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"Following comments from East Timor’s
PM, Mari Alkatiri, that further negotiations would be required to iron
out details in a proposed resource sharing arrangement with Australia,
the Timor Sea Justice Campaign (TSJC) has accused Australia’s Foreign
Minister, Alexander Downer, of attempting to ‘steam roll’ the
impoverished nation. ... The
TSJC claim the Downer posse has
mislead the Australian people, by suggesting the proposed resource
sharing agreement was ‘a done deal’, while East Timorese NGOs and
Government representatives still have significant concerns,
particularly about suspending their sovereignty over the areas for up
to 50 years." Timor Sea
Justice
Campaign, Melbourne
Media Release - Embargoed until: 6am,
Thursday, 2 June 2005.
MORE TALKS NEEDED ON RESOURCE DEAL,
WHILE AUS GOV CONTINUES TO TAKE MILLIONS
Following comments from East Timor’s
PM, Mari Alkatiri, that further negotiations would be required to iron
out details in a proposed resource sharing arrangement with Australia,
the Timor Sea Justice Campaign (TSJC) has accused Australia’s Foreign
Minister, Alexander Downer, of attempting to ‘steam roll’ the
impoverished nation.
TSJC coordinator, Tom Clarke, said
Downer’s desperate attempt to get the issue off the agenda in response
to the growing tide of negative public opinion, was a continuation of
the bullying that has characterised the Australian Government’s
hardnosed handling of the dispute.
“From the beginning, the Australian
Government has approached this entire issue with bullying tactics. It’s
now trying to force East Timor’s hand over very important details of
the current proposal,” Mr Clarke said.
The TSJC claim the Downer posse has
mislead the Australian people, by suggesting the proposed resource
sharing agreement was ‘a done deal’, while East Timorese NGOs and
Government representatives still have significant concerns,
particularly about suspending their sovereignty over the areas for up
to 50 years.
The issue of gas and oil resources in
the Timor Sea has been, due to some complexities, a difficult issue to
explain to Australia’s time-pressed society. The issue has three basic
parts. One is the Joint Petroleum Development Area (JPDA) that sits in
the middle of the Timor Sea and is already covered by the Timor Sea
Treaty. The second issue is the Greater Sunrise oil field which lies to
the east of the JPDA and is what the current proposal focuses on. The
third area is the Laminara, Corallina fields that lie to the west and
have not been addressed in any agreement.
The Australian Government is
continuing to take half a million dollars every day from the Laminaria,
Corallina fields which are located much closer to East Timor than
Australia.
Since 1999, the Australian Government
has taken more than two billion dollars worth of royalties from theses
fields and the TSJC believes the contested revenue taken by Australia
should be held in trust until the dispute is resolved.
“The issue is embarrassing when you
think about what a rich country we are and how we hear reports from
Australian soldiers returning from UN duty in East Timor describe how
locals scavenge the soldier’s garbage. When it comes down to it I can’t
understand how Mr Downer can sleep at night knowing how many people are
relying on this and how he has handled the negotiations. East Timorese
children are dying of preventable diseases and our Foreign Minister is
trying to short change them, it’s simply not on,” Mr Clarke said.
For further information, please
contact:
Chip Henriss-Anderssen
Media Officer
Timor Sea Justice Campaign, Melbourne
PH: 0437829825
international: 61 437829825
chip@timorseajustice.org
By
subscribing to the Melbourne Timor
Sea Justice Campaign announcements list you will receive regular
newsletters. These newsletters include press releases relating to the
Timor Sea Talks.
To subscribe, e-mail: announce-subscribe@timorseajustice.org
Email Australia's Prime Minister
Howard - Tell
the Australian Government to Stop Stealing East
Timor's Resources and East Timor's Future -
http://www.etan.org/action/fax/faxaus.htm
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