UNMIT – MEDIA MONITORING - Wednesday, 30 May 2007

National Media Reports

PR (Republican Party) will have a coalition with CNRT

The president of Republican Party (PR), João Mariano Saldanha has declared that his party will form a coalition with the CNRT and other political parties that share the same agenda.

“The PR will make coalition with parties, for example the CNRT and the coalition of ASDT-PSD, which can form a coalition in the national parliament for approving important laws for the people of Timor Leste,” Mr. Saldanha said on Tuesday. (STL)

CNRT’s campaign is interrupted by Fretilin

The campaign of the Conselho Nacional Reconstrução Timor Leste (CNRT), led by the former president Xanana Gusmão, was interrupted by a group from the ruling party Fretilin on Tuesday (29/5) in Lospalos when the former minister of foreign affairs, Jose Luis Guterres from Fretilin, gave a statement in support of CNRT.

The STL’s journalist from Lospalos reported that even though the campaign was interrupted, the situation in Lospalos remain calm. (STL)

All parties want to improve the PNTL’s professionalism

At a joint debate held by the prosecutor for human rights (PDHJ) on Tuesday (29/5) in GMT Dili, all political parties which will compete in the parliamentary elections declared commitment to improving the professionalism of the PNTL.

All political parties declared that to improve domestic security for the people, the PNTL needs to become professional, independent, impartial, and act with integrity.

Meanwhile, the representatives from Congresso Nacional Reconstrução Timor Leste (CNRT), Cicílio Caminha and Carmelita Moniz stated that if CNRT wins in the upcoming parliamentary election, CNRT will separate the work of PNTL and ministry of interior. (STL and TP)

Ramos Horta is cheerless on the promulgation of the law of alteration
The president of republic, Jose Ramos Horta said that he is unhappy with some articles in the alteration laws.

“I am unhappy about some articles that call for the removal of party logos, it is not acknowledging people’s wishes -- which the ruling party Fretilin should learn,” said Mr. Horta on Tuesday (29/5) after promulgating the law in the Palacio das Cinzas Caicoli Dili. (TP)

Government: no tolerance for criminals
The third constitutional Prime Minister, Estanislau Aleixo da Silva, guaranteed that IDPs can return home and his government pledged that will not tolerate nor give impunity to criminals regardless of their actions.

“For the criminals specifically who have created this crisis, the government will not (seek)…reconciliation and dialogue with such people,” said Mr. da Silva on Tuesday (29/5) in MTRC Caicoli Dili. (TP)


International Media Reports

European Union donates 63 million euros to East Timor for development projects
28 May 2007
Macauhub

Lisbon, Portugal, 28 May – The European Union plans to donate 63 million euros to East Timor to support development programs in the country, the special representative of the United Nations secretary general for East Timor said in Lisbon Friday.

The announcement was made by Atul Khare after an audience with the president of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, with the Indian diplomat highlighting the importance of East Timor for the “EU 27.”

Speaking on behalf of Timorese president, José Ramos-Horta, Khare said he had also invited the president of the European Commission to visit East Timor, as was the case with Portuguese Prime Minister José Sócrates.

“Durão Barroso told me that he was thinking of visiting East Timor and, in fact I made use of the occasion to invite him to do exactly that, not only in my name, but also on behalf of the president of East Timor,” he said, adding that the trip would be mad “as soon as possible.” (macauhub)


The Balibo Five has haunted Sutiyoso to leave Australia
May 30, 2007
The Jakarta Post

DARWIN (Antara): Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso and team decided to leave Australia earlier than scheduled after the arrival of an invitation to coroner's inquest the Balibo Five case.

The sudden rescheduling was triggered by the arrival of two Sydney policemen to Sutiyoso's hotel room on Tuesday who rudely delivered the invitation to further investigate the 1975 killing of five Australian-based journalists at Balibo.

Sutiyoso refused the invitation and decided to cancel his visit to Canberra on Wednesday.
"The main agenda of the Governor visit to Sydney on May 27-29 is to reactivate a sister province cooperation between Jakarta and New South Wales," Indonesian Consulate General’s economic affairs consul Kusno Wibowo Mazwar said. "Because of the incident in Sydney, Sutiyoso decides not to continue his visit in other cities in Australia and return home."

The Jakarta-New South Wales cooperation has not been running well since 1994 due to the transfer of duty among Jakarta city administration officials and the economic crisis that hit Indonesia in 1997.

Governor Sutiyoso was scheduled to hold a gathering with Indonesian and Australian businessmen in Canberra on May 30.

Unaware of this incident, the Indonesian ambassador for Vanuatu, TM Hamzah Thayeb, had left the APEC forum in Darwin to welcome the Governor in Canberra. (***)


No Balibo guarantees: Downer
May 30, 2007 - 9:41AM
The Sidney Morning Herald

Indonesia has not been given a guarantee it has nothing to worry about from a coronial inquest into the Balibo five, Foreign Minister Alexander Downer says.

Five Australian-based journalists died in Balibo in 1975 as the Indonesian military invaded East Timor, and more than 30 years later the NSW coroners' court is investigating the deaths.

Witnesses to the inquest have accused the Indonesian military of executing the five journalists.

Reports out of Indonesia today suggest the Australian government has told Jakarta they should not be concerned about the inquest.

But Mr Downer said he had not given Indonesia any guarantee.

"I wouldn't put it in those terms," Mr Downer told ABC Radio today.

"We had, from my recollection, a very brief discussion on this quite some time ago, not that it wasn't anything to worry about, but that this was an investigation into events that occurred over 30 years ago and obviously we will just take it as it comes."

Mr Downer said he had not seen the Indonesian reports and would not try to analyze them.

"I haven't seen the quote and I haven't seen the context of the quote and it's attributed to a foreign minister so I am not getting into a micro-analysis of the quote," the minister said.

Mr Downer said the deaths had happened well before his time in government, and there was nothing much he could do.

"I mean this has not been a focus of my work, particularly this deputy coroner's inquiry because it's not something that I've ever had involvement with of course.

"These are events of many, many years ago."

But he said the Department of Foreign Affairs had cooperated with the coroner's inquiry so far, particularly with providing documents from 32 years ago.

"We will let the coroner's inquiry take its course and when it is concluded, if there are recommendations, if they have any bearing on foreign policy then we'll have a look at them."
AAP


Official campaigning begins in E.Timor
Last Updated 29/05/2007, 18:45:36
ABC Radio Australia

Campaigning has officially started for East Timor's crucial election next month to decide the parliament and next prime minister.

Most of the 14 parties contesting the June 30 poll have submitted their campaign schedules to the National Election Commission.
The election is expected to be a tough contest between the new party of former president, Xanana Gusmao, and Fretilin, which has dominated parliament since East Timor officially gained its independence in 2002 from Indonesia.

Nobel Peace Prize winner Jose Ramos-Horta won this month's election for president in a landslide against Fretilin.


EAST TIMOR: Leader of New Party Opposes Vote Counting Changes

Dili, 29 May (AKI) - The president of the new East Timorese party Partido Unidade Nacional (PUN), Fernanda Borges, is against proposed changes to the country's electoral law ahead of legislative elections on 30 June on the grounds that they would hamper transparency. "It will be very difficult for people to accept this change and believe that the counting will be done transparently," she told Adnkronos International (AKI).

Under the changes proposed by the Fretilin majority party, voting slips would be transported and counted in the capitals of electoral districts rather than at polling stations as happened during the presidential elections in April and May won by Jose Ramos Horta.

Borges also said there isn't enough time to make such a change.

"To change the rules now would mean electoral officials and party agents would have to be retrained at short notice," Borges told AKI. "New security measures would also have to be put in place to stop ballot boxes from being tampered with or changed."

The 30 June vote is considered more important than the presidential election as, in the Timorese political system, power resides with the prime minister, the majority party member given the job of forming the government.

One of the new parties to be set up in the former Portuguese colony, PUN is based on Christian democracy principles and claims to have 100,000 members.

Its president Borges, who was part of the first post-independence government but resigned in 2001 accusing the political establishment of corruption, accused Fretilin of "manipulating the electoral law for its own purposes and breaking the trust of the people once again."
(Fsc/Aki)


And They re Off in East Timor Campaign
Prensa Latina – Latin American News Agency

Dili, May 29 (Prensa Latina) The June 30 presidential and legislative election campaign began in Timor Leste on Tuesday in what promises to be a very tight race.

At least 16 parties signed a pact agreeing on a peaceful campaign with a behavior code, and promising to accept the results of the election.
Atul Khare, heading the UN Mission in Timor Leste, said the plan is to make certain the winning party represents the desires of the people and promises to attend to the needs of minorities.

The future government structure will be determined by the voting, as will the election of a prime minister.
So far the favorite’s candidates are the governing FRETILIN (Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor) that led the fight for independence from Indonesia and has 55 of the 88 legislative seats, and the recently created National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction party of ex President Xanana Gusmao. hr ccs gdb dor


EDITORIAL: East Timor's troubles
05/29/2007
Asahi Shimbun

East Timor is celebrating its fifth year of independence, and we well recall the feelings of uplifting joy when this country finally gained freedom after a quarter century of Indonesian rule. Today, that joy has all but disappeared, and East Timor is on the brink of becoming a "failed state."

Earlier this month, Nobel Peace Prize winner Jose Ramos-Horta was elected president. One of his first declarations in office was that his priority is to enable women, children, elderly and young people to sleep in peace at night. The fact that he felt compelled to state this at his inauguration vividly illustrates the country's troubles.

A year ago this month, the capital Dili was a centre of violence when elements of the East Timor military rioted. Houses and cars were torched and order broke down. Even today, tens of thousands of people are still in refugee camps.

Since independence, the gap between rich and poor has gradually widened. Animosity between different regions and ethnic groups is strong. It was such discontent festering among the people that coalesced and erupted into the 2006 crisis.

After fighting for independence and winning control of the government and military, the new East Timor government lapsed into a mire of corruption and inefficiency, losing popular support. Horta won the presidency by campaigning against corruption and inefficiency.

The United Nations played a large role in the initial period after East Timor's independence, until the new government activities could get under way. The United Nations sent 3,500 peacekeepers, including troops from Japan's Self-Defense Forces. But all peacekeepers had left East Timor by 2005. Things disintegrated into crisis the next year.

To quell the violence, Australia and other countries sent a multinational force to East Timor. The United Nations also sent in 3,000 peacekeepers. These troops made the latest presidential election possible.

U.N. officials admit that it pulled out its earlier peacekeeping mission too early. In conflict-ridden countries, it is common for civil war to flare once international groups pull out support.

This failure must not be repeated. This is why we stressed in our recent editorial series, "Proposals for Japan's New Strategies," the importance of peace-building. Helping rebuild war-torn nations is a task in which Japan can and should play a major role.
Now more than ever, the government must do everything in its power to help rebuild peace in East Timor. In the U.N. peacekeeping mission, the core functions needed from now on will be civil administration--something that Japan excels in. But only a few Japanese staff are in East Timor to help.

The government should urge the U.N. mission to accept Japanese into senior positions so as to help direct its mission in East Timor. At the same time, Japan should provide the personnel and funds for administrators and police, and to improve the legal system and other crucial tasks highly needed for rebuilding. And to prevent the resurgence of conflict, it is imperative that order and stability be restored to East Timor. It is also essential to establish and nurture dialogue between the leaders of various political factions.

As an Asian country, Japan has a responsibility to take the lead here. Organizations like the Japan International Cooperation Agency and NGOs may also have much to contribute.

Our leaders should also start thinking about what will happen in East Timor after the U.N. mission has left again. The new U.N. Peacebuilding Commission, created only last year, is ideal for this important task. Japan should advise the commission to include East Timor in its post-conflict recovery activities.

Japan has a responsibility to lend a helping hand throughout Asia, thereby preventing the region from having a failed state. --The Asahi Shimbun, May 28(IHT/Asahi: May 29, 2007)


Timor truth body struggling for info
May 29, 2007 - 1:20PM
The Age


A truth commission investigating the violence surrounding East Timor's historic vote for independence in 1999 says it is having trouble accessing documents, including from the Indonesian military.

The East Timor Indonesia Commission of Truth and Friendship (CTF) hopes to crosscheck the information in the archived documents with the testimony of high profile military personnel who have fronted the inquiry.

Former head of the Indonesian armed forces General Wiranto - who contested Indonesia's presidential elections in 2004 - denied there were any gross violations of human rights in East Timor in 1999 when he appeared before the truth commission earlier this month.

The commission was established by the presidents of Indonesia and East Timor to come up with a conclusive truth to the 1999 violence to help repair relations between the two nations.

"The documents are spread, some are still at the Serious Crime Unit ... some documents are in institutions such as Indonesian military headquarters," said East Timor commissioner Cirilo Varadales.

"These documents are very important to know, and to look at, so the commissioners can review and crosscheck to find out whether there was an institutional responsibility in 1999 or not.

"We are hoping to have a good cooperation and collaboration with those institutions."

The documents include telegrams sent from Indonesian military (TNI) headquarters to military and government leaders in East Timor at the height of the violence.

The CTF had filed a request for the documents to the Indonesian military's legal department in February, he said.

Indonesian commissioner Agus Widjojo said the bureaucracy inside the Indonesian military made it difficult to access the documents.

"The documents are still in archive, maintained by the TNI (Indonesian military)," Widjojo said.
"We have obtained some but because this happened long in the past and was issued by different levels of command it is taking time to find it."

The CTF is due to wrap up by August, but has asked for a one-year extension.

Widjojo said it was awaiting a reply from the two governments, although Indonesian officials had hinted it would only be given until January next year to submit its final report.

The commission, which has been criticized by human rights groups because it has the power to recommend amnesties to perpetrators of human rights violations, is expected to hold three more public meetings.

East Timor's former president Xanana Gusmao is expected to be among those to testify, following the tiny nation's parliamentary elections next month.

Indonesian major-general, Kiki Syahnakri, had asked to testify at an upcoming hearing in Dili, where there is still a warrant for his arrest.

Syahnakri was one of several high-ranking Indonesian generals indicted by East Timor's Special Panels in absentia in Dili District Court for crimes against humanity in 2003, but never prosecuted because they remained outside the court's jurisdiction in Indonesia.
"We need (Syahnakri) to explain the political and security situation in martial law, and we are considering possibilities like if he got arrested when he arrived there," Indonesian co-chairman Benjamin Mangkoedilaga said.

Commissioner Varadales, meanwhile, said the CTF was "trying our best to give what Syahnakri wants, because he shows a good will to appear in front of the Timor people, to reveal what really happen during that (vote for independence) and that deserves an appreciation."