BACK DOOR Newsletter on East Timor

Feb I-ETCW: Timeline of the Timor oil sell-out  Background added Apr 13
“UNTAET’s position, acting on behalf of the East Timorese people, is that the royalties and the tax revenue from the area north of the mid-point should come to East Timor, and if there is not going to be a maritime delimitation, East Timor should have the same benefit as if there were a maritime delimitation. That, after all is what East Timor is entitled to under international law”. Peter Galbraith, member for political affairs of the East Timor transitional cabinet. October 10, 2000

Feb 2001 I-ETCW Big Business in the Timor Gap  Article added Apr 13
"The Australian oil and gas lobby, through its considerable political power and influence, played a critical role during the negotiations of the Timor Gap Treaty in the ’70s and ‘80s. Industry representatives regularly accompanied ministerial delegations to Jakarta and had significant input into discussions on the Timor Gap. Australia’s largest mining and exploration companies helped shape the final treaty and gave their full support to successive Liberal and Labor governments’ policy of recognising Indonesian sovereignty over East Timor." Jon Land, editorial board, 'Indonesia - East Timor Campaign Watch' magazine

Feb 2001 Oxfam Horizons: Muleya: The right to basic services - Water & sanitation  Interview added Mar 23
"Did you enjoy the time there? It was fabulous. People received our program very well. Oxfam [CAA] was given the task of trying to rehabilitate the water systems in Dili and the western districts after the crisis. They did a great job, got the water going in districts where the destruction was up to 95 percent - with a lot of help from the communities themselves - then handed it over to the government to maintain. They put in new transmission lines, water tanks and pipes, which they call the Oxfam snakes; polythene pipes snaking up the mountains." Clara Muleya, manager, joint Oxfam environmental health program in Liquica province

Feb 28 TP: Human Rights Cases: UN Must Give Indonesia A Timeframe  News added Mar 4
“Let me be straight. Though I value Serio de Mello’s efforts in Jakarta, I still think in order to be effective the UN must give Indonesia a deadline to deal with the [crimes against humanity] cases,” Aderito de Jesus, Director, Sahe Institute of Liberation

Feb 28 LUSA: Reconciliation Commission to Cover 1974-1999 Period  News added Mar 4

Feb 28 GLW: Protests demand `Timor oil for the Timorese'  News added Feb 28
“Although mainstream Australian politicians now bask warmly in the glow of support for East Timorese independence ... the real contemporary test of their political commitment to East Timor's future is the extent to which they will support substantial direct economic aid to East Timor and full East Timorese sovereignty over important economic resources which can underpin rising living standards and the capacity to develop social infrastructure.” Grahame McCulloch, general secretary, [Australian] National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU)

Feb 27 ETAN: Fear of returning is not based on reality  Letter to NYT added Mar 8
"If many of the East Timorese who remain in West Timor (Indonesia) are "afraid to come home because they fear being lynched" that fear is not based on reality." Charles Scheiner, National Coordinator, East Timor Action Network/US

Feb 26 CAA-OA: Asian Development Bank and Australia's role in the Mekong region  Launch added Mar 10
"The book 'Breaking the Banks', launched February 26, 2001, provides useful insights into the Asian Development Bank. Although the focus is on the Mekong region, this review has been included in BACK DOOR so that comparisons can be made with the Asian Development Bank's involvement in East Timor." BD

Feb 26 BWorld: Ramos Horta congratulates Filipino people  News added Feb 28
"you God-fearing and fellow Asians have shown the world that the governed must be eternally vigilant in holding elected leaders accountable for their moral duty to govern under the strictest public scrutiny. ... You have shown in your fervor in your latest democratic triumph that public office is a public trust. We, your Timorese brothers and sisters, stand proud in your glory as we feel the bond and kinship that flows between our blood and culture as both having the same trait and, more importantly, the same history of continuous struggle for self determination." Jose Ramos Horta, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate

Feb 26 AP: Horta: Won't Help Others Break From Indonesia  News updated Mar 1
"After Mandela was released, all of us, including Horta, spoke out against his cozying up to Suharto and failing to support East Timor, a policy which he later reversed. At the time, we reminded the South African leader of the support he had received from the anti-apartheid movement. The same goes for East Timor, whose valiant people enjoyed tremendous international support." TAPOL, the Indonesia Human Rights Campaign

Feb 26 IHRN: Indonesia Human Rights Network Urges Continued Ban on U.S. Aid to Indonesian Military  Release added Feb 28
"Before there can be any resumption of military ties between Washington and Jakarta, the Indonesian armed forces must undergo significant reform.  The U.S. government should accept nothing short of civilian control of the military as well as human rights trials conducted under international standards of justice as preconditions for any re-engagement with the Indonesian military," Agatha Schmaedick, Indonesia Human Rights Network co-chair

Feb 24 CIIR: Update on Women's Quotas Campaign  Update added Mar 1
"The UN Electoral Assistance Division in New York refuses to set what they regard as a precedent for UN supervised elections in the future by allowing women's quotas to be a feature of the forthcoming election in East Timor, and are threatening to pull out of supervising the elections if the quotas are pursued." Catherine Scott, Catholic Institute for International Relations

Feb 24 RDP: Timorese bishop calls on UN for "Timorization" of administration  Interview added Feb 28
"we hope that, during this period of transition, the UN will take immediate steps for the Timorization of the administrative ranks, in order to have financial transparency and to prevent the Timorese from suffering further disappointments and dissatisfaction." Dom Ximenes Belo, bishop of Dili and Nobel Peace laureate

Feb 24 AGE: Date set for East Timor election  News added Mar 1

Feb 23 ST: Xanana has opportunity to be Timor Lorosae president  News from WTimor added Mar 1
"For years the people of Timor Leste experienced and felt a harsh leadership style that frightened them. Now they are free, so they need a figure like Xanana who will give them back their freedom that has disappeared for so long." Santino O. Baros, manager, HMTOP NGO (Uniting Timor Lorosae Intellectuals for Development)

Feb 23 ST: Rape in ETimor, Gusmao's wife criticizes Indonesia  News from WTimor added Mar 1

Feb 23 TP: ET-Indonesia relations  Editorial from ETimor added Mar 1

Feb 22 FCatholic: Bishop Belo to President Bush  Letter up-dated Mar 9
"the presence of the international peace-keeping force under U.N. auspices will be badly needed in East Timor for the foreseeable future to guard against border attacks by militias and Indonesian forces, and to ensure that these forces do not unleash further violence or undertake other actions to prevent East Timor from recovering. My people have been traumatized by the conflict of the past 25 years, and urgently need to live in peace." Bishop Belo, writing to President Bush

Feb 22 STL & TP: Political Party Registration / No Dual Citizenships for Party Leaders  News from ETimor added Feb 23

Feb 21 TP: UNTAET v. East Timorese  Editorial from ETimor added Feb 23
"the hasty statement of the UNTAET staff ... demonstrates as always, the arrogance and over-ambition of UNTAET staff. ... often "other people" have used opportunities in international missions, including UNTAET, to carry out their private interest and ambition. ... [The Timorese people] do not want an international mission where interested persons, groups or nations bring suffering to the people. ... They do not need other people who come in the name of the "world" and do unsatisfactory work." Timor Post

Feb 21 GLW: Scrap the Timor Gap Treaty  Article added Feb 21
"East Timor's leadership has stated, on several occasions, that while it considers the treaty illegal and invalid (as does the United Nations), it wants the oil and gas projects to continue. In the event of East Timor gaining full sovereign rights over its seabed resources, East Timor's leaders have stated that the fiscal requirements for companies operating in the gap shall remain the same." John Land

Feb 21 JP: Alkatiri on ET's business climate  Interview added Feb 23

Feb 19 NTTX: Indon reporters: At this time Timor Lorosae is a nation that's safe  News from WTimor added Feb 23
"The conclusion is that Timor Lorosae is now a safe country, especially in Dili, and not some joke so that there is no reason for Timor Lorosae people in refuge to be afraid to go home except for those whose hands are "bloody," because their fear really exists inside themselves wherever they go." NTT Ekspres

Feb 19 TAPOL: Worrying trends or developments in East Timor  Letter added Feb 20
"The rapid influx of foreign capital interests [into East Timor] is undeniable and has been spotted by many, but what is especially useful in his [George Aditjondro's] interview is his identifying Indonesian army-related companies who are now involved as well. This is the kind of Indonesia-ETimor collaboration that should certainly not be welcomed and that should be exposed." Carmel, TAPOL, the Indonesia Human Rights Campaign

Feb 19 STL: Timorisation  Editorial from ETimor Updated Feb 20
"Many Timorese are disappointed because the Timorisation process just appears to be on the surface, with numbers more important than having the power to make crucial decisions." Suara Timor Lorosae

Feb 17 Conference on Sustainable Development a great success  Release added July 25
" ... sustainable development should be the basis for planning and implementing development in East Timor. ... The conference accepted for East Timor, the internationally recognised definition that "sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs". Sustainable development addresses the linkages between environment, economy and social well-being. ... [Recommendations] included the key recommendation for sustainable development to be written into East Timor’s Constitution." Conference on Sustainable Development in East Timor coordinating committee

Bahasa Indonesia:
Feb 17 ETNGOs: Pimpinan Operasi Civpol UNTAET  Letter added Mar 17
"Kami memahami bahwa anda memiliki berbagai kekuatan, dengan berbagai pelatihan, pengalaman, bahasa, dan latar belakang budaya, yang membuat semua itu menjadi penting bagi kepemimpinan Civpol mengusahakan informasi yang akurat yang merefleksikan masyarakat Timor Loro Sa’e dan mendorong suatu hubungan yang baik dengannya. Mengembangkan suatu ide secara meluas bahwa kini orang Timor Loro Sa’e tidak mampu memecakan perselisihan secara damai merupakan sesuatu yang keliru dan berbahaya." La’o Hamutuk, Yayasan HAK, Center for Popular Economic Development, Sa’he Institute for Liberation, NGO Forum, Organizacao Juventude de Timor Loro Sae, Klinika PAS, Fokupers

Feb 17 DHR: Magno: The Successes and Failures of UN Intervention in ETimor  Interview added Feb 17
"The [ETimorese] people recognize that this inability to have their voice heard in their own country and to be in any position of power in their own government is a violation of their human rights. That does not mean, however, that they have given up on human rights. Their cynicism is directed at the UN bureaucracy." Ajiza Magno, Initiator, Lorosa’e Women’s Forum for Peace (FORELSAN)

Feb 14 SMH: UN credibility at risk over war crimes, says Horta  News added Feb 15
"If Indonesia fails to deliver justice then I don't see how the Security Council can get away from creating a war crimes tribunal for East Timor. ... I am confident a war crimes tribunal remains a strong option.'' Jose Ramos Horta, cabinet member for foreign affairs, UN-chaired East Timor Transitional Administration.

Feb 14 STL: Presidential Issue: Fretilin To Nominate Xanana  News from ETimor added Feb 15
“Regardless of whether the party has its own candidate or not, we have decided that Xanana be Timor Lorosae’s first president when the country becomes independent,” Lu-Olo, General Coordinator of Fretilin

Feb 13 LUSA & AP: Horta Urges Indonesian VP to Respect Independence Option  News added Feb 15
"Jose Ramos Horta, the foreign minister of East Timor's transitional government, Tuesday urged Indonesian Vice President Megawati Sukarnoputri to respect the territory's vote for independence from Jakarta." Lusa

Feb 12 Xanana: Symposium on “Reconciliation, Tolerance, Human Rights and Elections”  Speech added Feb 15
"To avoid or control this likelihood of violence there are several means if properly used could reduce existing tensions and will also help in the promotion of a collective awareness about the need to enhance a tolerant society in the country:
A- A greater involvement of young people in open discussions about social problems;
B- A greater involvement of the civil society in public debates on these same problems;
C- A greater involvement by political parties leaders in Youth education; and
D- A greater involvement of the media in the civic education process." President Xanana

Feb 12 FRETILIN: Open Letter to CNRT's President  Letter added Feb 13
"I believe that the FRETILIN is ready to rule our country  and  it is necessary, by my opinion, that the Timorese people elect their constituent assembly made-up of all Timorese political parties. Our people need a super-parties man, and you can play this role, as well as Nelson Mandela did  in South Africa. The discussion between the political parties is positive : you have the prestige and the authority to enforce the rules of the Carta Magna." David Dias Quintas Corona, FRETILIN'S Rep. for Italy

Portuguese:
Feb 12 OTL: Movimentos e partidos Pró autonomia: evolução desde o referendo  Report added Feb 15
"O Governo indonésio proclama frequentemente que desarmou as milícias e que quer manter relações normais com Timor Leste independente; os actos e declarações acima reportados mostram que este sentimento está ainda longe de ser geral ou autêntico. ... A sociedade timorense tem formas tradicionais de resolução de conflitos, que incluem compensações materiais pagas pelo ofensor ao ofendido. Recorrer a essas formas tradicionais pode dar à noção de reconciliação um sentido mais perceptível e portanto mais autêntico para as duas partes."   Observatório Timor Leste

Feb 12 ETO: Political Movements and Parties: pro-autonomy  Report updated Apr 27
"The Indonesian Government often claims that it has disarmed the militias and that it wants normal relations with independent East Timor, but its actions and statements, as outlined [below], show that these intentions are either not felt by all concerned or simply not genuine. ... Timorese society has its own traditional methods of resolving conflicts, which include material compensation paid by the offender to the victim. Employing such traditional methods might make the idea of reconciliation more understandable and, consequently, make it more meaningful for those concerned."  East Timor Observatory

Feb 10 Petromindo: Indonesian House urged to cancel Timor Gap agreement  News added Feb 13
"I don't want to say if the Timor Gap agreement is illegal or not. But, the territory covered by the agreement was located in East Timor that has decided to stay independent from Indonesia. It means Indonesia has no interests in that area anymore," Iin Arifin Takhyan, Pertamina

Feb 8 CIIR: Women's Representation to ETimor's Constituent Assembly Petition added Feb 8
"East Timorese women have been politically marginalised for long enough.  They have made it clear that they want to have a much stronger voice in the new East Timor. ... CIIR calls upon individuals, NGOs, solidarity groups and East Timor networks everywhere to add your support to REDE's concerns and to lobby the United Nations in New York, your governments, and UNTAET to take into account the legitimate aspirations of East Timorese women." Catholic Institute for International Relations, CIIR

Feb 8 HS: Matters that cause Australians shame and loathing  Letter added Feb 8
"It would be a worthy tribute to the Australian military personnel who risked their lives in East Timor if John Howard returned all the Fretilin money plus interest and handed over all the revenues under the Timor Gap oil and gas treaties. This would do more for world peace and the Timorese nation than handing out tarnished awards to irresponsible politicians." Shirley Shackleton

Feb 7 NRP: Chomsky/Soares: Breaking Free: East Timor's Quest for Independence  Radio program added June 26
"For East Timorese people, independence came with great costs. Refugees are still languishing in camps in West Timor, and though they won the right to autonomy after the elections in October 1999, many people are asking why international agencies such as the United Nations continue to hold decision-making power instead of the East Timorese themselves. On this program, we take a look at intervention in East Timor." National Radio Project

Feb 7 ELCA: Horta: some dreams have become reality  News added Feb 9
"Nobel Peace laureate Jose Ramos-Horta admitted the goals of the Decade to Overcome Violence [WCC] may be a dream but went on to say that some dreams have become reality." ELCA

Feb 7 GLW: ET's Foreign policy heads west  Article added Feb 5
"Scrapping military aid to Indonesia was a central demand of the East Timorese resistance movement during its long struggle for independence — the military occupation of East Timor was only possible through the billions of dollars worth of arms and training that the armed forces received from the US and other allies." Jon Land

Feb 6 Indonesian Press: Several news items about Refugees  News added Feb 9

Feb 5 ENI: Armed intervention to save lives can be justified, says Nobel peace laureate  News added Feb 9
"In East Timor the church completely understood why people took up arms, even though they [the church] kept calling on them not to use those arms," Jose Ramos-Horta at WCC

Feb 5 JP: James Dunn interview on perpetrators of war crimes in Timor  Interview added Feb 5
"In 1999, whoever gave such orders should have given a red light (to subordinates). We're forced to conclude that they didn't mind the bloodshed." James Dunn, UNTAET

Bahasa Indonesia/Malay:
Feb 3 STL: Uskup Belo meminta pendirian “Timor Gap Watch”
Berita ditambahkan tanggal 22 Januari, 2002
"Agar supaya honorarium pasti digunakan hanya untuk bangsa, Uskup Belo meminta pendirian badan independen yang bisa mengawasi setiap liter minyak dari Timor Gap dan cara honorarium dihasilkan dari minyak itu. Juga cara honorarium itu digunakan akan diawasi dengan teliti. Badan independen itu bisa didirikan oleh pemerintah baru, kata Uskup Belo. Tetapi, Uskup Belo memperingatkan bahwa komposisi badan itu harus memasukkan orang yang bisa dipercayai dari sektor swasta, organisasi sosial dan gereja. Dia menekankan bahwa badan itu harus merupakan badan nasional." Suara Timor Lorosae

Tetum:
Fev 3 STL: Bispo Carlos Ximenes Belo husu atu bele harii “Timor Gap Watch”  News from ETimor added July 6
“Ha’u ladun fiar uituan ho liafuan sira nebe hateten katak ita sei sai nasaun nebe riku tanba mina, ... Ita sei sai nasaun nebe riku wainhira honorarium (royalties) ne’e uza atu dezenvolve nasaun, la’os atu koruptor sira mak gasta. ... Wainhira iha badan nebe kontrola (watch-dog), ha’u fiar katak Timor Loro Sa’e sei sai nasaun nebe riku, ... Maibe se laiha ita sei bele sai hanesa nasaun balun iha Afrika nebe taxa ba mina nian uza fali atu hariku na’ok-teen sira, la’os povu.” Bispo Carlos Ximenes Belo

Feb 3 STL: Bishop Belo Calls For Timor Gap Watch News from ETimor updated Feb 9
"In order to ensure that the royalties [from Timor Gap] are used only for the country [ETimor], Bishop Belo called for the setting up of an independent body [Timor Gap Watch] that will monitor every liter of oil from the Timor Gap and the way royalties are generated from it. Also the manner in which the royalties are spent will be closely monitored." STL

Feb 3 ASIET's Timor oil statement and petition  Statement added Feb 5
"While Indonesia occupied East Timor, everybody's attention was focussed on the fact that Australia and Indonesia were illegally sharing in another people's resources. There was little discussion of the fact that Canberra had squeezed a concession out of Jakarta which gave Canberra a 50% share in royalties from oil and gas that were not even in Australian territorial waters!" Max Lane, ASIET

Feb 2 JP: Aditjondro: ETimorese becoming guests in their own land  Interview updated May 16
"So fighting for democracy has been no less difficult than fighting for independence. The young, the women and the villagers feel the most marginalized; this is the new task of the solidarity movement (to help them) instead of just shaking hands with Xanana." George Junus Aditjondro, self-exiled author and lecturer from Indonesia, currently teaching at Newcastle University

Feb 2 ICG: Indonesia: Impunity vs. Accountability For Gross Human Rights Violations  Report added Feb 5
"The international community has a particular obligation to ensure accountability for Indonesian perpetrators of serious crimes committed in East Timor in 1999. It has a more general concern for accountability because of its stake in democratisation and stability in an important country. This requires a higher degree of international engagement in Indonesian processes than might otherwise be normal or tolerable." ICG

Feb 1 TimP: OJETIL protests the dissolution of Falintil  News from ETimor added Feb 5

Feb 1 Taur Matan Ruak: Speech at Falintil transition ceremony  Speech added Feb 3
"Our final words are reserved to express our deepest and most respectful tribute to the People of East Timor: for their determination and their steadfastness which motivated us; for the love that you always gave in feeding us, nursing us and encouraging us; for the heroism in resisting which inspired us; and for teaching us to be humble and to fulfil our duty to defend our Homeland." Commander Taur Matan Ruak, Falintil

Feb 1 Xanana: Address at Transition Ceremony Of Falintil  Speech added Feb 3
"As your [Falintil's] former companion who shared the same difficulties in the mountains, who failed in leading you while we were reduced to less than one hundred men where as under the clear leadership of your Commander, Taur Matan Ruak, who enabled you to become an army of over one thousand five hundred soldiers  I can only but express here, today, my admiration for the spirit of self-sacrifice that you showed by bearing yet another year of hardship in Aileu." Xanana Gusmao, President, CNRT/CN

Feb 1 ETAN/U.S.: East Timor Still Awaits Justice A Year After UN Call for International Tribunal  Release added Feb 1
"We are deeply disturbed that a year has passed since both [crimes tribunal] inquiries and no steps have been taken to address these severe human rights abuses with an international tribunal and no one has been prosecuted in Indonesia," John M. Miller, ETAN/US