Notícias - em inglês

The Watson Institute for International Studies - 20 Nov 2006

Problems continue to plague East Timor

During the 1990s, East Timor’s struggle against oppressive Indonesian rule was well publicized. Since achieving independence in 1999, the country has retreated back into relative obscurity. In “East Timor: A Look at the Troubles of a Young Democracy,” panelists at the Watson Institute recently discussed East Timor’s enduring issues.

Constâncio Pinto, chargé d'affaires of the East Timor Embassy in Washington, D.C., and a Brown University alumnus, discussed East Timor’s progressions and problems of the past seven years. Following 1999, the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) was able to restore security, and since then the government has established an oil fund to prevent East Timor’s resources from being wasted.

There are continual problems though, which Pinto argued are the fault of East Timor itself. The country can no longer blame Indonesia. Unemployment as high as 55 percent, a lack of human resources for an adequate justice system, political cleavages, and discrimination have plagued the country. Most striking is this year’s crisis, prompted by the expulsion of soldiers protesting discrimination. Pinto attributed the crisis to political leaders using the situation to further their own interests. The ensuing riots led the international community to return to the small country, and Pinto questioned whether it had left too early in 2002.

Moisés S. Fernandes, of the University of Lisbon, discussed the internal and external factors that have contributed to East Timor’s struggles. Internally, the pre-1990s political divisions have reappeared now that the common enemy, Indonesia, has been defeated. There is also a youth population that does not speak Portuguese, East Timor’s official language, and that has stronger ties with Indonesia. Mass poverty and the unwillingness of the Catholic Church to cede any power have also contributed to East Timor’s struggles.

Perhaps more interesting, Fernandes addressed external factors which have led to problems culminating in the crisis earlier this year. Fernandes argued that East Timor’s instability could be beneficial to Indonesia. Coincidentally, or perhaps not, evidence against Indonesia’s atrocities during the 1990s were destroyed in the recent crisis.

Fernandes was more critical of Australia’s role. Australia may have provoked the recent strife to achieve a regime change in East Timor in order to gain a better deal on the gas reserves located between the two countries, he said. Complaints have also surfaced about the arrogance of Australian troops in East Timor, he added, and they may soon be seen as an occupying force instead of peacekeepers. Fernandes also insinuated the role of an outside power in the recent violence by asking who is financing it.

Due to pressing engagements at the United Nations, Ambassador João Salgueiro of Portugal was unable to attend.

By Watson Institute Student Rapporteur Craig Kennedy ‘08

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Sydney Morning Herald - November 22, 2006

Crisis Looms in Dili as Wet Season Approaches
Cynthia Banham, Defence Reporter in Dili

THE Minister for Defence, Brendan Nelson, has warned of an imminent humanitarian crisis in East Timor if camps for internally displaced people are not moved before the wet season.

After meeting the acting United Nations special representative to East Timor, Finn Reskd-Nielsen, in Dili Dr Nelson said it was extremely important for the East Timorese Government to move quickly to relocate the camps because once the rain started they would be flooded and become a sea of mud.

"We will have a crisis on our hands," Dr Nelson said. He said the rains could begin any day.

Dr Nelson also said he would also consider reducing the number of troops in East Timor, after a two-day visit in which the commander of the Australian force, Brigadier Mal Rerden, said the 950 troops now on the ground was more than sufficient for the mission. However, there are safety concerns following the murder this week of two foreigners in Dili, one of them a Brazilian missionary.

Brigadier Rerden described a period of increasing stability and calm. "The UN police now are slowly reaching the level where they've got a good capability.

"That's also having an impact on the streets. We're able to let the police now take primacy in the day-to-day law enforcement and we provide backup and support in the event of something big happening."

Dr Nelson met Australian commanders and the East Timorese Prime Minister, Jose Ramos-Horta. A scheduled talk with the President, Xanana Gusmao, was cancelled by the President.

Dr Nelson said a part of the purpose of the visit was to get an on-the-ground feel for the security environment.

"Part of it is reviewing the size of the force composition," he said.

He said he would discuss troop numbers with the Prime Minister, John Howard, and the Chief of Defence Force, Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston, at a meeting of the national security cabinet when he returned.

"It is possible that we might have a slight reduction at some time in the not too distant future," Dr Nelson said.

He said he had reiterated Australia's commitment to East Timor to Dr Ramos-Horta. He also discussed plans for helping to train the East Timorese defence force and provide training for maritime and border protection.

The leaders also discussed security arrangements for elections scheduled for May. Australia also wanted to develop an agreement with Dili that formalised the way Australian forces operated with those of East Timor and the UN.

"What's important is we have a clear understanding of how we work and how we work co-operatively with Timor Leste," Dr Nelson said.

Brigadier Rerden said there was still some gang activity in Dili, though the Government was making efforts to engage local youth groups. He said some of the gang violence appeared to be orchestrated or controlled and was aimed at having a political effect.

Some of the violence, in particular, had been directed against the Australian presence, though there was a lot of support for the Australian Defence Force from the populace.

One senior officer told the Herald there was a lot of anti-Australian feeling in the ruling party Fretilin, which is still headed by the deposed prime minister, Mari Alkatiri, who continues to exercise significant influence in the country.

***

Agence France-Presse - 21 Nov 2006, 01:22

Australia proposes involving other nations in East Timor force

Australia has no plans to withdraw its troops from East Timor, and is considering involving other nations in the peacekeeping process, Australian Defence Minster Brendan Nelson said Tuesday.

"We will be staying as long as the government of Timor Leste and the United Nations believe it is important for the forces to stay," Nelson said of the UN-sanctioned force charged with restoring order in restive Timor.

"We are committed to the people of Timor Leste as long as they need us," he said after meeting Prime Minister Jose Ramos-Horta.

Nelson said that Australia preferred not to have its soldiers deployed in other countries, but that it was very clear that "at the moment, Timor Leste still needs assistance from other countries."

In the talks with Ramos-Horta he discussed ways to develop East Timor's military forces, the security issue in Dili and elsewhere in the country, and security arrangements in the run up to general elections next year.

"I also discussed with the prime minister the possibility of having a small number of other countries in the region joining the Australian and New Zealand and other forces in Timor Leste to provide security," he said.

Nelson said that the security situation in East Timor remained fragile.

"It is improving, but we still have got a long way to go," he said.

Some 3,200 Australian-led regional forces were deployed to the tiny nation in May after violence between security force factions, as well as street gangs, left some 37 people dead over two months.

Their numbers have since been reduced to 1,100, bolstered by the presence of some 1,000 UN police whose forces will eventually be upped to 1,600.

East Timor has rejected an offer of a UN military peacekeeping force to cope with civil unrest in the country, opting instead to rely on the Australian-led regional force.

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