FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, 7 February, 2002
CONTACT:
Helder da Costa (0417)
866-710
Jim Della-Giacoma
(0417) 755-359
EAST TIMORESE DEMAND MORE INFORMATION ON CONSTITUTIONAL PROCESS FROM ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES
DILI, EAST TIMOR: Research conducted by The National Democratic Institute (NDI) and the Social and Political Sciences Faculty of the National University of East Timor (UNTIL) has found that the people of East Timor are demanding to be better informed about the constitutional process directly by their elected representatives. The findings of the focus group research report were released today as part of a joint seminar hosted by the National Research Centre (CNIC) and NDI. Commentators on the findings were Mr. Manuel Tilman (Member of Constituent Assembly) and Mr. Valentim Ximenes, MA (Dean of Social and Political Sciences, UNTIL).
“The focus group results clearly indicate that the people of East Timor have enthusiastically embraced democracy. Participants are eager for a better political and economic future and they look to their leaders to take them there,” the 32-page report, released in four languages, said.
“However, participants expressed no blind faith in political leaders after a traumatic 24 years of Indonesian occupation and resistance, the people of East Timor are an alert and demanding constituency. Focus group participants acknowledged that they have high expectations from their leaders and that they want their interests represented by their elected representatives,” the report said.
The report, published in English, Tetum, Portuguese and Indonesian, is the second such research supported by NDI in East Timor and follows a similar study published in March 2001. The focus group discussions that form the basis of the latest report were conducted late last year in five districts including Dili.
The report’s major findings cover areas such as national mood, the constituent assembly and future parliament, past and future elections, political parties, security and transition, local governance as well as women and politics. It lists implications from the research for elected representatives, civic educators, electoral officials, political parties, presidential candidates, the future government of East Timor and the United Nations Transitional Administration (UNTAET).
Focus group discussions are semi-structured discussions on specific topics conducted by a trained moderator. They are a qualitative research method helpful in gaining a more in depth understanding of public attitudes and attitude formation.
The team of 15 facilitators who conducted the final research were all East Timorese political science students. The report was jointly written by NDI East Timor’s Resident Representative Jim Della-Giacoma and UNTIL lecturer Alarico da Costa Ximenes.
The full text of the focus group discussion
report in four languages will shortly be available on the NDI web site
at http://www.ndi.org
Jim Della-Giacoma
Resident Representative/Chief
of Party
National Democratic Institute
for International Affairs (NDI)
East Timor
Office Telephone:
(670) (390) 325-152
Office Fax:
(670) (390) 325-150
Mobile:
(61) (417) 775-359
E-fax:
(1) (413) 280-3982
E-mail:
jim.della-giacoma@ndi.org
Office address:
Rua De Nu Laran No. 15
Bairro Dos Grilos
Dili, East Timor
Postal address:
PO Box 405
Dili, East Timor
See
also:
BD:
Peoples' Participation / Partisipasaun Politika / Partisipasi Politik /
Participação Dos Povos - A collection of recent media releases,
reports and articles