Tony Moore – East Timor's former prime minister and president Dr Jose Ramos-Horta has appealed to Australia's sense of a "fair go", asking for a sea boundary to be changed to share $40 billion in oil and gas reserves in the Timor Sea.

Dr Ramos-Horta made the comments while in Brisbane for his keynote address to the two-day Age of Insecurities conference, organised by Griffith University to focus attention on human displacement, terrorism, refugee issues and problems facing emerging nations.

"Show your greatness, your traditional fairness and agree to the equi-distance," Dr Ramos-Horta said.

"And do not agree in a grudging way. Agree in an all-embracing way and offer yourselves to further develop this new area.

"When you are a big country like Australia you should also be humble and wise and embrace the weaker one. Because that would only make Australia greater."

However Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, speaking from Indonesia, said the existing boundaries had allowed East Timor to "build a $16 billion petroleum fund".

Australia, East Timor and Indonesia have for more than a decade disputed the maritime boundary in the Timor Sea over land that contains an estimated $40 billion in gas and oil reserves in the Greater Sunrise gas field that lies between the two countries.

Though East Timor received independence in 2002 and a Timor Sea Treaty signed, there was still no permanent sea border between Australia and East Timor.

Australia agreed to United Nations' compulsory conciliation in April 2016, a process which has a 12-month time frame for a recommendation to be made by the Permanent Court of Arbitration.

"They have accepted this UN mechanism which they would hope will be in their favour," Dr Ramos-Horta said in Brisbane.

"But they know it can go the other way around," he said. "And having accepted the mechanism, I know they are prepared to accept the final outcome of the reconciliation."

East Timor is arguing for a boundary "equi-distant between the two countries".

"Australia is a vast continent and a million times richer than Timor-Leste (East Timor)," Dr Ramos-Horta said in Brisbane.

In his keynote speech, he said Australia as the larger country had "in the past" felt it should have "the greater share" of the Timor Sea.

"And that we should be reduced to a few metres offshore," he told conference delegates. "From the logic of a big country, it seems to make sense. But Australia seemed shocked when we said we would not agree."

He said he was confident the conciliation debate would progress favourably but cited "some frictions" between the two countries.

Australian intelligence agents were accused by East Timor of bugging East Timor's cabinet rooms in 2004 as the debate began under a different 2006 treaty, the Certain Maritime Arrangements in the Timor Sea. Australia returned documents to East Timor in 2015, allegedly linked to the 2004 bugging.

A former Australia Secret Intelligence Service agent was denied a passport by the Australian government in February 2016 to travel to The Hague to give evidence about the alleged bugging.

More recent talks were positive, Dr Ramos-Horta said. "We hope that with wisdom and with patience, Australia will again show its solidarity to Timor-Leste, as it did in 1999.

"And after more than 15 years of tremendous tactical, locational and financial support to Timor-Leste, that Australia will finally agree to a equi-distant line. And we can have a better arrangement to the Timor Sea."

Ms Bishop said treaty obligations had enabled resource development to proceed, which had been of great benefit to Timor-Leste, "enabling it to accumulate a petroleum fund worth more than $16 billion"."That is in excess of eight times its annual GDP."

Ms Bishop said the detailed discussions were confidential, but were proceeding in "good faith".

"Australia and Timor-Leste are engaging in good faith in a conciliation regarding maritime boundaries," she said. "Australia and Timor-Leste do not agree on the method used to determine permanent boundaries."

Dr Ramos-Horta, originally as a spokesman for the Free East Timor movement, won the Nobel prize in 1996 for his role in representing the people of East Timor for three decades as they struggled to win their independence from Indonesia.

He eventually served as East Timor's first foreign minister (2002-2007), then prime minister (2006), before being appointed president of East Timor from 2007-2012. He now serves on a United Nation panel that reviews peace-keeping operations around the world.

Source: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/nobel-winner-calls-on-australia-to-show-fair-go-over-40b-timor-sea-oil-20161027-gsby26.html

Australia, East Timor to strive for agreement on disputed maritime boundary by

Straits Times - October 13, 2016

Amsterdam (Reuters) – Australia and East Timor [will] aim for an agreement over the disputed maritime boundary in resource-rich waters between their countries, a court said on Thursday (Oct 13), signalling a deal could be reached by next September.

Confidential meetings between the two countries have been "very productive" and would continue next year, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague said in a statement.

The court ordered compulsory arbitration in the case last month after East Timor requested the process against objections from Australia, which negotiated a revenue-sharing agreement that gave it until 2056 to settle the boundary issue.

Australia played a critical role in East Timor's independence from Indonesia in 2002 and shortly after that negotiated the revenue-sharing deal for the large Greater Sunrise oil and gas field. East Timor calls the deal unfair.

"All agreed we should aim to reach agreement within the timeframe of the conciliation process," the court said, referring to the compulsory arbitration. That process has a deadline of September 19, 2017.

"I was very pleased to see a sincere willingness on both sides to come together in a spirit of cooperation," said Mr Peter Taksoe-Jensen, who headed the arbitration talks. "Both sides are to be commended for being willing to move beyond past differences and work hard to create conditions conducive to achieving an agreement."

East Timor appealed to the court for the arbitration that could determine the border through the Greater Sunrise oil and gas field. It has said that Australian espionage on its diplomats rendered recent agreements on it flawed.

East Timor says the boundary should fall halfway between it and Australia, which had argued that defining the border that way could prompt Indonesia to also seek to shift its sea border and gain ownership of disputed oil fields.

Greater Sunrise contains an estimated 5.1 trillion cubic feet of gas and 226 million barrels of condensate, although the border dispute and low gas prices mean its development is on hold.

Source: http://www.straitstimes.com/asia/australianz/australia-east-timor-to-strive-for-agreement-on-disputed-maritime-boundary-by

The rules of extraction: Australia and the Timor Sea

The Strategist (ASPI) - October 10, 2016

Elisabeth Buchan – On 19 September, Timor-Leste won a minor victory in its ongoing dispute with Australia over rights to resources in the Timor Sea. The UN Conciliation Commission, convened under the Annex V conciliation proceedings of UN Convention of the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), rejected Australia's bid to block proceedings.

Australia has copped some heavy criticism over the affair. Though the Australian government indicated from the outset that it would challenge the ability of the commission to consider the dispute on the basis of existing agreements governing resource-sharing, Australia has been charged with avoiding international scrutiny. It has been suggested that the cornerstone agreement, the Treaty of Certain Maritime Arrangements in the Timor Sea (CMATS) was negotiated by Australia in bad faith, and exploited Timor-Leste's relative vulnerability. Australia has also been accused of hypocrisy in calling on China to respect the recent Arbitral Tribunal ruling (another UNCLOS dispute settlement mechanism) over the South China Sea (SCS).

There's already a substantial commentary regarding the merits of Timor-Leste's claims, or lack thereof. Instead, I'll unpack the claim that Australia's conduct is at odds with its position on the SCS arbitration. Two important distinctions apply. First, the procedures invoked by the Philippines and Timor-Leste under UNCLOS are different. Second, while China refused to participate in dispute resolution, Australia was entitled to contest jurisdiction and stated its willingness to engage constructively with proceedings.

Some history is helpful here. Australia's maritime border with Timor-Leste was determined through negotiation. Since Timor-Leste's independence, two major agreements were reached that provide temporary revenue sharing arrangements. The 2002, Timor Sea Treaty established a Joint Petroleum Development Area (JPDA), granting Timor-Leste 90% of resources revenue. The Great Sunrise gas field (GS) was placed 80% within Australian jurisdiction (from 95% in the previous agreement), and the remaining 20% within the JDPA. In 2006, CMATS saw Australia concede a 50/50 split of GS revenue with Timor-Leste, and established a 50 year moratorium on negotiations.

Australia – like Timor-Leste, The Philippines and China – is party to UNCLOS. Member states must settle disputes peacefully or, failing that, participate in compulsory dispute settlement procedures with binding decisions, subject to certain exceptions. One such exception allows parties to lodge a declaration to exclude sea boundary delimitation (SBD) from dispute resolution, a mechanism both Australia and China have invoked, along with many other states.

The Timor Sea dispute relates to SBD, so Australia could legitimately avoid the mechanisms for making legally-binding determinations on disputes. China can't because the SCS Arbitration doesn't concern SBD. The Philippines instituted proceedings before an Arbitral Tribunal, while Timor-Leste had to settle for a Conciliation Commission.

Both Australia and China have contested the jurisdiction of the Commission/Tribunal to determine their disputes. This has provoked allegations of rebuking the rules-based-order, which for Australia looks pretty hypocritical. But again, the situations are distinct.

China declined to participate in the SCS proceedings and dismissed the 'fatally flawed' ruling. Australia pursued its challenge through the procedure provided under UNCLOS, lodging an objection to the competence of the commission on two grounds. First, that CMATS precluded the commission from forcing Australia to conciliation. Second, that the proceedings were inadmissible because it violated the 50 year moratorium established by CMATS.

The Commission rejected both arguments, finding that CMATS wasn't sufficient to avoid compulsory settlement because it lacked an alternate means to settle disputes over maritime boundaries ('CMATS is an agreement not to resolve such disputes'), and subsequent negotiations hadn't produced agreement. The commission also decided that the violation of the moratorium didn't present an admissibility issue, and was for the parties to address elsewhere.

Australia's now obligated under UNCLOS to participate in conciliation proceedings. Australia will defend the boundaries negotiated under CMATS, which are based on an established legal concept that maritime boundaries should reflect the 'natural prolongation' of a state's sub-sea land territory. The principle formed the basis of previous maritime boundaries negotiated with Indonesia in the 70s and 80s. Timor-Leste wants CMATS abandoned, asserting that negotiations were carried out in 'bad faith' due to alleged Australian espionage activity. Instead, it seeks borders to drawn based on 'equidistance' – the median line between states.

If an 'amicable settlement' is not reached within 12 months, it will be for the Commission to form its own conclusions on an appropriate settlement to the dispute. Jurisprudence over the last 30 years has shifted toward the equidistance principle over natural prolongation, but this is not determinative. Other factors, such as the benefit Timor-Leste has gained from recent resource-sharing arrangements, may be taken into account. Though the Commission's conclusions aren't binding (unlike the SCS Arbitration), a finding in favour of the equidistance principle will be hard for Australia to ignore. But it's not certain Timor-Leste will be better off. To secure ownership of Greater Sunrise, the eastern lateral boundary of the JPDA would need to be adjusted in Timor's favour – a harder case to make.

Timor-Leste (quite reasonably) wants certainty over its maritime borders. It's fair to raise questions over the morality of Australia's reluctance to renegotiate, particularly considering Timor-Leste's dependence on Australia. But it's overly simplistic, if not fallacious, to conflate Australia's response with China's. In distinction to China's antipathy to international law, Australia has fulfilled its obligation under UNCLOS, and continues to pursue its claims through the relevant legal channels. Author

[Elisabeth Buchan is a research intern at Australian Stratigic Policy Institute (ASPI).]

Source: http://www.aspistrategist.org.au/rules-extraction-australia-timor-sea/

Human rights & justice

Parliament begins discussions on human trafficking law

Dili Weekly - October 20, 2016

Paulina Quintao – The National Parliament (NP) has begun discussions on proposed law no. 26/III/III to combat human trafficking in the country. Its objective is to respond to cases of human trafficking, which occur in the country.

President of Commission A (responsible for the constitution, public administration, local authorities and anti-corruption) MP Carmelita Moniz said Timor-Leste had adopted a number of international conventions and therefore had an obligation to meet the requirements under the treaties.

"This law is very important to give our country dignity because we have adopted international conventions," she said at the plenary session.

Therefore, she called on MPs to approve the law as soon as possible, as the legislation mandate will also be completed shortly.

The Council of Ministers gave their approval to the proposed law in March 2015 and it was then submitted to parliament in May 2015 to open the consultation process with public entities.

Meanwhile, Minister of Justice Ivo Valente said there were a number of reasons to push the government to establish the laws.

He said although article 163 of the penal code talked about combating human trafficking, it did not go into specific detail.

Therefore it was important to establish a specific law as the legal basis for judges to make good decisions to combating this crime across the country.

"Apart from imposing heavy penalties on traffickers, [the law] will also provide protection for victims because they have the right to receive assistance, especially in their situation and in these cases," he said.

The proposed law also talks about ways to prevent human trafficking, in particular raising awareness on the background and the impact of the crime on society.

He said the proposed law would clearly define the role of the competent authorities, including the ministries of Health, Education, Social Solidarity, Interior and Foreign Affairs, as well as civil society, to address this crime.

He acknowledged that although Timor-Leste did not have any accurate data on the prevalence of human trafficking crimes, there was evidence it was occurring as some perpetrators were already in prison.

In one recent case which is currently being processed in the court, a man was detected by security authorities at the airport trying to traffic a number of Timorese women outside the country.

Valente said this case showed that Timor-Leste was not only a destination country for trafficked women, but also a source country.

Director of Rede Feto Dinorah Granadeiro said human trafficing was aserious crime that affected vulnerable women and children.

"We hope that the MPs will prioritize this issue and approve the legislation soon," she said. She added women's organization were ready to work with the government to prevent trafficking and provide assistance to victims.

Source: http://www.thediliweekly.com/en/news/capital/14114-parliament-begins-discussions-on-human-trafficking-law

Political parties & elections

Women in East Timor push for political power

Women's Media Center – October 26, 2016

Karen J. Coates – Timor-Leste will hold elections on Oct. 29 to determine the country's next local leaders. And for the first time since this tiny Southeast Asian nation gained independence in 2002, women occupy prominent spots on village ballots.

"The times are different now," says Celestra Fatima, a village chief candidate in her district, Aileu. "After independence, as women, we realized that we also have rights - the same rights as men. Because of that, I'm willing to run for village chief."

Fatima symbolizes a shift in Timorese society. Timor-Leste, formerly known as East Timor, was a Portuguese colony for more than 400 years before Indonesian forces invaded in 1975 (with a nod from U.S. President Gerald Ford and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger). That move led to one of the 20th century's most brutal occupations, which claimed the lives of 200,000 peoplea third of the population. Timorese men and women fought side by side in the decades-long struggle for independence. Their aim was national liberation. Now, many women say, it's time to fight again - for women's rights.

Prime Minister Rui Araujo notes that gender equality is "enshrined in our constitution." Yet reality doesn't always live up to the law. While Timor-Leste leads the region in women's participation at the national level - with women occupying 38 percent of parliament seats - the countryside lags far behind. Women currently account for only 2 percent of local leaders. "It's widely proven, scientifically acknowledged, that women have a very important role in the development of societies," Araujo says.

That's why the NGO Plan International Timor-Leste, along with other humanitarian organizations, launched a campaign aimed at putting many more women candidates on the local ballots. The campaign, dubbed "I'm Ready," is part of Plan's Women and Girls' Participation in Local Governance program to get more women into office so they can prioritize issues that affect them, such as gender violence and discrimination. Much of the initial training involves cultivating self-confidence among village women and prepping them for public speaking. "Support and motivation are essential," says program manager Fatima Soares.

The campaign initially aimed to recruit 100 women candidates. Final numbers are not in, but Soares says the program had already exceeded its goal by early September. "These women have been trying to study hard and have gone through many challenges, so I hope they can enjoy their success," she says.

"The drive to create a more equal society has been there since independence," Araujo tells me, but traditional gender roles "are still biased towards men, and we need to change that." Women do "most of the work at the agricultural level, at the household level," he says, "and most of the times those types of works are unpaid."

Fatima confirms this: "I can say that 24 hours, we are full with work." Nationwide, women rise before dawn. Many hike to fetch the family's daily water. They light the fire, cook breakfast for their husband and kids, prepare the children for school, then head to the fields to dig. They return home to cook lunch, wash clothes, clean the house, and prepare more food for dinner. Any other work - like politics - is squeezed into late-evening and rare off hours.

On average, Timorese women have six kids, and nearly 20 percent of all rural girls are married by 18. Childbearing deeply cuts a woman's chances for higher education or a career outside the home. The lack of education, and detachment from wider society, leaves many women with low self-esteem. "Many Timorese women do not feel free to express their ideas," says Domingas de Jesus, secretary of a women's association in Aileu. "They are not confident to speak about any issues affecting them." Soares says this is a key reason Plan's campaign focuses on building courage and the gumption to speak with authority in public.

Overwork, isolation, and timidity have critical consequences for a woman's health – physical and mental. "A lot of women have never left the village," says Dan Murphy, an American doctor who founded the Bairo Pite Clinic in Dili in 1999. "They don't get adequate health care, they can die in childbirth in their own home," he says. "That's why we lead Southeast Asia in maternal mortality." Tuberculosis is widespread, and women are more at risk. "They're cooking over an open fire the whole time, breathing in smoke. If there's not enough food, they probably don't [eat]."

Women also suffer shocking levels of abuse. "It's just normal, if a husband beats a wife," says Sidalia do Rego, the women's health coordinator at Bairo Pite. That's a common attitude among men and women - and it is reflected in the data. Research shows 38 percent of Timorese girls have experienced violence by the age of 15, and up to half of all women suffer abuse at home. Domestic violence was outlawed in 2010, but years later, many men still do not view wife beating as a criminal act.

Traditional marriage customs can exacerbate this mentality. Bride prices are still common: the groom's family pays the woman's family in gold, silver, money, or cows. "It's like we buy the woman," says Rosaria Martins da Cruz, director of HIAM Health, an NGO that works on combating malnutrition. The attitude, according to da Cruz, is: "I buy you now, you come to me... you never say no to me, you always say yes.... The woman is not independent to speak."

Thus, the push for more women's leadership at all levels of society - from the government to the household.

Fatima, the village chief candidate, has a strong support network around her in Aileu, where many women already work outside the home. One women's community group has started a small cassava chip business using homegrown ingredients cooked in the women's kitchens and sold in Dili markets. "It's really a benefit for us," says Domingus da Conceico, a group member involved in the business. "And we see the change." Women are earning money and sending their children to high school. Others counsel neighbors on domestic abuse. "This is very important," Conceico says. "Our dream is for the group to be strong and support each other."

It was Fatima's uncharacteristically outspoken character that initially won her the support of her community. "Before, when I was a very young child, I did not have a dream to become a leader," she says. But her family and neighbors urged her to run for village chief. And she will, with no regrets. Even if she loses, she says, "through this, I can have experience."

[Reporting for this story was made possible by a fellowship through the International Reporting Project.]

Source: http://www.womensmediacenter.com/feature/entry/women-in-east-timor-push-for-political-power

319 women to run for village chief in elections

Dili Weekly - October 26, 2016

Paulina Quintao – A total of 319 women have registered to run for suku (village) chief in the upcoming suku elections.

General Director of the Secretariat for Technical and Electoral Administration (STAE) Acilino Branco said 2071 candidates from 442 sukus across the country had registered to run in the elections, including 1752 men and 319 women.

Under new legislation, it is a requirement that there be at least one female candidate in each suku.

Regarding the sukus which do not have any women candidates registered, he said this would not affect the election process, but women organizations would have to provide an official explanation.

"Every voter should have conscience to use their right to vote so when they go back to their suku they can have good services because we contributed to legitimizing our suku organ," he said at a press conference at the STAE office in Kaikoli, Dili.

Suku elections will be held simultaneously on October 29 in Timor's 2225 sub-villages. On the day, the voters will elect their suku chiefs, sub-villages chiefs and their representatives of each sub-village. After the suku council has been formed members will then choose the traditional elders and a male and female youth representative.

"STAE provides three types of voting papers: a white paper with photo for head of sukus, a yellow paper for head of sub-village and green for the representatives without photos," he said.

After the voting has closed, the sub-village assembly would count the votes and announce the results for head of sub-village and the representatives, while the votes for suku chiefs would be brought to the existing suku council for a final count before the results are formally announced.

According to Branco, the total number of voters registered is 726,363, although it is not compulsory in Timor to vote.

Meanwhile, the Director of Caucus organization "Women in Politics", Paula Corte Real, said that although some sukus still had no female candidates, there had been progress because there were higher numbers of women running for the election compared to previous years.

She said that during the registration process, women faced a number of obstacles because they had no clear information about the specific number of supporters needed to be eligible.

"In Duyun suku (in Dili municipality) we provided a declaration because there are no female candidates and on the candidates' registration day, the woman that we prepared went to Suai for her uncle's funeral," she said.

Meanwhile, in some sukus local authorities had obstructed women's involvement by refusing to approve candidates that had moved from their family's area, but wanted to run for suku chief.

"In the 442 sukus, our expectation is that approximately 50% of women will be elected to as sukus chiefs," she said.

She said that although the number of female candidates had increased, the number elected would depend on voters because in Timorese culture there is still a belief that women could cannot be good leaders.

Source: http://www.thediliweekly.com/en/news/news/14126-319-women-to-run-for-village-chief-in-elections

With a new law in Timor-Leste, number of women in politics skyrockets

Plan International - October 25, 2016

Lala Soares – With Hillary Clinton in the race to be the first female president of the United States and British Prime Minister Theresa May and Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel leading some of the biggest economies in the world, gender and political leadership has never been such a hot topic.

So how are women faring in elections in the developing world – where they're often sidelined in decision making, expected to do the lion's share of housework and treated as second-class citizens?

In Timor-Leste, women make up 38 percent of the parliament thanks to a quota system, but at the village council level, only 2 percent of village heads are women.

Despite this, Timorese girls and women have made strides in getting their voices heard in village and district councils, and 2016 could be a breakthrough year thanks to important new legislation brought about by the advocacy and lobbying of an alliance of women's organisations.

A new election law, ratified in July, requires a female candidate to stand in every election for village chief and hamlet chief.

Almost all (98 percent) of the 442 village chiefs and 2,225 hamlet chiefs are currently men, but when votes are cast on Saturday, these new rules have the potential to give women a stronger voice and representation in local politics, helping transform the gender balance of local decision making.

Over the past 15 years, quotas for women candidates have proved a highly effective way to increase the number of women elected to parliaments in both developed and developing countries.

A 2012 amendment to Ireland's electoral act contributed to the highest percentage of women elected to the Irish Parliament (22 percent), an increase from 15 percent at the previous general election. The act stipulated that at least 30 percent of candidates must be female, or party funding would be cut.

In Rwanda, thanks to a quota system introduced in 2003 that reserved 24 out of 80 seats in the Chamber of Deputies for women, more than half the country's parliament is now made up of women.

But quotas alone, though significant, are only part of the solution. Support and vision from men in positions of authority is also needed. When Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appointed women to half his cabinet positions, he sent a powerful signal that he believed women should have an equal say in the leadership of his country.

In Timor-Leste, Prime Minister Rui Maria de Araujo demonstrated his support for gender equality in politics, not only by overseeing election law changes in 2016 and leading Timor-Leste's International Women's Day march in 2015, but also by interrupting his schedule, on a recent visit to Aileu district, to lend his support to women candidates training for the forthcoming elections.

In addition to legal changes and support of male leaders, we need changes in the attitudes of boys and men towards girls and women.

Plan International, supported by the Folke Bernadotte Academy of Sweden, has been working with Timorese women's organisations Asosiasaun FADA, Foukupers, Ba Feto Timor, Fundacao Patria and Caucus since 2014, to develop women and girls' leadership by providing training in key skills including public speaking, debating and advocacy.

It also supports the "100% I'm Ready" campaign, which has been identifying potential women candidates and preparing them for local leadership positions since 2014.

As a result of this work, for the upcoming 2016 village and hamlet elections, there are 58 women candidates in Aileu district – including Joana Babo who has a small catering business and Selestra Fatima, a farmer. So what challenges do Timor-Leste's women face as they seek office?

Childcare

Around the world, women political candidates, unlike their male counterparts, will always be questioned about children.

Timor-Leste's female election candidates are getting used to this question. Most have families and are expected to cover the majority of childcare and domestic work. In some cases, it's being used to suggest women aren't up to the job of being a local leader.

Poverty

Election candidate Joana Babo's husband is sick and unable to work, so family income is stretched, making standing for election a tough decision.

But Joana's experience is a strength not a weakness. She understands the challenges faced by local people, many of whom are subsistence farmers living on less than $2 a day. If elected, she's committed to promoting assistance for vulnerable families and ensuring all children go to school.

Unexpected barriers

One male incumbent village chief, standing for re-election, said that a female candidate should not stand for election as she can't ride a motorbike. His argument was that she wouldn't be able to travel around the district to deal with issues at short notice, and would be reliant on others to take her to meetings. A reasonable concern?

In Timor-Leste, girls and women are far less likely to have been taught to ride a motorcycle than boys and men, and to own one, especially in rural areas.

The provision of motorbike training for female candidates' post-election could resolve this. The government already provides a motorbike for every village chief, so extending this budget to cover training, or an allowance is not unrealistic.

Pressure not to stand

One candidate told me she faced pressure to stand down when members of the village council suggested reducing the number of village chief candidates from four to two. After telling them she would report this to the prime minister, they backed down and all candidates are standing.

From North America to Europe, Rwanda to Timor-Leste, achieving greater gender parity in politics requires resilience to stand up to those people who don't want change, vision from leaders, changes to election law and practice, determination and courage.

Change does happen. In the 2010 village chief elections, there were just two female candidates in all of Aileu district's 31 villages. This year, there are 28.

Across Timor-Leste, there will be at least 100 women candidates this year – trained, confident and buoyed up by the support they give each other.

[Lala Soares is the manager of Plan International Timor-Leste's programme on women and girls participation in local governance.]

Journalists call on Timor-Leste PM to drop defamation complaint against

Global Voices - October 18, 2016

Journalists around the world are trying to get the prime minister of Timor-Leste (East Timor) to abandon a criminal complaint against two Timor-Post reporters who say he was involved in government corruption.

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has launched an online petition calling on Prime Minister Rui Maria de Araujo to drop the complaint. If convicted, Raimundos Oki and Lourenco Martins could be sentenced to three years in prison and a high fine.

Earlier this year, Araujo said he wouldn't back down from pursuing the complaint, despite international support for Oki and Martins, whose trial was originally scheduled to begin on October 7, 2016. Due to technicalities, however, the trial has been rescheduled to begin on December 2.

Oki and Martins will face charges of "slanderous denunciation" for a story published nearly a year ago, on November 10, 2015, revealing corruption in state procurement contracts. Prime Minister Araujo, who previously served as a senior advisor in the Finance Ministry, was allegedly involved in one of the contracts in question – a government order for information-technology services.

A week after the article was published, Araujo held a press conference and announced his intention to "present the facts to the Prosecutor's Office of a publicly disseminated false accusation" against him. Two days later, on November 18, the prime minister formally submitted the complaint.

Several international media organizations, including IFJ, Freedom House, the Committee to Protect Journalists, and the South East Journalists Union, have called on Araujo to step back.

Araujo published an open letter in April responding to these groups and vowing to stick to his guns and push ahead with the case.

In July, the IFJ-Asia Pacific, the CPJ, and Freedom House again reached out to Araujo, arguing that the charges are "an attack on press freedom and the right to information in Timor-Leste," saying "criminal prosecutions of journalists cannot be tolerated... as a matter of principle."

Individual journalists from the Asia-Pacific region have also weighed in on the issue. Petrus Suryadi Sutrisno, a veteran Indonesian journalist with more than 40 years of experience, including working at the Suara Timor Timur Daily, says that Timor-Leste journalists must follow the example of Indonesia and other countries by going the extra mile in verifying sources before publishing. He adds that publishing stories without following procedures can cause damage to both the media practitioners and the subject they're writing about:

"Timor-Leste should learn either from Indonesia or from other countries by making a systematic observation and studying how media organizations can exist within the frame of 'news engineering' and 'orchestrated media' for real systematic character assassination to someone. First by publishing the news without ethic and check and recheck mechanism procedures hit the target then the law consequences are followed later. But what's most important is that the target now is the victim of defamation. The lawsuit is really the last straw."

Tempo Semanal Director Jose Antonio Belo commented on the petition: "I'm signing this Petition because the East Timor Prime Minister is still living with the spirit of the former Indonesian General Dictatorship."

Ted McDonnel, an Australian journalist, also writes: "I believe in Freedom of the Press & Freedom of Expression. This case brought by the PM of Timor Leste is all about silencing the media."

The IFJ petition is formally addressed to Prime Minister Araujo, along with Timor-Leste's minister of justice and general prosecutor. Supporters are encouraged to share the petition using the hashtag #FreeTimorJournalists.

Source: https://globalvoices.org/2016/10/18/journalists-call-on-timor-leste-pm-to-drop-defamation-complaint-against-reporters/

East Timor journalists face trial after story on premier

Associated Press - October 6, 2016

Dili, East Timor – Two East Timorese journalists are going on trial in a criminal defamation case brought by the country's prime minister that has alarmed press freedom groups.

Raimundos Oki and his former boss Lourenco Vicente Martins are charged with "slanderous denunciation" and face up to three years in prison if found guilty. The trial is set to begin Friday. Rights groups and press advocates have urged that the case be dropped.

Oki and Martins published a story in the Timor Post last year about Prime Minister Rui Aria de Araujo's involvement in a state contract for information technology services when he was an adviser to East Timor's finance minister in 2014.

The story, which said Araujo had recommended a particular company for the contract before bids opened, misidentified that company as the eventual winner of the contract.

The newspaper apologized for that error, published a front-page story on Araujo's denial and Martins, the editor, resigned. But Araujo has insisted on prosecuting under draconian laws that can be used to stifle investigative journalism. "My story made him furious and he brought me to court," said Oki.

East Timor is one of the world's youngest democracies and its fragile press freedom has come attack with the passing of a restrictive media law in 2014. A former colony of Portugal, it was occupied by Indonesia for a quarter century until a U.N.-sponsored independence referendum in 1999 sparked violent reprisals by the Indonesian military that killed many and destroyed its economy.

Santina da Costa, current editor of the Timor Post, said journalists should not be subjected to criminal prosecutions related to their work. "As citizens, we would be subject to the law," she said. "But the government should not charge our journalists under the criminal code."

The Committee to Protect Journalists, Freedom House and the International Federation of Journalists have urged Araujo to drop the criminal complaint.

In a July 19 letter to the prime minister, the three groups called the case an "attack on press freedom and the right to information" in East Timor. "As a matter of principle criminal prosecutions of journalists cannot be tolerated."

Source: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/3de7630d49874e59bddfce54e41d0079/east-timor-journalists-face-trial-after-story-premier

Labour & migrant workers

Mango farmers' SOS to Timor workers

NT News - October 14, 2016

Lauren Roberts, Rural Reporter – Territory mango farmers are flying to Timor in a desperate attempt to recruit workers ahead of a potential labour crisis.

NT Mango Industry Association president Leo Skliros said Ian Quinn and Saramat 'Tou' Ruchkaew from Tou's Garden were flying to Timor to recruit workers through the Federal Government's Seasonal Worker Program.

"They're going to be spending $50 grand in advance." he said. "They have to fork out the airfares for 30 people."

Mr Skliros said the idea of the scheme was good, but it had "too much red tape", and lengthy approval delays. Mr Skliros said mango farmers shouldn't have to go to "that degree of trouble" to recruit workers.

"It's a very intense season, the fruits going to come off in a very short period of time," he said. "The majority of fruit will come off at the next four or five weeks."

Minister for Primary Industries Ken Vowles said the NT mango season would reach its height in the coming few weeks. "This is when we'll know if there are enough seasonal workers," he said.

"The uncertainty of the backpacker tax has already had a detrimental impact on Territory businesses. What we do know is the backpacker application numbers are lower than previous years and lower than what is required. If there aren't enough pickers to pick fruit then there will be a loss of harvest which will have a devastating impact."

Mr Vowles said the NT Agricultural Industry heavily relied on seasonal workers, and backpackers represented 85 per cent of agricultural labour.

"The Seasonal Worker Program is designed as a Foreign Aid program with participants encouraged to send earnings back to their home country," he said. "There are a small amount of farmers in NT that are approved through this program."

Source: http://www.ntnews.com.au/news/northern-territory/mango-farmers-sos-to-timor-workers/news-story/6ebf952f50fc4afc23af7bf53e689380

Health & education

Government using the ABC method to reduce HIV in Timor-Leste

Dili Weekly - October 20, 2016

Isabel Ermelita – The Timor-Leste Health Ministry is continuing to promote the use of condoms to at-risk groups to prevent the transmission of HIV, but still recommends that the wider community practice self-control in their sexual relations.

The ABC (abstinence, being faithful and condom use) method is part of a global public health strategy aimed at preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS, however, the Timor-Leste government's position is that self-control rather than condom use is the most effective approach for the wider community.

If left untreated HIV eventually progresses to AIDS, a condition which kills many people around the world each year.

The Ministry of Health said it is continuing to raise awareness about the importance of using condoms to at-risk groups, including prostitutes and their clients, as well as the men who have sex with men and the transgender community.

Program Manager for HIV/AIDS Dr Frederico Bosco said the Timor-Leste government was using this approach to specifically target at-risk groups only. "Our target is the risk groups, not the community in general," he said by phone.

He said the government's position reflected the stance taken by the Catholic Church, which is opposed to the use of contraception, including condoms. "The religious side recommends we use self-control and not condoms," he said.

As part of efforts to raise awareness, he said the government had been doing advocacy work in communities, especially at-risk groups, to provide people with a better understanding about how they could protect themselves against the disease.

For the community in general, he said condom use was substituted with self-control to discourage promiscuous behavior as this went against the teachings of the Catholic Church.

He added there were seven anti-retroviral (ARV) treatment centers in the country, including the referral hospitals in Maliana, Maubisse, Suai and Oecusse), as well as the National Hospital and Bairo-Pite Clinic (BPC) in Dili. "So for those who are HIV positive, they can get treatment at those centers," he said.

According to data from the Ministry of Health 570 Timorese people were infected with HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) between 2003 and March 2016.

Meanwhile, World Health Organization (WHO) Medical Officer, Epidemiology, Dr Arun Mallik said the ABC approach involved delaying sex until after marriage, being faithful to your partner and using a condom to protect oneself if having sexual relations outside of marriage.

Speaking at a meeting with journalists about communicable disease at the WHO office in Dili, Dr Mallik said it was important that people were aware about the importance of using condoms correctly and consistently.

He also called for HIV/AIDS education to be included in the school curriculum to equip students with a good knowledge and understanding about the virus.

Although the Ministry of Education has added sexual health as a subject in the national curriculum, it had not yet started as many teachers felt uncomfortable with the topic.

"Many teachers are not ready and feel shy to talk about sexual health education to students," said Deputy Minister for Education Dulce de Jesus Soares.

She said the subject would be taught from first grade up until the high school, with instruction to be based on students' ages and level of understanding.

"We need to teach comprehensive sexual education about human development, disease prevention, ability for decision-making, protection and positive and healthy relations," she said.

Source: http://www.thediliweekly.com/en/news/news/14124-government-using-the-abc-method-to-reduce-hiv-in-timor-leste

Central Java immigration office deports 51 students from Timor Leste

Antara News - October 17, 2016

Semarang, Central Java – The immigration office in Central Java has deported 51 students who had come from Timor Leste but were found staying in violation of stay permit regulations.

The head of the immigration division of the regional office of the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights, M Diah, informed here on Monday that the 51 students from Timor Leste were deported by the immigration office of Pati District.

"They were found working as interns in a company but were found to have only a visit permit," she added.

She remarked that the students should have applied for a stay permit that is required for stay during internship. According to sources, she commented that the students were left in a lurch by their sponsor.

One hundred foreigners were deported from the region between January and October for violating stay permit regulations. "They had come from 20 countries but most were from Timor Leste and China," she disclosed.

She noted that due to wider investment opportunities and various tourist destinations in the region as well as the implementation of a free-visa policy, many foreigners have been coming to Indonesia, especially Central Java.

"Many foreigners have been coming and a number of them have been found violating laws such as stay permit regulations, overstaying and not carrying travel documents," she emphasized.(*)

Source: http://www.antaranews.com/en/news/107259/c-java-immigration-office-deports-51-students-from-timor-leste

Teachers not comfortable discussing sexual health topics with students

Dili Weekly - October 17, 2016

Paulina Quintao – Although the Education Ministry has formally included sexual health as a subject in the national curriculum, this has not yet been implemented as teachers still felt uncomfortable delivering the subject.

Deputy Minister of Education Dulce de Jesus Soares said the comprehensive sexual education program aimed to give both male and female students a better understanding about gender equality, as well as the prevention of unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.

"We have the curriculum already, but the problem is that a lot of teachers feel uncomfortable and shy to talk about these things to students," she said at a national conference on sexual and reproductive health rights entitled 'investing women's health, investing to the future of Timor-Leste' at Delta Nova, Dili.

She said the subject would be taught from first grade up until the high school, with instruction to be based on students' ages and level of understanding.

"We need to teach comprehensive sexual education about human development, disease prevention, ability for decision-making, protection and positive and healthy relations," she said.

She said the curriculum would cover all topics about reproductive health, preventing unintended pregnancy and different types of sexual abuse.

The subject content will also include sexual differences, gender and the human body, including health promotion so that students have the ability and understanding to make good and healthy life decisions.

By ensuring students had a good understanding of sexual health, she said this would help contribute to the reducing rates of unwanted pregnancy and maternal and child mortality, as well as incidences of babies being dumped and other social problems in the country.

However, she said teachers must be creative and have a good teaching method and ability in order to deliver the subject effectively to students.

Sexual health was added as a school subject last year after the ministry revised the implementation of the national curriculum.

Meanwhile, Director of Alola Foundation, Alzira Reis said Timorese culture was the main challenge facing the ministry in implementing the new curriculum as many people still considered the matter taboo.

However, she said the Education Ministry continued to make efforts to convince teachers about the importance of sexual education in schools. "It was very important for their (students') future," she said. She said the government must also raise awareness about the curriculum to parents.

Meanwhile, Deputy President of the Timor-Leste Parliamentary Women's Group (GMPTL) MP Albina Marcal said education was the key to change, particularly in terms of preventing unwanted pregnancies and the reduction of maternal and child mortality rates in Timor-Leste.

"It is important to integrate sexual education in the school curriculum so that they (students) understand and know the functions of the reproductive system and how to prevent unintended pregnancy," she said.

Marcal said incidences of babies being dumped was also linked to unwanted pregnancy as young women were not ready to be parents.

Source: http://www.thediliweekly.com/en/news/news/14110-teachers-not-comfortable-discussing-sexual-health-topics-with-students

Women still lack information about family planning

Dili Weekly - October 12, 2016

Paulina Quintao – The Deputy President of the Timor-Leste Parliamentary Women's Group (GMPTL), Albina Marcal, said many women especially in rural areas were having multiple pregnancies close together every year because of a lack of information about reproductive health.

She said the government had created a good plan related to maternal and adolescent sexual and reproductive health, but it had not been implemented effectively.

"The reality shows that mothers in rural areas give birth [repeatedly] every year and this can impact on their health physically and mentally," she said at a national conference on sexual and reproductive health rights entitled 'investing in women's health, investing in the future of Timor-Leste'.

However, she acknowledged that there had been significant progress in the health sector, most notably the establishment of health centers and posts at local level.

She said all relevant institutions needed to work together to respond to the issue, particularly in terms of raising awareness in communities about sexual health in order to prevent maternal and child mortality, as well as reduce unplanned teenage pregnancies in the country.

She said investing in women's health was just as important as investing in human development, families, society and the nation.

However, President of the Ermera Women's Association Maria Exposto said the level of assistance provided for women's reproductive health in rural areas was not effective due to a lack of coordination between the relevant ministries.

"Women do not go for consultations at health facilities and most of them give birth at home because they have no information about reproductive health," she said.

Although the Health Ministry has placed health personnel in all rural areas in Timor with the objective of providing better assistance to communities, Exposto said in reality this had not been effective in raising the standard of care as there was nowhere for medical staff to stay near their place of work.

Meanwhile, Health Minister Maria do Ceu Sarmento acknowledged that reproductive health was a priority issue and that the ministry still had a lot of work to do to in terms of providing effective and quality assistance to communities, especially women.

"Pregnant women should have four check-ups during pregnancy, but the data shows that only 50.3% of women have complete check-ups during [their] pregnancy," she said. She added it was important to have routine check-ups in order to prevent complications during pregnancy.

As part of a family health program launched by the ministry, Sarmento said medical staff were conducting home visits to check on the health status of families, as well as detect diseases early and identify any problems during pregnancy.

According to Sarmento, the three main issues that impact on the level of maternal health care women receive are late decision-making, the cultural practice of letting mother-in-laws determine the place of birth and lack of basic infrastructure, including roads and transport.

Source: http://www.thediliweekly.com/en/news/gender/14102-women-still-lack-information-about-family-planning

Government still hasn't created policy for returning female drop-outs to school

Dili Weekly - October 12, 2016

Paulina Quintao – The Ministry of Education has still not created a policy to ensure school principals accept female drop-outs so that they can continue their studies after childbirth.

Deputy Minister of Education Dulce de Jesus Soares agreed there should be a policy in place, but said Timorese culture, which makes it difficult for women who have children early to continue their studies, was also something that needed to be looked at.

"It is true that we do not have a policy, it's not that we don't want, but and we need a lot of opinions from different people to find a solution," she said at a national conference on sexual and reproductive health rights in Delta Nova, Dili.

However, she said the ministry had developed equivalent education for basic school, an alternative to give girls who have dropped out due to pregnancy an opportunity to continue their studies.

Although Timor still does not have a formal policy, she said some schools do accept female drop-outs and last year some students were allowed to sit their national high school examination at the education offices in their municipalities

Health Ministry data showed that 99% of teenage girls who fell pregnant did not continue their studies because they were preoccupied with raising their children and other social problems.

To prevent early pregnancy, she said the ministry was working with other development partners to promote extracurricular activities in schools to encourage young women not to abandon their studies.

Director of the Alola Foundation Alzira Reis acknowledged that although some public schools accepted female drop-outs, she said it was usually not the school they previously attended and this was unfair.

She said parents sometimes encouraged their children to marry at a young age, but in cases of unplanned pregnancy families often feel ashamed and therefore don't encourage their children to continue their studies after childbirth.

"It is important to increase parents' understanding of the importance of education and the impact of early pregnancy on their children's future," she said.

She said civil society wanted a policy implemented as a legal basis to protect the rights of female drop-outs and ensure that both public and private school principals allowed them to return to their studies after childbirth.

Meanwhile, Health Minister Maria do Ceu Sarmento said the appropriate age for women to start a family was 20 and that teenage pregnancy posed a significant risk to the health of both mothers and their babies. "Women over the age of 20 are more physically and mentally mature," she said.

She explained that unplanned teenage pregnancy increased the risk of serious complications and also led to more deaths and poor child health because girls were financially unprepared for the responsibilities of starting a family.

Source: http://www.thediliweekly.com/en/news/education/14100-government-still-hasn-t-created-policy-for-returning-female-drop-outs-to-school

Timor-Leste govt lauds peace education in Catholic schools

UCA News - October 7, 2016

Thomas Ora, Dili – The Timor-Leste government has appreciated a Catholic plan to prioritize peace education in schools which is needed to heal societal trauma from years of conflict.

Luis Manuel Fernandes, Director-General of Secondary Education at the Ministry of Education, said the country must cultivate decent ways to raise young people. "There are some schools in Timor-Leste where students beat other students, even students beat teachers," he said. In the wake of such violence, in 2014 the Cristal Foundation, a Catholic education institute, founded a peace education program in schools. Last year more than 53 teachers and 350 students were enrolled for the program.

"The minister of education supports this kind of initiative," said Fernandes at the opening of a four-day course conducted for students and teachers on Oct. 4. "I hope that students and teachers begin to realize that they are ambassadors of peace."

Charles Fatima Guterres, a school head, said that she had asked all her teachers and 175 students to join the program "because we want to build a peaceful and harmonious atmosphere between teachers and students."

"The method helps teachers and students focus on building mutual respect, love for others, environment, and society," she said.

Through the use of art, students develop their creativity and have no time to process their feelings about violence in their families or society (Photo by Thomas Ora)

Melania Auxilia Perreira, a student at Cristal High School, said that the three-month course taught her the importance of dialogue between students, teachers, parents and other elements in society. "It's important that schools teach students how to dialogue with others," she said.

Salesian Father Manuel Pinto, director of the Don Bosco Center for Professional Training in Dili, said that peace education is important for Timor-Leste after years of violence.

Teachers play an important role in sowing peace, love and respect. But when they teach with violence, students will replicate it.

"Nowadays there are many children who do not respect and even threaten their parents," Father Pinto told ucanews.com, adding that it is not only a threat to their families but to society and the church.

Cristal Foundation director, Agostinho dos Santos Gonsalves, said education is the most powerful weapon to change the world. "The center of peace education is for students and teachers," he said.

Similarly, Martinho da Costa, a psychologist and university lecturer, welcomed any measure taken to ensure Timor-Leste youth stay away from hatred and violence inherited from the country's dark history.

"Even a harsh word from a teacher can create trauma for students. They will grow in fear and low self esteem," he said. "So teachers must show affection to students," he said.

The education sector, like much of the country, was destroyed by departing Indonesian forces in October 1999 after the East Timorese overwhelmingly chose freedom from Indonesia in a UN-sponsored referendum.

The country is still scarred by this history. The symptoms of post-traumatic stress abound and often manifest itself in the form of corporal punishment and child abuse. Many teachers in Timor-Leste schools are physically abusive toward children, which easily fuels additional trauma.

Source: http://www.ucanews.com/news/timor-leste-govt-lauds-peace-education-in-catholic-schools/77310

Data shows Timor-Leste has high rates of hepatitis

Dili Weekly - October 5, 2016

Paulina Quintao – Every year almost 10,000 out of one million people in Timor-Leste will suffer from hepatitis, according to estimates from the Health Ministry based on data from the National Blood Bank

Infection Specialist Dr Danina Coelho said hepatitis prevalence in Timor-Leste was highest in comparison to HIV/AIDS. Hepatitis is considered the seventh most deadly disease in the world.

She added every country considered hepatitis is the seventh deadly diseases in the world, including Timor-Leste. "What I know is that Timor doesn't have hepatitis medication [and] the government must import the medication for treatment," she said.

AlthoughTimor had the National Strategic Plan and the human resources to combat and treat hepatitis, entecavir and tenofovir, which are used to treat hepatitis, were still not available in Timor.

There are four strains of hepatitis: A, B, C, D and E – the most common type in Timor being hepatitis B.

Dr Coelho called on the Health Ministry to strengthen the capacity of the national laboratory and raise awareness among communities about how on the disease could be prevented.

Hepatitis is transmitted through blood, unprotected sex and from mother to child during birth. In order to prevent this, she said the government should take action and give the hepatitis B vaccine to newborn babies. Although there is no cure for hepatitis, it can be treated to prevent further complications.

Dr Coelho urged the Ministry to conduct national research on the prevalence of hepatitis in Timor-Leste, as accurate data was important to help the government combat the disease.

Meanwhile, Alola Foundation Program Manager Maria Imaculada Guterres said communities in rural areas still lacked awareness about infectious diseases, including hepatitis. "We should work hard to share information to communities," she said.

She said Alola had been raising awareness to communities in remote areas about infectious diseases, but more still needed to be done. During discussions, she said communities did not ask a lot of questions about hepatitis as they did not have a lot of knowledge about this disease.

Last year, the Health Ministry with the World Health Organization (WHO) established a hepatitis treatment clinic at the National Hospital but it is not operating effectively as it lacks the proper medication to treat hepatitis.

Source: http://www.thediliweekly.com/en/news/health/14086-data-shows-timor-leste-has-high-rates-of-hepatitis

Women's rights

Women's parliamentary group developing law to control underage marriage

Dili Weekly - October 7, 2016

Paulina Quintao – The Timor-Leste Parliamentary Women's Group (GMPTL) with other women's associations is developing a law to enforce the legal age of marriage in Timor-Leste.

GMPTL president MP Florentina Smith said it was necessary to propose the law as high numbers of women were marrying young and this could potentially impact their health.

"Marriage is everyone rights, but we need a law to control it and [this] gives the opportunity for women to study," she said in Delta Novas, Dili. She said early marriage issue was also linked to the high rates of maternal and child mortality, cases of babies being dumped and other infectious diseases because young women were not physically or emotionally mature enough to cope with having a baby. She said GMPTL also had plans to develop reproductive health and anti-pornography laws with the aim of reducing of maternal and child mortality, as well as early marriage, in the country.

According to the data from health facilities, 23.3% of women under the age of 19 fell pregnant in Timor-Leste from the end of 2014 up until this year.

Smith said health data showed that the ideal age for to marriage is 20 as women were more physically, emotionally and mentally ready to have a baby. She said women who fell pregnant under the age of 19 were at higher risk of maternal and child mortality.

Director of the Movement of Women Organization (MOFFE) Yasinta Lujina said the law was not only to prevent early marriage, but also to prevent infectious diseases that affected women's health.

"Talking about the future of country and women's participation in the development [process], every institution should make efforts to ensure good health assistance [is available] for women," she said.

Meanwhile, the Human Rights Ombudsman, Silverio Baptista Pinto, said he supported the initiative as sexual and reproductive health issues were also linked to early marriage.

"Parents who force their children to marry young should be sanctioned, we shouldn't only propose a law for controlling the age of marriage, there should also be sanctions as well," he said.

Unless there was a law to control early marriage, he said families would continue to violate women's rights and this affects in particular their physical development, education and social life.

He said number of cases showed that parents forced their children to get married early in order to receive dowry payments. Therefore he said it was necessary to define the legal age for marriage as it was not easy to build a family and maturity was needed when facing problems in the family.

Source: http://www.thediliweekly.com/en/news/gender/14090-women-s-parliamentary-group-developing-law-to-control-underage-marriage

Sexual & domestic violence

New guidelines to improve support for victims of gender-based violence

Dili Weekly - October 28, 2016

Paulina Quintao – The Ministry of Health in collaboration with international agencies is developing guidelines for health personnel to help provide better assistance to victims of gender-based violence in Timor-Leste.

Minister of Health Maria do Ceu said it was the government's responsibility to create a good policy and strategic plan to respond to the needs of victims of gender-based violence victims.

The Timor-Leste government has adopted international treaties, including the convention on children rights and Convention on Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).

"In Timor the issue is very sensitive, so we should take a step towards responding to these situations," the minister said at the opening of an advocacy workshop on how the health sector can respond to gender-based violence.

She said the Ministry of Health had a good structure in place from village up to the national level, but it was not working effectively because health personnel had no guidelines to help address the issue. "Because it is sensitive and confidential," she added.

Meanwhile, regarding the establishment of a network of shelters for victims at referral hospitals, she said it was the responsibility of the Ministry of Social Solidarity (MSS).

The National Director of Gender Development Policy (NDGDP) in the Secretariat of State for Socio-Economic Support of Women (SEM), Henrique da Silva, said the Health Ministry had not adequately prioritised the issue.

"In practice, PRADET (Psychosocial Recovery and Development in East Timor) has covered the duty of the Health Ministry such as doing forensic tests, physical examinations and counseling," he said.

Meanwhile, PRADET Director Manuel do Santos said they had a good level of cooperation with the health sector to treat victims, particularly with the national and referral hospitals.

He said PRADET only did forensic testing, so if victims needed intensive treatment or to see a specialist they should go to the hospital.

"It is not necessary to establish more new spaces (shelters), just strengthen the facilities that PRADET and development partners already established in terms of investment in human resources and specialists," he said.

He added PRADET also has provided training to health personnel from Baucau, Manufahi, Covalima, Bobonaro, Dili and Oecusse about forensic examinations for victims.

Between January and July this year, PRADET provided forensic tests and counseling services to 300 victims of gender-based violence.

The one-day workshop was held at Hotel Novo Turismu in Dili and funded by the World Health Organization and UNFPA.

Source: http://www.thediliweekly.com/en/news/gender/14134-new-guidelines-to-improve-support-for-victims-of-gender-based-violence

Refugees & asylum seekers

Man accused of charging illegal fees to former East Timor residents

Jakarta Post - October 23, 2016

Lita Aruperes, Manado, North Sulawesi – The North Sulawesi Police have uncovered an alleged charging of illegal fees in the disbursement of compensation funds to former residents of East Timor (now Timor Leste).

The police's investigation team arrested a member of the National Committee for Ex-East Timor Political Victims (Kokpit), a 61-year-old man identified only with initials ML, during a raid on a branch office of state lender BNI on Jl. Datulolong Lasut, Manado, on Thursday.

North Sulawesi Police spokesperson Sr. Comr. Marjuki claimed ML was caught attempting to take illegal fees from fund beneficiaries. "ML [allegedly] claimed he could help process the disbursement of assistance funds to ex-East Timor residents. As compensation, the suspect [allegedly] asked Rp 1.5 million (US$114.92) from the total Rp 10 million the beneficiaries would receive," Marjuki said.

He said ML, who was a retired teacher, was arrested in the parking lot of the BNI branch office. "The suspect was arrested when [he was allegedly] asking for Rp 1.5 million from a beneficiary, who just received the funds."

Police said the suspect was later found to have Rp 13 million in cash in his possession. Police claim that during their investigation ML told them a syndicate had committed similar actions in several BNI branch offices across Manado.

"The illegal fees were later handed over to AM, 52, who is a civil servant," said Marjuki. Police said they found AM with Rp 43 million they allege was collected from beneficiaries.

The government is providing compensation funds to former residents of East Timor who chose to remain Indonesian citizens. Under the program, ex-East Timor residents living outside East Nusa Tenggara receive Rp 10 million per person as compensation for any private assets they left behind. (ebf)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/10/23/man-accused-of-charging-illegal-fees-to-former-east-timor-residents.html

Agriculture & food security

In Timor Leste, 'hunger season' will be worse after El Nino

IRIN News - October 12, 2016

Wendy Levy, Manahat, Timor Leste – Farmers in Timor Leste call the months from November to February "the hungry season", and this year could be even worse than usual thanks to poor harvests related to the weather phenomena El Nino and La Nina.

By November, farming families in Timor Leste tend to have eaten or sold all their produce. They've planted new crops with the rains, but they must wait until the next harvest is ready in March or April.

Many of the country's 1.2 million people are already chronically hungry. Timor Leste was ranked the second hungriest country in Asia by the International Food Policy Research Institute, which released its annual Global Hunger Index Tuesday. It was the ninth on the list globally, on par with war-torn Yemen and Afghanistan.

The problem will likely be worse this year, after El Nino hit the country in 2015 and 2016, bringing drought that killed crops. That weather phenomenon is often followed by La Nina, which can bring heavy rains and landslides, prevent planting and wash away crops before they have a chance to grow.

The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said in August there is a 40 percent chance that La Nina will hit Timor Leste next month.

That would be devastating for farmers like Herman Pereira, who is the chief of Manahat, a village of about 70 households on the western frontier with Indonesia. He pointed to the nearby mountains, and said that in good years villagers take their crops across the border to sell. But this year, there's nothing left to peddle.

"Our cassava and corn did not grow well, the plants died from the top and the papaya leaves fell off," said Pereira.

Source: https://www.irinnews.org/news/2016/10/12/timor-leste-%E2%80%9Chunger-season%E2%80%9D-will-be-worse-after-el-ni%C3%B1o

A major boost for Timorese coffee as Timor-Leste coffee association forms

Daily Coffee News - October 3, 2016

Nick Brown – Key stakeholders throughout the Timor-Leste have come together to form the first professional coffee trade organization in the origin's long history, the Timor-Leste Coffee Association (Assosiasaun Cafe Timor-Leste, or ACTL).

Supported by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and Australia's Market Development Facility (MDF), and facilitated in part by members of the Coffee Quality Institute, the initiative is similar to those in recent years in Myanmar and Yemen, designed to organize farmers locally, improve agricultural processes and quality, and promote and bring to market coffees from the origin.

"More than 25 percent of all households in Timor-Leste grow coffee and there is huge potential to improve production and quality" ADB Country Director for Timor-Leste Paolo Spantigati said in an announcement of the effort late last month. "This private sector initiative will support planning and implementation of activities to develop the coffee sector and improve farmers' lives."

Coffee remains the former Portugese colony's primary export, despite the fact that the sector has famously struggled to rebound from the decades of resistance to Indonesian occupation in the 1980s and 1990s. The nation's coffee industry has received assistance since then from USAID and other international development organizations, although production and exports remain low from a historical perspective. Starbucks has notably been a major buyer of Timorese coffee, although indices and anecdotal reports say poverty and hunger among farmers is all too common there.

Precipitating the ACTL launch, 24 stakeholder members met at a workshop in Dili from September 19 to 23 to develop a vision, strategic plan, structure and governance model for the new association, with Specialty Coffee Association of America co-founder and Coffee Quality Institute consultant Ted Lingle facilitating the process. The weeklong workshop was attended by coffee farming groups, cooperatives, traders, exporters, roasters and retailers, ADB said in the announcement.

The ACTL's first major event will be a cupping competition and national coffee festival, scheduled for Dec. 1 of this year, including a professional conference program and a consumer exhibition area to market Timorese coffee.

In its announcement, ADB noted that Timor-Leste is well-known in the coffee industry as the origin of Hibrido de Timor, an arabica variety prized for its quality, productivity and resistance to disease.

[Nick Brown is the editor of Daily Coffee News by Roast Magazine. Feedback and story ideas are welcome at publisher@dailycoffeenews.com.]

Source: http://dailycoffeenews.com/2016/10/03/a-major-boost-for-timorese-coffee-as-timor-leste-coffee-association-forms/

Land disputes & evictions

Government to evict Kaikoli residents

Dili Weekly - October 7, 2016

Venidora Oliveira – The government through the Secretariat of State for Land and Property (SSLP) is planning to evict Kaikoli residents in the near future.

Secretary of state Jaime Lopes said the area affected stretches from the police station until Dili Convention Centre. The Ministry of Justice through the SSLP has provided the land to the National Police PNTL to extend their office and the community must move out of the area.

"Whether they like it or not, they have to leave that area by the end of this year," said Lopes.

Construction works on the PNTL office are due to begin in 2017. During the reconciliation process the government asked Kaikoli residents to provide their bank details so they could receive humanitarian aid, but the majority ignored the request.

"Only two people provided their bank account [details], but the rest did not," he said. Based on survey data, 20 households will be affected by the eviction.

Meanwhile, head of Kaikoli suku Hipolito Marques Sarmento said the community was ready to work with the government if they created good conditions for them. "The community is ready to work with them, only a few of them are not [willing]," he said.

The government is providing $2000 for each affected household, but Sarmento said the community disagreed with the amount. "They disagree with the amount of money as it is not enough," he said.

He said the affected communities had been living in the area for a long time and when the families moved out they would need to buy new land and the amount is not sufficient. "How much to build a house and how much to buy food and drink?" he said.

Source: http://www.thediliweekly.com/en/news/capital/14094-government-to-evict-kaikoli-residents

Social & communal conflicts

Youth association raises awareness on conflict resolution

Dili Weekly - October 7, 2016

Paulina Quintao – Alumni from the Timor-Leste Youth Parliament (ATLYP) are raising awareness about conflict resolution to high school students.

ATLYP President Zaulino da Silva said the program aims to change attitudes among young people and show them that they can resolve their problems without resorting to violence.

"The program is for student councils, so that they can be good leaders that know how to manage their school by preventing conflict between students and teachers," he said.

Fighting between students and teachers is a common problem in Timor-Leste and sometimes involves cases of serious assault. He said conflict between students and teachers often occurred due to a lack of good communication and way to resolve the problems.

He said ATLYP had already conducted its activities at Cristal secondary school and Public school November 28 in Dili and would soon expand the program in public and private schools in Baucau municipality.

ATLYP also plans to conduct the same activities in communities to remind young people how they can contribute to peace and the country's stability during the 2017 general elections.

"Young people have the right to get involved in politics but it's important that all the young people who are involved in politics have good ethics and civic character," he said.

Meanwhile, President of the National Youth Council (NYC) Dadina Maria said ATLYP had a responsibility to share their knowledge and experience to the society, especially young people, because the state had already invested in them. "They must share their education, knowledge and ability to society," she said.

As youth organization, she said there were lots of things ATLYP could do, particularly in terms of encouraging other young people to learn and become competent leaders in the future.

The program is being funded by the government and German NGO GIZ. ATLYP was established in 2015 and focuses on civic education, as well as encouraging young people to become more actively involved in the development process.

Source: http://www.thediliweekly.com/en/news/children-youth/14096-youth-association-raises-awareness-on-conflict-resolution

Criminal justice & legal system

Judicial Reform Commission not making good progress

Dili Weekly - October 28, 2016

Venidora Oliveira – The Judicial Reform Commission has been criticized for working too slowly and failing to make any significant progress.

The commission was established last year by Prime Minister Rui Maria de Araujo to assess the justice sector and identify any problems and weaknesses in the system.

National MP Arao Noe said there were a number of local and international experts in Timor currently working in the commission.

However, according to his observations, the evaluation being done by the commission was going too slowly and its mandate was unclear. He said the commission should also draft guidelines for improving the judicial system in Timor while they are doing their evaluation.

However, Noe expressed doubt the commission would make any progress by the time its mandate ends next year. "I believe that they will not make [progress] because their term of office is only one year," he said.

Therefore, he said in a short time the National Parliament planned to make a legislation proposal to assess the justice sector without waiting for the commission to complete its evaluation.

Meanwhile, Director of the Judicial System Monitoring Program (JSMP) Luis Oliveira Sampaio said he was aware of the commission's existence, but had no knowledge about its progress.

"At the last meeting with the donors at the Government palace, we had the chance to hear about the commission's role, but now I have no idea about its continuation because we didn't have another meeting," said Sampaio.

He also recommended the Judicial Reform Commission create specific legislation on incest because offenders are currently charged under different laws depending on the circumstances of the crime.

For example, in trials involving children offenders are charged under article 177 of the penal code on sexual abuse of minors. However, if the crime involves adults then the accused is charged under article 172.

JSMP has identified a number of weaknesses in article 172, particularly in regards to limited protection because in cases involving children under 14 the court does not require specific evidence of guilt.

However, when the case involves adults, the court requires three facts to be presented, including evidence the victim resisted, shouted and felt threatened by the suspect. If this evidence is not presented then the court will consider it consensual.

"We need to establish a specific law for incest cases to break the barriers. The crime involves family relations: father and daughter, uncle and niece, if it happens then the case should go to trial and a sentence given," he said.

JSMP is also calling on the government to establish guidelines for interpreting the immunity granted to MPs and members of the government, including the implementation of witness protection law.

In response to the issue, the Minister of Justice Ivo Valente said the commission's work was still in progress. "They are making reforms in various areas: doing research and coordinating with state institutions, synchronizing the laws and many other things," he said.

However, to assess the commission's progress, he said it depended on when the commission published its findings.

Source: http://www.thediliweekly.com/en/news/security-defencejustice/14132-judicial-reform-commission-not-making-good-progress

Armed forces & defense

Execution of general state budget for defense ministry reaches 67%

Dili Weekly - October 17, 2016

Venidora Oliveira – Minister of Defense Cirilio Cristovao said execution of the general state budget for the Defense Ministry reached 67% by mid-year.

He said $26,217,240 had been allocated to the ministry, which mostly went towards treatment for veterans and boat maintenance.

"We also allocated some of the budget for overseas military training and boat maintenance because the government considers this important," said Cristovao.

He said two boats had been repaired so far and another two were still in the process. "We must wait for the company from Korea to come and fix the boats," he said. The budget execution for the maintenance works totaled more than $600,000.

National MP Arao Noe Amaral said the budget execution was underway and had made significant progress. "They use the money based on the plan already in place," said Amaral.

However, he said the government must demonstrate to the public that it had the capacity to manage the funds properly. He said a significant amount of funds were also allocated for administration like payment of salaries because the ministry was not responsible for any big projects.

Source: http://www.thediliweekly.com/en/news/capital/14108-execution-of-general-state-budget-for-defense-ministry-reaches-67

Foreign affairs & trade

When will Timor-Leste join ASEAN?

The Diplomat - October 6, 2016

Prashanth Parameswaran – As ASEAN approaches the commemoration of its 50th anniversary next year, one of the key things to watch will be the organization's progress in admitting an eleventh member: Timor-Leste. With Dili's admission gaining traction over the past few years, it is worth looking more closely at the dynamics at play.

Expansion in ASEAN

Expansion is far from a new thing in ASEAN. Indeed, the ten-member regional grouping began with only five founding countries – Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand – signing the Bangkok Declaration in the Thai capital on August 8, 1967. Brunei joined ASEAN in 1984 after resuming full independence, followed by Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam (the so-called CLMV countries) in the 1990s.

Nor has it been without controversy. Indeed, as I repeatedly emphasize to outside observers overly fixated on divisions within the grouping on issues like the South China Sea, a key source of these differences lies in ASEAN's decision to admit new members in 1990s despite concerns raised at the time ranging from these countries' limited capacity to how they would slow regional integration. As ASEAN has taken some bold steps in its evolution as an institution in the years that followed – from the signing of the ASEAN Charter in 2007 to the formal declaration of an ASEAN Community in 2015 – we have seen both the benefits and the costs of its enlargement.

The Timor-Leste case

Little wonder, then, that when Timor-Leste expressed its desire to join ASEAN soon after its independence in 2002, it was greeted with initial caution from several of the grouping's members. Though there were in fact several different concerns, the dominant one was all-too-familiar: that Dili's capacity was limited and that its admission now could further complicate community-building efforts.

Over the years since, however, ASEAN members have all accepted the idea of Timor-Leste's eventual admission into ASEAN. The main hurdle was cleared back in 2011, when Indonesia agreed to support this during its chairmanship under former President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. But even those previously hesitant about Dili's membership, most notably Singapore, have gradually been warming to the notion, even though there continue to be differences as to how soon this should occur.

Process-wise, Timor-Leste's accession is now all but assured. The feasibility studies commissioned on the impact of Dili's admission on each of the three pillars of the ASEAN Community – the ASEAN Political-Security Community, the ASEAN Economic Community, and the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community – have now all been completed. Dili has also established embassies in all ASEAN capitals and improved its ability to host ASEAN meetings and summits in recent years.

A case in point was Timor-Leste's recent hosting of the ASEAN People's Forum (APF). Though this was the product of Laos' disappointing, if unsurprising, reluctance to host a regular meeting of Southeast Asian civil society organizations as ASEAN chair, Dili's successful hosting of the meeting has been a boost for its admission as well.

The road ahead

The key question now is when exactly admission will occur. The next holders of the ASEAN chair, which rotates annually, are the Philippines in 2017 and Singapore in 2018. Manila could push things further next year, especially given the close ties between the two countries. But should Dili not cross the finish line by the end of 2017, that means it may have to wait till 2018 for Singapore's chairmanship. The city-state had been the main holdout in approving Dili's accession.

But regional factors are hardly the only ones that will shape Timor-Leste's admission into ASEAN. Domestically, the country is set for elections next year. Even though we are still months away from polls, some are already worrying about either a return to political bickering or the domination of a national unity government without a meaningful opposition. While it is certainly true that many current ASEAN members have democracy woes of their own, democratic backsliding in Timor-Leste could nonetheless end up coloring perceptions about its admission.

In the meantime, it will be interesting to watch how Dili is gradually eased into ASEAN. One marker of that, for example, is the extent to which it is allowed to attend ASEAN meetings, and the nature of the engagements it is involved in. Though the ASEAN chairman's statement following the latest round of summitry in September noted that "a number of sectoral bodies" have been exploring the possibility of Timor-Leste participating in their activities, a source familiar with the process noted that there have been disagreements about how this will actually play out.

It should also be noted that, as with previous new ASEAN admissions, the issues surrounding Timor-Leste's entry into the regional grouping will continue to play out years after it joins. As other cases have shown, beyond the rhetoric of an ever-expanding ASEAN family, the widening of the regional tent has brought the grouping its fair share of challenges, whether it be its increased exposure to great power rivalry, additional problems with respect to democracy and human rights, or even the ability of new members to host the meetings central to advancing its work.

Source: http://thediplomat.com/2016/10/when-will-timor-leste-join-asean/

Is Timor-Leste finally ready to join ASEAN?

The Diplomat - October 1, 2016

Roshni Kapur – After years of pushing for membership, Timor-Leste is now ready to become the 11th member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The process of Timor-Leste's accession into ASEAN has been ongoing for a number of years. The country was recognized as an ASEAN observer in 2002 and joined the ASEAN Regional Forum in 2005. Southeast Asia's newest state submitted a formal application to join the regional bloc in 2011.

The country's leaders said that they made a "strategic decision" to become an ASEAN member state in the future. In 2007, outgoing President Jose Ramos-Horta reiterated the message that joining ASEAN was a top priority for his country. After the 2012 presidential elections, the new government reaffirmed their commitment to join the regional bloc.

The nation-state had expressed interest to join the regional group as early as 2003. At that time only Thailand and Cambodia were backing its membership bid.

Political and economic development

Timor-Leste formally gained its independence in 2002, after a long and protracted struggle to secede from Indonesia. Its secession has made Timor-Leste one of the newest countries in the international system.

The tiny Southeast Asian state has come a long way in the last 14 years in terms of economic, political, and social development. According to the 2011 World Development Report, most post-conflict nations take between 15 and 30 years to move out of fragility. Timor-Leste's economic development, driven by its offshore petroleum revenue in the Timor Gap, has helped enhance its social services and human development.

Timor-Leste is now ranked higher than its neighbors (Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar) on the Human Development Index. In terms of income per capita, the small nation has overtaken other ASEAN members: Cambodia, Laos, Burma, and Vietnam.

The country is also gaining reputation for being an outspoken advocate of democracy and human rights. Many Southeast Asian countries have been criticized for their poor human rights records. Vietnam and Laos remain one-party communist states, Brunei is an absolute monarchy that imposes Sharia law, and Thailand has slipped into a military rule.

On the other hand, Timor-Leste ranks higher as a democratic nation than its neighbors thanks to a multi-party democracy. To date, the small nation has held two presidential and legislative elections that were regarded as democratically free and fair by international observation missions.

The country has also developed an active civil society that promotes human rights domestically and internationally. Timor-Leste is a member of multiple regional human rights bodies, such as the National Human Rights Institutions Forum and the Asia Pacific Forum. This year, when ASEAN chair Laos declined to host the ASEAN People's Forum, the bloc's annual civil society meeting, Timor-Leste stepped up instead.

Ten years ago, Timor-Leste was still reeling from Indonesia's military withdrawal. Now it has not only made peaceful reconciliations with its neighbor, but sees it as a crucial partner. Politicians in Timor-Leste are in talks with Indonesia on border negotiations. Approximately 98 percent of the outstanding issues have been resolved after guarantees over land rights were accepted by families living along the border of the two countries.

ASEAN readiness

The country is consolidating its readiness for ASEAN membership by actively participating as an observer in meetings of ASEAN sectoral bodies, convening workshops and seminars. Earlier this year, the country sent a representative to attend the ASEAN Regional Forum Workshop on Improving Fisheries Management. This was the third ASEAN Regional Forum meeting attended by Timor-Leste. Timor Leste has also signaled that it will steer toward a even closer relationship with ASEAN in the future.

Earlier this year, Indonesia raised hopes for Timor-Leste's membership into the regional bloc. The Indonesian ambassador to ASEAN, Rahmat Pramono, said that a feasibility study on Timor-Leste's membership, launched in 2011, was almost complete. The study emphasized three pillars – politics and security, economy, and socio-cultural factors.

"The politics, security and economy studies have been assessed, while the socio-cultural assessment is expected to be completed by the end of this year," Rahmat said.

Besides Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Brunei, the Philippines, and Myanmar are supportive of the country's bid. The outgoing president of the Philippines, Benigno Aquino, even pledged his support for Timor-Leste's membership in 2013 – especially important as the Philippines holds the ASEAN chair for 2017. Only Singapore and Laos have repeatedly blocked the country's bid on the grounds that it is not yet developed enough to join the regional organization. They think that Timor-Leste needs to overcome a number of hurdles before receiving membership.

Timor-Leste's record of transparent elections and high human development index reflect its seriousness toward moving forward in its nation-building process. It is also following the necessary steps and processes to abide with ASEAN requirements. If its admission is realized, it could potentially provide economic prosperity for the country.

[Roshni Kapur is a graduate student at the University of Sydney majoring in Peace and Conflict Studies.]

Source: http://thediplomat.com/2016/10/is-timor-leste-finally-ready-to-join-asean/

Mining & energy

PLN to start supplying electricity in Timor Leste border area by year-end

Jakarta Post - October 7, 2016

Ayomi Amindoni, Jakarta – State electricity company PLN is ready to supply electricity to areas on Indonesia-Timor Leste borders by the end of this year.

PLN is constructing power facilities in three transboundary posts (PLBN), targeted to completed in the end of 2016, on Indonesia-Timor Leste borders in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT). They are PLBN Motaain, PLBN Wini and PLBN Matomasin.

NTT-chapter PLN general manager Richard Safkaur said the company supported the supplying of electricity to the three PLBN, with the hope that locals could enjoy electricity, eventually leading to increases in the region's economy.

"Everything is still on schedule and hopefully, the construction can be carried out faster," Richard said in a statement on Friday.

He also hoped all parties involved could work well and complete the construction on time. "PLN is also prepared to supply electricity in line with the specifications that have been set," he went on.

The company says the construction of a power facility and its electrical connection with a power supply capacity of 555 kVA in PLBN Motaain is complete.

Meanwhile, the power facility construction in PLBN Wini with a capacity of 240 kVA is expected to be completed in the second week of October. The construction of a power facility with a capacity of 555 kVA at PLBN Motamasin is expected to finish in the second week of November. (ebf)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/10/07/pln-to-start-supplying-electricity-in-timor-leste-border-area-by-year-end.html

Fishing & maritime affairs

Chinese company starts fishing in Timor-Leste

Macauhub - October 14, 2016

China, Macau, Timor-Leste – Timor-Leste (East Timor) is expected to grant a license for fishing in its territorial waters to Chinese company Zhoushan Ningtai Ocean Fisheries Co., following the support provided by bilingual staff and professional services of the Macau Platform, reported the Macau Institute for Trade and Investment Promotion (IPIM).

IPIM also said Zhoushan Ningtai planned to launch this project that will act as a "springboard" to later extend cooperation with the Timor-Leste authorities in aquaculture, cold storage logistics and other industries.

The Chinese company is headquartered in the city of Zhoushan, which boasts the largest base for production, processing and marketing of fish products in China, and is now known as "China's fishing industry capital."

IPIM said the municipality started contacts with Timor-Leste in 2015 through the translation and support services for business matching of the Perfeicao company, which is one of the professional service providers registered with the "Website for Cooperation in the Economic, Commercial and Human Resources Area between China and Portuguese Speaking Countries," (or" Information Portal ").

Representatives of the city of Zhoushan, Zhejiang Province and Timor-Leste took part on Wednesday in Macau in a seminar on Zhoushan-Macau-Timor-Leste fisheries cooperation, which aimed to advance maritime cooperation projects, including the expansion of Zhoushan businesses in Timor-Leste, in the fishing projects and processing of aquatic products. (macauhub)

Source: http://www.macauhub.com.mo/en/2016/10/14/chinese-company-starts-fishing-in-timor-leste/

Invasion & occupation

More than $120,000 allocated for commemoration of Santa Cruz massacre

Dili Weekly - October 20, 2016

Paulina Quintao – The government through the Secretariat of State for Youth and Sport (SSYS) has allocated $120,499.25 to the November 12 organizing committee for National Youth Day, held to commemorate the Santa Cruz massacre of 1991.

Secretary of State Leovigildo da Costa Hornai said this year's event would differ from previous years as there would be a number of sports activities.

"The commemorations are not just a party but a reflection for Timorese people, from the leaders of 1975 to the new generation, to reflect and look to the future of Timor," he said.

He said the objective was to strengthen the spirit of patriotism and nationalism among young people, as well as honor those who died on November 12.

The 1991 Santa Cruz massacre shocked the world and hundreds of young people were shot dead by the Indonesian military during a pro-independence demonstration in Dili. The remains of the majority of the victims have still not been identified.

Timorese people commemorate the massacre every year to honor those who died in the incident.

Meanwhile, President of the November 12 organizing committee Gregorio Saldanha said this year's commemoration would be held under the theme "To honor and dignify the heroes".

"This is to inspire us, especially the young people to change their attitude and life and make a contribution to the development of the country," he said.

He said regular activities would be held, including mass, a march from Motael church to the Santa Cruz cemetery and a reflection for victims at night. There will also be various competitions, including sports, a quiz and traditional koremetan music.

Source: http://www.thediliweekly.com/en/news/news/14118-more-than-120-000-allocated-for-commemoration-of-santa-cruz-massacre

Radio Maubere: The secret link between occupied East Timor and the outside world

ABC News - October 12, 2016

Jack Kerr for Earshot – If someone was to make an Australian version of Forrest Gump, they might look to Brian Manning's life story for inspiration.

In 1966, he helped the Gurindji strikers in the Wave Hill walk-off. When Cyclone Tracy hit his hometown of Darwin, police commandeered his truck to collect dead bodies. Months later, he became involved in possibly the most important mission of his life.

That mission was Radio Maubere: an underground radio link that operated between Darwin and occupied East Timor during the 70s and 80s. For many years, it was the only link the Timorese had with the outside world.

"Dad felt very strongly that these people needed to be supported in their struggle," his son, Brian Manning Jr, said.

"So with a few other people, they got together and formed this radio operation. It was vital. There's no doubt that the Indonesians were in there to systematically reduce the population by any means necessary. So these people were just killing people, and these stories had to get out."

Elaborate lengths to avoid detection

Despite the many Timorese killed by Indonesian forces on Australia's doorstep, Canberra tried hard to keep Radio Maubere off the air.

In 2003, a decade before his death, Manning wrote of the cat-and-mouse games that played out in the jungles and savannah of the Top End as he and his crew went to elaborate lengths to avoid detection by Australian authorities.

"We decided to outfit a Toyota Coaster so a Timorese operator could travel around the Top End as a tourist with an Australian companion," he wrote.

"An ideal set up, but unfortunately not executed according to instructions and the operation was blown and another radio confiscated."

Decoys used to fool authorities

As the years went on, and the list of confiscated radio transmitters grew longer and Manning's tricks became more and more creative.

"They had a few decoy vehicles. And they had a few decoy radios. And they had people rendezvous with them in the bush in certain areas," Brian Manning Jr said.

Often one person would set up the transmitter, another would come along and use it, and a third would arrive to pack it up and transport it out of danger.

For the launch of one new transmitter, journalists, a politician and supporters were invited to come and speak to the guerrillas. They packed into three minibuses, which all set off in different directions.

"I don't think the feds were prepared for that," Brian Manning Jr said. "Dad was a bit of an old bushie up there. He'd worked out in the bush. He knew all the back roads, and all the bits of the old highway that were still there."

New transmitters always needed

The broadcasters even devised their own coded language to communicate top secret information, remembers one of the group's members, Robert Wesley-Smith.

"They each had a book, and the code would direct them to a page or something. It was very slow... but it was a great adventure," Mr Wesley-Smith said.

Whatever problems Manning and his crew had in Australia were nothing compared to the dangers faced by those operating on the other end, where gunshots could sometimes be heard in the background.

There was a constant need to get new transmitters into the country, and an engineer from Sydney came up with an ingenious method for avoiding detection.

"It now fell to the resourcefulness of Andrew, who created a transmitter out of a ghetto blaster," Manning wrote in his book.

"This was smuggled in to Fretilin through Dili. [Through this, they gave us] updates on Indonesian atrocities in Portuguese, which had to be translated and issued as press statements. As usual, the media was reluctant to use the material, again maintaining they were unconfirmed reports."

Formally recognised after conflict

As technology advanced and access to the country became easier, Radio Maubere was eventually superseded.

When journalists smuggled out footage of the Santa Cruz Massacre in 1991 the world saw in pictures the types of atrocities Radio Maubere had been relaying for years. It was a turning point in the conflict.

In 2011, the efforts of Manning, Wesley-Smith and others were formally recognised, with the Timorese government awarding them official honours.

"Dad was not in the game of supplying arms to people and perpetrating a war between our countries," Brian Manning Jr said.

"What he was about was ensuring there was a way for those people who were suffering under this regime, their voices could be heard.

"They didn't forget, the people who are in power now. They know who their friends were at the time, and it was a grave time. They felt like they were isolated alone and no one knew what was going on in their country.

"But there were people outside their country who fought hard and long struggles to keep it on the agenda."

Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-10-12/radio-maubere-secret-link-connecting-darwin-to-east-timor/7918804

Analysis & opinion

Trump presidency could provoke 'world disorder': Nobel Peace Prize winner Jose

ABC Radio Australia - October 25, 2016

Steven Schubert – Donald Trump would provoke instability and world disorder if he becomes the US president, according to Nobel Peace Prize winner and former president of Timor-Leste, Jose Ramos-Horta.

Dr Ramos-Horta told the ABC he was in the process of asking other Nobel Peace Prize laureates to sign an open letter urging Americans to vote against Mr Trump.

"I and many of my friends, Nobel Peace Prize laureates, are extremely concerned with the tone of a presidential candidate Donald Trump in making disparaging remarks about migrants, about Muslims, and refugees," he said during a brief visit to Darwin. "It's extremely worrying for all of us and it does not serve US interests."

US must be led with 'wisdom and prudence'

Dr Ramos-Horta said the United States had to realise it was not the only power in the world. "The US is an indisputable global power and global powers have to be led with prudence, with enormous wisdom."

He said he did not believe Mr Trump had the diplomatic skills to lead a world power. "Whatever the US president and US congress may decide on some measure of issues internationally can enhance peace, but can provoke instability and world disorder," Dr Ramos-Horta said.

He said the policies Mr Trump had outlined in campaign speeches were "very dangerous" and could worsen volatile situations. "These kind of speeches inflame an already tense world where you have anti-US extremism in many parts of the world and the US cannot afford it and the world cannot afford it," he said.

The international statesman expressed his admiration for Mr Trump's rival Hillary Clinton, who visited Timor-Leste when she was US secretary of state in 2012. "She's an outstanding woman, sensitive to the rest of the world," Dr Ramos-Horta said.

"She's extremely sensitive to education for poor people, for children. Together with my colleagues that's all we're trying to say, to alert American public opinion that the world we cannot live in cannot afford extremism coming from the White House itself."

Australia 'can't argue' against new maritime border with East Timor

The former president also predicted an international court would rule in his country's favour on the maritime boundary between Australia and Timor-Leste. The contentious issue is currently being decided by Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague.

If Dr Ramos-Horta's prediction is right, the decision would put huge oil and gas reserves firmly in East Timor's territory. "I wouldn't bet that it would go against us, because we are thoroughly familiar with international law," he said.

"With the mood at the United Nations it's extremely unlikely that such a commission could rule against Timor-Leste knowing full well where international law is. I am confident only because we understand what is there in international law in regard to our rights."

Dr Ramos-Horta said Australia could not argue against a maritime boundary with East Timor at equal distance between both nations, while also protesting against China's land claims in the South China Sea.

"We engage in so many international issues including having views on the South China sea it should only strengthen Australia's position on the international stage if Australia were to observe the same principals in Timor-Leste," he said.

Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-10-25/trump-presidency-could-provoke-world-disorder-says-ramos-horta/7962316

A good day in The Hague

The Monthly - October 4, 2016

Mungo MacCallum – It may sound unpatriotic, but I could not help cheering when the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague brought down its decision last week against Australia.

After more than 12 festering years, this finally brings to a head a shameful and shameless exhibition of browbeating and exploiting our newest and poorest neighbour, Timor-Leste.

John Howard claimed much of the credit for defending the independence of the nation, and so he should; but his motives were not entirely altruistic.

At the time of the Indonesian invasion in 1975, the Australian ambassador in Jakarta, Richard Woolcott, noted that an important consideration for Canberra should be the oil-rich seabed beneath the Timor Sea; it was in Australia's interests to control as much of it as possible, and the Indonesians would drive a far harder bargain than would the impoverished Timorese.

Nearly 30 years later, Howard made his call, and immediately after the declaration of Timorese independence in 2002, Australia's foreign minister, Alexander Downer, was on the doorstep demanding negotiations. The newly-formed nation was desperate for support and finance, which gave Downer his chance.

He behaved like an archetypal private-school bully, hectoring, threatening and, it later transpired, spying to achieve a manifestly unfair division: the boundary line was pushed a long way north to give Australia a share of what became the Sunrise fields. The Timorese didn't like it, but they had no choice; and they had no choice again when, five years later, Downer insisted that the treaty he had enforced should be extended until 2057 – by which time the oil would all have been sold.

But Downer's perfidy was revealed when one of the spooks who had been involved in bugging the Timorese talks turned whistleblower. The government did all it could to shut him down; his lawyer's offices were raided by ASIO and his passport confiscated indefinitely. But the scandal turned international opinion, which was already on the side of the impoverished Timor-Leste, further against Australia.

And when Timor went to The Hague to ask that the treaty be renegotiated with more equitable boundaries, Australia was forced to agree. The lawyers fought hard, claiming that the treaty was signed and sealed, and that therefore there was nothing to negotiate. But the court disagreed and ordered conciliation.

Julie Bishop, the current foreign minister, having scarcely drawn breath after inveighing about the sanctity of the rule of international law over the South China Sea dispute, had no real choice, so conciliation – negotiation – there will be. It may or may not be effective; but it has already exposed a clear injustice and the standover tactics of the Howard government in its naked pursuit of spoil.

To take advantage of any vulnerable victim is despicable; but to deliberately try to beggar an ally and a friend while purporting to offer support is unforgivable. Even Alexander Downer would have to admit that it is just not cricket. And that is why I, along with most of the civilised world, am cheering.

[Mungo MacCallum is a political journalist and commentator. His books include Run Johnny Run, Poll Dancing, and Punch and Judy.]

Source: https://www.themonthly.com.au/blog/mungo-maccallum/2016/04/2016/1475556551/good-day-hague

East Timor News Digest 10 – October 1-31, 2016

Nobel winner calls on Australia to show 'fair go' over $40b Timor Sea oil

Brisbane Times - October 27, 2016

Australia, East Timor to strive for agreement on disputed maritime boundary by

Straits Times - October 13, 2016

The rules of extraction: Australia and the Timor Sea

The Strategist (ASPI) - October 10, 2016

[Elisabeth Buchan is a research intern at Australian Stratigic Policy Institute (ASPI).]

Parliament begins discussions on human trafficking law

Dili Weekly - October 20, 2016

Women in East Timor push for political power

Women's Media Center – October 26, 2016

[Reporting for this story was made possible by a fellowship through the International Reporting Project.]

319 women to run for village chief in elections

Dili Weekly - October 26, 2016

With a new law in Timor-Leste, number of women in politics skyrockets

Plan International - October 25, 2016

Childcare

Poverty

Unexpected barriers

Pressure not to stand

[Lala Soares is the manager of Plan International Timor-Leste's programme on women and girls participation in local governance.]

More than 300 women ready to contest suku elections

Dili Weekly - October 17, 2016

Journalists call on Timor-Leste PM to drop defamation complaint against

Global Voices - October 18, 2016

East Timor journalists face trial after story on premier

Associated Press - October 6, 2016

Mango farmers' SOS to Timor workers

NT News - October 14, 2016

Government using the ABC method to reduce HIV in Timor-Leste

Dili Weekly - October 20, 2016

Central Java immigration office deports 51 students from Timor Leste

Antara News - October 17, 2016

Teachers not comfortable discussing sexual health topics with students

Dili Weekly - October 17, 2016

Women still lack information about family planning

Dili Weekly - October 12, 2016

Government still hasn't created policy for returning female drop-outs to school

Dili Weekly - October 12, 2016

Timor-Leste govt lauds peace education in Catholic schools

UCA News - October 7, 2016

Data shows Timor-Leste has high rates of hepatitis

Dili Weekly - October 5, 2016

Women's parliamentary group developing law to control underage marriage

Dili Weekly - October 7, 2016

New guidelines to improve support for victims of gender-based violence

Dili Weekly - October 28, 2016

Man accused of charging illegal fees to former East Timor residents

Jakarta Post - October 23, 2016

In Timor Leste, 'hunger season' will be worse after El Nino

IRIN News - October 12, 2016

A major boost for Timorese coffee as Timor-Leste coffee association forms

Daily Coffee News - October 3, 2016

[Nick Brown is the editor of Daily Coffee News by Roast Magazine. Feedback and story ideas are welcome at publisher@dailycoffeenews.com.]

Government to evict Kaikoli residents

Dili Weekly - October 7, 2016

Youth association raises awareness on conflict resolution

Dili Weekly - October 7, 2016

Judicial Reform Commission not making good progress

Dili Weekly - October 28, 2016

Execution of general state budget for defense ministry reaches 67%

Dili Weekly - October 17, 2016

When will Timor-Leste join ASEAN?

The Diplomat - October 6, 2016

Expansion in ASEAN

The Timor-Leste case

The road ahead

Is Timor-Leste finally ready to join ASEAN?

The Diplomat - October 1, 2016

Political and economic development

ASEAN readiness

[Roshni Kapur is a graduate student at the University of Sydney majoring in Peace and Conflict Studies.]

PLN to start supplying electricity in Timor Leste border area by year-end

Jakarta Post - October 7, 2016

Chinese company starts fishing in Timor-Leste

Macauhub - October 14, 2016

More than $120,000 allocated for commemoration of Santa Cruz massacre

Dili Weekly - October 20, 2016

Radio Maubere: The secret link between occupied East Timor and the outside world