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BACK
DOOR Newsletter on Timor-Leste (East Timor)
Australian
Commentary regarding the 2006 East Timor Crisis
Ema Australianu sira Hateten konaba Susar
iha Timor Lorosae laran
Sidadaun sira Australianu Koalia konaba Emerjensia iha Timor-Leste laran
Note: The opinions
expressed are not
necessarily those of Back Door Newsletter. Back Door seeks to provide a
range of opinions on the East Timor crisis for the information of
readers.
Last updated: 26 July 2006
Return
to Main Contents / Fila fali ba Lista Primariu:
BD: 2006 Crisis in
East Timor / Susar/Emerjensia iha Timor-Leste laran
21 July 2006
TLNAIT / ACTJET / IFET: Letter to United Nations on Justice
"The recent crisis in
Timor-Leste has created the need for new justice and peacebuilding
processes, ... However, the crisis this year has also reinforced the
need to deal with “unfinished business” from the past. ... Events
between 1975 and 1999 continue to strongly impact the people of
Timor-Leste. The reactions of Dili residents to the unfolding crisis
were those of a population that has suffered mass trauma which remains
largely unhealed. In addition, the severe shortcomings of the local and
international justice processes have helped to create a culture of
impunity in which a range of actors believe they can, in effect, get
away with murder and other crimes."
Rosentino Amado Hei, Timor-Leste National Alliance for an International
Tribunal,
Dr Mark Byrne, Convenor, Australian Coalition for Transitional Justice
in East Timor,
John M. Miller, UN Representative, International Federation for East
Timor
10 July 2006 Age: Martinkus:
East Timor - the story we weren't told
"Three weeks
ago I was in East Timor, where senior members of the East Timorese
military confirmed what the now deposed prime minister, Mari Alkatiri,
has been saying all along: that there had been three attempts since
April last year to get senior army commanders to carry out a coup
against his government. In light of what has happened since, it seems
obvious. An orchestrated campaign has brought down the government." John Martinkus, journalist in
East Timor from 1995-2000 & author of A Dirty Little War
30 June 2006 New Matilda:
Anderson: East Timor after Alkatiri: nation or protectorate?
"We did
not expect that the elected leader of a party with an overwhelming
mandate could be forced to stand down in this way in a democracy"
Fretilin press release, 26 June 2006
"The
Australian role in undermining East Timorese independence is difficult
to see now, with a barrage of media influencing the desire to see
ourselves as the little country’s ‘saviours’. We are nothing of the
sort. Australian friends of East Timor should recognise the shocking
prospects of neo-liberal protectorate status, and maintain their
support for an independent nation." Tim Anderson, lecturer at the
School of Political Economy, Sydney University & visitor to East
Timor, before and after independence.
28 June
2006 New Matilda: Martinkus: East Timor - Alkatiri Speaks
"East
Timor's Prime Minister Marí Alkatiri finally stood down on
Monday after
repeated calls for his resignation. According to the man himself, the
Australian media played a large part in the campaign to get rid of him.
'It started in The Australian,' he said, 'and suddenly it spread to
more or less all. Some [report like this] because they are not informed
or aware of the situation - but others because they are trying to
demonise me.' Right up until his resignation Alkatiri insisted that the
crisis
gripping East Timor was a foreign-backed coup, and that a series of
recent allegations against him were politically motivated." John Martinkus, journalist in
East Timor from 1995-2000 & author of A Dirty Little War
23 June
2006 Durnan: Deployment of Troops Inside Timor - Questions that demand
honest answers
"We have received over the past 2 days
some very disturbing reports from Timor-Leste regarding the Australian
government's deployment of our Defence forces throughout Timor-Leste.
It appears that our government has decided without explanation to us or
indeed the Timorese people that our troops are now to undertake roles
outside of their original PEACEKEEPING role. It is important for all
parties to the conflict and for the ADF's reputation as peacekeepers
that they remain neutral and not be used for political purposes."
Deborah Durnan
21 June 2006 Walsh: Toward a
New Timor-Leste: the Shared Responsibility of Religious Institutions
"Timor-Leste
Inter-Faith Conference, Baucau 21 June 2006: This conference is occurring at a time
of great challenge for Timor-Leste and its institutions, including the
faith community. The world’s newest state has stumbled badly as it
tries to get on its feet. Described as a grave crisis by President
Xanana Gusmao in his recent address to Parliament, the situation is a
tragic mix of fundamental humanitarian, communal, economic,
institutional, legal and political issues. ... In 1998, CNRT developed
an inspirational mission statement for Timor-Leste called the Magna
Carta. Maybe religious institutions could take a similar initiative in
the current context with the objective of lifting spirits and
rebuilding enthusiasm and commitment to our nation-building project.
... Following are five broad principles that might inform the continued
practice of religious institutions in Timor-Leste and your input to any
future vision statement. They are: universal human rights and
values; solidarity with the poor; reconciliation; partnership;
integrity." Patrick Walsh
16
June 2006 On Line Opinion: Anderson: Achievements of
a "failed state"
"The
post-independence crisis in Timor Leste has drawn attention to the
fragility of institutions in that newly independent country. Australian
intervention in 2006 has been accompanied by menacing suggestions of a
“failed state” - not just a state that cannot govern itself, but one
that poses a threat to others, thus justifying intervention. Yet
foreign intervention is anathema to independence and self-governance
(in East Timorese terms, “ukun rasik an”). ... The immediate danger to
Timor Leste's established right to
self-determination is likely to be an Australian neo-colonial dominance
that could reverse the independent path the nation has undertaken, with
its new constitution, national development plan and distinctive
policies." Tim Anderson,
lecturer, School of Political Economy, Sydney University & member,
Committee of Management of AID/WATCH
9 June 2006 ANU -
Development Studies Network:
One-Day Seminar, Canberra: Beyond the Crisis in Timor-Leste: Options
for future stability and development
http://devnet.anu.edu.au/Timor-Leste_Beyond%20the%20Crisis_Seminar_Home.php [scroll down the page]
[Includes six papers in word document
format and three powerpoints from some presenters including East
Timorese]
Includes papers by Chris Dureau, Damien Kingsbury, Bob Lowry, Rebecca
Spence &
Richard Tanter and a powerpoint presentation by Helen Hill
English Original:
8 June
2006 Nautilus: Tanter: Ten
questions
about East Timor for which we need answers
"The
dominant characteristic of the coverage of East Timor in the past two
weeks has been utter confusion, both inside and outside the country,
this is really a time for a little humility amongst the foreign pundits
and experts." Richard Tanter, Acting Director
of Nautilus Institute at RMIT
Bahasa Indonesia Translation by Rachman Jafar:
8 Juni 2006 Nautilus: Tanter: Sepuluh pertanyaan mengenai Timor Leste
yang memerlukan jawaban
http://rajasidi.multiply.com/journal/item/106
Richard
Tanter, pejabat direktur Institut Nautilus di RMIT, mengatakan bahwa
karena "Karakteristik dominan dari liputan mengenai Timor Leste dalam
dua minggu terakhir ini adalah kebingungan yang sangat, baik di dalam
maupun di luar negeri, dan kini adalah waktunya bagi para penasehat dan
ahli asing untuk agak rendah hati." Tanter mengajukan "sepuluh
pertanyaan yang memerlukan jawaban dan mengundang diskusi yang serius."
8 June
2006
Online Opinion: Byrne: The Traumatic Birth of a Nation
"While
everyone in East Timor seems to welcome the current deployment of
Australian military forces and police, Australia also bears some
responsibility for the collective trauma of the East Timorese people
today. We acquiesced in the Indonesian invasion in 1975 and ignored
warnings of impending trouble leading up to the vote on independence in
1999." Dr Mark Byrne, Senior
Researcher at Uniya Jesuit Social Justice Centre
8
June 2006 Dunn: Treating Timor Leste's Breakdown
"While the Australian troops, the
New Zealanders and the Portuguese
enjoy a special popularity, it is important that this operation come
under a UN mantle as soon as possible. A UN presence will serve to
reassure the Timorese of the commitment of the international community
to their nationhood, and also to reassure our Indonesian neighbours,
who remain suspicious of Australian intentions, that we have no
intention of making Timor Leste an Australian dependency." James Dunn, author of report to UNTAET
on Crimes Against Humanity in East Timor,
Jan-Oct 1999
2 June
2006 MMET: Connelly: Crisis in East Timor
"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." Sr. Susan
Connelly, Assistant
Director, Mary
MacKillop
East Timor
1 June 2006 Age: Hill: Stand up, the
real Mr.
Alkatiri
"The Australian Government and
media have demonised East Timor's PM without knowing all the facts, ... Who
is Mari Alkatiri and why does he arouse such hostility from Australian
politicians and media presenters? While Alkatiri was being told by
Australians he should resign, he was also taking phone calls from the
Portuguese and other prime ministers, wishing him well and urging him
not to." Helen Hill, teacher of sociology at Victoria
University
29
May 2006 Dunn: The East Timor Crisis: A Quest of Legitimacy?
"Timor’s problems are common to nations whose independence was achieved
through armed resistance. Indonesia endured this kind of instability
for more than a decade, and similar problems have persisted in Papua
New Guinea. In East Timor’s case, it was the harsh Indonesian
occupation, and not the UN intervention or the failings of national
independence that must bear most blame for today’s crisis. The
east-west hostility is without historical foundation. In fact it flows
from Indonesian occupation policy, in particular the special attention
devoted by the occupying power to those adjacent to West Timor." James
Dunn, author of East Timor: A rough passage to independence
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