The residence of the Minister of Finance, Emilia Pires, which is of luxurious architecture, clearly demonstrates discrimination between the incumbent Minister of Finance and other members of the government.

Construction continues on the new official residence of the Finance Minister located in Motael, despite it already being criticized by civil society and deputies of the National Parliament.

"This house being built for the Finance Minister is larger than any other house in this nation. If I was the head of this government, the Finance Minister would only have one secretary of state. The President of the Republic does not have such a luxurious residence as this one under construction for the Finance Minister. Why does this minister have the right to have a home of such luxury, and which criteria is being used to do this? Why not build a house equal standard for all ministers?" asked the former deputy prime minister, Mario Viegas Carrascalao (MVC), speaking to Jornal Diario at Hotel Timor.

According to MVC, that policy (the construction of the house of Emilia Pires) generates internal discrimination among the servants of the state. He asks: why did they not use this money to build a building for the members of this new government, since they do not have a decent place to work in?

MVC also questioned how people will be able evaluate the members of the government if the executive does not give them suitable offices for government officials to perform their jobs, according to the plan that has already been established?

Moreover, FRETILIN opposition deputy Francisco Miranda Branco, said the reality in Timor-Leste is that the President of the Republic, former members and other members of the government have not a luxury residence as the Minister Emilia Pires and for this reason it is necessary to conduct a thorough investigation, for this special treatment.

"Corruption is now growing abundantly. We do not know where millions of dollars have gone. This is why every society has to use his head and eyes to be alive to control such things, "said Deputy Francisco Miranda Branco.

The director of the NGO Luta Hamutuk, Mericio Akara asked the Anti- Corruption Commission (ACC) to conduct an investigation of Finance Minister Emilia Pires, in relation to conflict of interest including the construction of this residence that already aroused suspicion.

Mericio said that the Finance Minister is an entity that controls and manages the money of this country and therefore when there are indices of acts of corruption or conflict of interest, such as the awarding of a project to her husband, son or brother, an act that is prohibited under the laws of Timor-Leste, it is necessary for CAC to thoroughly investigate the cases referred to it involving Emilia Pires.

"I think this case is already being investigated and I believe that Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao will not close his eyes to it. I believe Emilia will go to jail if she has engaged in an act of corruption. The question now is this: We're still waiting for the investigation by CAC and the prosecutors. They are still gathering evidence," stressed Mericio Akara.

Regarding the residence of Finance Minister, Mericio Akara said that CAC is also investigating the issue of the construction of the residence of the Finance Minister because state money is being used to construct this building.

"It can arouse suspicion because we all know that Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao, the President Taur Matan Ruak and the other ministers in Timor have not built houses more luxurious than this one," said Mericio Akara with suspicion.

Mericio further questioned, why this money was used by the Minister of Finance but was not used to repair the buildings of the East Timor National Police (PNTL). Since independence many of the PNTL's buildings could not be rehabilitated because of a lack of budget funds, and for this reason CAC must investigate it and if it finds evidence one day Finance Minister, Emilia Pires, will follow former Justice Minister Lucia Lobato to the Gleno prison.

[Translation from Tetum.]

Prostitution is not the only way to get money

Dili Weekly - January 9, 2013

In order to find out the factors affecting the rise of prostitution in Timor-Leste Parliamentary Commission F and the Women in Parliament Group (GMPTL) will monitor and visit places where the industry is flourishing and speak to prostitutes because they believe this work is not the only way out.

"We made this decision based on the fact the incidence of HIV/AIDS has risen and is a threat to the country" said MP Maria Adozinda Pires da Silva, recently at Delta Nova, Comoro Dili.

The women involved cite finances as the reason why they resort to prostitution; however that is not the only way to resolve household financial woes.

"Prostitution is not the only way to resolve financial crisis, and culturally it brings down women's dignity and is a threat to families' health and wellbeing," said the MP.

GMPTL Vice-President, MP Albina Marcal Freitas said it was important to monitor and have first-hand contact so better knowledge could be acquired on the reasons why people involve themselves in prostitution.

"We have not identified these women, all we have is anecdotal evidence of their numbers and behaviour so it is important to go out there and get the facts right. Some people say it is because of finances, but it may also be due to technology, so we need to do this'" said MP Freitas.

UNMIT/ISF

Drawing down - the end of a UN peacekeeping mission in Timor-Leste

UNNews - January 7, 2013

It was September of 1999 and Timor-Leste was convulsing through its latest spasm of violence.

Dili, the capital, was ablaze. Gangs of Timorese fighters loyal to neighbouring Indonesia rampaged across the countryside after the population voted overwhelmingly for independence in a UN-organised popular consultation. The bitter residue of a 24-year long Indonesian occupation had finally pushed the tiny island nation over the brink.

"It looked like a war-zone," Finn Reske-Nielsen, the Acting Special Representative of the Secretary-General and current head of the United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT), told the UN News Centre in a recent interview.

Mr. Reske-Nielsen had arrived in Timor with the UN Transitional Administration for East Timor (UNTAET) – a now-ended UN mission which had a broad mandate designed to help the territory's transition to independence – just as the embers of the country's burnt-out houses were cooling.

But by then, the destruction had forced some 500,000 of Timor-Leste's then-population of 890,000 from their homes. Reports of what the UN Security Council described as "systematic, widespread and flagrant violations" of international humanitarian and human rights law abounded.

"The country had literally been burnt to the ground," recalled Mr. Reske- Nielsen. "There was absolutely nothing there. There was no water; there was no electricity. There was no food."

Timor Leste – a tiny nation situated in the Banda Sea north of Australia and geographically clinging to Indonesia's East Nusa Tenggara province with which it shares the same island – has experienced a lengthy and tormented journey towards independence and democracy since its Portuguese colonial rulers departed in 1975. Occupied subsequently by its Indonesian neighbour until 1999, when the Timorese voted for independence.

In May 2002, some two and half years after the vote, the UN handed over the reigns of its transitional administration – led by Sergio Vieira de Mello, an experienced senior UN official subsequently killed in a bombing in Iraq in 2003 – to the newly independent nation. Successive UN missions assisted with the arduous task of nation-building, before the crisis of 2006 threatened to overturn the gains of previous years.

Over a decade after Mr. Reske-Nielsen's first encounter with the country, however, Timor-Leste has now undergone a new, historic moment, overseen by the UN envoy – the complete end of operations for UNMIT, which took place on 31 December 2012 in line with the mandate provided to it by the Security Council.

"It's difficult to describe the enormous progress that's been made since the dark days of September and October of 1999," Mr. Reske-Nielsen said.

"A little more than 12 years later, we see a country that's able to stand on its own feet. You have institutions that are capable of dealing with the matters of state," he added. "It's like two different worlds."

The Security Council established UNMIT in 2006, amidst a breakdown in law and order in the capital involving factions of the military and police fighting each other and widespread gang violence which, in turn, resulted in dozens of deaths and over 150,000 people being displaced into makeshift camps around the capital.

The UN mission arrived with a mandate to take over authority for policing and help restore stability and law and order, assist with reconstituting the national police service and support a series of impending presidential and parliamentary elections, along with 1,608 police personnel in tow.

The UN Under-Secretary-General for the Department of Field Support, Ameerah Haq, who served as head of UNMIT from 2010 to June 2012, remembered that the positive results were quick in coming.

"During the three years that I was there I would see beaches increasingly filled with Timorese families. I would see smiles on peoples' faces, construction, the setting up of small businesses. And I would see young people who had returned from training in the different Government ministries," Ms. Haq told the UN News Centre.

"You saw all those signs and I think it was those solid foundations that were being built to make sure that the country had that capacity, but that it was also attracting investment. These are all signs that are leading towards success," she added.

UNMIT's withdrawal from the country began over two years ago as the UN and the Government partnered to formulate a so-called Joint Transition Plan to aid the peacekeeping mission's eventual departure and the full administrative shift to national responsibility.

Signed by the country's President and Prime Minister as well as Ms. Haq, the Joint Transition Plan carefully analyzed UNMIT's performance according to its specified mandate in the areas of democratic governance, justice, human rights, rule of law, and a host of other crucial issues, determining which functions could ultimately be transformed into a Government role.

"If we thought the Government could undertake the activity, then we tried to translate that into how that would be implemented," Ms. Haq noted.

"If they could be taken over by the Government, did it mean creating a post in a Government entity? If it meant creating a post, would there be a budget to have that post and to have it on a recurrent basis?" she continued. "So, that's just an example of the systematic way in which we went activity by activity."

In addition to closely studying the transitioning of activities from UNMIT's mandate to Government and civil society actors, the Plan also addressed the handover of so-called mission assets, such as technical equipment and vehicles.

Ms. Haq remembered that following UNTAET's withdrawal in 2002, numerous UN vehicles were left stranded by the Timorese Government in what she described as "a graveyard of cars."

"We wanted to make sure that didn't happen again," she said. "So, we worked very closely with the Government in terms of what equipment they needed. And if they needed that equipment we worked out in a very detailed manner what it would take, budgetarily, to maintain that equipment." At the same time, a great concern regarding UNMIT's departure involved the almost 1,000 national staff who would soon find themselves without stable employment. Since the days of UNTAET, the Timorese economy has, in fact, grown by 10 per cent per year in the past four years alone. Recent discoveries of off- shore oil deposits have also fuelled some foreign investment.

"We have a huge responsibility towards those who have worked with us for almost ten years," said Huria Ogbamichael, an officer with the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operation's Policy and Best Practices Services, which advises UN missions on how to drawdown in a sustainable, efficient and effective manner.

"UNMIT has done an incredible job in terms of communication strategies, town hall meetings, even if they did not know what would happen next, they told staff that much. So, there was constant communication," Ms. Ogbamichael added, noting that with their UN training and experience, former local staff members could also contribute to the private sector.

Ms. Haq – whose passion for the island nation has extended to her computer desktop in her office at UN Headquarters in New York boasting a screensaver featuring Timor-Leste's verdant countryside and white sandy beaches – confirmed the UN's determined effort to make sure that outgoing UN staff members would be "well-equipped to face the job market" through training programmes aimed at enriching their skill-sets and promoting their entrepreneurial ambitions.

In one instance, which occurred a couple of days before her final departure from the country in mid-2012, the former UNMIT chief recalled a meeting with her staff during which they reflected upon the mission's withdrawal and the dramatic impact it would have on Timor-Leste.

"I turned to one of my staff who drove me for the three years I was there and I asked him: 'What are you going to do?' He said he was going to buy a refrigerated motorized trishaw and that he was going to get fish from fishermen outside of Dili and bring them into Dili. And I was very pleased about that and I said 'How did you get the idea?' and he said, 'Well, you pushed me to attend the meeting on small business and we learned how to go to the bank and ask for a loan and now I feel very confident that I can do that,'" recounted Ms. Haq. "That to me was a nice symbol of hope for that country and that it was moving in the right direction."

This attention to detail and the timely curation of every facet of the mission's withdrawal has led some to laud UNMIT's drawdown and transition planning as an example for other missions within the UN system.

"UNMIT is actually considered from a planning point of view a 'good practice' in that it started two and a half years before the drawdown working on a specific deadline to not only prepare themselves but also their national and international partners," Ms. Ogbamichael stated.

She added that the transition process also benefitted from "a perfect storm" of factors including unity in the Security Council, which oversees the mandates for UN missions, as well as an actively engaged Timorese Government which encouraged the withdrawal of the UN peacekeepers.

Because the country's presidential and parliamentary elections, held in March 2012, went smoothly, the Government, which had originally planned to request a continuing UN political mission following UNMIT's withdrawal, decided instead that there was no need for the Security Council to remain engaged in the country.

"So they made a decision to say: 'Thank you very much, I think it's enough. We now want to go into the developmental stage," Ms. Ogbamichael said. "So, all these factors helped get the drawdown process on track."

Drawing down

All things considered, 2012 was an eventful year for Timor-Leste: it celebrated the 10th anniversary of its independence and held successful elections which were largely peaceful and conducted in an orderly manner. A ceremony was held on 31 October 2012 to mark the certification of the full reconstitution of the national police, known by the acronym PNTL – acknowledging that the force was fully capable of conducting all police functions throughout the country – a key benchmark ahead of the UNMIT's departure.

However, despite the plaudits raining in from all corners of the UN system regarding the country's transition, the UN has been engaged in the south- east Asian island nation for over a decade and has, once before, had to return to the rescue following a previous withdrawal. Pointing out that Timor-Leste still struggled with numerous development issues, including high youth unemployment, Ms. Ogbamichael confirmed that UN agencies working on specific development-related tasks would remain in the country.

However, Mr. Finn Reske-Nielsen nevertheless voiced optimism that 31 December 2012 would mark the definitive end of the UN's peacekeeping commitment to the country once and for all – a sentiment he repeated to the Security Council in early November 2012 when he declared that a blue helmet mission in Timor-Leste was no longer best placed to support the country's efforts in meeting its new challenges.

"I don't think I have any fears about post-UNMIT Timor-Leste because I think there's been sufficient progress across the different areas to ensure that whatever challenges Timor-Leste will encounter in the coming years, there's enough leadership and institutional capacity available to deal with them," he acknowledged, admitting that although problems for the country would be inevitable, the Government was also equipped to tackle them head on.

"Show me any country in the world that doesn't have problems – that's not the question to ask," the UN official said. "The question to ask is whether there is sufficient capacity to deal with those problems and in my mind there is no doubt that the answer is 'Yes, that capacity is there.'"

Mr. Reske-Nielsen spotlighted the success of the Timorese in claiming ownership of the political and administrative processes in running the country, as well as the reset of relations with Indonesia, which now has the two countries working closely together on bilateral and regional issues. He noted that the status quo in 2012 represented "a complete change" from ten years earlier "when the UN was actually literally running the country."

"Now the Timorese are very much in charge and the rest of us are becoming more peripheral," he concluded. "And that's the way it should be."

Health & education

Schools lack books, desks and chairs needed

Dili Weekly - January 18, 2013

According to the Timor-Leste Coalition for Education national schools are still lacking the basic facilities needed to facilitate teaching and learning.

"What I mean is laboratories, books, desk and chairs as well as other facilities which would make learning easier," said TLCE program manager David Bendito da Silva in Becora, Dili.

He said there are no libraries, so during breaks students didn't have a place they can go to do a bit more study and utilise the books.

"We have been producing videos on standard school facilities which we are planning to distribute to our partners," said the TLCE program manager.

In contrast he said private schools fared better and had far superior facilities. "Private schools are fully equipped and with a full complement of teachers," he said.

"We have also photographed some of the schools in Lospalos in order to show the conditions they are in especially the ones in Lautem which are just deplorable," said the TLCE manager.

According to MP Paulino Monteiro Soares Babo public schools should be in a better condition because they are state assets. "However what we can see is that private schools are faring better in all fronts" said the MP.

It's down to bad management according to him. "We need to look at the individual capacities including that of the directors in order to make the necessary changes for the improvement of the system" said the MP.

According to him directors in the future should strive harder to become more efficient managers. "A good manager should not just wait for the government, but should also seek the assistance of donors," said the MP.

NZ doctors called on to help in Timor

News New Zealand - January 2, 2013

Brook Sabin – The busiest doctor in Timor has made a plea for help to New Zealand, inundated with patients who are dying needlessly.

Dan Murphy has seen more than 1.5 million people since moving to the impoverished nation 15 years ago. On a quiet day Dr Murphy sees 300 patients. If it's busy, there will be more than 1000.

Dr Murphy first arrived in Timor just before riots broke out in 1999. He was the only doctor in the country at the time. "[There were] war wounds and absolutely nothing to deal with that except our hands to pull out some bullets."

Since then he's seen more than 1.5 million patients. One little girl's bowel isn't working. Her mum says her daughter's stomach is severely swollen, and she fears she may die.

A New Zealand surgeon will travel to Timor in the next month to perform life-saving surgery.

But Dr Murphy is inundated and needs help. "I would love to appeal to New Zealand. If they could find it within their hearts to take those occasional patients, which they would be fully capable of dealing with."

He's got one very sad example. "Heart disease, right now this morning I saw a child who is turning blue. This kid is one-month-old. Here, it has no chance."

And many of his other patients don't have a chance either. A man suffers from tuberculosis and can't gain weight. He has been in hospital for three years.

Late last year the New Zealand Defence Force pulled out of Timor, after first deploying in 1999. Yesterday, the United Nations mission there also ended. And while the fledgling nation may now be secure, and locals feel safe on the streets, many continue to suffer.

Refugees & asylum seekers

Refugee status period has ended, however TL doors stay open

Dili Weekly - January 18, 2013

Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation Jose Luis Guterres said Timor- Leste will continue to accept Timorese who sought refugee status in Indonesia even though the time limit has expired.

"According to our constitution everyone born in Timor-Leste is considered a Timorese citizen. Their ancestral homes are here and they are still able to return even though the refugee status time limit has ended," said the minister recently in Dili.

The minister raised this issue in response to the demands by Timorese refugees residing in Indonesia at the closing of the campaign against violence and discrimination against women in the border town of Atabae.

Guterres said the government already had plans to resolve this issue. "This is because we Timorese do not want to see our brothers and sisters suffering across the border," he said.

MP Adriano Joao said the government cannot refuse entry to some of the people who fled to Indonesia during the violent conflict in 1999. "It is time for reconciliation, to look forward so the government and the parliament will not prevent anyone from returning to Timor-Leste," said the MP.

MP Arao Noe said the constitution states anyone whose parents were born in Timor-Leste are Timorese citizens, so those who fled to Indonesia and are welcome to return.

"If they want to return they can, as it is allowed for in the constitution and the law, however individuals responsible for crimes in 1999 will have to be brought to justice," said Noe.

Lere does not agree with former militia returning to Timor-Leste

Timor Post - January 8, 2013

Falintil-FDTL Commander, Major General Lere Anan Timor, says that he does not agree with former supporters of autonomy with Indonesia returning to Timor-Leste.

"I have heard that our fellow Timorese who are living in Atambua want to return to Timor-Leste. I do not agree with this, despite some of our political leaders strong desire to use this as a means to promote national unity," declared General Lere during his speech at a certificate award ceremony for members of the clandestine resistance organization "Sacred Family", held at Suku Bidau-Santana, Dili, Saturday 6 January last.

The one time guerilla commander stated that his reason for disagreeing with the return of pro-autonomy Timorese living in Atambua is his concern it will lead to conflicts over land ownership and other issues between Timorese who currently live in and those wanting to return to Timor-Leste.

Lere added that, those Timorese who return from Atambua to live in Timor- Leste no longer have a right to claim any resources they left behind in Timor-Leste or their birthplace.

The two star Major General also strongly lamented that a Timorese named Hercules arrived on a flight at Comoro Airport, and was received by Police as if he were a like a President.

"To me, he (Hercules) has never been anyone of note. He may be as rich as rich can be but when you have never defended our struggle for national independence, then he is just another Timorese. As for the Police receiving him as if he were a President (head of state), that is just too much, and diminishes the dignity of Timor-Leste as nation," Lere lamented.

There has been information circulating after the fact that this former autonomist supporter entered Timor-Leste carrying a firearm but was allowed to do so by the Police despite them having known of this fact.

The two star Major General promised that the next time he (Hercules) comes through, he will order that he be apprehended, and he (Lere) will assume all responsibility for having done so afterwards.

[Translation from Tetum.]

Graft & corruption

Former minister of justice Lucia Lobato serving time at Gleno prison

Dili Weekly - January 25, 2013

Former Justice Minister Lucia Lobato has begun serving her five year prison sentence inside Gleno Prison.

Dili District Police officers arrested former Minister of Justice Lucia Lobato after the Court of Appeal sentenced her to five years in prison to be served at the women's jail in Gleno, Ermera.

The arrest took place on Tuesday 22 January 2012 at 4pm at her home in Bidau, Dili. Lobato was accused of corruption and abuse of power in regards to a Ministry of Justice tender awarded to her husband's company.

Her lawyer Jose Pedro Camoes was quoted in Timor Post saying his team would prepare a submission to the Court of Appeal questioning the composition of the panel of judges, the same panel that in the first instance found her guilty, which in itself represents unconstitutionality.

The submission was submitted the day after the former ministers' incarceration and lawyer Camoes hopes the submission will lead to a review of the decision by the end of February 2013.

Executive Director of NGO Judicial System Monitoring Program Luis Oliveira Sampaio said he accepts the decision of the court even though he also has concerns with the composition of the panel of judges.

"The panel that judged and made the decision about her extraordinary appeal were the same panel of judges that judged her in the first instance. This is something that concerned us as well. If the panel was the same how could there have been a different outcome; so because the panel remained the same, the initial decision also remained the same," said the JSMP Director.

He said he has knowledge Lobato's legal team is preparing a submission to the Court of Appeal because it does not accept the decision of the court. Sampaio also commended the accused compliance with the courts decision.

"She complied and voluntarily gave herself up to the police. This must be acknowledged and a decision of the courts must be above any other political decision," he said. "We have been following Mrs. Lucia's appeal process but in the end she accepted to follow the court's decision."

Member of Parliament Arao Noe said this was a positive case and he hoped all citizens were witnessing.

"She did not try to prevent it. She acknowledged her wrongdoing, she presented herself to the police and she was taken to jail. This is a very positive step forward. I hope everyone will follow in her steps," said MP Noe.

TDW attempted to get a comment from the Dili District Police Commander, Superintendent Pedro Belo via telephone on the events surrounding the arrest of the former Minister of Justice but he declined to comment.

East Timor's former justice minister jailed for corruption

ABC ABC Radio Australia - January 25, 2013

East Timor's former justice minister Lucia Lobato is in jail, after losing her last appeal against corruption charges. She was sentenced to five years in prison over contracts for prison equipment that were given to her husband.

The allegations surfaced in 2008 but she held her position as Justice Minister until last year, when she was voted out by Parliament and convicted in court.

Presenter: Liam Cochrane

Speaker: Damien Kingsbury, from Deakin University's School of Humanities and Social Sciences

Kingsbury: It's a really important symbolic victory for the fight against corruption, when you nail a minister of a government I think that what that shows is that nobody is above the law, that nobody's sacred if you like. And that it was the Justice Minister in particular I think was particularly noteworthy. Now I have spoken to a number of people in East Timor about this matter, particularly in the Anti-Corruption Commission, and they have identified some other former parliamentarians, possibly ministers, who are being investigated. So the anti-corruption drive if you like is continuing pretty much full steam ahead.

Cochrane: What about the political dimensions of this particular case with Lucia Lobato, I mean she was a member of PSD [NOTE: The original interview mistakenly identified Lucia Lobato as being a Fretilin member – Radio Australia apologises for the error] which lost the last election against Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao's CNRT party. Her cousin, Rogerio Lobato was a former Fretilin heavyweight accused of fuelling the violence in 2006. Do we need to consider broader political motives that might be at play here?

Kingsbury: No I don't think so. No I think the previous government would have been very happy to have kept Lucia Lobato in the ministry had she not been convicted of corruption. So the issue was really not about politics playing out about trying to attack somebody for their political affiliations or allegiances, but really it was simply a case of the judicial process functioning in the manner that it was really expected of it publicly. You've got to keep in mind too there's been a very public anti-corruption campaign in East Timor, for a couple of years there have been posters around the streets of Dili and other places saying combat corruption, fight corruption, part of a public education campaign. And the Anti-Corruption Commission which was established a couple of years ago has been increasingly active. It's taken some time to setup of course and to start conducting investigations, but it's a pretty high-powered outfit for East Timor. And I think that it indicates that the government is taking the whole issue quite seriously.

Cochrane: Now these corruption charges against Lucia Lobato related to the purchase of prison equipment, part of that was prison uniforms. Would it be a stretch to think that she is now wearing one of those same uniforms that got her into trouble in the first place?

Kingsbury: Yeah look there's a number of ironies in this. The fact that she was Justice Minister and ended up being convicted of corruption is the first irony. The second irony of course is that she's now in a prison which she was responsible for, and as you say, possibly wearing one of the uniforms that she corruptly purchased. So there is a degree of irony. But look it is really, really important for a country like East Timor to ensure that corruption is kept certainly under control and indeed eradicated if possible. There's historically a culture of patron-client relations which is common in many developing countries, and distinguishing that from corruption at times can be difficult, and sometimes people have a bit of difficulty in working out what's really just doing a favour for somebody you know, as opposed to what's corruption. But ultimately and particularly at senior levels of government, there are more clear cut cases in Timor really that do have to start setting examples that or being shown to set examples, and I think the conviction and now jailing of Lucia Lobato is a very good example of that.

Cochrane: You mentioned other cases that are pending that may involve ministers as well. Are there any public details on who is being targeted?

Kingsbury: No, no there've been some hints about who is being investigated but no, nothing formally said publicly, and it would be inappropriate I think to mention any names given that these are continuing investigations.

Lucia Lobato finally imprisoned

Radio Liberdade - January 23, 2013

A last ditch attempt by Lucia Lobato to appeal against a decision to sentence her to five years imprisonment over corruption has been rejected by the Court of Appeals, Timor-Leste's highest court (Radio Liberdade).

In last December, the same Court of Appeals already confirmed a decision by a lower court, which had sentenced her with a lesser prison term. However a loophole in the legal system allowed her to access further recourse.

Lobato, the former minister of justice under Xanana Gusmao's government, has been accused of corruption following a deal to purchase prison equipment involving her husband. Although the allegations against Lobato surfaced in 2008 and her case investigated by the country's judicial system, she continued to hold her justice portfolio until 2012, just before the national elections, in which saw Xanana Gusmao's CNRT party winning the most votes. Gusmao continues to lead Timor-Leste's coalition government.

According to Radio Liberdade, Lobato was transferred to Gleno Prison yesterday to begin serving her five-year plus sentence (read a description of Gleno Prison by The Dili Weekly). She was accompanied by her family, including her cousin Rogerio Lobato, who also served time in prison over his involvement in the 2006 crisis.

Development & infrastructure

Taur Matan Ruak: 'Development in Timor-Leste is akin to rubbish'

Timor Post - January 23, 2013

The President of the Republic Taur Matan Ruak has criticized the quality of domestic public works projects that the government contracted private companies to undertake because they are of poor quality and because of this it is development that is akin to just throwing money out onto the rubbish heap.

This is according to a written communique that Timor Post was given on Tuesday 22 January last by the President of the Republic relating to the Head of State's visit to the sub district of Bazartete in the District of Liquica on Monday last to meet with the community and hear the concerns and difficulties they face.

During that meeting the community complained to the President that they lack in adequate road infrastructure, rising rice prices and lack of access to potable water.

"As the President of the Republic, I worry about the poor quality of public works in Timor-Leste, it's like throwing money onto the rubbish heap," the President said. So the Head of State also asked the government to pay attention to the problems with development in the country so that benefit flows to the population.

"When we do not know how to do something properly, it is better not to go ahead so that it does result in shame for us," the Head of State said.

During the visit the President appealed to everyone to work hard to contribute to the development of all Timorese people.

President Taur Matan Ruak also asked the government to give more attention to decentralization of the economy, to avoid the growing migration of people to the capital, Dili, and criticized the programs of the executive branch that "stimulated laziness."

[Translation from Tetum Original.]

Communication & transport

Telkom taps East Timor market

Jakarta Globe - January 19, 2013

Francezka Nangoy, Dili, East Timor – Telekomunikasi Indonesia aims to gain a 60 percent market share of cellular phone users in East Timor by 2015, while preparing to enter Australia's call center business.

Arief Yahya, president director of the firm better known as Telkom, said the company had set an initial target of 4,000 new subscribers this year. However, he said the company already had about 20,000 new pre-subscribers ready to use their cellular service in East Timor, putting them well on their way to surpassing that target.

Arief was talking to journalists at a meeting in Dili on Thursday as the company officially launched Telkomcel, a cellular communications brand under Telkom's international subsidiary, Telin.

Initially the company will cover a small area of East Timor, he said, with 30 base transceiver stations at the start of operations. "By April, we will have more than 110 BTS and will cover 95 percent of East Timor," Arief noted.

The company is investing $50 million to establish Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) and 3G telecommunications operations in the country. The license for the cellular business will run through 2015. Arief said the investment was fully funded by Telkom's internal funds.

Arief said he believed that business in East Timor would be a profitable venture as citizens of the country showed strong potential purchasing power.

He said the average revenue per cellphone user in East Timor was $10 per month. In comparison, Indonesians only bring in an average of Rp 35,000 ($3.63) in revenue per user per month.

East Timor has a population of about 1 million and Arief aims to reach 60 percent of them by 2015. Per capita income in the country was $896 as of 2011, according to data from the World Bank.

"Our competitive advantage is the better technology that we use," Arief said, adding that compared to its competitor in East Timor, the technology Telkomcel uses would help offer "more efficient and more effective tariffs" to customers. Telkomcel's only competition in East Timor is Timor Telecom.

Xanana Gusmao, prime minister of East Timor, on Thursday welcomed the entry of Telkom into East Timor. He said Indonesia and East Timor were closely linked geographically and should have closer relationships in business.

He said that, as an infant nation, he hoped East Timor would learn from the Indonesian economy and that the two countries would "both look into the future."

On Thursday, Telin signed a memorandum of understanding with six institutions to be their preferred cellular provider. Those institutions included East Timorese state agencies and local operations of Indonesian state-owned enterprises.

In Australia, Telkom is planning to enter the call center outsourcing business. He said the company may announce those plans as soon as next week, but did not elaborate on Thursday. Arief said Telin already had operations in Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong, contributing about 3 percent to Telkom's total earnings.

Competition in telecoms expected to drive down costs, boost coverage

Macauhub - January 2, 2013

Timor-Leste (East Timor) is preparing to liberalise its telecommunications market in the first quarter of 2013, which is expected to drive prices down and expand the country's telecommunications infrastructure.

East Timor, which since 2002 has had a single telecoms operator, Timor Telecom, has comparatively high telecommunications and Internet costs and limited coverage for most of the population. These factors, which are considered to be an obstacle to economic growth, are due to be changed in the first few months of the year.

According to estimates from the World Bank, which is supporting the liberalisation process, opening up the market to two new operators (Digicel and Telin) will expand coverage of the population to 90 percent.

"Services are expected to become more varied and affordable to most of the population," the World Bank said in a statement on the sector issued last week.

The country largely depends on mobile telecommunications as most cables were destroyed in the conflicts that followed the referendum on Timorese independence in 2001.

However, only half of the population has access to mobile phones and around two thirds of these people live in the country's capital, Dili. "The vast majority of people living in rural areas are not linked up due to high costs and a lack of service," said the World Bank.

Taking mobile communications to the interior of the country also means opening it up to the markets, as it makes it possible to set up new businesses and better circulation of information.

The current cost of fixed line (256 kbps) Internet access is estimated at US$900 per month and US$6000 per month for a high speed unlimited service. These figures are high even by the standards of more developed countries.

The prices reflect the cost of bandwidth on international satellites, but are also due to the monopoly on the market.

Sector reforms implemented by the government also include creating an independent regulator – the National Communications Authority – which will be charged with developing a programme to support universal access to areas that are less commercially viable and to ensure compliance with competition rules.

In the summer of 2012 the Timor government announced it would grant the first new telecommunications licenses to Digicel Pacific Limited (Digicel) and PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia International (Telin).

Digicel committed to launching a mobile GSM and high speed 3G Internet networks that would provide access to over 91 percent of the population within four months.

Telin pledged to launch its services within six months and committed to reaching 94 percent of the population with its mobile GSM network as well as providing high speed 3G Internet access.

The companies that were not granted a license in the tender were PT Gapura Caraka Kencana (Indonesia) and Viettel Global Investment Joint Stock Company (Vietnam).

Alongside this, the Timor government announced a programme to build and repair infrastructure, including roads, bridges, airports, schools, hospitals and power and communication networks, will be carried out over the next five years.

During the presentation in parliament of the Government Programme for his second term, Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao said that the large-scale programme, "aims to repair, improve or build a number of facilities that are fundamental to allow access to health, to schools, to markets, to industries, and to businesses."

Border & security issues

Timor Leste a gateway for drugs into Indonesia

Tempo Interactive - January 23, 2013

Muhamad Rizki, Jakarta – National Anti-Narcotics Board (BNN) public relations division head Sumirat Dwiyanto says that Timor Leste is still considered a crucial point of entry for drug trafficking into Indonesia. The country is often used as transit destination before the drugs are smuggled into Indonesia.

Therefore, the anti-drugs watchdog has refused to loosen its monitoring of the Timor Leste border. "A slightly off guard can serve as a window of opportunity for drug traffickers to enter Indonesia," Sumirat said when met at the Judicial Commission building on Tuesday, January 22.

Sumirat also said that during the last four months of 2012, BNN stepped up its cooperation with Timor Leste police. The coordination has included training, exchange of information and case solving processes.

"We also keep a close watch on drugs entering Indonesia via Timor Leste. The drugs usually originate from India or Singapore and are delivered to Kupang, Jakarta or Medan," he said.

'Movement through Naktuka border closed'

Jornal Independente - January 9, 2013

The governments of Timor-Leste and Indonesia have temporarily closed off movement through the Naktuka Border Crossing, in the Subdistrict of Nitibe, District of Oecussi.

Movement by citizens of the two nations through the border crossing will not be allowed, as the Police track down those responsible for killing one Timorese man and the burning of a number of houses recently at the Naktuka border area.

Last month, a "Lia Nain" (Tetum for traditional "lore man") named Fisen Falo was killed in the border area in question whilst working in his field and a number of houses were also burnt by unidentified persons.

The Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs, Constancio Pinto said that the government still has no knowledge of who the killer of this Timorese man is.

"We do not know who it was who killed him, and this matter in still being investigated the police," Constancio told journalists is his office on 8 January last.

Constancio also appealed to the people of Naktuka to remain calm because the identity of the perpetrators of these crimes will only be found only through an investigation. Constancio said that currently the Border Patrol Unit and the TNI have closed the border area around Naktuka so as to avoid movement from one side to another by the population of both the NTT and TL sides of the border.

"It is to temporarily prevent dislocation from the other side (NNT) to our side (Naktuka) as well as from Naktuka to the other side (NTT)," said Constancio. Nor have the perpetrators of the arson of the homes of the Naktuka population been identified, Constancio added.

[Translation from Tetum.]

Foreign affairs & trade

'National Parliament does not want Lere to apologize to Hercules'

Jornal Independente - January 16, 2013

The National Parliament of Timor-Leste rejects the demand that FALINTIL- FDTL Major General Lere Anan Timur apologize to an ordinary Indonesian citizen such as Hercules.

F-FDTL Commander Lere, had declared that he would arrest the Timorese man named Hercules who is currently a regular Indonesian citizen if he again visits Timor-Leste. But his statements have resulted in a big controversy in Indonesia, with the Central Board member of the Indonesia New People's Movement (GRIB) lamenting the statements made by Major General Lere Anan Timur regarding the GRIB boss Rosalio Marsal (Hercules).

"An army chief in a democratic society should not make such a statement that openly that harms organizations or agencies in other countries. GRIB strongly rejects the statement of Chief of Army Major-General of Timor- Leste Lere Anan Timur, accusing GRIB Chairman of wanting to intervene in Timor-Leste," said GRIB Vice Chairman Ghazali Ama La following a press conference on Sunday (13/01/2013).

Ghazali added that GRIB considers unfounded the accusation by Lere that Hercules was armed with a firearm when he entered Timor-Leste, which also affects them as an organization that forms part of the Indonesian state.

"For us, the statements by General Lere, are highly tendentious because most of the people of Timor-Leste and the majority of the citizens of Timor-Leste, formerly a part of Indonesia, are proud of him," Ghazali said.

General Lere's statement rejecting the return of pro-integration citizens to Timor-Leste is also thought to reflect the attitude of the military, which does not support national unity as is hoped by the United Nations (UN).

"We ask that whenever Hercules enters Timor-Leste, that the constitution and laws of Timor-Leste are respected in that nation, and not to threaten to arrest our boss, as General Lere has arrogantly shown with his attitude," Ghazali said.

GRIB has therefor asked Major General Lere Anan Timur to withdraw his statement and apologize to Hercules, because they consider his statement has also damaged relations between the two nations, and the Timor-Leste also has to apologize to the Indonesian government.

However, FRETILIN Member of Parliament Josefa Pereira said that the F-FDTL Major General Lere Anan Timur made these statements because he is aware of the political situation prevailing in the country right now and its impact on national security.

"I think it is very relative whether he should apologize or not, but how many times have Indonesians massacred Timorese in the past, but Indonesia has not yet made a formal apology," said FRETILIN MP Josefa Pereira in the National Parliament on 15 January last.

Similarly, the Democratic Party (PD) MP Virgilio Ornai also said that Major General Lere does not deserve to be asked to apologize to an ordinary Indonesian citizen as is the case here.

"Apologize in what context? This is not in defence of a high leader of a nation, such as President of the Republic, but an ordinary citizen," said MP Virgioi Ornai in the National Parliament on 15 January.

Therefore, the MP from the Democratic Party said, that people should not create controversy that can affect the future relations between the two countries.

Gang leader Hercules causes angst in East Timor

ABC Radio Australia - January 15, 2013

A notorious East Timorese-born gang leader who's believed to have strong links to Indonesia's military, business and criminal communities has returned to Dili, sparking heated row between the two countries.

Hercules Rozario Marcal is controversial because his gang served as enforcers for the Suharto regime, intimidating East Timorese independence activists. He arrived quite openly at Dili international airport last week. Major General Lere Anan Timur said Hercules had no role in modern East Timor and only symbolised a return to the country's brutal past. The army chief threatened to arrest Hercules, who is now an Indonesian citizen. That drew a rebuke from Indonesia, where members of Parliament warned Dili against arbitrarily arresting Hercules.

Presenter: Liam Cochrane

Speakers: James Scambary, expert on gangs and urban violence in East Timor, based at Swinburne University's Institute for Social Research

Scambary: Hercules was the Kompassus commanders that's Prabowo Subianto's right hand man in East Timor in the early 1980's. People don't know a lot about what he did, but most, the general belief is that he was responsible for coordinating the underworld networks against the independence movement. So there was a whole range of different sort of militias and paramilitaries and it's generally believed that his job was to try and organise some of these groups.

And in around about 1986, he was then sent to Jakarta and he was installed by the military in Tanah Abang, in Jakarta, in protection, prostitution and gambling rackets and he's probably the most famous gangster as a result of that in Indonesia. You can, in fact, ask any taxi driver anywhere, they'll know about him.

Cochrane: What about his role in terms of the independence struggle of East Timor?

Scambary: All we really know is that he had links to the underworld and in Indonesia, he apparently organised for the counter-demonstrations, the students' resistance movement were organising these impromptu pro- independence rally, so he would organise counter-demonstrations by sort of so-called Timorese, pro-Indonesian Timorese, and he also kept track of them [pro-independence protesters].

But on the other hand, apparently, I've spoken to some Timorese that actually lived in his house in Jakarta, and they actually said that he also sometimes protected them. But he's also believed to have – on behalf of Pemuda Pancamarga – he's accused of organising some of the 1999 violence, the post-referendum violence.

I don't think he's necessarily pro-autonomy or has any views himself. I think he's an apolitical gangster, but he's certainly been linked to the anti-independence movement and to certainly very closely linked to the Indonesian military.

Cochrane: Now, let's move to the recent controversy around Hercules. He visited Dili, arrived quite openly at Dili airport. Tell us about the reaction from East Timor's army chief to the visit from Hercules?

Scambary: He certainly does raise alarm bells and yes, the current head of the army has said that Hercules represents pro-autonomy interests, that he wants to bring back people from West Timor from Atambua particular, back to East Timor and he's on the record to being opposed to he said has caused conflict and says that they can't reclaim their land and he thinks that Hercules is linked to this move.

He's also very upset with the celebrity-status given him, that was apparently quite a reception for him when he arrived, and he also has accused him of actually bringing a gun through the airport.

I suspect that he's quite well informed. It's not a near rumour, but certainly – having been through the airport a few times – it wouldn't be that hard [to smuggle in a weapon] with the x-ray machines constantly on the blink. But that was essentially the essence of his reaction and I think there's certainly is support for that stance within East Timor.

cochrane: Now there has been a reaction from Indonesia. Tell us what the Indonesian parliament, members of the Indonesian parliament have said about the comments from East Timor's army chief?

scambary: Well, their reaction has been to say well, because you can't threaten to arrest somebody. He hasn't actually committed a crime. So he's an Indonesian citizen and so there's been this sort of outrage. But he certainly committed crimes within Indonesia. He was arrested in I think in 2008 for organising an assault, somebody, a businessman was beaten up by Hercules' group and he spent I think three or four months in prison. So he's no ordinary citizen and there are people who are saying he shouldn't have any pick in any business or he shouldn't even be allowed into the country because of link to the crimes of '99.

Indonesian parliament slams East Timor's Hercules arrest threat

Inilah.com - January 13, 2013

Agus Rahmat, Jakarta – The House of Representatives (DPR) criticized Timor-Leste's stated threat to arrest Rosalia Marshal (aka "Hercules") by East Timorese soldiers.

The parliament condemned East Timor's threatened arrest because you cannot arrest anyone you wish. Moreover, when the person is a citizen of another country.

"You can not arbitrarily arrest citizens of other countries, including Timor-Leste soldiers trying to arrest Hercules. Of course we find this regretful," said Vice Chairman of Commission I, TB Hasanuddin in Jakarta, Saturday (12/01/2013).

TB Hasanuddin said that there are rules and regulations for arresting citizens in other countries. You can not arbitrarily make arrests.

"There should be a political decision between the two countries. Anyway, why has the East Timorese Military Commander spoken like this," said the former military secretary during President Megawati Soekarnopuri's administration.

The website timorhauniandoben.com, reported the Chief of Defence Force of Timor-Leste (F-FDTL) Major General, Lere Anan Timur, as not agreeing with the return of former pro-integration, like Hercules to Timor-Leste.

"I heard that people in Atambua want to return to East Timor, I do not agree with this. Though some of our leaders (Timor-Leste), want it to happen so as to create unity nationwide," said Lere, Saturday (01/08/2013) in the village Bidau, Dili.

General Lere said he did not agree for fear that if the citizens of the former pro-integration returned, there will be no land and other disputes arising, among the people who are currently in refugee camps but who wish to return to Timor-Leste.

Lere asserted that Atambua citizens returning to Timor-Leste lost their property rights (assets) when they left East Timor and no longer have a right to them.

General Lere also lamented the arrival of Hercules recently, an Indonesian citizen, a former East Timorese who entered Timor-Leste through Dili Comoro airport, and the police actually welcomed Hercules, like a "president". "For me, he (Hercules) will never be great, he is advocating a return to the past. It is too demeaning of Timor-Leste," Lere said.

Lere said that if Hercules returned, he will arrest him and assume responsibility for doing so.

Furthermore Lere asserted, anyone who has only recently returned can not intervene in Timor-Leste, as it has become a state, and is no longer a province of Indonesia.

As we all know Hercules was born in the district of Ainaro, Timor-Leste. He is currently the Chairman of the Indonesian People's Movement New GRIB), which is also affiliated with Gerindra. [Jat]

Economy & investment

Dahlan touts investment in Timor Leste

Jakarta Post - January 22, 2013

Mariel Grazella, Dili – Indonesia and Timor Leste are keen for Indonesian state-owned enterprises (SOEs) to invest in Timor Leste to accelerate economic and infrastructure development, officials agreed recently.

State-Owned Enterprises Minister Dahlan Iskan said that he wanted to see more state-owned enterprises expand into Timor Leste, Indonesia's erstwhile province.

"Indonesia has over 100 SOEs. It is their duty to forge better collaboration between Indonesia and Timor Leste," the minister said during a recent visit to Dili.

Dahlan was in the Timorese capital for the launch of a local service by PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia (Telkom), which is slated to be investing US$50 million to provide telecommunications services in Timor Leste under the brand, Telkomcel.

The minister said that state-owned Bank Mandiri had also opened up shop in Dili, while state-owned construction companies PT Wijaya Karya and PT PP had won contracts in Timor Leste and were "ready to put real investment" into the nation.

Increased infrastructure development in Timor Leste was also attractive, Dahlan said. "Participating in tenders can, however, be more profitable than making investments, which carries risk. Contractors bear very low risks."

Timor Leste continues to face economic challenges ahead. Since formally gaining independence from Indonesia in 2002, the country has had its economy bolstered by a vast amount of humanitarian aid from several sources, including the UN.

However, the UN started to reduce its operations in Timor Leste toward the end of 2012 after safeguarding the nation's transition to democracy for 13 years.

Critics have said that Timor Leste must now wean itself from humanitarian aid and rely on local resources to develop its economy.

According to World Bank data, Timor Leste, dominated by the lower-middle income segment, had a gross domestic product (GDP) per capita of US$896.30 in 2011, much less than the per capita GDP of Indonesia, which stood at $3,494.

Prime Minister of Timor Leste Xanana Gusmao said that the nation and Indonesia must form deeper friendships given that they were neighboring countries. "The future of the peoples of these two nations is what counts."

Gusmao said that his officials would share their strategic development plan for the next 20 years with their Indonesian counterparts to give a clearer picture of local investment opportunities.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono met Gusmao and Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard last year to discuss boosting cooperation in infrastructure, transportation, communications and capacity building.

Trade volume between Indonesia and Timor Leste reached $271 million in 2011, with a surplus of $200 million going to Indonesia.

Gusmao said that Timor Leste would share its development plans with countries in the Southeast Asian region as well. "We will be touring several countries in the ASEAN region to share [our vision for] where we want to be headed," he said.

Timor Leste has made a bid to join the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) that has been backed by Indonesia, a founding member. The nations have been collaborating on an economic framework called "the Regional Integrated Economic Approach".

"We want neighboring countries to believe that we have a vision and are aiming to build our new nation and improve the lives of our people," Gusmao said.

With UN gone, Timor faces up to economic challenges

Agence France Presse - January 20, 2013

East Timor is striking out on its own after 13 years of UN protection, facing the daunting challenge of how to retool its economy and ease its dependence on energy to tunnel out of poverty.

Foreign troops ended their peacekeeping mission in the half-island nation of 1.1 million people on Dec. 31 and Asia's youngest country is now turning its focus from security to building an economy almost entirely from scratch.

A 20-year plan spearheaded by Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao aims to transform the nation of predominantly poor subsistence farmers to an upper-middle-income economy that exports cash crops, livestock and processed oil products.

The task is mammoth for what the IMF has dubbed the "most oil-dependent economy in the world," which produces little beyond some $15 million in coffee a year, mostly for Starbucks, accounting for 90 percent of its non- oil exports.

World Bank country manager Luis Constantino said East Timor was, in fact, a "big example of things actually going right."

"They rightly focused on stability, they achieved peace, they created confidence in the state, they devised a vision and they put institutions in place to guide the country forward," Constantino said.

However, the country's double-digit growth in recent years has come almost entirely from controversial state spending of the nation's $11 billion petroleum fund.

The money has steamrolled much – needed infrastructure, most of which was destroyed in Indonesia's 24-year occupation, when some 183,000 people – then a quarter of the population – died from starvation, fighting and disease.

"Now there's the challenge to diversify Timor-Leste's economy to one that's not just dependent on oil but creates other sources of wealth," Constantino said, referring to the country by its official name.

After criticism, the government plans to draw only 66 percent of its budget, or $1.2 billion, from the petroleum fund this year, down from 80 percent in 2012.

But the opposition Fretilin Party said the government had neglected 75 percent of the population who are subsistence farmers.

"If you look at the amount of money the previous government spent, over $4 billion, you wonder where it all went," Fretilin member of parliament Estanislau da Silva said.

Only 20 minutes from the centre of the capital Dili, what the economic challenges mean for ordinary people is only too apparent.

Malnourished children with bloated stomachs and runny noses play among ramshackle tin huts in the village of Kulau Rai Hun, as jobless parents sit idly by a dirt road, drinking coffee and smoking.

Marta de Jesus, 48, and her husband, a taxi driver who earns $5 on a good day, cannot grow or buy enough food to meet their nutritional needs.

"We get through around 50 kilograms of rice every week. That's all we eat. If we have more money we can buy meat and sometimes corn," she said outside her two-room dirt-floor home. The couple had 13 children, two of whom died from malaria and malnutrition.

The country's fertility rate – the fourth highest in the world, with an average of 6.5 children per family – will only exacerbate food insecurity and unemployment, which is more than 40 percent among youths, according to AusAID.

To tackle both issues, the government plan includes the cultivation of cash crops such as palm oil, vanilla and candlenut for export. The country now imports almost all fruit and vegetables.

But experts are skeptical. "It's never going to develop a viable secondary industry sector, it simply doesn't have a sufficient market domestically, nor does it have the requisite skills," Damien Kingsbury from Deakin University in Melbourne said.

Downstream energy industries are touted as the nation's best hope, but Kingsbury called an estimated $10 billion development of the southern coast as an oil and gas supply base and refinery "questionable at best".

Charles Scheiner from the Timor-Leste Institute for Development Monitoring and Analysis said the plan was "a very attractive dream for the kind of lives the people deserve."

It should focus, however, on realistic goals, such as improving health and education, which received only some 10 percent of the budget, he said.

"Timorese don't need propane, or diesel fuel. They need food and water, and 80 percent are farmers, so that's where the focus of economic development should be," Scheiner said, adding only two percent of the budget goes to agriculture.

Deputy Prime Minister Fernando La Sama de Araujo said the government recognized the scale of the challenge but was still hopeful it could improve people's lives.

"We can't say we're going to solve the poverty issue 100 percent, but we're trying to reduce it. And we're optimistic the government can tackle it."

Analysis & opinion

The UN's legacy in Timor Leste

Jakarta Post - January 22, 2013

Edio Guterres and Ivo Mateus Goncalves, Dili – The euphoria of the Christmas and New Year period has settled in Timor Leste as the country enters a new era. Having celebrated different historical moments in its history throughout the year, Timor Leste bid farewell to 2012 and in doing so made history.

The beginning of the New Year marked the end of a 13-year United Nations engagement to assist the construction of a new statEast Timor Leste is now entering into a "new relationship" with the world body.

The last UN mission, the United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor Leste (UNMIT) was established with UN Security Council Resolution 1704 in late August 2006 and was mandated, inter alia, to consolidate national stability, restore and maintain public security through the provision of support to the Timorese National Police force and complete investigations into outstanding cases of serious human rights violations in 1999.

By the time peacekeeping operations ended in 2005, Timor Leste was hailed as a UN success story. When violence broke out in the nation's capital, Dili, in 2006, the UN was eager for that success story not to be spoilt.

The Security Council promptly established UNMIT and authorized the deployment of a UN Police (UNPOL) force, which at its peak numbered 1,600 personnel.

Having probably heeded advice from long time New York resident and former president of Timor Leste Jose Ramos Horta, that an Asian food restaurant in downtown Manhattan would take years before it made a profit, the UN was now here for as long as it took, to deal with criticism leveled against it that its early departure was a contributing factor to the 2006 violence.

Throughout the 13 years, the UN success story of Timor Leste has also been a darling of the international media. With the UN pull-out and major conflict escalations elsewhere, international media attention on the country now looks certain to fade.

As the partnership takes a new shape, scrutiny will now focus on the work done and tasks that remain incomplete. While the UN peacekeeping mission departs, development agencies will stay behind to continue providing support in social and economic development. It was always certain that the UN would not stay forever. What was unclear, however, was where to draw the departure line.

At the close of UNMIT, almost everyone involved in the process, Timorese and internationals alike, were convinced that Timor Leste was now ready to stand alone.

The peaceful and smooth conduct of three rounds of elections in 2012 with minimal UN support, and the prevalence of peace following the Feb. 11, 2008 assassination attempt on the then president Horta's life are proof for this claim.

The Supplementary Policing Agreement signed on Dec. 1, 2006 between the Timor Leste government and the UN established that UNPOL was the holder of executive policing authority in the country, thus overseeing the National Police of Timor Leste (PNTL).

However, the UNPOL-PNTL partnership was ambiguous. Despite the terms of the Supplementary Policing Agreement, the reality on the ground spoke of different facts.

Up to the date of their withdrawal, UN police officers were barely deployed beyond the district centers on permanent basis. In the subdistricts and villages where the majority of Timorese live, PNTL officers were the sole security providers.

Confusion arose within the community as well as the police force in regards to the dualism of command in the police force. In 2008 for instance, two consecutive orders of suspension by the UNPOL commissioner against the interim PNTL district commander of Baucau were overturned by PNTL's national leadership. This confusion was attributed to a lack of socialization both on the side of UNMIT and the Timorese government.

Nevertheless, the presence of a UNPOL force and its support for the PNTL has largely been effective in quelling and deterring violence throughout the country. When UNMIT left at the end of 2012, it was hailed as another success, the credit for which goes to the Timorese people, their leaders and the international community alike. But was this a victorious departure?

At the last commemoration of the renowned Santa Cruz Massacre of Nov. 12, before UNMIT's departure in 2012, the National Alliance for an International Tribunal called on the UN not to abandon its duty to bring justice to the victims of past human rights violations.

On the other hand, both Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao and former president Jose Ramos Horta have publicly and pragmatically asserted they will not call for an international tribunal on Timor Leste.

They have also questioned why the UN did not do more to pursue justice when the organization held administrative power in the country during the years of transition.

It is clear that to leave or even push the government of Timor Leste to take the responsibility for pursuing justice for past human rights violations is unfair, as it is an impossible task in the foreseeable future, given the geopolitical, economic and strategic interests at stake.

What is also clear is the fact that calls for accountability for past human rights violations will continue to haunt the UN record in Timor Leste and bilateral relations with Indonesia.

As democracy flourishes in both Timor Leste and Indonesia, voices demanding justice for past human rights violations look set to get louder in both countries.

With the competition for the presidency intensifying ahead of the 2014 general election in Indonesia and the involvement of some of the most prominent former Indonesian Military (TNI) generals in past human rights violations, media attention is likely to increase. The question of justice will return to the spotlight and UN report card on Timor Leste will be re- scrutinized.

Until Timor Leste and Indonesia muster enough power to confront and address their pasts, justice will, to quote the late, former Indonesian foreign minister Ali Alatas, continue to be a "pebble in the shoe" of the UN, Timor Leste and Indonesia. Before then, any declaration of "mission accomplished" seems to be wanting.

[Edio Guterres is a former UNMIT officer. Ivo Mateus Goncalves is an historical researcher based in Dili.]

Timorese struggle with poverty preferred to the bane of Indonesian rule

Sydney Morning Herald - January 20, 2013

Jason South – It was a beautiful moment, amid despicable terror. She stood in the late-afternoon light nursing her baby in a quiet corner of a crowded refugee camp in the East Timorese seaside town of Liquica. When I lifted my camera the baby stopped slurping, looked at me and blinked.

Over more than a decade I wondered whether the woman and her baby survived the madness of East Timor in 1999, when pro-Indonesia militia were killing, raping and burning after a referendum that led to the half-island nation's breakaway from Indonesia.

I never got her name, such was the chaos of the time, so when I returned to East Timor last week to cover the withdrawal of the last Australian infantry soldiers I had little confidence I could find her.

There was a church service under way in the small village of Hatukesi, about half an hour's drive from Liquica, along a deep rutted track.

Villagers there soon recognised the woman in the photograph, and by a stroke of luck the baby, who had grown into a 13-year-old girl called Deolima, had walked for hours that morning to reach the service from her mother's house high in the mountains.

Deolima led me along a steep trail into the clouds to a three-room bamboo house perched on the side of a vertical drop. Fernanda Dos Santos, 33, recognised my shaven head almost immediately and appeared excited to see a foreigner, as they have rarely ventured this far into the mountains.

But I sensed her acute embarrassment over the circumstances of her existence, which were as bad as I have seen anywhere. The house was bare: mud floor, no electricity, no running water and no toilet. She cooks in a hole inside, smoke filling lungs.

Fernanda is a widow with three children aged 16, 15, and 13. Her husband died from the injuries he sustained 12 months after a severe beating by militia in 1999.

"My life is very hard because it is difficult to find enough money to feed my children and pay for their school fees," Fernanda said through an interpreter. "I can sell some coffee beans once a year but it is not enough. Sometimes I sell a chicken or vegetables. I might earn $5 a week but often nothing," she said. "'Life is hard but it is better than during the Indonesian time... at least we have our freedom."

Fernanda said she dreams about a better life for everyone in East Timor and hopes the government can provide a "better education for my children". More than half of East Timor's 1.1 million people live in poverty.

[With Lindsay Murdoch. Jason South is a multi-award winning Fairfax Media photographer based in Melbourne.]

For the first time in 500 years, East Timor stands alone

Sydney Morning Herald - January 18, 2013

Lindsay Murdoch – Wailing in grief, Lucia Pina stood over the body of her murdered 17-year-old nephew and threw her hands in the air. "I was in shock and pleading with God to protect innocent Timorese," she remembers.

The photographer Jason South captured the moment on May 11, 1999, amid a reign of terror in Dili during a United Nations-sponsored referendum that led to East Timor's breakaway from Indonesia.

The referendum fuelled optimism about the world's then newest nation. But as the last Australian infantry troops withdrew from East Timor on Friday, marking the first time in almost 500 years the small half-island nation is standing alone in the world, Mrs Pina said life had improved little for her family and she worried about the future.

"The rich people are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer," she says, sitting near the grave of her nephew, Elizier Dos Reis, who was hacked to death by pro-Indonesia militia, apparently because his family was giving away rice to independence supporters.

Despite massive spending of oil and gas revenue by East Timor's government, the lack of spending on education and health in the country is worse than in Bangladesh, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea and other nations considered poor, says Charles Scheiner, a founder of the respected Dili-based non- government organisation La'o Hamutuk.

"The number of people living below the poverty line has increased over the past five years, even though the government has spent billions of dollars," Mr Scheiner says.

The Dos Reis family is typical of many in East Timor as the country emerges from Portuguese and Indonesian occupation and the shadow of the UN, which shut its mission in Dili on December 31, 13 years after arriving in the country. Fifteen people are living in a bare house in the Dili suburb of Santa Cruz existing on $US150 ($140) a month the government pays in compensation for Elizier's death.

"Sometimes we do not have enough money to buy food and someone has to go and see relatives outside Dili to bring some back," says Maria Dos Reis, 24, who is Elizier's sister.

Her father, Manuel Dos Reis, 62, suffered a stroke four months ago and lies motionless, staring into space on a bed.

Mrs Dos Reis, a mother of two, says she also does not feel safe because "people in the neighbourhood are always threatening each other".

She says the Australians who used to patrol Dili's streets were friendly and popular and liked to play with the children. "I felt safer with them here," she says.

Fifty of the last Australian infantry troops in East Timor boarded an RAAF C-130 transport aircraft Friday, ending a six-year intervention that helped secure stability.

"I'm looking forward to getting home, seeing the missus and having a beer," said Private James Cerone, 20, from Narre Warren in Victoria, as he boarded the plane for Adelaide, where his platoon is based. "It's been good experience ... mostly training, and I'll see where it all takes me now," he said.

As the troops leave, East Timor's leaders face crucial decisions that will define their country's future, including how to resolve a dispute with a Woodside Petroleum-led consortium over development of the Greater Sunrise gasfield in the Timor Sea.

They can withdraw East Timor from agreements with Australia and Woodside on Greater Sunrise next month, a move that could reignite a bitter dispute with Canberra over sea boundaries in the Timor Sea.

Mr Scheiner says that if East Timor continues to spend oil and gas revenues at the rate it has been for the past several years it will be bankrupt in about 2024. This is when twice as many Timorese as now will be looking for jobs, and foreign debt repayments will be due.

Mr Scheiner does not think donor countries will support East Timor to the extent it would need if the money runs out. "If the Timorese blew $30 billion of oil and gas revenue, why would anybody feel sorry for them?" he says. "There are many places in the world that need more help and don't have access to oil and gas revenues."

Even before the UN and foreign troops withdrew, almost all the country's decisions were made by the 66-year-old Prime Minister, Xanana Gusmao, a former jungle fighter during Indonesia's 24-year occupation who was re- elected last year. This month he was seen directing traffic outside his office. When some of his staff were late for work the other day he locked them out.

"Nobody in government makes a decision that is contrary to what Xanana wants," an analyst living in Dili says.

Lieutenant Colonel Mick Sasse, commander of the departing Australian troops, says he feels a "growing sense that the Timorese want to get on with being an independent nation". "We have provided the security environment ... they can stand on their own. It's time," he says.

Seeds of life or destruction of culture? Hungry East Timor debates

Cricky.com - January 11, 2013

Nick Sheridan – It's the hungry season in East Timor, that time of year when food from last year's crops has run out and the next harvest is yet to be reaped.

In Guriwai in the country's east, the farmers are passing out their corn and peanuts to a visiting group of international nutrition experts. For Guriwai at least, this year there will be no hungry season.

Guriwai's relative wealth has many causes – cultivation methods, environmental and climatic conditions all play their part. But it's the use of new seed varieties introduced by the AusAID-funded program Seeds of Life (SoL) that has had the most benefit.

SoL has been working since 2001 to identify high-yield varieties of East Timor's five staple crops – corn, rice, cassava, sweet potato and peanuts – best suited to the country's climate and establish a national seed network to keep local farmers supplied. They work to the maxim that "seed security is food security", aiming not just to identify the varieties that will produce the highest yield but also to help farmers establish systems and networks for the production and storage of seed from those crops in the future.

Food security is a big, contentious issue in East Timor. A predominantly agrarian society, organic farming is a way of life. Agriculture provides employment for some 80% of the population; about 40% of households in the nation rely on subsistence agriculture. But it's not always enough. Establishing seed networks is not the only challenge facing SoL. With traditional farming methods so integral to many Timorese people and their sense of cultural identity, any hint of a move towards industrialisation, particularly when driven by powerful outsiders, is met with suspicion in some quarters.

Ego Lemos is one of East Timor's most popular folk singers. He gained international recognition for his composition of the title song for the film Balibo, but at home his main work is as a champion of permaculture through NGO Permatil, of which he is the founder.

He has a very different vision for farmers – permaculture promotes organic, self-sustaining systems, and values the traditional knowledge of farmers over the modern, industrial approach of SoL. The focus should be on promoting diversity in crops and finding ways to improve the yield of existing varieties. "People need to learn to rely on a variety of foods based on the microclimates, based on the seasons, not just based on demand," he said.

Lemos is not alone. Remigio Vieira is the general director of the Farming Study Group, a tiny organisation that examines agricultural policy in the country and runs its own seed distribution programs, albeit on a tiny scale and focusing exclusively on the propagation of local varieties. He's suspicious of the varieties being introduced.

"They only look for how to create a lot of product. They don't care about deep inside composition; nutrition. I think that's wrong. It's good to know what the nutritional composition is. You should know," Vieira said.

One example: he says the variety of corn introduced is too sweet and could have a high glycaemic index and lead to health problems for the people who rely on it for the majority of their diet. SoL is not able to respond – neither they nor CIMMYT, the Mexico-based non-profit that develops and shares the seed varieties, have information on the nutritional composition of the corn they are using.

There is also widespread suspicion about the provenance of the seeds being used by SoL, with many organisations raising the spectre of genetically modified and hybrid products that will ultimately leave farmers dependent on multinational corporations for their crops.

John Dalton, the Australian team leader of SoL, says there's an at times wilful misrepresentation by the program's critics. While some organisations have done such trials in the past, SoL does not use any of these types of seeds. In fact, Dalton points out, all seeds have to be open pollenated varieties for the program to work.

Lemos is also concerned the focus on introduced varieties will ultimately wipe out the traditional corn and sweet potato that have been growing in East Timor for centuries. Dalton argues the traditional staples used in East Timor were also introduced, albeit centuries ago. "The farmers are going to continue to use the local varieties [so] we don't reduce the biodiversity, we actually add to it," he said.

And as the success of the program to date shows, not all Timorese share these concerns. Dalton is confident it will hit its target of establishing 1000 informal seed production groups, and therefore reaching 50% of the country's farmers, by the end of 2013, two years ahead of schedule.

This about more than hunger. According to the World Health Organisation, 58% of East Timorese children are suffering from stunting caused by malnourishment, putting it among the world's worst affected nations. Given nutritionists believe stunting can also impair a person's cognitive development, it's a particularly damaging statistic. Some 55% of the population is below the age of 20, and with a fertility rate of almost six children per woman, this proportion will continue to grow.

Jessica Fanzo is an associate professor at the Institute of Human Nutrition at Columbia University. She is in East Timor to help advise SoL on how to incorporate a nutritionist bent into their program.

"Sixty per cent stunting is no joke, and to reverse this would take a multi-sectoral approach that involves big social issues around education, social protection and improving both the health and food system. East Timor needs to act and do so very quickly to reverse these numbers," she said.

SoL is going part of the way to addressing the problem, but according to Dalton, they cannot do it all.

"We can look after staples, we can use our groups for education on improved nutrition, we can support other players who are working in education... [but] it's got to be a concerted approach," he said. However the government is already struggling to spread its budget across all of its priorities, and the agricultural sector is one of the key areas that is suffering, receiving less than 2% of budget spending.

That looks set to change over the next few years, with the Timorese government adopting a long-term strategic plan for the nation's development coupled with a program of decentralisation which, it's hoped, will empower the country's districts to do more to address their individual challenges.

But for the program to be a complete success, they will have to continue to win hearts and minds as well as spreading seeds and crops.

[Nick Sheridan is a former Fairfax journalist who recently travelled to East Timor.]

2012's sleeper story: Success in Timor-Leste

Huffington Post - January 2, 2013

Peter Yeo – I was standing outside a Timorese refugee camp on the day Carlos Caceres pulled me aside with a frightening message – "The militias know who I am and where they can find me."

I was shocked by what this United Nations worker had told me – at the time a participant of a Congressional staff delegation – and yet inspired that he was willing to put his life on the line to protect hundreds of thousands Timorese forced from their homes by militia violence.

A week later, Carlos, a native of Puerto Rico, was barricaded in his office, sending what would be his last email. Militia members, he wrote, "act without thinking and can kill a human as easily (and painlessly) as I kill mosquitos in my room." Moments after his email was sent, militias broke down the doors and windows of the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, brutally murdering Carlos and two of his colleagues. Carlos was only 33 years old.

More than a decade later, Carlos' words still haunt me, but today I am comforted by the knowledge that his sacrifice, and that of so many Timorese, meant something. As we say goodbye to 2012, and the last of the UN Peacekeepers brought in to restore peace and stability in the small Southeast Asian nation have now boarded a plane home, Timor-Leste has begun to emerge from the darkest kind of violence because of the United Nations and heroes like Carlos.

A positive future for Timor-Leste was not always in the cards. I visited Timor-Leste shortly after the Indonesian army had lost its quarter-century grasp on the island, ending an occupation that claimed the lives of more than 200,000 through violence, hunger and illness. The human impact of the occupation had been, in part, brought to the world's attention by Members of Congress, including Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) and former Rep. Sam Gejdenson (D-CT).

During my visit, the wounds were – figuratively and literally – still fresh. Only one year before, the Indonesian government bowed to international pressure and agreed to a UN-administered referendum on independence. Indonesia was enduring its own tumultuous transition from 30 years of autocratic rule under President Suharto. Reluctant to release its grasp on the region, Indonesia simultaneously armed militia to deter voters, brutalizing and terrorizing them. And when the Timorese people overwhelmingly chose independence, the militias torched homes and buildings all the way to the border.

Under the leadership of the legendary Brazilian diplomat Sergio Vieira de Mello, who was later killed in an attack on the UN in Iraq, the UN took on significantly increased responsibilities. UN workers like Carlos Caceres were often the only force standing between the militias and hundreds of thousands of Timorese refugees displaced by violence. UN workers from around the world worked with the leadership in Timor-Leste to establish rule of law and a functioning political system, while UN Peacekeepers began to restore law and order.

The journey from those dark days is nothing short of remarkable. Today, Timor-Leste is a functioning democracy with two free and fair Presidential and Parliamentary elections facilitated by the UN under its belt. The UN leaves a democratically-elected legislature that is 38 percent female – the highest representation of women in parliament in the entire Asia- Pacific region.

Oil and gas money from the offshore Bayu-Undan field is flowing into a $10 billion Petroleum Fund, which is carefully administered to avoid the "oil curse" on developing countries.

The UN Peacekeeping mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT) – which had been the remaining UN peacekeeping mission in East Asia – has left behind a fully self-sufficient Timorese national police force. UNMIT strengthened Timorese police by helping to recruit, vet and train police officers; support relationships between the police and judiciary; and promote human rights and address gender-based violence.

And Timor-Leste and Indonesia have built a new relationship, as Indonesia has waged its own efforts to end government corruption and elect accountable leaders.

To be sure, the Timorese journey was not without its road-bumps and lessons learned. From the onset, members of the Security Council underestimated the potential for violence surrounding the referendum and failed to dispatch Peacekeepers to protect civilians. Additionally, a 2005 effort to phase- down the UN presence was premature, and when paired with an under-developed security sector, violence between the police and military ensued. Instability continued, including a later assassination attempt on Timor- Leste's President.

However, with a subsequently steady investment from UN peacekeeping troops, the UN-Timor-Leste partnership made a meaningful, long-lasting impact on the country and the region. In fact, Timor-Leste is now giving back to the international community that enabled its peace by contributing its own troops to UN peacekeeping missions in Lebanon and South Sudan. Its presence is small, but it is a beginning.

As we look back on 2012's deadly global turmoil in places like Syria, and towards growing conflicts like Mali, Timor-Leste is the year's sleeper success story. The nation's path to recovery – including a steady investment from the UN – has been no question a long one. Yet it reveals a model that saved lives, enabled an operational democracy, and created huge potential for economic growth. I hope and believe that Carlos Caceres would have been proud.

[Originally run in The Hill's Congress Blog.]

Book & film reviews

An Indonesian soldier fills in the gaps in Timor Leste's past

Jakarta Post - January 20, 2013

Imanuddin Razak, Jakarta – Different people take different paths on the road to prominence or success.

Many opt or even race to be included in highly recognized organizations in an attempt to be categorized as prominent or successful persons. This is obviously a common path that many people take.

Others, not many though, take the opposite path. While they dream of being part of such highly recognized organizations, eventually they settle themselves to the reality that has come upon them and strive to do their best in their careers and lives.

Lt. Gen.(ret) Kiki Syahnakri apparently belongs to the second category. A 1971 graduate of the National Military Academy, Kiki, as he admits in the opening part of his book "Timor Timur: The Untold Story', had a dream of being recruited as a member of the Army's elite Special Forces Command (Kopassus) upon his graduation from the academy.

Such a decision, however, did not rest with him, but rather with a group of senior officers in the Indonesian Armed Forces or ABRI (the previous name of the Indonesian Military or TNI). He had to face the reality that he would not be in Kopassus. A few days after his graduation, Kiki was handed a letter by then Military Academy governor Sarwo Edhie Wibowo, saying that he was assigned as a platoon commander in the Udayana Regional Military Command, which then oversaw the provinces of Bali, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) and Timor Timur (East Timor).

Kiki was relieved to find out that he was at least assigned a combat post. He did not anticipate that his first posting to the NTT-East Timor border area of Atambua would give him the opportunity to meet some high-ranking ABRI officers, including Maj. Gen. L.B. Moerdani, then assistant for intelligence at the Defense and Security Ministry and the key person behind the military's operations to integrate East Timor with Indonesia. It was also during his assignment in Atambua that Kiki met a local woman, Kasperina Ratnaningsih, whom he eventually married.

Kiki's long on-and-off duties in East Timor (prior to its integration with Indonesia in December 1975 and after its separation from Indonesia in September 1999) eventually led him to be among the very limited number of persons in the military that had a knowledge of East Timor's socio-cultural conditions. He was the only senior Indonesian military commander fluent in Tetun, the local language of East Timor, which was an advantage for him in serving for a total of 13 years in the former Indonesian province.

The book reveals Kiki's experience in organizing and leading military operations before and during East Timor's integration with Indonesia and after its separation from the republic. The only shortcoming is that the book fails to provide a time frame for the events that unfold, which would help readers make sense of the sprawling story.

Still, readers can find previously unknown answers to some questions about what happened before and during East Timor's integration with Indonesia and during the weeks or months after its separation.

One significant event was the killing of Nicolao dos Reis Lobato, leader of the Fretilin resistance movement, at the end of 1978 by First Sgt. Johanis Maudobe, an East Timorese recruited into the Dili-based 744th Infantry Battalion. Kiki's account in the book has counters widespread speculations that an elite unit commander shot Lobato dead.

Another crucial element in the book is his verbal disputes with then Col. Prabowo Subianto in mid-1995. Kiki was at the time chief of the East Timor Military Subdistrict Command, while Prabowo was deputy commander of Kopassus. The first dispute was regarding technical details on a planned operation to quell rampant demonstrations in the former Indonesian province that year. Another was regarding the planned publication of a newspaper in East Timor, which was meant to publish the views of the Indonesian government and the military to counter negative local and foreign reports.

In other parts of the book, Kiki tells of when he witnessed then Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono argue with Sergio Vieira de Mello, special representative of the UN Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET), regarding de Mello's request for ABRI protection after East Timor's separation from Indonesia.

In the book, Kiki also mentions about his "verbal wars" in the media with US ambassador Robert Gelbard (1999-2001) over overflight violations by US Marine Corps helicopters along the Indonesia-East Timor border and the death of Dutch journalist Sander Thoenes in Dili.

Apart from those high-profile events, Kiki does not discuss the arrest of Fretilin leader Xanana Gusmao in 1992, a military operation that remains obscure until this day. It is partly because Kiki was not in East Timor and was assigned at another post outside the former Indonesian province that year.

In general, the book offers many accounts that have never been disclosed before. It does contribute to filling in the gaps in the nation's military's history, particularly on the ABRI's actions in East Timor. But there are still some outstanding questions that perhaps other officers and leaders can answer.

Such accounts might be bitter for the TNI and also for the nation to swallow. But the revelation of such facts can help prevent the repetition of mistakes in the future.

East Timor News Digest 1 – January 1-31, 2013

Residence of finance minister is discriminatory

Jornal Diario Nacional - January 25, 2013

[Translation from Tetum.]

Prostitution is not the only way to get money

Dili Weekly - January 9, 2013

Drawing down - the end of a UN peacekeeping mission in Timor-Leste

UNNews - January 7, 2013

Drawing down

Schools lack books, desks and chairs needed

Dili Weekly - January 18, 2013

NZ doctors called on to help in Timor

News New Zealand - January 2, 2013

Refugee status period has ended, however TL doors stay open

Dili Weekly - January 18, 2013

Lere does not agree with former militia returning to Timor-Leste

Timor Post - January 8, 2013

[Translation from Tetum.]

Former minister of justice Lucia Lobato serving time at Gleno prison

Dili Weekly - January 25, 2013

East Timor's former justice minister jailed for corruption

ABC ABC Radio Australia - January 25, 2013

Lucia Lobato finally imprisoned

Radio Liberdade - January 23, 2013

Taur Matan Ruak: 'Development in Timor-Leste is akin to rubbish'

Timor Post - January 23, 2013

[Translation from Tetum Original.]

Telkom taps East Timor market

Jakarta Globe - January 19, 2013

Competition in telecoms expected to drive down costs, boost coverage

Macauhub - January 2, 2013

Timor Leste a gateway for drugs into Indonesia

Tempo Interactive - January 23, 2013

'Movement through Naktuka border closed'

Jornal Independente - January 9, 2013

[Translation from Tetum.]

'National Parliament does not want Lere to apologize to Hercules'

Jornal Independente - January 16, 2013

Gang leader Hercules causes angst in East Timor

ABC Radio Australia - January 15, 2013

Indonesian parliament slams East Timor's Hercules arrest threat

Inilah.com - January 13, 2013

Dahlan touts investment in Timor Leste

Jakarta Post - January 22, 2013

With UN gone, Timor faces up to economic challenges

Agence France Presse - January 20, 2013

The UN's legacy in Timor Leste

Jakarta Post - January 22, 2013

[Edio Guterres is a former UNMIT officer. Ivo Mateus Goncalves is an historical researcher based in Dili.]

Timorese struggle with poverty preferred to the bane of Indonesian rule

Sydney Morning Herald - January 20, 2013

[With Lindsay Murdoch. Jason South is a multi-award winning Fairfax Media photographer based in Melbourne.]

For the first time in 500 years, East Timor stands alone

Sydney Morning Herald - January 18, 2013

Seeds of life or destruction of culture? Hungry East Timor debates

Cricky.com - January 11, 2013

[Nick Sheridan is a former Fairfax journalist who recently travelled to East Timor.]

2012's sleeper story: Success in Timor-Leste

Huffington Post - January 2, 2013

[Originally run in The Hill's Congress Blog.]

An Indonesian soldier fills in the gaps in Timor Leste's past

Jakarta Post - January 20, 2013

[Timor Timur: The Untold Story – Kiki Syahnakri. Kompas Media Nusantara, 2013. 436 pages.]