Australia and East Timor have quietly begun talks towards a possible settlement of their boundary in the Timor Sea, an issue of immense importance to Timor-Leste.

And an advocacy group for East Timor – in Australia – wants Australians to stand up.

Revelations this week that Australia and East Timor have begun talks on a framework for negotiating their boundary dispute in the Timor Sea have raised hopes for a new deal.

The revelations came as East Timor's parliament reportedly authorised an immediate start to negotiations on the issue that has troubled the country since independence in 2002.

In Australia, Timor Sea Justice Campaign spokesman Tom Clarke is urging Australians to pressure their government to ensure East Timor gets a fair deal this time.

"I think, ultimately, the solution here is about a permanent maritime boundary. One of the real problems has been that Timor's really been jostled into a series of temporary resource-sharing agreements. And all of these agreements ultimately short-change East Timor out of billions and billions of dollars that they're legally entitled to. East Timor has consistently argued that a permanent boundary should be drawn halfway between the two coastlines, and that's what current international law overwhelmingly favours. However, Australia's been really quite stubborn about hanging onto this very outdated notion of its continental shelf."

Australia's continental shelf, the present boundary, extends far closer to East Timor than to Australia. A boundary halfway between them would put most of the oil and gas reserves in the Timor Sea, in East Timor territory, worth another $40-billion.

The two countries negotiated treaties that were ratified in 2002 and 2007, but, in both cases, East Timor was fighting security problems and was in a weak state for negotiating.

Australia had withdrawn its recognition of International Court of Justice jurisdiction over maritime boundaries prior to the 2002 deal, depriving East Timor of legal options.

East Timor senior legal adviser Janelle Saffin told a Sydney symposium in August she believes Australia remains unlikely to accept third-party arbitration quickly.

"It's difficult, because Australia expressed what they call a 'reservation' to the compulsory-dispute settlement processes – particularly, the International Court of Justice and the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea – on issues to do with maritime-boundary delimitation. So there is that reservation there that Australia expressed in 2002, so that makes it difficult. But, ultimately, it's about negotiation."

Attorney-General George Brandis recently expressed support for Australia's standing position on the boundary, noting it was based on the continental shelf.

But East Timor has already threatened to tear up the treaty between the two countries on the basis that Australia spied on East Timor during negotiations in 2004.

That revelation came out of the work of United States whistleblower Edward Snowden. East Timor's negotiators say they are confident the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea and the International Court of Justice would rule in their favour.

But East Timor's ambassador to Australia, Abel Guterres, says his country prefers to work it out with Australia.

"Nothing's impossible. Issues arise that can be dealt with. The two countries can talk and get a solution. I think that's what we are hoping for. And I think, by dialogue, you know, you find ways to come to a solution that's satisfactory to both sides."

Mr Guterres says the oil and gas money is vital to East Timor. "Of course, Timor Leste, its resources are very important to underpin its entire economy and to give better hope for our children. Especially, we want the kids to live beyond the age of five."

East Timor is the second-poorest country in Asia. Tom Clarke, with the Timor Sea Justice Campaign, says an improved deal for East Timor would benefit Australia as well as in building a more secure neighbour.

"If you think about the great role that Australia has played in East Timor over the years since the intervention, in terms of helping Timor transition to peace and independence, and you think of the wonderful aid programs that many Australians have assisted with in Timor, there's a lot of wonderful work going on. But, unfortunately, Australia's position, when it comes to the oil and gas dispute, it really undercuts and undermines all of those really good efforts. Australia is putting millions of dollars into East Timor through humanitarian and aid programs, yet, at the same time, our country's taking billions away in contested oil and gas revenues."

Source: http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2014/10/29/australians-urged-pressure-government-east-timor-boundary-dispute

Australia and East Timor restart talks on maritime boundary

Sydney Morning Herald - October 28, 2014

Tom Allard – East Timor's parliament has authorised the "immediate commencement of negotiations" with Australia to establish a new maritime boundary between the countries.

The resolution, passed on Friday in a session of the legislature held behind closed doors, comes as Fairfax Media has learned that the two countries have already begun talks on a framework for negotiations on the boundary dispute.

The maritime boundary has been a constant source of conflict between Australia and East Timor, amid revelations of Australian spying on its northern neighbour and claims the future of the fledgling state has been jeopardised by Australia's stance.

Negotiated when Indonesia occupied East TImor, the boundary lies much closer to East Timor than Australia, placing the lucrative oil and gas fields in the Timor Sea largely within Australian territory.

A boundary equidistant between the two countries – as is the norm under international law – would result in most of the oil and gas reserves, worth more than $40 billion, lying within East Timor's territory.

According to the resolution passed on Friday, obtained by Fairfax Media, the parliament resolved to "support and accept the immediate commencement of negotiations" with Australia "for the purpose of establishing the definitive maritime border" between the two countries.

It also endorsed the creation of a "council for the final delimitation of maritime boundaries", which will include current and former prime ministers and presidents.

According to multiple sources with knowledge of the matter, meetings between Australian and Timorese officials have already been held to discuss a "framework for negotiations to deal with the boundary issue". The talks were characterised as "very preliminary".

Attorney-General George Brandis did not respond to requests for comment before deadline. He has recently expressed support for the validity of Australia's position on the maritime boundary, noting it was based on Australia's continental shelf, which extends close to East Timor.

Since East Timor's independence, it has negotiated two treaties with Australia dividing the resources in the Timor Sea. But both treaties are technically temporary arrangements pending final negotiations over the maritime boundary.

East Timor argues the treaties – ratified in 2002 and 2007 – were negotiated at a time when it was extremely weak and grappling with security problems. At the time, the country had no significant source of revenue.

The treaties paved the way for the development of the Bayu-Undan gas and oil reserves, which now contribute almost 90 per cent of Timor's revenue.

Recent revelations that Australian Secret Intelligence Service operatives had bugged East Timor's government offices during negotiations for the second treaty have further soured relations.

The spying underpins East Timor's decision to take Australia to the International Court of Justice and to an international arbitral panel in The Hague to contest the validity of the treaty.

The new talks on the boundary came after both countries agreed to suspend legal and arbitration proceedings for six months.

This comes as East Timor's legislature passed another resolution on Friday to sack all foreigners working in its judicial system, including judges, advisers to the prosecutor-general and secondees to its anti-corruption commission.

East Timor has lost a number of tax cases against resource companies and believes incompetence and possible corruption are behind the adverse tax decisions, among many others.

The resolution means the tax cases will have to be re-heard. But observers criticised the move, saying it would damage perceptions of judicial independence.

"What this resolution says is that if [the government] doesn't like the decisions of the judges, you just have to sack them," one Dili-based observer said.

Multinational oil giant Conoco Phillips – which is emboiled in several tax disputes with East Timor – said the resolution "undermines the independence and impartiality of the Timorese court system".

"It calls into question Timor-Leste's commitment to the rule of law, and may cause long-term harm to Timor-Leste's economy as businesses cannot be confident they will be treated fairly," said the company's Australia-West president, Todd Creeger.

Source: http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/australia-and-east-timor-restart-talks-on-maritime-boundary-20141027-11ckhb.html

Foreign interests trying to exploit my fragile nation, says Timor PM Gusmao

Sydney Morning Herald - October 19, 2014

Tom Allard – Foreign interests are trying to "dominate" East Timor, exploiting the fragility of the tiny nation to deny its rightful share of the oil and gas revenues in the Timor Sea and sow unrest, its Prime Minister says.

Xanana Gusmao made the remarks as the fledgling state is embroiled in bitter fights with the Australian government and multinational oil companies over the resources that contribute 90 per cent of its income.

It emerged last year that Australian Secret Intelligence Service (ASIS) agents bugged Timorese government offices to gain an advantage in treaty negotiations over the lucrative reserves that lie between the two countries.

In a rare and wide-ranging interview with Fairfax Media in the Timorese capital, Dili, the former resistance leader and political prisoner also rebuffed suggestions that the country will exhaust its sovereign wealth fund and become effectively bankrupt in a decade.

At the heart of East Timor's grievance is the belief it was exploited by the Australian government during negotiations between the two countries over the untapped resources in the Timor Sea, conservatively worth more than $40 billion.

"We are fighting for our sovereignty," Mr Gusmao said. "We are fighting to say 'it's our right'. If we gave 200,000 lives to save this small nation, we cannot accept that.

"If you are a fragile country, if you don't open your eyes, if you don't have any intelligence structure to know what's going on, other people from outside will dominate you."

After negotiating a highly favourable deal on the boundary with Indonesia when East Timor was still occupied, Australia withdrew from the dispute- resolution procedures governed by the UN Convention of the Law of the Sea two months before East Timor achieved independence in 2002.

Australia then negotiated two agreements while East Timor was extremely vulnerable – in 2002, when it had no income and a traumatised people, and 2006, when it was racked by internal divisions and violence that displaced 150,000 people – 15 per cent of its population.

East Timor is now seeking to have the treaties nullified because they were not negotiated in "good faith" as required by the Vienna convention, using the spying by ASIS as its main argument. Mr Gusmao said he was "shocked" by Australia's withdrawal from the Law of the Sea Treaty and "disappointed" by the spying.

East Timor and Australia are in negotiations to resolve the spy case and the dispute over the maritime boundary. "We have accepted the proposition of Australia to negotiate," Mr Gusmao said in New York last month. "If it doesn't bring settlement we will go again to the court – this is a condition [of the talks]."

As well as the espionage by ASIS, security agencies had uncovered a "white" foreigner apparently paying gangs to create unrest, Mr Gusmao said. "Three years ago, in the Christmas period, there was some violence between youth. Someone was killed and stabbed," he said.

"I was in hospital visiting the patients and then [protesters] start to come.... they wanted to make a big noise outside the hospital," he said. "I saw a taxi with a foreigner giving them money... I said 'well, well, well... you are helping to destabilise the country'."

Mr Gusmao said he discovered the identity of the man, but declined to reveal who it was.

He also attacked the tax minimisation practices of multinational corporations. "We see tax avoidance, trillions not billions of dollars each year [globally]," he said.

East Timor is in a dispute with oil giant ConocoPhillips, Woodside Petroleum and Santos over taxes as the resource companies contest $US362 million in payments – big money for a country with an annual budget of $US1.5 billion.

East Timor banks its proceeds from oil royalties and taxation in a sovereign wealth fund to avoid the "resource curse" – uncontrolled spending followed by economic collapse – that has afflicted many developing countries.

Investment income from the fund – which currently stands at $US16.6 billion – is spent on infrastructure, health and education, although East Timor has repeatedly drawn down more from the fund than recommended.

As existing oil and gas fields in the Timor Sea are depleted and East Timor refuses to approve the development of the $40 billion Greater Sunrise project until it gets a processing facility on its territory, a widely quoted analysis from non-government organisation La'o Hamutuk suggests the fund will run out by 2025.

However, Mr Gusmao dismissed the analysis. The latest IMF estimates forecast that, on worst case scenario of no further diversification of the economy and no further development of oil and gas fields, the fund would still have more than $10 billion by 2025.

Even so, East Timor remains poor with high unemployment, widespread poverty and malnutrition, and poor health outcomes.

Bureaucratic inertia and corruption is stymieing investment and efforts to diversify the economy have been slow, despite the potential for agriculture and tourism and the low tax rate of 10 per cent.

"We lack nutrition in what we eat, but we are not starving," said Mr Gusmao, before acknowledging that more needs to be spent on health and education.

"So far, we are only doing the big things, electricity... roads and the water supply and telecommunications. We are [concentrating on] big infrastructure projects because it will be the basis of our development."

Source: http://www.smh.com.au/world/foreign-interests-trying-to-exploit-my-fragile-nation-says-timor-pm-xanana-gusmao-20141019-118358.html

Human rights & justice

Timor Leste atrocities not forgotten

Jakarta Post - October 20, 2014

Jakarta – The human rights violations that occurred in Timor Leste, formerly known as East Timor, during the period of 1974 to 1999, when the country was still a part of Indonesia, may no longer be in the spotlight, but the memories remain.

"Crimes against humanity and war crimes were committed in Timor Leste, mainly by the ABRI [Indonesian Armed Forces, now known as the Indonesian Military or TNI]. The resistance also committed crimes and war crimes, but far fewer than those committed by the Army," said Pat Walsh, adviser to the Asia Justice and Rights (AJAR) organization.

The 25-year armed conflict sparked by Indonesia's annexation of East Timor in 1974 ended with a 1999 referendum that resulted in the independent state of Timor Leste.

Indonesia established the Commission for Truth and Friendship (KKP) in 2005 to uncover the truth behind the violence that took place in the aftermath of the 1999 referendum in particular. The KKP was disbanded in 2008 after producing a report detailing gross human rights violations in Timor Leste.

Another body that took an in-depth look at the history of the conflict was Timor Leste's Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation (CAVR). CAVR published a report titled Chega! about the human rights violations that took place over those 25 years. The post-CAVR Technical Secretariat also released a guide to the report.

The study confirmed that many atrocities occurred from 1974 until 1999 when Timor Leste was still the Indonesian province of East Timor, said Walsh, who was part of the post-CAVR team.

The study found that at least 102,800 civilians died during the conflict. Around 18,600 of them were unlawfully killed or disappeared and at least 84,200 people died from hunger and disease.

The highest number of unlawful killings and disappearances occurred in 1999. At least 1,400 and possibly as many as 2,600 people were killed unlawfully or disappeared at that time.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/10/20/timor-leste-atrocities-not-forgotten.html

Olitical parties & elections

Party members in dark about public subsidy budget

Dili Weekly - October 27, 2014

Venidora Oliveira – Political party members lack knowledge of the Public Subsidy Budget which is provided by the National Electoral Commission to registered Timorese political parties.

Electoral Commissioner Joana Dulce Vitor said communities were surprised when the commission's teams arrived to conduct budget observation. "This money can be used to provide civic education for partymembers," she said.

The money must be used to fund party advertising and administrative costs. "None of the parties have informed their members about the subsidy," Vitor said.

CNRT Member of Parliament (MP) Albina Marcal from National Congress Reconstruction of Timor recognized that her party did not have a program to provide civic education to its members. She said in future, the budget would be used to provide civic education to party members in order to increase transparency.

Fretilin MP Aurelio Freitas Ribeiro saidparty members needed to know about the money to increase transparency. "So far, Fretilin hasn't done this but perhaps we will do so in the future," he said.

Source: http://www.thediliweekly.com/en/news/capital/12798-party-members-in-dark-about-public-subsidy-budget

Media & journalism

Timor-Leste to set up media regulatory body

Dili Weekly - October 14, 2014

Paulina Quintao – Timor-Leste will create a new institution to regulate media.

Secretary of State for Social CommunicationNelio Isaac Sarmento said the organ would regulate media to assure information provided to the public was of a high standard.

"There is no law to ban media services but it's important to protect those who bring the truth to the people of this country and ensure they understand the information," he said at the close of the 3rd Platform Entity Regulator (PER) meeting during the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP) conference.

He said the regulator would oversee the work of all media organizations in an increasingly globalized society. Timor-Leste is the president of the CPLP PER committee for 2014-2015.

Sarmento told those assembled that all CPLP nations must work to strengthen the PER committee by putting together a database of all media outlets in each member nation to conduct a comparative study as well as to provide training in linguistics and law.

"We agree to share the experiences of our Timorese communications law graduates with other CPLP nations," he said.

Commission A (constitutional issues, justice, public administration, local authorities and anti-corruption) member Antonino Bianco said the objective of the state in creating the new regulator and media laws was to raise the quality of reporting in Timor-Leste and enable its media organizations to compete with those from other nations.

He said the laws and regulator would protect journalists and media organizations within the nation as well as their audiences.

Journalist Paulino Quintas said though he agreed regulation was important in a fledgling nation such as Timor-Leste, limits were needed to the regulator's powers.

"The regulators must not be able to control everything but space must be given for people to work freely and responsible; that's important," he said.

He warned the government against trying to put limits on press freedom which he said was integral to development and the expression of ideas by leaders and others. "We hope that this initiative is not aimed at curtailing our freedoms but at strengthening the system which exists," he said.

Source: http://www.thediliweekly.com/en/news/news/12742-timor-leste-to-set-up-media-regulatory-body

Environment & natural disasters

SEMA reviews biodiversity 5 year plan for Timor-Leste

Dili Weekly - October 14, 2014

Paulina Quintao – The Secretariat of State for the Environment (SEMA) has conducted a workshop with stakeholders to review Timor-Leste's five-year biodiversity plan.

Secretariat of State for Environment general director Joao Carlos Soares said the new structure of the secretariat necessitated a review of the plan. "We are not able to properly patrol the forest because we have only three or four rangers," he said.

He said the workshop was an important step in improving co-ordination with stakeholders in order to protect maritime resources such as fish and reefs as well as land animals.

Hasatil organization co-ordinator Gil Oracio Boavida said the meeting collected ideas from everyone present on how to best manage and protect resources.

He said SEMA had done great work in conserving resources but progress needed to be evaluated to address challenges in the future.

Source: http://www.thediliweekly.com/en/news/capital/12754-sema-reviews-biodiversity-5-year-plan-for-timor-leste

Health & education

HIV rates on the rise

Dili Weekly - October 28, 2014

Paulina Quintao – Three HIV/AIDS patients are receiving intensive treatment at the Bairo-Pite clinic for complications of their compromised immune systems.

Bairo-Pite clinic director Dr Dan Murphy said HIV/SAIDS was a significant problem in Timor-Leste due to porous borders. "HIV rates are increasing," he said.

Dr Dan said 40 people were undergoing anti-retroviral treatment at Bair- Pite. He said the clinic had sufficient medicine stocks as the medication was provided through a global fund which is administered through the Ministry of Health.

Dr Dan said education was an important step to preventing the spread of the disease. He said sufferers were often unaware they had the disease, and as a result, passed it on to others.

National Commission to Combat HIV/AIDS – Timor-Leste (CNCS-TL) executive secretary Daniel Marcal said the commission had a big role to play in the prevention of the disease, along with government institutions, civil society groups and religious authorities.

CNCS-TL is conducting a campaign to educate people about the transmission of the virus and prevention methods aimed at Dili residents and those living near the Indonesian border.

"We will coordinate with the National Commission to Combat AIDS/HIV Indonesia to disseminate the information to border areas such as Oe-cusse, Batugade and Suai as it is people in these communities who are most likely to get the virus, particularly youth," he said.

Ministry of Health statistics show 426 cases of HIV/AIDS were diagnosed between 2003 and March 2014.

Source: http://www.thediliweekly.com/en/news/health/12810-hiv-rates-on-the-rise

East Timor striving for universal access to health care

The Lancet - October 25, 2014

Chris McCall – More than a decade on from gaining independence, East Timor has made gains in health but still faces an uphill battle to achieve universal health coverage and access. Chris McCall reports.

A small half-island on the equator came to independence in ruins with high-quality, free health care for all as a key goal. More than a decade on, East Timor is still working to leave behind centuries of oppression, but idealism is not dead in the capital Dili. The people developing East Timor's health system still want a future without the pitfalls of medicine in more prosperous countries.

When asked about his vision for East Timor's health system, Health Minister Sergio Lobo says it is about access. He compares East Timor with its richer neighbours, Malaysia, Singapore, and Australia. In those countries, he says, not everyone can always access their world-class health services. "In Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, any problem, they will fix it. The services are there, but not for everybody", Lobo told The Lancet.

Lobo is a surgeon who trained in Indonesia, the country that brutally occupied East Timor for 24 years until 1999. As punishment for East Timor's decision to vote for independence that year, Indonesia's military and its East Timorese militia allies went on a rampage of violence, trashing the country and leaving nearly every house in ruins.

After 2 years of UN-led administration, it achieved independence in 2002. Many buildings have still not been repaired today, but a lot has changed. East Timor now has oil wealth from mineral resources in the Timor Sea to the south. Dili has shopping complexes and advertising hoardings. At least a few people now are visibly wealthy, even if most are clearly not. Even a new round of internecine fighting in 2006 is receding into history.

Much of the government's new money has gone into building up the health system and results are starting to show. In September, WHO honoured East Timor for its rapid progress towards eradicating malaria, noting that only three deaths from malaria were recorded in 2013.

During the conversation, Lobo returns several times to his vision. He talks about having a socialist attitude to health, with a capitalist mentality. He talks about changing the mindset of the people from a hospital-based to a community-based approach. He talks a lot about public health and good use of money.

"We opted for free health care for everybody and sometimes this is not used properly. I am conducting some studies on health financing. For now the commitment of the state is to go for free health care for everybody", he said. "For us to have free health care for everybody, it has to be affordable."

Lobo has had some difficult decisions to make. Not long ago, he was criticised in parliament for buying motorbikes for his doctors instead of ambulances. His argument was that it was a better use of funds. For the price of 19 ambulances, he got 600 motorbikes. "They increase the mobility of the doctors. With one ambulance we spend a lot of money. Many times the patient dies during the trip – very bad roads", he said.

Making progress

East Timor now has a medical school, a nursing school, and a midwifery school. The first post-independence government was led by the left-leaning Fretilin party. Fretilin negotiated for Cuban doctors to come in and the medical school has adopted a Cuban model. Not everyone is convinced it is the perfect one for East Timor.

The current health minister is part of a centrist coalition led by former resistance leader and current Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao. There are advantages and disadvantages in the Cuban approach, Lobo says. It is strong on public health, but less strong on basic clinical skills like suturing. In Cuba, where there is a highly structured health system, this is less of an issue than in East Timor, where many clinics are isolated.

From Dili's harbour you can see an island called Atauro. By an accident of history it is part of East Timor. It has a dark history as a prison island for the Portuguese, the Japanese, and the Indonesians, who left thousands who opposed Indonesian rule there to survive or die.

Most of Atauro's 10,000 people live a subsistence lifestyle, growing crops or catching fish. They now have a health clinic again, although the emergency room is basic. The island has eight doctors and four nurses. It has an airfield and emergency flights by plane or helicopter are possible. Not long ago, cases requiring emergency surgery had to get to Dili by boat.

Nurse Januario Soares says very few cases of malaria are now being reported. A few years ago, if they tested for malaria it routinely came back positive. His colleague Isabel Afonso is aged just 25 years and qualified as a midwife 2 years ago. She is part of the new generation of East Timorese medical professionals. Both trained in Indonesia, at different times.

Weak infrastructure

Distance, time, and infrastructure are issues across the country. The centre is mountainous. The south coast is hard to reach by land transport.

Foreign health workers say it has also been held back by widespread superstitions – eg, a common belief that the first milk produced after childbirth, the yellowish colostrum, is bad for the baby. In some areas, it was routinely thrown out and replaced with sugar water, although such practices are becoming less common.

As an example of the infrastructure problems, the health minister cites the cost of sending a letter to Dili from one of the main regional towns, Viqueque. "If you want to send a letter from Viqueque to Dili you will spend around US$200. You have to send a car. We have no postal service. We are lacking the basic infrastructure", Lobo said. "Many of the health- related issues are outside the competence of the Minister of Health."

In the wet season, another problem is dengue fever, spread by mosquitoes like malaria. The country's drains are poor and badly in need of renovation.

East Timor has no MRI scanner. There is one CT scanner but it is old. The only radiologists are two Cuban doctors. Radiology is limited and the machines often break down because of overuse.

Most of the health budget goes on salaries and medicines. A doctor can earn from $500 to $1500 a month, not a princely sum but more than adequate for a country like East Timor. However, there are very few medical specialists. Its home-grown medical graduates can practise in East Timor, but the local medical degree is generally not recognised overseas.

Unfortunately, the only places where these young doctors can do specialist training to international standards are all outside East Timor. Lobo says he is seeking ways around this situation, which might involve foreign specialists coming to work in East Timor with local doctors assisting, who then go overseas simply as observers.

One of the most insidious problems, however, is malnutrition, which potentially affects the next generation's mental ability. East Timor's population is young and growing, with around 171 million people. Malnutrition rates in children have slowly been coming down but in 2013 still stood at 51%. Many people walking around Dili are visibly thin. "It affects people in the most productive years of life, children of school age, in the periods where the brain is being formed. It will affect their IQ", said Lobo.

In theory, doctors in rural areas are supposed to make two visits a month to children with malnutrition. But whether this is always possible is doubtful. Not far from the minister's office is that of another doctor, Dan Murphy, an American who came to East Timor at the time of the 1999 violence. At Bairo Pite clinic, ordinary East Timorese queue for hours to see "Dr Dan".

East Timor should not be sitting on its laurels just yet, he says. The demands being made on the young East Timorese doctors are intense. Often they are virtually on their own in remote clinics with little support.

Malaria might be coming under control but the country remains disorganised and much basic work has not been done. There is no real pathology service at all, he says, making it pointless to take a biopsy even if it is clinically indicated. "We don't even vaccinate newborns for hepatitis B", Murphy added.

One of his main concerns is tuberculosis, which he says is shockingly common. Dealing effectively with it and providing good directly observed therapy, during which patients are regularly observed taking specialised antibiotics over several months, is a challenge, he says. It might involve doing things in cheap, non-traditional but effective ways.

"What you need is a network that goes all the way out to the village. Not necessarily a nurse. It could be someone who is trained up. In fact these people might do it better", he said.

But when asked about what he would like to see in East Timor in the decades to come, Murphy's answer echoes that of the minister. He also talks about injustice in health care and about how East Timor has a chance to do things right that other countries have not. "What we would like to see here is breaking down some of those barriers. And getting quality health care in the whole country", Murphy said. "You have got to have good management. I am learning that the process takes a lot of time and you also have to have an ability to learn from your mistakes. Resources tend to accumulate at the top. Here we are starting to get some infrastructure. We can make a phone call to nearly every village now."

But he added: "We don't have development in enough areas to make health care really good and reasonable."

His main concern is also similar to the minister's. It is about how to maintain the uniqueness of this culturally rich half-island nation, where people flick between three or four languages as easily as picking up a piece of paper. "The trick is how do we develop East Timor and still maintain the beautiful quality of East Timorese people – being friendly, helping one another out", he said.

Source: http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2814%2961926-7/fulltext?rss=yes

Tuberculosis on the rise

Dili Weekly - October 22, 2014

Paulina Quintao – Tuberculosis is on the rise in Timor-Leste with new patients registered every day, says Bairo-Pite clinic director Dr Daniel Murphy.

Dr Dan said people needed to be made aware of the risk factors for tuberculosis and called for a strategy to arrest the disease's spread. About 400 patients test positive for tuberculosis in Timor-Leste each year.

Dr Dan said Bairo-Pite clinic treated tuberculosis patients in accordance with World Health Organization protocol. Medicines were in good supply as they are provided by a global fund administered through the Ministry of Health.

Motael Clinic manager Jacinto dos Reis Alves said the Ministry of Health was working with local and international partners to treat tuberculosis patients in all 13 districts.

Alves said the infectious disease had a long recuperation time, with children needing six months to recover while adults are often sick for more than eight months.

Forty patients were being treated for tuberculosis while some have recovered, he said. He said the Motael Clinic was able to treat patients free of charge as the medicines were supplied by the Ministry of Health.

Source: http://www.thediliweekly.com/en/news/news/12786-tuberculosis-on-the-rise

MP: Health directors slackers

Dili Weekly - October 22, 2014

Paulina Quintao – Members of Parliament (MPs) have criticized health directors who they say are prone to walking off the job during office hours.

MP Domingas Alves da Silva, alias Bilou Mali, urged the Ministry of Health to ensure its public servants were at their office for their rostered hours.

"In Viqueque I witnessed with my own eyes that it was the deputy director who was working while the director was planting bananas and farming," she said in Parliament.

She said the Ministry of Health should warn its workers that such attitudes towards work would mean patients would not receive effective medical treatment.

MP da Silva said the problem of health workers abandoning patients to run personal errands was not confined to Viqueque. MP Antonio Ximenes Serpa agreed health directors should not leave patients unattended.

"Many health workers say they have to visit their families as a reason to leave work, therefore it is necessary to post them where they live so the treatment of the public is not affected," he said.

He said district-based civil servants often disregarded their office hours which run from 8.30am to 5.30pm. Some came in at 10am, left at midday and did not return for the afternoon, he said.

MP Serpa said doctors were also guilty of leaving their posts without permission.

"Patients come to the health center at 2 in the afternoon but there is nobody there," he said. "Sometimes the lives of the patients were not able to be saved because help came too late".

Health Minister Sergio da Costa Lobo acknowledged the issue and said some district-based health staff regularly left their offices to travel to Dili.

A teleconference system had been set up this year to allow district-based health directors to participate in national meetings without travelling to Dili, he said.

Source: http://www.thediliweekly.com/en/news/health/12780-mp-health-directors-slackers

Pregnant teens booted off scholarship program

Dili Weekly - October 15, 2014

Paulina Quintao – Women's advocacy group Alola Foundation has withdrawn funding from five scholarship recipients because they fell pregnant. Alola Foundation executive director Alzira Reis said the aim of the scholarship program was to provide opportunities to vulnerable young women to access formal education.

"We have withdrawn their scholarships and we are looking for other people with an equal level of education to replace them," she said. She said there would be no opportunity for the pregnant women to access Alola Foundation scholarships in future.

However, the Alola Foundation is involved in lobbying the government to develop a policy which would make it easier for young mothers to return to school after giving birth.

Reis said the Alola Foundation provided life skills and reproductive health education to scholarship holders so they could determine their own futures.

Bobonaro woman Tania Fatima said teenage girls fell pregnant due to a lack of sex education. "They don't have the right information and they give into temptation," she said.

Viqueque woman Melisa Maria Madalena Amaral said teen pregnancy was not confined only to Bobonaro but affected all districts, including her own.

The Alola Foundation awarded scholarships to 262 primary, secondary and university students. The program received a $100,000 grant from Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Source: http://www.thediliweekly.com/en/news/education/12764-pregnant-teens-booted-off-scholarship-program

AIDS shelter to lessen sting of discrimination

Dili Weekly - October 14, 2014

Paulina Quintao – The National Commission to Combat HIV/AIDS – Timor- Leste (CNCS-TL) is working in partnership with the government to establish a shelter to house HIV/AIDS sufferers.

CNCS-TL planning and assessment national director Venancio Coelho said this initiative was intended not to discriminate against sufferers but to provide them with a place to rest and recuperate.

"We're not trying to isolate them from society because this would contravene their rights, and as citizens they have the right to live freely and to access education and public facilities," he said.

He said the shelter would allow district-based HIV/AIDS sufferers to stay in Dili for treatment, along with those who may have been ostracized by their family or community as a result of their condition.

"For those facing stigma and discrimination, the shelter is a place for them to stay to get their health check-ups," Coelho said.

He said the facility was currently under construction at Tibar and would soon be ready to take patients, despite the fact staff and other resources were in short supply.

Local organizations Esperansa and Estrela Plus are working with CNCS-TL to get the word out to patients.

Coelho said Timorese people knew little about HIV/AIDS and it would take time to convince people to be accepting of those with the disease.

Ministry of Health data shows that from 2003 to March 2014, 426 cases of HIV/AIDS were diagnosed in Timor-Leste. Of this number, 41 patients have died, 146 patients are undergoing treatment and a further 239 patients are unaccounted for.

Commission F (education, health, culture, veterans' affairs and gender) equality member Ilda Maria da Conceicao voiced her in-principle support for initiative but said a feasibility study was needed.

"We need to look carefully at this issue because when people are admitted to this shelter, people in the community will know they have this disease and they are at risk of being humiliated," she said.

She said it was important to raise awareness of the disease so community members were aware of the disease, thereby reducing its stigma. "I think it might be better to keep the clinic low-key so there will not be discrimination against patients," she said.

Source: http://www.thediliweekly.com/en/news/news/12744-aids-shelter-to-lessen-sting-of-discrimination

Sexual & domestic violence

JSMP: Government needs to set up mobile closed Courts

Dili Weekly - October 28, 2014

Venidora Oliveira – The Judicial System Monitoring Program (JSMP) has recommended the Ministry of Justice establish a mobile court to try sensitive cases such as the sexual abuse of minors.

JSMP executive director Luis Oliveira Sampaio said underage victims of sexual abuse needed a safe place to testify.

"Last year we had a case involving the sexual abuse of a minor in Maliana," he said. "The trial was open to the public and members of the public were clapping their hands while the victim was trying to give a deposition. This is not acceptable."

He said it was common for such trials to be held in open court in places such as police stations and administrative halls. "The government needs to establish a specific place for such sensitive cases," he said.

Member of Parliament Albina Marcal agreed with the JSMP director. "I support JSMP's idea to urge the government to create purpose-built places for mobile trials," she said. "The government should take this into consideration."

She said while the system of open trials in the district was problematic, it was better than nothing, as it allowed rural residents to access justice. "They don't need to spend money to get to the district court; cases can be judged in their own villages," she said.

Justice Minister Deonisio Babo said his ministry had worked with local authorities to identify locations to hold trials. "It was them who provided the locations such as suco administration buildings and other places they thought were suitable for trials," he said.

He said it was not necessary to construct purpose-built locations for mobile trials.

Babo denied sensitive cases were held in open court. "All sensitive cases are judged in closed court and the ethics of the court are always obeyed," he said.

Source: http://www.thediliweekly.com/en/news/children-youth/12814-jsmp-government-needs-to-set-up-mobile-closed-courts

Child sex abuse rates high

Dili Weekly - October 8, 2014

Venidora Oliveira – Sexual abuse against minors is a major problem in Timor-Leste, according to research by the Judicial System Monitoring Program (JSMP).

JSMP legal researcher Rita Marques said the courts in Dili, Suai, Baucau and Oe-Cusse ere continually hearing cases of sexual abuse against minors. "Rates of sexual abuse against minors are very high," she said.

Marquez said sexual abuse cases were tried in court each week. The cases are also being heard during mobile court sessions to districts. Victims of sexual abuse receive counselling at Casa Vida and other protection centers.

Twelve incidents of sexual abuse involving minors were tried in 2013, 28 in 2012, 19 in 2011 and 23 in 2010.

National Commission for Children's Rights president Maria Bareto said the JSMP report showed to all stakeholders the need for serious action to combat violence against children. "These cases are a serious concern for the government and all of us. We need to combat it," she said.

Bareto said laws prohibiting violence against children must be enforced in order to deter other would-be offenders.

Source: http://www.thediliweekly.com/en/news/children-youth/12732-child-sex-abuse-rates-high

Civil service & bureaucracy

More than 22,000 former Indonesian public servants about to get the pension

Dili Weekly - October 8, 2014

Paulina Quintao – The Secretariat of State for Vocational Training and Employment (SEPFOPE) has validated more than 22,000 former Indonesian employees to get their pensions.

The National Director for Work Relations, SEPFOPE, Angelo dos Santos Veloso, said the beneficiaries comprise former police officers, military and others employees. He added the list has already been sent to the 13 districts so payments can be processed.

"The funds have already been transferred to SEPFOPE's bank account at BNCTL for the more than 22,000. Payments begun in July and will continue until December 2014," said Director Veloso, at the National Parliament.

He said the supplementary payments (THT) were done previously and this year payments will be made to pensioners.

Director Veloso said also to all those whose names are not on the list that there will be a verification process and the names will be submitted to Indonesian authorities so they can cross check against their database. "SEPFOPE only processes the payments but the funds come from Indonesia."

Meanwhile, Ex Indonesian Army officer, Francisco Aparicio, said this is the duty of the Indonesian government to pay the entitlements of its former employees.

"I think there is a need to socialize the information and data, so there are no problems between the beneficiaries and the team making the payments."

Source: http://www.thediliweekly.com/en/news/capital/12730-more-than-22-000-former-indonesian-public-servants-about-to-get-the-pension

Social & communal conflicts

POLKOM works with local authorities to eliminate conflict

Dili Weekly - October 27, 2014

Martinha Gusmao – National Director for Conflict Prevention Lidia Lopes says co-operation between Community Police (POLKOM) and local leaders is necessary to eliminate conflict in neighbourhoods.

Lopes said as POLKOM was a newly established, unit, officers needed more training in conflict prevention. She suggested providing civic education to youth about how to eliminate conflict in their neighbourhoods.

"We have done civic education about eliminating conflict in six districts; Viqueque, Baucau, Aileu, Dili, Ermera and Bobonaro," she said.

Commission B (security, defence and foreign affairs) member Ana da Conceicao Ribeiro said conflict prevention was the responsibility not only of security workers and local authorities, but also of all Timorese citizens.

Ribeiro said co-operation with the church may also be necessary to eliminate conflict. She asked for parents to control their children but not to get involved in conflicts themselves. Youth were the biggest contributors to conflict, she said.

National Youth Council of Timor-Leste (CNJTL) president Leovigildo Hornai said conflict was a result of human nature.

He said CNJTL did not have the power to control youth in each neighbourhood but the organization would work together with village heads to minimize conflict. "We heard from village heads about conflicts in their villages and we tell to leaders to try to calm the situation," he said.

Source: http://www.thediliweekly.com/en/news/security-defencejustice/12800-polkom-works-with-local-authorities-to-eliminate-conflict

Judiciary & legal system

East Timor government to sack foreign judges, advisers

ABC Radio Australia - October 27, 2014

Sara Everingham – East Timor, a country that counts Australia as a major donor, is sacking all the foreign judges and advisers in its justice system.

The decision was made in a closed session of parliament in Dili on Friday night amid concerns about the judiciary's handling of a bitter dispute between East Timor and oil companies operating in the Timor Sea.

The resources companies, such as ConocoPhillips, have been challenging $360 million in tax payments and in the Dili courts the cases have not been going East Timor's way.

The Timorese government had criticised the way the public prosecutor handled the cases and argued the courts had misunderstood the country's tax laws.

"There has been some issues regarding decisions that were made that did not comply with our laws," said Joao Goncalves, a former government minister who works in the office of prime minister Xanana Gusmao.

The parliamentary vote to sack the judges was not unanimous, with some members of the opposition Fretilin party voting against it. Fretilin party member Estanislau da Silva said he was concerned the decision would be seen as "interference in the justice system".

Sydney-based lawyer Warren Wright, who worked in East Timor for the United Nations, shared the concerns. "My own opinion is that on the face of it, it constitutes a violation of the separation of powers, and an undue interference by the legislature in the judicial system," he said.

Mr Wright said the decision to remove the judges would also strain East Timor's justice sector.

"Up to 12 per cent of the judges in East Timor are from foreign jurisdictions, and removing all of those judges suddenly, of course it's going to have some rather concerning implications for the human resources aspect of the judicial sector."

But Mr Goncalves insisted the resolution was justified. "Of course, you know, for the government and for the national parliament of course to act on that," he said.

East Timor may seek NSW help to overhaul justice system

As a young developing nation, East Timor relied on international staff to help establish its judicial system. But the parliament's resolution said the international staff lacked capacity to do their jobs, let alone to train and empower East Timorese judicial officers.

The East Timor government was cancelling their contracts, whether they were judges from Portuguese-speaking countries or international advisers working in bodies such as the anti-corruption commission.

"This is correct, yes all the international judges and advisers within the judicial system, which means with the courts, the prosecutor's office and everything that is the judicial system," Mr Goncalves said.

He said East Timor could seek help from bodies such as the NSW Judicial Commission to help with an audit of the justice system.

Earlier this year, the outgoing president of East Timor's highest court, Claudio Ximenes, raised concerns about the judicial system.

AM obtained his resignation letter. He wrote that what was happening constituted a violation of the principles on which justice was founded.

He argued that a corruption case involving a government minister was compromised because judges were asked to make assessments of their own decisions.

Source: http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/international/2014-10-27/east-timor-government-to-sack-foreign-judges-advisers/1383089

Police & law enforcement

PNTL overrun with gangsters

Dili Weekly - October 27, 2014

Estevao Nuno – The National Police of Timor-Leste (PNTL) is overrun by gangsters involved in criminal behaviour, according to Member of Parliament David Dias Ximenes.

"They assault people night and day," he said. "Commission B will find these gangsters in the police and they will be fired immediately. They will not go free."

Ximenes said police were supposed to enforce law and order, not to become perpetrators of violence themselves.

He gave the example of a recent case in which police called to a gang fight in Bairo-Pite are alleged to have beaten 28-year-old Rivaldo Amaral Soares Fernandes so badly the man, who had no involvement in the fight, ended up in intensive care.

Ximenes said he alleged victim's family had sent a letter to the Ministry of Public calling for action against rogue officers.

Fundasaun Mahein director Nelson Belo said he was concerned about police involved in criminal behaviour. "We have laws which dictate when police are justified in using force and when they must use a different approach," he said. He said violence by police officers would erode public trust in PNTL.

Belo said PNTL commanders issued disciplinary penalties against offending officers and the Public Ministry could prosecute in cases where official complaints or allegations were received.

Dili student Lorenso Alves said he had witnessed police using excessive force. "When people are sitting on the side of the road at night, the police come out and start hitting them without reason," he said. "They have no ability to solve problems."

In response the Second General Commander of the PNTL, Commissioner Afonso de Jesus rejected and does not agree with the accusation and the words of MP David Diaz Ximenes.

"Because those who become part of the police receive training and are carefully selected. Not just anyone is selected," said Commissioner de Jesus. He added that if a member of the police behaves in a criminal manner against the community; it has the duty to present a complaint to the Public Ministry.

Source: http://www.thediliweekly.com/en/news/security-defencejustice/12804-pntl-overrun-with-gangsters

Foreign affairs & trade

Sjafrie says Xanana was misquoted

Jakarta Post - October 11, 2014

Jakarta – Deputy Defense Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin denied that Timor Leste Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao made a statement saying that his country wanted to reunite with Indonesia.

Sjafrie issued the clarification following numerous online news outlets that reported Xanana stating that the country wanted to join Indonesia, more than 15 years after Timor Leste achieved independence through a United Nations-sponsored referendum.

Sjafrie, who accompanied Xanana during his visit to Surabaya, East Java, to attend the 69th anniversary of the Indonesian Military (TNI), said that the Timor Leste Prime Minister never made such a statement and that he was misquoted by the local media.

"The Indonesian government has recognized the sovereignty of Timor Leste since its independence and Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao never made such a statement about joining Indonesia," Sjafrie said as quoted by tribunnews.com.

Sjafrie added that Xanana did speak with Indonesian officials, but that the discussion concerned border and security issues as well as cooperation between armed forces, especially concerning the training of Timor Leste soldiers.

Several journalists who interviewed Xanana during the TNI anniversary celebration later acknowledged that they mistook Xanana's use of the word "we won't," with "we want."

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/10/11/sjafrie-says-xanana-was-misquoted.html

SBY awards Adipurna Star to Aquino, Gusmao

Jakarta Post - October 11, 2014

Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono bestowed the country's highest award, the Adipurna Star, on Philippine President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III and East Timor Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao at the Bali Democracy Forum on Friday, stating both leaders' commitment to promoting bilateral ties.

Yudhoyono stated that Aquino's efforts to strengthen bilateral ties between the two countries had helped boost economic growth in both the Philippines and Indonesia by more than 10.9 percent in the past five years.

"Aquino's commitment to bilateral economic cooperation has benefited both sides," Yudhoyono said on Friday as quoted by Antara news agency. The President also voiced appreciation for the Philippines' attempt to peacefully resolve maritime border issues with Indonesia.

After accepting the award, Aquino praised Yudhoyono for his efforts in settling maritime disputes between the two countries, which come against the backdrop of the Philippines' maritime issues with China in the South China Sea.

"With his assuring leadership, our two nations were able to resolve in an amicable manner the issue concerning our maritime boundaries in the Mindanao Sea and the Celebes Sea, thus moving our nations forward with an even deeper trust in each other," Aquino said as quoted by the Philippine Inquirer.

Meanwhile, Yudhoyono praised Timor Leste's rule under Xanana Gusmao,saying that relations between the two countries had never been stronger.

"This is a great day for the symbolization of relations between Timor Leste and Indonesia. Such events as the Indonesia-Timor Leste Friendship Forum has further strengthened the ties between us," Yudhoyono said upon granting the award to Gusmao.

The President also claimed that both nations had signed 49 bilateral agreements aiming to boost cooperation, adding that bilateral trade had been boosted by 12.7 percent per year for the past five years.

Indonesia and Timor Leste have had tumultuous relations in the past, due to Indonesia's occupation of Timor in 1975 until its independence in 2002.

The 2014 Bali Democracy Forum runs for two days, concluding on Saturday, and will be Yudhoyono's eighth and final forum as the president. He finishes his 10-year term on Oct. 20.

Delegates from 85 countries in the Asia-Pacific region attended the forum with another ASEAN leader, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei, making a speech at the event. (dyl)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/10/11/sby-awards-adipurna-star-aquino-gusmao.html

Belarus, East Timor establish diplomatic relations

Belarusion News - October 2, 2014

Minsk (BelTA) – Belarus and East Timor have established diplomatic relations. The relevant joint communique was signed at the Belarusian Permanent Mission in the UN in New York on 1 October, BelTA learnt from the press service of the Foreign Ministry of Belarus.

The document was signed by Foreign Minister of Belarus Vladimir Makei and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of East Timor Jose Luis Guterres.

The ministers discussed cooperation prospects within international organizations, bilateral economic and humanitarian relations and the need to develop a bilateral contract and legal framework.

Source: http://eng.belta.by/all_news/politics/Belarus-East-Timor-establish-diplomatic-relations_i_76140.html

Mining & energy

Women make an impact in resources industry

Dili Weekly - October 8, 2014

Paulina Quintao – Petroleum and minerals extraction may be seen as an industry dominated by men but Timorese women have shown they too have the capacity to get the job done.

Petroleum and Mineral Resources minister Alfredo Pires said women make a positive contribution to the resources industry. Pires said many leadership roles within the industry were occupied by women.

The president of the Timor Gap board is a woman, and women are represented on the Petroleum National Authority in geology and geophysics roles, he said. Within the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources (MPRM) women led the national minerals administration finance division.

The minister said he believed women's participation in the petroleum industry was higher in Timor-Leste than in other nations. He said MPRM provides opportunities to women to take charge as these women had the capacity and experience to perform well.

National Minerals Directorate director Elga Pereira said women needed to be confident in their abilities to do their jobs. "Foreign investors also challenge women to participate in the petroleum and minerals industries as Timor-Leste is a new country," she said.

She asked women not to be reluctant to compete with men for jobs. "Women who have the capacity to do these jobs must not be shy but must try to learn more from their job everyday so they have the confidence to compete with men," she said.

Source: http://www.thediliweekly.com/en/news/gender/12734-women-make-an-impact-in-resources-industry

Economy & investment

Timor-Leste urged to boost PFM and become less oil dependent

Public Finance International - October 24, 2014

Judith Ugwumadu – The government of Timor-Leste must further strengthen its public financial management in order to smooth spending over the long term to avoid a 'fiscal cliff', the International Monetary Fund has said.

It also urged the Southeast Asian country to develop its agriculture, tourism and energy sectors to increase employment opportunities and expand the tax base.

Economic developments in the country have been good since it regained independence in 2002, the IMF said, with growth expected to reach 6.6% this year and accelerate to 6.8% in 2015. But Timor-Leste remains one of the most oil-dependent countries, with oil accounting for around 95% of government revenues and 80% of Gross Domestic Product.

Oil revenues have been saved through the Petroleum Fund and has now amassed assets over $16bn, approximately four times the country's GDP, the IMF said.

But the country is now at risk of depleting the Petroleum Fund through excessive spending because of declining oil production and has been urged to find new revenue sources.

Timor-Leste was encouraged to safeguard sound public finances by scaling back public expenditure to a more sustainable level. The IMF said spending on critical infrastructure, human capital, and well-targeted social programs remains a priority.

The fund said: 'The country should broaden the non-oil tax base with a view to limiting excessive withdrawals from the Petroleum Fund.

'More broadly, [there is] a need for further improvements in public financial management, including the public sector's balance sheet, and a closer alignment of expenditure allocations with implementation capacity to help contain fiscal risks. Deeper structural reforms are needed to support sustainable growth and poverty reduction.'

Source: http://www.publicfinanceinternational.org/news/2014/10/timor-leste-urged-to-boost-pfm-and-become-less-oil-dependent/

Government in hot water for shunning local products

Dili Weekly - October 15, 2014

Paulina Quintao – The decision by the government to use Indonesia bottled water at recent international events such as the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP) conference, instead of a local product, has drawn criticism from community members.

Resident Almerio Afonso said the government should use such opportunities to support local businesses.

"The Secretary of State Filipe Nino Pereira said should love our local products, especially our fresh water," he said. "However, there was the Indonesian product Aqua in front of you at the CPLP conference."

Gota Fresh Water owner Nilton Telmo Gusmao dos Santos said local water brands had been used at some government functions in the past. "We are proud when our local products are used during events organized by the state," he said.

He said local companies could easily handle government contracts. The Gotta Fresh water factory has the capacity to produce 3000 bottles of fresh water per hour.

Dos Santos called on Timorese to support local businesses by using domestic products though he anticipated it would be difficult to change people's consumption habits.

"It takes time to change people's mentalities and to make them familiar with the products that are out there in the market and to have people accept them," he said.

Secretary of State for Industry and Co-operative Filipe Nino Pereira said he had sent a letter to the government imploring them to use local water from manufacturers including Bee Mor, TL Water, Gotta Fresh and H2O in future.

"In government run meetings, seminars and workshops they can use our domestic drinking water products," he said.

He said locally produced bottled water was safe and had been tested by the National Laboratory and had been certified safe by bodies including the World Health Organization and the governments of Indonesia and Singapore.

"The quality is guaranteed but our consumers here are used to drinking foreign water because they don't trust local products," he said.

Source: http://www.thediliweekly.com/en/news/capital/12760-government-in-hot-water-for-shunning-local-products

Sluggish private sector brings down growth

Dili Weekly - October 14, 2014

Paulina Quintao – Timor-Leste's 2014 non-petroleum sector derived economic growth is projected to hit 8 per cent, according to government estimates.

Economist Hans Anand Beck said the gross domestic product would fall this year due to the sluggish private sector.

He said it was difficult to contrast this year's projected results with the previous year's as the government is yet to announce 2013 economic figures. However he said Timor-Leste had performed favourably in comparison with its neighbours in Asia.

He said growth of the private sector – in particular the coffee, drinking water and food industries – was integral to reducing Timor-Leste's reliance on imports to stimulate further economic growth and enable the nation to develop quicker.

Beck said the private sector growth needed to be considered in relation to government infrastructure spending. While the private sector does not add directly to government expenditure, private ventures can fail if the government does not allocate adequate funds to the upgrade of public facilities such as roads and ports.

Member of Parliament Inacio Moreira said the government had failed to sufficiently stimulate the economy as the projected growth figure of 8 per cent was well short of previous growth targets of 12 per cent.

He said too much of investment was focused on foreign companies which did not re-invest profits in Timor-Leste.

Moreira said rising inflation meant pricing of basic goods was out-of-step with wages earned by the average Timorese worker. He urged the government to investigate the cause of Timor-Leste's slowing economy.

Source: http://www.thediliweekly.com/en/news/news/12740-sluggish-private-sector-brings-down-growth

Balibo Five

Balibo Five cover-up: When will it end in justice?

Sydney Morning Herald - October 27, 2014

Nick Xenophon – Last Tuesday would have been journalist Gary Cunningham's 67th birthday. But, tragically, Gary was killed in cold blood 39 years ago by the Indonesian army to prevent him from reporting about Indonesia's invasion of East Timor.

Also killed were his fellow newsmen, Greg Shackleton, Tony Stewart, Brian Peters and Malcolm Rennie.

Instead of quietly remembering his father on Tuesday, Gary's son, John Milkins, read news reports that the Australian Federal Police was abandoning its five-year investigation into the murder of Gary and the rest of the Balibo Five.

After years of the police interviewing witnesses to the murders, and building what seemed to the victims' families a water-tight case, the AFP suddenly claimed it didn't have the jurisdiction to investigate the crimes.

This is not true. And that is a fact that hasn't been missed by John.

"This is a clear case of moral bankruptcy," he said after the AFP announcement. "It seems that the Balibo Five have been traded off for boats, beef and the Bali Nine."

I understand John's anger. This looks a lot more like politics than police work. The federal police had to rely on legal advice, including an opinion from the Attorney-General's Department.

So let's take a closer look at the claim that the AFP doesn't have jurisdiction over the matter. Any sensible reading of international war crimes law shows the AFP has the power to investigate the murders and prosecute the guilty. Three tests need to be met to prove the AFP has jurisdiction.

First, we need to show the Indonesian military killed the journalists in the course OF an international armed conflict. Because East Timor was a Portuguese territory at the time, and because Portugal was a signatory to the Geneva Convention, this is the case.

Second, we have to show the murders had what is called a "nexus" with the armed conflict. That is, the murders were a direct result of the conflict. Witnesses say the journalists were killed to prevent them from reporting about the Indonesian invasion of East Timor.

Finally, we need to show they were "protected persons", and not soldiers. This is clearly the case.

So with those tests met, it's clear the AFP does have jurisdiction.

I rarely use terms like "cover-up" because it opens you up to criticism that you are some kind of conspiracy theorist. I am not. What I am is a lawyer and a politician, and coming from those two walks of life it is apparent to me that something is taking precedence over the rule of law in this matter. Like eight previous Australian governments, this government seems to want us all to forget about the murders.

Is the fear of offending Indonesia stronger than our commitment to justice and fundamental human rights? If so, that is incredibly patronising to Indonesia as it has transformed itself into a strong and robust democracy.

How can we assume the Indonesia of today, under its new reformist President Joko Widodo, isn't mature enough to start dealing with aspects of its darker past?

Perhaps, previous Australian governments have felt some guilt over the murders because, after all, Australia was complicit in the invasion of East Timor. Australia knew about Indonesia's plans ahead of time and did nothing to try and prevent them. Australia was the only democratic state that acknowledged Indonesia's sovereignty over East Timor even while Indonesian occupation resulted in the deaths of more than 204,000 East Timorese.

The AFP investigation followed a NSW Coronial inquest, which, effectively, named the suspects, so the federal police had a walk-up start.

As a nation, we cannot allow foreign soldiers to arrest, detain and then shoot and stab to death five innocent men, who were simply there to bear witness to an international scandal that's had repercussions for our region for the past four decades.

Over four decades, the reluctance to bring the murderers to justice is a national disgrace.

Talking to John Milkins about his father this week, I was struck by the thought that what had once been a search for justice for his dad had become something bigger.

"This isn't only about the Balibo Five," he said. "This is about fundamental human rights for all civilians killed in international conflicts."

And he is right. It might seem like a long time ago. But this isn't just about something that happened 39 years ago. The cover-up continues to this day.

[Nick Xenophon is a senator in Federal Parliament.]

Source: http://www.smh.com.au/comment/balibo-five-coverup-when-will-it-end-in-justice-20141026-11byyv.html

Bitter blow in fight for truth on Balibo Five

New Zealand Herald - October 25, 2014

Andrew Buncombe – Over the years, Maureen Tolfree has grown used to the lies and obfuscation, the tiny steps of progress followed by further setbacks. At the age of 69 she is not ready to be quiet, even though she is now in poor health.

The Briton has invested much of her energy over the past two decades trying to secure justice for her brother, Brian Peters, who at 29 was one of five journalists murdered by Indonesian soldiers on October 16, 1975, as the nation prepared to invade East Timor. Another journalist who went to probe the killings was also executed.

Indonesia has always insisted the so-called Balibo Five died in cross-fire. But after years of campaigning by Tolfree and other relatives, an Australian judge in 2007 ruled the journalists, who were working for two Australian television networks, were deliberately killed by Indonesian special forces to prevent news of the impending invasion from getting out.

The judge asked the Australian Federal Police (AFP) to investigate whether war crimes charges were applicable and if three senior Indonesian officers accused of ordering the killings could be summoned. This week, seven years on, the Australian police concluded they are unable to progress with such charges.

"During the investigation the AFP identified challenges associated with establishing jurisdiction. The investigation continued in an effort to overcome those issues," the force said. "[But] the AFP has concluded there is currently insufficient evidence to prove an offence. As a result, the AFP has exhausted all inquiries in relation to this matter and will be taking no further action."

Tolfree believes her brother – with fellow journalists Malcolm Rennie, 28, Kiwi Gary Cunningham, 27, Gregory Shackleton, 29, and Anthony Stewart – have been let down by political and strategic factors. There is widespread evidence the United States, Britain and Australia supported Indonesia taking charge of East Timor, at the time a Portuguese colony.

"I dispute that [finding]," she said from Bristol of the police's conclusion. "They have had the evidence since the coroner's inquest. I am disgusted, and I am sure the Australian people will be as well."

She said neither Australia, which has important energy deals with Jakarta, nor Britain, which has kept a close military relationship with Indonesia, wanted to rock the boat.

The news that Australian police were dropping their investigation came a day after Prime Minister Tony Abbott attended the inauguration of Indonesian President Joko Widodo. "No one ever wanted to upset the Indonesians," Tolfree said.

For years, she accepted the Indonesian claim the men had died in crossfire. It was only in 1994 while listening to a documentary about claims of Indonesian war crimes that she starting researching the killings.

She said documents showed Australia was aware of Indonesia's plan to invade East Timor, which finally gained independence in 2002. An estimated 100,000 people died during the Indonesian occupation.

Among those accused of taking part in a cover-up were Gough Whitlam, the then Australian Prime Minister who died this week. Despite documentary evidence, he always denied he knew of the Indonesian plans. He told the 2007 inquest he had advised Shackleton not to go to East Timor as it was too dangerous. "He was a bastard, if you excuse my French," said Tolfree, whose campaign has taken her to Canberra, East Timor and the United Nations.

She is not optimistic her brother or the other journalists will get justice. "There was only one good thing about this and that was that because they killed journalists it kept the story alive for the people of East Timor."

Source: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=11347898

Timor-Leste: Pressure mounts on NZ to reopen Balibo Five murder case

Pacific Media Centre - October 23, 2014

Wellington (Dominion Post/West Papua Action Auckland/Pacific Media Watch) – The New Zealand government is coming under pressure to have the Australian Federal Police reopen the war crimes investigation into the 1975 slaying of five journalists in East Timor by Indonesian special forces.

The journalists were killed while on assignment as they were covering the Indonesian invasion of Timor-Leste. They included one New Zealander, Gary Cunningham.

This week, the Australian Federal Police (AFP) dropped its investigation into the murders, claiming it did not have the evidence to prove that the men were murdered, even though a more senior legal body, the New South Wales Coroner's Office, had said earlier that there was proof that Indonesian soldiers Christoforus da Silva and Retired Lt General Yunus Yosfiah were responsible for the killings.

Yosfiah, who served as an Indonesian cabinet minister after allegedly slaying the five journalists, is alive and living in Jakarta.

It also emerged last week in response to a Parliamentary question that the AFP had never once asked Indonesia for assistance with the case.

Cunningham's son, John Milkins, has told the Dominion Post that he wanted the case re-opened. "Milkins is disappointed five years of police work and A$500,000 has been effectively wasted on a null outcome", the Dominion Post reported.

West Papua Action Auckland called on New Zealand's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Murray McCully, to pressure the Australian Federal Police to reveal why they did not attempt to extradite Yosfiah and anyone else involved with the war crime.

"The historical record shows that New Zealand has relied on Australia to take the initiative in the numerous inquiries that have taken place over the years into the deaths of journalists. It is time we became more proactive in the search for the truth," said the organisation's spokesperson, Maire Leadbeater.

"We are surprised and disappointed that there will be no move to prosecute those alleged to be responsible for the deaths of the five journalists under the terms of the Geneva Convention. We believe that the Sydney coronial hearing was conducted with great thoroughness – it involved the perusal of a mountain of confidential Australian government records, the hearing of evidence from the top echelons of the foreign affairs and intelligence bureaucracy, the appearance of Timorese witnesses including crucial evidence from several Timorese who were on the Indonesian side at the time of the Balibo killings," Leadbeater added.

West Papua Action Auckland described Cunningham as "a hero for peace". "He and his colleagues were trying to expose Indonesia's illegal incursion into the then Portuguese territory. Had the events not been covered up at the time a terrible 24 year long war might have been prevented. For the sake of the Balibo Five and the hundreds of thousands of victims of Indonesia's past brutal occupation of Timor Leste this matter cannot be allowed to drop", the group said.

Source: http:/www.pmc.aut.ac.nz/pacific-media-watch/timor-leste-pressure-mounts-nz-reopen-balibo-five-murder-case-9025

Son pushes for Timor case to be re-examined

Australian Associated Press - October 22, 2014

The son of New Zealander Gary Cunningham, who was killed with four other newsmen in the Timorese town of Balibo almost 40 years ago, wants the case re-examined.

Australian Federal Police yesterday dropped a war crimes investigation into the killings, saying they had insufficient evidence to prove an offence. The decision comes five years after the AFP launched a "complex and difficult" investigation into the deaths.

"As a result, the AFP has exhausted all inquiries in relation to this matter and will be taking no further action," it said in a statement to AAP.

Cunningham was a cameraman who was covering the Indonesian invasion of East Timor when he and Australians Greg Shackleton and Tony Stewart and Britons Brian Peters and Malcolm Rennie they were killed in Balibo, a border town, in 1975.

A New South Wales coroner in 2007 blamed the killings on Indonesian special forces soldiers.

Cunningham's son John Milkins wants the case re-examined as it was based on a morally and legally wrong brief. "I certainly think it should be investigated if there's been a miscarriage of justice because of a faulty legal premise," he told AAP.

Milkins is disappointed five years of police work and A$500,000 has been effectively wasted on a null outcome. But he also believes it's not the end in the fight for answers. "It's maybe a chapter closing," he said.

Shackleton's widow Shirley Shackleton described the AFP decision as a "shocking" and "terrible" outcome."You kill five people... and it doesn't constitute an offence?" "How would you feel if that was your son, your dad?"

She blamed the Office of International Law inside the Attorney-General Department's Office for the decision, saying it had provided the AFP with "spurious" advice.

She hopes to launch a court case at the highest level to get "proper answers"."I will keep on this until I die."

The police investigation was launched two years after a NSW coronial inquest concluded the Indonesian army had deliberately killed the "Balibo Five" to cover up its invasion. The case has been a long-running sore for Australia and Indonesian relations.

Source: http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/62619113/son-pushes-for-timor-case-to-be-reexamined

Whitlam supported conspiracy for Balibo Five controversy – Widow alleges

International Business Times - October 22, 2014

Athena Yenko – Former Prime Minister Gough Whitlam advocated a cover-up of the Balibo Five East Timor controversy, Shirley Shackleton believes. Shackleton is the widow of the Australian journalist Greg Shackleton who was allegedly killed in duty during the 1975 East Timor invasion.

The Balibo Five includes Australian recordist Tony Stewart, New Zealander cameraman Gary Cunningham; and two other British – cameraman Brian Peters and reporter Malcolm Rennie. Despite the cry over war crimes involving their deaths, Mr Whitlam had always upheld that the men were killed in the crossfire between the two warring forces, the Indonesian troops and East Timorese Fretilin forces.

Shackleton acknowledged that Mr Whitlam had good contribution as Australia's ex-prime minister. However, in relation with the issue surrounding the deaths of the Balibo Five, "he was appalling," she said.

Shackleton's fury came in the wake of an announcement from the Australian Federal Police or AFP saying that the agency had dropped the investigation on whether the killing of the Balibo Five constitutes war crimes. AFP said that "it has insufficient evidence to prove an offence."

"As a result, the AFP has exhausted all inquires in relation to this matter and will be taking no further action," AFP announced in a press conference on Tuesday.

Shackleton holds the Office of International Law responsible for the AFP's decision to drop the investigation. The Office had given the AFP advice based on bogus claims, she said. "I will keep on this until I die."

Curiously, in a Sept 9, 2009 media release from the AFP, the police seemed to have had implied that the investigation has the tendency to be dropped in the future. It said that the investigation regarding the war crime allegations has the tendency to be problematic since witnesses and proofs are offshore and there had already been "a significant period of time" that had passed since the alleged crime took place.

John Milkins, son of Cunningham, became sentimental upon learning of AFP's decision that coincided with the death Mr Whitlam. His father would have been 67 the day that the ex-prime minister died.

For Milkins, Mr Whitham had taken a "dark secret" in his death. He said that Mr Whitham's view of the incident had always been a subject of objection for the Cunninghams. As for AFP's decision, he said there should be a re-examination of the case "if there's been a miscarriage of justice because of a faulty legal premise."

Source: http://au.ibtimes.com/articles/570358/20141022/balibo-five-controversy-dropped-conspiracy.htm

Balibo Five: Investigation into deaths of five journalists dropped by AFP

ABC News - October 21, 2014

Sara Everingham – The Australian Federal Police (AFP) has abandoned a war crimes investigation into the killing of five Australian newsmen at Balibo in East Timor in 1975.

Five years ago the AFP launched an investigation into the deaths of Brian Peters, 29, Malcolm Rennie, 28, Gary Cunningham, 27, Gregory Shackleton, 29, and Anthony Stewart, 21, who were reporting on Indonesian military action.

In 2007, New South Wales deputy state coroner Dorelle Pinch found the five men died at Balibo in Timor Leste, also known as East Timor, on October 16, 1975.

In her inquest into the death of Peters, Ms Pinch concluded the men "died from wounds sustained when (they) were shot and or stabbed deliberately, and not in the heat of battle, by members of the Indonesian special forces, including (Commander) Christoforus Da Silva and Captain Yunus Yosfiah on the orders of Captain Yosfiah to prevent (them) from revealing that Indonesian special forces had participated in the attack on Balibo".

The AFP confirmed in a statement to the ABC they had abandoned their investigation into the killing of the men, who came to be known as the Balibo Five.

"The AFP has conducted an extensive review of the investigation," the statement read.

"During the investigation the AFP identified challenges associated with establishing jurisdiction. The investigation continued in an effort to overcome those issues.

"However, the AFP has concluded that there is currently insufficient evidence to prove an offence.

"As a result, the AFP has exhausted all inquiries in relation to this matter and will be taking no further action.

"The AFP has had ongoing consultation with the families throughout this complex and difficult investigation. Family members based in Australia and the United Kingdom were briefed by senior AFP investigators this evening."

The AFP said the men's families have been informed of the decision. In 2009, former Indonesian soldier Gatot Purwanto told the ABC the men were shot deliberately but not executed.

A few months after the deaths of the Balibo Five, another Australian journalist, Roger East, was killed in Indonesia. The Australian film Balibo, which is about the five men as seen through the eyes of East, was released in 2009.

Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-10-21/balibo-five-investigation-dropped-by-afp/5828814

Balibo Five Gough's 'dark secret'

Australian Associated Press - October 21, 2014

Gough Whitlam was a good leader who made one "terrible" mistake: never acknowledging the Indonesian military's invasion of East Timor.

That's the view of the widow of Australian journalist Greg Shackleton, one of a group of reporters known as the Balibo Five killed covering the 1975 incursion.

The group also included Australian sound recordist Tony Stewart, 21; cameraman Gary Cunningham, 27, from New Zealand; and two Britons – cameraman Brian Peters, 24, and reporter Malcolm Rennie, 29.

Then-prime minister Mr Whitlam, who died aged 98 on Tuesday, had always claimed the men were killed in the crossfire between Indonesian troops and East Timorese Fretilin forces.

Shirley Shackleton is disappointed the former prime minister never contacted her personally about the journalists' deaths. She believes Mr Whitlam advocated a cover-up of events in East Timor.

"He did so much good but in this particular thing, he was appalling," she told AAP. "His ego didn't allow him to say, 'Oh God I stuffed up there'."

For John Milkins, the passing of the former Australian leader comes with poignancy and irony. It's the same day his cameraman father Mr Cunningham would have turned 67.

Mr Milkins expressed his condolences to the family of Mr Whitlam, who he said left a positive legacy on the nation on many fronts. But he's taken a "dark secret" to his grave, Mr Milkins said.

"He always had a version of events I can't agree with and neither can our family," he told AAP. "But... perhaps he's having a beer with the (journalists) now."

A NSW coroner in 2007 blamed the deaths on Indonesian special forces soldiers, but said there was no evidence to suggest Mr Whitlam or subsequent governments knew they had been murdered and had covered it up.

Mr Whitlam's passing also comes on the same day the Australian Federal Police announced it had dropped a five-year war crimes investigation into the deaths.

Source: http://www.9news.com.au/national/2014/10/21/19/13/balibo-five-gough-s-dark-secret

AFP fails to question Jakarta in Balibo Five investigation

Sydney Morning Herald - October 13, 2014

Philip Dorling – Five years after opening an investigation into the Indonesian military's killing of five Australian journalists at Balibo in East Timor in 1975, the Australian Federal Police hasn't yet asked Jakarta to help pursue the people responsible for what's been described as a war crime.

The AFP made the admission in answers to questions asked by independent Senator Nick Xenophon about the Balibo murder probe at a Senate estimates committee hearing in February.

But it took the Federal Police seven months to advise the Senate that "an active investigation" into the murder of the Balibo Five was ongoing. The AFP says the investigation has "multiple phases" and results are still forthcoming from inquiries overseas. But the AFP has not sought any co- operation from Indonesia and "has not interacted with the Indonesian National Police".

The AFP said the ongoing nature of the investigation made it inappropriate to elaborate on what international inquiries had been made. But it did reveal that members of the families of the victims were last updated on developments in the investigation in June 2013.

In November 2007, after a lengthy coronial inquiry, NSW magistrate Dorelle Pinch recommended that the killings of Australian journalists Brian Peters, 29, Malcolm Rennie, 28, Gary Cunningham, 27, Gregory Shackleton, 29, and Anthony Stewart, 21, in October 1975 be investigated by the AFP as a war crime.

Ms Pinch found that the journalists were not armed, were dressed in civilian clothes, attempted to surrender and were not killed in the heat of battle. "They were killed deliberately on orders given by the [Indonesian] field commander, Captain Yunus Yosfiah," she concluded.

In November 2013, four years into the investigation, Fairfax Media reported key witnesses in East Timor were yet to be interviewed and that relatives of the murdered journalists were concerned that the investigation had effectively stalled.

The AFP tried to arrange a further briefing of relatives last week before the release of its answers to Senator Xenophon's questions. Shirley Shackleton, widow of Greg Shackleton, said she was insulted by the lack of progress, which she considered was part of the desire of successive Australian governments to avoid trouble with Jakarta.

"Every government stood by while murder and genocide took place in East Timor because they were concerned about one thing – trade. They've never been concerned about human rights," she said.

University of NSW associate professor Clinton Fernandes, a leading expert on Indonesian war crimes in East Timor, called on the Australian government to press the AFP to conclude the investigation and seek extradition of the former Indonesian military personnel responsible for the murders of the five journalists.

"Instead of shedding crocodile tears over journalists killed by repressive regimes on the other side of the world, this case should be pulled out of deep freeze, to which it's been consigned for political reasons,", Dr Fernandes said.

A secret United States embassy cable published by WikiLeaks in 2010 revealed that Yunus Yosfiah, who rose to become an Indonesian army general and later a government minister, was placed on an Australian government immigration blacklist to ensure he never enters Australia's legal jurisdiction.

Source: http://www.smh.com.au/national/afp-fails-to-question-jakarta-in-balibo-five-investigation-20141013-115ayu.html