sábado, junho 10, 2006

Was East Timor ready for independence?

ABC
James Dunn, former Australian consul to East Timor - 29/05/2006

In East Timor killings, gun fights and increasing anarchy in the streets of Dili has seen Australian troops return only two years after they left.

Not waiting for rules of engagement, the Australians were rushed into the country to prevent more deaths as what began as an Army dispute about pay and conditions spiralled to the brink of civil war.

The cry for help was triggered by weeks of increasing violence after a protest by nearly 600 disgruntled soldiers turned deadly.

While the armed intervention will stabilise the country, it has raised questions about East Timor's political leadership just four years after the euphoria of independence.

Someone who's well versed with East Timor's brutal past is James Dunn. He was an adviser to the United Nations Mission in East Timor in 1999. He's also a UN expert on crimes against humanity, having worked as an investigator for the UN's transitional administration in East Timor.
Now, this isn't really a military dispute on pay and promotions anymore, is it? It's an attempted coup d'etat, is it not?

Well, it has moved into a new phase, where it is clear that one section of the military, led by Major Alfredo Reinaldo, is moving to unseat a government he doesn't like very much.


But it did escalate, didn't it, when Prime Minister Alkatiri survived the challenge to his leadership. I mean, he is a man who's said to be very unpopular, not on speaking terms with the President. You know him. What sort of a man is he?

He's somewhat different from other Timorese leaders. Not only because he's a Muslim. I think that's a remarkable fact, that he is a leader of East Timor, Christian country, as a Muslim. Although he's an efficient worker, probably a good bureaucrat, I've never felt that he was an easy person to deal with, an easy politician ...


Why not?

... a politician who had close relations with the people. I guess it's his style.


Is there a danger, are you fearful that, perhaps, anti-Independence forces in the West or in the Western part might exploit this situation?

Well, I think that is a danger, not so much from Indonesia as from a few remnants of the militia. And we mustn't forget that one of the most powerful militia leaders, Joao Tavares, is still over there in Western Timor, occasionally talking about the possibility of returning to the East. And in 1999, he was the leading militia leader. And that's why, in that area, it was in that area that, I suppose, not only most of the militia were recruited but where they were more enthusiastic for continuing with Indonesia, and also where they were more brutal.


Well, James Dunn, how far back should have some of these problems been addressed? Because when you were advising the UN Mission in 1999, you had some concerns about the Western sector, didn't you?

It has been so badly affected because it was the last, it was close to Indonesia, in terms of destruction, the destruction in towns like Maliana, Balibo and so on, was massive. Whereas, in the East, the destruction wasn't as serious. But I think my concerns were more, in relation to this matter, on two grounds. I think one was about the pace of change. And, indeed, the ambitions of the UN Mission to transform the East Timorese from the ashes of November 1999 to independence in 2002. I mean, it was a remarkable achievement, it seemed, but I felt it was so quick that so many aspects hadn't been properly dealt with. One, of course, was the military, in my view. It was only a year before independence that the training of the military got under way. But, you know, the position of the military in a new country is also, is always of crucial importance, because it can be a source of unrest, of instability. And I don't think that the development of the military took that into account.


So what do you do now? Do you sort of revisit those institutions and start again and do what should have been done back in 1999?

Well, you can't start again. We have to deal with the situation as it is. When the UN Mission ended, there was a proposal, which Kofi Annan himself took up, to keep a peace keeping element in East Timor. I'm afraid we lost that. Australia and the United States voted against it. And, of course, they didn't do it.


So you're saying we should take some of the blame?

Well, in a sense, a bit of it because had there been a small peacekeeping element mostly of civilian police, but some troops, there would have been this independent force to move quickly into these areas.


Why did Australia vote against it?

Well, you'd have to ask the Australian government. But I think many people felt they wanted to get Australians out of East Timor. There was some suggestion the Indonesians didn't like their presence there. But, nevertheless, in my view, it was too hasty. They should have stayed there.


Could this damage relations with Indonesia, the fact that we are leading this?

It is sensitive, but so far there hasn't been any official condemnation or negative criticism of it. But, you know, what's important is looking to the future, rather than have what some might see as a provocative, large Australian military presence in East Timor. I think the important step is to get it under a UN umbrella.


So, would you urge that it comes under a United Nations umbrella as soon as is possible?

I would like to see that. Yes, I think that's very important. I mean, what's important about Timor is that it was the great achievement of the United Nations. The one case where the UN went in, actually took over a country and took it from the ashes of destruction to independence. And, of course, from the UN's point of view, that shouldn't fail.

2 comentários:

Anónimo disse...

do timor-verdade lê-se que:

Timorenses unidos pela normalidade

Falar verdade, unir as vontades, salvar o que resta da esperança nacional

Está na hora de Portugal falar alto. Tão alto que se faça ouvir junto do povo timorense. Sem medos, sem rodeios. Mas está também na hora da infantil Comunidade dos Países de Língua Portuguesa (CPLP) tomar uma posição conjunta. Aquilo a que se assiste é a um vil ataque a um país de língua portuguesa - o qual nunca foi respeitado pelos australianos ao longo destes anos.

A CPLP tem de falar, mas enquanto fala e não fala, Portugal tem de tomar drásticas posições internacionais. Terá de jogar no plano internacional. Terá de "apertar" com José Ramos Horta - este senhor bem apertadinho até dará uma ajuda à normalização da situação da segurança -, pois foi ele que assinou com os australianos um acordo de poderes totais no comando das tropas internacionais.

José Ramos Horta respeita Portugal e sabe o quanto depende dos países de língua portuguesa o seu sucesso em termos de conhecimento da sua acção. José Ramos Horta sabe bem quem lhe deu de comer e quem o ensinou na diplomacia contra a Indonésia... José Ramos Horta vai voltar a apelar à paz. Será por ordem dele que os rebeldes irão desarmar - Xanana dará uma ajudinha e Marí também. Iremos assistir a mais uma série de reunioes de reconciliação à boa maneira timorense. Todos ficarão contentes e as facturas pagar-se-ão daqui a uns anos...

José Ramos Horta sabe que não pode permitir a humilhação da presença portuguesa em Timor-Leste e irá emendar a mão.

Xanana Gusmão parece estar esquecido que há bem pouco tempo em Portugal lhe "saltou a tampa" e chamou de "ladrões" aos australianos devido às negociações do Mar de Timor.

Xanana Gusmão, pese embora alguns excessos, é homem de coração e de justiça - saberá interpretar tudo o que se passa e apelar à defesa do Estado de Direito.

Xanana Gusmão tem esse poder e essa vontade férrea da liberdade e de pátria timorense.

Marí Alkatiri saberá corrigir alguns erros de governação, saberá inclusivé estabelecer a ordem entre o acontecido e o seguinte passo. É um nacionalista de olhar frontal para o desenvolvimento associado a sinergias entre países e continentes. Cá dentro saberá gerir com Lu'olo a intensa dramatização da sociedade timorense - apenas em Díli, pois é aqui se discute a Soberania do país ameaçada pelos australianos.

Timor-Leste não falhou e José Ramos Horta já terá começado a perceber que foi usado - em excesso e com vigor australiano e seus amigos.

Neste momento, José Ramos Horta, o patriota, estará a assegurar na ONU a Soberania do país e a legitimidade do Governo ao qual pertence por opção - até agora ainda não se demitiu é por que acredita nas capacidades do seu chefe do executivo.

A hora é de cerrar fileiras, de entregar as armas e de se partir para a justiça das coisas. É tempo dos rebeldes se definirem como rebeldes em definitivo ou como instrumentos de fins sobre os quais já ninguem tem duvidas.

A hora é de calma e de acalmar, de fazer recolher a suas casas os milhares de deslocados e de refugiados. A hora é a de repor a ordem institucional - tentada por força de entrada de militares australianos a parar, a colapsar - e dar tranquilidade às pessoas.

O povo de Timor não pode sofrer mais, não pode continuar a viver no medo de campos sem condições de higiéne, sem salubridade. A hora é de gritar pelos mais jovens e dizer-lhes: "estamos convosco, estamos convosco na construção do vosso futuro, na afirmação da nossa Nação, da nossa Pátria, em memória dos que deram a vida pela liberdade".

Anónimo disse...

James Dunn vem provar que não se deve confundir o povo da Austrália com a política externa do país. Até porque esta é ditada por interesses económicos na maior parte das vezes.

Traduções

Todas as traduções de inglês para português (e também de francês para português) são feitas pela Margarida, que conhecemos recentemente, mas que desde sempre nos ajuda.

Obrigado pela solidariedade, Margarida!

Mensagem inicial - 16 de Maio de 2006

"Apesar de frágil, Timor-Leste é uma jovem democracia em que acreditamos. É o país que escolhemos para viver e trabalhar. Desde dia 28 de Abril muito se tem dito sobre a situação em Timor-Leste. Boatos, rumores, alertas, declarações de países estrangeiros, inocentes ou não, têm servido para transmitir um clima de conflito e insegurança que não corresponde ao que vivemos. Vamos tentar transmitir o que se passa aqui. Não o que ouvimos dizer... "
 

Malai Azul. Lives in East Timor/Dili, speaks Portuguese and English.
This is my blogchalk: Timor, Timor-Leste, East Timor, Dili, Portuguese, English, Malai Azul, politica, situação, Xanana, Ramos-Horta, Alkatiri, Conflito, Crise, ISF, GNR, UNPOL, UNMIT, ONU, UN.