The Age
June 8, 2006 - 10:54AM
Foreign Minister Alexander Downer says political opponents in East Timor must use peaceful means to resolve their differences.
A UN inquiry is expected to examine claims that East Timor prime minister Dr Mari Alkatiri was behind the May 25 massacre of 12 unarmed Timorese officers by renegade soldiers.
And ABC radio reported that 30 civilians had been armed with assault rifles and two vehicles and allegedly given orders by Dr Alkatiri, via former interior minister Rogerio Lobato, to eliminate political opponents.
Mr Downer said it was up to the East Timorese to solve their own political problems but they must be solved lawfully.
"Those rebels and anybody else shouldn't try to resolve those issues outside of the constitution and outside the rule of law," Mr Downer told ABC radio.
Mr Downer said he had heard the allegations about Dr Alkatiri plotting to destroy political opponents, but believed East Timor was "a place which is full of claims".
"It would be completely unacceptable for the East Timorese or any other prime minister to try and act in a way which was illegal and outside of the confines of the constitution," he said.
"If there was evidence to that effect then the law enforcement authorities should deal with it."
Dr Alkatiri is understood to have said rebels' claims were an attempt to demonise him.
quinta-feira, junho 08, 2006
Timor must find political peace: Downer
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Anyone who has ever met PM Alkatiri would know he is a man of peace and a strident promoter of the rule of law. As an international who has worked as advisor in Timor-Leste for many years I know this is a ludicrous suggestion that he is involved with this type of promotion of armed conflict and sounds very much like the sort of Indonesian tactics which we know some Timorese have unfortunately learnt very well from the clandestine days from the Indonesians. Putting it another way, this is the oldest trick in the book in this part of the world.
FRETILIN from what we have seen has discipline of steel. Despite the houses of the majority of its members of parliament having been burnt, and party leadership intimidated and tragetted, shot at in Dili, and the Districts of Ermera and Liquisa, it has not retaliated with reciprocal violence. Nor should we fear that it will. Why has this been the case? Because anyone who talks to them know that most FRETILIN people were persecuted for being who they were and for wanting independence, including by people who are now members of the opposition. Members of FRETILIN saw death and destruction from war one too many times to have it revert to their midst. FRETILINs motto at the last elections and which is oft repeated is MAXIMUM TOLERANCE, TOTAL VIGILANCE. It is a belief that not all Timorese share the beliefs in the ideals of a free, just and democratic and truly independent Timor-Leste. This has been illustrated abundantly by the divisive and violent tacticts used by the opposition to the FRETILIN government of late.
These are not the actions of hawks but I suggest of doves.
PM Alkatiri from the event having occured initiated a formal request to the UN to investigate the shooting of the unarmed police officers. It was his initiative. He also together with the President of the Republic, President of the Parliament, initiated the request for foreign intervention to stop further bloodshed. This was done without haste and in the best interests of the nation, despite what differences he has had with Downer and Howard, stemming largely from the acrimoneous Timor Gap negotiations. Are these the actions of a man with something to hide? To invite his antagonists of late to maintain law and order, in the shape of Australia to come here with 1300 armed men and more police?
Recently, having stood outside the Presidents office I noticed that the Prime Minister arrived in a convoy which was guarded by only armed Australian ADF personel as his security escorts. His Timorese escorts we noticed were not armed, suggesting I would venture to say that they had been disarmed. In contrast, the President has a veritable "army" of Timorese police armed with all sorts of highpowered automatic weapons and dressed in battle fatigues. Friends who attended the swearing in of the Judges and others last Saturday observed at least 12 heavily armed Timorese police guarding the President and loitering in and around the Courts, again in contrast to only the Australians guarding the PM. These are not the actions of a plotter of violence.
Lets put all this in prespective and stop demonising the PM as he has it seems rightly suggested there are people attempting to do. We internationals should at least do no further harm and work with the timorese to heal the rifts and the wounds which have senselessly been used by some as a tool to engender division and hatred for purely selfish political gain. I close with the President of the Republics words on Saturday at the swearing in of the Judges etc: "Once again the ghosts of jealousy, hatred and vengence have come back to haunt us". He knows the propensity of these three factors to divide and destroy Timorese society. He knows it is all aimed at PM Alkatiri without justification. Lets help not hinder.
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