian foreign minister Hassan Wirayuda and East Timorese foreign minister Ramos Horta., which declared that impunity would not be included in the CTF.

Indonesia, East Timor seal deal on atrocities

Agence France Presse - March 9, 2005 Indonesia and East Timor have agreed to set up a commission to deal with atrocities surrounding East Timor's 1999 vote for independence, despite criticism led by the United Nations.

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, East Timor President Xanana Gusmao and East Timor Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri inked the creation of the Commission of Truth and Friendship at the presidential palace here.

Yudhoyono said the body, which will start its two-year mission in August, was the best medium for the two countries to come to terms with and move on from the bloodshed surrounding East Timor's breakaway from Indonesia.

"Indonesia puts forward, focuses on and chooses the Commission of Truth and Friendship as the best and the most feasible means to solve the problems between Indonesia and Timor Leste [East Timor]," Yudhoyono told reporters.

"We made our decision obviously after we considered all related aspects. We would like to build better friendship and cooperation with Timor Leste and we adhere firmly to that," he said.

Gusmao said the commission's "mammoth" task was to uncover truth, not seek retribution. "I'm not a judge, I'm not a human rights advocate or lawyer. We are not looking for defendants. We are looking for truth," he said.

Gusmao later told a press conference that the commission would be made up of 10 members with each country appointing five representatives. Members include human rights experts, lawyers, politicians and religious leaders.

The United Nations has refused to endorse the deal, proposing instead a commission of experts to assess why a 1999 Security Council resolution to try those accused of war crimes has failed.

East Timor's influential Catholic bishop, Bishop Alberto Ricardo da Silva, has also expressed reservations, saying the commission lacks public support.

Prime Minister Alkatiri said that East Timor welcomed the UN's plan for a commission of experts although Indonesia has described the move as "redundant." "For Indonesia and Timor Leste it's for us to get together and try to search for the truth. It's time for to move forward. Truth will be the basis for real friendship between our two countries," Alkatiri said.

Pro-Indonesian militia gangs directed by army officers went on the rampage before and after the independence vote, killing about 1,400 independence supporters. They also laid waste to much of the infrastructure and forcibly deported 250,000 people after the UN-supervised poll resulted in an overwhelming vote for separation.

In the aftermath of the violence a a UN Security Council resolution called for justice for the war crimes, prompting Indonesia to form an ad hoc court to try citizens accused of atrocities.

A UN-backed Special Crimes Unit was also set up in Dili to try Indonesian soldiers and Timorese militiamen alike for crimes against humanity. The Indonesian court wound up last year after acquitting all but one of the 18 alleged perpetrators who appeared before it.

The Special Crimes Unit jailed 74 Timorese culprits, but was powerless to extradite Indonesian commanders: more than 300 people wanted for trial have sanctuary in Indonesia.

It is scheduled to close down when the current UN mission leaves East Timor in May.

East Timor to exonerate war suspects

Australian Associated Press - March 9, 2005

Human rights activists have accused East Timor of putting diplomacy before justice after the fledgling nation agreed to drop charges against accused war criminals under a deal signed with Indonesia.

The United Nations, which oversaw East Timor's violent break away from Indonesian rule six years ago, has also criticised the accord.

East Timor's President Xanana Gusmao and his Indonesian counterpart Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono agreed to form a joint Commission of Truth and Friendship. It is to examine the wave of Indonesian army-backed militia bloodshed that followed East Timor's 1999 vote for independence from Jakarta.

The agreement, which followed three months of negotiation, was signed by both men during a ceremony at the Istana Negara state palace in Jakarta.

The 10-member commission will have a truth-telling function with the aim of establishing a "shared historical record" of human rights crimes before and after the independence ballot.

While more than 1,000 people probably died in the months before and after the 1999 vote, the panel will have no power to prosecute offenders. Instead, the five Indonesian and five East Timorese members will only be able to recommend amnesty for those who "cooperate fully in revealing the truth" during a two-year process due to start in August.

"The prosecutorial system of justice can certainly achieve one objective, which is to punish the perpetrators, but it might not necessarily lead to the truth and promote reconciliation," the document preamble said.

Gusmao, a former guerrilla leader who was held as a political prisoner under now deposed Indonesian dictator Suharto, has called for reconciliation. The deal reflected his public determination to seek closer diplomatic relations and avoid a bout of finger-pointing with his giant neighbour.

Privately his government is said to support international efforts. The Catholic Church, an influential power in East Timor, has warned the deal has little public support.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan last month called for a separate review into why a 1999 Security Council resolution to try those accused of war crimes failed.

Yudhoyono said relations between the two countries were developing positively since East Timor's independence. "We really want this friendship to last eternally," he said.

Gusmao pledged the commission would not pursue former Indonesian armed forces chief and indicted war criminal, General Wiranto. UN prosecutors allege Wiranto had command responsibility for "murder, deportation and persecution" committed during the 1999 violence.

"We will not be looking for suspects," Gusmao said. "We are not judges who have the right to pass sentence. In the spirit of friendship between the two countries, we will seek the truth."

An ad hoc human rights court set up by Jakarta has acquitted all but one official implicated in the violence with Indonesia refusing to act on arrest warrants against more than 300 others who sought sanctuary in Indonesia.

The human rights group East Timor Action Network said it was now up to the international community to pursue justice.

"The Commission of Truth and Friendship purports to provide definitive closure. The question is closure for whom?," ETAN said in a statement.

"The Commission of Truth and Friendship can only help provide closure to the Indonesian military's effort to avoid justice by enshrining their impunity." ETAN urged the UN to look at setting up an international criminal tribunal. "Timor-Leste's government may feel pressured by and vulnerable to its much larger neighbour, but that is no excuse to allow those who commit crimes against humanity to avoid accountability," it said.

Soares' 'retrospective' rights law review call rejected

Republica - March 4, 2005

Jakarta -- The Constitutional Court's (MK) Panel of Judges have decided To reject a judicial review on the human rights court legislation proposed By the former governor of East Timor, Abilio Jose Osorio Soares. The Rejection was read out by the chairman of the Panel of Judges, Jimly Asshiddiqie, on Thursday (3 March) at the Constitutional Court House.

Abilio, who was represented by 19 defence lawyers, proposed a judicial review of law No 26/2000 governing the human rights court in September 2004 after the Ad-Hoc Human Rights Court found Abilio guilty of bloody incidents that took place in East Timor in 1999.

The proposal was based on the retroactive [preceding word received in English] legal basis in Article 43 clause 1 used to sentence Abilio.

The Article, according to Abilio, contradicts Article 28 I clause (1) of The 1945 Constitution.

Article 28 I clause (1) clearly states that the right not to be charged On a retroactive legal basis is a human right which can not be downgraded In any situation.

The Panel of Judges' rejection of the judicial review was not a Unanimous decision. Three panel members expressed dissenting opinion [last two Words in English] over the proposal. They were Achmad Rostand, Laica Marzuki And Prof Abdul Mukti Fadjar. "Application of the retroactive legal Principle might satisfy short-term interests. But could harm long-term interests because it can be used by the ruling authorities as a retaliation tool against political opponents," Achmad Rostand said.

The other six constitutional judges rejected Abilio's proposal based on several considerations. One of the MK's considerations was that the retroactive basis could appropriately be applied to serious human rights violation cases, genocide and crimes against humanity.

In response to the decision, the head of Abilio's defence team, O.C. Kaligis said that they were not disappointed. "We just do not agree With the decision. There are still three judges that support our proposal," he said.

The director-general for Human Rights in the Department of Justice and Human Rights, Hafid Abbas, expressed his satisfaction over the decision. "All past crimes must be settled through an ad-hoc legal mechanism," he concluded.

[BBC World Monitoring.]

News & issues

A First Lady's vision of a better life for kids

Interpress Service - March 31, 2005

Alecia D. McKenzie, Siem Reap (Cambodia) -- The first lady of the world's newest nation, East Timor, is sitting in the audience of an international meeting, listening to the prime minister of Cambodia give an impassioned speech. In her arms she cradles a cherubic-looking baby, who smiles frequently.

As Prime Minister Hun Sen raises his voice to make a point, he is accompanied by a few gurgling noises, which come from the first lady's son, four-month-old Daniel.

A few people look around and smile at mother and baby, while the first Lady strokes the infant's head. The two cut a striking figure.

"This is a meeting about children, so I thought it wouldn't be out of place to have Daniel with me," said Kirsty Sword Gusm o, in an interview later.

She was in Siem Reap to attend the March 23-25 Seventh East Asia and Pacific Ministerial Consultation on children, a two-yearly meeting sponsored by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and hosted this year by Cambodia.

She was here not only as the wife of President Jose Alexandre Gusmao, the 58-year-old former resistance leader known popularly as Xanana, but also as director of the Alola Foundation -- a non-governmental organisation she started in 2001, which deals with issues related to women and, by extension, children.

East Timor became independent from Indonesia only in May 2002, after a bloody conflict, and it is now trying to learn from the "experiences and challenges of other countries," Sword said.

"We want to put the issue of children squarely on the agenda," she added. "They are among those who were most affected by the conflict and they can be easily swallowed up as we move forward with development."

And there is a long way to go for the tiny new country. After being under Portuguese rule for almost 500 years, East Timor was invaded by Indonesia in 1975. During the next 24 years of occupation, more than 250,000 people (a third of the population) died from various causes, including starvation and murder, according to various sources.

In 1999, the East Timorese voted for independence in a UN- sponsored referendum, and pro-Jakarta militias subsequently went on the rampage, virtually destroying the capital Dili. Many children died in the violence.

At the Ministerial Consultation (MINCON) in Siem Reap, the official East Timorese delegation included several young people, taking part in a UNICEF forum. One of them, 14-year-old Dahlia Maria Pereira das Regras, looked at her Indonesian counterparts and said, "We don't feel any anger towards them. We have to work together to find solutions for all of us."

Commenting on the young East Timorese delegates, Sword said, "They are very inspirational. We are so proud of them." She and her husband have three children, including baby Daniel, the youngest "participant" at the MINCON.

At first glance, Sword seems an unlikely representative of East Timor. Born in Australia, the 38-year-old author and activist stands out in Asian-Pacific gatherings. But by most accounts, she has earned the right to speak on behalf of her adopted country.

Her story is a romantic, intriguing one, and the book she has written about her life -- 'A Woman of Independence' -- would make a good film. One can already see Nicole Kidman in the lead role.

Sword, who studied Indonesian at the University of Melbourne, first went to East Timor in 1991 as a researcher and interpreter for a documentary-making television crew. Soon after they left, the Santa Cruz massacre took place in Dili, where Indonesian troops killed more than 200 young people, including many of those featured in the documentary 'In Cold Blood' by British cameraman Max Stahl.

Xanana, who was leading the East Timorese guerrilla fighters at the time was arrested by the Indonesian military in November 1992. In May 1993, he was sentenced to life imprisonment by an Indonesian court.

Meanwhile Sword had moved to Jakarta almost immediately following the massacre, determined to help out the East Timorese resistance movement. She got a job with an aid organization and also taught English, using the money to fund her undercover activities which included passing messages among members of the resistance groupings. The movement's leader was Xanana, who was now serving time in a Jakarta jail.

"I was a bit of a bridge between the different elements of the resistance inside East Timor and in Indonesia," she has told one newspaper. "Often it was really rather menial, getting documents from one place to another and doing it safely. I moved into it gradually. It was after I made contact with Xanana and he asked me to do things for him, that I realised that I was in pretty deep," she said.

"Up until that time I had taken it as a bit of a side interest. After that it really did became the main thing in my life. I was deeply involved in the resistance long before I actually met Xanana."

She met Xanana in 1994, and they married in 2000, a year after his release from prison and after his divorce from his first wife, who had been living in Australia with their two children since 1989.

East Timor became independent in May 2002, and since then, Sword has been trying to find the right role and voice for herself. "There's very little of a proscribed role for a first lady in East Timor," she acknowledged. "It's up to me to create the role."

The establishment of the Alola Foundation, she said, was a means of pursuing the issues that are important to her. The organisation started out with a focus on gender-based violence, which has been a big problem in the country, but now also works to improve maternal and child health as well as to promote the handicrafts industry.

"Tremendous expectations exist of East Timorese women and their ability to contribute to the social and economic life of their families and communities and yet they are accorded little acknowledgment and granted very little power in public and political life," Sword has written on her organisation's website. "I set up the Alola Foundation in response to the great needs of East Timorese women and their families because I believe that my situation affords me the profile and opportunity to do something concrete."

"There is so much still to be done in East Timor to restore the most basic services. Every area is a priority, the renewal of one sector depending on the recovery of another," her message continued.

"The needs of the people are overwhelming and Xanana and I grapple with them at a very personal level each day. Most days we have little time to enjoy one another's company or that of our... boys. Nevertheless, I believe that having young kids in our circumstances helps to keep us grounded and focused on the future."

Hushed rape of Timor

Weekend Australian - March 26, 2005

Mark Dodd -- It caused outrage among East Timorese and Australian troops sent to protect them, raised tensions among UN peacekeepers to a deadly new level and caused senior UN staff to resign in disgust.

The deployment of Jordanian peacekeepers to East Timor was probably one of the most contentious UN decisions to follow the bloody independence ballot.

It was eclipsed only by the cover-up and inaction that followed when the world body learned of their involvement in a series of horrific sex crimes involving children living in the war-battered Oecussi enclave.

Children were not the only victims -- in early 2001, two Jordanians were evacuated home with injured penises after attempting sexual intercourse with goats.

The UN mission in East Timor led by Sergio Vieira de Mello (who was later killed in Baghdad) did its best to keep the matter hushed up. The UN military command at the time was only too happy to oblige.

Today the cry for justice from the child victims continues to go unheard.

With the UN battered by a series of allegations embroiling its Nobel Prize-winning peacekeepers in a web of global sexual misconduct, new details have emerged of widespread sexual abuse against the civilian population by the Jordanian soldiers in Oecussi.

The findings are contained in a secret report by the UN Transitional Administration in East Timor, a copy of which has been obtained by Inquirer. It determines that Jordanian peacekeepers routinely sexually abused young East Timorese boys in return for money and food. Witnesses interviewed by UN investigators also claim Jordanian involvement in several alleged rapes of boys and women. The report contains witness testimony, much of it too graphic to repeat in this newspaper. And it concludes that, with the help of Indonesian soldiers, Jordanian blue berets routinely procured the services of prostitutes from across the border in West Timor.

Not contained in the report are subsequent claims of an armed stand-off between Australian soldiers and the Jordanians after a digger blew the whistle on the abuse.

One of the most poignant moments in East Timor's troubled recent history occurred in 2000 when scores of tearful villagers lined the seafront in the shattered provincial capital of the Oecussi enclave to farewell the Australian paratroop battalion. Soldiers of the 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, had come to serve and protect the Timorese. Many of them were sorrowful that day, anxious about the future welfare of the locals.

There was rising apprehension about the new UN protectors -- a Jordanian peacekeeping battalion that, like the recently departed Indonesians, was Muslim, a cause of considerable concern within the small, staunchly Christian enclave. Sadly, during the ensuing months, the fears would prove well founded. Two Jordanian soldiers were eventually sent home in disgrace -- but for the victims the experience has left a legacy of anger and bewilderment.

"The expectations of everyone, including the people of Oecussi, was that those involved in committing these acts would face justice," says East Timor's Social Welfare Minister Arsenio Bano.

Spurred by international outrage, an Australian-led international force, Interfet, landed in East Timor in September 1999 to restore law and order in the bloody post-ballot shambles that had engulfed the former Portuguese colony. Logistical constraints and operational orders to avoid armed confrontation with Indonesian troops meant the diggers arrived late to liberate Oecussi.

But in October, fresh from operations in the high border country around Bobanaro, 3RAR's paras deployed to Oecussi. They found a population still traumatised by the horrific murder of 56 people at Passabe village.

Departing militia and Indonesian soldiers had ensured that what little infrastructure existed in the enclave had been destroyed or carted off across the border. For the villagers, the arrival of the Australians must have seemed like manna from heaven.

Aggressive anti-militia patrols during the ensuing months soon helped forge strong bonds with the community and an equally steady stream of shrill complaints by Jakarta of Australian heavy-handedness. Not only did the paratroops provide the isolated and vulnerable enclave with a shield against the return of murderous pro-Jakarta militia, they also helped restore their shattered faith for men in uniform.

But in early 2000 the diggers were ordered to pack up and leave to make way for the new Jordanian contingent. In reality, Canberra had told the UN it was unwilling to continue to garrison the enclave.

The only UN troop contributor nation prepared to send its soldiers there was Jordan. Its offer was quickly accepted by defence planners who thought the presence of Muslim blue berets along the enclave's porous border would help calm tensions with Jakarta.

It did not have the desired outcome. The deployment got off to a woeful start. Apart from a handful of competent officers, the Jordanians were poorly prepared and resourced. At one point Australian UNTAET military commander Mike Smith threatened to cut their UN allowances unless they got their act together.

Stories soon began to filter back to Dili of Jordanian troops making unwanted sexual advances on local women and minors, both boys and girls.

East Timor Foreign Minister Jose Ramos Horta became so concerned about their behaviour that he threatened to hold a news conference but backed down after being told by UNTAET that no other nation would go there.

Then in May 2001 Australian Corporal Wayne Andrew Wratten, who was working at a fuel depot in the enclave, formally complained to his superiors of a disturbing series of sexual abuse allegations involving the Jordanians.

Wratten said he had been approached by five East Timorese boys who claimed Jordanian soldiers had offered them food and money in exchange for oral sex and intercourse.

UNTAET convened an inquiry but, in the meantime, details of the allegations had been leaked back to the Jordanians and tensions were on the rise.

"Wratten informed PKF [peacekeeping force] that he had been receiving complaints from local children about Jorbatt [Jordan battalion]," said a senior UN official based in Oecussi at the time.

"A Jordanian officer in HQ informed Jorbatt that he had ratted on them. Wratten and his guys manning the helo [helicopter] refuelling pad in Oecussi town started getting threatened. There was one occasion where Aussie Steyrs were pointed at Jorbatt and Jorbatt M-16s pointed at Aussies."

The official, who asked to remain anonymous, said the incident involving loaded rifles occurred in late May.

"The Aussies began to refuse to refuel Jorbatt vehicles, harsh words were exchanged and then it was guns up. Wratten was then evacuated and two or three close protection guys were flown down," he said.

Senior Australian army officers at the time contacted by Inquirer say they cannot recall the incident. However, East Timorese and UN human rights workers have confirmed the story, and Bano says he was also told of the stand-off.

A former senior Australian army commander agreed that tensions had risen in the enclave, requiring a "great deal of sensitivity" to manage the situation.

Meanwhile, a UN police specialist child interview team was sent to Oecussi between July 5 and July 9 to investigate the claims and spoke to 10 witnesses, including seven minors and three adults. The allegations involved East Timorese minors, all boys, the youngest of them just 12.

The police inquiry also noted the limited amount of time it was given by the military-dominated board of inquiry for its mission. "The unacceptable sexual conduct alleged was that a minor had sperm around his mouth," the report says.

It names two Jordanian soldiers, Mohamed Al-Drabseh and Ibrahim Al-Otoum, as the likely perpetrators.

Investigators heard graphic stories of demands by Jordanian soldiers for sex with other boys in exchange for bread and money: "Witness Francisco alleged that he was asked several times by Jordanian soldiers if he wanted anal intercourse or oral intercourse.

"[Francisco] alleged that the soldiers from Jorbatt 3 would ask for women with whom they could have sexual intercourse," says the report signed July 13, 2001, by Zdenka Pumper, team leader.

It draws attention to the vulnerability of East Timorese children and says in a chilling general observation: "Two of the [witnesses] interviewed could very well be victims themselves. They are too scared to tell the truth about their real experience in the hands of the Jordanians.

"One [witness] who was a victim himself was physically manhandled by the Jordanian soldier when the latter later tried to have sexual intercourse with him. This [witness], because of his harrowing experience, immediately told his friends about his experience and he even showed them sperm on his stomach soon after he was released by the Jordanian soldier."

A senior UN human rights official, who cannot be named, tells Inquirer that the Jordanian colonel on the board of inquiry "betrayed any sense of objectivity" by bribing or cajoling witnesses into silence with cash or food inducements. And senior UN officials in Dili warned UN staff that their contracts could be terminated or not renewed if they spoke about the investigation to the media.

Today the incident and others that are alleged to have occurred in East Timor remain a matter of great sensitivity. UN officials at the time are reluctant to talk about it while retired army officers cite failing memory. Two Jordanian soldiers were sent home in disgrace, but the overwhelming impression is of an inquiry that only began to scratch the surface.

Jordan was too valuable an ally in its contribution to the Middle East peace process to alienate. "As far as I understand, de Mello was very sensitive at the time to the harm such reports would have on the reputation of UNTAET, PKF and, by default, himself," said a Western security analyst based in East Timor in 2001.

"As for the quality of the investigation, it was just enough to warrant action being taken but not enough to truly expose the bullshit and get some sense of justice for crimes committed."

Timor still lacks funds to reimburse Jakarta

Detik.com - March 21, 2005

Kupang -- The Government of East Timor still did not have enough funds to reimburse the Indonesian government, state owned enterprises, and private Indonesian citizens for assets left behind in East Timor, following the 1999 ballot on independence. Despite the current situation, Indonesia would continue to make attempts to receive full restitution when the East Timorese economy returned to normal.

The Indonesian ambassador to East Timor, Ahmad Bey Sofwan, stated on Saturday (19 March), that following the formation of the Truth and Friendship Commission, he hoped that discussions could take place, leading to the full restitution of Indonesian assets. "The Indonesian government is continually making efforts [to receive restitution], but East Timor's economy is not as yet stable. From where are they going to obtain the funds to reimburse Indonesia?" said the ambassador, while accompanying the East Timor Minister for Transport, Communications and Public Works, Ovidio de Jesus Amaral, to a meeting with the East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) Governor, Piet A Tallo. [passage omitted]

[Source: BBC Monitoring.]

First bilingual Portuguese-Tetum newspaper goes public

Lusa - March 18, 2005

Dili -- "Lia Foun", East Timor's first fully bilingual newspaper, hit the streets Friday, with the weekly's director forecasting it will underline the importance of Portuguese to the country's cultural identity.

"Anyone who still has doubts will finally understand the importance of the Portuguese language to Tetum and, consequently, for the very identity of this people", Vasco Carrascalao da Silva, said, referring to Timor's two official languages.

The 28-page "Lia Foun", or +news+ in Tetum, will have a weekly print run of 5,000 with a cover price equal to about euros 0.35, Carrascalao da Silva, the newspaper's director, said.

The weekly has foreign correspondents in Portugal, Australia and Indonesia and counts on contributions from Lisbon-based Angolan author Jose Eduardo Agualusa.

Health & education

Horta blasts Catholic opposition to curriculum change

Lusa - March 24, 2005

Dili -- Foreign Minister Jose Ramos Horta strongly criticized the Vatican's representative in East Timor Thursday for what he said was "unwanted interference" in Dili's plans to demote religion classes to an optional subject in the country's public schools.

Ramos Horta said the papal nuncio, Monsignor Malcolm Raamjiph, had made "bellicose" statements, apparently aimed at "heightening tensions rather than helping build consensus", during his visit to Dili last weekend.

According to local media reports, Monsignor Raamjiph urged the predominantly Catholic East Timorese in a sermon Sunday to resist those who attempt to "destroy the Church", an apparent reference to the government's pilot plan to eliminate religion as a required subject in public schools.

Ramos Horta's comments were the first official reaction to mounting criticism of the planned curriculum change from the Timorese church's hierarchy.

While the local church had played an important role in resistance to Indonesia's quarter-century occupation, the foreign minister said it was best "not to talk about the past" as far as the Vatican's stance was concerned.

Foreign affairs

Lisbon seeks bolstered ties with Lusophone bloc and EU

Lusa - March 22, 2005

Lisbon -- Foreign Minister Diogo Freitas do Amaral says Lisbon's new Socialist government intends to increase its cooperation with Portuguese-speaking African countries and East Timor, while simultaneously seeking a more dynamic role within the European Union. Making his first speech in the Lisbon parliament Monday, Freitas do Amaral told lawmakers the government proposes to review and maximize Lisbon's bilateral cooperation with each of its five former African colonies and Timor.

Portugal's new head of diplomacy, a former conservative leader and losing rightwing candidate in a fiercely fought 1986 presidential poll won by former Socialist leader Mario Soares, said he had received invitations to visit Angola, Sao Tome and Brazil "in the near future".

Lisbon must not neglect its ties with Europe at the expense of revitalized relations with the Lusophone bloc, he cautioned, and Portugal will have a more clout within the EU through boosting its presence in Africa.

A more active and successful Portuguese diplomacy within the 25- nation European bloc would similarly give Lisbon heightened influence in its relations with its former colonies, Freitas do Amaral told MPs.

The 63-year-old founder of the CDS Christian Democrat Party, one of eight independent ministers summoned to the compact 16-member cabinet of Prime Minister Jose Sscrates earlier this month, said he had no qualms about working in a Socialist executive.

Lisbon's new centre-left government remains committed to membership of the NATO alliance, he said, and Portugal will continue to send military personnel to missions of a "humanitarian nature".

Freitas do Amaral has been an outspoken critic of the United States-led invasion of Iraq and he was questioned by a conservative MP on his current position towards Washington and President George W. Bush.

"I am structurally pro-America, but events make me anti-Bush because of the Iraqi war", he said, noting that the American leader has modified Washington's "foreign policy" during his second presidential term.

US pressure on Howard over Timor

The Australian - March 7, 2005

Roy Eccleston -- Senior members of the US Congress have stepped up pressure on the Howard Government to settle the dispute with East Timor over the rights to billions of dollars worth of sub- sea oil and gas between the two countries.

Seventeen members of Congress, mostly Democrats but including some Republicans, have written to John Howard implying that by taking an unfair share of oil and gas fields, Australia was contributing to hunger, poverty and disease in East Timor.

They urged that revenue from fields closer to East Timor be held in a special account, pending a "fair and expeditious" decision on a maritime boundary between the two countries.

"We are concerned by reports of scores of recent preventable deaths in Timor-Leste [East Timor] that have resulted from chronic food shortages and outbreaks of dengue hemorrhagic fever," the March 4 letter to Mr Howard said. "An equitable sharing of oil and gas revenues would enable Timor-Leste to provide better healthcare and other essential services."

A new round of talks is due to be held today in Canberra.

Australia wants to build Indonesian ties

Australian Associated Press - March 2, 2005

Australia's support for an end to the UN mission in East Timor reflected a desire to improve relations with Indonesia and extend its influence in the former Portuguese territory, a US thinktank says.

An analysis of Australia's support for an end to the United Nations operation which expires on June 30, was carried out by Stratfor, the private sector intelligence group.

Stratfor said ending the UN mission would also force East Timor to look to Australia for its security. And it would make it all the more difficult for Dili to resist Australia's firm stand on settlement of the sea boundary issue and allocation of energy reserves in the area.

Australia has backed the US in opposing extension of the UN mandate on grounds that Indonesian forces and their militia surrogates no longer pose a security threat.

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan wants the mission to continue, although with international troops numbers reduced from 472 to 179. Australia has about 100 troops serving under the UN banner in East Timor plus another 30 engaged in bilateral defence cooperation.

Stratfor said Canberra's support for the US position reflected Australia's desire to increase political leverage on Dili by forcing East Timor to look to Australia rather than the UN for its security.

"The US and Australian calls for an end to the peacekeeping mission can be seen as an effort to improve ties with Indonesia, which views the peacekeepers' ongoing presence as an affront to its intentions in the region," it said.

"Indonesia's role as the recruiting and operational centre for Southeast Asian Islamist militancy means that Washington and Canberra would like good relations with Jakarta in order to gain its cooperation in anti-terrorism efforts.

"However, Australia also is motivated by its desire to establish a protectorate in East Timor in order to ensure compliance with Australian interests in the region."

Stratfor said by reducing the UN role in guaranteeing East Timor's security, Australia could fill the void by offering bilateral security arrangements and increasing the presence of Australian police and military forces, as it had done in the Solomon Islands, Fiji and Papua New Guinea.

Even if the UN extended the mission, ensuing troop reductions would most likely open the door for an increased role for Australian forces and a decrease in Dili's ability to resist Australia's prerogative, it said.

Government 'neglecting' regional security

The Advertiser - March 1, 2005

Sandra O'Malley and Rob Taylor -- The Federal Government is neglecting regional security by backing the US in opposing an extension of the UN peacekeeping mission in East Timor, Labor warned today.

East Timor wants peacekeepers to remain past a May withdrawal deadline, a position shared by the UN.

But Australia and the US have opposed recommendations by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan for a scaled-down peacekeeping mission to remain in East Timor after May. Mr Annan says a May pullout could affect security and stability.

Opposition foreign affairs spokesman Kevin Rudd described the Government move as extraordinary, particularly in light of its decision to deploy an extra 450 troops to Iraq. "While the Howard Government's priorities are firmly fixed on the other side of the world, it continues to neglect security interests closer to home," he said.

Australia's ambassador to the UN, John Dauth, said Australia was not opposed to a continuing presence in East Timor but did not see a need for a continued military commitment.

"The great measure of agreement between us, the UN, the East Timorese and all others is that the UN presence shouldn't just end at the end of the set mandate in May, there should be a continuing UN presence," Mr Dauth told ABC radio.

"It's the shape of that presence that we're talking about. And in that respect we don't think there's a need for a continuing military component."

In a report to the Security Council last week, Mr Annan called for about 275 military personnel, police trainers, civilian advisers and human rights officers to remain in the country, along with a small staff for the UN representative.

The mission currently has about 900 military, police and international civilian staff, including around 100 Australian troops and police, acting as engineers, advisers and logistics experts.

East Timor's foreign ministry secretary-general Nelson Santos said Dili supported the UN security assessment that peacekeepers were still needed, describing the situation on the ground as fragile.

Mr Santos said the threat was no longer posed by the military of neighbouring Indonesia but by cross-border criminal trade from Indonesian West Timor.

"We are not really asking for a military presence," he said. "But we would like the military liaison role, the advisory role, to remain for some time yet to maintain the status quo."

Mr Dauth said the situation on the border was sufficiently stable not to require an international presence. Australia, instead, wants the UN provide a special representative to East Timor.

Mr Dauth said Australia also sees a role for civilian advisers to provide assistance on issues like justice, and international police.

East Timorese ambassador Jorge Da Conceicao told ABC radio East Timor's journey to independence was a success story helped by the role of the UN and Australia.

"That's why we want these countries to understand our request and also understand our need [to know] how to improve, on how to enhance the capacity of our own force, police and civilians in running the administration," he said.

Mr Da Conceicao said he was confident that Australia and the US would eventually make a "wise decision" based on the argument from East Timor.

Foreign Minister Alexander Downer's office could not be contacted for comment.

Foreign peacekeeping forces have been in East Timor since 1999, when an Australian-led intervention force arrived to end a slaughter by pro-Indonesia militiamen which left 1,500 people dead following the then-province's vote for independence from Jakarta.

Daily media reviews

East Timor daily media review

UNMISET - March 1-31, 2005

Timor-Leste to send workers to South Korea

Timor-Leste is set to send 200 workers to South Korea in its first-ever deal to supply labour to another country. Timor- Leste's Vice Minister of Labour, Arsenio Bano, says the deal is good news for the country's large number of unemployed people. Bano added that the Ministry of Labour and Solidarity has been lobbying Asian countries for two years to recruit Timorese workers. It's not yet known what kind of work they will be doing. (ABC, AFP, Timor Post)

Government to use security forces in fight against Dengue

Police and defence forces are being drafted to assist authorities in Timor-Leste to combat a two-month Dengue fever epidemic, which has claimed the lives of more than 40 people, mainly children. According to Health Minister Rui Arazjo the involvement of the nation's security forces was one of the measures proposed by the National Commission for the Combat of Dengue, created yesterday by the government.

The new body consists of representatives of various government departments, but its activities will be carried out in partnership with non-governmental organizations and church bodies.

Improving Timor-Leste's poor sanitation, a rife breeding ground for mosquitoes, will be a lynchpin in the fight against Dengue, said the Minister, noting that this strategy will also have a positive impact in reducing other infectious diseases, such as malaria. (Lusa, AFP)

American marines disappointed at condition of National Hospital

Visiting American marines providing medical assistance at the National Hospital in Dili have expressed concern about the condition of the hospital, in particular, the size and number of rooms. According to one of the marines, the number of patients requiring medical assistance at the hospital means that the rooms themselves should be larger. They also believe there should be separate rooms for different illnesses so that disease does not spread, particularly in the case of sick children. (STL)

Police and MPs receive certificates

President of the National Parliament, Francisco Guterres, and Portugal's Ambassador to Timor-Leste, Joao N. Ramos Pinto, presented Portuguese language certificates to 19 government servants in a ceremony yesterday.

The certificates certify that the staff members, including five Members of Parliament and three members of the National Police force, have completed stage one of the three-month Portuguese language course run by the Institute Camoes. MP Joaquim Amaral, who received a certificate, said that he was very pleased to be able to enrich himself with knowledge of Portuguese, which is still considered a difficult language for this generation of Timorese. (STL, Timor Post)

March 30, 2005

Indonesia's President postpones trip to Timor-Leste

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has postponed his planned state visits to Timor-Leste, Australia and New Zealand following the powerful earthquake that struck Nias in north Sumatra on Monday night.

Foreign Affairs Minister Hassan Wirayudha told reporters that the decision to postpone the trips has been conveyed to the heads of government in the three countries. However, he did not confirm when the President would pay a visit to each of the countries. The President was originally scheduled to visit Timor-Leste on April 4. (ANTARA News)

Dengue epidemic kills more than 40 in Timor-Leste

An epidemic of dengue fever has killed more than 40 people in Timor-Leste since the beginning of the year. In response, the government has called for a major clean-up campaign to eliminate mosquitoes that spread the disease.

Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri called a special cabinet meeting this week to debate Timor-Leste's dengue fever outbreak, resulting in the creation of a special taskforce comprising various ministers.

Timor-Leste is one of several areas in the region, including Jakarta, to have been affected by the disease, which is endemic in the Asia-Pacific region. (AFP, Lusa)

USS Mercy strengthens TL-US friendship

The hospital steamship USS Mercy from the United States will strengthen the friendship between Timor-Leste and the United States, according to US Ambassador to Timor-Leste Joseph Rees. Rees visited the ship yesterday together with members of Timor- Leste's government, including Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation Jose Ramos-Horta, Minister of State Ana Pessoa and Minister for Health Rui de Araujo. US marines and nurses based on the ship are providing medical assistance to Timorese at the National Hospital and will remain in the country until Friday. (Timor Post)

Provedor for Human Rights and Justice elected

The sole candidate for the Provedor position, Head of Dili University, Sebastiao Diaz Ximenes, has won the election for the Provedor position, with 46 votes in favour and 23 against. Despite being known as a pro-autonomy supporter, Ximenes, whose name was put forward by Fretilin, still received the backing of the major pro-independence party.

However, during the voting, MP Maria Paixao from the Social Democratic Party (PSD) intervened, saying that because Ximenes has been chosen by Fretilin, the majority party, and therefore it would be difficult for him to maintain his impartiality in the Provedor position. She said that they would have to wait and see whether he is able to handle cases of corruption and human rights violations in an impartial manner. (Timor Post, STL)

Squabble over nomination of candidates to State Council

The National Parliament yesterday presented five candidates to sit on the State Council -- three from Fretilin, one from the Democratic Party, and one from the Social-Democratic Party (PSD). PSD and the Social Democratic Association of Timor (ASDT) found themselves in a squabble over who should have the right to present the final candidate, as they each have the same number of seats in parliament. Maria Paixao from PSD said that even though PSD and ASDT have the same number of seats, PSD's electoral votes were more than those of ASDT and therefore according to the Constitution it should be PSD who has the right to present the final candidate. (Timor Post, STL)

West Timor Association requests re-negotiations on Timor Sea

The Association for the Care of West Timor based in Kupang, Indonesia, has once again raised its demands for a renegotiation of the Timor Gap. The group has raised the issue in relation to planned visits to Australia and Timor-Leste by the Indonesian President, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. The Association recently issued a press release requesting that the Indonesian President and Australian Prime Minister pay attention to the needs of the people of West Timor and called for trilateral negotiations on the Timor Gap between Australia, Indonesia and Timor-Leste. (Timor Post)

March 29, 2005

Immigration should be under civilian control

Member of Parliament Elizario Ferreira has called for immigration matters to fall under the control of civilians and not the police. Ferreira believes the police do not have an appropriate background and are weak in controlling immigration, resulting in some people entering the country to steal as well as to sell goods. He said that the Interior Minister should do an evaluation of immigration and that the visas of these small business people should also be revised to ascertain whether they are here as tourists or to do business. He also said that this would help in preventing problems like the recent crimes committed by some foreigners who entered Timor-Leste on tourist visas. (Timor Post, STL)

Samoa wishes to establish strong cooperation with TL

The Samoan Minister of Police, Ulu Vaomalo Kini, said Samoa is interested in establishing strong ties of cooperation with Timor-Leste in many areas.

After meeting with Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri yesterday, Kini said that the work of the Samoan police in Timor-Leste is the basis of a strong foundation for a closer relationship and that the Samoan police are prepared to further assist their Timorese counterparts in the future. (Timor Post)

Beach vendors continue operations

After watching their roast corn and fish stalls being pulled two weeks ago, many of the vendors along the beach road have re- established their stalls and are trading again. Speaking to Timor Post, the vendors said that they have no choice but to continue their activities, as this is the means by which they make money to live. Some of the vendors questioned why foreign sellers are allowed to freely market their wares, while Timorese themselves are not. One of the vendors expressed his opinion that the government should be supporting their efforts to make money so that the economy develops and the people live peacefully. He said that in general, the beach vendors do not create a mess on the beach but always clean their area after they have finished in the evening. (Timor Post) American steamship berthed in Dili Harbour

The American ship USS Mercy, which has was sent to assist with aid relief in tsunami-hit Aceh, berthed in Dili Harbour yesterday where it will stay for three days. According to Antonio Calares Jr, Director of the National Hospital, the ship has come with a medical team to give treatment to Timorese at the National Hospital. Calares said that there are 14 specialists, and that the Timorese who wish to see these doctors should come to the National Hospital with a letter of reference in the next three days. (Timor Post)

Provedor vote to be held today

The National Parliament will today vote for the Provedor for Human Rights and Justice. The President of the National Parliament, Francisco Guterres, said that due to technical difficulties the vote was not held yesterday when it was originally scheduled. He said that the vote would be held today by secret ballot. (STL)

Dengue fever outbreak continues

Director of the National Hospital Antonio Calares Jr said that the national hospital is currently overrun with dengue fever and bronchial pneumonia patients, the majority of them children. Last week three more children died of dengue fever, while one died of pneumonia and another from malnutrition.

The children were taken to hospital too late to be given appropriate care. (Timor Post, STL)

March 28, 2005

MP's comment on Horta's human rights surprise

Member of Parliament Alexandre Cortereal from the UDT party has called on Foreign Minister Jose Ramos-Horta to accept the results of the human rights monitoring in Timor-Leste. Commenting Ramos- Horta's shock at the recent report on the human rights situation in Timor-Leste, Corte Real said Ramos-Horta should be pleased with the report, particularly considering his background as a human rights supporter during the years of Timor-Leste's occupation by Indonesia.

He added that Ramos-Horta should be cooperating with international human rights agencies in their monitoring activities, particularly since the National Parliament has ratified several international human rights conventions since 2002.

Member of Parliament from KOTA party Manuel Tilman also expressed his disappointment with Ramos-Horta's attitude, saying that human rights workers here should not be concerned with capacity building only but also monitoring. (Timor Post)

Fretilin wins by a small margin in Lautem

Fretilin has won by a small margin in Lautem District's village and hamlet chief elections with a vote of nearly 53% and a seat in 18 villages. This was closely followed by independent candidates with a vote of 44% and a seat in 15 villages. Candidates from the Democrat Party did not win any seats in Lautem District. In one of the villages, the total number of abstentions was more than the number of votes for independent and Fretilin candidates. (STL)

PNTL celebrates its fifth birthday

Timor-Leste's National Police force (PNTL) celebrated its fifth birthday on Sunday in Aileu District. A ceremony was held at the Aileu sports field, attended by Timor-Leste's Prime Minister, President of the National Parliament, President of the Court of Appeal, and UNMISET representatives. (STL)

Indonesia's claim on assets frustrates MP's

Political figures claim demands by the Indonesian government for their assets in Timor-Leste are considered to be inconsistent with the friendly relationship that has been pursued by both governments since Timor-Leste's independence in 1999. Member of Parliament from ASDT Feliciano Alves Fatima speaking to STL said that the two governments should start from a 'zero option' basis meaning that neither government demands anything from the other. He said that the continued hold on this demand for assets has the potential to negatively affect the future relationship between the two countries.

Alexandre Cortereal from UDT party also expressed his frustration, saying that it was the Indonesian military and its militia who destroyed the assets, therefore Timor-Leste has no assets to return. He expressed his opinion that a more worthy matter to pursue is that of the fate of former Indonesian civil servants (STL)

UN should reduce Code IV alert in West Timor

The United Nations should make a visit to West Timor to review the security situation there and reduce the current Code IV security alert, according to Pastor David Amfotis representing the West Timor and Timor-Leste border community in West Timor. Amfotis recently met with the United States Consul General in Surabaya and requested the Consul's assistance in reducing the Code IV alert status currently in force in West Timor. Amfotis said that the situation there is secure and peaceful, and that the local community is not afraid to move around. He said that the current peaceful situation does not warrant a Code IV status and that the high security alert affects the development of the region because investors are hesitant to invest there.

However, according to UNMISET officials the UN Security Phase is set at Phase 3 in West Timor and not Phase 4 as reported in the newspaper. (STL, UNMISET)

March 24, 2005

Provedor to be like a 'mafia'

The government is creating a Provedor who will be like a 'mafia' according to Member of Parliament Rui Menezes. According to Rui, this person will not take action on corrupt behaviour or abuse of power, and will squash the basic rights of citizens. Menezes said that the fact that Fretilin's candidate Sebastiao Ximenes is the only candidate is not a major problem, but that issue rather is whether this candidate possesses the basic criteria to effectively work in the position, such as credibility, integrity and intellectual capacity. (Timor Post)

Parliamentary Commissions receive own room

The seven commissions of the National Parliament each received their own room yesterday, with the keys being handed over to the president of each commission by the President of the National Parliament, Francisco Guterres.

Guterres said that the individual rooms would now greatly assist the commissions to carry out their work. Previously as there were not enough rooms the commissions were forced to share. He said that the new rooms were still incomplete but that the Parliament would aim to equip the rooms with complete facilities soon. (Timor Post, STL) PNTL to undertake training in Indonesia

This coming April approximately one hundred Timor-Leste National Police officers will leave for Jakarta, Indonesia, to undertake two months of training in intelligence, traffic policing and investigations.

Inspector Lino Saldanha, PNTL Commander for Administration, said that this training is a continuation of the bilateral cooperation agreement between Indonesia and Timor-Leste. Lino said he hoped that the training would increase the professionalism of the national police. (STL)

Resolution of Sinai Rock dispute should be taken slowly

Independent Member of Parliament Antonio da Costa Lelan has requested that the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation not rush in resolving the Sinai Rock dispute between Indonesia and Timor-Leste, as this is a sensitive issue. Speaking to journalists at the National Parliament on Wednesday, Lelan expressed his concerns that attempting to resolve the issue may cause conflict for border communities, and if so it is better to leave the issue pending for now. (STL)

March 23, 2005

Ramos-Horta protests Human Rights Commission

The report of the Human Rights Commission in Geneva regarding the human rights situation in Timor-Leste has received strong criticism from the Timor-Leste Foreign Minister, Jose Ramos- Horta. According to Horta, much of the report does not correspond with the reality in Timor-Leste.

Speaking to journalists in Dili, Ramos-Horta said that the real mandate of the Human Rights Unit in Timor-Leste is to carry out capacity building such as training of police and judges in the area of human rights. The Commission's mandate is not to monitor the human rights situation.

Ramos-Horta said that the report gave rise to questioning the competence of the Human Rights Unit in Timor-Leste, forcing its mandate, or terms of reference, to now be reviewed. The Foreign Minister has demanded that the Commission withdraw its report, and said that if the Commission wishes to conduct monitoring of the human rights situation here, then they must make a new agreement with the government.

When asked by journalists what he would do if it turned out that the contents of the report were accurate, Ramos-Horta said that he did not intend to question the whole report, but he is concerned with the purpose and intention of the report (Timor Post, STL)

Lucia Lobato: Parliament is violating Provedor law

Member of Parliament from the Social Democratic Party, Lucia Lobato, has accused Parliament of violating the Provedor law. According to Lobato, the law states that the Provedor must be elected one month after the approval of the law.

The law was approved in May last year and almost one year later the Provedor still has not been elected. Lobato also said that according to the law, political parties are not the only entities able to present candidates but that the general public also has the right to nominate individuals.

Meanwhile, Jacob Fernandes, Vice-President of the National Parliament said that the Provedor election will be held this coming Monday even though some of the party factions have not yet presented their candidates. Head of the Fretilin faction in the Parliament, Francisco Branco, told journalists that he is certain that Fretilin's candidate will win the Provedor position because all Fretilin's Members of Parliament have agreed to vote for this candidate. (Timor Post)

Penal Code may violate media freedom

The draft Penal Code currently being formulated by the Ministry of Justice, may impact on the freedom of the press, according to some of the speakers at a meeting held at HAK Association in Dili on Tuesday. Speaking at the discussion forum, Members of Parliament, Manuel Tilman and Dionisio Babo of the Asia Foundation said that articles 173 and 174 regarding defamation are of concern for media freedom, while Aderito Hugo da Costa, director of Timor Post, said that the draft holds no hopes for development of the media, and does guarantee freedom of the press as enshrined in the Constitution. (Timor Post, STL)

WHO Regional Director visits Timor-Leste

Regional Director for the World Health Organisation (WHO), Dr Samlee Plianbanchang, is currently on a official visit in Timor- Leste. This is Dr Plianbanchang first visit to Timor-Leste after having just recently been elected as Regional Director. Dr. Plianbanchang will meet with the Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri as well as visit some health institutions, such as the National Health Laboratory, the Blood Bank, and the Centre for Health Education and Training. (Timor Post)

Terror and manipulation colour village chief elections

Member of Parliament from the Democratic Party (PD), Mariano Sabino Lopes, said that the village chief elections have been characterized by terror and manipulation. He said that the name of one of the PD candidates suddenly disappeared from the list, as well as there being threats to the population that if another party won, the government would no longer provide services to the population. (STL)

Seven youths forced to admit guilt

Seven youths from Liquica District have been arrested by police and forced to write a statement of wrongdoing, according to Member of Parliament Jacob Xavier from the Timor People's Party. The police accused the youths of damaging government infrastructure in Maumeta, Liquica district. After being detained for 72 hours, they were forced to sign a statement of wrongdoing, even though they claim that they did not do anything wrong.

According to Xavier, such police behaviour is reminiscent of Indonesian and Portuguese police tactics, and the National Parliament should hold an investigation into the case. (STL)

Protest about police recruitment at National Parliament

Over 100 protesters gathered at the National Parliament building on Monday and Tuesday to protest against the recruitment policy for police, claiming it is unfair and manipulative. The protesters say that while they were originally stated as having passed the test for recruitment as police officers, their names have now been taken off the list of recruits. The protesters say that this shows signs of collusion and nepotism, and they demanded that the Parliament investigate the matter. (STL)

Ramos-Horta not just interested in good name

The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation Jose Ramos Horta said that the Commission for Truth and Friendship is a means of finding out the truth about 1999, and not a way for him or the President Xanana Gusmao to improve their good name. Ramos-Horta was responding to claims made by some political parties and non- government organizations that Timor-Leste's government have established the Commission in the interests of their own good name. (STL)

March 22, 2005

Electoral Commission must improve system

President of KOTA party Manuel Tilman has called on the Election Commission (STAE) to make improvements to its electoral program. Following complaints that some people have not been able to vote because their name is not on the electoral roll even though they hold a voting card, Tilman said that this was the fault of STAE in contracting non-governmental organizations to assist with the voter registration, making it unclear as to who is responsible for the registration process.

Meanwhile, interim vote counting results from the village chief elections in Lautem district put Fretilin candidates in front of candidates from the Democrat Party as well as individual candidates. (Timor Post, STL) Investors trust only in Fretilin

The Vice-Minister for Development and the Environment, Abel Ximenes, says that international investors from Macau, China and Hong Kong are prepared to invest in Timor-Leste because the nation has a credible government.

According to the Vice-Minister, investors have mentioned that the same level of stability would not exist if the government was not headed by the Fretilin party. Ximenes claims he gleaned this information from discussions with several business people on a recent trip to Indonesia, Macau and China to promote Timor- Leste's investment potential. (Timor Post)

Timor-Leste participates in Child Conference

A delegation of 15 representatives from Timor-Leste will participate in the Asia-Pacific Ministerial Consultation on Children in Cambodia this week.

The Timor-Leste delegation will include representatives from the ministries of Planning and Finance, Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Education, and Labour and Solidarity, with the Alola Foundation representing the NGO community. (Timor Post)

Government pressed to investigate Liquica health crisis

Head of the Timor Social Democrat Association in the National Parliament, Feliciano Alves Fatima, has urged the government, in particular the Ministry of Health, to immediately conduct investigations into the deaths of approximately 300 people from Liquica, who allegedly died because of inadequate health services. Fatima said that the Department of Health must dispatch an investigations team in order to obtain accurate information about the case. He said that if the investigation found the allegations to be true, then the government is obliged to explain to the community why this occurred and then take measures to ensure that the same thing does not happen again. (STL)

March 21, 2005

Timor-Leste expects early boundary deal

Timor-Leste hopes to end its stand-off with Australia over a maritime boundary dispute by as early as mid 2005, a move that would unlock billions of dollars for one of the world's poorest states.

In an interview with the Financial Times, Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri said progress had been made with Australia during talks in Canberra earlier this month. "There is still no agreement but we will do our best to get this resolved by May or June," he said. Mr Alkatiri said Australia had raised the previous offer to pay AUS$3 billion in exchange for a 100-year postponement of boundary negotiations. Australia is now understood to be offering AUS$4 billion but Timor-Leste still wants a "financial" deal that would see Canberra pay a fixed sum over several years for control of the Greater Sunrise field. Timor-Leste insists it would own as much as 100 per cent of the field if the maritime boundary in the Timor Sea was halfway between the two countries.

Woodside Petroleum has halted work on the Greater Sunrise project, a liquefied natural gas project in the Timor Sea, while the dispute continues. (Financial Times)

Timor-Leste launches first commercial flight

Timor-Leste's first commercial airline launched its inaugural flight on Friday, serving a route connecting Dili to Kupang. Since 2003, Indonesia's Merpati Airlines has been operating several routes from Dili to Indonesian cities while training the crew for Timor-Leste's own airline, Kakoak Air.

President Xanana Gusmco took a brief flight over Dili before the plane went to Kupang. "This flight will give East Timorese more freedom to visit their brothers in West Timor," he said. (Reuters)

Apostolic Nuncio visits Timor-Leste

The Apostolic Nuncio for Indonesia and Timor-Leste, Archbishop Malcolm Raamjiph, arrived in Dili for an official visit on Friday. This is the second time that an official from the Vatican has visited Timor-Leste since Pope John Paul II in 1989.

In his visit to the Cathedral upon arrival and in his homily during the Palm Sunday mass yesterday, Rammjiph said that Timor- Leste does not belong to people from other countries, such as Mozambique or European countries, but that it belongs to the Timorese.

He said he has noticed that some people are trying to force Timorese to live two different lives a private, religious one versus and a public, secular one. He said that this is not possible. He ended by saying that he came to Timor-Leste to encourage churchgoers to tolerate and confront those who are intent on destroying the Church and he also thanked the community for receiving him.

Raamjiph also appealed to the community not to sell crosses, as the cross is a sacred symbol for Catholics, and also not to tolerate abortion or euthanasia. (Timor Post, STL)

Disagreement on religious education continues

President of the National Parliament Francisco Guterres has requested the Religious Student Movement of Timor-Leste (MOJERTIL) not to pressure the government on the issue of religious education in schools, as dialogue already exists between the government, the Church and religious organizations to resolve this issue. Speaking to STL, Guterres was responding to threats by MOJERTIL that they will hold a demonstration protesting the government policy that religion not be included in the national primary school curriculum as a compulsory subject.

Meanwhile, in his discussions with the people of Manatuto and Baucau, President Xanana Gusmao received complaints from the community there on the policy, complaining that the government's stance is immoral. Community members said that the religious education that they would like to see taught is of a general nature, teaching humanitarian and spiritual values to school children, not necessarily incorporating the teaching of religious doctrine. (STL)

Political analyst comments on possible mission extension

Political analyst Julio Tomas Pinto has commented on the possible extension of the UN presence in Timor-Leste, saying that the request by the national government for an extension of the mission is for reasons of an economic, political and security nature. He said that if the UN mission does end, there is a concern that the current level of aid money will decrease, and that this will have an impact on Timor-Leste's development. He added that UNMISET's existence also has an impact on political stability as well as national security.

In an opinion piece on the merits of an extension, Pinto concluded by saying that even though the above reasons are all very well, it is time for Timor-Leste to take responsibility for its own economic, political and security situation, and that the government of Timor-Leste should not request a mission extension. (Timor Post)

Timor Petroleum considered advanced

Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri says that Timor-Leste's petroleum system is more advanced than that of other countries. Speaking to journalists on Sunday after returning from a petroleum conference in London, he said that such an advanced petroleum system was represented by a partnership between the government, civil society, multi-national companies and oil companies.

He added that even the World Bank views Timor-Leste as a best- practice model in its petroleum management system. (Timor Post)

Co-operation the aim in visit by Indonesian President

Timor-Leste President Xanana Gusmao says that the Indonesian President's visit to Timor-Leste on 4 April will be a state visit. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is expected to highlight the development of cooperation between the two countries during his meetings with government officials. (Timor Post)

Makeshift shelters pulled down

Approximately 100 makeshift shelters erected by vendors along the Coconut Beach Road were pulled down last Friday following orders from the Dili District Administration. The operation was carried out by officers from the Dili District Sanitation Department and involved the national police.

Vendors interviewed by STL expressed their disappointment at the government action, as they have not been assigned any other place to sell their goods.

Some said that if the government continues to limit their options in making a living, then it is the same as leaving them and their families to starve.

Dili District Administrator Ruben Braz de Carvalho said that the shelters spoiled the attractiveness and cleanliness of the city. According to Carvalho, more of these actions are planned for other makeshift shelters in Dili.

Approximately 20 of the vendors took their case to the National Parliament on Friday, upset and angry by the actions of the Dili District Administration. Speaking of the current economic situation as critical, the vendors said that destroying their shelters by putting holes in their tin and canvas roofs was inconsiderate. Member of Parliament from Commission A, Vicente Faria, said that the Parliament would speak to the Dili District Administration regarding the case. (STL)

March 18, 2005

Indonesian President Yudhoyono to visit TL on 2 April

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono will make a short official visit to Timor-Leste at the beginning of April. The Indonesian leader will lead a delegation of nine ministers, including Jakarta's head of diplomacy, Hassan Wirajuda, during his trip of "a few hours" to Dili on April 2, the source told Lusa.

The fact that Yudhoyono is visiting Timor is a sign of the "excellent" bilateral ties between Dili and Jakarta, added the diplomatic source, recalling that the two governments recently launched a joint commission to investigate war crimes committed in Timor-Leste six years ago. Another indicator of improved ties between the two southeast Asian neighbours is the presence of an senior Indonesian military delegation in Dili this week to discuss joint border security, said the same source. (Lusa)

Independent candidates and Fretilin win village chief elections

Preliminary vote counts from the elections of village chiefs in three districts have Fretilin ahead in Lautem district, with independent candidates coming out on top in Baucau and Manatuto.

There were some minor problems with some voters not being able to vote because their names were not on the electoral role in their voting centre.

The same problem occurred in almost all the voting centres in the three districts. (STL)

Parliament role in human rights important

The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the Human Rights Unit of UNMISET gave two days of human rights training to members of Commission A in the National Parliament on Wednesday and Thursday. Commission A deals with issues concerning the Constitution, Human Rights, and Civil Freedoms.

The instructor of the training, lawyer Aderito de Jesus Soares, told STL Parliament has an important role in monitoring and protecting rights in Timor-Leste. Aderito said that it was important for the government to not only sign human rights conventions, but to then implement them into governmental programs. (STL)

Truth Commission TOR not yet received by Parliament

The National Parliament has not yet received the Terms of Reference (TOR) for the Truth and Friendship Commission. According to the President of the National Parliament, Francisco Guterres, it is very important that Parliament receives the TOR so that the Members of Parliament better understand the mandate of the Commission. Guterres said that according to the Constitution, it is the role of the Parliament to ratify accords the government makes with other countries.

Meanwhile, Indonesia's legislative body, DPR, has not set the agenda for discussions on Truth and Friendship Commission even though the governments of both Indonesia and Timor-Leste have signed the agreement for its establishment.

After meeting yesterday with Parliament's Commission A in charge of Legal Affairs, the visiting Member of the Indonesian Parliament, Nursyabani Katjasungkana, stated that the Commission is a matter of good political will of elites from both countries, lacking any consultation with the public. Moreover, Katjasungkana said if the Commission only includes the elites, then it will not aid the whole process. "The important thing is that how the Indonesian and Timorese society can strengthen the friendship as a real action and not only on paper," she added. (STL, Timor Post)

Refusing UN's Commission of Experts is an anti justice Attitude

An Indonesian NGO Coalition for International Human Rights Advocacy stated that very much regrets the Indonesian Government's attitude towards guaranteeing justice for crimes committed in Timor-Leste in 1999. The Coalition's comments come in response to the Indonesian Government's decision not to welcome the UN's Commission of Experts to the country.

The Coalition has called on both the governments of Timor-Leste and Indonesia to be cooperative with the Commission. It also called on the international community to put pressure on Indonesia to welcome and cooperate with the Commission. (Timor Post)

Japanese theatre performance to "rehabilitate mental health of children" in TL

A Japanese theatre production will perform in Timor-Leste next week in an effort to rehabilitate the mental health of children affected by conflict.

Theatre Kazenoko will perform a "Chiisai Gekijou" (small theatre) drama in Timor-Leste's capital, Dili, next Thursday. A performance will also take place in Atambua, West Timor. Theatre Kazenoko, which was established in 1950, focuses on an art activity for children. (Kyodo)

March 17, 2005

Population questions government's newspaper boycott

As part of an open dialogue between the people of Manatuto district and the Timor-Leste President, the local population questioned Xanana Gusmco about the current boycott by the government of the national newspaper Suara Timor Lorosae (STL). The President told the community the boycott doesn't mean that there is no longer press freedom in the country, but that the issue had come about because the government had reacted emotionally to STL's news reporting. According to the President, media is one of the strengths in national development and it has a social and educational role. He said that the government has simply stopped being a customer of STL. (STL)

Kakoak Air to make inaugural flight

Kakoak Air will make its inaugural Dili-Kupang flight tomorrow. The Director of Kakoak Air, Jorge Seranno, said that several high officials have been invited to take part in the inaugural flight, including President Xanana Gusmao and President of the National Parliament Francisco Guterres.

Jorge said that the new airline will fly the Dili-Kupang twice per week (Friday and Saturday) for US$50. He explained that he had taken the initiative to establish this new airline to serve the community who wish to travel to Indonesia via Kupang and also for students currently studying in Indonesia so that they can make affordable trips back home. (STL)

TL opens consulate general in Surabaya

Timor-Leste plans to open a consulate general in Surabaya. The new consulate general will speed up the processing of documents as well as enhance economic and educational ties between Surabaya and Dili. There are currently 500 East Timorese studying in Surabaya. (The Jakarta Post)

Five PNTL Officers To be Trained in Mozambique

PNTL General Commander Paulo Fatima Martins has announced that five PNTL officers have been selected to obtain further training on policing in Mozambique for four years. (Timor Post)

Sebastico Dias Ximenes: "When elected to be Provedor, I will carry out duties based on Constitution"

Speaking to the media yesterday, Dili University Rector, Sebastico Dias Ximenes, who has been nominated by Fretilin as the candidate for the post of Provedor of Human Rights and Justice said he accepted the candidacy because he respected the trust bestowed on him by Fretilin. "If I am elected by the majority of votes, I will be ready to investigate anyone as well as any member of Government who violates human rights." (Timor Post)

Women Have the Rights To Know About Petroleum Fund

The Director of Timor-Leste's Women Network, REDE Laura Menezes stated that Timorese women also have the right to know about the petroleum fund, adding that this will enable them to contribute ideas on how to spend the funds much better for the next generation.

Moreover, Menezes said the most important thing is that there should be legislation on the access for information on the fund so that the general public will immediately be informed on the matter whenever they need. (Timor Post)

March 16, 2005

President Xanana sends rice to hungry districts

President Xanana Gusmco has sent five tons of rice via the Dili Diocese Church to several hungry districts in Timor-Leste, including Suai, Ainaro and Ermera. These five tons are in addition to the two-and-a-half tons of rice and 100 boxes of noodles already sent by the church. According to the Episcopal Vicar for Dili Diocese, Father Agostinho de Jesus Soares, coastal communities are suffering most. He said that the mission of the Church has always been to help those in need and that the Church will continue to do so in times of crisis such as this. (STL)

Xanana urges community to be wise when choosing village chiefs

President Xanana Gusmao has told the people of Baucau that they should choose someone who is able to lead, who is responsible and willing to struggle for the aspirations of the people during the election of village chiefs. He said that the individuals chosen do not have to be from the Fretilin party, as long as they meet all the above conditions. (STL)

Lu Olo appeals to parliamentarians to submit Provedor candidates

President of the National Parliament Francisco Guterres (Lu-Olo) has once again requested parliamentarians to submit their candidates for the Provedor election. He said that apart from Fretilin, the other parliamentary factions had not yet submitted their candidates, making it impossible to set a date for the election. He said that the Provedor for Human Rights and Justice is an important position and this election should be a priority. (STL)

Military and police meeting held at UNMISET

An Indonesian delegation composed of military and police officers yesterday held a meeting with the United Nations Military Component as well as the Timor-Leste National Police and F-FDTL at the UNMISET compound in Obrigado Barracks, Dili. The main issue discussed at the meeting was joint patrols along the Indonesia-Timor-Leste border. Colonel Yul Afiani from the Indonesian military (TNI) told STL that this was the fourth such meeting, but the first time that the meeting had been held in Dili. He said that the aim of the meetings is to maintain a conducive atmosphere along the border and that on this particular occasion, the outcome had been very successful.

He said the issue of illegal entries into Timor-Leste from Indonesia should not be associated with militia, as the militia no longer exist and in any case they no longer carry weapons. (STL)

JSMP questions intention of Truth and Friendship Commission

The Judicial System Monitoring Program (JSMP) has questioned the true intention of the Truth and Friendship Commission. JSMP states in its latest press release that a study of the Terms of Reference of the Commission demonstrates that the main role of the Commission is to prevent further investigations into, and indictments of, senior Indonesian officials who were involved in crimes against humanity before 1999. The mandate of the Commission is limited to studying crimes committed immediately preceding and following the 1999 referendum. This means that any other crimes committed in the previous twenty-four years of occupation will not be considered. (STL)

Manuel Tilman: Bureaucracy creates corruption

The Member of National Parliament's Commission C in charge of Economic Affairs, Manuel Tilman, stressed that if the Government does not reduce the large number of bureaucracies, corruption will flourish even though the anti-corruption law is in place. He said the salaries of public servants must be increased in order to stop the spread of corruption.

Meanwhile, the Dean of the Faculty of Economics at Dili University, Gilberto Ximenes, argued that in order to eradicate corruption, there is a need to implement a rigorous policy to deal with those involved in such activity. (Timor Post)

March 15, 2005

Islamic leaders supportive of Church stance

Leaders of Timor-Leste's Islamic community has given its full support to the pastoral note issued by the country's Catholic Church in protest against government policy not to include religion as a compulsory subject in the primary school curriculum.

The President of CENCITIL (Centre for the Islamic Community of Timor-Leste), Arif Abdullah Sagran, said that the pastoral note was relevant to the Islamic community because if Catholicism were to be taught in schools, then automatically minority religions would also be taught.

He said that such a policy would benefit Muslims here on a more detailed level as it would mean that the government would need to provide funds and teachers in schools to teach Islam. Sagran emphasized that in general, whatever is beneficial for the community in Timor-Leste would also benefit Muslims, and that it was important for school children to be given a religious and moral education, otherwise their future would be cloudy and void of meaning. (STL)

1999 perpetrators to be arrested upon entry to TL

Those indicted for crimes committed in 1999 and who have had an arrest warrant issued against them will be arrested if they enter Timor-Leste, according to Carl de Faria, Deputy Prosecutor General. Speaking to journalists at a press conference yesterday, de Faria answered questions regarding the arrest warrant for Wiranto and explained that all indictments will be handed over to Timor-Leste's Prosecutor General when the Serious Crimes Unit closes down in May. He said that the decision on whether to continue pursuing these indictments would be up to Timor-Leste's government. (STL)

Cyclone Ingrid intensifies over Timor Sea

Tropical Cyclone Ingrid has been upgraded to a category four system after intensifying on its path towards Western Australia's north Kimberley coastline from the Timor Sea. The cyclone has caused extensive damage to island communities off northern Australia, unleashing fierce winds on the Tiwi Islands north of Darwin.

The Bureau of Meteorology says a cyclone warning is now current for coastal and island communities between Port Keats in the Northern Territory and Mitchell Plateau in Western Australia. (ABC)

Falintil-FDTL to dismiss 40 officers

Major Ular Rihik of F-FDTL's Personnel Section announced yesterday that 40 officers are set to be dismissed from the military service due to being absent from duty for 90 days. According to Rihik, those who will be dismissed are from the first battalion, second battalion, communication and training centre units, naval components as well as two high-ranking officers. (Timor Post)

Tax increase on border

Speaking at yesterday's plenary session, Clementino dos Reis Amaral, Vice President of the National Parliament's Commission B in charge of Foreign Affairs, stated that foreign investors have been voicing concern about the increase in taxes on the border. "They are predominantly concerned about not being informed about the hike in taxes, more so than actual increase," said Amaral. Amaral appealed to the Government to inform the public on tax increases ahead of time so that the business community is able to factor this in to their work. (Timor Post)

March 11, 2005

Dengue fever spreading in Timor-Leste

The dengue fever that broke out in Dili in early this year has spread to eight of Timor-Lete's 13 districts, claiming 24 lives among the 421 registered cases. Dili remains the hardest hit area with 300 cases. The mosquito-spread epidemic has registered a total of 99 cases of dengue fever and 322 cases of its more deadly hemorrhagic form. Nearly all deaths have been of young people under the age of 14. (Lusa)

Police patrol border on Al-Qaeda information

The Timor-Leste's National Police (PNTL) has been tasked to closely patrol the Timor-Leste and Indonesia border, responding to information received from Jakarta that some Al-Qaeda members have infiltrated Timor-Leste.

PNTL Commander Paulo de Fatima Martins told Timor Post that as soon as he received this information from Jakarta, including the names of the alleged Al-Qaeda members, he ordered the police and in particular the Border Patrol Unit to increase their patrols of the border and in particular to check passports carefully. Martins acknowledged that they did not have any photo identification of the four and thus it would be difficult to identify them physically. (Timor Post)

Vice-president of national parliament to resign

Xavier do Amaral, President of the Timor Social Democratic Association (ASDT), said that he will resign from his other position as Vice-President of the National Parliament. Xavier told Timor Post that the lives of the people are not getting any better, and that politics has become a game where the name of the people is used for the benefit of the leaders, while the community continues to suffer. Amaral criticized Fretilin for voting arbitrarily on laws, reminding them that the Parliament does not belong to Fretilin but to the people. (Timor Post)

Weak economy not a reason to borrow PM

Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri has said that even though the economy is not doing so well, the government will not borrow from the International Monetary Fund, as this will create a heavy burden for the country. Some business people have criticized the government, saying that it should borrow money to improve the economy. Alkatiri responded by saying that those business people should borrow money from banks as an investment in the economy, rather than recommending that the government do so. The Prime Minister also said that the government does not function on money alone but on functioning institutions, administration and staff. (Timor Post)

F-FDTL project stalls

The construction of the F-FDTL quarters in Baucau has stalled because the company implementing the project has gone bankrupt. The building was intended to be used as the headquarters of Battalion I. Chief of Staff Lere Anan Timor speaking to STL said that the company, Samarudi, who won the tender, were given a timeframe of six months to complete the project.

However, even after that time frame was extended, the project still did not develop any further, and eventually the firm went bankrupt. Lere Anan said that the project has now been handed to another company to complete, and that the government would find it difficult to grant any more tenders to Samarudi. He said that he hoped the facility would be completed by the end of the year. (STL)

March 10, 2005

Xanana and SBY sign Truth Commission agreement

The President of Indonesia Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Timor- Leste President Xanana Gusmao yesterday signed the agreement for the creation of the Truth and Friendship Commission, which will investigate crimes committed during and after the 1999 referendum. The Commission will begin its work in August and work for a minimum of two years. Speaking to reporters, Indonesian President Yudhoyono said that the Commission is a viable means of resolving lingering problems between Indonesia and Timor-Leste. President Xanana reinforced that the aim of the Commission is not to decide who is guilty, but to expose the truth, so that Timor- Leste may better confront its future as an independent nation.

Meanwhile, the Coordinator of HAK Association, Jose Luis Guterres, said that the position of human rights activists in Timor-Leste has always against the establishment of the Commission because of the belief that it will block the justice process for perpetrators of the 1999 crimes. He said that the Commission will perpetuate the chain of impunity in Indonesia and Timor-Leste. (Timor Post, STL)

UNDP provides equipment for Suco elections

The United Nations Development Programme has delivered some important equipment for the second phase of the village chief elections. The equipment was handed over by UNDP's Timor-Leste Country Director, Naheed Haque, to the Director of the Technical Secretariat for State Administration, Tomas Cabral. Included among the equipment were 2000 voting boxes, 20,000 ties for the voting boxes and 200 voting booths. The amount of assistance totalled $120,000

The village head elections are also receiving assistance from USAID in the form of posters, pamphlets, banners, computers, printers, office equipment, and radio and television announcements. (STL)

Decrease in projects after UNTAET mission

Julio Alfaro, Director of the company Rosario, said that since the departure of UNTAET there has been a decrease in the number of projects. He said that the economy has been 'stuck' for some time now, compared with the UNTAET period when there was a lot of money around for reconstruction projects. He said that at the time he was engaged in projects with UNDP, UNOPS, UNICEF, ADB and the World Bank, and was able to employ up to 1000 people. Alfaro said that in order to develop the economy here, Timor-Leste must decrease its reliance on imported products, particularly from Indonesia. He said that many of these products can be made locally. (STL)

Portugal provides assistance to F-FDTL

Portugal has provided assistance to the F-FDTL in the form of army rations and uniforms. The equipment was handed to the Commander of the F-FDTL, Taur Matan Ruak, by the Portuguese Ambassador to Timor-Leste, Joao Ramos Pinto, in a ceremony yesterday. Matan Ruak said that the rations and uniforms would be given to those army personnel still undergoing training at the Instruction Centre at Metinaro. (Timor Post)

March 9, 2005

Boundary negotiations end with agreement to continue

The latest round of negotiations between Australia and Timor- Leste on how to divide billions of dollars in revenue from sea bed oil and gas have ended today with an agreement to hold more talks soon. Timor-Leste's head negotiator, Jose Teixeira, declined to comment on how the negotiations in the Australian capital, Canberra, have progressed over the past three days. "We've agreed to further talks soon," Teixeira told Associated Press.

Australian Prime Minister John Howard and his Timorese counterpart, Mari Alkatiri, exchanged letters to ensure negotiations could proceed, said Teixeira. However, he did not describe the details of the letters. (AP)

Indonesia and Timor-Leste seal deal on atrocities

Indonesia and Timor-Leste have agreed to set up a commission to deal with atrocities surrounding Timor-Leste's 1999 vote for independence.

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Timor-Leste's President Xanana Gusmco, and Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri, inked the creation of the Truth and Friendship Commission at the presidential palace in Jakarta.

Yudhoyono said the body, which will start its two-year mission in August, was the best medium for the two countries to come to terms with and move on from the bloodshed surrounding Timor- Leste's breakaway from Indonesia.

"Indonesia puts forward, focuses on and chooses the Commission of Truth and Friendship as the best and the most feasible means to solve the problems between Indonesia and Timor-Leste," Yudhoyono told reporters. "We made our decision obviously after we considered all related aspects. We would like to build better friendship and cooperation with Timor-Leste and we adhere firmly to that," he added.

President Gusmco said the Commission's "mammoth" task was to uncover truth, not seek retribution. "I'm not a judge, I'm not a human rights advocate or lawyer. We are not looking for defendants. We are looking for truth," he said. (AFP)

Parliament refuses endorsement of Truth Commission resolution

Members of the National Parliament have emphatically refused to endorse the resolution regarding the Truth and Friendship Commission, which was signed today by the Indonesian and Timor- Leste governments. The MPs claimed that they would like to receive more information about the vision, mission and objectives of the Commission. Members of both Fretilin and the opposition parties expressed their full support for the government in establishing the Commission, but said that they would prefer to wait for the two governments to sign the relevant documents before they endorsed it. Some of the members expressed their view that to endorse the resolution before the two governments had signed would denigrate the authority of the Parliament, but that they could endorse it later upon the request of the government. (STL)

Timorese women possess development capacity

Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri gave a boost to women in a press conference yesterday, marking International Women's Day. The Prime Minister said that Timorese women have the ability to be involved in development, which can be seen by the fact that many work in important positions alongside men, such as in the government, National Parliament, courts and non-governmental organizations. Prime Minister Alkatiri took the opportunity to congratulate Timorese women as well as women all over the world. (Timor Post)

Malnutrition and hunger interlinked

A nutritionist from the Ministry of Health, Dirce Maria Soares, said that when we speak of malnutrition we also speak of hunger. Speaking to the Timor Post on yesterday, she said that if some of the Timorese population are only eating once per day then there would certainly be incidences of malnutrition, especially among children. Dirce said that the Ministry of Health would soon begin nutrition programs, which will involve identifying children suffering from malnutrition and then having them treated. (Timor Post)

Fretilin defends Provedor candidate

Head of the Fretilin faction in the Parliament, Francisco Miranda Branco, said that even though many people say that Fretilin's new candidate for the Provedor position, Sebastiao Diaz Ximenes, is a former autonomy supporter, he would not be afraid to investigate corruption cases if he were to be selected for the post. Branco said that it's unfair to question Sebastiao's background as an autonomy supporter when other current members of Parliament such as Mario Carrascalao and Clementino dos Reis Amaral also have similar backgrounds. He added that Sebastiao is not guilty of committing any crimes.

The head of the Democrat Party, Mariano Sabino, said that the important thing to consider is not whether the person was previously pro-autonomy, but whether they have a commitment to neutrality, good governance, human rights and anti-corruption. (Timor Post)

Round II of Suco elections to begin

The Director of the Technical State Administration Secretariat (STAE), Tomas do Rosario Cabral, yesterday formally announced the second round of village chief elections to be held in Lautem, Baucau and Manatuto districts between 17 and 23 March. Speaking to the press, Cabral explained that three political parties have submitted over two thousand candidates for the village and hamlet chief elections. These parties include Fretilin, the Democrat Party and the Timor Socialist Party, as well as some independent candidates. (STL)

Kakoak airlines and Merpati to serve Kupang-Dili route

Indonesia's state-owned airline company Merpati Nusantara Airlines (MNA) will cooperate with the Timor-Leste-based Kakoak Airlines to serve the route between Kupang and Dili. Timor- Leste's President, Xanana Gusmco, and his Transport Minister, Ovideo de Jesus Amaral, are expected to be among the passengers on the maiden flight from Dili to Kupang on 18 March.

Kakoak Airlines, which is still under the management of MNA with aircrafts and crew members provided by the Indonesia state-owned airlines, is expected to become Timor-Leste's national airline company. (Antara)

March 8, 2005

Church assists hungry in Ainaro

The Dili Diocese Church is collecting food to assist the hungry in Hatubuilico sub-District, Ainaro, a part of the Maubisse parish.

Announcements were made through all churches in Dili on Sunday requesting that churchgoers donate food to send to Ainaro. Father Agostinho de Jesus Soares, Episcopal Vicar of Dili Diocese, told Timor Post this involves the issue of hunger and people's lives. Asked why the Church is only just beginning to assist now when the hunger issue has been spoken of for some time now, Father Agostinho said that they were waiting on accurate data before they began to give aid, to ascertain whether people really were starving.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri congratulated the Church on this initiative. He said that it was up to the Church to take whatever measures they see fit. He added that the government remains with its position that there is no hunger and that Timor-Leste's main food problem is inadequate nutrition, which can best be resolved through good policies and nutrition education. (Timor Post)

Xanana to sign TOR in Bali

President Xanana Gusmao yesterday left for Indonesia to attend two events, including the signing of the Terms of Reference for the Truth and Friendship Commission, planned for tomorrow 9 March. During the signing the names of five Timorese will be put forward as members of the Commission, along with five Indonesians.

After the signing of the Terms of Reference, the President will continue on to Medan where he will attend a conference on Sustainable Development and Natural Disasters. (Timor Post)

Government wants to separate religion from the State

President of the Democrat Party, Fernanda Lasama de Araujo, says that the government is trying to separate religion from the State via the national primary education curriculum. He added that the government is using the Timorese people as an experiment to fulfil their own will, claiming they have not taken into account that their people are Catholic.

The government has so far refused to discuss the issue of religious teaching in schools with the Church, reasoning that the Church sent their pastoral protest letter to the public in general and not to the government.

Lasama said that the Church wants to have a dialogue with the government on the issue and that there should also be representatives from the community and other organizations in such a dialogue. He said that the continual refusal of the government to move from their position reinforces to the population that their leaders still do not understand the reality of their lives. (STL)

Provedor post just a 'decoration' for Fretilin

Lucia Lobato, from the Social Democrat Party (PSD), has criticized Fretilin's choice of candidate for the Provedor position, Sebastiao Dias Ximenes. Ms Lobato said that while Sebastiao may be a good person, he is not suitable for the position because he does not possess a good track record in the field of human rights and law. She said that Sebastiao once previously withdrew scholarship funds for university students, who were protesting against Indonesia's occupation of Timor- Leste. Lucia said that Fretilin's choice of Sebastiao as a candidate shows that they are only concerned with this position as 'decoration' for the state, and that PSD would vote against this candidate. (STL)

March 7, 2005

Twenty PNTL dismissed

PNTL Commander Superintendent Paulo de Fatima Martins says that in the past three years the PNTL has dismissed a total of 20 police officers for undisciplined behaviour, the majority of offences associated with mistreatment. Superintendent Paulo told STL that dismissal was used as a punishment to demonstrate to the public that the police are not immune from the law, as well as to improve public opinion of the police force. (STL)

Fretilin legitimacy doubted

The ongoing battle between the government and the Church over the inclusion of compulsory religious teaching in the national curriculum could endanger Fretilin's legitimacy, according to political and military observer Julio Tomas Pinto. Speaking to STL, he said that the majority of those who make up Fretilin's support base are Catholic, so the difference in opinion between the Church and State on this matter inevitably becomes a political matter. He said that the Church, which has a strong community base, will inform the community on this difference of opinion, and in turn, this will bring about a decline in support for Fretilin. According to Julio the strong role that the Church played in Timor-Leste's independence means that the issue of religion is linked intimately to the private lives of the people. (STL)

Fretilin nominates new Provedor candidate

After twice failing to elect the Provedor for Human Rights and Justice, majority party Fretilin has submitted Sebastiao Dias Ximenes (currently the Dean of Dili University) as their candidate for the position. Sebastiao is a new candidate, who will run alongside the other two current candidates, Aniceto Guterres Lopes and Isabel Ferreira. Speaking to STL, Director of HAK Association, Jose Luis, said that the Parliament's failure to elect the Provedor demonstrates that political leaders are not serious in fighting corruption, collusion and nepotism. The Parliament has twice failed to elect the Provedor because the number of votes for one particular candidate never reached the majority needed as specified in the Provedor legislation. (STL)

March 4, 2005

Alkatiri: Truth Commission must have credibility

Prime Minister Alkatiri says the Truth and Friendship Commission must be credible, but if the international community and the people of Timor-Leste and Indonesia do not put faith in the Commission, then it is better to not establish it. Speaking during an interval of the discussions on the body in Parliament on yesterday, Alkatiri told Timor Post that it is clear from the Commission's Terms of Reference that the aim of the Commission is not justice but to find the truth, particularly relevant for the Indonesian people, many of whom are unaware of what happened here in 1999. (Timor Post)

Meeting on Truth Commission receives mixed reaction

The session on the Truth and Friendship Commission held in the National Parliament yesterday has received mixed reactions from parliamentarians, non-governmental organizations and educational institutions. Some of the political parties questioned the issue of funding for the Commission, while NGO's such as Yayasan Hak criticized the Commission as a means for the current political leaders to demonstrate what they regard as truth and disregarding the voice of the people. However, Father Juvito, one of the Commissioners on the Timor-Leste Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation (CAVR) expressed his view that the Commission is an opportunity for Timor-Leste to move slowly forward in its search for justice and truth. (Timor Post)

F-FDTL to guarantee security post-UNMISET

The Chief of Staff of F-FDTL Lere Anan Timor has declared that both Timor-Leste's defence and police forces are ready to guarantee security when UNMISET completes its mission. Lere said that management of the border will be based on the current principles of cooperation, not confrontation.

Responding to questions from STL, Lere said that he is not concerned about the fact that America will soon begin training the Indonesian military.

He said that the Indonesian military is concerned with maintaining security in its own nation, and is not interested in Timor-Leste. He added that members of PNTL will also be sent to the United States for training in the near future. (STL)

Equality Promotion to do general clean-up

As part of commemorations for International Women's Day on 8 March, the Advisor for the Promotion of Equality in the Prime Minister's Cabinet has joined forces with local and international non-governmental organizations to run a general clean-up of Dili's market areas and the Muki Bonaparte Park in Mandarin. Advisor Maria Domingos Fernandes Alves told STL that the theme for gender equality this year is to construct a secure future for women, by focusing on security, development, natural disasters, and human rights. (STL)

March 3, 2005

Xanana and team discuss Truth Commission

Discussion surrounding the Truth and Friendship Commission continues, even though within a short time the Timor-Leste and Indonesian governments are expected to sign an accord on the Commission. President of the Republic Xanana Gusmao, President of the National Parliament Francisco Guterres and Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri yesterday held a detailed discussion about the Commission in an attempt to explain the Commission to the community and civil society.

President Xanana will today discuss the terms of reference of the Truth and Friendship Commission to the National Parliament. Eventually five East Timorese will sit on the Commission. (Timor Post, STL)

Earthquake too deep to cause damage

An undersea earthquake measuring 7.1 on the Richter scale has been felt across Timor-Leste's capital Dili, Australia's Northern Territory and parts of Indonesia. The epicentre of the earthquake, which struck last night, was located 500 kilometres east of Timor-Leste in the Banda Sea. There have been no reports of injuries and experts say there is no risk of a tsunami because of the depth of the underwater quake. (ABC)

Heavy rains pound Dili

Dili District Administrator, Ruben Braz de Carvalho, has asked the people of Dili not to plant their crops or throw their rubbish into the drains. He said that heavy rains on Tuesday and Wednesday caused flooding in Dili because the drains, already full with rubbish and food crops such as watercress, cannot handle the amount of rainwater, causing water to over flow onto the roads. Apart from causing damage to newly repaired roads and bridges, the large amount of heavy rain also damaged some homes. Ruben said that the District Administration will soon begin to clear all the drains in Dili to avoid flooding. (Timor Post)

PNTL enthusiasm still weak

The enthusiasm by PNTL to implement laws and regulations, in order to regulate this security institution, has been weak, according to Aniceto Guro Berteni Neves from Yayasan Hak. Speaking after a meeting with UNMISET representatives concerning the PNTL disciplinary regulation, Neves told Timor Post that in his opinion the weakness to truly implement these regulations is because of the low level of knowledge held by PNTL members themselves about policies relevant to the PNTL. According to Neves, there is a direct relationship between an understanding of the laws and the enthusiasm to implement them. Neves said that the PNTL disciplinary regulation was promulgated in June 2004 but it is still not being implemented effectively within the institution.

The UNMISET representatives reminded participants at the session that apart from Timor-Leste laws, Timor-Leste has also ratified several international human rights conventions, and it is important to consider how they are being implemented as well as to ensure that the government has mechanisms to handle cases of violations that arise. (Timor Post, STL)

National Parliament discusses Investment Law

The Government and opposition parties began discussions on the investment law in the Parliament on Wednesday. Secretary of State for Tourism, Environment and Investment, Jose Texeira told STL that his role is to explain both the National Investment Law as well as the Foreign Investment Law to the Parliament so that they may be well informed when it is time to approve the laws. Texeira said that he considers approval of these laws to be urgent in order to generate a greater degree of investment Timor-Leste. (STL)

Parliament supports re-opening of 4 December case

The intention of the Prosecutor General to re-open the 4 December case if the UN Police does not present a more detailed report regarding the incident has received support from the Fretilin and KOTA parties in the National Parliament. Head of the Fretilin faction in the Parliament Francisco Branco said that those responsible for the violence must be held accountable and brought to justice. Branco told STL it seems that UNPOL has washed its hands clean of the case and have no intention of investigating the matter further. From KOTA, Clementino dos Reis Amaral requested that the case not be forgotten but that the PNTL should work together with the Prosecutor-General's office to finalise the case. Clementino added that it is possible that the incident was engineered by top political leaders and therefore making it impossible for UNPOL to bring them to court. (STL)

Weak bureaucracy recipe for corruption

A weak bureaucracy and political system can bring about corruption, according to Rui Meneses, a member of Commission C in the National Parliament. Excessive bureaucracy, where people cannot afford to wait a long time and go through unnecessary procedures to obtain documents can lead to opportunities for corruption, where money is paid to speed up the process. Meneses added that salary size is another factor that creates a need for corruption. Even though the salary of civil servants in Timor- Leste is high when compared to those in other regional countries, it is low when compared with daily consumption costs. He added though that if the civil servants have adequate morals, ethics and mentality then a low salary should not be a reason for corruption. (STL)

March 2, 2005

Japan gives 1.5-million to improve maternal and infant care

Japan strengthened its position as the largest contributor to Timor-Leste's health sector by announcing a donation of more than $1.5 million to improve maternal and infant care. Medicine and equipment will be bought with Tokyo's aid, which is being channelled through UNICEF, allowing 45,000 children under the age of 12 months and their mothers to be vaccinated at 65 health centres. This is the third time that Japan has donated money to the Ministry of Health project facilitated by UNICEF.

Timor-Leste's infant and maternal mortality rates are among the highest in the developing world, according to UNICEF. (Lusa, Timor Post)

BPU Commander involved in illegal smuggling

A Commander from the Border Patrol Unit, entrusted with the task of combating illegal activities along the border, has himself been caught red-handed engaged in an illegal transaction involving beverages. PNTL Operational Commander Ismael Babo Soares told Timor Post that the case is currently under investigation, and he emphasized that whoever is deemed to be involved in such activities, whether it be a Commander or a police officer, will be processed according to the law. (Timor Post)

UNPOL and UNMISET meet with PNTL and F-FDTL

UNPOL, UNMISET, PNTL and F-FDTL yesterday attended their periodic meeting together at the Falintil-FDTL Headquarters in Tasi Tolu. Chief of Staff of the Falintil-FDTL, Colonel Lere Anan Timur, speaking to Timor Post after the meeting said that the main issue discussed during the meeting was the security situation and how best to coordinate security between the armed forces and the police in the event of a disturbance. Lere added that one of the possibilities for better security coordination could be for the police and armed forces to carry out coordinated patrols. (Timor Post)

Thousands of youth out of work Approximately 7000 youth, who registered at the Ministry of Labour and Solidarity between 2000 and 2005 as looking for employment both inside and outside the country, have not yet found work. Many of the youth registered at the Ministry when they completed their secondary school studies, and while a small number have found work, most have not. (Timor Post)

Church not the enemy of the state

The Social Democrat Party (PSD) has appealed to the government not to view the Catholic Church as an opponent or enemy. According to PSD, considering that the majority of East Timorese are Catholic as well as the large contribution that the Church has made to development in this new nation, the government should recognize and treat the Church as a partner. In their political statement read out during Parliament's plenary session on Monday, PSD said that they reaffirm their commitment to support the Church in its position that religion should be a obligatory and not an elective subject in the national school curriculum. (STL)

PSD declines to present Provedor candidate

The Social Democrat Party (PSD) has declined to present a candidate for the post of the Provedor for Human Rights and Justice. PSD member, Joao Goncalves, told STL that they have already presented their candidate many times previously, but the person has never passed the final voting. He said that the majority party in the Parliament refuses to vote for PSD's candidate, and therefore they have decided not to present a candidate.

This is despite the fact the President of the National Parliament recently issued a notice to all faction heads in the Parliament to present their candidates. (STL)

March 1, 2005

Border Police disaffected with border control

District Police Commanders and Border Police expressed their disaffection with the actions of Border Control in Dili during a meeting last week with Fretilin's Josefa Alvares Pereira. Pereira told Parliament's plenary session yesterday that the police are frustrated because when they apprehend illegal goods at the border and send them to Border Control in Dili, often they are then released as legal goods. These illegal goods should become part of state revenue, but are instead turning up in the markets. Clementino dos Reis Amaral, Member of Parliament from KOTA party, added that there are many rumours about the work of Border Control, but it is difficult to obtain proof. (Timor Post)

Member of parliament questions will to fight corruption

A Member of Parliament from the Fretilin party, Adalgiza Ximenes, said that corruption is a social problem that is being felt deeply by the population.

Ximenes said last June the Parliament approved the law on Public Administration, which included several articles on corruption. However, she said that the current reality indicates that this law is not being implemented in everyday work matters in the public administration.

The President of the National Parliament Francisco Guterres said that there need to be barriers to corruption and that is why it is important to establish the Provedor for Human Rights and Justice. (Timor Post)

Fretilin does not intend to close down media

President of the Fretilin party, Francisco Guterres, said that his party has no intentions to close down the media. This country has a free press, and for this reason even when there have been mistakes in articles in the newspapers, they refrain from commenting, he told STL on Monday.

Guterres said that he does not understand why the government is being accused of being dictatorial.

However, a Member of Parliament of the Social Democrat Party (PSD), Joao Goncalves, told parliament's plenary session yesterday that the Government has closed the door on the Suara Timor Lorosae (STL) newspaper, preventing it from covering stories about government activities. Guterres responded by saying that as far as he is aware, the government is no longer prepared to purchase STL, but that does not mean that they will not allow STL to cover stories. (STL)

Fretilin intimidates independent candidates

Members of Fretilin have been intimidating independent candidates for the Village Chief elections as well as community leaders in Baucau and Lospalos, according to Joao Goncalves from the Social Democrat Party.

Speaking in yesterday's plenary session in Parliament, he said that he obtained this information during visits to several sub- districts in Baucau and Lospalos. According to Joao, national and regional Fretilin leaders have been telling the candidates that they are not allowed to belong to a political party and that they must resign from the party to which they belong. He added that Fretilin has been intimidating the general population also by saying that if they do not choose a Fretilin candidate they will not receive future government assistance.

Fretilin's President Francisco Guterres said that he does not believe the accusations because his party would never treat people in this manner. (STL)

PSD questions 2006 elections

The Social Democrat party (PSD) has questioned the realisation of elections in 2006. The President of PSD's National Council, Zacarias da Costa, has raised doubts about their viability, saying that there are signs that the government is increasingly dictatorial in its behaviour, particularly evident in its recent threats toward some parts of the mass media. Zacarias, speaking to STL on Saturday, questioned whether there really would be elections in 2006, or whether Timor-Leste would soon see a dictatorial presence worse than Soeharto. (STL)