Don't worry about Lu Olo

Jakarta Post - April 18, 2007

Kristio Wahyono, Jakarta

The presidential polls in East Timor last week resulted in a run-off election on May 8 between Jose Ramos-Horta, an independent candidate, and Fransisco Guterres Lu ‘Olo of the Fretilin Party. The preliminary vote count showed that Ramos-Horta won 23 percent of the vote, trailing behind Lu ‘Olo, who had 29 percent.

Lu ‘Olo, the warrior name of Francisco Guterres, was a commander in East Timor's guerrilla army. He spent 24 years fighting and did not once set his feet in a village or a town. He lived in mountain camps and hid in isolated farmhouses. He was one of only a handful of army commanders who escaped captivity or death and the only original member of Fretilin who survived in East Timor.

When the Indonesians quit Timor Leste at the end of October 1999, Lu ‘Olo left his mountain camp and began his transition from soldier to civilian. Since his wife was killed in a battle, Lu ‘Olo promotes peace and stability, love and forward looking. At a Fretilin function, three concerned women discussed the imperfect nature of Lu `Olo's private life. He replied: "A lot of old ladies and my family have advised me to find a partner... with whom to share the happiness of life. But I haven't taken that step because first, I want to rebuild the lives of our people." (From East Timor: Birth of a Nation, www.abc.net.au).

As a speaker of the unicameral National Parliament, Guterres, president of the ruling party Fretilin, which secured 55 of 88 seats in the parliament, finally agreed with the Horta government to ratify an accord between Australia and Timor Leste on Feb. 27, 2007 over the management of oil and gas resources in the Greater Sunrise field in the Timor Sea. It has reserves worth more than US$27 billion over the project's life and could potentially contribute $10 billion over the course of 20 years to Timor Leste. The decision to ratify the agreement showed that Comrade Lu ‘Olo is not stubborn, but is looking forward to build his country, considering the government's sluggishness in the sector after five years of independence. He always visits the rural areas and listens to the villagers.

As a guerrilla leader, Lu ‘Olo resembles Xanana Gusmao, although he is not as popular and charismatic as the outgoing president of Timor Leste. According to the constitution, the president has veto rights and is the armed forces commander in chief, but that position is only a symbol, ceremonial, and powerless.

What's wrong with the ex-speaker and freedom fighter being elected as president of Timor Leste? He has a clear track record and did a lot for his country.

On the other hand, the government of Timor Leste, according to the Asia Development Bank and the World Bank, has yielded little improvement in recovering the economy of ordinary Timor Leste people after five years. Infrastructure and social services, particularly in rural areas, have degraded to their levels before 1999. Malnutrition and food shortages are widespread. Poverty is pervasive, with 40 percent of the population living below the poverty line. Jobs are scarce, resulting in unemployment of up to 80 percent.
Although the development of oil and gas resources in nearby waters has begun, the technology-intensive industry has done little to create jobs for the unemployed because the gas is piped to Australia.

Socio-political problems as well as domestic security after the departure of the UN peacekeeping force in 2002 remain fragile. Unity is ruptured since people are deeply divided, weapons are distributed illegally to civilians, and thousands of people still live in refugee camps in Dili. Who is to blame and responsible? Is it the Fretilin Ruling Party, in which Mari bin Amude Alkatiri acts as a powerful secretary general, or the members of the cabinet and the prime minister, or both?
Jose Manuel Ramos-Horta, the country's current prime minister replacing Mari Alkatiri, is a former foreign minister, Nobel Peace prize winner in 1996, good communicator, former UN secretary general candidate and looks to have better prospects. Although he is considered "diaspora" by a majority of the people, it was him who, on Sept. 11, 1974, established the Fretilin Party together with Francisco Xavier do Amaral, the late Nicolao Lobato and Mari Alkatiri, but left it in 1978. He lived for 24 years overseas to promote the independence of East Timor.
At the first round of presidential elections last week, Ramos-Horta and Lu ‘Olo defeated six other candidates, including rising star Fernando "Lasmana" de Araujo of the Democratic Party and Lucia Maria Lobato of the Democratic Socialist Party. But who will win in the end depends on the supporters of the six political parties. Apart from this, Lu ‘Olo has difficulties in uniting Fretilin Maputo (Alkatiri) with Fretilin Mudanca (the reformists).

Ramos-Horta, in facing the renegade Major Alfredo Reinado, made a mistake by using night vision technology, snipers, infra-red and Black Hawks, killing five of Reinado's soldiers with ease, something that will not win any sympathy from the people of Same and the Timorese as a whole.

- The writer is a former Indonesian representative in East Timor (2000-2003).
Telecomasia - Apr 18, 2007
Indonesia’s Telkom secures a $1.3 million contract to provide telecommunications satellite services to East Timor. The company expects the leasing of Telkom's transponders by Timor Leste to allow for further expansion of businesses in the region.