Timor Leste Picking Up The Pieces

July 27, 2006 11:23 AM
Bermana


By Kristy Inus and Sharifah Nur Shahrizad

KUALA LUMPUR, July 27 (Bernama) -- While it is on the road to recovery, Timor Leste, which suffered sectoral clashes that ended up changing its political leadership, is still nursing the wounds from the conflict.

The clashes in April were triggered by the sacking of 600 soldiers who had complained of discrimination in the army, citing their originating from the western part of the country as the cause. The ensuing clashes resulted in Dr Jose Ramos-Horta replacing Mari Alkatiri as Prime Minister earlier this month.

Ramos-Horta, who is visiting Malaysia, said that those who had been displaced and had fled their homes, were now returning.

However, a number of them are still frightened and traumatised by the bloody clashes.

To cope with the situation, he said the government had initiated mediation dialogues and the distribution of brochures to regain the confidence of the people to return to their homes.

"We are also starting the process of strengthening security in the city and in the neighbourhoods, so that people feel more confident to return to their homes.

"These are our own efforts to heal the wounds of our people, although it will take a long time," he told Bernama in an interview.

Ramos-Horta who is here on a brief working visit, said that life in Dili was returning to normal with shops, schools and public services re-opened.

Some services were never closed during the crisis, he said, adding that hospitals, the airport, port, customs and immigration services had remained open throughout the period.

"Schools outside the capital also stayed open as the crisis was mainly in Dili.

"The current situation is very much stabilised and peaceful," he said, adding that there had been no incidents of violence the past several weeks.

He, however, noted that this would not have been possible without the swift intervention of friendly countries like Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand and Portugal, which sent their peacekeeping troops and humanitarian assistance.

"So, my primary reason to come here is to thank Malaysia and the other countries for their great support," Ramos-Horta said.

He said Malaysia had made significant contributions to United Nations efforts to stabilise Timor Leste, including in the latest unrest in May that led to the change in leadership.

"We are very proud with the response (during the crisis) where within days, Malaysia's armed forces landed in East Timor and had since contributed significantly to end the violence in the streets of Dili," he added.

Ramos-Horta expressed hope that Malaysia would continue to serve under the UN Security Council, which is planning to set up a new mission to Timor Leste soon.

On Timor Leste's application to join Asean, he said his country was determined to join the regional association as it would be in its best interest. Asean members had given their consensus to welcome the country into the grouping but with several conditions tied.

"We have already established an inter-ministerial task force in my country. We will expand it so that we begin serious preparations to join Asean a few years from now when we are ready."

He said prior to the application, Timor Leste had already taken steps to establish bilateral ties with all the 10 Asean member countries.

"We have embassies now in Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur and soon we will have one in Bangkok and another in Manila. We will increase (the number) further."

At the same time, he said, the country would continue consultations on a wide range of issues regionally and internationally, to illustrate its firm commitment towards integration in the region.

--BERNAMA