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Topic: Crisis in East Timor
Author:
Sister Susan Connelly,
Assistant Director of Mary
MacKillop
East Timor
Mary
MacKillop
East Timor (MMET),
formerly Mary
MacKillop Institute for East Timorese Studies (MMIETS)
Phone: 02 9623
2847
Email: sc@mmiets.org.au
Home: http://www.mmiets.org.au
About Mary
MacKillop East Timor:
http://www.pcug.org.au/~wildwood/mmiets.html
"Ba Ami Nia Belun Sira" [For Our Friends]
Newsletter for Friends and Benefactors
Vol. 13 No. 2 June 2006
[BD note: This article has been edited slightly.]
Complete Article and Newsletter: http://www.mmiets.org.au/archive/newsl_2006_06.pdf
CRISIS IN EAST TIMOR
We are saddened by the unrest in East Timor. It is troubling to hear of
the political instability, the fear and hunger of the people, the
mayhem wrought by the gangs, the prevalence of weapons, the sweeping
power of rumour, the paralysis of the Government, the suffering of the
injured, the terrible loss of the dead.
So many people are trying to make sense out of the swift descent into
disorder which has engulfed East Timor. There was so much promise,
despite the difficulties. Now, so much re-building has to be done
again. The replacement of houses and shops will be easier than the
stabilising of a severely traumatised people and the return of general
confidence.
Mary MacKillop East Timor is directly associated with many people and
groups across the country. Our Timorese staff, associates and friends,
as well as the teachers, students and families we support are all
suffering and we want to be able to continue to bring to them the
practical assistance required to make life liveable again. ...
Some points on the causes of the situation:
Timor’s recent past:
It is not unusual for states emerging from a violent colonial or
oppressive past to experience deep instability. It is Australia’s good
fortune not to have had this experience.
The populations of those nations like East Timor which have had to make
huge sacrifices to gain democracy suffer great trauma for a
considerable time.
Whereas here in Australia major catastrophes are dealt with using the
expertise of numerous counsellors, in East Timor such help is unknown.
Indeed, there is hardly any mental health assistance at all.
In 1999 East Timor voted overwhelmingly to choose independence from
Indonesia rather than autonomy within it, thus ending 24 years of
occupation during which 183,000 people died violently as a result of
the oppression. Although over 400 Indonesian persons have been indicted
for crimes against humanity committed during that time, not one has
been brought to trial. Instead, most have been retired or have been
promoted in Indonesian civil or military administration. Every Timorese
family has experienced deep trauma from the occupation but they know
that no one has been called to account.
Justice has not yet been done, and the suffering of the Timorese has
therefore been belittled.
Some commentators have said that the present unrest means that Timor
should not have gained independence. Such a shallow view suggests the
belief that the Timorese should have remained under the control of the
power which caused them so much grief.
Timor’s Independence:
From the referendum of 1999 to Independence in 2002 Timor was
administered by the United Nations which worked with future leaders to
ensure a smooth transition of power. Many now believe that the UN
withdrew too quickly and did not allow enough time for the principles
and processes of democracy to take root. It is an observable fact that
the level of administrative and management skills among Timorese people
is very low, a legacy of 450 years of Portuguese colonial rule which
left an illiteracy rate of 98% in 1974 when Portugal suddenly withdrew,
and of Indonesian unwillingness to train or employ Timorese in those
positions which would have broadened the skills base among them.
Economics
During the United Nations administration the economy boomed with the
presence of large numbers of wellpaid UN staff but then experienced an
equally sudden down-turn when they left. Such immense changes added to
the fragility of Timor’s new but weak economy, a situation further
undermined by massive unemployment.
To the credit of the current leaders, Timor has resisted taking out
loans from the World Bank or the IMF, thus resisting the debt-trap
which curses so many developing countries. Timorese leaders also drove
a hard bargain with Australia over the resources of the Timor Sea,
securing a 50-50% share of the lucrative field Greater Sunrise when
Australia would have been happier with the 18-82% it had proposed, (the
18% destined for Timor). However, any difference this has made to the
poor has yet to be seen. Efforts to improve nutrition, clean water,
sanitation, roads and building materials should be the priority for any
Government wishing to address the poor state of health of the Timorese
people.
The many protracted negotiations over the resources of the Timor Sea
were necessary for the Timorese people to secure what was rightfully
theirs, but the time, money and effort expended could well have been
used to address the more immediate plight of the people. That Australia
saw fit to challenge Timor’s access to resources which are so close to
Timor, contrary to current accepted international practice, adds to
Australia’s responsibility to help redress Timor’s history. The
services of our troops should be seen more as a just repayment of
longstanding debts than any hint of “super-hero to the rescue”.
Current Crisis:
The fairly widely-held perception of corruption and croneyism within
the East Timorese administration has been crowned with the failure of
that Government to deal with grievances within its security forces,
resulting in mutiny in the military and the police and a complete
breakdown of order. Tens of thousands of people are internally
displaced in and around the capital and they are hungry, angry and
scared.
Many news reports attribute much of the trouble to ethnic rivalries,
with bad feeling being shown to exist between those from the east (Loro
Sa’e) and those from the west of East Timor (Loro Monu). Such rivalry
does exist but it is more a product of Indonesian manipulation during
the occupation than a long standing fact of Timorese life and culture.
History and current affairs show that the vast majority of those who
seek to wield and maintain power often orchestrate disturbances based
on existing divisions within society.
There are many questions arising from the state of turmoil in East
Timor. These include questions about the suitability of current
leadership, the involvement of outside forces and the place East
Timor’s independence has regarding West Papua’s difficulties and
aspirations.
As events unfold, no doubt some answers to these and other questions
will be made clear, and perhaps others questions will arise.
In the meantime, we have to re-group in order to make a response to the
people whom we work with that is worthy of both them and us. We believe
that we have two priorities at this time:
1) To see to it that our Timorese brothers and sisters have the means
of decent livelihood so that they can consolidate and reenergise
themselves and thus be ready to assist others. Such compassionate care
has always been part of our way of operating, but this crisis calls us
to multiply our efforts. Our literacy and health work will continue but
the calls for material assistance will increase and we want to be able
to meet the needs.
2) To assist with East Timor’s deep underlying social questions
regarding justice. It is of paramount importance that the trauma of the
past 30 years be addressed openly and courageously, both to honour the
reality of Timor’s past and to ensure that similar abuse of other small
and weak peoples is prevented. To this end, Mary MacKillop East Timor
has joined ACTJET (Australian Coalition for Transitional Justice in
East Timor) which will seek to address the many recommendations in the
recent Report on Reception, Truth and Reconciliation.
Mary MacKillop East Timor:
Ph: (+61 2) 9623 2847
Fx: (+61 2) 9623 1573
PO Box 299 St Marys NSW 1790
20 Mamre Road St Marys 2760
PO Box 427 Dili Timor-Leste
http://www.mmiets.org.au
About Mary
MacKillop East Timor
(MMET)
formerly
Mary MacKillop Institute for East Timorese Studies (MMIETS)
This info last updated: 4 July 2006
MMIETS is a Sydney and Dili based charitable institute established in
1994 by
the
Religious of St. Joseph (the order of the Blessed Mary MacKillop -
Australia's first and so far the only saint officially recognised by
the Roman
Catholic church) in
response to an appeal for help by Bishop Belo (Diocese of Dili) and in
consultation with the East Timorese community. It was created to assist
in meeting the cultural, educational, health and material needs of the
people of East Timor. MMIETS is safeguarding East Timorese culture by
promoting the use of the language Tetum within the Church and general
education and is developing a Tetum literacy program to this end.
Director of MMET:
Sister Josephine Mitchell, RSJ (Religious of St. Joseph - "Brown
Joey's")
email: josem@mmiets.org.au
Assistant Director of
MMET:
Sister Susan Connelly, RSJ
email: sc@mmiets.org.au
Reception / Secretarial:
Noreen Nicoara
email: noreen@mmiets.org.au
Supervisor
of Linguistics & Editor of Tetun Materials (based in Dili):
Father Leão da Costa, Director of Catholic Education,
Fundação São Paulo
Tetun Oral & Literary language
expertise
(based in Dili):
Father Ricardo da Silva, Bishop of the Diocese of Dili
Father Ricardo was born in Dare, East
Timor and has been speaking Tetun all his life.
Linguist,
Educator (based in Dili):
Sister Teresa (Tess) A. Ward, FDNSC (Daughters of Our Lady of the
Sacred Heart)
email: tess@mmiets.org.au
Timorese Tetun language expertise
(based in Sydney):
Luisa da Cunha Marques
Filomena de Oliveira
Health worker/educator, Nurse:
Sister Joan Westblade, LCM (Little Company of Mary)
email: joanw@mmiets.org.au
MMET - Sydney, Australia:
20 Mamre Rd, St Marys
PO Box 299, St Marys NSW 1790 AUSTRALIA
Phone: 02 9623
2847
Fax: 02 9623 1573
Institutu Mary MacKillop - Bekora,
Dili Timur, Timor Lorosae:
New larger premises now located in Bekora.
PO Box 427, Dili, East Timor (via Darwin)
Home: http://www.mmiets.org.au
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