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Call for the Australian government to act justly with East Timor

Australia East Timor Friendship Association (South Australia) Statement - January 12, 2006

"The Australia East Timor Friendship Association (SA) [AETFA SA) Inc joins the Timor Sea Justice Campaign and other NGOs in expressing concern that the Australian Government is again shortchanging Timor Leste (TL), the poorest nation in the SE Asian region.

AETFA believes that thanks to the Timor Sea Justice Campaign in Australia and the hard work by the TL negotiating team, the latest offer is better than previous ones. However, there still need to be radical changes in the Australian Government's attitude before it can claim that it is being fair to TL.

The Australian government adamantly refuses to agree to a maritime border between the two countries that adheres to the UN International Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Under this Convention, the midline between the two countries is accepted as the common border.

This refusal is tantamount to Australia violating TL's sovereign rights.

Also, Australia has already taken more than $2 billion profit from the Laminaria- Collarina field and is demanding a 50:50 split of the reserves in the Greater Sunrise field. Both these fields are totally in TL's half of the Timor Sea. In addition, Australian leaders are demanding that they receive 10% of profits in the Joint Petroleum Development Area which is also in TL's area.

Apart from the oil and gas, Australia is still not being fair to TL or to the peoples of the region while it resumes military cooperation with the Indonesian military (TNI).

Shamefully, Australian governments supported the TNI during Indonesia's illegal and brutal occupation of TL and, along with the US, has recently resumed this cooperation. This comes at a time when some of the major perpetrators of crimes against humanity in TL are now in key military positions in West Papua, Acheh and the Moluccas.

When the TNI and its militias made several incursions into the TL enclave of Oe Cusse in October 2005, Australian leaders made no protest and persisted in resuming full military cooperation with the TNI.

To be fair to the long-suffering people of Timor Leste who were also Australia's valiant World War 2 allies, the latest agreement should see the Howard Government making the following changes that it has hitherto refused to make:

1. Recognise the UN International Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) allowing for a sea boundary midway between the coastlines of the two countries.

2. Agree that Timor Leste has full ownership of the oil and gas reserves north of the sea boundary and that Australia has ownership of all the oil and gas reserves south of the border.

3. Agree that the profits from the oil and gas which hav already been drilled be held in escrow (trust) until there is a final agreement on the maritime boundary.

4. Cease imputing wrong motives to the TL Government over this matter when all it is doing is attempting to get its rightful share of funding in order to rebuild its shattered infrastructure and services that were destroyed by the TNI and its militias.

5. Cease training the Indonesian military (TNI) until all the war criminals in its ranks have been brought to justice."

Andrew (Andy) Alcock Information Officer
Australia East Timor Friendship Association (SA) Inc
c/o Global Education Centre
Torrens Building
220 Victoria Square
Adelaide SA 5000

Phone: 83710480 (home) 82053200 (work) 0417 838 952

Email: aa@cpsu.asn.au or andyalcock@bigpond.com.

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