Emma Masters, Dili – The Australian Government has returned two decades of weather data to East Timor, after it was rescued by a Darwin meteorologist amid civil unrest during the small island nation's move to independence.

Meteorologist Sam Cleland arrived in Dili in 1999 to help restore weather services in the country, and was shocked to find 20 years of records left in an abandoned office.

"There was a lot of paper records strewn over the floor, a foot deep in places, I spent the next few hours sifting through trying to gather what I could", he said.

He then spent hours collecting what papers he could before taking them to the airport and sending them to Darwin for safekeeping.

The records are being returned in their original paper form to the country's national archives, but also in a digitised form so local agencies and scientists can access the data for research and modelling.

Australian and East Timorese scientists say the 20 years of records fill an important gap in knowledge about the country's weather and its climate. They say it has been difficult for Timor to understand potential climate change and impacts because of the missing information.

The digitisation of the records is also part of a broader project to convert all of Timor's weather data from paper to electronic format.

There are still decades of data missing from the periods when Portugal and Indonesia colonised the small island nation. East Timor has applied to Portugal and Indonesia to obtain those records.

Women's rights

KSTL: Women's rights violated in the workplace

The Dilly Weekly - May 28, 2013

Based on the statistics from the Confederation Syndicate of Timor-Leste (KSTL), from 2001 until 2012 a total of 35% of female workers had their rights violated in the workplace.

The Head of the Industrial Relations Division at KSTL, Joao Cabral said currently employers discharge workers without a reason.

"Employers discharge workers without a clear reason and the problems are with contracts, overtime and monthly payments, security, health and hygiene problems in the workplace, and these are violations of human rights," said the Head of the Industrial Relations Division recently in Colmera, Dili.

He said there were five cases where employers forbid workers from becoming pregnant, four cases where women were forced to work hard while pregnant, four cases of problems with the salaries and one sexual abuse case. Other companies did not give workers the right to breastfeed their babies.

"The rights of female workers are not just protected by the Labour Law but also the Constitution of the Republic, therefore all people should respect women's rights based on what is written in the law," said the Head of the Industrial Relations Division.

He said this continues to happen because the government has not put in the maximum effort to raise awareness about the issue, the inspection system for companies is also still weak and companies do not have the goodwill to implement these laws.

Meanwhile, Work Inspector Rofino Lopes recognized that the understanding of the Labour Law is low and that's why there is still discrimination and employers still violate the rights of female workers.

He said the Directorate for General Work Inspections in 2012 gave fines to a national and international company that violated the Labour Law based on an inspection and workers statements.

"The Work Inspection Directorate gave a fine to 194 companies in the whole country with a total budget of $37 million but $29 million has been paid to the National Bank (BNU) and $8 million has not been paid yet," said Inspector Lopes.

He said that the money the companies paid for the fines would enter the state coffers, and it was up to the state to use that money.

Sexual & domestic violence

President Taur Matan Ruak concerned about incest cases

The Dili Weekly - May 29, 2013

President Taur Matan Ruak raised has concerns about the number of incest and domestic violence cases in Timor-Leste.

The Secretary of State for the Promotion of Equality Idelta Maria Rodrigues said she raised the issue during a meeting with the President at the Presidential Palace in Bairo-Pite, Dili.

"There is a lot of concern, we still have the problems of incest, domestic violence and pornography that are spreading in Timor-Leste," said the Secretary of State.

She said in this meeting the President promised to put in a strong effort on gender issues for better development in the future, because currently women are more vulnerable. "This needs serious attention," said the Secretary of State.

The same concern also came from the President of the Parliamentary Women's Group (GMPTL), MP Josefa Alves Soares, who said these violations are crimes and must be processed according to the laws in force in the nation.

"The thing I have seen is there is no one serious about implementing the law and also the conditions in the home do not permit this so it's easy for it to happen," said MP Soares.

She added it's easy for this to happen inside the home when people live together, even with their parents, children and cousins, as there is no barrier for security.

"While sleeping together, the bedroom door does not have a key so this provides a space for these sort of actions to happen," said MP Soares.

Nevertheless, she stressed currently there is no need to create a specific law on the issue but they could in future, because there is already the Penal Code and some articles of the Domestic Violence Law that deal with sexual abuse.

Armed forces & defense

First debate on compulsory military service in Timor-Leste

East Timor Legal Justice News - May 11, 2013

According to the plan of H.E. the President of the Republic, Taur Matan Ruak, the first meeting on the plan for implementing military conscription took place on Friday (26/04/2013), at F-FDTL headquarters, between members of the Military House of the Presidency of the Republic, the Secretary of State for Defence (SED), the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and F- FDTL senior officers.

Frei Guterres, advisor to the Presidency's Military House, in his presentation said that "H.E. the President of Republic wants to implement compulsory military service for the youth within the so-called 'Cidadania Civica Patriota' (CCP) programme, which is aimed at increasing the sense of nationalism and patriotism, thus contributing to the defence of the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity". Frei Guterres added that the programme will "reinforce nationalism and citizenship, further strengthen the awareness of the youth towards society, strengthen moral discipline, contribute to alleviating unemployment and reduce drug and martial arts related crimes".

In his speech, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Lere Anan Timur, stated that the "compulsory military service is good for Timor-Leste since it strengthens patriotism and nationalism among youngsters" and pointed out the importance of "further discussing the issue, involve important entities, as well as the civil society" with a view to getting "information and suggestions on the impact, advantages and disadvantages of compulsory military service".

Major-General Lere Anan Timur added that it will be difficult for the F- FDTL to implement the law on compulsory military service in one or two years since the institution is currently facing a series of challenges related to human resources.

The Secretary of State for Defence, Julio Tomas Pinto, on implementation of the compulsory military service, said: "It is necessary to carry out a comparative study of those countries where military service is compulsory, with a view to identifying the advantages and disadvantages of its implementation in Timor-Leste."

The Secretary of State for Defence agreed with Major-General Lere Anan Timur on the need of "conducting a public consultation on the concept of compulsory military service before deciding".

Present at the meeting were the Chief of the Military House of the Presidency of the Republic, Colonel Jose da Costa Soares "Trix", the advisor to the Military House, Frei Guterres, the Secretary of State for Defence, Julio Tomas Pinto, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Lere Anan Timur, and F-FDTL senior officers.

[Source: Office of the Presidency Press Release April 29, 2013.]

Foreign affairs & trade

Accusations of Australian espionage have not damaged relations, says Carr

ABC News - May 29, 2013

Karen Barlow – Foreign Minister Bob Carr insists Australia and East Timor remain on good terms despite reports the Australian Secret Intelligence Service (ASIS) broke into and bugged East Timorese cabinet rooms nine years ago.

East Timor's foreign minister, Alfredo Pires, alleges that the ASIS breached international law and Timorese sovereignty by secretly listening during the negotiations over multi-billion-dollar gas revenues.

The allegations of spying prompted East Timor to notify the Australian Government that it was launching a process of arbitration to have the Timor Sea Treaty declared invalid.

While East Timor is furious, Senator Carr insists the two countries are good friends.

"Nothing can rupture the bonds between the people of Australia and the people of Timor Leste," he said. "I am bound by convention that says Australian Government ministers don't comment on matters of security, intelligence, espionage even when what was said is plain untrue."

Mr Pires's lawyer, Bernard Collaery, says the evidence of spying is irrefutable.

"The evidence is irrefutable and Australian authorities are well aware that we are in a position to back that up," he said. "Of course, we would not have formed our international litigation team unless we knew where we were."

Greens say Coalition has questions to answer

While Senator Carr remains positive about relations between the two nations, Greens leader Christine Milne does not share his optimism and has suggested that the Coalition had some explaining to do.

"I have absolutely no doubt that East Timor is furious," she said. "The Coalition needs to come clean on the motivation and try and persuade anybody that there is any ability to justify it.

"I don't think there is any ability to justify it [but] let?s hear what they have got to say.

"I don't think Australians are going to be very impressed to hear that there was authorised bugging of East Timor. It certainly damages relations with our nearest neighbours and no doubt other countries will be asking: what else did the Howard government resort to in relation to our neighbour?"

Alexander Downer, the foreign minister at the time the alleged bugging happened, also said he could not comment on security matters. But Mr Downer says the 2004 negotiations were robust and says the new allegations may be about getting a better deal.

"They want to do even better, that is human nature, but the fact is by getting into this endless dispute with the companies and also with the Australian Government they are denying themselves any revenue at all, because the project is not going ahead," he said.

East Timor seeking to tear up treaty

Earlier this month Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus confirmed that East Timor was seeking to tear up the treaty which is used to split revenue from the "Greater Sunrise Gas" project between the two nations. Mr Dreyfus said East Timor alleged the CMATS treaty was invalid because the negotiations were not fair.

"[East Timor alleges] in the course of negotiating this treaty back in 2004, Australian officials were aware of confidential information belonging to Timorese negotiating team," Mr Dreyfus said.

"We can't comment further on the matter because these issues are going to be dealt with in the course of the arbitration. Australia has always conducted itself in a professional manner in diplomatic negotiations and has conducted those CMATS treaty negotiations in good faith."

The Australian Government said then that neither East Timor's claims about the treaty nor its allegations of espionage were new and that the treaty remains in force.

Mining & energy

East Timor challenges gas treaty with Australia

ABC News - May 4, 2013

Sara Everingham and staff – East Timor is seeking to tear up a treaty with Australia on oil and gas revenues in the Timor Sea, arguing Australia spied on it during negotiations in 2004.

The Australian Government says neither East Timor's claims about the treaty nor its allegations of espionage are new and the treaty remains in force.

Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus says East Timor is seeking to have the treaty declared invalid. He told PM that East Timor recently notified the Australian Government that it was launching a process of arbitration.

"Timor Leste notified Australia on April 23 that it has initiated arbitration under the 2002 Timor Sea treaty of a dispute that relates to the 2006 treaty on certain maritime arrangements in the Timor Sea," he said.

The treaty is used to split revenue from the lucrative Greater Sunrise gas field in the Timor Sea.

East Timor has been in a long-running dispute with Australia and the Australian-based company Woodside about how the Greater Sunrise field will be developed.

Mr Dreyfus says East Timor alleges the CMATS treaty is invalid because the negotiations were not fair.

"[East Timor alleges] in the course of negotiating this treaty back in 2004, Australian officials were aware of confidential information belonging to Timorese negotiating team," he said.

"We can't comment further on the matter because these issues are going to be dealt with in the course of the arbitration.

"Australia has always conducted itself in a professional manner in diplomatic negotiations and has conducted those CMATS treaty negotiations in good faith."

Professor of international law at the Australian National University, Donald Rothwell, says East Timor's application for arbitration is a significant development.

"It's a significant development because Australia has always tried to settle and resolve its maritime boundaries by way of negotiation," he said.

"But clearly as far as East Timor is concerned a point has been reached where negotiation is not successful and that aspects of this dispute need to be subject to arbitration."

Professor Rothwell says under a bilateral agreement, a three-person tribunal appointed by Australia and East Timor will be established to consider the case.

"And that tribunal would be able to consider first of all whether it has jurisdiction to resolve this dispute and then if it says yes to that, it will then look at the merits of the claim," he said.

"It's made quite clear in the Timor Sea treaty any award handed down by that tribunal would be final and binding upon Australia and East Timor."

Professor Rothwell says it is possible the matter could be resolved within a year. PM was not able to contact East Timor's government for a comment.

Australia spied during resource deal: Dili

Sydney Morning Herald - May 3, 2013

East Timor is seeking to tear up a treaty on the sharing of oil and gas revenues with Australia because it says Australia spied on it during the negotiations.

East Timor has launched a process of arbitration to challenge a 2006 treaty which governs how proceeds are shared from oil and gas fields that straddle the joint development area between the two countries and the Australian continental shelf.

The developing country argues the treaty is invalid because Australia did not conduct 2004 negotiations in good faith. Specifically, East Timor alleges Australia conducted espionage.

In his 2007 book "Shakedown: Australia's Grab for Timor Oil", Paul Cleary, a former Fairfax Media journalist who was part of East Timor's negotiating team, wrote that the country's then Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri was convinced the Australian Government was spying on them during negotiations in Canberra in September 2004. The East Timor delegation stopped holding meetings in their hotel, fearing rooms were bugged, and dumped their mobile phones because they suspected eavesdropping.

In a joint statement issued on Friday, Foreign Affairs Minister Bob Carr and Attorney General Mark Dreyfus said the spying allegations were not new, and it had been the position of successive Australian Governments to neither confirm nor deny them.

But the statement said Australia had "always conducted itself in a professional manner in diplomatic negotiations" and had acted "in good faith." Australia said it considered that the treaty – called the Treaty on Certain Maritime Arrangements in the Timor Sea – was valid and remained in force.

The treaty provides for revenue from the Greater Sunrise fields, which are situated 450km north-west of Darwin and 150km south-east of East Timor, to be shared equally between the two countries, and prohibits both countries from discussing maritime boundaries for 50 years.

Don Rothwell, a professor of international law at the Australian National University, said the revenue split had long been a source of tension between the two countries, with East Timor believing the arrangement was too favourable to Australia, and seeking a permanent maritime boundary, which would probably place the entire Greater Sunrise field within East Timor's maritime boundary.

East Timor has initiated arbitration under the 2002 Timor Sea Treaty. Professor Rothwell said there was a legal question about whether a dispute over the 2006 treaty could be resolved under the arbitration process set out in the 2002 treaty. If arbitration proceeded the matter would be decided by a three-member tribunal comprising a nominee of each of Australia and East Timor and a national of a third country, who would chair the tribunal. But he said Australia could refuse to participate in arbitration.

The Australian Government's statement said it was still considering its response. It said the treaties provided certainty for investors and delivered benefits to both countries.

East Timor's ambassador to Australia, Abel Guterres, said: "Timor Leste and Australia are good neighbours and the good relationship and co-operation will go on, despite whatever differences we have."

A spokesman for Woodside, the operator of the Greater Sunrise project, said the company was reviewing the announcement. "Woodside will continue to engage with both governments to further understand any consequences of the proposed arbitration," the spokesman said.

Economy & investment

East Timor's oil fund totals US$13 billion in 1st quarter

Macauhub - May 14, 2013

East Timor's Oil Fund grew by US$1.2 billion in the first quarter of the year to US$13 billion at the end of March, said the East Timor Central Bank in Dili Monday.

According to the bank's statement, gross monies paid into the Fund from royalties and taxes totalled US$946 million, and no funds were transferred to the State's general account in the period.

In the first quarter of the year the return on the portfolio totalled US$264.8 million, which was a rise of 2.18 percent whilst the return on the reference package was 2.07 percent.

The Oil Fund Law was approved in 2005 in order to contribute to the effective management of Eat Timor's oil resources. The fund is managed by the East Timor Central Bank and the Finance Ministry. (macauhub)

People

Tale of love, power and life with Gusmao

Sydney Morning Herald - May 5, 2013

Karl Quinn – Kirsty Sword Gusmao answers the door of her mother's house on Victoria's Mornington Peninsula wearing flat-heeled boots, a patterned jacket, a hint of make-up and no hair. "It was starting to itch," she says of the short bobbed wig she's taken to wearing. "So I took it off. I hope it's OK."

East Timor's first First Lady – her husband, Xanana Gusmao, went from resistance leader to president when the country gained its independence in May 2002, and is now Prime Minister – was home for Christmas when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. The treatment has kept her there since.

Losing her hair "hasn't been as traumatic as I thought it would be", she says. "Losing the eyebrows and eyelashes is actually worse. I had to buy my first eyeliner pencil ever."

Though treatment continues until August, her prognosis is good. "It's a hideous process, but there's not a day goes by I don't count my lucky stars," she says.

Were she a simple villager in East Timor, with no means to travel abroad for treatment, "you'd basically just wait your day to die".

Her three sons – aged eight, 10 and 12 – are with her for the duration. They're enrolled in local schools but desperately missing home. Their father visits when he can and will be there on Thursday when Alias Ruby Blade, a new documentary about their relationship and the birth of East Timor, opens the Human Rights Arts and Film Festival.

The story is told in large part through video footage shot by Ms Sword Gusmao beginning in the early 1990s. She'd long thought about doing something with the material herself – "I'm a bit of a frustrated filmmaker from years back," she says – and when New York-based filmmakers Alex and Tanya Meillier approached her, she was at first reluctant.

"But then I thought there's very little likelihood I'm going to have the luxury of time to turn it into a film – I might as well allow it to be used."

Perhaps the most remarkable scenes are those shot inside Mr Gusmao's prison cell. The conditions are basic but far from brutal and he has what amounts to a small office, complete with mobile phone, video camera and laptop computer – all of them smuggled in by Ms Sword Gusmao and her contacts.

"In the early stages it was notes secreted in the sole of a shoe or the lining of a cap," she says. Later, the "eminently corruptible" guards happily made bulky deliveries to and from her door.

Mr Gusmao was no ordinary prisoner, of course. "He was a VIP from the day he was captured." He was also charming.

"He won people over very quickly, and that included senior members of the Ministry of Justice, police and military authorities," she says. "He managed to just sweet-talk his way out of some pretty sticky situations."

And into her affections, too. She had been aware of Xanana from the mid- 1980s, as a student of Indonesian at Melbourne University. She became involved in the Timor Leste movement, started corresponding with Xanana in 1992 and they finally met for the first time in 1994.

"Did you imagine from the start you might one day end up with this latter- day Che Guevara?"

"No, of course not," she says, perhaps with more patience than the question warrants.

"In the early stages, when feelings between us started to develop, I was plagued by all sorts of doubts: 'Oh my god, I'm just infatuated by the image, the figure that he is, rather than the actual person. How could I possibly know him in these circumstances?'"

It was a reasonable question, of course. So, almost 20 years on, how does a relationship forged in such conditions fare in the outside world?

"I guess we've gone from an unconventional courtship to an unconventional marriage, in that we don't enjoy the same kinds of family and personal time a regular family would," she says.

"There's never been a dull moment, there's never been a normal moment, in our relationship, and every minute of our marriage has been dictated by the needs of the nation. And I guess we've both just resigned ourselves to the fact that is our fate."

Balibo 5

Fears Balibo Five killing investigation is stalling

Sydney Morning Herald - May 5, 2013

Rory Callinan – A war crimes investigation into the killing of five Australian journalists in East Timor appears in danger of stalling after a key witness is feared dead and investigators say they are unable to obtain key information from overseas authorities.

For the past three years Australian Federal Police have been investigating the killings of of newsmen Gary Cunningham, Brian Peters, Malcolm Rennie, Gregory Shackleton and Anthony Stewart at the tiny village of Balibo in East Timor's south-west in 1975.

But correspondence sighted by Fairfax Media and from information provided by interview with Gary Cunningham's brother Greig, the investigation appeared to be facing serious problems.

Last month the AFP wrote to the families of the late newsmen warning that officers were "still seeking to access material from Timor Leste (East Timor) which may be relevant to the investigation".

"The timeframe for receiving this information is unknown and outside the control of the AFP and other Australian agencies," warned the correspondence from Mick Turner the AFP's national coordinator of special references.

An AFP spokesman yesterday said as part of the Balibo investigation, the AFP had requested information from overseas agencies. "The AFP has no control over the time taken to provide the information as this is determined by those overseas agencies," he said.

The correspondence gravely concerned Mr Cunningham who said he had recently heard a potential witness to the murders had recently died. "I believe the AFP officers are very genuine but I can't believe that this is taking this long," he said.

Mr Cunningham said he had been told a 62-year-old East Timorese man who had seen the newsmen gunned down, was reported to have died.

"They held a large funeral for him (in East Timor) and apparently there was about 900 people there and they spoke about how he was a witness," said Mr Cunningham who has lobbied for justice for his brother.

"Apparently he was a stretcher bearer for Fretilin. He was only 62. It's like they are almost waiting for all the eyewitnesses to drop dead."

Mr Cunningham called for all the government's involved to work together to provide the information.

In 2007, Australian Deputy State Coroner Dorelle Pinch found the five Australian newsman had been murdered by Indonesian special forces to cover up the invasion of East Timor.

She found Channel Nine cameraman Peters was probably the first killed and colleague Rennie, Cunningham and Stewart were killed soon afterwards.

Ms Pinch recommended the Commonwealth Attorney General take action. Then Federal Attorney-General Philip Ruddock said on November 16, that the matter would be referred to the Australian Federal Police. The referral took place in January 2008.

After the referral, the AFP said the investigation would be difficult where witnesses and evidence were overseas and considerable time had passed since the killings occurred.

The AFP is to refer findings to the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (CDPP) if their investigation uncovers "sufficient material" to compile a brief of evidence of criminality or a real possibility of criminality.

Indonesia has denied the men were murdered and said they died in a crossfire during the battle to take the town.

Analysis & opinion

To better represent women, Indonesia should borrow a page from East Timor

Jakarta Globe - May 7, 2013

Arif Nurdiansah & Hindijani Novita – Indonesia is a signatory to the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), ratified in Law No. 7 of 1984. But almost 25 years later, how well are we honoring this commitment, especially the participation of women in the political realm? Both when it comes to getting women elected and in getting their concerns onto the political agenda, there is much room for improvement.

Indonesia's women make up 49.83 percent of the population, according to Central Statistics Agency (BPS) data from 2010. So women are our largest minority – and yet we seem unable to meet the legally mandated quota of 30 percent women in the House of Representatives, as stipulated in Election Law No. 12 of 2003.

Let's look at some figures since the end of the Suharto era. After the 1999 election we had 46 female MPs (9 percent), after the 2004 election we had 61 (11 percent) and in 2009 this rose to 103 members, or 18 percent. Although this increase is encouraging, we are still far below the ideal minimum of 30 percent.

Given that the number of women in Indonesia is slightly lower than that of men, it should not be difficult for Indonesians to make sure there is a larger proportion of women representatives in parliament. However, in reality, women are still far from being properly represented in Senayan. Why is that?

The existing regulations are not fully supported by many political parties, and these parties hold key positions in the democratic system. Political parties have resisted accommodating women, and have changed only when challenged by women activists and the mass media.

The legal quota is often used to increase party electability by recruiting female celebrities or the relatives of senior political power brokers. Because of this, the current female members have largely failed to champion policies to promote gender equality.

According to the National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan), Indonesia has 207 discriminative bylaws, including discriminatory articles in the Marriage Law (1974) and the Penal Code (1915).

Due to recent corruption cases and a number of indecent videos involving women lawmakers, public trust of female lawmakers is low. However, this should not be used as a reason to distrust women who participate in the 2014 election, or be used to provide legitimacy for men to keep dominating the House of Representatives. Because only in the House can women fight directly for their rights.

Women shouldn't wait for political parties to change, but should unite to change parties from the inside. But beyond the moribund mindset of party officials, there are other factors hampering women's participation in politics, especially economics. Most women in Indonesia are not financially independent and are still expected to take care of domestic affairs as their primary task.

Although there are women's movements at the grassroots level, these tend to have a strong focus on development and to avoid politics, which is considered by many as a dirty job unsuitable for women. Women's groups in the area of political empowerment have so far failed to engage people at the grassroots level.

To give an example, the Family Welfare Movement (PKK) is used by political parties to sustain political dynasties. PKK executives are mostly the wives of public officials in the respective regions who later become parliamentary candidates.

According to the academic Judith Squires, there are three strategies to increase women's representation. The first is the emergence of women's policy agencies to fight for gender-sensitive regulations. Secondly, gender-equity policies should be pursued to ensure gender-mainstreaming principles are integrated in each phase of policy-making.

Third, as Squires argues in her 2007 book "The New Politics of Gender Equality," quotas are needed to ensure representative decision-making institutions.

Our neighbor, East Timor, can show us what happens with better gender representation in parliament.

East Timor is the only country in Southeast Asia where women make up more than 30 percent of lawmakers. No less than 21 of East Timor's 65 members of parliament are women. And with this caucus they have passed a number of gender-sensitive laws, like the Law on Domestic Violence.

This is quite an achievement for a country that only recently gained independence. The women's caucus has also amended the Elections Law to strengthen the position of women, calling for a 3:1 ratio of male candidates to female candidates.

Indonesia, the largest democratic nation in Southeast Asia, should aspire to do even better than East Timor in terms of women's representation in politics.

[Arif Nurdiansah and Hindijani Novita work for the Partnership for Governance Reform (www.kemitraan.or.id), but the views expressed here are their own.]